Jason and Diana

It's the Dad Life

2010-07-07T11:49:00.004-05:00

Jason here. I just HAD to share a video that Drake sent me - it is one of the best one's I've ever seen, and the funniest.

Here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZa7hU6tP_s&feature=related

Exciting News...

2010-04-28T07:29:00.002-05:00

First of all, We have a new Niece.... Katherine Lyn Snuggs was born Sunday, April 25th weighing
8' 12 oz and is 20in. long. She is so pretty with lots of dark hair and looks a lot like her big brother did when he was born. We are so grateful to the Lord for bringing her into our family and our girls are very excited about baby Katherine and another cousin to play with.

Our other big news is that we have a contract on our house AND as of yesterday we also have a contract on a new house for us. We love it...it is in Russet Woods and on a pretty cul de sac with a great yard. We will close on May 27th and begin moving that weekend. We are so thankful for God's timing and have been reminded how perfect it is! He has taken care of us over the past year and now picked the perfect buyer for our house and the right house for us to buy.

I plan to post some pictures of the girls and our house soon!!

A few recent pictures of the girls

2010-02-18T22:18:00.006-06:00

x
Mallory 6 months old
Tate 7 months old

A sweet friend of mine from work gave the girls these beautiful matching gowns that I love! This was actually one of the warmer days we had several weeks ago. We are definitely ready for some warmer weather around here now!

They grow so fast....

2010-01-08T10:05:00.004-06:00

Mallory is now 5 months old and we can hardly believe how fast the time has gown by. Just like everyone tells you....they really do grow so fast. We have had so much fun learning Mallory's likes and dislikes and her little personality. She is a good natured, sweet, healthy baby and we are truly thankful to have 2 healthy, happy girls. I have also posted a few of my favorite pics from Christmas this year. As we celebrated Mallory's first Christmas it was hard to believe that it was Tate's 3rd! And, this was the first year that we were able to share with her what we were celebrating at Christmas and she really understood and enjoyed learning about Jesus and celebrating his birthday.

Much to be thankful for....

2009-11-27T14:07:00.002-06:00

This Thanksgiving, our family has so much to be thankful for and we had a great visit with our family in Chattanooga...Mallory's first visit! We hope you and your family had a very Happy Thanksgiving!

From our 2 little turkeys! Tate- 2 1/2 , Mallory- 3 1/2 mo.

Fall Fun & Mallory 9 weeks

2009-10-20T13:19:00.004-05:00

Mallory -9 weeks old

Tate (2 1/2) and Reid at the Pumpkin Patch

Mallory and big sissy Tate before church

Mallory is such a sweet baby and we love seeing her smile and even laugh sometimes too. She is growing quickly and we are seeing her own little personality develop. We are so thankful for Jason's new job and we are truly blessed with healthy, happy girls!

Home sweet home...

2009-09-01T12:06:00.007-05:00

Mallory is now almost fours weeks old and so sweet! Our first few weeks home have been going well. Tate is a sweet big sis who loves to "love on" and check on Mallory. Mallory is gaining weight and was 8 lbs at her 3 week check up. I just wanted to share a few pictures of our new family of four!

"Long, Party of 4"

2009-08-06T16:08:00.002-05:00

Hey, Jason here! I just wanted to introduce my newest little girl to the world... so, here it goes...

Ladies & Gentlemen, it is with great honor and the pride that only a father could harness, to introduce to you Mallory Elizabeth Long!

Mallory was born on August 5th, 2009 @ 8:50am. She was 7lbs 5oz and was 20.5 inches, has beautiful dark hair, and dark blue eyes (for now). Diana did great throughout the morning, and for me, it was awesome being in the OR watching everything and being with D.

We are so blessed to have such a healthy, beautiful, new little girl, and as you can see from the pictures, so is big sister Tate! Tate is so excited to have a little sis that she can call her very own. It's enough to make a daddy's heart melt...

Celebrating Mallory!

2009-06-27T10:03:00.004-05:00

My generous family and friends honored me and Mallory with a sprinkle last weekend. We had a wonderful lunch and delicious cake. I received so many wonderful gifts and many that were personalized for Mallory. Thank you Holly, Amanda, Miranda and Michelle for planning such a special day for me! And, to all of my friends who took the day to help us celebrate Mallory's soon arrival. I love you all! Mallory's first baby doll (baby huggums) from GiGi

The hostesses: Amanda, Miranda, me, Holly, and Michelle

Kathryn, Lindsay, Christen, me, and Michelle

My mother in law - Mallory and Tate's Pug

My Mom- Gi Gi

My beautiful strawberry cake....so yummy!

