Team Bickers

An outpouring of THANKS!

2012-01-30T07:20:00.001-08:00

I just want to say thank you to all of my true friends, Facebook friends who I may not see often or just friends that I have had for years that decided to either comment, message, call , text or email me about my blog post a few weeks ago. I didn't expect the overwhelming response that I got, but am so thankful for every single bit of feedback given to me. I had a little feeling lots of other moms are going through the same thing as me, but gosh, it's nice to know that so many women feel the same way I do. It's horrible on one end that we all feel this way from time to time, but who doesn't want someone else in their boat when going through a hard time...someone to lean on and who understands your place in time.

Since I had so many moms give their feedback and concern, I wanted to share one specific bit of info with you. Everyone's comments or words really meant a lot to me, but this one email I received really stuck out like a sore thumb and I thought if it helped me get outta my little slump it may help someone else. This person wished to remain anonymous, but she did give me permission to post this. She knows who she is and I thank her for every word she wrote.

Here is her message:

Bless your heart. I just read your blog... and I can imagine you've shed some tears over this. I remember you always being quite the optimist. As much as I hate to say your friends are right about jealousy - that's still what it is. No - women cannot look at what they don't have, and live with it. It's idealistic to assume that most can. In fact, you will have to keep searching a very long time, dismissing friends along the way, to find one who isn't going to leave you for being just the way you are. Ally, I have ONE great friend. She's been my best friend since I was 4. I have people who come and go - but they all go. And I've come to the conclusion that there's nothing wrong with me. I will tell you though - there is always a moment when jealousy and reason collide. Something has probably happened - some point in time - that made a jealous friend couple that with a negative experience - and it was their out. ESPECIALLY if they have other people to gossip about you with... aka, other jealous moms. So, what do you do about it? I only offer advice as another mom, far far away from the immediacy of your life: I can be a bad friend (go too long without communicating), and I let people go. I have plenty of good qualities - but my real friends are the ones who like me enough to overlook the dirt. You don't seem to be suffering from that kind of lashback. I wish I had more friendships - but I also notice that I'm usually the one who hasn't the time for closeness. I have been uber busy since I started having kids... keeping friends isn't something I'm
good at because I can only seem to be there for people in my immediate circle. But because of all of the goals I have in life for myself, and for my family - I refuse to believe that there's something wrong with me, or that I deserve to be without the wonderful circle of friendship that ALL MOMS DESERVE, but rarely really get. I'm sorry you've gone through it - but at least you can know that you've been honest - and I encourage you to keep being honest in unraveling your friendship mystery. To the contrary - knowing now that others can't be happy about your good fortunes - the best advice I have is for you to stop telling people, who aren't your family and most trusted friend, your family's business for a while. For example...I have a huge secret. Yet I cant tell most people... because they just don't like all of the things I'm accomplishing. WHY? i have noooo idea. A lot of them had kids, and hasn't set up their life to be able to chase career dreams. But my life is run at a sprinters pace, I live a less than lavish lifestyle for now, and my circumstances have just allowed me to continue- and I only have time to care about the needs and opinions of my family (and my one good friend). It's such a complicated thing, friendships. Keep your one diamond friend, if you have one. If you don't - don't expect to find her and know it's her in a month. Maybe practice being meek, and diary your excitement about all of life's goodnesses, picking maybe one a month to share with the world. There's a strategy for combating all of life's hurdles. But you won't start looking for the strategies until you fully understand that life is more like winning a war, than being a part of a peace rally. I started this understanding when I became president of the MOMS Club I was in... lord have mercy. Women ARE brutal. I was lucky enough, however, to have those very same women rally around me when my husband had an affair, when I left him, and when I had to take my kids to daycare for the first time. Sometimes bitches turn around and do the nicest things. I still look at some of the cards they sent me to get me through those days without killing myself. Those "bitches" saved my life. The pettiness was gone - because finally, something important that they got to be apart of. I may have been their charity case, who knows... but being apart of something bigger than themselves brought us all into reality. On that note - I have another thing to offer that I've noticed. Since joining the world of the volunteers, and now I have to donate a HUGE number of hours to the community in order to get my degree, I realize that the more people are involved in giving to the unfortunate, the more they lead fulfilling lives. Maybe you can find a place in the community that needs your hand for an hour a week. And the good your doing might give you an inner peace about the whole situation. I find that I look at what some people have to go through, and I just can't find the space in me to be apart of pettiness. I have a need to leave the world a better place than I found it. That means my obligation to God comes first, Husband and children second, Self is third, and Community is fourth. Friends are important - but the real friends back you up on doing what you have to do to accomplish your best self. They cheer for you. Sorry for the long winded message. I have always been the therapeutic friend... I guess I grew up with the mom who counseled every women's issue and passed on her need to offer advice to me. For better or worse, it stuck. Anyway, keep living your best life, Ally. But remember that it will still be your best life even if you don't share all of the precious things with people who haven't earned your full trust yet. Good luck, dear...

Supporting or Destroying...

2012-01-20T11:42:00.000-08:00

I have to run a story by all of my fellow moms out there. I honestly want to know if I am off my rocker or is this just the norm these days.

So I'm standing in line today at Chick-fil-a and I recognize a girl from high school with her 2 children. She briefly glanced my way and glanced away, and I, for some reason, kept trying to get her attention to just wave and say hello. I wasn't really good friends with her in high school, more of just acquaintances, but none the less, the two of us seemed to have something in common right off the bat...both in our sweats and tennis shoes, no make-up on, 2 kids in tow, on a rainy day at the mall; I figured she was in the same boat as me, just wanted to get outta the house to make the day pass by faster until that man we call daddy gets home. I thought it was odd that she turned away...my first thoughts were, wait are we still in high school (lol), am I intimidating for some reason, do I have a booger on the side of my face or spit up in my hair, was she just having a bad day, or did she not recognize me? I don't know, but it was just one of those things where I knew she recognized me...it was way too noticeable and awkward when she kept avoiding turning my way. I checked my shirt and hair, no booger or spit up. After walking away and thinking about the situation, I suppose I could have walked up to her and spoke no matter what, but then again, she made it quite clear that she didn't want to speak. I was sad for a moment there.

I'm so confused these days by women (a lot of them being moms) who are so caught up in comparing their lives to one another or trying to one up each other that it destroys their relationships or makes it hard to even start new ones. It seems before we even meet one another, we are giving the up and down stare checking out who has what and who's doing what. We are all very different people, creatures of habit and I'm just trying to understand why we can't be more supportive of one another instead of tearing each other down. Time after time I see jealousy and envy get in the way of friendships. Yes, even my own. I've basically lost 2 really great friendships in the past year over what I believe to be jealousy. Although, I wouldn't know the exact reasons, because all of a sudden these women cut me out of their lives with no explanation...literally. Yes, cut me off and didn't tell me why. Folks, we're talking years of great friendships...not mere months...and folks we're also talking women in their 30's! Whatever happen to pure communication? If I have dealt any one of my friends a bad hand, I need and want to know about it? Don't dare keep it from me. I am one to be very hard on myself and suppose it's something I did. I keep losing the friends so it's obviously something that I'm causing. At least that is where I keep going with things. I'll talk to one or two of my really close girlfriends (basically the 2 I have left) and they'll both say, no, Allyson, you are doing everything right. They are just jealous.

Really? Jealous? Jealous of what? Not saying that I don't have a blessed life that I am very thankful for, but I also surround myself with some fabulous women and all of them have wonderful, Godly lives, full of happy and beautiful children, husbands with great jobs, nice homes...at least from the looks of it that is how it seems. We are all pulling from the same pile here so why in the world would any of these women be jealous of what they already have?

But time and time again, I turn around and see it happening everywhere. I can't throw my children's birthday parties without someone thinking I'm some uppity mom who has these lavish parties for children who won't even remember it. I don't judge those moms that send out a write-in who, what, when, where, why birthday invitation just because it's not up my alley...again, we are all different people and that is OK, so why judge me if I want to go over-the-top (and yes, I admit, many times I do). Wonder if they ever stopped to think that maybe it's something I truly enjoy doing. It's MY hobby. Yes, I'm allowed hobbies right? This stay-at-home-mom does do something besides sit on Facebook all day and post every step I make or give status updates of how great my life is and me, me, my, my! ugh! Makes me sick.

Question is, does anyone ever think of anyone but themselves anymore? I admit, I'm guilty too...of being self-centered and loving my life, but I honestly believe and hope that those who I reach out to and go out of my way for notice it. Even if it's little things like an invite for a girls night out that is declined every time or just having a friend come up and go through hand-me-downs before I put them in consignment...does she know I give her first dibs on everything I own? Or inviting someone over last minute and serving them lunch just because...no big plan involved. Having the same family over for dinner time and time again never getting an invite back to their home. Let me clarify that I'm not asking for notoriety. We don't do it over and over again because we expect something back, we do it because we WANT to do it...no other motives folks.

Looking back, I've had my feelings hurt pretty severely numerous times in the past 5 years and ya know what, they were hurt all by MOMS! As adolescents, we all go through our high school feuds, fights with best friends, boyfriends, parents, etc, but never in my wildest dreams did I really think that in my 30's it would be harder to have a relationship with a fellow mom than it would to maintain a high school relationship with a fellow friend. Gosh, it's so much harder!

I'm just struggling with the fact of why we cannot be more supportive and happy for one another and tell each other our feelings if something isn't just right. Aren't we all mature enough to take it as it comes? Sure, feelings will be hurt, but wouldn't you rather know than have the friendship turn fake? Isn't it just natural to be happy for someone when they, let's say, get a new car, new job, new house, new baby or even when their child does something great? I'm jumping for joy when something good happens to a close friend. I'm wanting to celebrate for and with them! Here lately, it seems so opposite for our family. I feel like we have been shunned out of people's lives when things like that happen. It's judgement on every aspect and it's so exhausting. Like I said, I can't have a birthday party without being judged. I can't tell someone that my child is in the advanced class at school without being looked upon like I'm bragging. I nurse my children for one year and I'm looked upon badly for that? What, am I horrible because I'm consistent and I stick to things? When did that turn into a bad thing? Shoot, I introduce my friends to my other friends, and they go off and make their own group and toss me to the curb! Now how's that for a slap in the face?

I'm sure my rant has a ton to do with my hormones (as right now I'm weening my one year old off the breast which puts my body into post pardum), but these are feelings I've been having for years. I'm sure I can find another blog post on here years back about being in playgroup when Brayden was 2, remembering the moms competing over who learned their abc's the fastest and what was wrong with their child if they weren't on track with the next. Oh, I learned quick that it wasn't a contest. I remember saying to one of them, honestly, do you think in 5 years we are going to be talking about who learned their 123's first? No! So why in the world are we comparing?! Now here I am 5 years later and looks like I was right! I don't hear the moms in my sons kindergarten class asking each other when their child learned to count, or at what age they first walked or when they were potty trained! It's all caught up in the moment and I wish other moms would realize that! It's definitely ok to praise and boast humbly about your children, but to rub it in someone elses face is just wrong! It's not a contest and just because your child runs faster at 3 than my child, doesn't mean he's gonna be the next future olympic track star for crying out loud! Don't get me wrong, it's good to have dreams for your children, but comparing and contrasting them to others is not going to get them there, that is for sure! It's probably going to set them back if anything!

So I don't even remember my point of this post. I just know I'm going through a really hard time trying to figure out if I am being the best person I can be, and if I'm not, why no one is telling me and will this ever end?! Let's try to support and be happy for each other. It just seems like people are more likely to find criticism in someone else's good doing rather than just saying one kind word and complimenting them. I can honestly say, I try to go out of my way to let my friends know my feelings when they express something that has gone good in their lives. Even if I am a little jealous, which is natural to an extent, doesn't mean I don't still feel genuinely happy for them and that I'm going to shun them for the good things that are happening. Let's lift each other up for heaven's sake.

So if you are out and about today and see a fellow mom struggling or maybe one who looks like they just have it all together and things couldn't be better, give her a wink or a wave or a small hello, because I'll tell you what, it would make my day if I received something like that from time to time! Just someone who is in the same boat as me and knows how good they have it, but who can also admit how hard it is, too. Let's try to remember our old golden rules...treat others how you'd like to be treated and definitely this one, don't judge a book by it's cover. Just because it looks like they have it all together doesn't mean they do!

ONE...for real?

2012-01-18T11:47:00.000-08:00

I'm still in awe that Hadley is already one. Seems like everyone else is as well. Everywhere we go I hear, wow, she's already one? It sure puts this life's 'timeline' of mine into perspective. It makes me realize that when I'm going through a hard time whether it be with the kids, friends, family, or just myself, that this too shall pass and it always does. Might seem like forever when I'm in it, but looking back it goes so fast. Everything does.

Hadley is bustling with joy, laughter, happiness and love...all things good. She's such a low key, happy little thing like she has been from day 1. She now has 3 toothies. Got her first top tooth just last week and top #2 is coming in right behind it. Took her first step the day after her birthday and is almost off walking. She's getting braver and braver everyday. It's so cool seeing her learn. I'm trying to take it all in!

Her first birthday party was this past Sunday. We did a cookies and milk drop in and it went wonderfully. I've been working on and off for about the past month on decorations and set up details. I used some of her bedding fabric and pink and blues, lots of glass dishes and stands. It was a really pretty party made just for a special little girl. I never thought in my wildest dreams that I'd actually get to plan and throw a girly birthday party, but here we are in this life, never knowing what's next and it just keeps getting better and better.

We had everyone we love come to wish Hadley a Happy first! She is a blessed little girl to have so many people from far and wide who love her...and some haven't even met her. The party was a drop-in and we enjoyed hosting every minute of it. There was a cookie decorating table for the older kiddos and some fun little extras like Cheerio necklaces for the little ones. She didn't necessarily "smash" into her smash cake. She daintily picked at it, exploring each little piece of pink frosting. That's my girl for ya! Laney helped her open her gifts after nap time and she loaded up on lots of new spring clothes. We are truly blessed with so many wonderful people in our lives. I wish everyday could be like Sunday was. All of our favorite people in one place (minus just a few).

Hadley had her 12 month check-up this past Wednesday. She's is right on track...a petite little thing. 18 lbs, 6 oz - 10% for weight, 28 1/2 inches - 23% for height. Met all of her milestones and she is smart as a whip! Saying thank you, kitty, doggy, baby, mama, dada. She caught me with the gate down from the upstairs and I asked her if she wanted to go night night for nap and I turned my head to do something for a split second and she was crawling up the stairs! Guess she knows where night night is! We definitely aren't letting our guard down on the basement stairs yet. Don't want to have another accident like that again! She loves her dada! She goes crazy when he comes home from work. Jumping up and down until he gives her attention. Following right in those brothers footsteps! Hmmmm...

So a happy first birthday to our baby girl. Hadley Reese, we love you to the moon and back and more than you'll ever know.

Barely Made It!

2011-10-31T07:23:00.001-07:00

Trying to make time today to get in a blog for October. Happy Halloween to all! Our boys are super excited this year. Brayden even says that he isn't going to be scared of the couple of haunted houses in our neighborhood. We'll soon see!

October has been full of fall fun and lots of fall birthday parties! Eli's was first. He turned 3 early in the month and had a cool soccer party. The boys really loved the indoor soccer complex. Made for a great party venue. Miss McKenzie June turned 1 and the Germany's really outdid themselves on her party. Photo booth, lots of pictures everywhere...I definitely agree with the theme; she turned 'one in a flash', that is for sure! Time has really raced by this year! Jackson turned 6! The boys also loved his party venue...pottery place in Suwanee. They made cute little ceramic piggy banks. Unfortunately, Hudson's is already broken, but Brayden's is still hanging in there. Russell and I got a night out to celebrate Sam Kendig's 30th birthday. We ventured over to the city of Roswell...a very cute and quaint little happening area at night similar to Buford. We had drinks and a great dinner at Pastis. It was so good to catch up with that crew...always is, and we really enjoyed the evening. Tyler's birthday was a couple weeks ago. The Goldsworthy's threw an amazing outdoor party at their home. Jumpy house, halloween decorations, all very sweet. All the kids played so well together and us parents enjoyed the "sanity station" (beer and wine). Ha-thought that was the cutest thing. Also, a big Happy Birthday to Aubrey and Olivia. Lots of three year olds to shout out to this month! A few of adult birthday shouts are for Jill and Kellen! Happy Happy ladies!

We also did some fun fall activities this month. Uncle Chad, his girlfriend Alyssa and Karen visited the first weekend of October. It was so nice to see Chadwick and spend some time with him. I hope he doesn't wait too long to come again! We've spent a few evenings with the wonderful Young family hanging out. Boys playing ball and enjoying each other. Hadley and Daley are getting to know each other. So glad she has another little girlfriend. We hit up the Cumming Fair with the Dunn family earlier in the month. It was such a beautiful day and the kids were in awe as they always are when we go to the fair. We headed to McDonough for the Southern Belle pumpkin patch with the Taylor's for the second year in a row. This is the best pumpkin patch around. Trust me, we've tried them all! It's a ways for us to go, but since we have good company to go see, we don't mind the drive. They have everything from corn cannons, slides, corn mazes, air jumps, barrel rides, pig races...you name it, they've got it! Hadley enjoyed her first ride in the barrels and I think Brayden and Canyon's favorite thing this year was the corn mazes. The boys made one Buford football game with the Young's this month. Again, they had awesome weather for a fall night of football. Buford won against undefeated GACS which was awesome! What a great month weather wise for Georgia! The boys also got to spend the night with Granddaddy and Becky a few weekends ago. They always have such a good time with them!

On another note, I had my first conference with Brayden's teacher. I have to say I was a bit nervous going in. He hasn't gotten any bad marks or any S's, N's, or U's at all...always on E, but you never really know what to expect when you go into a conference. All in all, it was great. She complimented Brayden, of course on his manners. Said his handwriting is amazingly neat (I have to take credit for that one, lol), he is so very confident in himself, he is writing 2-3 sentences on his own every day in his journal, has already made independent reader (one of two students out of 22 in his class to do this) and on his 4th level site words (one of five to do this), and third level math facts, so he is definitely striving and doing awesome in kindergarten. Buford has an enrichment program which is a class that certain students have to be chosen for to go to everyday for 45 minutes that go above and beyond the normal classroom stuff. The teacher said that she is going to refer Brayden for the class. He isn't bored in the classroom, he always makes the best out of every situation, but the level that he is reading and writing on is very strong and the enrichment class will help him move at a pace suited for his level. Russell and I couldn't be prouder of him. He is so nice, polite, lovable, good at sports, and we are thrilled to learn that he is succeeding so well in school, too! Way to go Brayden!

Hadley had her 9 month appt last week. She is 16.5 lbs, 8% weight, and 26.75 inches 20% height. Doctor said nothing to worry about for the low weight. She is crawling and cruising the furniture so much that it's hard to keep any calories on her! She is eating very well! Loves everything so far...really loving chicken. That was new for this month along with her first taste of spaghetti. Luckily she liked it because it is a staple in this household for sure! She is trying hard to step from one piece of furniture or toy to another. Little miss needs to slow down. Mommy is SO not ready for a walker this soon! Still no teeth. Somehow she finds a way to eat whatever she wishes, though, so no harm no foul! We have a little bit of hair coming in. Very Slowly, but surely! Words she can say, mama, dada, kitty so far. She is waving bye-bye too!

Hudson had his fall festival at school last week. He loved it. I volunteered in his room and it was fun to see him in his setting. He is such a sweet boy. He is really tracing his letters well now instead of just scribbling on his paper. That's the big thing in the three's class. Every now and then he has a hard time listening to his teachers. We are working on it. He loves art and doesn't want to leave the art table sometimes....that is what seems to get him in trouble mostly. All in all, he is growing up so fast into a funny, sweet thing and we love him!

Russell and I are excited about our couples small group. We started at the beginning of October for a 4 week meet and decided to keep on going with it. It's a parenting based bible study and it never hurts to learn more about parenting and get other people's views, right?! We have met several great couples in the group and look forward to a fun 6 weeks coming up with them!

We carved pumpkins this weekend and enjoyed the last of October. The Balmes family came over Friday night and we explored our CMA festival vacation a bit more with them. We ordered out and enjoyed a nice time with the newest family of 4! Mom went to the pumpkin patch at the local church with us to get pumpkins on Saturday. We always try to give our money to the church instead of the big patches. We had an awesome lunch at Moonies BBQ in Flowery Branch. Our neighbors own it and everything is fresh and smoked for 16 plus hours each week. It is to die for; if you live in the area it is a must! Cindy and John came to visit on Saturday and helped with the pumpkins. We cooked out and then they watched the kids for Russell and I while we went out for a late dinner and drinks for his birthday, which is tomorrow! I cannot believe November is here and we've got two awesome boys to celebrate next month! Looking forward to Brayden's camo/camp party and also a girls day and night with Kellen! Should be a great start to a great month!

As for tonight...here comes the two cutest ninjas around and their kimono baby sister! Hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween!

Something I want to remember...

2011-09-27T12:56:00.000-07:00

Note from Brayden's teacher...he is heaven sent and we are so blessed over and over again to have him as a son. I seem to stop myself time and time again when I want to talk about my great children or something good that they have done. I rarely talk about their "bragful" moments unless it's on this blog or if someone asks but this time I'm letting it out! He deserves an honorable mention every now and then OUT LOUD! Why should I always be hesitant to talk good things about my kids when other parents do it ALL THE TIME?! I'm guessing the compliments are just humbling to us, but this is definitely something I want to remember so I'm posting it.

Allyson,

Just a quick note to let you know how proud I am of Brayden. He is a very confident student. Whether it be trying to sound out an unknown word while reading or trying to write 2-3 sentences in his journal, he is always willing to take a risk to apply learned skills. I am going to put a copy of his journal entry in his folder tomorrow. He really did a great job today.

Have a good evening!
Amy

Fall is in the air!

2011-09-27T11:42:00.000-07:00

Well, looks like my 'August in a Nutshell' theme might be the norm these days. Here is September in a nutshell! I don't seem to have much time for blog writing, facebooking, picture taking (I know, can you believe it) and all those extra curricular internet things with working more and more everyday and trying to get through the amazing book I'm reading, The Help. Any spare chance I get, my nose is in that book! I'm almost done, it's only been a little over a week, and I'm already dreading not having the book to delve into. On some days, you just need a good book to get lost in. I forgot how that felt until lately.

So our September has been fairly active. We are in the middle of a great tee ball season. Our team is 2-2. Brayden is playing the circle again and he and Cooper at first base, have a pretty good thing going. Brayden made 5 outs the other night! I was so happy for him. He also has been hitting super awesome, too. Almost to the fence. I feel a homer coming on next season! It seems like all is coming together and he is really enjoying the game and loving every second of it. He's always loved playing, but now he truly understands the game which puts his enjoyment on a whole other level. He loves when I can get to the field to watch him and is glad that Mee Mee has been coming to a few of his games. A surprise visit from Grammy and John was made last night at the game. We appreciate the support Brayden is getting from the grandparents. It's so important for him at this age.

Hadley turned 8 months in September. She is thriving and full of life! She is just about crawling all over the place. Slowly, right now knee by knee, but I know in the next few days she'll be off and that'll be it for me! She will no longer be a non-mobile child, changing everything all over again! We'll be on to the next stage. She's having fun learning to "play" with her toys and with the boys. She is pulling up in her crib, so instead of the smile when I get to her bed while she is laying down, she is now bright eyed and grinning ear to ear standing up when I open the door! She is also starting to babble a bit. Daddy is trying to get her first word to be Dada of course, but I am also secretly working on Mama when we have our alone time. Hee hee. We'll see which pops out first. I love her to pieces and she amazes me every day of this life!

School is going great for both boys. Hudson had a bit of a hard time at the beginning with listening and sitting at his seat for long periods of time. He has gotten smiley faces everyday since the first week so I think he is catching on. With him being the youngest in the class where as Brayden was the oldest I have to remind myself not to compare. Russell and I didn't know what to do with the frowny face he brought home one day a few weeks ago. With Brayden, he has never brought home a bad mark all his life so we were dumbfounded as to what to do with Huddy...punish, let it go, etc. We are learning...hey, even though we have 3 children in no way makes us experts at anything! We are humbly learning ALL THE TIME! Mee mee and Pop went to his preschool for a Grandparents Day picnic a few weeks ago. They had a picnic lunch with Hudson and did a cute craft. I think both the grandparents and Hudson enjoyed it. We are joyful that even though Hudson is the youngest in his class, he is doing well keeping up with some of the older kids on both a social and educational level. He is doing great tracing his letters, when at the beginning of the year he was just scribbling all over the paper. He is a sweet little boy and I could just eat up that sweet face of his. The cutest thing I've ever seen.

