Happy Mother's Day

This is my third Mother's Day! I am amazed at how quickly time flies. Jake was only three months old on my first Mother's Day. It was a fun day. My mom gave me a very special present that day. It was a "grandparents book" that journaled my whole life through pictures and family trees. It took her countless hours to create the book, but I LOVED it and I still do. However, it is at her house so that she can update it periodically.

I love everyday that I get to hear the word Mommy. At times, I may wish to not hear it anymore that day, but I do love my boys and love to hear Jake say mommy (soon Judd will say ma ma :-)). Being a mother is the one of the greatest joys of my life. First is being a child of God, and second is being the wife to the greatest man, Jim Perdue.

Mother's Day is a great day! It is even better now that I have children. Not from the point of view that I am Jake and Judd's mom, but now I can truly appreciate my mom even more.

Mom: I just want to say thanks a ton for enduring the pain of birth on March 19, 1979. And thanks for putting up with all the mess I handed you as a child. You've put up with me 10,275 days and for that I'm grateful. There's no doubt I'm blessed to have survived many of those days.

p.s. Jim wanted to know what I wanted for Mother's Day. This is what I asked for: I want twelve hours of "me" time so that I can clean the house and run errands all in one day. How awesome of a day will that be??!!! I must say I can not wait!

Sonny's

In an earlier post I mentioned that Sonny's BBQ was special to Jim and me. I guess I will explain today.

Before Jim and I officially started dating we both drove two hours to a Christmas expo in Charlotte, NC. I was still in GA and he was in Seminary at the time. Two of my girlfriends, Jessica Goheen (now Moody)and Melissa, and I decided to drive to this expo. JIm thought it would be fun to meet us there. *side note* after being married to him for almost 5 years I know that this trip was a sacrifice for him and he only wanted to be with me. He is not big on Christmas Decorating and he doesn't like shopping. this makes me smile*end side note* After we finished shopping Jim talked us into going to eat at Sonny's in Charlotte. Jim and I sat down and ordered the exact same thing and we ate the bread the same way. This meal was just one of the many light bulb moments during our short dating relationship. We have eaten at that Sonny's many times since our first lunch and we love to retell the story when we are there.

Another excting trip was when Jim took me to eat at Sonny's in Warner Robins the day that we go engaged. How perfect!

Lastly, we ate at Sonny's in Buford for lunch the day that I went in to labor with Jake.

Who would have thought that this one restaurant would hold so many special memories for the Perdue family.

p.s. We tried to eat at Sonny's to help induce Judd, but it just didn't work. :-)

Blessed!

I am blessed! I have the best husband in the whole world. He is a great husband and an awesome daddy. Before we had Jake, I always thought he would be a great dad, but now seeing him with our boys just amazes me. Jake and Judd have an amazing godly example to look to as they grow to be men of God.

Quick Visit

Wednesday afternoon we left Forsyth County to visit the great Warner Vegas. Actually, we drive past it to Elko since my mom moved, but I still like to say Warner Vegas. We spent several days visiting with my mom, Benny, and my grandparents who live a mile from my mom. It is always good to go home especially when there are five adults to watch two boys. I feel more like a supervisor when we are visiting. :-) I just make sure the boys are fed, napped, and living on "the schedule" while everyone else takes care of them. It is such a wonderful blessing to be around family and to have some help. I was even given the opportunity to take two showers and get dressed without being interrupted.

Wednesday night Jim and I met Jessica Perdue at Sonny's for dinner after our VERY long (long as in the boys screamed or whined most of the ride) ride home. Sonny's is great and it has so much meaning for Jim and I. (Sonny's significance in our lives could have it's on post). After dinner Jessica came out to the house and Dan met her at mom's. They enjoyed seeing the boys. It was so good to spend some time with them.

When we arrived at mom's Jake was still running around barefoot with the keys, his Papa gave him, in his pocket, and holding up his pants as he ran around. He LOVES Elko. I think part of his love comes from the fact that he gets to ride the 4-wheeler, go-cart, and the tractor. What's not to love about the country!!! Oh I forgot about the new kittens....he gave them names this week...Brown, Lil Waser (laser), and Zeb.