Thanks Daddy!

2009-06-23T07:48:00.004-05:00

Happy Father's Day to these wonderful Dad's and Grandfathers that mean so much to me, Jason, and Tate! We enjoyed a great day celebrating with these guys that take such great care of us and the little ones. We love you and appreciate all that you do!!
Tate, Jason, and Paw Paw in Chattanooga

My Dad and Tate and Reid's Pop Pop

Jason with Emmie, Huey- Papa, and Tate and Uncle Jeremy

Jason, Tate and Reid and his daddy Uncle Randy

Happy 2nd Birthday Tate!

2009-05-10T22:53:00.002-05:00

We celebrated Tate's 2nd Birthday with our family and friends yesterday. We had a Bubble Party for Tate this year and I think it was a hit with Tate and her friends. Thank you to all of our family and friends who shared in making this day so special for Jason, me, and Tate!

Tate and her bubble wand

Reid, Georgia, Maggie and Tate doing their own thing!

Tate enjoyed her strawberry cupcake...really mostly the icing

Tate's big gift from Mommy, Daddy, Poppa, Pug, Gi Gi and Pop Pop - A Barbie Jeep!

She loved learning to drive her new ride and having "bubba" right beside her

Happy Birthday Tate Tate (as she calls herself) We love you very much and can't believe we are celebrating your second birthday. You are a wonderful blessing and we enjoy each day with you, watching you grow and change into such a little lady!

Back On Market

2009-05-04T13:09:00.002-05:00

Ok, gonna keep this short... Our house is back on the market. The purchaser-to-be that we had a contract with lost his job this weekend, and can no longer get financing. HUGE BUMMER.

Our realtor is doing everything she can to bring us another buyer, and we are doing all we can to help (praying a lot!).

Spring Photos

2009-04-30T08:17:00.004-05:00

Tuesday was such a beautiful day, that after picking up Tate from school (this is Jason, by the way), stopping by Wendy's to pick up a Frosty (chocolate, of course), and going to the Bessemer Airport to watch plans take off and land (all while eating said Frosty), we decided to go home and play outside. With Tate looking as cute as ever, I had to grab the camera for some photo opps...

Seems like Tate's legs get longer and longer... and her face, cuter and cuter!

She enjoyed looking through the holes in the fence...

Too precious to pass up on this one...

She enjoyed the dogs running up and down the hill behind our house...

Just thought I'd share a few photos of Tate that I thought were too good not to share! Thanks for letting a dad rave about his family for a bit!

We're "Under Contract"

2009-04-14T14:23:00.003-05:00

Hey, Jason here. That's right, I'm actually posting a blog... Can't help it - too excited.

I just wanted to get on here and spin a bit of good news in light of this "dreary" economy. Diana & I are happy to announce that as of May 27th, we will be the proud owners (okay, "co-owners" - thanks to Wells Fargo Home Mortgage) of the beautiful home you see above! Last weekend we were fortunate enough to receive an offer that was in the general vicinity of our asking price so we countered, and they accepted our counter! Most of you already knew that we had a contingency contract on the home above, and to make matters more interesting, the owners of that home also received a non-contingent offer the same weekend we did, but did a great job of stalling for us to see how ours turned out. As the Good Lord would have it, things turned out extremely well. So here we are, a little over a week later, and all inspections have been performed and the mortgage applications sent in and signed. We are officially "Under Contract", and everything looks great on both sides of the table in terms of seeing this thing through to the closing.

Instead of writing out everything about our soon-to-be new home, just take a look for yourself. Diana & I hope you like it, and if you don't... we don't care, we're moving into it anyway - we're really going to need the room with daughter #2 coming in August! If you are good, we may even invite you over for dinner sometime! (But you have to help us move in first) :-)

By the way, if you ever need a realtor, Lynn Horne with ReMax Southern Homes is your girl.

IT'S A GIRL!!

2009-03-18T22:33:00.003-05:00

I'm so excited... and I just can't hide it!

We are happy to announce that we will be having another girl and a little sister for Tate. We are not really sure if Tate does understand that she will be having a little sister but hopefully she will warm up to the idea by August. Everything looked great on the ultrasound and we are measuring right with my due date at 19 weeks 3 days. We were so excited to share our big news with our families today and now with our friends!

What a beautiful day!

2009-03-01T20:42:00.003-06:00

Like most families, we enjoyed some playtime in the snow this morning. With all of the trees and ground covered it was a beautiful sight to wake up to. It was a lot of fun to watch Tate experience the snowfall and tasting the snow off the ground....she wouldnt stop eating it!

