weekend randoms

1. I might have went four days this week without wearing makeup. Or fixing my hair in anything other than a ponytail. And I defintely stayed in "easy clothes" aka yoga pants & tank tops or t-shirts.

Not cute ones, either.

2. I have spent WAY too much time on Pinterest this week. I have a baby shower coming up in October that I'm helping to plan and I am getting so many good ideas!

Can't wait to share the finished product with ya'll.

3. Today we are going hiking in Pine Mountain and then over to the beach at Callaway Gardens. I'm hoping to get some good pictures of the girls -- it's been a while!

4. As of the end of August, I'll officially be a college student. :)

5. I'm one of THOSE moms who judge other parents for letting their children run around a restaurant. I totally get that your kid isn't going to be quiet the whole time you're in there. My two definitely are not, either! However -- I believe you can make them sit in  highchair, your lap, or a regular chair.
Don't let them go running up to random peoples table.
This really happened.

6. I'm already planning Sara's birthday, and it isn't until the end of September!
I think I'm going with a milk and cookies theme -- it sounds boring, but is so cute! We're trying to do just a low-key party at home this year. I found princess cookie stick molds last night at Michaels, so we'll still be working princesses in there somewhere. :)

7. I have made it a goal to NOT eat out ONCE this weekend. Hopefully I will come back Monday and be able to say.....WE DID IT!

8. On a side note, I have always loved eating out on Sunday afternoon after church. However, by the time we get out of church around 12:00....the girls are cranky as all get out because it's an hour past nap time. And the're hungry. We usually end up going home for a sandwich and then sleeping the afternoon away...which is kinda nice, actually.

I hope ya'll have a wonderful Saturday! See ya'll Monday!

fill in the blank friday

Today I'm linking up with The Little Things We Do for Fill in the Blank Friday. I love these little quizzes -- go on over & link up, too!

1. My favorite color is

Yellow. And green. But mostly yellow.

2. My travel destination of choice is

THE BEACH! I would be there every day if I could!

3. My favorite food is

Mexican. Ask anyone in my family. I could eat it four or five times a week!

4. My happy place is

The beach.

(I told ya'll I loved it!)

5. My favorite saying is

This one has me stumped. I don't think I have a favorite quote....I do say "Lord Almighty" a lot, except it comes out "Lordamighty" with my accent. ;)

6. My dirty little secret is

I don't wash my hair every day.

Cringe.

I know, right? I wash it every other night or every third night. Hello -- I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old. I'm lucky to get a SHOWER most days!

7. Something friends might say about me is

Umm...I don't know? Probably that I always have ridiculously huge bows in my girls hair!

what i'm playing thursday

It's time for my favorite link up! Ya'll head on over  Sarah Elizabeth's and check out all the great music! I'm sure you'll find something new to love. :)

This week I'm loving:

1. "You Probably Ain't" by Craig Campbell

2. "Hell on Heels" by Pistol Annies

(I LOVE this group!)

3. "It's a Shore Thing" by Luke Bryan

Ahhhh.....now I want to go to the beach!!

Hope ya'll have a most wonderful Thursday -- I'm working this morning and will be spending the afternoon with my girls in the pool!

didn't i walk on the water -- jeremiah yocum

As I kneel in the darkness in the middle of the night

I’m praying for assurance everything’s gonna be alright

Lord I see another battle out in front of me

I’m afraid I won’t be able and I’ll go down in defeat

The day we found out she had a grade 3 IVH -- praying for hours everything would be okay

And He said, I walked on the water and I calmed the raging sea

I spoke to the wind, it hushed and I gave you peace

Didn’t I run to your rescue didn’t I hear you when you called

I walked right beside you just so you wouldn’t fall

Didn’t I leave all of Heaven just to die for your sin

I searched until I found you and I’d do it all again

My first miracle baby :)

He said, do you remember where I brought you from

Just take a look behind you at how far you’ve come

And everytime you asked me, didn’t I deliver you

So why would you be thinking that I wouldn’t see you through

Hours after birth -- thinking this would be our only picture of her

 

Now she’s talking to her father in a house that was once a home

She said my bills are coming due Lord and six days is not that long

She hears a voice so still and low

It says I’ve moved like that before

And I’ll do this little thing and I’ll give you so much more

First time my mama held June -- 2.5 months old

Just discovered this song and I'm in love. Like a lot of songs, it reminds me of our time spent in the hospital with June and it also reminds me of the season of life we're in now.