Brayden is loving Buford. He's come home with 6 kindness coins so far. Using good manners and helping his teacher and friends mostly. He just hopped up to the second reading level and is on his 3rd out of 6 sets of site words. Homecoming is this week and they do it up big at Buford. He's having lots of fun and we love the environment he is in on a daily basis. It's so positive and uplifting and supportive in every way. They love their students and their community and we are thrilled about that!

Jill's baby shower at the end of August went off without a hitch! I hosted 28 ladies for a sit-down brunch with Jill's friend, Jen, and it was just lovely. I had so much fun planning it and I couldn't have done it for a more grateful friend. I'm really loving the party planning stuff these days. It's becoming quite the hobby. Who knows, might make it a full fledged business one of these days!

September is definitely the Dunn birthday month! Miss Madeline turned ONE! I cannot believe how fast the time has gone by. I remember it like it was yesterday when Elizabeth told me she was pregnant. Madeline is so adorable and such a sweet little girl. She must take after that mom of hers! Another Dunn family member turned 6. Peyton! Just like Madeline, I cannot believe Peyton is 6! I've known him since he was 3 and it's been a joy seeing him grow up. Brayden and Peyton, even though they don't get to see each other daily, are still the best of buddies. They love rocking out together just like when they were 3! It cracks me up! Wes also had a birthday. Poor guy gets a little jipped for all the kiddos' celebrations, but we still noticed and embraced his birthday, as well! We welcomed Harlow Cassidy Balmes to the world on Sept. 11th. She was 10 days early and nothing was stopping that baby girl from coming into the world on 9-11. She is a gorgeous, sweet chunk of love, with a head full of dark hair. Looks just like her beautiful mama. Also, a Happy Birthday to my cousin Aimee and to Becky. They both had birthday's last week. I think that sums up our birthday's. If I missed someone, forgive me...can't remember everything and do you really expect me to?

Labor Day weekend we spent up at the lake house. Aunt Connie (Bob's sister) and Uncle Bob from PA were in town. It was nice to see them and spend some time together. We don't get to do that too often.

We've been spending a lot of time with our neighbors this month. Lots of cookouts and get togethers in backyards. We have the best times when it's just the spur of the moment gatherings like that. Wendsor and Chris treated us to the Braves game a few weeks ago for Russell's graduation gift. Mom watched the babies for us and we enjoyed the nice night.

We went to Suwanne Day last weekend. It was fun. The boys always enjoy it every year and now I get to shop at those little girly tents with all the clothes and hair bows, etc...it's in sane all this girl stuff that they have out there. I like it alright, but some of the stuff is overboard. I just can't see buying an outfit that the kid is only going to wear once or twice besides for Christmas and Easter, birthday's or baptisms. Before I spend my moohlah, I have to plan out how many times I think Hadley may wear it. If it isn't over 4, then we don't even go there. It's just ridiculous some of it! That's my rant for the day! Hee hee!

Hudson and I have been enjoying our Monday and Friday play dates. Alisha and Ty Ty, Lisa and IV, Rhonda and Eli. All fun dates and nice to see the boys growing up so big! Brayden has been invited over to some buddies houses lately. He and Ethan had been having withdrawals from each other so he went and played at their house the other weekend. He loves his Ethan time. This past Sunday, Cooper Young invited him over for a play date. He played all afternoon at their house. Cooper goes to Buford, too and they play ball together so he and Brayden have become pretty close. It's so fun seeing him form relationships that will probably last for a long time to come throughout his school days. I never was able to have those because I moved so often when I was young. It's something I really want for my children. These are the days!

Russell and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary this past weekend. We got a night out thanks to Kellen's mom and brother who held down the fort for us. We went nostalgic and decided to do Houston's. It used to be our absolute favorite place to go back in early 2000's (early 2000's, what? Seems like yesterday) and it had been a while since we visited Houston's. The evening was beautiful, just like it was on the eve that we got married. It never fails, every year our wedding weekend is always gorgeous~the first weekend of Autumn. Gosh, we sure picked a good one. Dinner was good, but not as good as we remembered. I have to say Houston's food and clientele has gone down a bit. We still enjoyed ourselves, but probably won't be going back there for a while. We had dessert at Aqua Terra-yummy as usually! On our anniversary, we always go through the past years and reminisce. Russell always counts the big things...7 years, 3 kiddos, 3 houses, 5 cars (for me)...wow! Most people don't go through that in a lifetime, but we couldn't and wouldn't trade our life for the world. The last thing I ever expected was to be adding another child to the list this year. Wowzers! God is good.

I got to see Elizabeth and Mike this morning. They came in town for her mother's birthday-oops, there's one I forgot. Happy Birthday Elena (not that she'll ever see that, but oh well)! I haven't seen Eliz since her wedding over a year ago and this was their first time meeting Miss Hadley. They are doing so well and I'm so happy for them. Lots of big things coming up for them in the next 2 years! I really miss my friend and just miss my friends in general-old and new. I feel sometimes like I have no one I can really "let it all out" to without being judged and that's hard. Russell is my bestest friend, but sometimes a girl needs a girlfriend. Don't get me wrong. I surround myself with a great group of women, but there's nothing like a long time friend who knows more about you than your own self. I don't really have any of those that I talk to regularly anymore and it's a sad thing to think about.

Well, enough of the pitty friendship stories. Let's get on with it. I have a blessed life and feel ridiculous even complaining these days.

We have some more fun fall stuff planned for the end of September...date night (yes, again, can you believe it?), pumpkin patches, and another big birthday month for October! Lots of fall babies and one big 3-0 coming up that we are happy to celebrate!

Happy Fall Y'all!

P.S. I've had some complaints on where pictures have gone. I found out my pixels are too big from my new camera and that is why they won't upload right. I'm working on it. I'll post a blog just with pictures soon. I so behind and I hate it!

Can't seem to get this off my mind...

2011-08-26T03:40:00.000-07:00

I mentioned how great our August has been; however, there have been a few downsides to it that I just cannot get off my mind. I wanted to share this with everyone. It's a pretty amazing story.

My 22 year old brother, Chad's best friend, Bobby, passed away from the results of a head on collision with a truck a few weeks ago. When I heard the news I sank in my chair. I had only met Bobby a couple times, but couldn't imagine going through the loss of a best friend and anyway, it's always so sad to hear of a young life lost so soon. I thought, gosh, I'm so lucky to have not experienced a tragedy like this in my life. I've had a few friends from high school that have passed away, but never someone that was like a sister to me. I couldn't imagine. Bobby was like a brother to Chad. He was a great soccer player, but from what I hear he hurt his ankle a few years ago and had to stop playing. He had a scholarship to college and unfortunately had to let it go. After that, sounds like Bobby went downhill for a while due to the pain killers that he was on for his ankle. He was getting his act together and things were coming together for him. In fact, the Saturday before he had the wreck (which was on a Tuesday) he spoke to Jose, his hair stylist actually, but also a minister. Bobby asked a lot of questions about the Lord to Jose that day and ended up giving his life to the Lord and wanting to take the steps to know Him. Jose just happened to record Bobby's testimony, can you believe it?! After all that has happened, I know in his parents heart they have to feel some sort of comfort from this video. The parents have been through quite a bit of trial and tribulation, losing Bobby's brother and step-brother in just the past 4 months. Do the math, that's 3 young lives lost in 4 months in the same family.

Bobby's funeral was packed and as beautiful as ever. The Lord wanted him sooner than everyone wanted to let him go. I've posted the link to the you tube video of Bobby giving his life to the Lord. If you have the time, it's well worth the watch!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mf7J9uGQrWs

One tidbit I have to add. When my brother and his mom were leaving Bobby's house the day after the wreck, a yellow lab trotted up to them. Chad hadn't recognized the dog as a pet of the family, so he asked Bobby's stepfather, Chris, who's dog it was. Chris looked back and saw the dog and stopped in his tracks. He proceeded to tell Chad that they haven't seen that dog since the day after Bobby's brother had passed away. The brothers used to feed the stray a while back and it left after sometime appearing one day after Bobby's brother's death and then leaving again. Now, 4 months later no one had seen him since that day. It was such a statement to Chris, because the dog was appearing again 1 day after Bobby's death and hasn't been seen again. We all know God works in mysterious ways. Maybe this dog was a sign to the family that the boys are safe with the Lord in heaven.

Rest In Peace to the Zimmerman boys.

August in a Nutshell

2011-08-23T12:05:00.000-07:00

Our August has been wonderful really. The past 2 weekends have been so nice. We’ve had NO plans and were able to do whatever we wanted as a family! Russell has had a great month with GA Power so basically all of our activities have been compliments of them! G-Braves, Keith Urban, Lake Lanier Islands, PGA tournament…we took the boys for a fun filled day to the islands the weekend before last. Marty, one of Russell’s co-workers, and his wife Casey came along! They don’t have youngins’ and wanted to be around ours! We all had a fantastic time. Brayden rode every slide there, even the triple threat which I won’t even ride. He absolutely loved it and kept telling me on and off all day that this was the best day of his life! So funny! Huddy couldn’t ride much, but we did sneak him on 3 of the tube rides where he could ride with us. He really enjoyed it. He was literally exhausted after 3 hours! My mom was sweet to offer to keep Hadley for us. Thanks mother! I went home around dinner time with Hudson and let him take a cat nap and then we went back up to the islands to do the little fair rides. They have about 7-8 carnival rides outside the park that are free with entry so we took advantage. Every time we do a “fair”, the boys have to pick and choose their rides, but this time they got to ride them all! They were super happy about that! Brayden kept thinking he could only ride a few and was so grateful when we told him he could ride them all…over and over again, too! It’s times like that that make giving them boundaries and rules so worthwhile. It was a great end to a great day!

Sunday, Russell and I ventured to the Atlanta Athletic Club for the PGA tournament. I got to see Franklin who had been up here all weekend at the tournament with a few of his buddies. He is crazy about golf and actually really good at it, too. We’re hoping one of these days we might see him in a tournament or two! Russell and I enjoyed lunch and drinks in the clubhouse and then walked half the course. What a beautiful place! We saw Phil Mickelson a few times, Garcia and a few others that we enjoy watching. It was a relaxing day. We ended the weekend with dinner at mom and Bob’s with the boys and Hadley.

Hadley turned 7 months on August 14th! She is sitting up so well and making her way around the house by rolling! I know she'll be crawling in a jiffy and I'm not ready for her to be that grown up! She watches her brothers and is already trying to keep up. She's got a long road ahead of her. A fun litle girl she is and I'm enjoying every second with her.

Hudson’s first week of school went good. I was worried that he was going to pee in his pants, but by golly I think once he hit 3, something just clicked. He’s been dry ever since! He went all week at school with dry pants and got smiles everyday. I was so proud of him! I think we can officially say he is potty trained. Thank you, Lord! I was running out of patience with the process. Hudson loved seeing some of his old friends again and didn’t flinch when I said good-bye on his first day! Just looked up and said “bye mommy” right back to me.

Brayden second full week of school went awesome! He has so far gotten all E’s and even brought home a “kindness coin” last week for helping someone. Like I said, it’s only 3 weeks in, but so far so good! He’s reading his 2-3 library books each week all by himself and passed his white letters, now we are onto the blue. He was so happy when he passed his white letters. The school has morning announcements on tv and they say each child’s name from each class who passes their letters. Guess it’s kind of motivation to work hard and learn to read! He was thrilled to hear his name! I had lunch with him last Thursday. He was surprised to see me in the hall waiting on him. So far we are loving his teacher and the school all around, we are just trying to get an afternoon and evening schedule down pat. It’s a lot and a big change to everyone. Especially this family of 5!

This past weekend was another freeby for us. Russell and I had planned a date night at home. We were going to put the kids to bed and cook some steaks on the grill. Sounds good, right? We were really looking forward to it, but then ended up with half the neighborhood in our backyard. It was just one of those nights where everyone was out and about and stopping by. We ended up having a blast, but were both starving come 11:30 pm! No steaks at that hour so we saved them until Sunday. We really are so thankful for our wonderful neighbors! The kids had fun too and it was nice not to have to follow the school schedule; dinner, baths, reading and bed by 8 pm. Since it was Friday we all relaxed and stayed up late!

Saturday we had our first tee ball practice and Russell said Brayden did great. We are the Texas Rangers and really looking forward to another season of fall baseball. I love the fall schedule. It is laid back and just plain fun! Even better, this year Russell isn’t head coaching. He is going to pitch for our games, but no head coach. As much as we enjoy it, it is also nice to get a break, too. We nixed Flowery Branch football. After much thought, we felt that Brayden wasn’t learning the fundamentals for safety and didn’t want him to get out there and get hurt. I think we are going to stick to Buford sports from here on out.

The Germany’s invited us down for tacos and drinks on Saturday evening. It was so nice to see them and catch up and little McKenzie is walking at 10 months! She is so cute waddling around. I’m so proud of Justin and Teri. They are very good parents and really seem to be enjoying their baby girl. Thanks for a fun evening, guys.

Sunday was cleaning garage day around the house. We do this it seems like once every other week. Laken’s hair is ridiculous and we also just like getting outside with the family and working in the yard and around the house. It was a nice day…why not?! We had our long awaited steak dinner Sunday evening and called it a weekend!

In between the weekends, our weeks have been low key. A few play dates for me and Huddy with Ms. Rhonda and Eli and Ms. Jill and Joey. We are glad to have the Balmes family back after their vacation! Hudson really enjoys his little buddies. Wes and Elizabeth were sweet enough to spend part of their Friday night date night with us, stopping by for a couple hours for drinks and catch up chat. Elizabeth and I are also doing a regular "wine after the kids go to bed" night pretty regularly these days. It's becoming a must on my list. So nice to unwind and get some girl time, even if it is just on our back porches. Sometimes those are better than dolling up and going out anyhow!

I’m looking forward to hosting Jill’s baby shower this coming Saturday! Her baby girl will be here before we know it and we are excited to celebrate with her and her family and friends!

Happy August everyone!

Hudson Turns THREE!

2011-08-10T07:20:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we had an amazing Spiderman birthday party for our little Huddy boy. He is now three going on six. At least that is what he'll tell you. When you ask him how old he is he'll say six, then three. Yes, he wants to be so much like his brother it's not even funny! As most of you know, Brayden will be six in November so that is where the six is coming from. Our little three year old is doing his best to be a five year old. He runs around here and actually does a pretty good job at keeping up with Brayden and Jackson (our 5 year old neighbor) for the most part. Although, sometimes we don't want him learning what the five year olds know at age three. It's been trying the past couple months with the whole potty mouth stuff coming from the older ones. Someone remind me what's so funny about saying PEE all the time? Really? I'm so over it! Yes, I'll be the mom this year who's three year old introduces all of the other three year olds to the pee talk. Yay me! As hard as we are working to not allow Hudson in on all of the potty talk, I'm preparing myself for his school year. Keeping fingers crossed it's not as bad as I foresee it being. Poor thing, it's not his fault but I guess these are the trials and tribulations to having more than one kid!

Another thing about being the little brother, he sure is smarter than the average three year old! Strangers tell us all the time how well he talks and can't believe some of the things he does. While learning the potty talk isn't so fun, on the other hand he learns all of the good stuff from Brayden, too! He's a master at the iphone games, know all his numbers to just about 20 (knows lots of spanish numbers, too) and his ABC's, of course. He's got his shapes and colors and knows every super hero's name if that counts for anything. Ha! He also knows some bible verses, or parts of them which is pretty cool. Hudson is very independant...likes to dress himself and do everything on his own. Surprisingly, he does a pretty good job at it, too! He is an awesome scooter rider and even though he makes a mess out of anything, he still minds his manners most of the time and says his pleases and thank you's. Guess that is all I can ask for, right?! We are on the cusp of potty training. Been diaper free for going on three days now so we are making progress. I've come to determine he'll do it on his own time. Brayden was right at three, too, so I guess it runs in the family.

We go for his 3 year check up next week. Fun, fun! I'm already preparing him for his one shot that he has to get. He saw Hadley get hers last month and has been asking about his ever since. He sure doesn't forget a thing.

His birthday party was so much fun. I tried my hardest to plan a vintage spiderman theme cause you all know how I'm not much for animated parties, but little guy wanted spiderman, so it's his party, right?! LOL! It actually turned out super cute to say the least. I made all the sweets...even the cake,which took three tries, but I finally got it. Cake balls, cupcakes, "wham" and "bam" sugar cookies, the whole works. We rented a spiderman jump house and also had a blow up water slide thanks to the Collie family. It was hot, but not as hot as it had been so we lucked up and with the water slide, the kids were cool as cucumbers. Pizza, pinata, and all of our favorite friends & family made for some fun times.

Russell and I prepped for the party on and off all week and can you believe it we even squeezed in a date night to see Keith Urban on Friday night! He got free tickets from work so we couldn't pass it up. If you know me, it's a big deal to leave the house the night before the party, but we are learning that everything will get done one way or the other and to give ourselves some slack every now and then. We were tired come Monday from the busy weekend, but it was so worth it! A HUGE thank you to the Ellis' for keeping Hadly and Wendsor and Chris for letting the boys hang out with their girls for the evening. We honestly have some of the best neighbors and friends around.

Happy Third Birthday to our 2nd born, Hudson Lee! I hope you enjoyed your spidey party and all of your cool presents.

*Again, pics to post soon...:(

Off to Kindergarten

2011-08-10T06:32:00.000-07:00

Well, that's it! He's off...on his own...done! I can now imagine the feelings I'll have when we send him off to college. This is only kindergarten for goodness sakes, but I feel like my baby has made the turn into a real little boy now. He has been in preschool for the past 3 years, but I've now realized that this is so much more. He learned so many milestones in preschool, but kindergarten seems like a much bigger step for us all.

Brayden's first day of kindergarten was this past Thursday and he hopped on the bus at 7:30 a.m. like he'd been doing it for years! He and his buddy, (and neighbor) Jackson seemed to be "there" for each other even though neither of them probably realized it. As for me, I felt like the day was going by so slowly...I kept looking at his schedule wondering what he was doing, telling myself, ok now he's eating lunch, hoping he got enough to eat and could open his handy snack package by himself. It's the little things that I worried about for him. Come 3:45 p.m. he walked off the bus and screamed out, "It was awesome!" I was so happy for him. Of course, Brayden has never not liked anything in his life...or let me back up, there are definitely things he does not like; however, most of the time he makes the best of everything and every situation, so I knew he would do well and love it, but as a mom sending her child off for the first time for such a long period where I couldn't be right beside him making sure he minds his manners and acts appropriately, it was honestly hard for me.

For the past 5 and 1/2 years I've nurtured, taught, disciplined and loved this little boy the best way I know how in hopes that he would go out into the world on his own one day to respect and love people the way God wants him to. Sending him to kindergarten felt like, this is it...our first trial run to see how he really does on his own. So far so good. He is only on his fifth day, but I have faith in him and know he will always strive to do is best in everything. We are so blessed to have Brayden as a son. He is a special kid and I know the Lord has big things planned for him...I just know it!

We tried to make last week special. Brayden had his best bud Peyton over to play and then on another day we joined Rhonda and her boys to see a movie in the big theater, something we don't do often. I was nervous with Hadley because it was her nap time, but she was perfect (I give that one to the man upstairs) and the boys really enjoyed it. Brayden also had Jackson spend the night on the last weekend before school and they had fun "camping out" in the basement.

So here's to our first baby as he is off to his first year in school. We will be as supportive and positive as we can be as parents for him to do the best he can! We love you, Brayden Nash!

*Pics coming soon...my uploader is still a mess.

Half A Year!

2011-07-16T13:02:00.000-07:00

Our baby girl is 6 months old! We are so blessed that she is a part of our lives. Hadley is such a good natured little baby. I couldn't ask for anything more. She has been sleeping all night since about 8 weeks and just goes with the flow of our family. She loves rolling around and playing on her tummy and is almost sitting up by herself. She has found her toes, ears and loves to blow spit bubbles. I think she learned that from her brothers. They blow on her belly (or as Hudson calls it spitting on her belly) all the time! Hadley enjoys bathtime and outside. She LOVES the water. She reminds me a lot of Brayden when he was a baby-except for she sleeps 10 times better. We learned the hard way with the first, but doesn't everyone.

Hadley is a great eater, but a tad bit messy. I think carrots are her fave. She also loves her some pears! I'm making all of her baby food like I did for Huddy. So far she has had carrots, sweet peas, green beans, squash, sweet potatos, pears, peaches, & apples. She is learning fast to drink water from her sippy cup.

Her 6 month check up went well. She got her last round of the big shots and met all of her milestones.

Weight 14 lbs, 11.6 oz. (26%)

Height 25.25 inches (34%)

Head 16.50 (35%)

Revisiting 30!

2011-07-09T11:28:00.000-07:00

We celebrated the 4th along with my 31st birthday party this past 4th of July weekend. I planned an adult only get together to blow it out up at the lake house this year since last year's 30th birthday party plan didn't work out quite like I wanted. I wanted to invite "everyone under the sun", but we tried to keep it fairly small so it was somewhat relaxing. The Lamb's, Thrower's, Kendig's, Dunn's, Ellis', Fournier's, Balmes', Naylor's, my Aunt and her boyfriend, Joe Guy and his girlfriend, and Alisha were all able to make it. We basically, ate, drank and were merry! Bruce took everyone who wanted to go out tubing, skiing and wakeboarding most of the afternoon. We had the margarita machine going and Heather made her bombshell mojitos. Bob cooked an awesome low country boil towards the evening and then we topped it off with watching some amazing fireworks from the dock! It was just what I wanted it to be...a relaxing, fun day with my family and friends and I thank everyone who came and join in on the fun! Also, I felt so loved with all the gifts...I wasn't expecting gifts for a 31st!

Kellen's mom was sweet enough to keep Hadley for me. I was worried for nothing of course...Karen did great with her and even kept her on her schedule! The boys spent the night at Danny and Becky's and they took them to see Cars 2 and swimming in the backyard. They loved it and Hudson cried when Russell went to pick him up the following day. He did not want to leave! We really appreciate our grandparents and baby-sitters so that we were able to relax at the lake without the kiddos for once. It's fun having them up there with us, but it's also nice to get that time away to do with just ourselves every now and then.

We were going to venture back up the lake house after recouping from my party for the 4th, but the England's had invited us over to their house for a cookout so we opted to do that! They just bought a beautiful new house on the lake right around the corner from us. Brayden was super excited to see Ethan and play with his buddy. It was a really nice cookout. They had a slushie machine and jump house for the kids and they were also running the wave runners taking the kids for rides on it...tons of bbq and food everywhere! We enjoyed most of the afternoon over there and later towards the evening hours, Hudson and Hadley were getting tired, so I offered to head home with them and let Brayden and Russell stay for the Lake Lanier Island fireworks, since you could see them from their dock. Brayden really loved it so I'm glad Russell was able to take him back over. As for mommy, I missed all the fireworks on the 4th, but at least I saw them on my birthday night so that made up for it. We had a really blessed 4th of July weekend. Russell was off for a few days after the 4th, too, so it was like a vacation at home! Much needed!

God Bless America!

Something is messed up on my computer so it will not let me upload pics to my blog right now. Gotta get that corrected pronto. Here is the link of my birthday party pics!

http://www2.snapfish.com/bellsouth/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=6714975009/a=47100301_47100301/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=bellsouth/

Sizzling Hot Summertime!

2011-06-24T13:42:00.000-07:00

Just as our winter was a cold one, our summer has been quite a hot one to begin with. Georgia has hit the 100 degree mark several times already. With summer just beginning this past week, it has really felt like summer here for more than a month now.

We've been making the best of the hot weather enjoying our pool, Grandpa Stan's pool, the lake and the beach~yep, all in the past month. Memorial weekend was a fun one up at the lake. We also got to spend some time in Atlanta with our old friends for a cookout at the Thrower's. Lisa and Monroe went all out with the pork. It was some really good eating. Brayden and Hudson had a blast with little Monroe, Olivia, McKenzie and quite a few other little rugrats. It was a nice evening and Heather’s mojito’s were as always, out of this world and right up my alley!

Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, we went up to the lake house. The Ellis and Dunn families joined us along with my aunt and cousin and her family. The boys played in the water on the little beach area for literally 5 hours. From 2 pm until about 7 pm, they didn’t step foot into the house. They had a blast paddle boating and squirting guns and playing with the dog my aunt was dog sitting. Mom and Bob cooked up a storm of food from burgers and dogs, to BBQ, the whole 9 yards. Looking forward to next weekend up there to celebrate the 4th and my birthday! No kiddos this time, so it should be a little more relaxing to say the least.