We also celebrated today with Jeremy and Michelle as they dedicated Emily to the Lord this morning. They had a lot of family in town to share in this wonderful day including Jason and Jeremy's grandparents below...Nanny and Paw Paw.

Michelle and her sweet girl Emily

Playtime with my cousins

2009-03-01T20:25:00.002-06:00

Reid and Tate have their own special way of learning their letters!

Tate wanted to hold her baby cousin's hand....so sweet!

Emily Jane Long 4 1/2 weeks old

We had a wonderful visit with Emily and Aunt Chelle as usual.

Emily is getting so big and opening her beautiful eyes more and more.

We have a Niece!

2009-01-26T15:55:00.005-06:00

Jeremy giving us all the exciting news that they were the new parents to a Baby Girl!!!
Doesn't Michelle look great?

Miss Emily Jane Long

Sweet kisses from Daddy

We are so proud to announce that Emily Jane Long arrived Saturday, January 24th at 1:32 p.m. She weighed 7lbs 10 oz and was 20 inches long. She has a beautiful head full of long, brown hair. Jeremy and Michelle are doing great and adjusting to parenthood so naturally. Emily is so blessed to have such loving parents who are so thankful to the Lord for such a wonderful gift. We are very excited as well to be an Aunt and Uncle again and for the first time to a precious little girl, our first niece.

Pray

2009-01-06T14:39:00.004-06:00

Well, as many of you know, we have been in the market for new house and have actually found one in Russet Woods (Hoover) that is exactly 1 mile from our current home. It's a 4br 2.5bath with a good yard, finished basement, and a covered deck. We've put a contingent contract on it, so part of the equation is in place. Now the hard part... selling ours.

Our house officially went on the market today, so now all we can really do is pray and wait... and pray... and pray more. Please take a moment and hit a knee that the Lord would bring us a serious buyer in this crazy market; that our house is exactly what they've been looking for, and that the process goes smoothly and expeditiously. If you're curious, or know a buyer :-), here's the link (click on the picture)...

Of course, we will keep you posted on how everything goes.

...And now for the details!

2009-01-05T22:20:00.001-06:00

I wanted to expand a little on Jason's earlier post. Yes, it's true.... we are expecting baby Long #2 due August 9, 2009. So, I am 9 weeks along. We are very excited and so thankful to the Lord for the gift of another baby. We told both of our families using Tate and her "big sis" shirt to make the announcement for us. We are not sure if Tate really understands that mommy is going to have a baby just yet but she did like the attention she got wearing her new shirt!

Lots In Store for 2009!

2009-01-05T14:40:00.005-06:00

Back from Arky

2008-12-18T11:30:00.000-06:00

Myself and a crew of 6 other guys returned Tuesday from a duck hunt in Arkansas. We had a blast, even though the ducks weren't flying like we had hoped. It was really odd, when we got to Des Arc on Sunday, it was 63 degrees -- when we woke up at 4 a.m. on Monday, it was 29 degrees with 20-25mph winds and raining. You would think that the front would have pushed more birds down, but that was not the case. Tuesday morning was a little better, and a LOT colder. 20 degress with a wind chill of 8 degrees. All in all, we harvested about 35 mallards and pintails, a GW teal, a speckle-belly goose, 4 ring-necks (for dog training), and a 2 "uh-oh's"... don't ask. ~Jason

The Foundry Christmas Dinner

2008-12-08T14:20:00.008-06:00

We have served the men of The Foundry in Bessemer Christmas dinner for the past 3 years and enjoyed our time there again this year. The night is an opportunity for the community to serve and honor men who are taking steps to battle drug and alcohol addiction. With help from friends of 2 other churches and a large group from A & O we prepared a delicious three course meal and presented the men with Target gift cards. It was a humbling night for us and we truly enjoy seeing first hand how God is working in the lives of men who are learning about His love and truth.

Tate 18 months

2008-11-23T13:59:00.002-06:00

November-- Oak Mountain with Holly, Randy,
& Reid

We enjoyed a beautiful Fall day at Oak Mountain a few weeks ago. Tate (18mo) and Reid (19mo) love being outside and playing together.

Tate is now 18 months old and we are having so much fun with her. Jason and I seem to say every couple of months that this is our favorite age and then we seem to feel the same way all over again as she grows and changes.

Tate loves to dance to any music playing whether it be

in the car, on TV, or mommy and daddy singing to her.

She is saying all kinds of cute new words, repeating and mimicking most anything we say. However one of her favorite words right now is "no" which can be difficult at times, but I must admit she sounds so cute saying it with her sweet voice.

Tate loves reading books together and enjoys saying her animal sounds as she sees them.