 

No matter where you are -- no matter what you've done -- no matter how bad your future looks -- there's hope. Your life could be in shambles, but still know there is One who can begin to heal it all in ways you never thought could or would happen.

lazy evening out -- and a surprise

The other night we met some family at this little resaturant halfway between us for supper.

Cock of the Walk is one of my FAVORITE restaurants ever, especially local!

They bring you pintos & cornbread, cole slaw (which is awesome and I don't even LIKE cole slaw!) and other stuff to your table while you wait on your meal. Your food comes in tin plates & cups & it's just so cute. I always get the grilled catfish & shrimp....yum! Anyway -- this is what you see when you drive up....who wouldn't want to eat here with such a beautiful view?

Then we headed over to the local strip mall to do a little shopping. It's very unfortunately for this Crimson Tide fan that we live in the deep heart of War Eagle country. At this particular strip mall, they have a few huge fake tigers....guess who just HAD to have her picture made with the AU tiger?

When I tell ya'll that she poses ALL THE TIME....I mean it! Here's proof of what she did with the mirror in Old Navy:

And as a bonus, here's what Homer so sweetly did for us while we were away:

Yay. We're going to have loads of fun fixing that one. :/

featherlocked -- and a bunch of randoms!

Okay, first things first. Friday, I did something that's REALLY out of character for me. I love it when people do unique things to themselves....hair, makeup, tattoos, etc....but I have a super hard time committing to it for myself. That said, I went to get my hair cut Friday. I told her my usual -- long, lots of layers so I can tease it to be the size of Texas, sideswept bangs, etc. But then.

THEN.

My cousin convinced me to get featherlocked!

Proof:

See it? It's purple! I love it! I told her I wanted it to be easily hid because I wasn't sure if I was going to like it on myself or not....but I LOVE IT! My cousin bought the tools to do it (she's awesome at stuff like that) and I got a dark turquoise one to go with it. Now I wish I had put it on the top of my hair! Go get yourself one, you'll probably love it too! BTW -- if you live in the Montgomery area, Missy at Garbos Salon is AMAZING! Thanks, Missy!

Secondly. I was browsing around in Bed, Bath & Beyond (better known as BBB to me) I stumbled upon this little gem:

 Supposedly this takes the place of regular soda. My cousin said she tried it once & it really did taste the same -- it's supposed to be cheaper and it's less calories, etc. I think the machine was about $90 (give or take a few) and the refills are $6 each, I believe. They have every flavor imaginable, even coke zero!

I kind of want one now.

 Yesterday we had a birthday party to go to....miss Aubrey Nicole was turning THREE! I can not believe it. I remember the day she was born. I remember helping her mama (who was only 16 years old and has since become the most amazing teenage mother I have ever met -- at 19 years old she will be graduating in four weeks with her Associates Degree and I am SO proud of her!) breathe and push her way through a natural childbirth. I don't have any pictures from her party because I left my camera at home (go me!) but I did get this one on my cell before we left:

Yes, I really do get that pose every single time we take a picture.

And please excuse the long grass -- it was cut while we were at the party. :)

I hope ya'll had a great weekend! I am exhausted and ready to take a nap..and it's only 8:30 in the morning!



a love like mrs. ruth and mr. lewis

I've mentioned here before that I take an elderly family friend to see her husband in the VA nursing home twice a week. They pay me a  generous amount of money, and it allows me to continue taking June to therapy three times a week. It's a win-win for all parties.