On Thursday Jake had another visitor. Jim came out to visit for a short time. Jake loves Jim, but I think Amber is soon to take his place:-)

We had a great visit home. I am excited that summer is coming and we can spend more time in the country! Simple pleasures and children's laughter!

Potty Training Update

Week 2-

I know that I left you last week on the edge of your seats wanting to know how Jake was going to continue. Well I am pleased to announced that Jake is potty trained. He is doing great. He still has to work on telling me that he needs to go without me asking, but he is catching on.

Funny moments- I have given him a very elementary explanation of the digestive system. It goes in your mouth, down to your belly, and in the potty. So now everytime he goes #2 Jake looks in the potty and he says there is my chicken, there is my hotdog, bye-bye meat. It is hilarious, and if it works I am all for it.

Judd- What a great little boy! He is so sweet! He is now going to sleep without crying when I lay him down.

I am so glad that the weather is warmer so that we can play outside more.

Day One...Potty Training

Jake and I started the dreaded journey of potty training. I have said that I was going to wait until he was close to three to start training him, but ever since he turned two I have really felt that he was so close to started. He wasn't interested, but I was say other cues that led me to think he would be ready. SOOO...

I started reading information. I was clueless. The only thing I did know was I was not going to buy pull-ups and once we started I wasn't going back to diapers. So you see why I wanted to wait to start. While I was trying to figure opt what to do I had a conversation with Jim's mom and she told me about the 7 days and $75 method. The general idea is parents stay at home with the child for several days and allow the child to walk around the house naked all day long. The potty is put out so it is constantly available to the child. Parents regularly remind the child to use the potty when necessary. Rosemond argues that children won't tolerate urine and feces running down their legs, and will quickly learn to go to the potty to avoid accidents. The $75 is for carpet cleaning.

Well I thought this would be perfect. I need my carpet cleaned anyway why not give it a try. So I set the date Monday, March 26. No more diapers! We started telling Jake that he was going to start going on the big boy potty and we named all of the different ways to go on the potty.

Well D-Day came this morning. When Jake woke up we took his diaper off and he ran around all day with one of Jim's T-Shirts on. We sat him on the potty and he wasn't thrilled to be there. But if you remember from my last post Jake loves to blow out candles. So we had candles in the bathroom for him to blow out every time he sat on the potty. He didn't go. I set the timer on the microwave for 20 minutes. When it beeped we ran to the bathroom. He sat, blew out candles, and got up. Set the timer again...it beeped. Same result as last time. Set timer....this went on for three hours. I knew that he was getting close to going since he continued to drink in between sessions. Around 10 the timer went off and we ran to the potty. He did the same as the previous tries, but he started to really squirm like a worm. I told him what he needed to do to go tinkle and finally HE WENT! HE smiled so BIG! It was great. So his reward is to flush the toliet and wash his hands. He was pumped!

He contined to go tinkle in the potty the rest of the day without ANY accidents today.

I guess you are wondering if he went #2. Well here is that story: right after lunch we sat on the potty. I knew that he would have to go #2 because he ALWAYS does so we tried. NO luck! So we went back into the living room. He was sitting reading a book and all the sudden he stands up takes off his shirts and RUNS to the bathroom saying "mommy I HAVE to go potty." I ran in there behind him and he is on the potty looking at me telling me to "go back in there." about 2 seconds later there is #2 in the potty and he is off looking in the toilet to see what just happened. I did the potty dance and he was able to hand me the brand new wipes that we had been saving to use for this very special occasion.

So to sum up 13 hours of potty training on our first day with one word I would say: SUCCESS!!!!

I am so proud of him!
p.s. this is a long post and I am not going to reread it so if there are mistakes please forgive me!

Happy Belated Birthday Update

I am a week late blogging about my birthday, but it was extra special this year so I want to be sure to share.....

The day started with me getting the boys up and going to the gym. When we came back there were flowers on the table with candles burning and cupcakes were placed at each of our seats. Jim came running up stairs when he heard us walk in. We all sat down and Jim and Jake sang Happy Birhtday to me and then we blew out the candles. I then opened my cards from Jake and Judd. Jake had written and colored in my card :-) Jim gave me a pedicure and a coupon for two shopping trips by myself while he watches the boys. What a great present!!! I haven't been shopping in forever much less by myself. I am pumped!