Tate loves her cousin Reid or "bubba" as she calls him. She made this nickname up all by herself and she gets so excited when she sees him.

She is also crazy about another man in her life....she loves her daddy and knows each evening when it is about time for daddy to be home she starts looking outside and saying daddy, daddy. Anytime we see a truck on the road similar to jason's she calls out daddy. No one can make her laugh quite like daddy can especially when he is tickling her!

All in all, we think Tate is pretty wonderful and we love our time watching her grow and learn and change so quickly. We now truly realize how time does pass so quickly and that helps us to appreciate the more challenging days and weeks. We are looking forward to spending Thanksgiving in Chattanooga this upcoming week....of course new pictures to follow soon.

I've been Tagged....

2008-10-31T15:16:00.002-05:00

I was "Tagged" by Courtney to blog on 7 things about myself...I chose 7 things that you might not know about me....so here it goes!

1) My middle name is Lea.

2) I email almost everyday, but only recently learned how to attach a document

3) I like to come up with nicknames for people and call my sister Doby and Jason- J or JJ and have oh so many nicknames for my little Tatters

4) I once played the washboard with a band in front of an audience in New Orleans

5) I like to squeeze people's earlobes ( I prefer unattached earlobes)

6) I was head Majorette my Junior and Senior years of high school

7) My sister Holly and I shared a 1990 Honda Accord throughout high school and for 2 years of college.

** I Tag Michelle and Kathryn

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-24T14:32:00.009-05:00

We joined some friends from Alpha and Omega for a beautiful day at The Great Pumpkin Patch last Saturday in Hayden. We had a great time....there was so much for the kids to do. We also enjoyed taking some fun, fall photos of Tate. Here she is (above) dancing to the fun music they had for all of the kids in the pavilion area.

Her first pony ride....she liked it and didn't want to get off!

Tate enjoyed seeing cows, goats, and chickens at the petting zoo

Picking pumpkins....or rolling them on the ground as Tate enjoyed doing

War Eagle anyway...

2008-10-13T22:10:00.004-05:00

This past weekend, we decided to take Tate for her first (of many) trips to The Plains. We went down to see some of Diana's sorority sisters... and all the kids! She had a great time, especially riding around campus in her personal chariot (a.k.a. Radio Flyer). We hope she grows up loving Auburn as much as we do, and Diana & I look forward to making many more memories with our family (however big it gets) down there. And yes, in case you begin to wonder, the outfits you see the girls in were hand-made!

AnnElyse (11 mos) & Tate (17 mos)

Tate's 1st Haircut

2008-10-13T21:59:00.004-05:00

We decided to have Tate's hair trimmed just a little in the back. It was becoming a little unmanageable. We took her to "Sweet and Sassy" the cutest hairplace that specializes in children's haircuts. Tate did really well, she was entertained by the spray bottle and reading a few books. Here are a few pictures from her big day!

Fun with Gi Gi & Poppa at the Park

2008-10-02T20:11:00.011-05:00

Gi Gi and Tate and Aunt Holly and Reid

Let's go for a ride Reid!

Tate had such a fun day, as usual, with her GiGi & Poppa while mommy was working. Playing at the park this past Wednesday was even more fun because Aunt Holly and Reid came over for a visit as well. Thank you GiGi and Poppa for all you do for us and for Tate and Reid. I know that they love their time with you both and we appreciate all you do for us!

Destin- Day 4-6

2008-09-18T15:58:00.006-05:00

Well, I figured it is about time for me to actually post a blog. So here it goes...short and sweet!

I am slowly learning that sewing and smocking are hobbies that take time and patience. These hobbies are ones that require a "mother's love" which gives you the energy to work and finish a project even when exhausted and exasperated. However, I do enjoy sewing for Tate and I especially enjoy seeing her model the finished outfit. My latest project is a bubble that I have actually been working on and off for the whole summer. You can see in the pictures below just how cute she looks!

Reid looking handsome in his monogrammed Johnny that Holly sewed for him!

Destin - Day 3

2008-09-15T21:22:00.008-05:00

Today was a 'pool day', as opposed to a beach day. The only time we went to the beach was later this evening - Diana, Tate & I took a walk out to the beach at about 5:30. The weather forecast for today called for a 50% chance of thunderstorms, and I would say that it was a fairly accurate prediction, as for about half the day it was hit or miss in terms of whether or not we were going to get wet. It would be sunny/partly cloudy for a period of time, but then all of a sudden, it would get pretty dark overhead, but not rain -- then be partly cloudy again. Finally, at about 4pm, the bottom fell out and it gave us a good soaking. Luckily, we were already back at the house either smocking (Holly & Diana), napping (Jason, Tate, Reid & Gayle) or making a Target run (John & Randy).

