The Blogging Brose...

Christmas Recap

2012-01-12T21:55:00.000-05:00

I am not sure about you....BUT DECEMBER FLEW BY!!!

I picked up C's calendar to jot down some milestones and realized the entire month of December was blank.

Seriously, COMPLETELY BLANK and I didn't even realize it. Yikes. I'm thinking THAT will be one of my 2012 goals....to do less in december and enjoy the many holidays that it brings!!

So, In a brief picture recap....here are some Christmas pictures. Other activities to hopefully come later....

Our own reindeer....followed by Santa Claus

One of our Christmas traditions on Christmas Eve...making cookies!! R was in HEAVEN!! His favorite part was the sprinkles!!

Christmas morning...Opening his stocking (this is gift unwrapping session #2--he did a few from my aunt/uncle on christmas eve)

Before church on Christmas morning...

Opening at my parent's house (#3)

Then up the grandparents we headed....

Opening session #4

And #5 at grannie's house...sorry, just had to put this picture of my uncle =)

Then onto Ohio we went.... Session #6, in which aunt laura made them all matching sweaters!!

And now you see why we are STILL de-toxing from Christmas (and disney world) (oh, and his birthday party--coming later)

It was super busy but we def. consider ourselves super blessed with such an amazing family =) Our boys are loved by sooo many people!!!

Fall Synopsis in pictures!

2012-01-06T22:17:00.001-05:00

Bobpa meeting Coop and celebrating Caleb's FIRST birthday...

The beginning of Cooper's "firsts"....

About to visit the pumpkin patch

Carving a pumpkin....

Thanksgiving in Ohio followed by a visit to the holiday trains...

Celebrating Brennan's coming arrival and my TEN YEAR reunion....yikes!!

P.S. I just got my computer back so lots of pictures on the way =)

4 months Old!

2012-01-01T23:14:00.002-05:00

Poor little Coop hasn't gotten ANY blog time!! So here is a summary of the latest happenings in this little guy's life.

Cooper is such a sweet, sweet baby. His smile is priceless!! He is a cuddler and enjoys being held by anyone =) He could sit in the swing all day long (which apparently he got from his daddy). We just pulled out the jump-a-roo and he is absolutely loving it. He is always wanting to stand up!!

He wants nothing to do with a pacifier despite our valiant and constant attempts!! And most recently has been refusing the bottle!!!!!!!! I have NO clue how to handle that!!!! My mom says it's pay back cause I never took one until I could hold it myself.....which is pretty funny, ha! Who knows, maybe a sippy cup is in his future!!

He has been having some major tummy issues and we are hoping and praying for answers soon!! I had always felt like he had a super sensitive stomach but about 3 months ago, I began to realize that something was just not right. We had him checked and he had blood in his stool so (in a nutshell)....no dairy or soy for me X 2 weeks- still positive(for blood)...... no dairy, soy, wheat, egg, nut, fish, or citrus for me X 4+ more weeks- still positive.....a two weeks trial of Alimentum (in which he lost a few oz, then maintained the same weight for a week, then finally gained)- still positive....and give or take some time...here we are today. Still unsure of what to do. I am feeding him again with a modified diet for now. There is one other formula we could try but it's crazy expensive and with his track record it's going to take some time for him to adjust to it!! Overall he is acting okay. Still not as good as he was but not even close to the worst he was either!!

We haven't been able to start rice cereal yet but hopefully soon!! He weighs 15-2 and is rolling over from belly to back. He laughs at our funny faces and 'coos' back and forth with us a lot. He also does this playful scream quite often!! Drooling, chewing on his hands, and watching his crazy big brother are his favorite past time right now!

(sorry no pictures for this post cause my computer is messed up and that's where they all are, yikes!! I am on John's right now!!)

Our Big Guy Turned TWO!!!!!!!

2012-01-01T22:48:00.000-05:00

(Soo...I started this on the 14th and am just now getting around to publishing it....oops!)

I can't believe it's been two years already!!!!

It seems just like yesterday that this little guy was born!

This kid keeps is constantly making us laugh. He has such a big personality. He loves anyone and everyone and within minutes will be your best friend. He is very independent and wants what he wants when he wants it.

