Merry Christmas from the Mauldins!

Snickers and Cashews and my best goofy look,

I couldn't ask for more!! :-)

Merry Christmas from the Mauldins! We hope each of you had a great Christmas as well. We had a great time, watching both our "babies" open Christmas presents. Of course, Zachary is the old pro, Samuel is the new guy. Big Bubba had to show him the ropes. Samuel was quite fond of the crinkly paper! :-)

If any of you are wondering why there is only one picture of Carrie in this little collection, she was either the one taking the pictures, or she didn't like the ones we had of her. She didn't want the others posted! :-)

Our boy looking far more like a young man
with his new church clothes.

Bubba, this Christmas thing ROCKS!!!!!!!!!

Zachary looking quite happy with his "big" gift this year!
(Video games, what else????) :-)

Cool! Bubba check this thing out!

Bubba show me how this unwrapping thing works again!

YES! What every 13 year old wants for Christmas,
A RAISED TOILET SEAT FOR HIS BATHROOM!!!!
OK, seriously, we just used the box, it was full of clothes! :-)

OH Yeah, I'm getting the hang of this now!

Bubba, I couldn't do this without ya,
but, if you think you are getting my toys, your crazy!

I bought Carrie a BMW for Christmas this year
(not pictured), it is in the driveway.
You didn't actually believe that did you? :-)
I couldn't afford a matchbox BMW!
Here are some of Carrie's gifts! :-)

The Mauldin's blessed this year with an unexpected bit
of business that provided a little money for Christmas.
We had to stretch it, but it was enough.
God is good, all the time!

Post Number Fifty

I'm mobile, and getting more so by the day,
LOOK OUT!!!!!

Hard to believe in eight short months we've reached fifty posts and almost 1,300 visitors! I've enjoyed working on the blog and the constant feedback has been a blast. We continue to receive emails about the blog, our boys, the family in general, and as usual they are encouraging and such a blessing. Not a lot of news really, Samuel is cutting two top front teeth and I've stapled Zachary's lips shut! :-) Samuel is close to crawling, really close. Right now, he is just a really talented dragger, not really a crawler. Just kind of drags himself around by his arms. I'm continuing to feel much better and Carrie is working too hard and doing too much, as usual. I've put together a little montage of recent pictures. I'll shut up, here they are, love you all:

I'm one of the BIG kids now!!!!!

This is the real me, slobber, snot,
and my police motorcycle,
doesn't get much better than this!

This is my Bubba's idea of baby sitting!!!
(Actually Zachary was watching the baby while Carrie and I worked
on something and Samuel LOVED being in the box!)

Bubba, you gotta show me how to do some tricks on this thing!

Pa Pa, I'm following in your footsteps!!!

HEY! Am I the only one who thinks the crossed suspenders looks geeky?

Bubba and me just chilling on the couch!

Yep! Dad taking more pictures of me sleeping! Well, I am kind of cute!

Don't worry about me,
I WOULD NEVER GET INTO ANY TROUBLE DOWN HERE!

Daddy, Bubba, and me getting a little snuggle time on the couch!
(Notice the food stain on my Daddy's shirt, what a slob!) :-)

You know, I think this Daddy guy loves me!

A Generation Apart

Hi everyone, check this out. As Samuel has gotten older, I've commented a couple of times about how much he was looking like my Dad in his baby picture. When we went home over the holidays, Candice dug the picture out, and the similarities were amazing! I've put together a couple of pictures that really show the similarities. I think you will be as amazed as we were. A generation apart, but still so very much alike:

My Dad, Michael Mauldin at 6 months old.

Samuel at about 6 1/2 months
(Look at the eyes, hair, nose, chin, etc...but not so much the smile)

Samuel again at about 6 1/2 months
(Note the smile and nose especially)

Bye Bye Braces

Pray for us, I think the no braces look makes him look two years older! Yikes!

After about 2 1/2 years, the braces are no more! He had a gorgeous smile before, but man does he have a great one now! His orthodontist really bragged on what a good job he had done taking care of them. One kiddo down, we'll play wait and see on Samuel. I'm sure by the time Samuel hits the age for braces, they'll cost us $20,000.00! :-)

Little britches actually had to go to the dentist himself today, with all two teeth!! We noticed that his teeth had what looked like cavities or dark stains on them, all of a sudden. Kind of freaked us out, its not like we put Dr. Pepper in his bottle or anything. Carrie got him an appointment with a pediatric dentist who checked him out and told us he thought it was iron build up, either from our water or his formula. They did a cleaning and they are sparkling white again. We brush his little teeth all the time, but it won't brush off, but it can be removed by a dentist. We are supposed to watch it over the next couple of months He will go back in three months for another check up and cleaning. Looks like pearly whites all around!

Overdue Update

Da Da, I can't believe you would think that I could ever
be mischievous or in the least little way get into ANY trouble at all?????
(The look on that face says IT ALL!!!) :-)

We had a lot of fun over the Thanksgiving holiday. We were able to spend a little time with my Mom and her crew and a little more time with My Dad and that bunch as well. We were able to see a few folks from Hickory Street, our last church, on Saturday before we left town. That was great!