The first weekend in June was very exciting. Russell was asked to throw the first pitch out at the G-Braves game on June 4th. Georgia Power had the super suite and so me, the boys and Russell’s dad all geared up for the big event. Mom kept Hadley for us since it was a late game. It was very cool to get to go down on the field and watch Russell throw. He didn’t just pitch it normally, he wound up and pitched it like a pro. He looked really good out there. Even though I never saw him play in college, I can now see why he got several baseball scholarships right out of high school. I was very proud of him and so were the boys. We headed up the super suite afterwards and socialized with all of his work friends. They all loved the boys. Everywhere we go they seem to be the hit of the party. They were very enjoyable and minded their manners so we were pleased with their behavior. It was a fun night and we always look forward to this every year.

June 11th, we trucked it down to McDonough to Cindy and John’s. They had a big family reunion to get everyone together to bless their marriage. I helped Cindy with the menu and setting everything up. It all turned out wonderfully. Cindy left 2 days later to head to Israel with a group from her church. She has just arrived back and we cannot wait to hear about her trip! So exciting.

June 12th, we did Father’s Day a bit early with Bob since we were going to be out of town on actual Father’s Day. I cooked some nice steaks on the grill and did some baked potato and salad. It was a great meal and nice to have a Sunday family dinner back. We’ve been getting out of the routine ever since the lake house came along. LOL! I can’t tear them away!

Our little family of five took a trip to the beach this past week. Hadley’s first beach trip! We originally had planned to go to the Disney resort in Vero, FL with the Taylor’s but that 10 hour drive was just too much for us to do with a baby. We decided on Myrtle Beach this year instead. We found a place similar to Splash at Myrtle and got good feedback from Danny and Becky since they had stayed there so we went with it. We love Splash, but there were no deals out there for it. This place was really cool and the boys really enjoyed themselves. The resort had several different pools, a lazy river, splash areas, etc and right on the beach which is a must for us with all of our stuff and kids to tote. The beaches were great and Brayden really loved riding those waves…something we don’t get at Splash since it’s the gulf. We ate some great seafood and loved visiting Broadway at the Beach. It’s a whole shopping escapade with restaurants, shops, games, aquarium, etc, all in one area. We spent Father’s Day down there and Russell said that this was the best Father’s Day he had ever had. What more can you ask for than to be with your family at the beach enjoying each other and making memories. I’m so thankful for him and the dad he has become. I look around and can easily see that I’m a lucky woman and our kids are so blessed to have him. Not many dad’s compare to him…I have to say. His family comes first before himself and his job and the dedication he has to these children really astound me.

On another Father’s Day note, I got to see my dad close to Father’s Day. We stopped in Augusta and spent some time with my dad, Lee and Franklin on the way down to the beach since it was on our way. It actually worked out great breaking the trip up, so that was nice for the kids. When we told Brayden we were stopping in Augusta he was more thrilled than the beach news, I think! He absolutely adores Uncle Franklin and really looks up to him. Franklin is getting to that age where he doesn’t want to leave his buddies, but he was good to Brayden and Hudson and carved out some time with them. Took them fishing and four-wheelin’, all that fun stuff. Russell was glad to get to play golf with Franklin, too, to see if he really does have game. That young buck is just about a scratch golfer. He’s got some major potential for golf scholarships in a couple years. We are proud of him.

So we are getting back in the groove of things and back to the real world. No more being on ocean time. It’s so depressing coming home from the beach. Russell and I seem to have a sort of passion I guess you can call it for the beach…I don’t think we could ever get tired of sitting out on the balcony each evening listening to the ocean, sipping on our glasses of wine and beer like we did this past week after the kids were already down to sleep. God bless the beach and that we were able to take a trip this year!

This weekend we celebrate Laney's third birthday! Happy Birthday Laney!

Looking forward to some lake time with friends next weekend for my birthday party! A small break from the kids and maybe a firework or two…here comes July!

Haddybelle is 4 months!

2011-05-28T04:57:00.000-07:00

Hadley turned 4 months on May 14th! Lots of firsts this month! She is starting to grab rattles and toys and had her first cereal experience, too! Over the last week, she has really started loving it...and downing it! As you can see in the picture, she already wants to feed herself!

She rolled over for the first time on Mother's Day. Having a blast with her tummy time. She is also starting to "talk" a lot just this week. I don't remember the boys babbling so early. I always remember it being around the 6 month mark for them because that is when we started trying to stuff the passy in. We love to hear them talk, but after all day and night, believe it or not, the cuteness does go away. Hadley is definitely a Bickers-she LOVES to chat already!
Another first this past few week was the pool. She dipped her feet in a bit, but didn't go for the whole plunge. It was still a little too nippy for her. She did enjoy sitting in her exersaucer watching all the kiddos splish splash in the pool! Speaking of exersaucer...another first these past 2 weeks! She's lovin' it! One more first, yes mommy gave into the bow. She wore her first hair bow. We are definitely exploring our options with this no hair thing.

Her 4 month doctor appt went well...had to get another round of shots, but she got through it. We are going to get a hip ultrasound on Tuesday. The practice that she goes to is going back to all baby girls that sat breach (which she did for a while) and double checking hips. The doctor said that they are finding that more breach babies seem to have the hip problem. She checked Hadley and heard no clicking or signs of a problem, but better safe than sorry, I suppose.

And did I mention she LOVES her daddy?!

Weight: 13 lbs 2.6 oz (38%)
Height: 24 1/2 (57%)
Head: 16 cm (39%)

Month of May

2011-05-23T10:32:00.000-07:00

May has been a glorious month for our family so far! Congratulations to Russell for graduating with his bachelors degree. We all attended his graduation in Rome, Ga on May 7th. He didn't really want to walk, but his mom and I really thought he should and so he gave in. I know he is glad he did it now that it's over. We rose very early on the big day and trucked it up to Shorter University. What a beautiful campus. Cindy and John met us up there. The kids were really good throughout the whole ceremony which was only about 1.5 hours long. They were so excited to hear his name called and just kept giving him thumbs ups! We grabbed some lunch and headed back to good 'ole Buford after the ceremony, so it was a really short trip. Russell didn't know, but I had been planning a party for him for a month or so. It was just a few of our closest friends that have supported us throughout this whole process. About 4 p.m. everyone started showing up and Russell was a little surprised. He said he could tell with all I was doing that more than just his mom and dad were coming. That is what I had originally told him. It was a really fun afternoon with all the kids running around and babies everywhere. Wes treated us to some mint juleps in celebration of the horse races going on. Everyone just relaxed, ate and drank! Thanks to those that came for making the day so special for Russell!

We missed Zac Brown Band this year since we had the graduation so far away. It was supposed to be on the Friday night before the graduation, so we thought it'd be a little much to do that and then wake up at the crack of dawn to go to Rome. We were planning to take Brayden, but did not tell him, so it didn't phase him, but I was a little sad. We were really looking forward to his first concert. Hopefully, ZBB will come back before the end of the year and we can catch him then.

Mother's Day was such a nice, relaxing day for me. We got up and went to church. It was a very sweet service and I loved the message. I was needing a jolt in the messages lately. The last few have not tickled my fancy as much. We ate leftovers from the party and the boys (well, mostly Russell) planted me a garden. I had a few tomato, cucumber and strawberry plants over by our fence, but Russell got me a wooded border for it and moved it to a better spot. It's so cute! I'm already getting some tomato's blooming! Looking forward to our first fruits! My dad always had a big garden when I was growing up and although I don't have a lot of land to put a big one on like he did, I can do a little one. It's becoming my new little hobby, I suppose. Mother's Day evening, we went to Mom's. Bob's sister and husband-Aunt Pat and Uncle Dan were coming through from Fl heading back to PA for the summer and stopped in for the night. She always cooks and brings up the best homemade food. We had homemade noodles, turkey breast and lots of other goodies for dinner. It was nice because neither mom nor I had to cook! What a good Mother's Day treat! Aunt Pat brought the boys a snow come maker that we are just loving! I think we've had snow cones every day since. I love them just as much. One of my faves! Thanks Aunt Pat!

Since I did so much work for Russell's graduation party, he told me I could have a Mother's Day week instead of just a day, so during the week, Jill and I went shopping and to dinner, I got back rubs (the good ones) every night of the week and Russell kept the boys out of the house almost every afternoon. It was the best Mother's Day gift ever! Looking forward to my birthday week, too! Ha ha!

The boys last day of school was on the 12th. We had parties galore all that week. Brayden's party was at Sterling on the Lake's pavilion area. They really did it up for them with water balloons, pinata, pizza, snow cones, popcorn, games, etc. It was like a little carnival. We all went and were worn out by the time it was over. Everyone came home and napped that day for sure! Sissy was good and loved watching all the kids running around.

Hudson's class party was hosted by me. We did a happy meal lunch for each child and I set up a sundae bar in their classroom. They loved it. Everyone got a sand bucket full of summer activities to take home. He was excited about it. The teachers gave out class awards. Hudson got most imaginative. They said each day he comes in pretending to be someone else...Buzz, Batman, Spiderman...each day it's different. Ms. Shelley was so sweet to email me and let me know how special Hudson is to her. They pulled the favorite card out for him just like Brayden's teachers did. It really makes me feel good as a mom. I'm so thankful that they love school and that school loves them. Hudson will be going to a summer school at another church coming up at the beginning of June, so I'm hoping he'll do just as good there as he does at Blackshear.

Sis and I took the last day that the boys had school and just relaxed at home and played. I've really loved these last 4 months with her and am grateful that I am able to give her some one-on-one time while the boys are at school. She is so patient and kind and she deserves every second of it!

Brayden's graduation from Pre-K was Thursday night of that week. Cindy and Danny came to
watch them and so did Pop. Mom was sick, so she had to miss it. Hudson's class did an end of the year performance and Brayden's class sung a few songs, quoted a few verses and then received their little diplomas. He was so cute walking out onto the stage. Head held high and just grinning ear to ear. We are so proud of our little kindergartener.

We finally got to meet Miss Ella last week, too! Alisha brought the kids over for a playdate and it was a blast. Tyler really loves Brayden and Hudson and they played all morning. Brayden was a good big brother and watched out for the little guys for us. Ella is just precious and we are so excited to add another girl to the bunch. Hadley is going to have so many sweet little girl friends!

Last weekend, Trey, Daniella and Annabella and Sam and Presley were supposed to come over. I did some fried chicken, pasta salad and french fries. Sam and Presley made it, but Trey had a business obligation and they didn't get to come. The girls are growing so much and it was fun to see them play together. They are both just doll babies!

So this past week was my first week with all the kids with no school! We kept busy with the gym and playing outside. A playdate with Peyton and Caroline at McD's and then Jill and Joey came over early Friday morning to help out with the garage sale. It was a busy morning, that is for sure, but we made it through. Whoever knew garage sales could be so much work-well, when you add 2 toddlers, a 5 year old and an infant, I guess we should have known better, huh?! We made a pretty good amount of money and got rid of some stuff that needed to go, but I was super exhausted by the time Saturday afternoon hit. Our family hit the pool for the first time this year and it was a good time on Saturday after the sale. Hadley loved watching everyone and dipping her feeties in the water. After the pool, we headed up to Fish Tales with the Ellis'. They had some good live music and the kids played in the sand pit which was entertaining for them so we were able to enjoy some adult time and some good drinks! Their food is amazing, too!

On Sunday, we booked it up to the lake since we didn't make it up Saturday like we had planned. The boys fished and swam all day and I got some much needed sun and a bit of relaxing time. Lots of boats out...it's definitely summer time! We are really excited for the Memorial Day weekend up there. My parents are having a few people over and we are going to spend Sunday and Monday up there. Heading to ATL Saturday to see the Thrower family and cook out with them. Really looking forward to seeing that crew. Should be a memorable Memorial Day! Don't forget to salute the troops!

Hadley's 3 Month Photos!

2011-05-05T11:28:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to get Hadley's 3 month photo shoot complete. Now she can go up on the wall between her 2 brothers. They all 3 look really similar at this age. Russell couldn't even tell them apart, besides the bracelet that gives Hadley's away. Thanks to Rhonda Honikel Photography who did an amazing job and was even patient enough to shoot Hadley on two separate occasions to get the perfect shot! Thank you Rhonda!

We also had some taken with all three of the kids. Here they are!

No April Showers Here!

2011-05-05T03:57:00.000-07:00

April has come and gone and I have to say, I'm sort of glad. It was a great month, but so busy that I felt like we didn't have a second to breath on some days. Russell has been called out to work a whole lot because of all the bad storms. Luckily, he didn't have to go out of town, but he worked enough in town that it felt like he was out of town! Back in mid April, I got stuck on one of the busiest weekends of the month being a single mom, running around from Easter parties, to tee ball games, to birthday parties in McDonough, etc. Thankfully, Cindy helped me out at Canyon's birthday party or else I would have looked pretty silly chasing two boys around a BIG playground with a baby strapped to my belly! We always make it a priority to get to the southsider birthday's because we don't see them often and now that Brayden is old enough to know better, he would have freaked if we were to miss Canyon's party. Looking back, it wasn't so bad rushing around but when I got home I sure did crash! We missed Caroline's birthday party that same weekend and Nolen's bowling party. I really hate missing birthday's, but we just couldn't work it all in; especially with daddy at work. Seems that every year that same weekend in April is jam packed with parties! Hoping Canyon, Caroline and Nolen all had great birthdays! We did make it to Jill's Easter party and Hudson had a blast decorating eggs with Joey. I'm glad we were able to go. Hudson always seems to miss out on his stuff, so I wanted to make this party for him. It's always one of the cutest parties each year. She really goes over the top for Easter and everything was soooo cute!

Easter week was really nice here, but again really busy. The boys did their Mother's Day performances and Muffin's for Mom's breakfast early this year and it happened to fall on the same week as the Easter egg hunt. So this mom was at the preschool everyday out of the week for something! The performances were very cute and both boys did well. It was so sweet to see Brayden quote Psalm 23 on stage after all the practicing he has done. I'm really looking forward to his graduation performance. We had muffins and juice down in the hall and saw all the cute little crafts they made for Mother's Day. I got a sweet necklace from Brayden and a little flower pot with his face on it as the flower. Also, the cutest wipe off board that I can hang in the kitchen. I thought it was too sweet that Brayden came home and put the necklace in my ring jewelry box (I don't have one for necklaces). Russell said that Brayden asked him if he could put it in there for me. It was a pleasant surprise when I went to put my rings up that night. Some things I'll never forget! Hudson made a cute candle and picture frame and place mat. Again, these teachers go way out of their way and we are so thankful for this school. The egg hunt went well, too. Hudson had a little Easter party before the hunt and one mom even took the kids pictures with a live bunny. It was so cute! Since Russell had been working so much, he took a day off to be with the family so he was able to make it to the egg hunt. Both boys were so happy for that!

I had Brayden's end of year conference a few weeks ago. He has done outstanding and is ready to go to kindergarten. From what I hear he might be teachers pet. I guess that is a good thing at this age. One of the big things that his teachers pointed out to me was his drawing of a diamond. They have each kid draw all the shapes and they told me that his was extremely well for his age. He is always the first to raise his hand and want to answer questions and is very eager to learn! Not sure we have a genius on our hands, but I know we have a pretty special boy. I've been so pleased with his desire to learn and excitement about school. His teachers totally confirmed that he is definitely a special kid. I'm so grateful to have a humble little boy. We registered for Buford Elementary last week and he got to see the gym and the big wolf painted on the walls. He did a short interview and passed it with flying colors. It was a special day and even got to have lunch with daddy! I can't believe he will be a kindergartener in a few months!

The rest of the weekend was somewhat relaxing. We had a tee ball game and then headed up to the lake for Easter. Church service on Sunday was very good and Easter dinner at the lake was awesome! The weather couldn't have been more pretty and the boys had the time of their lives hunting eggs in the big yard. We had a small gathering for dinner. Leslie and Carl joined us and then the neighbors at the lake that my parents have become close with came, as well. Mom cooked it up as usual and we were all stuffed by the evening.

Last weekend was another hectic, but fun one. Cindy and John have been together quite a while now and just recently got engaged. We decided to have an impromptu wedding ceremony for them last Saturday. John is a pilot for Airtran and also has his own plane. He just got it painted and so they flew it up to Briscoe Field which is close to us and we had the ceremony right there on the tarmac! Cindy rode up with the pastor and his wife and believe it or not everything turned out pretty great! The weather was wonderful and the ceremony was really special. We had lunch at the cute restaurant at the airfield and then the boys got to take their first flight in a plane! They were so excited, while I was a bit nervous having all of my boys (even Russell) up at one time. Hudson got a little scared while up in air and Brayden loved every second of it. I'm so grateful for all of the neat things these kids get to experience at a young age. The first time I rode in a plane was at 15, so they have me beat by miles! We all said our goodbyes and Cindy and John took off into the blue sky. Congratulations to them! We were so happy to be able to be a part of the day.

That afternoon we ran from tee ball game (our last of the season) and then to Elizabeth's 30th low country boil. It was nice to relax a little at the party and enjoy some icy beers! The kids all played pretty good and the food was excellent, thanks to Wes. The girls also took E out to dinner the week before for some good times away from the hubby's and kids. It was enjoyable to have some girl time! Happy 30th Elizabeth! Hope it was all you dreamed it would be!

I also started working a little bit in April for a company called New Brand Analytics. It's a little hard to explain exactly what I do, but the best way to describe it is that I take feedback from places like open table and yelp on restaurants and hotel services and then I categorize it. This way, the companies that people are giving feedback on can look at it in a broken down list that is easy to read instead of fishing through tons of feedback that isn't pertinent to them. It's going pretty good so far because I can work from home when I have extra time and make pretty decent money. Every little bit helps plus it gets my mind out of the kid world and into the business world a little, too!

April was a milestone month for Russell, too! He finished up his last class for his 4 year degree. I am proud to say that he now has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management. We head to his graduation ceremony this weekend and I know he is walking on cloud 9 right now. He has been so dedicated and worked so hard for this, I really think it means more now to him than it would have if he were to have gotten it back in his early 20's. I think he appreciates it more. He started school when Brayden was Hadley's age and now 3 children and 3 homes later, he has done it! I know that his future with Georgia Power will sky rocket, but we are going to take it slow with job changes. He already has something on the table that he is looking at, but we are really thankful for his hours right now and we are keeping in mind how things will change drastically if he goes to another position that calls for long hours or lots of out of town trips. The money may be great in those jobs, but the time loss for us as a family is so important and something we feel money can't buy. While I know Russell wants to experience other sides of the business and I am going to support him in every way, he also loves his job (believe it or not) and would love to stay and move up in his current position. It's one of those situations where we will leave it to God and see where he takes us! Either way, we'll see what the future brings and support our daddy all the way!

Here's to some May flowers!

We Break for Spring Break!

2011-04-15T11:34:00.000-07:00

Everyone got somewhat of a break for spring break week at our house! The boys took a trip to Grammy and John’s for 3 days and even got to spend part of Wednesday with Granddaddy, too! They had an absolute blast and didn’t seem to miss us a bit. I have heard all about the big movie theatre that John has and how they watched Star Wars in it. Kite flying, scooter riding, park playing, the trains…even though it wasn’t the beach or a fancy vacation, it was just what those two boys wanted. Some Grammy attention and they loved every minute of it! I have to say that I was glad to have them back come Thursday morning, but it was nice to have some one-on-one with miss Hadley and also to have some me time. Since Peyton and Caroline were at their grandparents, too, Elizabeth and Madeline came over Monday for dinner and drinks. E and I were able to catch up and hang out. Tuesday, I went to her place for lunch. We were definitely soaking up our time together! It was very nice! Tuesday night, Russell and I had a dinner date scheduled and mom was going to watch Haddybelle for us, but with the storms that came through, Russell was stuck at work literally all week. I was thankful I wasn’t a single mom of 3 and only had 1 child while he was at work, but I was sad that we didn’t get the time together that we had been looking forward to. Maybe one day! HA! Mom ended up taking me to dinner and drinks instead so that was alright with me! When the boys came back they wanted to sleep in the bunk beds together so we let them. They did so great. I was surprised I didn't hear any peeps out of them. It was a fun thing for them to have a little sleepover.

The end of the week ended up being busy, too. Russell was able to take off of work on Friday. We were going to try to do Stone Mountain or Yellow River Game Ranch, but couldn’t make up our minds and so Russell ended up taking the boys to the park since he hadn’t seen them all week. We did a little shoe shopping on Friday afternoon and grabbed some dinner at Johnny’s. It wasn’t the family day I had in mind, but ended up pretty relaxing by the end of the day. Russell was in Augusta for the rest of the weekend. He was lucky enough to get two badges to the Masters thanks to my Aunt and Uncle in Augusta. He invited Billy and they had a fabulous time. It was the most beautiful day for the Masters and I know they really enjoyed being there. I’m glad he got to go this year. The Taylor’s came up to visit me and the kids on Saturday. Canyon hung out with Brayden while Jeremy, Alicia and Laney went shopping. Brayden was thrilled to have some Canyon time. Especially when Hudson took his nap and he had him all to himself! We are excited for his birthday party this weekend. It’s a priority for us to make his birthday since we don’t see them a whole lot. Brayden always looks so forward to it.

I took the boys up to the lake house Saturday night since Russell was in Augusta. Mom cooked on the grill and the boys fished and rode around on the mule with Bob and played in the grass. They really love it up there. Russell was able to come up Sunday afternoon and we were happy to see him. We enjoyed a couple boat rides (Haddybelle's first) and did some more fishing. It was a great end to the spring break week.

A few important mentions for spring break week! We got a new addition to our family. Emily Kathryn Miller was born on April 4th! Aimee, Jared and Logan are thrilled to have her and she is beautiful and sweet. Welcome to the family, cousin Emily! We love you already!

Also, Franklin had a birthday last Friday! Happy Birthday Uncle Franklin. It was a milestone birthday! 15! He passed his learners test and is practicing his driving now! Everyone watch out in Augusta! Just kidding. I love you my sweet brother!

Can't Forget the Boys!

2011-03-27T14:03:00.000-07:00

I know most of my posts lately have been about the new addition to our family, but we definitely didn't forget about our two sweet little boys! Here are some updates on them:

Brayden

Tee ball season has begun! He is on the Cubs this year and daddy is his head coach. It was a lot to take on with having a newborn and another little guy that just doesn't quite understand why he can't be out there playing with daddy and bro bro, but none the less, Buford needed coaches, so Russell gave in. So far it's been a good season. Only two games down and Brayden has done well in both of them despite our losses. He is playing the circle again and doing quite well. He got the game ball for our first game for hitting off the pitch (which is pretty much the norm for him now) and making an out at home plate. He was sure proud of that one! He is loving baseball more and more each season which tickles me to death. I know Russell thinks it's quite important to have him stay in sports throughout his young years going into his teens. Russell has definitely opened my eyes to see that it's not just playing a sport, but being part of a team really teaches you a lot more than just the game itself. I'm understanding it more and more as we go forward even though I felt like I wasn't cut out for that mom that wants to live on the ball fields. Looks like it is going to be a humongous part of my life here very soon; especially with Hudson so into it as well.

So opening day went really well last weekend. It was, for once, a beautiful day for the parade and game. Actually a little on the warmer side by the time we played. The boys seemed to have a blast throwing candy and cheering for the cubs! Mee Mee and Grammy both came to see the parade and Grammy spent the night and did some much needed loving on them both while she was here. Hadley made her debut at the parade this year! She seemed to enjoy it besides a little scare from the loud horns going by. She got plenty of attention as you can see from the Grandmother's! Granddaddy and Becky came to cheer Brayden on at his first game. It ended up being a late game because the games were all behind about 30 mins so we did a quick pizza dinner when we got home and then hit the sack. It was definitely a long day for everyone! I even made the transformation even between the parade and game from baseball mom to miss priss mom and dolled up to attend Alisha's baby shower at The Coach Swan House. It was such a sweet shower.

Brayden is really excelling at school as well as sports these days. I'm really going to be sad to end this year for him. He'll be graduating preschool in May and off to kindergarten in August, which he is more than ready for! He has two of the most awesome teachers anyone could ask for this year in pre-k. They are so gracious and caring and love Brayden to pieces. The art show at Blackshear Place was this past week. Each room had a different theme. Brayden's classroom theme was space. Come to find out, they did the theme because of Brayden. The teachers told me that they couldn't resist when he came in at the beginning of the year and knew all his planets. They were really impressed. It made for a cute theme, that is for sure. The teachers even dressed up for the occasion. It really meant a lot for them to tell me that about Brayden. I'm so blessed to have him.