Well after we ate lunch we had another round of cupcakes and they sang Happy Birthday again. Jake loves to blow out candles but he doesn't like to eat the cake.

To end the evening we ate dinner with some people in church and we finished dinner with the last round of cupcakes and Happy Birthday. Right before we went to bed Jim gave me his card which included cash to take on my shopping trips:-)

It was a great day and Jim did a great job making me feel extra special!

All of this is really funny because Jim's family doesn't make a big deal out of birthday's and I think that it is my birthday the whole month of March! He always feels this huge amount of pressure to make me feel special each year! He is the best husband in the whole world. I am blessed!!!!

It is March Madness time again!

Well it has been a year since I started blogging. I think that I may have blogged a total of 12 times in one year. Like I said maybe I will get better

My brackett this year is going to be a bust. I picked random teams and can't wait to see how badly I lose. I will keep you posted!

By the way, I have caught Jake pulling down his pants and taking his diaper off looking to see if he has gone #2 two times this week. Thank goodness his diaper is only wet when he decides to do this:-) I know it is time to start potty training, but I am trying to wait until the summer. The boy is a mess!

Jake is Two

Life is going great!

Jake turned two on Feb. 27.We had his party on march 3. I did an airplane theme. We invited several of his friends and all of our family. He had a blast playing. He doesn't like cake so he enjoyed blowing out the candles. I cannot believe that my little boy is growing up so quickly. He is saying things and making me laugh more and more everyday. Jim and I have been teaching Bible verses and he can now quote Eph 6:1, Romans 3:23, Gen 1:1 and we are now working on Phil 4:13. He is a joy and we are very blessed to be his parents.

Judd is sleeping through the night. He is sleeping from his last feeding at 10 until somewhere between 4-6. He actually slept until 7 last Sunday. He is smiling big open mouth smiles and even giggles.

Jake has mixed reactions to him. At times he can be very sweet to Judd and others he just wants to make him cry. I guess this is the beginning of great years between brothers. However, once again tonight I prayed that they would have a strongbold, they would love each other in a very special way, they would seek to follow Christ and be Him obedient in everything.

i am going to try and blog more often. Who knows! I may get to busy with the boys! :-)

Late Nights

Six weeks after Judd is born I am still awake in the middle of the night feeding him. As you can see I have found that I can be productive at 2 a.m. I use Jim's laptop while I am up to return emails, catch up on the latest news, and now I am even updating my blog.

So how is life as a mom of two boys? BUSY! The first few weeks were difficult, but now the main difference is I have very little time for myself. However, I think that once Judd sleeps through the night and I don't feel like I need a nap everyday I will be able to get somethings taken care of during nap time. I do love my boys. I am sure that life will be very active when Judd gets a little bit bigger. Something tells me he isn't going to continue to let Jake poke his eyes and shake his feet.

I have started going to the gym and the boys go to chldcare. This has been great for me. I am excited about losing the rest of the baby weight and wearing all of my clothes again. :-) I am just not satisfied carrying 7 more pounds.

more to come from the late night brain.....that's another thing... I am losing my memory more and more each day!

It's a BOY!

It’s a BOY! After nine long months of wondering, speculating and guessing we became parents of our second healthy baby boy December 14th, at 4:42 PM, at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville. Judd was 7 lbs 8 oz at birth and 20 inches long. Judd and I are doing great and Jake is adjusting to his new “big brother” role. Jim is taking some time off to help with the big adjustment. We’ve definitely been BUSY!

But life is great and God is good as always. We couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate Christmas than welcoming our new son into the world. Merry Christmas to all of you and God Bless!

Extra! Extra! Read All About It

Here is the link to an article written about Baby Sprout! Hot off the press....

I cannot wait to meet this bundle of joy!

I cannot wait to meet this bundle of joy!

Sat Aug 12  2006

HARRIS BLACKWOOD

Columnist

Bi Ba and Little Buddy

It’s not often that a suburban newspaper gets one of those hot inside scoops straight from the gov- ernor’s office.

