Author: Jodi

Mommy/Me Trip…

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Our Mommy/Me trip tradition started with me taking a 5 month old Roman up to Vermont to visit with my dear friend, Charity, from college. When Tom and Jonas dropped us off at the airport, Jonas said, “Mommy, I want to come too.” That’s when I knew that I would be taking each of my boys in turn on a special trip each year. It has been one of the biggest blessings of my life…and I hope theirs.

This year, Roman and I went to the Wilderness at the Smokies indoor water park!!! We enjoyed meals at the Cracker Barrel and at all of the hotel restaurants, played video games in the arcade, hung out in the indoor water park (tube slides, wave pool, hot tub, and surf rider), rode the shuttle, painted pottery, went bowling, played laser tag, climbed the climbing wall, played black light put put golf, walked through the laser maze, went on the ropes course, visited with Audrey at UT, and went to the most amazing sweet shop so perfect for Roman called the Chocolate Monkey.

Click on the “Mommy/Me Trip with Roman 2019” page to the right for more pictures.

Happy Birthday, Roman…

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Happy Birthday to Roman!!! I cannot believe that my youngest son is 7 years old today. Roman, you are such a little sunshine…so funny, energetic, entertaining, full of emotional ups and downs, lively, musical, anxious, athletic, and smart. You are one of the best little guys around at pretend play. You like to stay busy with friends and activities and pose for pictures…a true extrovert. You love your stuffed animals and monkeys. You’re all about playing Minecraft and excel at TaeKwonDo. You are one of the snuggliest kids, and our lives would not be the same without you. We love you, Roman!!!

Literacy Night…

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It was Literacy Night tonight at the boys’ school. Jonas presented a board game that he designed to go along with a book he read (one of his and my favorites), Magyk by Angie Sage. Roman dressed up as one of the little monkeys from Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed and shared a quick book review. Xander is his own man and just did his own thing which I love about him. Literacy Night is always really fun for the kids with scavenger hunts, Kahoots, crafts, face painting, etc. I love NES!!!

Ernest Tubb Record Shop…

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Tonight, not only did I get to celebrate my 11th wedding anniversary with Tom but I got to sing on the Ernest Tubb Record Shop with my incomparable mother, Connie Smith!!! It was such and honor, and I was so excited. I sang two of my favorites of her songs…”Where Is My Caste?” and “The Hinges on the Door”. I’m so grateful to have such a precious (AND talented) mother and friend. Here’s a picture collage that my brother put together of my mom singing at the Ernest Tubb Record Shop when she was about my age (probably younger) and me.

11th Anniversary…

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This guy. Marrying Tom was (and still is) one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life. He makes me laugh every day. His unconditional love heals my heart…he loves in action not just in words. No matter how much time I spend with him…I never get tired of being around him and always want to be around him more. What a father he is to our three wild boys. I am so grateful for our first 11 years of marriage and look forward to the next 11 (and many more to come)…

The Things They Say…

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Thinking about what to say to his friends when they ask him why he’s always leaving school early…
Jonas: “I got problems, people. It’s my get out of jail free card.”

Wondering how the fish in our tank have lived for so long…
Xander: “Maybe they are actually waterproof security cameras that are controlled by people with video game controllers…”

Musings in the car…
Roman: “Can I tell you something, Mom? People are dummies at some things. People are geniuses at some things.”

Braces…

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Jonas has been such a trooper with his braces for the past year and a half…I’m so proud of him. After all of his hard work, he got his braces off today!!! To celebrate, we had his favorite dinner (pizza), cake (that he helped me make and top with his favorite chewy/sticky treats he hasn’t been able to have) and a movie night. (He also got a haircut…that he ended up not being too enthused about after the fact…but I think it looks great on him.) Yay for Jonas!!!

Mommy/Son Dodgeball Night…

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It was Mommy/Son Dodgeball Night at the school tonight. The boys always have a total blast.

This year, however, it ended in tears for all of us…

Jonas was still upset about having his finger pricked and his blood drawn at his well visit earlier in the day and was getting into emotional wads about the prick/draw sites impeding his dodgeball throwing prowess. Xander didn’t want to take a selfie with me and knocked my phone out of my hand and it hit me square on the chest bone…I was so mad/hurt/embarrassed that I walked straight to the bathroom, locked myself in a stall, and cried. (It had been a long day already for me with a 4th grade field trip and a traumatic well visit, and I was feeling really overwhelmed with all of the sound and activity at the end of a long day/week). Xander got knocked down, when dodgeball morphed into football, and left the court with a bloody nose that just kept bleeding and bleeding. After all of that, Xander and I were ready to go home, but Roman flipped into meltdown mode and refused to go because he was only able to play dodgeball for a short amount of time due to his belt testing starting at the same time. So, I carried him out in tears. Gracious.

My take away is this…my dear friend, Rebekah, who is also a nurse saw Xander go down and leave the gym bleeding…all I heard behind me as I was following him out in my last straw moment was, “I’ve got you.” It touched my heart, and I’ll never forget it. May we all know that on our worst day and in the most trying of circumstances… when we’re walking into yet another trial…God is right there with us, saying, “I’ve got you.”

New Year’s Day…

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We had such a great New Year’s Day. We went for a walk on the Nolensville Trails, played football with an emoji stuffed animal at the Nolensville High School football field, enjoyed the Pomerantzes annual New Year’s Day gathering (complete with the most delicious ribs, black eyed peas, greens, and corn bread), and watched some football by the fire.

12South Winter Warmup…

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I was inspired by a runner friend a few months ago and decided to start training for a 12K (7.4 miles).

I usually train on my own, but this time I trained with my dear friend, Honora, which really made all the difference. We pushed each other, encouraged each other, and helped each other get and stay motivated. It really ended up being like therapy for both of us…ha! And…we did it…we ran 7.4 miles around 12th Avenue South in Nashville at a 9.40/mile pace on a drizzling cold morning!!!