46 weeks

Caroline has enjoyed catching up on her rest and sleeping in her own bed. She's back on track and sleeping 12 plus hours a night. Not a lot going on this week, just trying to recovery from vacation. Hope all is well with everyone!!! :0)

Camping Vacation with the family!

Andy, Caroline and I left last Saturday to head to the beach to spend the week camping with my family. We were very excited but also a little nervous. This was only Caroline's second time camping and the first time she had a tough time sleeping at night. Also, because Andy had already taken his vacation earlier in June, he wasn't able to stay with us the entire week. That meant that I was on my own... well not really because I have an awesome family! Everybody stepped up to the plate and really helped us! Thank you guys so much, I could NOT have done it without YOU! :0)


Overall we had an amazing time! Caroline was introduced to LOT'S of new foods compliments of my family (who thought she should have more than Cheerios and yogurt puffs for snack). She had french fries, blueberries, town house crackers, sausage, bacon, french toast, blueberry pancakes, homemade strawberry ice cream and coleslaw. Thank goodness she didn't have a reaction to any of it because I wouldn't have a clue what to tell them it was from... She also drank from a water bottle. Once she tried it, she wanted NOTHING to do with her sippy cup even though they both contained the same thing.

She loved the beach. She was much more active/involved this time. She played with her sand toys and dug in the sand with hands. She and Daddy jumped waves and had a ball. She would crawl straight into the water and keep going. The waves didn't bother her until they "wiped her OUT!"


I enjoyed spending the week with my family so much! I miss them dearly and don't get to see them near enough. We had breakfast with Jennifer, Randy, Jared, Kateland and Jenna every morning. Randy was an awesome cook! Jared and Jenna were so good about playing with Caroline so that I could eat my breakfast. They all took turns stroller her or taking her for a ride on the golf cart or just entertaining her for me to eat, take a shower, etc! My mom was my other right hand. She helped us on the beach, at the pool, feeding Caroline, taking Lucy for a walk, staying with Caroline at the camper while I enjoyed a day at the beach, sat at the laundry mat to wash our clothes, etc. THANK YOU MOM!!! Daniel and Claire had a site right across from the beach and let us keep our beach stuff at their place. It was so much easier that hauling it everyday from our camper and trying to find a place to park. They also left us their golf cart which was so nice. We were using our bikes which worked well, but the golf cart was AWESOME! Bob and Jessica also watched Caroline for us to get showers or clean up or whatever we needed. Thanks to everyone who made our week a great one!



We grew up with a permanent site at the beach. LOVED IT! We made some great friends in the 17 years we were there. However once we left, we have lost contact with several of them. We received a Christmas card last year from Mrs. Carol. We kept in touch and we were able to see her as well as Mr. Bill and Mrs. Wilma while we were at the beach. It was a lot of fun! :-) My brothers made a yummy lowcountry boil!




On a sad note, we did have one injury... Alston got his finger slammed in the bathroom door. 4 hours later he came home with a bandage on his finger-4 stitches and no finger nail. YIKES is right, felt so sorry for my baby...

Caroline and Peyton playing together

Caroline loved the waterfall at the pool

falling asleep in daddy's arms

"these boys look like they need some help..."

playing in the waves with daddy

loving the sand

she's got her daddy right where she wants him...

this beach stuff is FUN!

I tried out my new camera taking some pictures of the family. I can not believe that Jared will be a senior this year. I am really starting to feel old! I remember the day he was born! Jared was like a "little" brother. He spent 3 out of 4 weekends at our house when he was little. It was always so much fun. Once I got my lisence, I would pick him up from preschool, get slushes at Sonic and head home for a fun weekend. He has turned out to be a great young man (has a great girlfriend Kateland, whose a lot of fun).

not so sure about sitting on the deck...

I'll do my own thing momma, well it actually turned out really well!

Aunt Jen is too funny!

All good things must come to an end...

the first time I EVER pulled something with my car! EVER! We all made it home safely!

the camper is ready for storage...

Overall we had an awesome week. The weather was perfect! The fellowship was wonderful! The food was amazing! We already have our reservations for next year and can't wait!

One tired little girl who was happy to be back in her crib!

45 weeks

We are at the beach on vacation camping with my family! Caroline continues to love the beach! She is fearless... She crawls right into the waves, jumps the waves with Daddy and plays right along side her cousins. Granny's able to spend the week with us and we are very excited!

Before we left town, we had lunch with our good friends-Abby, Austin and Mrs. Kim at Chick-fil-A. Mrs. Kim let Caroline do or have whatever she wanted! So of course after a Chick-fil-A waffle fry, Caroline got a yummy kids ice dream. She loved every drop of it!! :0) We had a great time catching up with our friends and hope to do it again soon.

Not really sure at first

"this stuff is YUMMY!"
Just playing at home

Hope ya'll have a great week!

Playing with Wyatt and Walker

Yesterday we had our friends Wyatt and Walker come over for the afternoon. We were all coming home straight from Bible Study so the kids were exhausted and needed their afternoon naps. Everyone slept until Andy got home. Once they got up, we played in baby jail, went for a stroll, got to try out Caroline's wagon, ate dinner and played outside. We had a great time. Caroline really enjoyed having someone to play with in baby jail and Andy had an awesome time playing with Wyatt.