His vocabulary is endless and he is always talking in complete sentences. Some of our favorites... "uh-oh, what happened?" "daddy gone to work on school bus" "where did ___ go" (in a high pitched, questioned looked face) "I no like it" "one more time"

He is such a good big brother!!! He always talks to "Coop-e" (as he has recently named him) and tries to watch out for him. One morning in Ohio over thanksgiving, Cooper was crying upstairs....Rader immediately came to each one of us and said "cooper need lunch". After he realized none of us were going up to get him, he headed up that way and said "it's otay Cooper"

He has shared his favorite blankey with Cooper and is always helping me to get the burp cloth, paci, etc!

Of course, we see this face below from time to time. Particularly when he doesn't get his way, Imagine that!!! He has a time out chair which he has responded to great! Now all we say is..."do you want to go to time out?" and he says NO then usually quits.(of course a subject change helps.

)

He has turned into a super picky eater lately and doesn't really want to eat!! He would much rather be playing than eating! His favorite snacks right now are fruit snacks and applesauce.

And HE DOESN'T MISS A BEAT! His memory is amazing. If you do something differently than before, he knows it. If you do something one time, he wants to do that way for EVER! He can be quite OCD at times including his habit of loading, unloading, and lining up items (animals, shoes, etc)

He can def. be a "ham" at times and will do anything you ask him too. He loves washing clothes and the dishes along with sweeping. Now if only I could teach him to fold clothes and clean the bathroom!!

He has an obsession with animals and will play all day with them! Any size, any shape, or anyone! I'm pretty sure he knows just about every type of animal there is!! He is also into trucks and trains now!!

He has his basic colors down and still enjoys his puzzles. We got him one of the USA and it's quite cool to watch him put all 50 states together (his dad is beyond thrilled about this)!!

About 4 months ago, he started getting into "tv shows" and his favorite is Little Einsteins with Barney as a close second. (over Christmas, he watched 101 Dalmations and toy story...amazing)

Despite our constant discipline and direction for this big guy, We are absolutely loving this phase right now and can't wait to see what else God has in store for him and us =)

Trick or treat

2011-10-31T18:07:00.001-04:00

Our very own Bob The Builder

W.W.

2011-10-26T22:39:00.002-04:00

Wordless wednesday

2011-10-19T22:55:00.001-04:00

Flashback to childhood....

2011-10-19T22:50:00.001-04:00

Have you ever tried this? I know it looks crazy but it's absolutely delicious!!!

This was a special treat growing up and I haven't had it in years!!!!

I forgot how good it was :-)

It's Fall!!

2011-10-18T17:42:00.002-04:00

And you know what that means----

Pumpkins.....

Orange & white (maybe scarlet & gray)....

AND football!

But most importantly - GIVING THANKS!! We are so thankful for our boys, our family, our friends, and our life. God is good and continues to bless us with so much.

Thank you Lord for YOUR blessings..... whether through pain & suffering or joy & gladness...

WE. PRAISE. YOU!!!!

21 months old (just now published)

2011-10-18T17:33:00.001-04:00

(I wrote this a while back and never published it.....oops! He is now 22months and i'll try to update later)

I feel like he has grown sooo much over the past month. Maybe because we are around a newborn again but also because he has!!

He is pushing 30 lbs now and just loving life.

He has started saying short sentences/phrases such as... "read book" "mommy down please", and his vocabulary now includes the word RHINOCERUS. Yes, that's right. This child can say that word but still refuses to say "grammie" or "G-momma" VERY interesting huh?!

He is at such a fun age. He just learned to sing and dance to part of "Ring around the Rosies" and "Old McDonald had a Farm" He is OBSESSED with this puzzle we have which puts together two pieces to form an animal. This has also expanded his noise and knowledge of animals including a camel, parrott, skunk, and leopard. He gets super excited when he finds both pieces and wants to put them together into the box!! He is starting to learn a few colors. Usually he is right but several times wrong too. Blue seems to be the "default" color. He enjoys play dough even though he has tasted it a couple of times!
Of course with this age also comes the pushing of boundaries! And that he has done. We have started time out recently and we are hoping this will put an end to some minor issues =) I suppose time will tell!