Plus, I really enjoy my chats with Mrs. Ruth on Tuesdays & Thursdays. :)

Well, I've been paying attention to Mrs. Ruth lately. She's a wonderful woman of God and she LOVES to talk about her life. I love that she's chatty like that. :) I have been noticing the wistfulness in her voice when she talks about Mr. Lewis. She will say things like,

"We used to travel so much, but now that Lewis has lost his mind

(he has Alheizmers), that season of life is over."

 It makes me so sad for her, but at the same time

 I am so happy that she was able to experience so many years with someone she loves SO much!

I've been noticing lately that every Tuesday and Thursday, she brings him a treat. She double checks twice on the trip up there (it takes 45 minutes to drive one way). She has to make sure Mr. Lewis has his treats. She takes him a sucker each time and a brownie or cookie.

She goes in and spends about two hours with him. She eats lunch with him and visits.

When she comes out, she always thanks me for waiting and she aplogizes for taking so long.

I always tell her it's my pleasure.

I ask how he's doing.

Sometimes she will happily smile and say that he's having a good day,

he ate all of his supper, and they had a good visit.

Other days, I see the pain in her eyes as she looks down and says he's having a bad day.

He's ill, he didn't want to eat,

"I don't even think he knew I was there" she'll say.

Those days, my heart breaks for her.

Usually if he's had a bad day, she will reminiscence on the trip home.

She'll tell me how Lewis was such an intelligent man in his youth.

They raised two beautiful children, he owned his own barber shop

and then he taught barber school at a local college.

"I just never imagined it would be like this.

 I never thought he would be in this condition when we were younger.

This is not anything like what I had pictured our last years to be like."

Those days, I hide my tears. I encourage her. I say things like,

"Hopefully next time will be better."
"I'm sure he loved his sucker."

"Did he like his cookie/brownie/pie/etc?"

But I can't say what I REALLY want to say.

What I really want to do is cry and say how unfair life is.

Then she'll say, "If I had known it would be like this, I would have cherished him more."

And that, my friends.....it hits home every single time.

Alheizmers is a horrible, ugly disease (this I know because it took my Grandma)

but the truth is -- you never know what could happen in the future.

Cherish what you have because you just don't know

what tomorrow holds.

june's predicaments

Lately Junebug has been getting herself into some rather tight situations.

Case in point:



Disclaimer #1: She was not crying in hurt or fear, only in frustration because she couldn't get out. There were no tears, I promise, just a very MAD cry!

Disclaimer #2: The recliner is broken and WILL NOT move. There was zero chance of her getting squished in it. She had just crawled underneath to get her ball.

(I think it's silly that if I don't put these disclaimers, someone will have something smart to say....probably anonymously!)

fill in the blank friday

I'm linking up with The Little Things We Do for Fill in the Blank Friday! I hope ya'll are having a great day....I'm going to get my hair cut (FINALLY!) and possibly get a Featherlock extension. I don't know, though. I'm probably not that daring!

1.   One of my happiest moments ever was

I could say all the typical things, like when my girls were born, etc....but I'm going to go with when I walked in June's hospital room when she was being discharged, and I saw her precious little face for the first time with no wires, tubes, etc. It was all "free and clear" and I LOVED it. If you've ever had a baby in the hospital, you know what I'm talking about.

2.  Summer is wedding season and weddings are

Beautiful. When I know the person. They're even more beautiful if they're kept short.

3.  This summer   

has been HOT HOT HOT! But I love it anyway.

4.  My summer food of choice has been 

salad. I'm still doing the diet thing and right now I'm loving a dark green lettuce, corn, black beans, avocado, a little bit of feta and lite ranch or lite italian dressing.

5.  My summer uniform has been   

either white shorts & a cute top or a dress.

6.  If I could spend the entire summer in one location I would choose 

the beach! i'm boring and would probabl pick pcb or destin, only because that's what i'm used to and i know my way around, haha.

7.  My summer anthem is 

something light & fun. right now i'm loving "knee deep" by the zac brown band

 & "when the sun goes down" by kenny chesney.

