Swing Batter-Batter!

John Reagan had his very first t-ball game last Monday night, April 26th. What fun he had, and what fun we had watching him. He plays third base, and he is not very aggressive in his defense. He is far more interested in all his family there watching him. During the game the ball was hit in his direction once. He took off to the ball to stop it, then he realized I was trying to get a picture of him. So he stopped dead in his tracks, stood up, and smiled to ensure I got a good picture. So funny!

He is the youngest and smallest player on his team. For the Dixie League, the children are supposed to be 4 before April 30th. Lincoln Little League is a little more lenient on the age, so John Reagan was able to start this year. Down here they are more concerned with the children starting at an early age so they don't get behind.

For our first game, we were the home team. We took the field first, and like some innate, built-in sports knowledge John Reagan knew from the first day of practice the appropriate stance when on defense.

For batting whatever number is on your shirt is where you fall in the batting order. Of course John Reagan is #1, so our little buddy got to bat first. He didn't know to run to first base as soon as he hit the ball, so he just stood there. Poor buddy got out. He could have cared less.

Here is John Reagan with his coach getting ready for his first at-bat. FYI: the bat is the smallest we could find. They actually make a 10.5 oz bat, but we could only find the 11.5 oz. I told Greg it was so light I didn't think I could even do any damage with it. He got a good laugh out of that.

As you can see John Reagan is too busy looking at me taking pictures to be worried about what to do after he hits that ball.

Breyden and Kenden came to John Reagan's first game. Breyden actually had a game right after at another baseball complex, so they didn't get to stay too long. They had fun checking it out though, and they were big supporters for John Reagan. They knew how to cheer him on.

Evie on the other hand was too busy playing with Annie's toys. Annie is cousin on Daddy's side of the family.

It can be hard waiting for the ball to come your way. The coach pitches 3 balls to the players first, and if they don't hit one of those then the tee comes out. John Reagan prefers to wait for the tee. He did swing at the ball. He just swung WAY to early.

His first time on base. He even knows how to stand on base like a "real" baseball player.

Running to home plate!

Made it home! Back to the dugout now!

It is as much fun for us to watch the coach interact with John Reagan. He is so sweet and so gentle with John Reagan and pays him special attention because he is the littlest. A funny story about the coach...we noticed one night before practice that he has a UT sticker on the back of his vehicle. You know Greg can't stand to let that pass without saying something. We love everything Tennessee EXCEPT UT. Anyway, the coach is from Louisiana, but he did his graduate work at UT. So he is a big fan of them even though he teaches at Louisiana Tech. Unless you have followed ladies' college basketball for years, you don't know anything about the rivalry between the Lady Vols and the Lady Techsters. However, I come from a long line of La Tech Alumni, so I know all about it. There is not a bone in my body that can bring me to cheer for UT in any sport even when it is for the good of the SEC, as Greg says. I think I might have put this story about the coach in the last blog post. If I am repeating myself I am so sorry...just blame it on the pregnancy and house situation. We very much like the coach though and think he does a great job with the kids. So far our t-ball experience has been wonderful.

We have called and talked to a few of you Tennessean's since the weather has been so wild up there. We hope you aren't floating away and don't have any water damage to tackle. We have been keeping a close eye on what is going on up your way. Let us know how you are doing, please! We like to know how you all are doing.

By the way, can you tell we got our new camera lens in just in time for the game?

Springtime

Spring has sprung, and summer is coming!

We have had a few days that have been pretty warm and humid. We are trying to mentally prepare ourselves for our first full Louisiana summer in 7 years, but I don't know that we can do that. Greg and Brad took the 3 cousins fishing the other day. John Reagan told Greg, "Daddy, today is a nice summer day." Greg's reply was, "Buddy, in Tennessee this is a nice summer day, but in Louisiana this is a nice spring day." Brad just cracked up laughing. This will be the first time I will be pregnant through the month of August, so needless to say I am fretting.

Spring doesn't last long around here. We have talked a lot about how we will miss the four seasons of Tennessee. You get 3 seasons here...winter and summer then spring and fall classify for 1/2 a season each. John Reagan's t-ball coach did his graduate work at UT, and he said the other day he misses the 4 seasons of TN. So glad to know we aren't the only ones that understand this fact.

Things have been busy around here since Easter. We have been doing lots of house hunting, but that is a story for another blog...a very LONG story. John Reagan has started playing t-ball, so we have been practicing a good bit and just running the roads in general. I have FINALLY purchased a new camera lens, so no more blurry pictures. Hallelujah! Of course there are a few more pictures I will post before I get to explore the new lens. But I will have it in time for John Reagan's first t-ball game. Aside from the house hunting story, this pretty much catches you up on the past month.

I do have my ultrasound scheduled for May 17th, so we will be finding out in 3 weeks if John Reagan is really having a brother or not. I had to buy a baby gift for one of Greg's best friends yesterday. I KNOW Greg told me they had a little boy, so I picked out a cute little outfit. When I got home Greg said, "Brandi, they had a girl!" I was like "WHAT? No they didn't, you told me a boy." So I am wondering if I bought us a baby gift early. Greg's friend's name is John, so when I said something about Mr. John, John Reagan thought we were buying something for Caleb. Everything he picked up he said, "Momma, will this fit Caleb." He was picking up 12 month outfits. I kept telling him he would have to go up on sizes, but he wasn't listening.

A funny story...

John Reagan wanted to know the other day if we were going to give Evie back when his brother got here. So funny! I am still not sure if he was worried about having to give Evie back or if he wanted to give her back. They have been playing so well together here lately. We have had lots of fun sitting back watching them chasing each other while laughing and screaming. They have so much fun together. It is going to be interesting when another one enters the mix.