We went out on a limb and decided to take Brayden to an acting/modeling audition a couple weeks ago. Ever since he has shown his personality traits at a young age, everywhere we go people tell us we need to put him in acting or some sort of show business. At the audition we went to, he had to say his name and age and do a 60 second monologue. He sang My Girl and recited the Christian Pledge. He did a good job, but seemed a little more reserved than usual. Believe it or not, we did get a call back and he made the cut. We are still looking into what steps we need to take to get him into the industry. We were told not to pay an arm and a leg for classes or headshots. We were referred to an agency and are going to get some headshots and go from there. We'll see where he takes it. It's nice to know he has the introductory skills to get into the industry, but right now Russell would rather him focus on learning which sports he wants to play and in the summer he will start either piano or guitar lessons, so we are just going to take the steps with stride and go from there.

A little update on his lyphnode under his chin. We went back to the doctor to have it checked out and it had gotten smaller and the doctor said we didn't need to worry about anything. His blood work came back beautifully at his November check up and straight from the doctors mouth he said that a surgeon wouldn't touch that for a biopsy. We are thankful to report the good news.

Hudson

Onto Huddy boy! He is such a sweetie pie. Very laid back and socially following in Brayden's footsteps. As I mentioned earlier, he had a hard time at first not understanding why he couldn't go on the ball field with daddy and bro bro at the games. I am now just telling him the truth that he is still too little to play, because I'm not sure of what else to say. It's heartbreaking seeing his eyes watching and wanting to run out there so bad. Lately he has done really good and is getting used to hanging with me and sissy on the bleachers...and in the dirt. Miss Caroline entertains him as well! It's nice that Russell allows him to be part of the team when he can.

He's done extremely well in his first year of preschool. I have been getting the nicest compliments from his teacher Ms. Shelley lately. She says that Hudson is definitely ready to go to the three's class. Actually, back at registration time in January, she mentioned that he was one of the only ones ready for the three's. I was shocked to hear that since he is the youngest. She also said that she is amazed at how well he listens for being the youngest in the class. That is good to know because I was so worried he was going to be the wild child and disrupt the class! His classroom theme for the art show was under the sea. Very, very adorable. Ms. Shelley and Ms. Jessica are known around the school for doing some of the most creative crafts! Hudson was so excited for us to see his art work.

We are still in the process of potty training, but have hit a good spell lately. I'm hoping during spring break week that we can nail that down!

I'm happy to announce that he just transferred to a big boy bed this weekend! We got him bunk beds for his room. He wasn't so sure about them until we got the spiderman and iron man sheets for them. He did ok for his first nap, coming out of his room only a couple times, but last night for bedtime, we tucked him in, read a book, said our prayers and out we went....can you believe it? In he stayed!!! I didn't think it'd be that easy. Today he did the same for nap. No coming out at all! We are doing a sports theme for his room. Ended up staying neutral with the bedding so we can do the cool sheets. Next I'll be tackling some stripes for his wall and hang up his name and we'll be done. It's been a slow process getting their rooms done since we moved, but we are rolling right along.

So that is our little update on our handsome little guys. They are sweet big brothers to sissy and so far she LOVES watching them and listening to them. I know she'll be crawling around the house trying to keep up very soon!

Playdates Galore!

2011-03-16T10:36:00.000-07:00

We have been having lots of playdates lately so that Hadley can make her rounds and meet all of the great people in our lives. Last Friday, Mrs. Lisa and lil Monroe came to visit along with Mrs. Sam and Miss Olivia. Sam and Presley also stopped in as well! Mrs. Lisa made some yummy potato soup for everyone. What a treat; however, she worked so hard all morning roasting the potatoes just to burn the soup a bit on our stove. One burner heats up so fast and so hot...I try to warn people about it, but it gets them every time. Either way, the soup was still really great...just had a little smokey taste to it! LOL!

All the kiddos had a blast. Especially Olivia and Hudson. It is so funny to get new talking toddlers together and see them carry on their own little convos. I love listening to them. Not so sure Mr. Steve would have liked the doctor or massage game that they were playing together, but we'll keep that one between the mommy's for now! Little IV and Brayden hit it off! All the little ones always seem to take to him. Such a good big brother he is to them all! I guess he has had some good practice lately with all the babies coming into the world!

Saturday, the Germany clan came up to visit. They stopped by the ball fields to watch Brayden's first practice game. It was such a beautiful day for it that is for sure! McKinsey even brought her baseball bat for the occasion. Afterwards we came back to our house and had some dinner and just relaxed with all the kiddos!

Sunday was a busy day, too! We invited the Dunn's over after tee ball pictures to do some wings and fries. The kids played outside in the beautiful weather. Wendsor, Chris and the girls also walked down. Chris had never met Hadley either, so it was nice for him to get to finally see her!

It was a wonderful weekend full of time with our wonderful friends!

Hadley at Two Months!

2011-03-15T08:50:00.000-07:00

Once again I will say, time is flying by! Hadley is already two months old! I am truly soaking up the baby days with her. I honestly don't want her to get any bigger. She could stay this age forever and I would be totally ok with that! She is so sweet and precious and still such a good baby. She is sleeping from 8:30-4 every night now. She gets a little later each night so I'm thinking within the next 2 weeks she'll be going at least until 6. So much for my up all night baby days that we all dread. It's bittersweet...this time around I didn't seem to mind getting up to feed.

We went for her check up today. Perfect appointment. She is smiling more and more and starting to coo a lot. She hit all her milestones which are still so few at this age. She loves her tummy time and knows when she is sleepy...that's about the only time she will peep. We have had her in her bed at night and for most naps since 6 weeks old. She seems to enjoy her bright room and looking up at her pom poms! She also is starting to see really well and loves watching the boys! Who wouldn't?! They are crazy!

We are all so thankful for this precious, healthy child the Lord has given to us.

Weight 11 lbs, 1 oz (58%)
Height 22 1/4 inches (47%)
Head 15 1/4 (50%)

Road Trip

2011-03-04T17:13:00.000-08:00

Hadley took her first road trip to Augusta with Hudson and I this week. My dad's 60th birthday and family coming through town really pushed me to make the trip and I'm so glad I did. It was a very short trip...I mean really short. We left Wednesday at noon and came home Thursday at 11. Brayden had tee ball and school so I worked it out from the help of the Dunn's and my mom and Bob to leave him here. He had fun while we were away getting some playtime with buddy Peyton, some one-on-one time at ball with daddy and then a spend the night with Pop and Mee Mee. I think he was most excited about Pop dropping him off at school the next morning. He was so proud to introduce him to his teachers.

The kids were great for me in Augusta. Both slept on the whole ride down and Hadley slept all the way back, too! Hudson did good and watched a few movies. Barely a peep out of him. While we were there we got to visit with my dad, Lee and Franklin and even my brother Chad got to come by for dinner. My aunt and uncle along with cousins from PA came over for dinner to help celebrate Dad's 60th and it was so great for them to get to see Hudson and meet Hadley. They were a little disappointed that I didn't bring Brayden, but next time I will for sure! We had a nice filet dinner for dad and even toasted with some fabulous champagne for him. Lee made a wonderful rum cake that was super delicious! I'm glad I got to get down there to be with him around his birthday. He said it was a great gift to have all of his children together for the dinner and I know on top of us being there he was thrilled to have his sister and wonderful cousin to join in. Happy Birthday, Dad!

Much Needed Girl Time

2011-02-27T16:38:00.000-08:00

Jill, Elizabeth, Alisha, Sam F., Taylor and myself went out for dinner and drinks at Cheeky's on Saturday for a long overdue girl's night out! It was so nice to catch up and just chat with these adorable women in my life! I will say it was also good to have a margarita...or two! I actually had a really special moment while sitting at the table with everyone and then realized later on when talking to a few others that it wasn't just me that noticed the union between all of us. We all seem to have most of the same values and are on the same track in life at this time. I couldn't have been more proud of the women sitting at that table with me and how each of them are living their life and raising their family. I know this might sound a little corny from an outsider looking in, but after the past year with losing touch with friends and really needing the ones that God put in my life, it was like a little light bulb going off in my head. Those ladies at that table were the ones that were there for me when I needed them the most and I am so thankful to have them all in my life. I cannot wait to get this group together again. The conversations were so resourceful and it wasn't just a goof off, girls night out. I think we all left the table learning something about each other and even ourselves!

Another special lady that means a lot to me just happened to be in town that weekend as well! Kellen spent all day Friday with me and the kids. This was her first time meeting Miss Hadley and I am so glad that she got to meet her when she is still little. It was a special visit for all of us. After Cheeky's, Sam and I met Kellen, Tonya and Missy out at 37 Main and had a little reunion with all of the North Gwinnetter's! It was really good to see everyone and to let loose on the dance floor a little bit. I realized how much I miss Miss Kell and hope to see her again real soon!

Baby Girl times 3!

2011-02-21T08:06:00.000-08:00

We had our first playdate with the Warnock and Fournier families this past weekend! It's funny because Trey, Sam and I were all high school friends and then roommates in college at West Georgia and we had baby girls all within 2 weeks of each other. How neat!

It's a really sweet feeling to be able to have them meet each other at such a young age and hopefully stay friends as long as the 3 of us have. I can speak for each family that we are all very grateful for healthy babies. 2 with lots of beautiful hair and one without-guess who-but still beautiful none the less. Thank you Trey and Daniela for hosting our first playdate. Can't wait to see you all again in April!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-16T11:37:00.000-08:00

We hope everyone had a Happy Valentine's Day.

Our family has lots of things to be thankful for this month and so much love to share!

Beautiful, healthy baby girl, two awesome big brothers, family that goes out of their way for us, happy home, glorious friends, and the list goes on and on and on. Thank you Lord!

Saturday, we celebrated our third "family tradition" as Wes calls it, Valentine's dinner with the Dunn family. Elizabeth cooked wonderful french dip sandwiches. It's funny to think that just a year ago we were taking their announcement picture to tell everyone they were pregnant with Madeline Grace and now she is here. Not only her, but Hadley Reese is here, too! Never would have thought that a year ago! Funny how things work out. The kids played really good together, but unfortunately the boys (Peyton and Brayden) got into a little mischeif. They were playing spys with a small, play razor kit and marked up the walls in the basement with x's...they said they were putting x's so the bad guys wouldn't get them. I don't really know what they were thinking...they are five and know better than to draw and scratch up the walls. We were all disappointed and had an hour of cleaning walls at the Dunn's house on Sunday, so I think they learned their lesson. Other than that, it was a great night! Can't win them all, right?! Thanks for hosting E & W!

We celebrated with my mom and Bob at the hibachi restaurant for their wedding anniversary on Sunday night. They just purchased a beautiful lake house that is so well deserved and we are very happy for them. They have been searching for years and years and were so patient and because of that they found a jewel on Lake Lanier, that is for sure. It's definitely going to be a fun, fun summer!

Monday on Valentine's Day, I woke up to Brayden giving me the cutest card and a box of chocolates. He was so proud. Russell was sweet and brought me home flowers. We had a surprise visitor from Augusta for V-day! Karen decided to drive up! We cooked filet's on the grill and had a nice steak and potato dinner with her. Russell has been out of town for a Georgia Power retreat so it was nice to have Karen hang out with us. She stayed for two nights and cooked and cleaned and helped with the boys. I am so grateful that she was here. I'm a big baby when Russell goes away. He arrived home this afternoon and Karen had just packed up to head home so it worked out perfectly. I had so much fun with her and I think she enjoyed it. I know she is exhausted from helping take care of the 3 youngin's and I hope she knows how much I appreciated her visit. We love you KK!

A Little about Hadley Reese at One Month!

2011-02-15T11:09:00.000-08:00

Well, it has been one month since we've become a family of five and so far I truly cannot complain. Hadley has been a blessing to all of us and she has fit right into our family so easily. She is pretty laid back and is a great baby! She seems to be just along for the ride and doesn't complain much about anything. The boys are still doing so great with her and are very sweet to her. Now, to each other it's a different story, but most of the time they make good playmates for one another.

Hadley had her one month check up this morning and her stats seem perfect! The doctor was really impressed with her weight gain. I looked back at the boys and their weight gain was about the same. They were all chunky little things in the early months, that is for sure. Although, Hadley seems more delicate and still so tiny to me. Must be a girl thing. She had to get her second Hep B shot and she squealed the most saddest scream that lasted about 10 seconds and then she was fine. Other than that, the doctor thought everything looked good and that we were right on track. Thank the Lord for a healthy baby girl!

She is starting to change a bit. Opening her eyes more often and looking at us like she knows who we are now instead of just gazing into space. She has cracked a smile or two here and there. I'm really looking forward to seeing her start smiling for real in the next couple weeks. She is still nursing great and taking a bottle when I want her to. She is going about 4-5 hours at night, feeding, and then going right back to sleep, so I can't ask for anything better than that for a 4 week old! Again, no trouble at all so far and pretty much goes with the flow. We are very blessed.

9 lbs, 12.6 oz. (61%), 20 1/4 inches (21%), 14 1/2 head circum (39%).

Here she is giving herself a #1 on her one month birthday! We love you sweet girl!

Hello World!

2011-02-04T03:58:00.000-08:00

As you all know by now, Hadley made her debut into this world on January 14, 2011 at 7:06 a.m. She weighed 7 lbs, 7 oz, and was 19.5 inches long. She has been in our lives for 3 weeks now and we couldn’t imagine life without her! The delivery and hospital stay went as well as could be expected with only a few hiccups! Hadley swallowed a bit of fluid when they pulled her out and so she was breathing fast at first. She had to go to the transition nursery to be monitored for 2 hours before we could take her to our room. This was a little scary because we didn’t get much time with her right away. Her breathing was 90 bpm when it should have been 40-60 bpm. Once she got to the transition nursery, she calmed down and stabilized, so after her 2 hours in there, she was able to come be with us.

My mom and Bob brought Brayden and Hudson to meet her around lunchtime on her birth day. They were so sweet and couldn’t believe she was finally here. Brayden is really into her…Hudson will take a look and kiss her and then go about his business. We had lots of visitors throughout our stay at the hospital and thank everyone who came to see us and for all the goodies they brought along with them. Also, a big thanks to those who sent flowers to us. It really brightened up the room!

We are also grateful for my mom and Bob and my Dad, Lee and Franklin. They were troopers and hung out with the boys while we had to stay in the hospital. Everything went really smooth and it’s nice that we didn’t have to worry about the boys being taken care of while we were having Hadley.

So Russell was off for a full week and then my mom took off and helped out tremendously last week. Cindy also came up this past Friday and helped with the boys. It was a big weight off my shoulders to be able to rest with Hadley while she was one-on-one with them. Katie was so sweet to set up a meal care webpage for us so we have been blessed with a meal just about every other day for the past 2 weeks! A huge thank you to all of our friends that brought dinner over. All the meals have been so delicious and everyone was so sweet to consider Russell and his picky diet! UGH!

Hadley had her first check up at 5 days old and from the time we left the hospital on Monday to the appt on Tuesday morning, she had gained 4 ounces! My milk came in great and she is loving it! She had her first bottle yesterday and downed 4 oz like a pro! I’m so thankful that the first few hours of her being away from us didn’t jeopardize her nursing abilities. These past 3 weeks have been a breeze, honestly. She is such a laid back baby…rarely ever cries. Let’s just hope it stays like that! She is eating and sleeping like she should so I guess we are right on track. We are starting to see her awake a bit more often in between feedings this week. The boys get so excited when she opens her eyes…since it’s been a rare occasion since she was born! LOL! We could not have asked for a better baby. I guess the Lord only gives you what you can handle. Again, this whole plan was not ours but His, and we are thankful for the journey.

My friend Melissa came to take Hadley's newborn photos on her 6th day birth day. She was here for about 3 hours and Miss Hadley couldn't have been better. Awake for the first hour and then falling fast asleep for the next 2 hours made it easy to manipulate her into some really cute positions for what turned out to be an awesome photo shoot! A big thanks to Melissa for sharing her talent with us. What beautiful memories we have from all the adorable pictures!

This was my first week on my own with 3 kiddos. It wasn’t so bad, although it’s very intimidating to think about. On Tuesday, Sam brought Presley over for our first official play date while the boys were in school. It was so nice to see them and spend some time together un-preggo! Towards the middle of the week, things kind of got chaotic. The boys both got sick with croup and fever on Wednesday. Russell was luckily home during the morning so he was able to take Hudson to the doctor. They both broke fever on Wednesday afternoon and were good to go by the evening. That hacky cough is still lingering, but they were able to go back to school yesterday at least.

Hadley and I had our first little shopping date in the neighborhood at a Pampered Chef party last night. Although, she slept in the sling on me the entire time, it was still fun to get out and feel like a normal person again. I even had a glass of sangria-go me! The boys were supposed to hit the hockey game downtown, but Russell opted out since it was nasty weather and since the kids were still coughing some. Instead, they rented a movie and laid low at home.

This weekend we will have a get together to meet Trey and Daniela’s new baby, Anabella. Presley and her crew will be there, too! We are excited to get the trio of girls together for the first time.

A happy 3 week birthday today to Miss Hadley Reese!

Doughnuts for Dads

2011-02-01T04:50:00.000-08:00

The preschool had their annual Doughnuts for Dads night last week! Russell was so excited about it! Again, Blackshear Place goes well out of their way for special events like this. Brayden's class had a music theme for the dad's so it was right up our alley! Hudson's class had a footprints theme...too adorable. Russell said the performances were great and both boys did well then they all headed to eat up some doughnuts. I'm going to try to get some videos uploaded sometime soon so I will post those when I do. Check out Brayden's list below about daddy...these are priceless!

37 Week Check-Up

2011-01-10T08:04:00.000-08:00

My 37 week check up was last Tuesday. It was pretty routine. Heartbeat was good and I had no weight gain, so that was a plus! My contractions have been sparatic still, but Dr. Lambert did say if I called him and if they were bad enough, he would probably put me in and go ahead with the c-section early. As much as I would love Miss Hadley to be here already, the boys are all set to stay with my mom and Bob starting this Thursday night and then my dad is coming up to relieve her on Saturday, so we really need to stick to the plans for all of them.

I go for my last doctor's appt this coming Thursday and then Friday morning bright and early at 4:45 a.m., we have to be at Northside Forsyth 2 hours prior to the c-section at 6:45. So baby girl should be here around 7:15 a.m. on Friday morning. We are really looking forward to her arrival! Please keep us in your prayers!

Bringing in 2011!

2011-01-10T07:39:00.000-08:00

Happy 2011! We hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year! The week of New Year's was very productive for us. Russell had some vacation time and we got some of our last minute nesting done. Closets cleaned out, garage cleaned out, etc.

Karen came up to visit and was so sweet to take Brayden out for an afternoon date so I could get some rest while Hudson took his nap. They went to see Yogi Bear and then did a little browsing around the mall. I know he really enjoyed the special treatment. I've been so tired lately that he hasn't been getting the attention that he needs from me. A big thanks to Karen for going out of her way to drive from Augusta and back in one day to help me out. It meant more than she'll ever know.

Sam and Mike had their baby girl, Presley, on the 30th! Brayden and I made the trip down to Northside to see them. Their new addition is just adorable and so far Sam and Mike seem like naturals at the whole parenting thing. I'm so proud of them. Looking forward to many future playdates for Hadley and Presley! Congrats to the Fournier family!

Katie and Rob invited us over for NYE. It was so nice to just walk next door to celebrate! We had some nice steaks on the grill for dinner and I drank my strawberry/pomegranate spritzer! The boys played outside some of the evening because is was so nice out. We let them do sparklers and throw some pop rocks and that was the highlight of their night! They hung in there until about 10:30 and we headed back home. Russell and I dozed off and woke up just in time to give a Happy New Year's smooch at midnight. This New Year's might not have been the most thrilling, but it was very memorable and relaxing. We couldn't have brought in the New Year with better friends! We went to Mom's for the traditional New Year's Day dinner-pork tenderloin, black eyed peas for luck and collard greens for money!

36 week up date

2010-12-31T14:42:00.000-08:00

I am 36 weeks pregnant today. My doctor appt earlier this week was a little crazy. I had another ultrasound because of the babies size. They estimate her weight to currently be 6 lbs, 7 oz. That makes her measuring 38 weeks at 35.5 weeks. Yikes! So the doctor wanted me to re-take the gestational diabetes test that I took at 28 weeks to see if that might be what is making her grow so big and so fast. Basically, if the test turned out to be positive, it would mean that I have diabetes only while I'm pregnant. Not a fun thing, you have to change up your diet, etc. Luckily, my test came back normal again, so I am good on that. Once again, to sum up the appt, she is a just a big, healthy little girl! She is breach, but a sideways breach. Meaning, her head is towards one side and booty at the other, so instead of sitting vertically she is horizontal which is why I've had so much pain lately. Contractions have been once an hour for a while now, nothing to jump the gun on.

C-section is still scheduled for January 14th so I have 2 more weeks to get last minute stuff done and spend some time with the boys before they acquire a little sister that will take more of my attention away from them. I know they will do fine, but we had the same feelings when Hudson came along, so I suppose this is normal. My next appt is Tuesday and we will re-evaluate everything then, but hopefully all the terms will stay on track! Keep us in your prayers that she stays in a bit longer! We really want to make it to the 14th!

Wrapping Up Christmas!

2010-12-30T06:22:00.001-08:00

We sure have had a busy few weeks here at our house for the holidays! The kiddos wrapped up their last week of school with their Christmas parties. I was able to attend them both since they were on different days. Unfortunately, Hudson's party was cancelled due to the major ice storm we had a few weeks ago...ha, ha-we all know Georgia and their winter weather advisories...they always make it out worse than it really is. I was really impressed with his teachers, though. Their first day off of the holiday break, they offered to come into school so the kids could still have their party. You don't hear of many teachers going out of their way like that. I was really thankful that Hudson didn't have to miss his first Christmas party at school! They also did some really cute crafts and ornaments in both boys' classes that were sent home. Hudson's class made the cutest Happy Birthday Jesus shirt! The book exchanges were super cute, too!

We celebrated Christmas with the Dunn family to start off the holiday break! I cooked a stromboli and made a salad and we had a nice dinner while the kids played. They loved their first gift exchange of the season and had a fun time. Madeline hung out in her bouncer most of the time and was a good girl the whole evening!

The first week of break, the boys and I did some last minute running around and had a fun playdate at Jill and Joey's house! Wednesday night, we hit the Lake Lanier Nights of Lights. Again we are thankful for Georgia Power and the free ticket that Russell gets each year. We wouldn't be able to go if we didn't get the free pass. We got our annual family ornament for the tree and the boys each picked out one for themselves. Brayden picked the violin and Hudson the snowman.

Thursday evening, we had Grandanny and Becky up to celebrate Christmas with them. The kids were excited to open their presents right away, but they were good and made it until after dinner. Hudson got Stinky the Garbage truck which he loves to play with through the glass at Target, but isn't so fond of it at home. Go figure. Brayden loves it, though. Brayden got the Toy Story Landfill which has been a hit for them both. This Christmas was pretty much a 'share everything' Christmas. We tried to split things up, but they both love just about the same things. Even Hadley got her first Christmas gift. Some more cute clothes and new bottle nipples and passy's! Yay! We went to dinner with Becky and Danny at Cracker Barrel and really enjoyed our time with them. They were very good to the boys and us. Thank you!

Ricky was sweet enough to host the 6th Annual Baby Christmas Party this year. This is Russell's group of friends that all graduated high school together. Ever since we all started having babies (6 years ago), we do the party every year. I hate to say it, but when they all get together, I think they believe they are back in high school-it's really quite amusing. Boys will be boys or should I say mackels will be mackels (that's for all my Henry County followers, lol).

I was really impressed with Ricky's bachelor pad which has come a long way from the duplex in Riverdale when I met him 12 years ago! He really has a nice home and all the Christmas decorations that he put up were impressive for a single guy! This year we had a new addition to the crew. Miss McKinsey Germany...finally, Justin and Teri added to the mix! Each year it seems to get bigger and bigger! I suppose Hadley will be the new addition next year. It was nice to see everyone and the kids played so good together; although, I know Jackson' room was a tornado zone after we were all gone-sorry Ricky! We did an Italian spread with lasagna, spaghetti casserole, garlic bread, appetizers, desserts, just way too much food! I always love this party because it seems to come easy and is always laid back and somewhat relaxing even though we had 9 kiddos joining us. We really missed the Warrington family and hope to catch up with them soon.

Russell was off on Friday for Christmas Eve so we woke up and just relaxed a little as a family and then my mom came over and took me to get a surprise, much needed pedicure! What a treat! Thanks mom! I haven't had one since my birthday! We all napped that afternoon and then got ready for Christmas Eve service at church. The theme of the service was a Charlie Brown Christmas and was very sweet. They did a candle lighting at the end which was special. It was a nice service. Afterwards, we rushed home to do our traditional breakfast for dinner meal on Christmas Eve. My mom and Bob came over and joined us and the kids baked cookies and we read Twas the Night Before Christmas and then off to bed they went! Unfortunately, mommy and daddy didn't get to bed after midnight which made for an early morning when Brayden came down at 7 o'clock on the dot Christmas morn!