Ya'll have a great day now! Maybe I'll be back tomorrow with pictures of my feather! ;)

what i'm playing thursday

Hey ya'll! Hope this week is treating ya'll well. We have been a little lazy this week...other than June's therapies on Monday and me working Tuesday & today, we have not even left the house!

I'm lovin' it. :)

Head on over toSarah Elizabeth's and link up this week!

1. Barefoot Blue Jean Night -- Jake Owen

2. Backroad -- Rodney Atkins

3. You Probably Ain't -- Craig Campbell

4. Country Must Be Country Wide -- Brantley Gilbert

bring tanner home

Three years ago, I was a brand new mama in a brand new city. After months of encouragement, I finally joined a playgroup. The first meetup I went to was a morning coffee with little ones at Panera Bread. I was SO nervous, because I'm really shy and will nearly make myself sick over meeting someone new. I walked in, found the little booth where a couple of moms were sitting with babies, and asked one girl if she belonged to the playgroup. She broke out into a big smile, her eyes lit up, and she introduced herself and her little girl. I attended that same playgroup for about a year and NEVER ONCE did I feel like the new kid on the block. I got to see what an awesome parent she was -- even to three children with a deployed husband.

That was :Lora. Eventually, her husband came home and the Army moved them away to Colorado. We've stayed in touch through our blogs & through Facebook -- she has sent many an encouraging e-mail over the past year during our process with June. They've since added a fourth little one, too. :)

I tell you this because Lora, her husband Dean, and their four beautiful children are adopting a little boy named Tanner. Tanner is being adopted through the organization Reece's Rainbow. You can read all about the service on their webpage. Trust me -- it is truly a wonderful thing.

Tanner has Polycystic Kidney Disease, which is why he is with Reece's Rainbow. Now, Lora and her husband are just an ordinary military family. We all know that Uncle Sam doesn't provide the best pay grade ever, so they are hosting fundraisers to fund the adoption fees. If you go to her blog, she has an outline of the estimated cost of adoption.
 I believe it was $25,000.
TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS.
All because God told them to bring Tanner home.

They just finished their first fundraiser -- a puzzle fundraiser which raised $3,000!
AND they finished it about three weeks before their deadline --
 I'm telling you, God is moving for this family!

Lora's friend Angela is a really awesome photographer (if you live in the Colorado area -- you should check her out! The pictures she took of Dean's homecoming are amazing!) is selling a printed picture in support of Tanner. At this moment, the proceeds are being split 90/10 -- 90% going to bringing Tanner home, 10% going to Reece's Rainbow. After Tanner is home it will be changed to 50/50 -- 50% supporting the ongoing medical care that he will need. Because, ya'll, it takes a LOT out of you to support a sick little one. Yes, insurance is a great thing (and believe you me, I am SO thankful for Tricare) but you still have fuel cost, hotels, food while you're out, etc. Anyway -- you can buy the print for $30, (5) 4x6's for $25, or the file (which will allow you to print as many as you want) for $100.
I am definitely going to be buying one of these prints.

Another friend that was in the playgroup, Anna, owns an Etsy shop called Leo's Roar. Through August 31, she is donating 5% of her proceeds to bring Tanner home. She has sold over 400 items with 100% positive feedback, so you KNOW she is someone you'd enjoy working with!

Sharin, yet another friend in the playgroup (I'm thinking our playgroup was pretty awesome back in the day!)also has an Etsy shop, Modern Farm Baby and she is also donating 5% of all proceeds to Tanner. She JUST opened her shop this month and she is still getting products up, so if you want something but don't see it -- e-mail her!

Lora also has a Paypal link on her blog that will allow you to donate.

If you can't donate monetarily (and sometimes we just can't) you CAN pray.
That's probably the most effective of all, anyway.

Go check out Lora's blog and read all about their process with Tanner. I promise to keep ya'll updated, but it's always better to hear it straight from the horses mouth! I can't WAIT for the day that she announces baby Tanner is home with his new family!

fail.