Tonight, after feeding and bathing the kid-o's, we had ourselves an oyster feast. Oysters Rockefeller, broiled oysters, grilled oysters, grilled shrimp, and even chicken & broccoli casserole (if you really didn't want seafood).

Now there's only a few of us still going. The girls are smocking...

...and I am waiting for David Letterman to start! Tomorrow is supposed to be a very nice day for the beach, so hopefully we'll have some more pictures to share. Good night from FL!

Made it to the Beach!

2008-09-14T20:51:00.014-05:00

Well, we made it down to the beach yesterday, and are looking forward to a full week of sun, fun and pure relaxation. The ride down was nice, other than trying to find somewhere to get gas in Andalusia. Every gas station we passed had no fuel, but finally, we found one that did. Tate did pretty good on the drive down. She only slept for about 40 minutes the whole trip, but thankfully GiGi and Diana were in the back with her; that kept her occupied and generally happy. She started coming apart at the seams when we got on Hwy 98, but we were only 5 minutes from our destination at that point. She was just tired of being in the car seat, and frankly, so were we!

Once we got here, unpacked, and stocked up at the grocery store, it was time to watch Auburn play a baseball game against Miss. St. -- at least that's what the score looked like. At least we won. I hope we can say the same thing next week after LSU comes to town.

This morning, we all got up and headed for the beach! Below are some pictures (we'll try to add more as the week goes along)...

Our house (at least for the week!)

Yeah!!! We're here!!!

Million dollar smile...

What is this stuff on my hand?!?!?!?

Let's build a castle!!!

Back to Reality... and School!

2008-09-02T22:04:00.007-05:00

Well, Labor Day has come and gone... the one weekend you really hate to see fade away, as it represents the unofficial end of constant summer fun. BUT, we had a blast! We spent the weekend at Diana's parents' lakehouse in the water, in the boat, and in the sun! The whole crew was there including us ~ Jordan (came up from Auburn) ~ Holly, Randy & Reid ~ John & Gayle ~ Nancy ~ and Brian, Ruth & Owen. It was a full house, but those are the times you really remember for a long time.

Here's a little video documenting our big weekend...

The Wheels on the Bus Go 'Round and 'Round...

Today was Tate's first day of "school"... well, Mother's Day Out, but it sure felt like school! We were packing lunches, extra clothes, diapers, nametags, "About Me" posters, etc... We even had to turn in a sheet with her likes, dislikes, fears, comforts, favorite foods, and all about her family! Whew! That being the first time we've had to summarize it all on one sheet of paper, it was pretty challenging to "describe" our beautiful little girl in 150 words or less. Sort of surreal, too.

Here she is before leaving for her first day...

When Diana picked her up this afternoon, the teacher said "She cried on and off, but she ate all of her lunch!". Not exactly the first words you want to hear after your kid's first day of school. At least she has her cousin Reid to stick with ~ they're actually in the same "Little Lambs" class together (what a blessing!). Hopefully it will get better, and we will just continue to pray that she plays well with others and has fun. We'll also keep the teachers in our prayers -- not only that they will teach our kids with the same love as Jesus would, but that they have the same patience He would, too!

The Upcoming Weekend

2008-08-28T21:51:00.006-05:00

We just wanted to quickly tell everyone to have a great Labor Day weekend! We will be down at the lake, playing in the water, watching Auburn win, Alabama lose, and enjoying one of the last lake weekends of the summer.

Keep an eye on Gustav...

...it could be a major headache for next week. Hope everyone has a fun, safe weekend!

WAR EAGLE!

Hello World...

2008-08-25T09:48:00.006-05:00

Well... here we are.

After a long, hard-fought battle, with all of those around us falling victim to html edits, widgets, and "custom designed" websites, we too have fallen into the perils of the 'blogger nation'.

I often exercise the addage "under-promise, over-deliver". Diana & I believe, in the case of this blog, these words will ring true -- at least the first half of the phrase. As a reader, you should not expect much in terms of fancy, insightful, life-wise, or even routinely updated. No. As a reader, this blog will work best if we, as authors, do a good job up front of setting the expectations as low as humanly possible. Sure, there will be some good moments - some funny stories, some emotional ones, and then some that you wish we would have just kept to ourselves and not shared with the whole world, but such is life. If you're really reading this blog for motivation or inspiration to carry on throughout your day, then allow me to direct your attention to this poster.

Point is, you'll see some good pictures, cool links, and overall fun stuff on this blog. We hope you enjoy, and remember... don't expect so much. ~Jason