Can we say overwhelming?! Christmas Day was a blast, but everyone was exhausted by 3 p.m. at our house! The boys didn't know what to think about everything. They woke up to their Santa here and then we had breakfast and headed to mom's for Santa over at their house. I think Santa sent more there than to our house. We need to make sure he knows that next year he can cut our delivery down to half of what it was this year. Russell and I were almost sick to our stomachs when we saw the pile of toys in our living room at the end of the day. It looked like Toys R Us threw up in our house! Some of the stuff is in my car to go back to the store and another part is packed up for future gifts. Sometimes it's just too much. I'm hoping for a more simpler Christmas next year, even though we'll be adding girly stuff to the mix!

So Christmas dinner was here at our house. Unfortunately, my cousin Aimee and her family were sick so they weren't able to make it. We really missed them. Aunt Polly, mom and Bob and Cindy ventured up and it was a small, but nice dinner. I cooked a prime rib and then everyone brought a dish so we had all the traditional sides to go with it. The snow started around dusk so it cut our evening a little short. Georgia had it's first white Christmas since the 1800's! How awesome it was! The boys couldn't wait until morning to make a snowman, so at 7:30 on Christmas night, Russell was out there with his boys building a snowman. They loved it! It sure was a Merry Christmas!

We missed dad, Lee, Chadwick and Franklin this year. They were supposed to come up the day after Christmas, but with the snow and ice, it didn't happen. Hoping to see them in the new year when Hadley comes. Lee had a big birthday milestone this year. She is a Christmas baby. Hoping she had a good celebration. Happy Birthday, Lee Lee.

Sunday, we were 'snowed in'...sort of! Church was cancelled so we made it
another lazy day at home. The kids were entertained with all their toys, and we tried to start straightening up and organizing the playroom. Hudson got sick Sunday morning and had a little stomach bug. He does this every few months. Not sure if he drinks too much juice when he gets up or if his stomach didn't settle before bed. It's not the ongoing stomach bug...no fever or anything, just vomiting a time or two and then he lays around and once about 11 a.m. hits, he is back to normal. Not sure what causes it and the doctor has said in the past she cannot pinpoint anything in particular because it is so sparatic. Anyhow, glad it wasn't on Christmas Day at least and he was all better in a few hours.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas this year! I cannot believe 2011 is almost here and we are about to welcome a baby girl to our family. What a great way to start the new year! We are thankful for the family & friends that we have to spend special times with and also the ones that we don't see as often, but we do think about a lot. Every year, I miss our big family Christmas with my cousins more and more. Maybe one day we can all be together again for Christmas!

7th Annual Christmas Wine Party

2010-12-22T05:17:00.000-08:00

Heather and Dirk Lamb, some good friends of ours from over the years held their 7th annual Christmas party this year at their home in Atlanta. We have gone almost every year from the beginning, just missing 2 of the parties due to babies being born or some odd event that clashed. Back when the party tradition started out, it used to be very intimate with just a few couples, a sit down dinner, wine, the whole 9 yards. The past 4 years or so have changed to a bigger party with fancy hors devourers, still the wine, but more friends! It always has and always will be the more the merrier in that group! Heather and Dirk work really hard every year to make this party a success and it always turns out wonderful! They even had non-alcoholic wine for a couple preggos at the party to sip on! It actually was pretty good to say the least!

Mom watched the boys for us this year so we can get out and see some friendly faces that we hadn't seen in probably almost a year. Elizabeth was sweet enough to let me borrow a really cute dress to wear after I spent hours out trying to find something to fit this big belly of mine and had no luck! Thanks, girl!

We had a great time catching up with everyone and hearing about all the babies everyone is having and how successful they are in their careers, etc. It is so good to hear nothing but good things going on in everyone's life. We have all been really blessed over the past 10 years of knowing each other.

Thanksgiving...yeah, I'm a little late!

2010-12-22T04:57:00.000-08:00

Trying to catch up before the year ends with the events from the past month. Thanksgiving was low key and relaxing for us. Russell was off for 4 days straight so we were able to get some of the nursery touch ups finished and Christmas decorating put out. The boys were so excited about getting decorations out of course and Smitty, our elf that reports to Santa every night paid his first visit to us Thanksgiving night. It's been a fun thing this year for Brayden. Not one morning has passed that he hasn't immediately gone on his search for Smitty. Hudson loves it too, of course, he loves anything that big brother loves, but I'm not sure he gets it totally. He is saying now when I have to get onto Brayden about something that "Smitty is watching"! It's hilarious.

We traveled to Marietta for Thanksgiving to Aunt Polly's house. It was as beautiful and delicious as always. Small crowd this year with us four, my mom and Bob, Aunt Polly and my cousin Aimee and her husband Jared and son, Logan. Logan and Hudson and Brayden played and played outside and all did well at the dinner table, so that was a treat for the adults. As usual, we ate too much which made for a lazy black Friday, but that's what you do on Turkey Day, right?!

I didn't get out into the hustle and bustle this year on black Friday. Just ran to Kohl's and Target and actually ran up on the deals that I wanted. The rest of the weekend went to more decorating and more of the nursery decor and of course, some football!

Russell got a treat and was given tickets to the UGA vs. GT game in Athens. We have tickets that have been in the family forever, but there are so many cousins, etc, that we barely ever get the offer for them. They are REALLY good 50 yard line seats, 4 rows up from the field so there was no way we were passing them up when Aunt Jackie offered them to us! So being the good wife I am and since it was going to be 35 degrees that night at the game, I gave up my seat for Russell to take a friend. He and Billy headed to Athens Saturday afternoon and seemed to have an awesome time at the game. Russell said they were able to walk down to the hedges of the field and that is where they watched most of the game. Lucky ducks! It was a good game, too! GT almost pulled it out, but at the last minute couldn't hold it together. Thanks to Aunt Jackie and Uncle Choppy for thinking of us!

That pretty much sums up our Thanksgiving holiday. A few of the things we are thankful for this Thanksgiving are as follows:

-HEALTHY children and family....and baby girl on the way!

-TIME...to spend with family. So thankful for Russell's job and the time he gets off to be with us.

-FAMILY that is there when you need them and even when you don't. That's what family is all about!

Brayden's First Trip...without Mommy & Daddy!

2010-12-14T15:58:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving week, Brayden was invited to go to Augusta and spend some time with Grandpa Stan, Lee Lee and Uncle Franklin. He was so excited and kept asking everyday for weeks when the big day was coming. Karen had come up and spent the night for Hadley's shower so it worked out nicely that Brayden could ride back home to Augusta with her. They left on Monday after brunch and with his bag packed, his koala bear named Rockman in his arms, and tears in MY eyes, he rode off.

He got to spend a little one-on-one time with Karen at her house, checking out her little puppy, horses and even got to see Uncle Chad for a bit. I can't thank her enough for letting him be a stowaway. Grandpa Stan and Franklin came to pick him up that afternoon. They chilled out at Grandpa Stan's house Monday evening and had pizza and salads. Russell and I called and told him good night and he seemed like he was doing well. No crying or whining, so that was a good thing. Dad said he went right to sleep; of course, I'm sure that wasn't hard since he got to sleep in the middle of Grandpa Stan and Uncle Franklin.

They got up super early on Tuesday and headed to the river to do a little hunting. Dad said Brayden did well, making it a couple hours. They saw a few deer, but didn't shoot anything. I can imagine how hard it was for him to sit and not talk for a long period of time, but I suppose it was good for him. He seemed to enjoy it with all the stories he had when he got home. They stopped by to see Aunt Jackie and do some visiting with her and then I think they ended up back down at the river that afternoon. They ate some Chinese on Tuesday night and by 9 p.m. I was told that Brayden was sacked out again. Long day for such a little guy, I guess!

Wednesday afternoon, my dad and I met in Madison (the meeting spot for me when I was younger going back and forth from Atlanta to Augusta) to pick up Brayden. I know he had fun, but the look in his eyes when I opened the door to get him out of his seat was priceless. He had tears in his eyes he was so happy to see me. Dad seemed proud of him saying that he only asked about us once or twice and never cried for us. I think Dad thought he would have to deal with some crying.

Russell and I enjoyed our one-on-one time with Huddy, but the house was definitely not the same with Brayden away. I hope that they enjoyed him as much in Augusta for their 3 days as we do here all the time. I guess we will see if he is invited back again...LOL! A big thanks to Dad, Lee and Franklin for having him and Karen for spending some time with him, too and driving him down!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

2010-12-06T09:30:00.000-08:00

The boys had their visit with Santa a few weeks ago. We did something a little bit different this year than seeing our usual Santa at Lake Lanier Islands. My friend Rhonda was offering a private 10 minute sitting with Santa, and Russell especially thought the boys would love some one-on-one time with the big guy rather than running up, snapping a quick picture and being shooed away. Last year Brayden was so upset that he didn't really get to talk to Santa, so this year was a major treat for him. We thought we would take advantage of it while we can and while the boys are in the spirit because I heard that these days, it doesn't last as long as it used to.

First the photographers got a couple shots of just the two of them and then they sent Santa in. Brayden and Hudson both were in awe when he walked out. You can see how they captured their looks as he greeted them. Hudson was just talking away to him like they'd been friends forever. The boys got to spend a good 10-15 minutes taking pictures and talking with Santa and it was a pretty sweet experience.

A Shower for Hadley

2010-12-02T04:08:00.001-08:00

A few Sunday’s ago, some fabulous friends of mine threw me and Miss Hadley the most adorable baby shower. Elizabeth was so nice to offer to host the shower and after much hesitation about having one for a third child, I gave in. I figured, what the heck, food, friends and a few new things for this baby girl about to be here, she deserves it! So the shower was low key and I just wanted it to be close friends and family and that is just what it was.

Elizabeth had some help from Jill, Katie and Taylor. Taylor made the cutest invitation and even used my fabric for the baby bedding as a border on the invite. So creative and right up my alley! Jill cooked the main spread…a homemade ziti, with homemade sauce and meatballs…also the freshest salad to go along with it. Again, it’s Italian…right up my alley! Katie picked dessert out and as much as I love her cooking, she decided to go with simple and cute little pink petifors from the Kneaded Perk. A bakery in the Mall of Georgia that I heard was out of this world and now I can say for sure that it is! They had the house decorated so cute with a little clothes line on the mantle made out of Hadley’s name and Elizabeth even got together with my mom to borrow some of the bedding fabric and made a table runner out of it. Amazing, these women!

We had a great turnout and it was nice to catch up with some friends and family that I hadn’t seen lately. Hadley got some really nice things and I can’t begin to explain how grateful that I am to have all of these people in my life at this time. As you all know, it hasn’t been the easiest run for us and the support that I have received from the most unexpected places couldn’t be more appreciated. You really find out who your friends are when you go through a difficult time in life. The hostesses of this shower and many of the guests are some of the most generous women I know. Not only did they go out of their way to throw or take the time out to attend a lovely shower for me, they have really stuck by me these past six months when I really needed them. All I can say is that when one door closes, another one opens.

Thank you…all of you…and YOU know who you are!

30 Week Check-Up

2010-11-20T06:23:00.000-08:00

I went in for my 30 week check-up on Thursday. I'm still measuring ahead, so they did an ultrasound to see how big this little girl really is. First and foremost, she is perfectly healthy in all areas and aspects. The ultrasound technician at my office always does such a thorough job going through every little thing checking the kidneys, heart, brain, even measuring leg bones, etc. She said she is just a big, healthy little girl! In the past, the doctors never gave me a weight estimate for the boys, but these computers seem to be able to measure anything from the inside out. She said that if I go to full term they estimate her being around 8 lbs, 5 oz. Since I'm already scheduled for January 14th, my 38 week date, she should be closer to the high 7's or low 8's with that being 2 weeks before full term. Just like Brayden and Hudson were. So we are hoping she stays in until the 14th because I want to be able to get through the holidays and be rested up for her arrival. Until then, we will just play it by ear and if the doctor feels she is ready to come before the 14th, then so be it! This wasn't my plan from the get go, so why think now that it's going to work around my favor. It's in the Lord's hands and Dr. Lambert's...literally!

Here are her 30 week u/s pictures. She was looking straight at us and looks to have those chubby cheekies that Hudson had when he was born. The bottom picture shows that yes, she is still a girl (hence the 3 lines)!

Brayden Turns FIVE!

2010-11-19T09:27:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was Brayden's 5th birthday! He has really grown into an amazing little boy and we are thankful to have him in our lives. We hosted his birthday party this past Sunday at Zoo Atlanta. He and about 8 of his buddies ventured around the zoo like little safari rangers. Equipped with their safari hats and binoculars. It was a beautiful day for the zoo and I think everyone enjoyed being there and celebrating Brayden, despite it being a little crowded and the biggest pain...parking! Once we got in and set on our way, it went pretty smoothly.

Yesterday, I took cupcakes to school and his class sang Happy Birthday to him! It was cute. He was allowed to pick a buddy to bring home from school to play for the afternoon and he chose Ethan. Ethan was in Brayden's class last year and is also in his class this year and they have really become close this year. Ethan is pretty shy, but I think Brayden brings out his shyness a little; especially when they are one-on-one! They played all afternoon and had a fun time. It was a real treat for Brayden to have a friend over on his birthday! We celebrated one last time at the Japanese Hibachi restaurant for dinner to top off his birthday last night. Mee Mee and Pop joined us for the dinner celebration!

Today was Brayden's 5 year check-up. He is 42 inches tall (25%) and weighs 36.5 lbs (25%). The doctor said all looked normal and healthy and he was growing very well. Even though he isn't topping the charts being the biggest or the tallest, his weight gain and height from last year was a big growth spurt to this year. We are thankful that he has been very healthy yet another year with no sick visits. The doctor did find a small lymph node under his chin that he wants me to keep an eye on over the next 2 weeks. He is thinking it is something that some kids have from birth and we are just now seeing it, so we aren't going to worry or jump to conclusions. Just keeping an eye on the growth over the next month and going from there. He passed his hearing and eye test with flying colors and he received 3 shots and a finger prick which were no fun, but Brayden was brave through them all and didn't cry too terribly much. Going to Walmart after the appointment to spend some of his birthday money made it all better anyhow! LOL!

Over the past 5 years, I will say that Brayden has seemed to be a pretty easy child to raise. We never saw the terrible two's, or three's like some people say happens. His 4th year has by far been the most challenging for us as parents. The attitude starts kicking in and he is definitely learning his limits. It's not all kicks and giggles around our house 24/7; we definitely have our days, but overall I can say he is a good kid and growing up just like he should!

Here's to Brayden turning five. He has brought more joy to our lives than we could have ever imagined with his personable nature and a charisma that could almost blind you it's so bright!

Preschool Thanksgiving Programs & Feasts

2010-11-17T11:51:00.000-08:00

The boys' preschool Thanksgiving programs and feasts were this week. It was set up that Brayden's performance was on Tuesday and Hudson's on Wednesday, but since the family couldn't attend both days we had to work it out so that Hudson could perform with another class on Tuesday so that Russell and the grandparents could see them both on the same day.

Unfortunately, my mom had her hand surgery scheduled for Monday and it got postponed until Tuesday, so her and Bob couldn't make it to the performances. She did go through the surgery great and is on the mend and we are thankful for that. Her hand now has 3 screws in it and will be in a sling for about 6 weeks, but hopefully she will be all good and healed just in time to hold her new granddaughter in January!

So Cindy, Russell and I were in the audience awaiting the performance to begin. Hudson's age group went first. He came walking out with the class in a line to get on the stage and turned his head towards the crowd and immediately spotted and darted for none other than daddy! He decided he would rather sit with us than perform. Russell tried to sway him back towards the teachers and to the stage, but he didn't want to have anything to do with it and made sure we knew it by screaming bloody murder in front of the whole audience. Yes, we were THOSE parents you always dread to be. It was very humbling to say the least, but I had a feeling sitting up front wasn't going to fly so I sort of expected just that to happen. Guess mommy instincts should never be doubted. He did do well and sat through the whole presentation and even bowed his head to pray when they blessed the food before we headed down to eat, so I guess that made up for not performing...sort of! The 2 videos below show him walking out with the class and then you can see his big grin as he darts over towards us. The 2nd one is of him when we tried to get him to go back on stage. Little stinker.

Brayden's group came out a few minutes later and he did a wonderful job singing a couple different songs and quoting the Psalm 100 verses. He knew every word and hand motion and really enjoyed performing for us. All the hard work practicing those Psalm verses at home and in the car on the way to school paid off! A video of his performance is below.

Soooo...today was Hudson's class performance and I decided to let him try again with his normal class, only this time Russell and Cindy wouldn't be there and I sat towards the back instead of right up front. I really thought yesterday's chaos of him running to us and pitching a fit might have ruined it for today, but believe it or not, he performed perfect with his class! He definitely was looking around for us, but he remained on stage and even sang the song and did the hand motions for most of the song. Made yesterday all worthwhile and now we even have a fun story and family memory to go along with it. I'm glad I didn't hesitate and not let him try again today...I almost didn't even bother with it. Here is the video of his performance with his class! He is second in line if you count from left to right.

After the performances yesterday, the families gathered in the fellowship hall downstairs and ate a nice turkey dinner together. The teachers and faculty at Blackshear Place amaze me at every event that they do. They don't just throw together some make shift party in the small classrooms, they really go all out and set the tables nicely and do it right. Thanksgiving is a real treat for the parents and students. Thank you Blackshear Place!

3 3

2010-11-16T16:17:00.001-08:00

Russell turned 33 on November 1st. I planned a small surprise dinner with a few close couples at Firesalt Tavern a couple weekends ago. He was very surprised and enjoyed catching up with his old buddies and spending time away from the ball field and in a little nicer setting with the Dunn's! Thanks to everyone for coming and to the southsiders for coming long and far to join us. Russell was really grateful to see everyone!

Thanks to my mom and Bob for keeping the boys. It is always nice to get a night away and we even got to do breakfast and church the following morning as a couple with no kiddos. Even though everyone missed them at church, we kind of enjoyed the attention. LOL!

28 Week Update

2010-11-16T16:00:00.000-08:00

I am a little late posting, but I had my 28 week check-up about 2 weeks ago. This appointment was for the gestational diabetes which came back normal so I am thankful for that; although, I still didn't like that orange drink even on the third time around. Doctor Lambert said the heartbeat sounded great, but I am measuring 2 weeks ahead. I go back this Thursday for a 30 week check-up and if I am still measuring big the doctor said we would do an ultrasound. I was thinking this little girl might be little being that it is a girl, but it sure isn't looking that way. We will soon see.

We also set the c-section date for January 14th which is my 38 week date. Hopefully, I'll be measuring back to normal and we won't go any earlier than that. I would like to keep her in long enough to recover from the holidays and make sure everything is set for her arrival.

We, or should I say my wonderful hubby has made a lot of progress on the nursery in the past 2 weeks. He's been skipping his college football Saturday's on the couch and spending it painting and putting up molding in her room with some help from our neighbor Rob and his dad. It's coming along good so far. We have one more piece of furniture to finish up, some caulking around the molding and a few touch ups on the painting and we are done with the major work. Now it's left to me for wall decor and final touches. Hoping to get it all done by Christmas.

This time, I'll try my hardest to update the 30 week appointment before my 32 weeks comes along. It's just been a busy month for us, which leaves little time for blogging...

October...where did you go?!

2010-11-10T12:53:00.001-08:00

The last 2 weeks of October have been a lot of fun for our family. Let me catch us up to date.

We had the last Red Sox game and banquet a couple weeks ago. We didn't win our last game, but I will say that this is the first year where all the players really made a ton of progress from the start to finish of the season. Brayden did very well as our circle player and I believe spring season will be a turning point for him as far as really learning and enjoying the game as a baseball player rather than getting out on the field and playing with his buddies. We had pizza, cupcakes and brownies after our final game and all the players got trophies. It's always fun to see each child's eyes as he holds that trophy. It's like nothing else! Danny was able to come up for the last game and I am happy that he, Russell and Brayden can share these ball field memories together. I know it means a lot to them!

The week of Halloween was full of fun activities for the kids at school and home. The boys both had fall festivals at school and that was a treat. Basically, the school sets up games in each classroom and the kids get to go from class to class playing different games and receiving candy...which is the best part, right? Hudson's class stayed in their room, but picked a pumpkin from their make shift pumpkin patch and decorated it. They also had pumpkin cookie cake. It's just a fun day and a break from the usual school schedule.

Russell and I took the boys to see the Halloween Nights of Lights at Lake Lanier Islands. This is the first year they have had anything besides the Christmas lights display. It was a cute set up. Definitely an easy money maker for them. The boys loved it, of course. Especially the little fair and carnival games and rides that are set up at the end. We let them choose one ride to go on since we had just done the Cumming fair the weekend before and they were satisfied with that. I tell you, a small fortune can be spent at those things if you aren't careful!

Halloween was super cool this year. Both boys were really able to get into it. Like last year, we had the Ellis and the Fitzgerald families over for a cookout before trick-or-treating. We had a nice spread of food and loved having all the grandparents here this year. Brayden and Hudson were Peter Pan and Captain Hook. Their costumes ended up being very cute. Brayden's favorite part of his was his sword which was a glow stick, I think. Lol...boys! They went to every house in the neighborhood and definitely loaded up on the goodies. Thanks to mom and Bob for dressing up to hand out candy for us.

November has already kept us on our toes. We are almost done with the painting and woodwork in the nursery, Russell's birthday and his surprise dinner went very well last Saturday and this weekend we will celebrate Brayden's big 5th birthday at the Atlanta Zoo. He is thrilled more than you can imagine about his zoo party! The end of November entails my baby shower, which I am very excited about and of course, Turkey Day and the beginning of the official holiday season. I just hope I'm not waddling like a turkey before Thanksgiving; although it's not looking like it's going to be that way. Hee hee.

Crazy Couponing!

2010-11-02T09:27:00.001-07:00

I only post my VERY GOOD DEALS and I got one today! Here they are if you are into couponing as much as I am!

KROGER DEAL

I had to run this buy all of you who love the art of couponing as much as I do. I got an awesome deal from Kroger today. They are doing the save $5 off 10 items so you can mix and match, but this is the route I took and it only costs me a total of $1.68 including tax with the coupons and the $5 off Kroger deal. I know those of us who have babies or ones on the way, you can never have enough lotions, diaper creams, etc, or they can also be used for charity or extras for baby shower gifts. I’m using the toothbrushes for our Christmas shoeboxes this year. Publix has a good deal on Johnson & Johnson this week, too, but I think this one beats it since you can use a $3 off 3 coupon at Kroger which you can’t do at Publix.

Here is what I got:
2 Colgate Toothbrushes (wave or pro) $1.50 each
2 Johnson & Johnson Baby Lotions (15 oz) $2.88 each
2 Johnson & Johnson Baby Washes (15 oz) $2.88 each
2 Desitin ointments (2 oz) $2.88 each
Smart Balance Butter (small tub) $1.79 each
Stouffers Bistro Frozen Meal $2.28 each

Total before coupons and Kroger $5 off was $24.35

Coupons I used:
$1 off Colgate toothbrush (used 2)
$1 off Johnson’s Baby Lotion (used 2)
$1 off Desitin (used 2)
$1 off Johnson’s Baby Wash (used 2)
$3 off 3 or more Johnson’s products (used 2)
$1 off Smart Balance Buttery Life spread
$1 off Stouffers Bistro
$5 off Kroger 10 for 10 (not a coupon, credited back at checkout)

Total after all discounts was $3.35. I got even luckier and noticed a Kroger coupon stuck in my wallet that had printed in the past for $2 off Johnson’s baby wash, so I got outta there for $1.68 including tax! I think this is one of my best ever! Even without the extra coupon, I thought $3.35 was a huge deal for all of that.

I know the Colgate and Johnson’s coupons can be printed online (email me for the link if you want it) and if you can’t find the one for the butter or Stouffers, there are other specials that can go towards the $5 off 10 at Kroger that you may have coupons for (just check out Kroger’s ad for the list). Or you could always print 2 extra of the toothbrush coupons and use that towards your 10 instead of the butter and Stouffers (might even work out cheaper that way since the toothbrushes were free in the end. I don’t think my butter and Stouffers was). I just wanted the butter and Stouffers and it worked for me since I had the coupons.

Good luck if you do this! Sale ends on the 6th.

Camouflage Weekend

2010-10-30T10:10:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful trip to Augusta last weekend. The last time we saw my dad was at the boys' dedications in May and even longer since we have seen Franklin and Lee, so it was due time for us all to get together. Brayden was soooo excited and couldn't wait to see Uncle Franklin.