Yesterday was one of "those" days.

The morning went great -- June had PT in the morning and I had no problems getting the girls up,

getting us all ready & out the door.

Sara was SO good waiting on June to do PT that I decided to reward her by going to Barnes & Noble to let them play with the train table. They played for at least an hour before June started getting cranky...it was lunch time, and they both needed naps. It was time to head home.

Except, Sara apparently didn't think so.

She FELL OUT IN THE FLOOR, screaming that she didn't want to leave.

I was mortified. I corrected her as best I could with a 15 month old on one hip, got her to the car and took a few minutes to explain WHY we can't act like that.

To which she slapped me in the face.

Correction #2 then took place.

Then the rest of the afternoon was bad...they fell asleep on the way home, but woke up as I was trying to transfer them to their beds. So we had lunch, I tried to clean, but Sara was SO BAD. I know 95% of it was because she was SO tired, but oh my word! When did my sweet little angel get such a bad attitude? I finally just gave up and laid down with them about 3:00 and she slept until about 6:00. After that, she was great!

What do you do when your kids act out in public like that? I was truly so embarrassed. She has only done that once before, when she was MUCH younger. I used to be THAT person who thought, "Get a hold on your kids!" when a child acted out....but not now! I guess I got a big dose of humility.

Here's hoping today is MUCH better! :)

And because I don't want to leave this post on a sour note...

here is a picture of the girls playing sweetly, before disaster struck.

Ten on Tuesday

I recently found this cool link up each week hosted by Roots and Rings. It's pretty interesting. I love to read about other people!

So, without further ado...

1. When you are on a plane and the kid behind you is kicking your seat, what do you do?

I try to be understanding. If it continues on for a long amount of time, I'd probably cough or something like that....cause that's not crazy at all.

2. What food that you KNOW is bad for you and you shouldn’t have, but you love/eat it anyway?

Fried chicken. Hands down.

3. What is your favorite book of all time?

Only one? I don't think I can choose just ONE.

4. If I came to visit you in your town, where would we eat?

Oh my. If we were in my hometown....well, there's one sit down restaurant, and it's Mexican.....we'd eat there.

5. You have 500 dollars and 40 minutes to spend it at any store you want. Where do you go?

Oh MAN! This is my dream! Okay....oh how can I decide? Okay. Probably somewhere like Dillards or Belks, because you can get home goods, clothes, accessories, nice jewelry, kids stuff, and makeup all in one!

6. What blog do you read every day/the most often?

Kelly's Korner, Young House Love, and that's the only ones I really check directly every day . The rest I read when it pops up in my reader that they've posted something new. And there's WAY too many to list!

7. What’s the longest you’ve ever been stuck at an airport?

Never long enough! I've always barely made it to my connecting flight!

8. What’s your daily makeup/face/cleansing routine?

Ah, this is something I'm working on -- and if you have any ideas, please let me know! Recently my face broke out like a 12 year old hitting puberty....it's ridiculous. I am still trying to iron out a routine and products that work best for my face. Right now I wash my face in the morning with either Nutrogena or this other face soap I got from Ulta (the name is slipping my mind at the moment), then I use a moisturizing makeup primer from Smashbox. At night, I remove my makeup with a baby wipe and wash with a moisturizing cleanser from Boots (purchased from Ulta). Then I use either Cetaphil face cream or another gentle face cream before I go to bed. On Sundays I use a Mint Julep mud mask. It sounds like a LOT -- and it is -- but my face is finally starting to clear up after doing this religiously for about two weeks.

9. Where is your farthest away friend?

Well, I've been married to the Air Force for the past almost six years....so my friends are all over the world. Turkey, Germany, England, Japan, Guam, Hawaii, and all over the US.

10. Where is your favorite place to go hiking (or to enjoy nature)?

Locally it is this place called the Little Grand Canyon....so beautiful in the fall! I also love to just go it down by the river.