Enjoying "Barnyard Dance"

Wrestling with Mr. Andy-I think Mr. Andy might be tapping out...

Going on our "special" walk according to Wyatt

Meal time-3 kids 3 and under... BBQ chicken, peas and oven roasted potatoes YUMMY!

Enjoying a special snack outside, just the two of them.

In just a few short weeks, our dear friends will be moving away... They are answering God's call to go to seminary and will be heading off to school in August. While our hearts are sad that they will not be here we are also very thankful for their obedience to God and HIS plan for their life. Wherever Wes and Sage go, they will be a blessing. We thank God for their time with us and know that HE has big plans for them! (ok enough about that...)

I thought I would leave you with this adorable face!

44 weeks old... and some mommy reflection

I am one blessed individual and unfortunately God has to remind me of that often! It's easy to get caught up in the craziness of life and forgot how blessed we are! I use to think my life was busy and crazy before Caroline came along. People said once you have kids you will have to slow down, they make you. I wish I could find those individuals now and ask them what I am doing wrong? Before Caroline, I slept in, I watched tv, I read a book, stayed in my jammies all day, it was all about me and what I wanted/felt like doing... not anymore! :0) There is so much more to my life these days-appointments, schedules, a LONG to do list. While this may come across as negative or selfish, it's not meant to. It's through these crazy moments that God reminds me how blessed I am as a daughter of Christ.

Life's gets busy because I am a wife. I am a wife to a wonderful man who loves his family and above all-he loves His LORD! A man who serves me a lot more than I serve him. A man who is generous and kind. A man who takes his commitments seriously! Life is busy because I am a mommy. I am a mommy to a beautiful, sweet, adorable little girl. A little girl who totally and completely depends on me (and her Daddy) to meet her every need. A little girl who is innocent and only knows what she has learned. A little girl who is completely healthy and is therefore very active!

It's easy for me to get caught up in the fact that there is very little ME time anymore. However, God gives me gentle reminders that because of His grace and His will for my life I am busier than every and blessed like never before. Praise God that I have a wonderful husband who loves and provides for his family. Praise God that I no longer get naps and jammie days because I have a beautiful little girl that I spent many years longing for! Praise God that I have my health and good friends to enjoy! Praise God that I am a chosen one and he has chosen ME to be the recipient of so many wonderful things! God is SO GOOD! :0)

So now on to the sweet one who is 44 weeks old today. Every day I am amazed at how much she is learning and how each day she becomes more and more like a little kid. She's not the quiet, sit in one place little girl anymore. Given the opportunity, she will make an exit in the blink of an eye. She loves to point to things, especially her newborn pictures over her crib. Every morning when I get her up, she points to them. We talk about each one-daddy's hands, C's feet, C's eyes, etc. She babbles about each one, to bad I can't understand her... She loves taking walks with her daddy. She jabbers and points to things the entire time. She really seems to recognize people that she knows and things that are going on around her. Just yesterday Andy came home from work and changed his clothes to go walking. He took got her ready to go and then remembered he forgot something. He handed her over to me for just a second. She got very upset. Tears were pouring down her face and she was breaking her neck to see her daddy. As soon as he picked her up, she put her arms around him and buried her head. She continued to sniffle for a few minutes, it was so sweet! Melted our hearts!

Caroline continues to spend one or two mornings with Mrs. Jerri each week. She loves going and gets so excited when she see Mrs. Jerri and the other kids. She loves to watch the big kids play around her. Sometimes she thinks she is as big as they are. Every time a mom or day said goodbye to their kid(s) Caroline thought she needed to wave bye bye to them as well. Love it!

We have started introducing new foods to her the last few weeks. She really enjoys watermelon and will eat it as long as you will give it to her. Today she tried beans and rice at a Mexican restaurant and LOVED them both. I hope that we are going to have a good eater!

On Saturday, we met our friends Chris, Dargan and Clara for lunch. After lunch we headed to the zoo. This was Caroline's first trip to the zoo. She slept through the first 30 minutes and would have most likely continued to sleep if we hadn't woken her up. She really enjoyed the fish and the penguins. We hope to go back again around Christmas. Most importantly though, we enjoyed spending time with our friends. Thanks for a yummy lunch and a fun day at the zoo!

The gorilla's were up close and personal. We couldn't believe the view we had! It was awesome. Too bad Caroline was sleeping...

Awake and pointing at the fish. I think she was attracted to the bright colors.

She also enjoyed watching the penguins swim beside her. It was a really neat experience.

Caroline and her friend Clara

Caroline's first carousel ride, she loved it!

Caroline and I met our Aunt Katy, Jay, Ansley Kate, Mrs. Jennifer and Robert at the park to feed the ducks. The ducks went CRAZY when they realized we had food for them.

We attempted "dressing" like a cow for free dinner at Chick-fil-A however, we never made it. I had to get a picture just in case Chick-fil-A needs a model... I also made cow ears out of felt but they didn't make the cut!

Life is busy but life is fun! I just have to remember to stop, take a deep breath and thank God that he has chosen me for this journey! I couldn't imagine being on any other!

If only we knew what she was thinking...

Such a happy girl!

Caroline and Daddy in baby jail-Caroline thinks Daddy is one big toy to climb on and play with!