This week, your award-winning columnist has

done just that. Sometime in December,

Gov. Sonny Perdue and his charming wife, Mary, will wel- come their sixth grandchild into the world.

The couple’s son, the Rev. Jim Perdue of Forsyth County, and his wife, Stephanie, are expecting their second child. Jim Perdue is the pastor of North Cross Baptist Church, which meets on Sundays at North Forsyth High School. Their first, 18- month-old Jake, was delivered by Dr. Clayton Cox at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville. He did such a good job that he has been tapped for the gubernatorial grand- child gig for a second time.

Little Jake just may be a political prodigy. The young fellow is six months away from his second birth- day and can already identify political signs and bumper stickers belonging to “Big Buddy.”

For those of you who haven’t heard, “Big Buddy” is the name the governor is called by his grandchil- dren, and also by President Bush. The president thought it was so cool that he mentioned it in a speech.

On the other hand, the governor has a special name for Bush. He calls him “Mr. President.”

Jim tells me that when Jake sees one of Big Buddy’s signs, he says an emphatic “Bi Ba,” which is toddler speak for Big Buddy. We have it on high authority that the “Ba” part is clear and distinct and should never, never, ever be confused with “Big Guy,” the chosen moniker of Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor, who is running against the governor.

The governor told me this week that this early political thing may be genetic in his grandchildren and is hopeful that it will carry on to the new baby.

It first surfaced four years ago at a debate with Perdue’s foe and pred- ecessor, Gov. Roy Barnes.

“We took the twins to the debate,” Perdue said. “When we asked them what Big Buddy was going to do to Governor Barnes dur- ing the debate, they said ‘Beat him like a dwum (drum).’

“Now, Jake is identifying cam- paign signs in front yards and yelling out ‘Bi Ba.’ I guess Proverbs 22:6 is true: ‘Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.’”

Now to make things even more exciting, Jake’s little brother or sister is due to arrive about the same time as Big Buddy’s 60th birthday on Dec. 20.

I spoke this week with Mary Perdue, who is known as “Nana” to her grandchildren (just “Mary” to President Bush). She’s glad to talk about the state and her projects as first lady. But oh, there’s a gleam in her eye when she talks about the grandkids.

Turns out, there is a precedent for shared birthdays in the Perdue crowd. Their youngest son, Dan, was born on the same day as the gover- nor’s father. I know they love them all equally, but if Big Buddy and the new Little Buddy get to have a same-day celebration, it would be a pretty big deal.

“That would just be icing on the cake,” the first lady said.

Mrs. Perdue told me that Stephanie and Jim saw a sonogram this week and the baby is progress- ing just fine. Jake is getting ready for his first “big” job, the one of being “Big Brother.”

“Honestly, I never thought I would enjoy anything more than our own children,” Mrs. Perdue said. “But being a grandparent is definite- ly not overrated. It’s one of those things you can’t quite figure out why it’s so great.”

Update

So it has been several months since I last wrote. I cannot believe that I am so bad about updating, yet I can find time to read everyone else's blogs. Even Jim, my adorable husband, blog's more than I do. :-)

Well, I am half way through my pregnacy. We have hit week 20....YIPPIE! Jim and I will go this week for the 20 week ultrasound. We have decided to keep the gender a secret once again. I really think it is a girl and Jim really thinks it is a boy so I guess we will wait until Dec to see. The good thing is at least one of us is right!

Jake is growing so fast. I cannot believe that he will be 18 months old at the end of this month. He is talking all the time. He is our little parrot. Actually, the house is quiet right now. He is spending the night with his MeMa and Papa in Elko. I am sure that he is having a blast!

As I reflect on my life I see that I am truly blessed. God has chosen to give me a great husband and an awesome son!

We Are Pregnant

I have been planning to write to for weeks now, but big brother keeps me busy running around after him. I am currently 14 weeks into my pregnancy with Baby Sprout. A lot has already happened so I guess I better spend some time catching up.

We found in April that we were expecting. We went to see the Dr and he confirmed that we would be due in Dec. We are thinking approximately the 21 or 23. Although we would love for the little bundle to come a little earlier in the month so that the baby's birthday wouldn’t be so close to Christmas, but we will take whatever blessing God gives us.