Time for a catch-up

Hey ya'll! We have been SO busy the past couple of days here. First things first, though! Please allow me to introduce the newest member of my little family, Homer:

I got conned into this Saturday afternoon. I wanted to run to Target, and the pet store is right next door.

Well, the pet store had the local humane society out there with their animals...and folks, that is all she wrote. We "test drove" one sweet charcoal lab mix that I LOVED. Her name was Summer & she was the sweetest little thing! But then we walked by this cage and this HUGE hulk of a puppy stuck his tongue out and licked June. She giggled and starting jabbering...which she never does....and it was a match made in Heaven.

We think he is a lab/hound dog mix. He's 4 months old & weighs 35 pounds. He's estimated to reach around 80 pounds. And ya'll -- June adores him! She just talks and talks to him and chases him and pays no attention to anybody else. It is really the sweetest thing ever! They are best friends. :)

Sunday we tried out a new church. I LOVED it! Sara will have to get used to a new nursery, but all in all...I really LOVE the church. (Did I say that already?) Looking forward to going back! I tried to get a good picture of the girls & I, but we were running short on time & this was what I got:

                Please excuse the clean clothes hanging on the laundry room door...this is real life, folks!

Just be glad I didn't show you the other part of the house...

the "Sunday morning rush" definitely hit us!

This morning June had both OT & PT. I definitely was a little LOT frazzled by the time we got out the door & on our way. I did manage to get this picture of Sara...I though tit was too cute! This is what I get when I ask her to say "Cheese!" these days. Notice her hair...we chopped a good five or so inches off Saturday! I was going for a bob, but she & her daddy begged to keep her long hair, so we compromised. She looks SO much older to me!

Back to this morning... I was trying to curl my hair & I had one 14 month old trying to eat her hairbow, take her diaper off, and shove a pen in the dogs eye all at the same time (oh, and I believe she tried to feed Homer her bottle, too!), one 3 year old riding her tricycle in circles around me (and I just NOW stopped to wonder -- why did she have her tricycle in the house in the first place?!), the other dog was in a jealous huff on the couch because she is not the Queen anymore (I swear....she is so much like a human it's craaaazy! I have gotten the evil eye for two days straight...once she realized Homer wasn't going home), I got a fish hook stuck in my hand when I was trying to shove all of our stuff into the trunk, and I don't even know what else. And then, to finalize the craptastic morning --

June was so tired by the time she got to the Rehab center that she didn't want to do ANYTHING.

 Oh, why was she tired at 9 am? Because the dog woke me and her us up at 5 am.

After I got up at 2 am to walk him because he was running around the house like a bat out of Haides.

I am so thankful for my girls and I love being a mama to them,

but some days I'm exhausted before I even get going!

But then this afternoon, Sara randomly came up to me and said,

"Here mama, I made this all for you because I love you!" *melt*



And that's the past few days in a nutshell for us. :)

I hope ya'll had a good weekend...and here's hoping this week will be awesome!

Memories

Last year about 3 pm in the afternoon, I got a phone call that said Hadlei had taken a turn for the worst and we needed to pray RIGHT NOW. 

I've never had a phone call for prayer that urgent.

 I was napping with June and Michael was playing with Sara in the living room. 

I didn't even get him. I just got on my knees right there beside the bed and started praying.

 I had no idea what was wrong, just that it was bad.

30 minutes later, we received a second phone call that said Hadlei had went home to be with Jesus.

 I literally laid on my floor and bawled my eyes out. 

I thought to myself, life is NOT fair. 

I don't think I have ever said this on here, and I've said it to one person in real life --

 but I felt like I had never expected June to live.

 I had always made myself think about what I would do to cope if she didn't come home with us.

 But my cousin Britni -- she never did that. There was never any other option. 

Hadlei WAS coming home and that was that. 

Looking back, I guess it was a coping mechanism for her.

 I couldn't understand why God took Hadlei when her mama (I felt like) was not prepared for her to go.

 I felt like I was prepared. 

But now.....now, I know I was not prepared. 