Everyone is doing great! The boys are growing like weeds and after all of that food over the holiday, I'm sure I am too! :-)

I did get my test results back that we've been waiting on. As some of you know, my doctor has been looking into whether I might have Lyme's Disease. Lyme's Disease would explain not only the long term symptoms I have suffered with, but also the more recent episodes of extreme muscle weakness, etc. Well, for any of you familiar with my track record, you guessed it, inconclusive! I believe the exact word she used, was indeterminate! My previous doctor called me an enigma, defined by Webster as a mystery: something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained. That would be yours truly! :-) The test results did show some very clear evidence of something lurking in the blood, likely Lyme's disease. They are going to continue the treatment, which we THINK has been a big part of my recent improvement. The good news is, after continued treatment, likely about two years, I SHOULD, if it turns out to be Lyme's, be disease and symptom free! Yep, completely cured! I'll be retested in a month or so, and the treatment should have more time to drive the Lyme's out of my cells and into the blood stream for a more conclusive diagnosis. Thank you for all your continued prayers! Please keep them up!

Here are a few more recent pictures:

Yep! Won't be long till I climb up and out of this old bed, then, LOOK OUT!

You guys are SSSOOO funny!

What do you mean NO? What does that mean?
Don't think I like that word!

Seven Month Milestones and a New Video

I AIN'T AFRAID OF NO SNAKE! or
DaDa, why don't you send a resume to
one of those snake handling churches!
"I Ain't Scared!"

I know it sounds like a broken record, but we just can't believe how fast our boys are growing up. Zachary is rapidly approaching 14, just 3 months away. Can we say "driver's permit!" SCARY! Samuel has already turned 7 months and his first Christmas is just around the corner.

Zachary is doing super. He is homeschooling this year and is excelling like you wouldn't believe. In less than 3 months he is nearly 2/3s of the way through a very hard and thorough Algebra 1 curriculum. He should finish two years of High school math this year, he is an eighth grader! He is excelling in all of his subject areas. He is a VERY mature young man, both physically and emotionally. The hard part is watching him get "checked out" by girls MUCH older than him. They have no idea he is only 13! We were in a restaurant the other day and a bus load of college girls was in there. You guessed it! AAGGHH! Of course, you know Zachary hated every minute of the attention. I know they didn't think he was college age, but I'll bet you they had no idea he was just 13! We won't be in trouble until Zachary realizes he is as good looking as he is! Then, look out!

Samuel turned seven months old on the 16th of November. He weighs about 25 + lbs. and is wearing 12 mo. to 18 mo. clothes! He is off the charts, both in weight and height. He is just a huge kid! Don't get me wrong, he is perfect, just big for his age being an understatement! For those of you who saw him back in either June or August, you will not believe him when you see him! We are going to be in Arkansas for a few days around Thanksgiving, and I know my family will flip out! He is going to be a giant, don't know where he would get that from? He still only has two teeth, on the bottom and in the front. I call him my little "backwards beaver". If you don't want to lose something, don't get it near his mouth! He is an accomplished public speaker, he often tries to drown out everyone with continuing, loud declarations of "Da Da Da, Da Da, aghhhh, Da Da Da Da" and so forth and so on. You know I hate that! :-)

**Don't miss the new video posted at the bottom of this post!!**

Can you see the resemblance? Yep, both our mouths are open ALL THE TIME! :-)

Them Mauldin boys are hard to beat!

My VERY handsome family if I do say so myself, and I do!
(A copy of a previous picture with a little more of the background left in it)

This bridge is a favorite place to take pictures around Denton,
about a mile from our house.


A few more family shots on our "Picture Day", taken in a gazebo at our church.

A few more snapshots:

Bubba, have I told you lately, "You da bomb!"

Yep, another picture of me sleeping, Da Da just can't resist!

I was saying.......

Not much more I love in this world than my Bubba!

OK Da Da, you are starting to bore me!

(Actually, it was after midnight, and "Stamina Boy" still hadn't given up the fight!)

This video was taken right before the picture above, can't believe he was still going strong. We had made a late evening trip to Wal-Mart, and after we got home, little britches got a BIG dose of his second wind. Cracked us up!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yep! I'm blessed with a pretty awesome family!

Recent family snapshot after church on the Old Alton bridge, about a mile from our house. Sorry for the lack of posts lately. Been really busy. I'm still doing quite well compared to before. I'll try and post a lengthy post soon. Lots of new pictures, more milestones, and some bits of news. Keep us in your prayers, love you all!

New Pictures and Health Update

MAN! I'm loving this park swing!!!!

Hello All,

We have finally gone over 1,000 visitors to this website. We actually probably did that a couple of months ago, because I haven't had the visitor counter (at the bottom) the whole time the site has been active. Kind of hard to believe if you think about it. I don't think we are giving Yahoo or Google anything to worry about, but 1,000 visits is quite a bit!

On that note, no doubt the many visitors have been responsible for the many prayers on our behalf. After more than five years of hell, and the last two years being far, far worse, I am finally experiencing some relief. Don't get me wrong, I still don't feel well, I'm very weak, still in pain, and just all around don't feel great, but the difference today and just weeks ago, is profound! I'm able to go and do like I haven't in years. I feel much, much better! I certainly thank all of you for your prayers, without them, I KNOW I wouldn't be where I am right now. Thank you and may God bless you!

Day to day life keeps moving along, Samuel is almost 7 months old now. Can you believe it? Zachary is closer to 14 than 13 and is getting so big and tall. He is becoming such a fine young man. We sure couldn't handle all we do without him. Maybe I should raise his allowance? Lets see, a 50 % increase of nothing is ?????? :-)

Here are some recent pictures of the crew:

What? Can a boy not play with his toys without an audience???

OK, this hat is becoming increasingly NO FUN! or
What? This is how all the cool kids where it!

Yeah I'm cute, but Dad you seriously need to think about a diet!! :-)

I'm even serious about my sleeping!!!

Yep! We make pretty babies!