Friday morning began with flu shots for both boys. We have been telling Brayden for a few days about it and believe it or not, he was actually kind of excited about getting his shot. I know, sounds really crazy. He woke up Friday morning and the first thing he said was, "Guess what, Mommy? It's time to get my flu shot!" It was the cutest and oddest thing really. Either way, I guess I'll take that over crying and freaking out, right?! So we went and got the shots and all went well. Brayden was very brave and only cried for a second when he said it kept stinging after the shot was over. Hudson didn't really budge. Just grabbed his leg afterwards, because I think it was sore.

So then we dropped Brayden off at his friend, Ethan's house. Ethan is a buddy from his class and the boys have really been wanting to hang out together. Ethan's grandparents live right across the street from our neighborhood and they keep Ethan and his little sister every Friday, so they had invited Brayden over to play. We knew it would be a long weekend ahead, but couldn't tell Brayden no, so he went to Ethan's grandparents to play for the morning. They have a couple acres and Ethan's grandfather rode them around on the golf cart and just did all the fun, outside things that boys love to do! Russell took a half day and we went to pick Brayden up a little after noon and headed out for Augusta. The plan was to meet my dad, Lee and Franklin at the river so they could take Brayden hunting when dusk hit.

The boys both napped pretty decent on the way down, which was much needed after an already busy start to the weekend. We met up with my dad and followed them to the river. What we call the river is some land that my dad owns with 6 other guys where they can all hunt, ride 4-wheelers, cookout, etc. It's on the Savannah River and a really beautiful place. We arrived and the boys both immediately took to Uncle Franklin and off they went on the golf cart. They rode for a while and came back and we let Brayden shoot his little rifle for the first time. Franklin handed down his first 22 rifle to Brayden last Christmas, so it was a real treat for him to finally be able to shoot it. Brayden thought he was a natural, of course, and really enjoyed learning how to work a gun...the safe way. Uncle Franklin was very thorough with how to use the safety on it and all of that stuff. My dad took all the boys hunting for a little while once 6:30 rolled around. Brayden came back raving about how they saw 6 deer and 2 armadillo. He even got to shoot the armadillo. It was the big story at school this past week. I'm sure the teachers all loved hearing about shooting the armadillo...lol!

Friday night, we left the river and arrived at my dad's house around 9:30 and gave quick baths and settled down for the night. It was a long, fun day and everyone needed rest for day 2 of the river; especially mommy!

Saturday morning was nice and restful. We woke up and just hung around the house all morning. The boys played basketball and milled around outside and then we headed back down to the river around noon. Some of the other members of the club were having a Halloween and pumpkin carving party. We took our pumpkins and Lee made some chili and Halloween treats. Brayden got to do some fishing and again, riding on the 4-wheelers and even a ride on a horse. Hudson passed out shortly after we got there, so he napped half the time and missed the pumpkin carving. Brayden helped a little bit, but mostly mommy got the pumpkin carving duty. We ate some good food and had some treats and then after about 4 hours headed back to the house. We were trying to fit everyone in on this short trip, so we wanted to get back to visit with my aunt and uncle who were coming up for dinner.

The boys were hyped up and pretty wild and crazy from all the treats when we got back to the house. Franklin was a trooper and really went out of his way to play and spend time with Brayden and Hudson the entire time we were there. My other brother, Chad, even stopped by to have dinner, so it was nice to get to see him. Aunt Jackie and Uncle Choppy came up and we chatted and enjoyed a nice dinner with them. It was a good night with family and I hated for it to end. Lee went out of her way to dress the house up with skeleton lights lining the driveway and bone lights around the door stoop. She made the cutest Halloween baskets for the boys and they were so excited to take them home.

We decided to hit the road Saturday night so the boys could sleep the entire ride home instead of spending the night and coming home early Sunday. It was hard enough getting them out of there when they were exhausted and tired, we didn't want to fight getting them in the car on Sunday morning after they had gotten rest and were ready to play. It worked out good so everyone could be in their own bed on Saturday night and hopefully get a good nights rest.

We couldn't have had a better weekend, even though it took us all probably until Wednesday to recoup from all the fun we had down there. Thanks to dad, Lee and Franklin for all the hospitality! We love you all!

2010-10-21T09:15:00.000-07:00

Festivals, fairs, pumpkin patches, birthday parties…it sure has been a great October so far. The weather has been unbelievable! The more and more this time of year rolls around, the more it becomes my favorite. We have had a couple great past weekends. A trip to Jaemor Farm for Aubrey’s second birthday was the start to our fun! The Williams family have become friends of ours from our church that we really love hanging out with. They are the infamous, Pork-a-palooza party throwers! What a great time that was. Aubrey is in Hudson’s nursery class at church on Sunday’s so they have become cute little friends. Her birthday party was absolutely, the cutest two year old pumpkin party I’ve ever seen. Mrs. Sandy goes out of her way to throw awesome parties and this one was done with such style and class! Yet another person who enjoys party planning as much as I do! We ate cake and brunch, took a hayride around the farm and did some of the activities that Jaemor has to offer like the big tube slide and apple shooters! All down home, farm fun!

The same day, we had planned to meet the Taylor family at another pumpkin patch in McDonough, so we went from one patch to another! It was definitely exhausting for this mommy and my back felt it that following week, but worth it to see the Taylor’s and let the kids enjoy their time together. Canyon is one of Brayden’s most loved buddies and they always play so good together. We hate that we can’t live closer to them. Southern Belle Farms was a blast. A bit bigger than Jaemor and so there was more activities to do. The kids got to see a cute pig race, shoot corn out of the corn cannons, figure their way out of the huge corn maze, and much more.

Last weekend, we hit the Cumming Fair. We weren’t going to do it this year because there has been a lot going on, but we got up last Saturday morning and it was too beautiful not to go. Plus, the free entry and free rides for the first hour was a no brainer! Hudson rode his first fair ride and loved it. It was an all around, awesome morning for our family. No whining, complaining, etc. Just fun, fun, fun! I’m a fair lover, too, so it was right up my alley. Some of my fondest memories with my dad are the weekends we spent at the fair! That same afternoon, we enjoyed celebrating Jackson’s 5th birthday! They rented a Scooby Doo jumpy house and had some cute games to go along with the dog theme that Jackson had chosen. Since they live next door, the boys were spoiled with jumping all weekend long! Jackson had a nice party and we had a wonderful time at it! Happy 5th Jackson!

So this weekend, we are off to Augusta to spend some time with my dad and family. My dad has some land down at a river near where they live and we are looking forward to riding 4-wheelers, golf carts, pumpkin carving, cooking out, etc, all weekend. Brayden might even be lucky enough to do a little first time hunting with his Uncle Franklin. He is over the moon thrilled about it and has been talking about hunting with Grandpa Stan and Uncle Franklin for months now, so I am finally giving in and fulfilling his dreams (literally, he has had dreams about it, too).

Have a good weekend!

Got Something Going On!

2010-10-21T06:38:00.000-07:00

The trend with Hudson and the potty has continued. Whenever I put him on it, he is going. So now it's up to mommy and daddy to be disciplined enough to take him every 30-45 minutes, ha, the fun part for us! I've always said, it's as much the parents as it is the child with this whole potty training stage. Hudson isn't actually telling me that he has to go yet, which is the biggest deal I think, but if he is saving us a few diapers a day by going whenever we put him on the potty, then it's worth it to me and I feel a good start.

Here is his ritual everytime he goes 'pee pee on the potty'!

Welcome Baby Germany!

2010-10-18T07:30:00.000-07:00

Baby girl, McKenzie June Germany was born on October 7, 2010 to the proud parents of Justin and Teri Germany! At 7 lbs even, 20.5 inches long, she is a beautiful baby with lots of beautiful hair! Russell and I were able to take the boys down to the hospital 2 days after she was born to visit and then we got to see the new family of 3 this past Friday night when we took them dinner. Miss McKenzie seems to be eating like a champ and doing well. We are so proud of Teri and Justin and know that they are going to be wonderful parents. Justin is so cute with his excel spreadsheet of the eating schedule and diaper change schedule...reminds me of Russell when Brayden was born. Such adorable daddy's! Congrats again to the Germany family! We love you guys and are excited that our little girl's will be so close in age!

24 Weeks

2010-10-18T05:16:00.001-07:00

First off, thank you for the many emails of advice from my last blog post. I really, really appreciate the feedback more than you know! I also got a chance to talk to my sweetheart husband and his advice always makes everything better. What is it with men looking at things so differently than women?! UGH! Keep the feedback coming if you have any!

I had my 24 week appointment a little over a week ago and everything seems to be on track for little miss Hadley! Her heart rate was 154 and her growth (and mine) looks great. Doc even complimented me on how I don't look pregnant until you see me from the side. That was a first! HA!

They kind of shocked me and wanted to schedule the c-section on this past appointment, but we hadn't even sat down to look at the calendar yet! This week we did get a chance and looks like if everything goes as planned, her birthday will be January 14, 2011. Kind of scary that we are already scheduling the date...yikes!

Nursery is SLOWLY coming along. Hoping to have it painted within the next 2 weeks. Bedding should be done this week and I am dying to see it!

Have a good week!

Sleepless Night

2010-10-16T22:55:00.001-07:00

Well, I'm pretty sure it's this pregnancy...the sleepless nights are becoming more and more frequent, so here I find myself up at 2 a.m. blogging about my busy mind that I can't seem to put to rest. For the past few weeks, I find myself up in the middle of the night with the same few reoccurring thoughts that are keeping me awake. Very rarely they are those out of the blue, really crazy, is someone going to break in the house, fearful type thoughts. Everyone has those now and then, right? At least us mom's?! Or am I losing it?

Here lately, it hasn't been so much the fearful thoughts, it's been a guilty feeling about my parenting and wondering if some of the routes I am taking are the right ones. I find myself at least once or twice a week, waking up and going over our day in my head, just thinking about the boys behavior and how I handled certain situations. Is my hardness on them going to make them resent me down the road? Are they going to rebel and go crazy in their teenage years to get back at me for being so strict? Those are some of the thoughts that go through my head when I feel like I'm getting on to the boys for something petty.

To begin with, I know we are blessed with two children that are for the most part, very well behaved. The boys are both very happy spirits and have very loving and sincere hearts. You can see it from a mile away whether you know them personally or not. I have several people let me know that on a regular basis and I am thankful for that. We, as a family, share a lot of love and a lot of down time snuggling, goofing off, and just loving on one another, but Russell and I also take discipling very seriously. Sure, I feel I'm doing something right because they are good children, but it doesn't mean that I assume I'm doing a perfect job and don't worry about how I'm going about disciplining and parenting. In fact, disciplining and parenting issues have been on the tip top of my mind lately.

I know we all have our own style and no one really has the perfect parenting solutions; we do our best on our day to day basis and go from there. However, I've been struggling quite a while with the feeling that I might be too hard on my kids. They rarely get away with, well...yeah, I would say they don't get away with much. Anything that I feel might be hurtful, harmful, ugly or just down right rude to anyone else means that they get a talking to, a time out, a mean mommy look, a spanking if it's a really bad incident or something just to let them know that what they did wasn't the right or perhaps the most polite thing to do.

This has been my style of parenting since Brayden was about 18 months. I even think back and remember the moms in our first playgroup commenting on how they should send their child to Allyson's house for boot camp to make their children mind like Brayden did at a young age. I wasn't sure whether to take that as a compliment or not. Was I too stern or strict? Too hard on a child at such a young age? In the end, I found myself laughing at the other parents comments and letting it just roll off my back...I suppose I was fairly confident despite being a new mom on the route that I was taking on how to parent back then.

Well, 3 and 1/2 years later with an almost 5 year old and a newly turned 2 year old, I feel in my heart that I'm glad I stuck to my way of teaching Brayden how to share, treat others, etc, at a young age, because I do rarely have to get on to him for those types of things. I'm trying to do my best to follow that for Hudson, too. Although, at this time in my life, a different feeling of guilt comes into play with that. I seem to notice that whether we are out playing in the neighborhood, stopping in at the Chick-fil-a play area after dinner, at a friends house, the park or pool, or just around town in different situations that I seem to be that parent that is the first and sometimes only one that will say something to my child in certain instances or not give in as much as other parents do. It could be anything from Brayden running around an area where there might be younger children that I think he might run into or hurt, or when he doesn't mind his manners all that well and may forget to say thank you or excuse me. Allowing them to have sweets before dinner or stuff like that. Little things...I'm always on them it seems and when I sit back and watch others kids in the same boat not being "talked" to for the same exact things or given the candy before lunchtime, I find that I second guess myself on whether I should have gotten on to my kids, given in to the treats, or if I'm too hard on them.

I'm not all that sure why I am questioning myself so much. I'm usually a confident person and not much of a follower of others or a worrier of what others think, especially in the parenting department. I feel Russell and I have a most unique parenting style unlike really any other parents we have ever come into contact with. Again, not that it's any better or worse than anyone else's...it's just, stand alone, totally different! Russell is probably a good 35% more lenient than me and I find myself sometimes even questioning his parenting! He has for the most part stuck by my side and is on the same boat with me when it comes to discipline, however, he has pointed out here a lot lately that he thinks we are too hard on Brayden sometimes about certain things. Maybe that is why I'm feeling the guilt a little more.

Look, I'm one of those parents that wants her kids to always be the better person with a kind soul. If a kid tries to take a toy from one of my kids, I've always taught them to pretty much give it up and go find another toy. Not that I'm training my kids to be push overs, but I want them to know that sharing is a part of life, young or old and that you don't always get your way in every circumstance...even those circumstances where you should. We all know that even as adults there are times when you know you should have had it your way, but it just didn't pan out like that and when that happens you suck it up and go about your business-well, most adults do, right? You don't pout in the corner, scream at the top of your lungs, get angry, etc. I feel that if I instill in them at a young age the kind and simple little tactics of life, that they will be better off. Kids are kids and they are going to have their hard times, but that is a part of learning and no excuse to me to be more lenient on them.

I'm big on when we have guests over at our home. They always go first no matter what we are doing...playing a board game, having a snack, etc, our guest is always first to be served. It's sometimes hard for a young child to understand that, but I don't give in on certain things like that. I understand that five is still a young age and in fact, Brayden is not even five yet, but I feel that he can comprehend when I tell him not to do something. They are smarter than we sometimes give them credit for. Yes, they all have their bad days and bad moods here and there, but I shouldn't have to say something 18 times before I discipline. Once or twice is it for me and he gets the 'mommy look'. I'm quick to use a time out or take something away if I have to keep telling Brayden over and over again to treat someone a certain way, not act a certain way, etc.

Hudson is learning this stage right now and I will say he is a little more stubborn than Brayden was at this age. He'll give the toy up most times, but will sometimes pitch a tee total fit along with it. He's definitely doing a great job learning to share, but his temper tantrums do drive me nuts sometimes. So this brings me to where Russell seems to differ with me just a bit. He thinks that sometimes it's not always right for me to make Brayen or Hudson give up something he's been playing with to make another child happy or let's say if one of them gets into it with another kid and you can see from a mile away that Brayden or Hudson didn't start it, I'll still get onto my kids like they did start the fight. Every now and then Russell will get on me about that. Telling me that we shouldn't always get on to our child when it's another child's issue or when another child started it. I guess my feelings are whether my child started the issue or not or took the toy or not, they still need to know that the situation that occurred was not acceptable behavior whether it was on their part or the other child's. I definitely don't want them walking away from a situation where the other child did something wrong and didn't get punished for it and then my kids think that it was okay to do. I want them to be able to get themselves out of situations like that on their own, at an early age, so that when they are at school and I am not there, they know how to act and what is right and what is wrong. Does that make sense? Children learn a lot from other children and lots of times it's not the good things they pick up. Unfortunately, that's just part of life I suppose, but I want to try my best to make sure my kids understand to the best of their knowledge how to act and treat others.

Like I said, I've been struggling with this for a few months now. Our pastor did give a sermon series on "Doing Hard Things" a few weeks ago that seemed to enlighten me and give me some sort of peace at the way I'm doing things. Moral of the sermon was that most people don't do the hard things in life because they are just that...hard and not fun to do. So avoidance is the road that most people take.

He mentioned that sometimes you will stick out like a sore thumb when you do the right things and it's not always a comfortable situation. I tried to relate this to the guilt that I had been giving myself about parenting and disciplining and comparing myself to other parents who might not always get onto their kids about the small things. Looking at myself and my parenting situations, most of the time I do seem to stick out when it comes to being on my kids about the way they behave. I guess I sort of took his message to heart as a sign from God that I am doing the right thing even though it might not always be the easiest. I mean, when is being set apart from the crowd comfortable and easy? Especially, as a parent being looked at as the mean, strict mom around town...that's not a comforting feeling at all!

It's still nice to get advice from other parents going through the same thing. If you have any wisdom or advice to send my way, please do. I always seem to think getting an outsiders view helps me look at my situation from other angles where I might not have looked to begin with.

I'm hoping I can take advice from others, from my pastor's messages, and from God above to know that what I am doing is what I should be doing or if there is a change that I need to make, I can transition to make that change easily.

Thanks for listening to my middle of the night ramble. Now that I got this off my mind and on paper, maybe I can get some sleep!

A Little Bit of Red Sox!

2010-10-08T03:47:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to blurb a little about this season for our tee ball team. It's probably been the best season for us yet. Really fun to watch and sometimes even a little stressful. We have won a few and lost a few, but the boys are really enjoying it this time around and I love seeing Brayden falling more and more in love with the sport as each season passes. He is definitely turning into his daddy's child. There never has been a season, even since Tiny Tots, where he hasn't wanted to go to one of his games; he is such a non-complaining kid and is always up for anything.

He has been doing so well paying attention on the field. He is playing a big position this year. He is our circle player and doing actually very well at it. For those of you that don't know how tee ball works, the coach actually pitches the ball to the players, but there is a circle player who stands in the 'pitchers' circle so he takes the pitchers position, but doesn't actually pitch. He gets to stop a lot of ground balls and is responsible for making plays at first or getting that ball back to the circle as quick as he can when needed. Never would have thought he'd be playing the circle at age 4, but it just fell into place and so far so good. I wouldn't say he's ready for the Braves yet, but he's definitely climbing the ladder in tee ball. ha ha! He's also hitting off the pitch a lot, too. Last game he hit off the pitch 2 out of 3 up at bats. I have to say, these are not measly little hits or those accidental hits off the pitch we get lucky enough to get sometimes. He's finally hitting some pop flys down the third base line!

We have a really good infield team this season that seems to have it somewhat together; hey, we are scoring outs which we didn't do a lot of in the past, so it seems like Russell is placing the players where they need to be. Last game, the other team actually didn't score any runs the first inning before we got our 3 outs on them...that was awesome! Our outfield can throw that ball really good, too! Of course, the little rookies are in the outfield 'doing their time', but when they get the ball, they can chunk it in. We still get a kick out of some of the infielders and outfielders playing in the grass and dirt every now and then...ya gotta love those first few seasons of tee ball. Seems like they do more playing in the dirt than anything. We even have caught Brayden doing it a time or two this season, so it sticks around for a while.

So we have a few more games to enjoy this fall and then it will close another season of tee ball. The weather has been awesome for us and Hudson really enjoys watching daddy and bro bro out on the field; although, I think there is some animosity since he can't be out there, too. It's a hard age when you can't really explain to him why he can't go out and play with them.

So I guess all that's left to say is, Let's Go Sox!

Milestone...maybe?

2010-10-06T21:15:00.000-07:00

Hudson went pee pee in the potty twice tonight! We are hoping this is the start of something good. Not getting our hopes up too soon, but definitely keeping our fingers crossed!

Six Years and Counting...

2010-10-04T08:03:00.000-07:00

September 25th was our sixth wedding anniversary! Thinking and looking back, I cannot believe Russell and I have been together for almost 12 years! It's a bittersweet feeling...we've shared so many happy and great memories and milestones together, but it also means, we're getting old! Yikes!

The week ended on a somber note because my childhood kitty, Shanti, had to be put down. She was pushing almost 20 years old and it was just her time to go. I know she is in a better place, but it's still a hard feeling to lose a pet. I was ready to celebrate our anniversary, but still was a little sad to say the least.

Since I'm pregnant again for yet another wedding anniversary, we decided to lay low. My mom and Bob kept the boys overnight for us and Russell and I were able to enjoy an evening together. Buford, the city we reside in and the city we were married in has hosted a Romance Night for the past few years on the last Friday in September, which always lands on our anniversary weekend. We didn't know about it last year until after we had made plans to be in Atlanta, so this year we were excited to check it out. It was very quaint and cute with luminaries lining Main Street, small tables and chairs up and down the side walks, red heart balloons, horse and carriage rides, acoustic guitar player in the courtyard, etc. Russell wanted to surprise me with dinner by Aqua Terra outside in the courtyard with the guitar player, but we found out that no food was being served outdoors, so we decided to go to our old school, favorite place, Big Creek.

Anyone who knows Big Creek knows that it is very casual, but the food is always first class and I hadn't had their steak in FOREVER, so I was ready for it! The weather was beautiful so we sat outside at Big Creek and listened to their live music and watched all the fun lake folks come in and out. Unfortunately, my steak got overcooked and I had to send it back. They brought another out and it just didn't look right...I know, I sound like the picky pregnant woman, but Russell even agreed. I tried my hardest to eat it, but couldn't do it. Anyone who knows me knows I think it's a sin to waste a 14 oz New York strip, none the less, two of them in the same night, so it was a big let down! I was thankful to have had their wonderful wedge salad, a nice baked potato and a few bites of Russell's favorite, the Big Creek cheeseburger. I was actually full even without the steak since we had an appetizer, but it still put a damper on the meal not getting my big, nice steak I had been looking forward to!

So after our dinner, we headed to historic Buford to enjoy the festivities. Listened to some live music, got dessert at Aqua Terra (guess we should have just eaten the whole meal there to begin with), took a nice horse and carriage ride all the way down to the Bona Allen Mansion, where we were married and just enjoyed each others company. It was really neat to do the horse and carriage ride again since that is what I arrived on and what we left on at our wedding ceremony. Brought back fabulous memories!

This past weekend, we were lucky enough to get a re-do on dinner. Cindy kept the boys for us at her house on Saturday and Sunday so we were able to have 2 weekend date nights in a row. What a rare treat! We tried this new place called Firesalt Tavern and it was out of this world! It's definitely our new 'date night' place. I had a great steak and the atmosphere was really great. For Russell and I, we love anywhere that has live music, so it was right up our alley.

We were able to get a few other things done while the boys were away. We got the dresser sanded and re-painted for the nursery. The bedding is being started on this week, so I'm excited and anxious to be getting that in the next few weeks.

I did a wonderful volunteer event for 12 Stone Church on Saturday with Katie and Jill. The metro area has many churches that do volunteer work the first weekend in October so there are a ton of opportunities to get involved and give back to your community. We did Clipping for a Cause, which was a coupon cutting and shopping event to see how much food we could get for the Gwinnett County Co-Op for the least amount of money. It was spectacular to see how much was saved and given in the end. I clip coupons and love getting free items here and there, but I really had no clue on how much you can really save if you take the time and sit down and plan out your shopping trip! It was a great experience and fun to be doing something to give back.

The weekend was really relaxing, but we did miss the boys. Looking forward to a birthday party at the pumpkin patch this weekend and we are also going to head to McDonough to meet up with the Taylor family and do the enormous pumpkin patch fest down there. They have a giant corn maze and tons of neato stuff for the kids, so it should be a fun, fall weekend!

Enjoy the cooler weather and blue skies this week!

Hudson's 2 year pictures...

2010-10-01T10:15:00.000-07:00

Brayden had his taken at the same spot at 2. Here are a few shots of him. Sometimes it's fun to see the similarities and differences of the boys while at the same age!

Community Helper's Day

2010-09-22T16:49:00.001-07:00

Today was Community Helper's Day in Hudson's class and he went as a postman. I think this is still my favorite Halloween costume from the boys so far. Brayden wore it for his 2nd Halloween and I love that we can still get our use out of it.

I would love for Hudson to wear it for his costume this year for Halloween, but I don't think it's going to happen. Brayden has decided that he wants to be Peter Pan and so I think it's only fair to dress Hudson as Capt. Hook. I already know which one he will choose when I hold up the pirate costume vs. the postman costume. We'll soon see!

Here is Brayden on his 2nd Halloween. A few months younger than Hudson right now. Hudson didn't wear the hat because it got kind of smooshed in storage.

Fall is Here..Isn't It?!

2010-09-22T11:06:00.000-07:00

Ahh, so good to know that fall is finally here! I'm not the only one excited; Brayden was so siked about the first day of fall, as they have been talking about the end of summer and beginning of fall in school this week. I love this time of year because, of course, it reminds me of our wedding day. The weather is always spectacular on our anniversary weekend; although, a tad bit of warmth seems to be sticking around this year.