So May 12 Jim and I went to see Dr. Cox for our first ultrasound. We were able to hear the heartbeat, which was 170. Since I found out I was pregnant with I thought that I was having a girl and I have always heard that high heartbeats could mean a girl. I guess we will wait and see what God has in store for us in December.

I went back to Dr. Cox June 6 for my 12 week check-up. He said that everything was looking great. The heartbeat this time was 150 which is exactly what Jake's was the whole time he was in my tummy.

I am still wearing my clothes and I haven’t gained as much weight at this point. I am sure that I will be wearing maternity clothes soon enough. I have really enjoyed this pregnancy. Even though I was sick until my 11th week God has been so good. I am able to stay home with Jake and rest during the day. Your daddy is so wonderful. He doesn’t mind if I take a nap everyday. He knows that I need my rest so that you can grow to be a healthy baby. I can’t wait to feel you move around in my belly.

Long week....

This has been a long week....Jake has been running a fever since Monday night and with that he hasn't been sleeping very well. Not sleeping well and whining all day make for a great combination. Jim and I didn't take him to the doctor because we thought his one-year molars were breaking through. Well he woke up this morning and his fever was gone, but I noticed he had a rash all over his body. Jim's mom came over for a while and she said that Jake had Roseola. I guess that proves that Jim and I aren't M.D.s. Hopefully, now we are on our way to a full nights sleep and more pleasant days. This mommy needs structure and consistency to function.

Great News

We just found out this morning that my g-daddy doesn't have any cancer in his neck. His Dr. did a biopsy on the area where he was supposed to have the surgery next week and the cancer is gone. What an awesome answer to many prayers!

Prayer for my G-Daddy

Jim, Jake and I went to Elko Monday and Tuesday. We had fun! Jake road on the tractor and 4-wheeler with Jim and I still don't know who enjoyed themselves more. They both wore their John Deere shirts on Tuesday. They were adorable.

While we were down we found out that my g-daddy has cancer in the lymph nodes in his neck. He is having surgery May 17 and they will be removing several major arteries and nerves from his neck and down his right arm. Please pray that God will calm his fears over the next few weeks and that this surgery will be what is needed to heal him. We will not know until after the surgery, but he may have to do chemo or radiation. Just pray when it comes to mind. God is always in control and all sufficient.

March Madness is Over For Me

I cannot believe that Duke lost to LSU! Okay, so my bracket is ruined. I guess I will just start cheering for the SEC. Jim and I are still counting points and so I still have a chance to win.

Happy Birthday to Me!

I love Birthdays! I think that everyday in March should be my birthday. Actually, my birthday was Sunday, March 19. I woke up to a sweet card from the two wonderful men in my life, Jim and Jake. Jake even signed his name; yes I know he is an advanced one year old. Our day was pretty busy. We went to church, out to lunch with some friends, and then a baby dedication. After the baby dedication Jim took me out to eat. It was a good day! BUT when I woke up Monday I found a surprise birthday card from Jim. He decided to celebrate my birthday on Monday also. He took me to the Mall of Georgia to walk around and let Jake play. This may not sound fun to you but I love to just go to the mall and walk around.

To sum up my birthday in one word it would be GREAT!
I am blessed to be able to share a life with such an awesome husband and serve an awesome God.

p.s. I am 27.

A Sad Day

Today is a sad day. It has been one month since I lost our second baby. This is also the day I was supposed to go to the Dr. for my first ultrasound since I would have been 9 weeks along in the pregnancy. Jim and I would have gotten to hear the baby's heart beat and see a blob on the screen. I was so looking forward to being pregnant and having a baby in October.
This is an excerpt from the journal entry I made the day we found about I was pregnant:
"We are really excited about you. Mommy is going to have so much fun feeling you kick and turn around while she chases Jake around the house. I love you and I pray that you are a healthy baby. I cannot wait to meet you in 8 more months."

I know that the Lord always answers my prayers. Our baby is now living with Jesus. This is my journal entry from the day we found out about our loss:
"I guess He decided that it would be better for you to live with Him. I rest in knowing that you are in perfect hands. There isn’t anyone better to take care of you. I do look forward to the day I can see you and hold you. You will always be mommy’s second baby."

I know that God is so good. "You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3