Buzz and zzzzz's

We have had this vision of Jalen with a huge fro and have been growing out his hair for almost a year. When stretched out, his hair reaches below his shoulders. Unfortunately, Jalen is a crazy boy and his hair is often home to sticks, stones and other foreign objects. It has gotten to the point where it takes me as long to brush through Jalen's hair as it does Baylie's. Plus Jalen has told me lately that he looks like a lady. We decided it's time to chop the locks. 

Before

The initial scissor cut.

To show the difference in the color of their hair.

After

Jalen LOVES it! His face splits in a grin every time he looks in the mirror. I probably cut it a tad too short, but it will grow. In fact, Jalen was pretty sure that when he got in the shower his hair would grow like a flower. I'm not sure what he was envisioning with that one.

Earlier in the day Baylie had her first dance lesson. She was beyond excited. She has wanted to dance ever since she could walk. I finally caved and it was great. A friend told me about a little consignment shop where I was able to get tap shoes, ballet shoes, a leotard and a tutu for around $30. Awesome!

We had Music Makers prior to dance and afterwards we went grocery shopping. The kids were wiped out. Easiest shopping trip ever!

 It's been a crazy busy day at the Batchelor pad!

I had to throw this picture in as a bonus.

Bye-Bye Butterfly Bush

I have wondered if/when we should trim back our butterfly bush. Well, apparently we should have. Baylie called me over to look at the bush. At first I thought there was just ice sitting on the stems. Then as I got closer, I thought that some kind of a cottony substance was bursting from inside the plant.

But upon touching it, I realized that it was actually ice! Somehow water got inside the stems, froze and burst it open from the inside.

Craziness! I've never seen anything like it.

Home Again, Home Again

Baylie cried and cried today when we left my parents' house. I tried to explain how lucky we are to see them so often when her cousins haven't seen them in over a year, but that doesn't really register for a four year old.

The drive from North Carolina through northern Georgia to South Carolina is so beautiful, regardless of the time of year. It was freezing cold in North Carolina - mid 30's. It didn't warm up until we got to South Carolina - mid 50's.

Frozen water trickling down a rocky hillside right next to the highway.

Looking out over the Chattooga River on the border between South Carolina and Georgia.

Crossing the state line.

Whenever we visit my parents we drive through Clemson, but we had never driven by the campus. After seeing the pictures my sister took, I decided I wanted to see it too. What a beautiful campus. I was really impressed. Of course, being my father's daughter, I had to take pictures of the football stadium.

Memorial Stadium - it doesn't look as big as USC's, but actually seats more.

Taken through the car window.

As sad as the kids were to leave, they were equally happy to get home, swing in the backyard and play with their own toys. And of course, they were super excited to see their daddy. It's always good to come home.

Ya'all From PETA?

We had planned to head out for a full day again, but the kids were beat and ended up falling asleep at about 11:30 for two hours. When they finally woke up, ate and were ready to do something, we headed out for Brasstown, home of the famous Possum Drop at Clay's Corner. 

Clay's Corner - sign reads: "There ain't no place like this place anywhere near this place, so this must be the place."

In Brasstown, rather than drop a crystal ball to ring in the new year, they drop an opossum. However, this year PETA filed lawsuits to stop the drop. Rumor has it, they dropped road kill this year. When I got out of the car to take pictures, Clay Logan, owner of Clay's Corner and founder of the Possum Drop asked me, "Ya'll from PETA?" He went on to say that it was 50/50 whether people taking pictures were friends or enemies. I assured him I was a friend.  (Go HERE for some awesome possum and other Southern jokes.)

Pole from which the oppossum is dropped.

Brasstown is also home to the John C. Campbell Folk School. From Wikipedia: The School was founded to nurture and preserve the folk arts of the Appalachian Mountains, it is an non-profit adult educational organization based on non-competitive learning. Founded in 1925, the Folk School’s motto is “I sing behind the plow."

Some buildings at the school.  (There are several similar buildings that make up the school community.)

After Brasstown, we went to Hanging Dog. I'm pretty sure Baylie was disappointed that there wasn't actually a dog hanging anywhere.

Nothing like southern precision. (Not sure why the sign couldn't have been placed 2/10ths of a mile down the road.)

We headed up the mountain through more beautiful country.

We ended the field trip at Lake Hiwassee. It was a beautiful spot where we decided to skip rocks.

Unfortunately, I showed an incredible lack of coordination and ended up nailing Baylie in the side of the head with a rock. I was standing right next to her and had a little trouble with my follow through. Poor little girl was shocked and hurt. Fortunately, there was no blood or serious injury. It was definitely an America's Funniest Home Movies moment, sans the video.

Tomorrow morning we head home. It's been a fun, quick visit.

Happy Birthday, Mountain Mamma (isn't that a John Denver song?)

Since Monday was a holiday and also happened to be my mom's birthday, the kids and I decided to make a quick trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains to visit my parents. It was a fun surprise for my mom, and the kids and I always love visiting my parents. We left David home to study.

The kids shared a little breakfast with the cat that has become a semi-permanent resident on my parent's front porch.

I was skimming through a guidebook my parents have about North Carolina and realized that they live right by an area that is known for its waterfalls, so we decided to check them out. It was a beautiful drive and the waterfalls did not disappoint.

Even before we got to the waterfalls, we passed rapids that were stunning and so loud.

Please enjoy THIS sideways video. (I hate it when I do that!)

The first big falls we came to were called Dry Falls. They were huge and you could hike down and walk behind them. They were blocked off at this time of year, but you could still get close to the falls. I definitely want to go back when the trail behind the falls is open.

From the side - normally you would be allowed to continue behind the waterfall from here. 

Notice the icicles. This is right by the falls.

And another sideways video HERE.

The next waterfall was called Bridal Veil Falls. Normally you can drive behind it, but today it was blocked for everything but foot traffic.

From the back side.

This was our first glimpse of Highlands. What a breathtaking place!

Highlands is a quaint little town that is obviously geared to tourists with lots of hotels, inns, galleries and specialty shops.

It was a really fun, beautiful day and I'm grateful I could spend it with my fun, beautiful mother. She's an amazing lady and I couldn't ask for a better example of how to be a woman, a mother or a missionary.

Happy Birthday, Jalen!

Three years ago today, Jalen was born. We wouldn't learn of his existence until the following day, resulting in our traveling across the country for 13 hours in order to finally meet him. We had only updated our paperwork five days before his birth as a result of several very spiritual experiences telling us that we needed to get ready for his arrival. To date, his adoption is the most spiritual experience of my life. I still remember the feeling of walking into the hospital room and seeing him and his birth mother. It's impossible to describe what that experience is like. He was so precious. So beautiful. I am so grateful to be his mother.

The past three years have passed in a whirlwind and this little man is a whirling dervish. He is a bundle of energy that bounces off walls and people with equal abandon. He has dimples that will melt your heart. I feel a special connection with him that I really can't explain.

Whenever I bake, he likes me to turn on the oven light so he can sit and watch.

He wanted a Spiderman cake. I am not a cake-making expert, but I was pleased with the results (even if Spiderman was as big as the skyscrapers).

Jalen wanted pizza for his birthday, so we took him to Chuck E. Cheese. He and Baylie were both ecstatic.

He's started trying to hide from getting his picture taken, so this is him ducking under the table.

He rode the merry go round over and over and over and over...

Rockin'

We got him a bike (Goodwill $8!). He was way more excited about the Playschool garage Baylie picked out for him (Goodwill $2!).

The cake was getting a little tipsy by the time we ate it.

But Jalen didn't mind!

We love this little boy so much. He brings so much joy into our home.