The past few weeks have been fairly relaxing for us. Fall tee ball season has begun and Russell got roped into coaching again. We hear that Buford had an overwhelming response to fall ball sign ups with over 100 kids when usually there are only around 70-80, so the 6 coaches they initially had just weren't cutting it. Russell was going to take fall off until the league called and begged him to coach (LOL). He just can't seem to stay away from the ball field.

We are the Red Sox this season and have a few familiar faces on our team. Wes is the asst coach again, so Peyton and Brayden will have another season together under their belts and then a few of the boys that were on our spring team are on our team again. We also have my good friend and old neighbor's son, Jackson on our team and we are so happy to be seeing their family again regularly! We have had 2 games so far and won 1 of them! I think this season will be a great one for the boys!

To kick off football season on Labor Day weekend, Russell and I were able to get away and go to the Chick-fil-a Kick Off Bowl down at the Dome. It was LSU vs UNC, which we are a fan of neither, but it was still a great time. I will say, those LSU fans are a crude bunch! They really LOVE their team. We invited Russell's dad and stepmom to go with us since his dad likes LSU. We are not sure why, but he does. I think they enjoyed their night out, too! It ended up being a really exciting game in
the end. A big thank you to the mother-in-law for keeping Bray and Huddy for us! We were grateful to spend some time with her and my parents and the Naylor's up at the lake for the rest of the Labor Day weekend. It's always a good time on Lake Lanier.

So on opening weekend for the NFL, we thought we would do something fun. While mom and Bob were up in Pittsburgh supporting a mixture of the Falcons and the Steelers, lol, we decided to have a little cookout. We had the Ellis' and Balmes' over and we cooked wings and ribs and homeade potato chips and so on and so on. I was in a cooking mood that day! Brayden, Hudson, Jackson and Joey played so good together and even found a new friend that lives under our back deck. Funny, because he actually does live here. Just last night, which has been about 2 weeks since we saw him at the cook out, we spotted him again under the deck. He must like our home just as much as we do! We always love our time with the neighbors and have really enjoyed spending more time with the Balmes family! They are such happy and gracious people to have around!

We enjoyed Suwanee Day last weekend. We have wanted to take Brayden for the past few years, but it was always a nasty, dreary, rainy day so we were never lucky enough to attend. This year was pretty, but a little hot! Kind of takes away from the 'fall festival' feel of things, when it's 96 degrees! We still enjoyed our snow cones, face paints and jumpy houses! We saw the end of the parade with Jill, Alex and Joey and enjoyed their company while at the fair and then ran into the Ellis' toward the end, so the boys got to jump together. It was fun for me to see some old faces from high school and just to have a relaxing family day.

I was able to get some one-on-one time with Brayden this past Monday, which was so fun! His preschool had a field trip to a local farm called Jaemor Farms. We enjoyed a hay ride, picking apples from their apple trees, seeing how the apples are washed and stored, looking at the growing pumpkins almost ready for picking and a picnic lunch with his school mates and teachers. Katie was so sweet to keep Hudson for me so I could take Brayden by myself. I am so thankful for that. You don't realize how your one-on-one times are few and far between when you have more than one child. I can't remember the last time I spent time away with just Bray Bray. He is so deserving of it, too. Soon enough, Hudson's Monday one-on-one's will be gone so I'm going to really cherish those in the next weeks to come.

Yesterday, I hosted a small brunch and invited Taylor, Elizabeth and Sam Cone over! I am so happy to get our regular brunches started back with Taylor and Elizabeth and so grateful that I was able to catch Sam on one of her days off so she could come and hang out. It was really good to see Taylor and Elizabeth and their new babies and spend some time with them and also with Elizabeth's sis-in-law who came along. Elizabeth has recovered so well and I'm so proud of her as a new mommy of three! Sam and I had the rest of the morning to catch up and talk about babies and just life itself. She rode with me to get the boys from school, so that was exciting! It was a much needed reunion for us and the first time we have been together while we are both pregnant (currently almost 22 weeks and 25 weeks). We still can't get over that our little girls will only be a couple weeks apart. Never, EVER would have thunk it!

Baby girl is doing great. I mentioned that she started kicking back towards the end of August and she is going full force now! I love the feeling and am trying to enjoy

this pregnancy. We are working on the nursery and starting the process to refinish the white antique furniture this week. The material that I fell in love with is on it's way and I finally found someone to make her bedding for me. This is the fabric on a dress. With the help of my good friend Taylor, I found my three colors, peach, teal and fuchsia together after a 4 week hunt! I'm glad I held out. We are excited to get the walls painted and some life starting to bloom in the room that has been torn apart for weeks. I'm just hoping what I am envisioning in my head is what the final product will turn out to be! Wish me luck!

We are really looking forward to this weekend! Russell has something planned on Friday night for our sixth anniversary and the kids will spend the night off at moms. Saturday, we have been invited to a Pork-a-Palooza by some new friends that we have met at our church and we are really excited to go. We actually switch around our anniversary date night for this if that tells you how excited we are! It's a pork cook off between two neighbors and tons of other food, friends and football. Sounds like a blast and we are excited to interact with more people from our church community! Once I mentioned pork, Russell was all in! Not too often do you come across something involving food that is right up his alley since he is so picky! hee hee!

We hope everyone takes advantage of time with family and friends this fall! Get outside while it's not too hot and before it gets too cold and take it all in! Remember to thank the Lord for all your blessings and Happy Fall to you and yours!

Halfway There!

2010-09-10T12:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my 20 week ultrasound for, well as her name stands right now, Sissy. Russell was able to get off of work to come and so was my mom. I’ll tell you, I have been anxious to see her for the past week or so. Not that I felt like something was wrong, but I think I still thought in the back of my mind that it might not be a girl. I’ve been looking at nursery bedding and even decided to hold off on ordering until after yesterday. Even though we were 75% sure at the 12 week appointment and then at 15 weeks we had the special ultrasound just to determine the sex, I still wasn’t 100% convinced myself. After 2 seconds of having the technician put the gel on my belly and seeing her on the screen, she could point out that it was once again, definitely a girl. I think I’m finally in agreeance with everyone else, that yes, we are having a girl! For the records, I felt her first fluttery kick on August 30th!

Right now, Sissy weighs about 12 ounces. The size of a coke can. Her heart rate was 164. The technician was so thorough and went through EVERYTHING, measuring the brain, spine, lips, heart, leg and arm bones, etc. She was confident to rule out any of the known defects like Spina Bifida, cleft lip, Downs, and all of those scary things that are a parent’s worst nightmare. Her brain measurements and development looked beautiful and all of the chambers of her heart are working and functioning like they should. All in all, the baby is perfect and we can’t be more thrilled! It is quite amazing looking at that little heart beating on the screen. Even though I’ve had two babies before this one, it’s still like a new experience for me going through this all over again. What a miracle God has granted upon us! It is truly remarkable.

So we are halfway there already. I can’t believe it. We haven’t narrowed down a permanent date yet, but since I’ve had 2 c-sections prior to this birth, I will more than likely go with another. My doctor will be able to take me any time after January 14th as long as everything goes as planned. We might try for the 11th (01-11-11) since that would be a pretty cool birthdate, but that is before my 38 week date so we aren’t banking on it. If we do end up going with that date, it will be a last minute decision. I would hate for her to come out too early and have to be stuck in the nicu for the first few weeks of her life. The 11th doesn’t mean that much to us. If for some reason I go into natural labor before our chosen date, I will opt to try for a vaginal birth, but there is nothing more important to me than bringing this baby girl into the world as safe as possible and if another c-section is what it ends up being, I’m totally okay with that.

In the next few months we will be preparing the nursery and I suppose choosing a name; although, that game hasn’t been going all that well so far. We have a few, top 3 I would say, but nothing set in stone yet. With all of the fall festivals, birthday parties and holidays coming up in the next few months, time is going to fly by so I’m ready to jump on the band wagon and get things prepared for ‘little miss who’ coming shortly after the new year! Both boys are so excited. Brayden especially since he seems to really understand what is going on this time around. He’s asking a ton of questions and including her daily in things he does and says. For instance, at night including her in his prayers and telling her he loves her along with all of us before he goes to sleep. It’s funny, he acts like she is already here. What a blessing he is.

Thank you Lord for giving me peace about this baby that has been brought into our lives and for assuring us that she is coming to us as healthy as possible. We are so thankful for that!

Welcome to this Wonderful World!

2010-09-06T14:03:00.000-07:00

Our great friends Elizabeth and Wes, welcomed their third child into the world today. Madeline Grace arrived as healthy as can be. Mom and baby are both doing well. We are so happy for the Dunn family and are excited to have someone to experience our third time around with. Elizabeth and I will get to raise baby girls together, so that makes me very happy! Welcome to the world Miss Madeline!

Off to School, Off to School...

2010-08-26T17:03:00.000-07:00

Well, the boys both started preschool last week. Brayden is in Pre-K this year, 4 days a week and Hudson is in the 2 year old class, 3 days a week. The way preschool works in GA, you have to sign them up in January for the following school year just like county schools go. So Hudson was barely 18 months and we had to decide whether to put him in 2 or 3 days a week. With Brayden, he was an older 2. When he entered his 2 year class, he would be turning 3 just months later in November. He already knew numbers, all the ABC's, etc. With Hudson, since his birthday falls right before the September 1st cut off, he is able to go into the 2 year old class just barely turning 2. He knows his numbers, but not all his ABC's yet, so he is well behind what Brayden was when he entered preschool, which is where he should be. I had my doubts when signing him up in January and thought I might want to keep him home with me one more year, but the more and more I would take Hudson in with me to drop off and pick up Brayden, the more and more I saw in Hudson that he didn't want to leave! Plus, not knowing that we were going to be having another little one come at the beginning of next year, I'm now glad I did what I did. That way, I will have 4 months of some one-on-one time to bond with the new baby while the boys are in school.

So last Tuesday was Hudson's first day of preschool. He did very well. Didn't cry when I dropped him off (more sad for me than him) and I got no phone calls while he was there, so that was a good sign. When I picked him up, they said he only cried when someone took a toy from him and also when he saw Brayden on the playground. Hudson's class was going in when Brayden's was leaving so I think it probably confused him more than anything why bro bro wasn't going to stay and play. Brayden said he gave him a hug and it made him feel better. LOL.

At the end of Hudson's first week, his teacher gave me a very nice compliment. She said for his young age, he listens very well which most barely 2 year olds do in any environment. I was glad to hear that and I hope he keeps it up! Week number 2 ended today and he had another good week! We've learned that he gets a little tired as 12:30 rolls around and is very ready for his nap when we get home a little after 1. That's my little schedule boy!

As for Brayden, he absolutely loved it! He began Monday of last week and had the biggest, ear-to-ear grin coming outta school the first day. He loves his teachers and they seem to love him already. A few comments I got last week from the teachers were about his very personal and outgoing personality and about his 'masterpiece' coloring! We colored a lot with his buddy Jackson at the beach last month and ever since he has been a coloring king! Russell showed him how to make a 'buffer' around the edges before coloring the middle part of the picture and he has actually turned into quite the little coloring artist lately. I guess it showed off in class. He has been the line leader and flag holder several times and is really enjoying it so far.

Now onto mommy. I didn't quite know what to do with myself with 4 hours a day, 3 days a week with no boys around! Elizabeth and I celebrated our first day with brunch together. We sat for 3 hours at a local restaurant and talked and caught up! Much, much needed for both of us. Time flew by. Wednesday, Russell had off by chance and we went to Georgia Baby to look at baby furniture and then had lunch ALONE! Last Thursday was my 16 week doctor's appt. Heartbeat was 158 and she was kicking away in there. In fact, before we could find the heartbeat, we heard a kick! She's an active little thing. I had a nice lunch with Mom after my appt and that summed up my first week without kiddos. It was busy, but nice.

This week, I enjoyed brunch again with E (we are taking advantage of it before baby Madeline enters the world in just a few weeks) and on Wednesday went to visit my friend Heather Lamb and her new baby in Atlanta. We had a nice morning just chatting about baby stuff and munching on the ham, egg and cheese casserole I made. Little Avery seems to be quite a good baby and growing so much already in just the short 7 weeks she has been around. Heather is a great mommy so far and looks like a natural!

So this sums up our first 2 weeks of school. I'm thankful the boys are adjusting well and enjoying their time with new teachers and friends. Looking forward to a great year for both of them and a little me time for myself before little miss thang arrives in January!!

#2 Birthday Stats!

2010-08-23T09:02:00.000-07:00

Hudson had his 2 year old check-up on August 10th. The doc didn't seem to see anything but a healthy, wide-eyed, happy, smart, right on track, growing little boy in front of her! He's doing everything he is supposed to be doing plus a little more. I give that credit to his big brother Brayden. Hudson follows and does literally everything Brayden does. I'm glad Brayden seems to be a good influence. Hudson is following down the same road Brayden did at this age. Very sociable and outgoing, but a tad bit more stubborn than his big bro. I think it might be because he sometimes has to fight for toys around the big boys. They are good with sharing, but we have our days!

He is talking like there is no tomorrow and looks like there is no signs of him stopping! 2 non-stop talking boys around the house, their poor little sister is not going to be able to get a word in! Hudson loves to color and to fly his Buzz and Power Ranger figurines around the house and play bad guys. He is still very into balls and has a really good arm on him, too! One more year and he'll be playing tee ball with Brayden! Hudson loves to sing and dance and is pretty comical when he does! Last week, he climbed out of his crib. Didn't fall out, climbed. Brayden likes to go and check on him when he first wakes up from nap and when he opened Hudson's door, Hudson was standing right there in front of him! Guess it's time for us to either use the toddler bed or go ahead and set up the big boy bed. Might be a good transition to make before little sister gets here anyhow, I just didn't think it was going to be this soon!

I'm excited to see what all he has to offer this big world in his third year of life. He is going to go through some huge changes with attending preschool 3 days a week and a new sibling to add to the mix early next year. I'm hopeful he will do well with everything. He's a sweet and loving little thing and seems to have a heart of gold.

Here's to Hudson Lee!

26 lbs, 14 oz (25%)

35 inches (50%)

Huddy Turns Two!

2010-08-19T18:42:00.000-07:00

Well, well, well. Hudson, Huddy boy, Hudsky, Hudman, Huds, chunky butt, okay, I won't go into my pet names for him...anyhow, he is 2! We had a great birthday weekend for him starting with finding out if he was having a brother or sister! He obviously got a sister as you can see, which was the best present ever, right? I'm sure he'll be thanking me in 2 years when they are fighting for toys! We went from the ultrasound place to Chick-fil-a with Meemee and Pop. We wanted to go somewhere for him to play. It was actually so crowded that Pop, Russell, Brayden, & Hudson ended up at the bowling alley while Meemee and myself did some shopping at Hobby Lobby. Huddy was all played out by the time we got back to them and was ready to go home for nap.

His birthday evening was low key. We wanted him to rest up for his party the following day. We ordered one of his faves, pizza and I made a few cupcakes for him to munch on and to stick a few candles in for him to blow out. He really seemed to enjoy his evening and did so well, knowing just what to do with the candles. I had imagined that there would be more spitting than blowing, but he actually blew them out right away!

On Saturday, we had family and some of Huddy's close lil buddies come over for his airplane party! He took a great afternoon nap, so he was raring to go when everyone started arriving. We had the backyard set up with sprinklers and pools for the kids to stay cool. We played Pin the Propeller on the Airplane and Caroline was our lucky winner! We flew big styrofoam planes around the yard and small gliders, too! I made Hudson his little cake and did cupcakes for everyone else. No special ordering this year. I really wanted to do it myself and did the best I could, although it wasn't the prettiest cake ever! It did the job and Hudson was happy with it!My energy level hasn't been the norm, so I would say I toned it down a notch this year on the party planning. Over the top or not, I would say it was an enjoyable party for all and especially the birthday boy. Not once did he whine or get upset about anything. He just kind of went with the flow all afternoon! It always makes for a fun party when the person of honor is happy! It sure put a smile on my face when all the work was done!

So no slowing down on Sunday after the big event. We went to church, I rushed out for Teri's beautiful baby shower and then met the boys and my parents at cousin Logan's 2nd birthday party. He and Hudson are 2 days apart, so their birthday weekends are going to be busy for us for life! His party was at the park and the boys really enjoyed the Harley Davidson cake and hitting the football pinata! Happy 2nd birthday to Logan!

So all in all, the weekend was busy but good and I think Hudson really had fun! He got lots of Toy Story stuff which is exactly what he wanted! We thank everyone for coming and for all the love they give to Hudson!

Adding a little pink to our family...

2010-08-06T04:49:00.000-07:00

I know…so, you think it is weird that I haven’t kept up the blog this summer. There is certainly a reason for it and now I’m finally ready to talk about it.

The summer started out with big plans. A trip to Puerto Rico to see my best friend marry the man of her dreams, my 30th birthday celebration, and a fun family trip to St. Augustine Beach planned for our family vacation towards summers end. In between of course, pool time, hitting the parks, seeing some free movies with my boys, settling into our new home and making some fond memories, as this was going to be the last summer before both boys were in some sort of school in the fall. The outlook on the summer was great and I was excited about it! Excited to have some time away with my hubby~5 days in Puerto Rico was lookin’ like a fantastic way to kick off the summer. Then back to a lake celebration for my 30th birthday and the 4th of July. I really wanted to do an 80’s theme, low country boil, DJ rental, the whole 9 yards. It was gonna be a fun time!

Well, let’s see…about mid May I started to re-think the whole birthday shindig. I found out that one of my best friends of all time, Sam Cone, was pregnant along with the 5 other close friends that were already having babies this year. I began to think the lake party might not be the best idea for all the preggers. Even though it was my birthday and my party, I wanted everyone to enjoy it and definitely didn’t want the money spent on stuff that half of my friends couldn’t or probably wouldn’t want to take part in at 6 months preggo. I remember those days for sure, and there is no way I was stayin’ out past nine to dance the night away while pregnant in the July heat. So, the thought of the DJ and the 80’s part of the party kind of got pushed to the side. I took a few weeks to think on it. I knew my 30th wouldn’t be what I wanted it to be since everyone had just traveled to Puerto Rico. No one had the money to do another weekend trip, like say to Nashville, to party all weekend. That was my plan last year on my 29th. In a year, I’d be in Nashville, celebrating my 30’s! Once the wedding date was set and I knew it was too close to my birthday, I settled for the lake party and was really excited for it. As long as my friends and family were there to ring in the 30’s with me, that is all that mattered!

Then the end of May hit. What was about to be a blast of a summer started slowly fading away. 2 weeks before we were to leave for Puerto Rico, I went into the doctor to get a 5 year birth control device. I had been meaning to do it a while back, but we got caught up in moving and end of school year for Brayden that it slipped my mind. It was routine procedure and something that wouldn’t take but 20 minutes. Well, I’ll cut straight to it…the birth control device didn’t happen that day. It is standard to test for pregnancy before doing any procedure and sure enough, that test came back way more positive than I ever in my right mind would have thought. Yep, I was pregnant. Unexpectedly pregnant! I went into shock right there in the doctor’s office. Called Russell balling crying and could hardly speak. All I could think of is that we were done having children. I had just sold all of my baby stuff. I was beginning to get my own identity back; learning that I was not just a mother, but a woman with big dreams and although I love my children more than anyone can imagine, I was looking forward to some “me” time this fall and maybe even doing a little “work” of some sort. Something that has been foreign to me for the past 5 years and something that I really wanted back in my life.

The other thought crossing my mind was, what in the world have we done? How could we have screwed up this royally? Never in my right mind would I have thought this would happen. I won’t go in to details, but Russell and I were probably the most careful couple I know of and this was devastating. It felt like a car accident…where you look back before it happens trying to figure out how you could have avoided it, but now that it has happened, there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.

So from there, we let the news settle in. Telling very few people and not sure what to think of how our future was going to go. Our plans were always of a family of 4 from the very beginning and we were so very blessed to have that happen for us. We have 2 of the most wonderful little boys you’ll ever meet and we were so happy watching them grow up before our eyes. The talk of a third had come into play about 2 years ago when we had Hudson, our second, but it was ruled out from the start of the conversation. Russell was more apt about having another later on down the road, but as for myself, I was done, done, done. Nothing in the world seems to be made for a family of 5. Think about it…small things like going grocery shopping where there is only 2 seats in the cart, going out to eat lately I haven’t seen many 5 seater tables…you have to move to a 6er which usually menas a longer wait, at Disney World or Six Flags someone is going to be left to ride alone…gosh, I can think of a list of a hundred things. Our society has been built around a family of 4. Another thing I noticed was that most families that have 3 siblings always seem to have that one black sheep, per say. Take a second and think about the families with 3 siblings that you know…uh, huh, told ya so. Don’t get me wrong, that is not the main reason I didn’t want another child, just the fact that the world isn’t conveniently set up for it. I was extremely happy and satisfied with my 2 boys and not one to have ever wished to raise a little girl, although planning the nursery and picking out clothes would be fun, but other than that, it was never something I felt that I needed to experience so trying for that ‘girl’ never came across my mind. I was set with the 2, same sex that I had.

Now onto Puerto Rico. With all of this information and emotion tearing away at us, we set on a plane for the islands. So it was a blast for me, right?! All of my bestest friends drinking and having a hoot of a celebration and poor, poor pitiful me sitting on the sidelines. No, really, it was an amazing trip and beautiful celebration as you can see in my earlier post, and I hung in there…even dancing a little here and there, but it was hard not being able to drink. Now I know this probably sounds a little like I’m some alcoholic or something, but really, can you imagine going to a paradise of a tropical island and not being able to have one of those fruity little, colorful cocktails with the mini umbrella sticking out of it that everyone else has? Come on, you gotta get where I’m coming from.

So then the birthday celebration came back into play. We had to make some sort of a plan before leaving for Puerto Rico and I was really down and out and didn’t want to do a thing. Not only now were 5 of my close friends preggo and not able to really enjoy a ‘party’, but I had joined the club for goodness sakes! Russell talked me into planning a dinner party at Aqua Terra instead of a big throw down at the lake. Aqua Terra is a quaint, upscale bistro in downtown Buford. So that is what I did. It sounded good at the time and I made and sent invitations, did everything I was supposed to do. Then, 2 weeks before the dinner I canceled it. We still had not wanted to start telling people about the pregnancy yet and I just imagined the party being all about that because I’d have to announce it at some point. All of my friends and family would wonder why I wasn’t drinking and surely start asking questions. So yes, I decided to cancel. I did have an awesome couple of small celebrations with my different groups of girlfriends which really made my birthday worth remembering this year. Sam, Heather and my mom took me to lunch on my birthday and it was nice to be with my oldest, bestest friends on that day. Elizabeth Dunn and Katie Ellis, my wonderful friends and neighbor surprised and treated me to dinner at Aqua Terra that night. It was so very nice and I am truly grateful to have them in my life. Talk about some supportive people to have around, I can’t think of anyone more supportive to have around during this time in our lives other than my mom, of course. From the very first time we told her the news, she was supportive and actually more excited than I thought she would be. It helped to have her there for us and knowing I can always lean on her is priceless. My other good friend, Jill, took me out to dinner the following Monday and we had a nice girl’s evening at Mellow Mushroom. Then I also met up with some oldy, but goodies the week after my birthday; my Georgia Tech crew of girls, Heather and Lisa. Sam Cone also joined us that day and they treated me to a lunch at J. Alexanders. We had the most amazing chocolate, snicker, rolo, oreo dessert which I believe put Heather into labor. Not 3 hours after leaving lunch, her water broke. 3 weeks early! They now have a new little baby girl, Avery Leigh and are doing very well! Congrats to the Lamb family.

So after every big plan I had or didn’t have for my 30th, it turned out to be very memorable considering the circumstances. All the cards and gifts and even the adorable fruit arrangement that Elizabeth and Mike sent to me was so amazing and I appreciate their effort in remembering me on my birthday.

We closed the summer this past week with a wonderful, week long trip to St. Augustine Beach, Florida. We went last year for the first time to St. Aug and fell in love with it. The beaches are wide and gorgeous and the city has so much to offer. This year, our fabulous neighbors and friends asked us to go with them and stay in their family condo. We vacationed with Katie, Rob and Jackson and made special memories along with some family ones, too! Our short lived, family of four had our first family movie experience together. Russell and I took the boys to see Toy Story 3 while in Florida and it was one of those times I'll never forget. I will always remember looking over in the dark theater and seeing my 3 boys gazing up at the big screen laughing their hearts out to Buzz speaking Spanish. It was one of those moments that you just want to freeze or pause like you would a DVR. It was so peaceful and all things good. Might sounds crazy because it was just a movie for crying out loud, but it was a serious time for me looking from the outside in, so proud to be in this thing I call my family! It was just a pure and happy moment. We are so grateful to Katie and Rob for having us all week because I'm not sure we would have gotten a family beach trip this year with all the funds poured into the Disney trip back in March and Puerto Rico in June. It is very important to us for the 'family' to go on a beach trip every year, because Russell and I both grew up around that. I wouldn't trade anything to have the memories that I have every year at Myrtle Beach with my family as a child. That is something that I want for my children, too.