There is no way I could have dealt with the loss of my daughter more gracefully than Britni

 has dealt with Hadlei.

Today, I'm trying really hard not to grieve. I'm trying not to feel sad for Britni. 

I'm trying to remember where Hadlei is. 

She's where we want to go! 

She's safe in the arms of Jesus and she is so happy and healthy and she will never struggle with breathing again, or with her heart or with any other situation she would have faced.

 I'm trying to praise God because HADLEI is the LUCKY one.

Happy news!

Last year my Fourth of July holiday was spent on the rooftop of the parking garage at Florida Childrens Hospital in Orlando, FL, with some wonderful friends while my daughter lay in the hospital behind us.

Some of the friends were fellow NICU parents,

some where parents with older children in the PICU,

and some were parents of other handicapped children.

But we all were fighting the fight.

That week my family had drove down from central Alabama to be with us.

They were slowly disconnecting Junebug's monitors one by one.

They were getting ready to remove her feeding tube.

Little did we know that "a couple of weeks" would be two days away, on July 6.

My family back in Alabama was celebrating and praising God because little Hadlei

(my cousins baby who was born with a CHD called Hypoplastic Left Heart Disease and with Hetertaxy Syndrome and no spleen; she was in the CICU unit of the University of Alabama hospital in Birmingham, three hours from our home)

 was getting ready to be released until her next major surgery.

Little did we know Jesus would end her struggle here on Earth and call her home to Him six days away,

on July 10.

The month of July has proven....bittersweet this year.

It holds June's homecoming day,

 Hadlei's homecoming day

...and today we got some pretty amazing news!

 Hadlei's aunt, Baylee, is 15 weeks pregnant with her first child.

 Baylee is a CHD survivor

(she had open heart surgery at 18 months -- CHDs run in our family, unfortunately),

 and with Hadlei's recent struggle --

our entire family has been holding our breath and praying endlessly that this baby will be fine.

While of course we still don't know anything for sure,

she's had several ultrasounds and so far -- all seems to be 110% healthy!

 Today she had the "big" ultrasound, and....

    IT'S A BOY!

Tyson Adler will be here in December.

 Let me just tell ya'll right now -- we are so thrilled we can hardly stand it!

Please say a prayer that everything will continue to go smoothly for Baylee & Tyson.

Their family deserves it!



TGIF!

This was supposed to have posted yesterday, but for some reason it didn't. Pretend this is Friday & you're reading about Thursday, mmkay? :)

Yesterday we had a pretty awesome day.

I worked in the morning...

(when I say "worked", I mean I drove an elderly friend to see her husbnd in the VA nursing home about 40 minutes away! I drive her twice a week and they pay me a very generous amount of money. I am SO thankful for this...I had no idea how hard it was going to be to find employment to work around school and taking June to therapy three times a week...all while paying enough to have anything left over after daycare! Mrs. Ruth is a HOOT and I love chatting with her every week!)



And in the afternoon, my cousin Kayla & her daughter, Aubrey came over to play.

This is Kayla & Aubrey when she graduated fire fighter school. Is there a technical name for that? Hmmm...

Aaaaanyway. The girls had SO much fun playing together! They always have a blast. Kayla & I caught up on all the good TV like RHONJ, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, etc.

(What? Don't ya'll know that's the best TV ever? haha)

My aunt came over and brought a HUGE bowl of vegetables for us.

We'll definitely be eating a lot of squash & tomatoes this week! I don't mind though because I LOVE fresh vegetables from a garden. I plan on making some homemade spaghetti sauce with the tomatoes, zucchini, and peppers...and probably freezing some of the squash because we've already had sauteed squash & squash casserole in the past week. If you have a good squash recipe -- please share!

Tomorrow we are bound for the lake early in the morning! I can't WAIT! We love the lake....I am a water baby & so are both my girls. Kayla & Aubrey will be joining us, as well as my sister Allie.

Lake time sounds like a GREAT way to kick off a long holiday weekend to me!