Back to Easter, John Reagan enjoyed dying Easter eggs this year. I tried to keep it as simple as possible.

John Reagan all dressed up Easter morning. For some reason he and Breyden are fascinated with ties, so we bought him one for Easter. It stayed on up to halfway through the service.

I wasn't able to get a full length picture of Evie's dress. As you can see she was not a happy camper on this morning.

The only picture with her hat on. She did keep it on herself, but the wind kept blowing it off. Evie is not a morning person, like her mommy.

John Reagan really got into hunting Easter eggs this year. We hid them at least 5 times, and he had to hide them a few times for us to find.

Evie, in true form, could have cared less about hunting Easter eggs. In her defense, she did just wake up from a nap.

John Reagan and Evie got crayons, markers, and watercolor paint in their Easter baskets along with rolls of coloring sheets. I made John Reagan go outside to paint, and he had to sit in the grass because we didn't have a table out there. I decided to go buy them a picnic table, and it is all the rage around here now. The first day we had it, they ate outside on it 3 times that day. How do you like the fact that they are still in their pj's?

I just love that hair blowing in the wind. Evie loves to play outside.

It's snack time now!

For John Reagan's first day of school, I bought him a lunchable. I don't know why, but the child absolutely loves them. He wants to eat them all the time. As a matter of fact, I had to stop buying them because he would eat them 2 and 3 times a day, and by the time school rolled around again I wouldn't have anything for his lunchbox. Now I roll up pieces of turkey to keep from having to buy the lunchables. He is such a character!

I have finally got my head on straight enough to remember to take pictures again. I have a few stored up which means I will be blogging a little more often, hopefully! I will also let you know soon about the house situation. Sorry if you have a hard time keeping up with me today. I am sure from my rabbit trailing you can tell I am a little out of it today. So on that note I will say bye for now. Hope all is well with all of you!

Pictures

Our March blog posts look like our camera...very sparse. The camera probably thinks it has disappeared into the abyss. I picked it up last night for the first time in over a month. You know we have had our minds in overload when we haven't taken any pictures.

Needless to say, the pictures below are a month or so old, but the kiddos haven't changed that much in that time frame. I can't believe I haven't already posted these on here. Can you help me find my mind? A silly boy! He acts too much like his daddy. It is scary sometimes, and all I can think is, "Oh Lord, what am I going to do as John Reagan gets older and I have 2 of them to tend with?" As I have said many times, it must be the name John. If you are wondering why I say that, it is because Greg is also a John...John Gregory!

Evie girl is getting so big. She is really starting to talk A LOT! And she LOVES to scream! Some days it is hard to keep my sanity because brother loves to scream with her.


This is when they are the sweetest. Here and in the morning when they want to love all over me. I just love those times!


Do I need to say anything about this one? Except maybe to say, we do clean his face on a regular basis.

I just love this picture. She has this look on her face regularly, especially if someone is around she isn't too sure about.

This is "The Face." If you ask her to show you her face, this is it. She used to do it all the time, but I guess she thinks she is getting too big for it now. Greg asked her last night to show the face, and she promptly replied, "Nooo!" (a word she has grown quite fond of).

And brother's favorite! John Reagan and Evie have gotten to where they will fight over sitting in the car seat when it isn't in the car, especially if both car seats aren't out. That won't last too much longer. John Reagan is quickly growing into a booster.

I can't believe how quickly they are growing up. I know all of you understand what I mean. Where does the time go?

Milestones: Part 3

I realized the other day that I have left you hanging on the house information. I teased you then left you. How nice is that? I can't believe it has been over a month since we started working on this particular milestone. Unfortunately the news is grim.

The Explanation:

Before we found some land we started exploring our options. We discussed building a garage apartment to live in for a year or so then building what we wanted (before we found out about Baby #3). We discussed purchasing an old house and moving it onto the property (something we were looking at even before we moved). We discussed building a smaller house and adding on over the years.

Then we found some land...5 acres outside the city limits at an outstanding price. We got a buyer/seller agreement signed and in hand. We talked with my brother-in-law and his dad because they are contractors. The garage apartment would be the most costly up front, building a small house would be hard space and time wise plus more expensive. Moving a house would have been the least expensive, but we would have been stuck with the exterior look to a point whether we liked it or not. Over the years, it would probably end up costing more and still not being what we wanted. It finally dawned on us to do a "manufactured" home (my sister's words). We could get the space we needed at the note we needed and in 2 years get rid of it and build what we wanted.

So started the search for a trailer. We found one we liked, but the salesman hem-hawed around for about 3 weeks before we said enough. We went Monday, found one, and were prepared to get the process rolling until the guy with the land backed out on us. The buyer/seller agreement had expired, and we believe (don't know for a fact) that he has someone pressuring him on the land because he had 6 acres right beside it that he had already sold and the guy that bought it was wanting the 5.

The End Result:

We are back at square one. As has been the case for the past 3 years, we have to pick ourselves up and start ALL over again. We don't even know where to go from here. Acreage in Ruston is extremely hard to come by. Acreage at an afforable price without site build restrictions is almost impossible to come by. As has not been the case for the past 3 years, we are now on a time frame. We have GOT to have a house before this baby gets here. Our stress levels are out the roof. Greg said Monday he just wanted to lay prostrate on the floor and say, "Here I am God," and not move until he heard something.

Please pray for us. We need some type of direction...clear direction. We have come to the point of questioning. We have both somewhat questioned already if we did the right thing in moving or if we totally missed God and mostly because of the way things have gone. Up to about 2 months ago, on a daily basis something about Tennessee would be in our faces. Now it is just about a weekly occurrence. And it is odd things, things that are out of the ordinary. We are at a loss and don't have a clue what is going on or what to do next. We need help!