One blurp I don't want to bring up, but feel it's important to express and get off my chest is that I have gone through a serious bout of depression for the past 2 months and it’s something I never, ever want to experience again in my life. I thought I had been ‘depressed’ before when I was younger, but until I went through this whole thing, what I thought was depression in the past is nowhere near what it really is when it is a true depression. You see those commercials on television with the lady lying on the couch, not motivated or wanting to move…that was me. I had to, of course, take care of my children every day because that is what I do for a living (lol), but it was a struggle and so hard to get up to do for them even.

Now that I’m almost 4 months pregnant, I’m starting to feel better about everything and accept that God has put this child in our life for a huge reason we are yet to know about. This has been all of God’s doing, from the very beginning and I know that it is meant to be for us whether it was in our plan or not. I thank everyone that supported us and are still supporting us through this journey. It’s hard to tell people you are having a baby and are not happy about it. It’s a baby for crying out loud, how can you not be thrilled?! I don’t expect everyone to understand, but I appreciate those that respected our wishes and let us tell our news on our own terms. There is nothing worse than getting an email out of the blue from someone congratulating you and then you not knowing how to respond. It’s a difficult spot to be in and I don’t like to lie, so the truth is the only way whether I wanted to hear the congratulations yet or not.

So today we are announcing that we are having a baby girl in January. As much as I have said in the past and made it pretty clear that I didn’t need or want a little girl, the feeling is lightening on my heart and I know the Lord wants me to have this little girl in my life for a reason. Whether it is to re-live my childhood again or something else, it’s a fact that I am meant to be a mommy of a little girl and I’m finally ready to embrace the idea and enjoy the rest of this pregnancy. She has already put the biggest smile on my face at today's ultrasound. Here she is below giving us a thumbs up! Must be letting us know that her and God are taking care of things around here.

One other small, but hugely important fact about today is HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY TO MY HUDSON! I am so proud of this child and how strong and smart of a person he already is at just two. He has been nothing but a joy for us to have in our family and we celebrate him today and all weekend long! We will throw him a wonderful airplane party tomorrow and have all of his favorite people at our home to join us in the celebration! Trust me, I didn’t jip him in his own birthday blog posting. There will be one after we celebrate with all the details and all of his milestones!

So…here’s to adding some PINK to our lives!

One of a Kind DAD!

2010-06-22T06:23:00.000-07:00

My children have to be the luckiest kids alive! They have a dad like no other dads that I know. He is always caring with open arms, even after the longest days at work. Never uses the I'm tired excuse and wouldn't trade a date with his boys to meet his most admired icon (even though, I'd push him a little for that one if he got the chance). He genuinely LOVES being with his children doing everything or nothing at all. His adoration for them can be seen like a bright light from a mile away. I'm so thankful that my children have him as their father and so we celebrated Father's Day weekend and tried our hardest to show him how much he means to us all!

The weekend was very relaxing and we were so thrilled to have one to ourselves with NO PLANS! We had dinner at the pool with our wonderful friends and neighbors on Friday night and enjoyed spending some time with the kids after being back from Puerto Rico. Saturday was nice. We ran a few errands and did some yard work and much needed house cleaning. That afternoon, Russell's dad came up and we all went to the Gwinnett Braves game. It was Georgia Power night so we have super suite tickets and it was fabulous! Like the regular Braves game we went to a few months back, we were spoiled left and right with food, drinks and sweets galore. I think we are going to be in trouble when we finally have to take the kids and sit in 'real seats'!

This was our first time at the G-Braves stadium and we were very impressed with it. So clean and nice and the field was beautiful! So the suite that we were in was over looking everything, including the massive amount of jump houses out on the berm, so that is what Brayden wanted to do the whole time. I think he watched more of the jump houses than the game itself. I guess it's a good idea if you have berm seats, but with us wanting to enjoy the suite and all it had to offer, the jump houses seemed more of a pain and distraction to us!

I think Russell enjoyed having his dad and his boys all together at a ball game. That is right up all of their alley's and was special.

Sunday morning before church, we treated Russell to breakfast in bed. His favorite, sausage and biscuits. Church service was great and afterwards we went to eat a small lunch. The afternoon was relaxing, as we try to make most of our Sunday afternoons. When the boys woke up from their naps, we went to Aqualand and joined my mom and Bob on the boat. We took a nice ride around the south end of the lake and then over to Fish Tales, our newest and turning into our fave restaurant on the lake. It's so great because they have a nice patio with a huge sandbox for the kids to play in and their food is wonderful, having a bit of a Cuban theme. We went a few weeks ago and had to drag the boys out after 2.5 hours. Same thing Sunday afternoon. We were ready to head back out on the boat and they were dying to stay in the sand pit. We had some awesome grouper fingers and pineapple jerk grilled chicken and Russell had his best, chicken fingers. Go figure! Hey, that's what he wanted, that's what he got. We tooled around on the boat for another half hour and then headed in right before sunset. It was surely a hot one! My mom and Bob came back to our house so we could do gifts and then they headed home for the night.

Russell ended the night resting and watching the U.S. Open while I bathed the boys and put them to bed. Although, he couldn't resist his nightly ritual with the boys of wrestling and reading to them and tucking them in, so I let him slide on that. Man, it's hard trying to make this guy take some R & R!

So here's to all the father's in my life. I'm so very blessed to have a wonderful father, whom I don't get to see as often as I like, but is always there when it is most important. My stepfather Bob has been a joy in my life now for over 15 years and has taught me so much and I am grateful for his guidance and love. I always knew my husband would be a great father from the moment I met him and now I am experiencing it each day right before my eyes. Last, but so not least, my father in heaven. I thank Him for the beautiful life that He has given to my family and am thrilled to be giving my all to get to know Him more and more each day.

Happy Father's Day!

Vieques

2010-06-17T16:01:00.000-07:00

I know, I know...it's been a while; you can call me a slacker. It seems like the summer is just flying by. Russell and I just returned from a trip to Puerto Rico to celebrate one of my best friends marriage. It was on a little island off the big island of Puerto Rico called Vieques. Elizabeth and Mike have been going there every year since the year they met to visit Mike's brother, so they thought it would be appropriate to tie the knot there. About 40 of their closest friends and family joined them to witness the big event. It was unbelievably beautiful!

We arrived on Thursday evening in Vieques after a 4 hour flight to San Juan, an hour taxi ride across the big island to Farjardo to catch an hour and a half ferry ride to Vieques. Needless to say, it was quite a journey to get there, 14 hours to be exact, but well worth it. The welcome party was Thursday night at a little open aired restaurant on the coast of Vieques called Lazy Jacks. Very laid back and chill. Friday morning we got up and headed to the beach near our resort. I swear the beaches and luscious greenery on this island were something unlike anywhere we have ever been before. Russell and I have seen quite a few bits of 'paradise', Jamaica, Bahamas, Cabo, he's been to Hawaii and he even admitted it was more beautiful in Vieques than in Hawaii. Unlike all the places we have been, Vieques was very remote and it put a different feel on everything. No masses of tourists or crowded bars or beaches, it was just a plain simple and relaxing feeling everywhere we went.

Friday afternoon was the pig roast and rehearsal on Sun Bay. This was just a pure fun event. All the food was island themed. A pig of course, and a big one at that, rice and beans, an awesome passion fruit salad and we can't forget the rum punch. We ate, drank, and relaxed the entire afternoon, did a little snorkeling and even a little napping on the beach.

Friday night around 9 p.m. we all met up at Sun Bay to head to the Bioluminescent Bay tour. All 40 of us loaded into kayaks and rowed out into the middle of this bay. When you put the paddle and boats into the water, you see this glowing light in the water. The mysterious blue-green light is created by micro-organisms which thrive in an environment uniquely suited to their needs. Fish flash by in dark water, and when water rolls down your arms it looks like glowing beads!

Our guide, Abe, explained the fragile ecology of the plants and animals of the bay, gave interpretive star lectures, and then we parked the kayaks and tied them all together in an area of high bioluminescent concentration, so that we could swim with the millions of glowing creatures. I unfortunately didn't get any pictures because I didn't take my camera into the boat, but it was an amazing experience and something we'll remember forever! There are very few places in the ocean that have bio bays and Vieques happens to be one of them!

So Saturday came fast and it was wedding time! Russell and I along with Heather and Derek and Russ and Karen spent the morning at Navio beach. This is the beach Russell was most impressed with and said it outdid Hawaii! It was about a 300 yard sandy beach and on each side were cliffs and caves. The water was the clearest I've ever seen and the bottom of the ocean just as white as ever! Absolutely one of the most beautiful things in nature I've ever seen! We were the only ones there for 3 hours! That was the biggest deal to us! I know I said it was a remote island, but you would think the locals couldn't stay off the beach. I'm sure they take it for granted just like we all do with things that are right at arms reach for us on a daily basis. We took breakfast from a local bakery and I think it had to be the best ham, egg and cheese sandwich I've ever tasted and I don't even really like ham! They bake their own fresh bread which really made the sandwich. We hung out in the caves, the boys did a little cliff exploring and beer drinking and again, we just relaxed!

Heather and I headed back to be with Elizabeth around noon. We all dolled up and started with pictures around 3. The wedding began at 4 and was so lovely just like Elizabeth. No arbors or big flower arrangements needed, just the bride, groom and a big ocean as their backdrop! We laughed and cried during the ceremony and then headed off for the reception. Elizabeth's dress was simple, but so elegant and really accented her features. It dipped low in the back and was fitted all the way down. I don't think I've ever seen her look prettier.

The reception was at a little restaurant in town. We had it all to ourselves. It featured an awesome open bar for the evening, sit down filet, eggplant or chicken dinner, dancing and just elegance all around. I think everyone had a blast, but most of all I know Elizabeth and Mike were so thankful for everyone that was a part of it. They couldn't express enough how grateful they were to everyone for coming from far and wide to celebrate with them. We were happy to be a part of all the festivities and wouldn't have missed it for the world!

Sunday morning, we got up and ate breakfast with Heather and Derek at the usual spot, Belly Buttons. Again, fresh bread and the food was just great. Did a little shopping and then we headed off to catch the one o'clock ferry back to San Juan. A few couples headed back with us and we all stayed in the same hotel and spent the evening in San Juan. I can't brag too much about that place. It's not somewhere I could go on an extended vacation to. The beaches were so crowded even on a Sunday afternoon, you would have thought it was Puerto Rican spring break or something...it reminded us of Panama City during Spring Break week. We walked the strip and did a little gambling at one of the casino's and then had some dinner.

Monday morning we caught our flight home eager to see our boys. My cousin, Casey and her new baby and her 3 year old daughter were waiting for us when we got home, too. She is from Utah and I never get to see her, so I was looking forward to that. We had a relaxing evening catching up with the kids and with Casey and her kids. It was definitely a good feeling to be home.

We must give a huge thank you to my parents and to Cindy for keeping the boys for us while we were away. There is no way we would have been able to take them and we are so grateful to have people we trust to leave them with. They seemed to have fun and had no complaints for the 5 days that we were gone. I think we missed them WAY more than they missed us. Hudson called me Meemee for a few hours after we got home. I thought that was funny!

So congrats to the new Mr. and Mrs. Michael Ocando. We enjoyed every second of the trip and are looking forward to seeing them grow their family together!

Unload

2010-05-23T07:50:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted any videos since Disney World, so I thought it was time to unload the Flip. Here are some random videos of the boys.

The boys have a nightly wrestling match with Russell and here's a little bit of Hudson's ritual.

Brayden's Muffins for Mom's performance at school.

Hudson's Helmet

Brayden's Graduation Performance

Month of May

2010-05-20T05:49:00.000-07:00

This month has literally been zooming by and we packed a whole lot into the first half of it! We have already celebrated Grammy's birthday, Mother's Day, Brayden's preschool graduation, Sam's lovely wedding, and the boys' dedications. It's been a special month, that is for sure.

Grammy's fiance, John and I worked together to give Cindy the surprise of her life for her birthday this year. The first weekend in May, we were able to work it out so that John could fly the grand kids in from Florida, Mackenzie and Cameron, for her birthday weekend. She was surprised to see them and seems to have had the most fantastic weekend with them. They all came up Saturday to see Brayden's tee ball game. Then we came back to our house and had a birthday dinner for Cindy. I think she was in awe having all of her grandchildren together at the same time. Hope you enjoyed your birthday weekend, Cindy!

So next on the list was Mother's Day. I wanted to see Zac Brown Band in concert and he happened to be coming into town Mother's Day weekend. My mom, who I am so grateful for, kept the kids for us so that we could go. It was a treat going with Russell. Usually, my concert getaways are with the girls, but I have to say this was a nice change! We were also celebrating Sam's last weekend as a single lady there, too! We had a good group, Jeremy, Alicia, Billy, Shana, Sam, Heather, Melodi, Russell and I.

Sunday morning, I woke up to breakfast in bed cooked by my boys and a vase of beautiful fresh flowers. It was too sweet. We headed to church and then to meet my mom and Bob for brunch. It was a glorious morning. That afternoon, we had the parmesan steak salad that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE and enjoyed a relaxing evening in my mom and Bob's beautiful backyard. The boys made Meemee hand print garden stones and we also gave her a bird bath. It was a really great day for everyone.

Last Thursday was Brayden's last day of preschool. He will be going to Pre-K next year which is a lot more strict than what he has been in for the past 2 years. His end of the year party was simple and fun. Happy Meals and a park day. Brayden helped me with his gifts for his teachers and all of his friends. We gave sparklers with a picture of him holding a sparkler and a note saying, "Have a Sparkling Summer!" He signed the back of all 20 pictures by himself. I was proud of him. Especially proud when I went into his classroom to get the teachers cards signed and while helping the kids with the cards, realized that Brayden was one of three out of fourteen kids that could write his name without any help. He's doing so great with everything these days! The class awarded him with the Most Outgoing Award. I think that fits him to a tee!

Last Thursday was Brayden's preschool graduation. The class did a performance and then we had cookies and juice in the fellowship hall downstairs afterwards. Brayden was a complete gentleman during the whole ceremony and was on key with all of his hand motions to the songs during his performance. Myself, Russell, Hudson, Meemee, Pop and even Grandanny came for it!

It wasn't a day after the last day of school and he was asking when he could go back. He really enjoys his friends and his teachers and that is something I'm thankful for. Not one day has passed since he has been in preschool where he has stated that he didn't want to go. I just hope he keeps it up! !

This past weekend, one of my best friends of all time, Samantha Cone got married! She has been planning for 13 months with her fiance, Mike, and the wedding was a perfect fairy tale. She looked more beautiful than I have ever seen her before. The wedding was at a church in Barnesville,GA. Sam had asked Brayden several months back to be the ring bearer and boy was he excited! I think for the past 3 months, he has been asking if he can wear his tux. He finally got his wish and I have to say that he was so well-behaved and just the cutest thing ever up there witnessing Sam and Mike's vows. He stood there the entire time and barely blinked his eyes. No fiddling around with the pillow or trying to get our attention, he was just a doll baby up there. I couldn't be more pleased with his behavior and was grateful for all the compliments that we got on him after the wedding.

The reception was held at Sam's parents new home. They live on several acres and their new place could not be more lovely. There was plenty of roaming for the kids to do and they had a blast looking at the cows and playing in the woods. It was a very fun and lively wedding and I am grateful to have been a part of it. I'm also glad I made it through my speech :). Congrats to Sam and Mike. This is a big year for them. They just found out that they are expecting, as well, so come January they will add a new addition to their new family! How exciting! We love you both!

Last but not least, actually probably the day out of all days that meant the most for our family was this past Sunday. We celebrated the dedication of Brayden and Hudson. Our family has been attending 12 Stone Church for about 7 months now and we absolutely adore everything about it. The messages are so enlightening and week after week we sit there on Sunday morning thinking, my gosh, this sermon was meant for us!

12 Stone is a very casual and contemporary church. Russell and I both grew up traditional Methodist and Baptist so even knowing beforehand that there would be a band and not a choir, chairs instead of pews and all of the other stuff that is traditional vs. contemporary still caught me a little off guard. However, after that first week, it felt so great. I'm loving the music more and more and even catch Brayden singing some of the chorus' from time to time. Jackson and Brayden always stay for the music intro before they go to their class on Sunday's, so they love it just as much!

Our neighbors and friends, Katie and Rob, never pushed us into going, but would mention it on occasion at dinner dates. We finally gave in and tried it and cannot thank them enough for introducing 12 Stone to us; almost wishing they would have been more persistent with us for the first year so we would have gone sooner!
So we had the boys dedicated on Sunday. 12 Stone has some over 12 thousand members and 3 campus', so you can imagine that they cannot do what most other churches do and dedicate children during the morning services. They set up a special afternoon service about once a quarter and dedicate it especially to dedications! It was much more than I ever expected. There were tables lined all the way around the room with such a nice food and drink spread and picture cards of our boys all over our table. Each family had their own table to socialize at before the ceremony began.

The service was phenomenal and the boys did perfect. Hudson even said Amen after his prayer (you can hear it in the video below if you listen closely). We chose Katie and Rob as our prayer partners and were so touched by the prayer that Rob read to us during our prayer time. We can't be more thankful and amazed by their friendship. They are such good people. Russell and I also had to write a letter to the boys to give to them on their 18th birthday. I was so choked up while reading it, I couldn't finish.

After the ceremony, we all came back to our house and had a big feast! Ribs, bbq chicken, the whole works. We thank my mom and Bob, Cindy, Danny, my dad, the Ellis', the Dunn's and Teri for being a part of our special day.

This sums up our first half of May. This weekend we have the tee ball banquet and then will have some down time. The pool is open, school is out and it's time to have some family R&R. Russell and I are so excited about our upcoming trip to Puerto Rico for Elizabeth and Mike's wedding, but we are in serious need of some 'home' time before we hit the beautiful beaches!

Goodbye to a Great Season!

2010-05-12T18:23:00.001-07:00

Well, this past Tuesday night ended Russell's first coaching season with Buford...team Cardinals! I'm so proud of both Brayden and Russell. Russell took on a lot, taking on a young team, but he thoroughly enjoyed himself and I think this was the beginning of a long run of coaching in his future. The look in his eyes while he was on that field was priceless. Baseball is something Russell is really passionate about and I love that about him!

Brayden has come such a long way from last year's tiny tots team. The past few games he's been hitting well off the pitch and stopping balls and throwing well from the field. He really loves the game, too, and I am glad for that. I think it's so important for him to grow up learning and understanding what it means to be a part of a team. He got the game ball for our last game of the season. Hit off the pitch, scored a run, stopped a really big hit at short stop, and threw very well, so he deserved it! He was so proud to get 2 game balls this season!

Way to go Cardinals! We are already looking forward to next season!

Birthday Party Weekend!

2010-05-12T18:05:00.001-07:00

The last time I updated the blog, it was mainly about house stuff. We have been quite busy believe it or not besides moving, moving, moving. At the end of last month, we celebrated Caroline and Canyon's birthday's. I took Caroline for her first pedicure. It was so cute and I think she loved it! I sure did! She had a Dora party and my boys really had a blast. Elizabeth did such a fantastic job planning and taking the kids on an adventure just like Dora does on her tv show. They had a map, backpack, even Dora themed music throughout the whole adventure! Great work, Elizabeth and Happy 3rd Birthday, Caroline!

Canyon's party was the next day and it was a blast, too! They had it at a jumpy place and it wore the kids out...Russell, too!! His party was Star Wars theme which Brayden is starting to really get into! He loves playing Star Wars with his buddy, Canyon! Canyon really racked up on Star Wars toys. I think he probably has everything Target carries in the Star Wars department. I know Bryaden will be in heaven the next time we go and play at his house! Hudson had a blast, too! He hung right in there, climbing and sliding with all the big kids. Nothing holds that boy back!

We were so glad to take a break from moving and unpacking and enjoy time with friends. Thanks to the Dunn's and the Taylor's for hosting great birthday parties!

All Things Huddy

2010-05-04T13:59:00.000-07:00

Today marks Hudson's 21 month birthday! Gosh, I remember this time last year counting down the months to his first birthday! Now we are almost to his second. It is a good reminder of how precious time really is.

Some of the newest things he’s doing lately are:

*After snack, putting his snack bowl in the sink.
*When I say, “Come on, Hudson.”, he’ll respond with, “I’m coming!”
*He knows the difference between all balls…baseball, basketball, golf ball and footballs!
*Can count to 3; especially loves 3, as you can see in the video below. Actually, I just realized while shooting the video that he can count to 10...on and off at least. He likes to say every other number.
*Loves and I mean LOVES to push buttons! He says BUT-TONS so cute! He helps to push my tailgate button when we go shopping and has to push the garage door button every time we go inside the house now.
*Airplanes...another obsession. We might even decorate his new big boy room in antique airplanes.
*Another funny saying, in the car when I cut on the DVD player, he knows when to tell me to press play and he tells me, "Press play"!
*Hitting the baseball off the tee with a real bat...everyone is in awe of how natural he is. Must be a second child thing, but I do know that he is way into sports much earlier than Brayden was at this age. Probably also has something to do with us being on the baseball field 3 times a week.
*Washes himself with soap in the bath tub.
*Says Meemee & Pop when we turn into their neighborhood.
*Learning to jump...it's the cutest thing.
*Likes to teach us by pointing to each person in the family and saying our name. He even does this for people outside the family, too! Mama, Daddy, Bro Bro, Meemee, Pop, even our neighbor, Jackson! It's so funny when Jackson walks in...Huddy just keeps yelling, Yackso, Yackso.
*Minding manners (please and thank you's and even bless you's and excuse me's) very well, which is high priority in our family. I've done good to teach him please and thank you, but it makes me feel like we as a family are doing something right when he picks up bless you and excuse me on his own. I mean, I suppose it's because he hears us saying it, but hey, kid might just be a genius and not paying one lick of attention to us. HA!
*Showing interest in the potty. He has sat on it a good many times and he pulls at his pants when he sees me on it, but nothing in the potty yet. I'll follow the same guidelines as I did with Brayden and not rush it. Brayden wasn't the earliest kid to ever be potty trained, but he has never been a bed wetter or one to have accidents left and right (and from some of the stories I hear today, a lot of his peers are still wetting several nights a week), so I give myself props on the potty training methods I used. I see some parents trying to train their child so early that the child just isn't ready, and then the parents are frustrated because they are fighting the 'accidents' for a year to come. It's just not worth it to me. I don't think I could handle the laundry! HA!

Ok-so that's a pretty good update 0f some of the skillful things he's doing these days. I feel horrible that I haven't written in his baby book in months, so I'm hoping that I can look back at this one day to fill it in. Sometimes I feel like I'm writing a list of 'hey, listen to what my child is doing'...kinda like a brag book, which I really don't like to do. However, every now and then I gotta make the list so we will be able to remember these times! I'm sentimental like that, I guess.

Hudson is such a sweet and happy little boy. When he goes shopping with me, he is always smiles and very sociable to the attendants at check-out. Brayden was the same way. It melts my heart to see him make an older persons day in the line at Publix or Target just by smiling and say bye-bye to them. You can see in the attendants eyes that they really, truly appreciate that moment. When we are outside in the neighborhood, he will put his hand up and wave at each car or person walking that passes by. Russell does this so I know who he gets it from. I wouldn't have it any other way. Hudson really looks up to his brother and wants so bad to do everything Brayden does. He follows quite well in his daddy and brothers footsteps, but also has a personality of his own that is priceless and irresistible in so many ways.

Check him out below counting!

A Little Blurp

2010-05-01T07:26:00.001-07:00

I've been getting postings everyday from a pastor in Augusta, GA on Facebook and I love his messages. He sent this one last week and I wanted to share it. Even through my ups and downs in life, I try to live by this. We will all have our bad days when things come out of our mouths by accident, but counting to 10 and rethinking about what I'm doing or saying to others in heated moments helps.

Jason Lutes
Subject: Titus 2:7-8

In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

It is the responsibility of a leader to set an excellent example for those who are watching. What we do matters. The first priority is to do the right thing. The next step is to do the right thing in the right way. This means our actions should be trustworthy and filled with integrity. Our words should be well chosen and free from questionable meaning. When we honor the Lord in our words and actions, our example becomes one that has a positive influence in the lives of others.