Crib jumper!

2011-09-22T08:21:00.001-04:00

That's right folks. We have ourselves a 21 month old crib jumper. The first time he did it, I didn't even know it until I heard a toy car start up. I went to get the video monitor and sure enough he was just chilling in his room reading some books. Then I watched him do it again and it was sooo smooth. He just gently lowered himself to the ground without making a loud thud. This morning he was up there for almost 45 minutes playing.

Ready to roll...

2011-09-18T22:53:00.001-04:00

I took both boys out for an afternoon stroll this past week and it went really good!!

P.s. this my first post via my phone!

Little Bit's Arrival

2011-09-10T13:49:00.001-04:00

Little Bit made his grand entrance three weeks ago. My Labor and Delivery was short and sweet with no complications. He weighed 7lbs 6 oz and was 20 inches long.

A lady I work with made me my own gown and pillow case for the day.

It was so sweet and personal!!

Proud Daddy

Our first family photo. Big Brother has done soooooo good!!

It's almost like he has always been a part of our lives.

Precious Boys!

**Random= I had made cupcakes to share with the nurses and visitors......HOWEVER, once we got to the hospital, John tipped the container over leaving this lovely mess. I was very upset at the moment but it became funny as time went on =)

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-24T08:17:00.000-04:00

Twenty Months and Two Weeks!

2011-08-12T07:45:00.005-04:00

I just can't believe that we are going to have a newborn in two weeks (or less!) AHHHHHHHH!!!!

Honestly it's kinda freaking me out to be starting all over again. And I'm feeling really good right now so there is no rush for his arrival =) Now...next week that might ALL change but for now I am good!!

Overall, my pregnancies have been pretty similar (minus the wt gain!). He is way more active than his brother was and I have been a little more uncomfortable this go around but overall both have been very smooth and we are super grateful for that. No major cravings or emotional outbursts (yet =) and I have avoided swelling to this point which I am SUPER thankful for!!

We have had two 4D ultrasounds and both of them have given us excellent views of his face. If we had to guess right now, we'd say he looks JUST LIKE HIS BIG BROTHER!! It's kinda crazy. He has BIG cheeks already and his nose & lips are very similar. He may come out with dark eyes and dark hair but his face looks so much like the "BIG GUY".

And onto our TWENTY month old.....

He is quite the ball of energy these days and portrays so many qualities of a first born child to say the least. He knows what he wants and how he wants it. He is very independant and a little bossy. He is still super inquisitive and likes to have people around him. I'm not sure where he gets all that from (haha!)

He is an excellent communicater. Either with his words, signs, or physical descriptors we have had very few fits over us "not understanding."

The temper tantrums are here though and they can be some pretty good ones!!! He can be quite dramatic when he doesn't get what he wants, when he wants it and it is full blown tears, pouty lip, and laying on the floor. Sometimes he gets to stomping which cracks us up although we try sooo very hard to not laugh and just walk away.

We are amazed at how much he picks up. He loves shoes right now and knows which pair of shoes belong to which person. In Hilton Head there would be a stack of shoes and he could tell you whose they were. He is also good at associating things together. If my aunt walks in, he will ask for my uncle and cousins.

If he sees something once, he remembers it. We are trying to be super careful with what we do so he doesn't pick up on our bad habits!!

He will repeat just about anything we ask him too and his vocabulary is quite large. On our way home from Chattanooga the other night, he did not quite talking the entire way!!! Not even for a minute!! Seriously!!! John and I decided that we may have to start encouraging "quite time" =) He knows everyone's names except for G-Momma and Grammie. We are not sure exactly why cause he says G-Daddy now!!! We think he may just do this cause he knows it will get a reaction out of them! haha

Right now everything is "BIG"....big car. big truck. big bite. big dog---OR is preceeded by an "OOOOoooo".....Oooo bright. Oooo hot. Oooo cold.

Cars, trucks, and airplanes are big right now and if we see one you get the sound immediately followed by a request for "MORE".

He still loves reading books and on a few of his favorites, he will tell you what's on the next page before you turn it. He still asks to read just "one more" anytime we are about finish.

He is also still loving his animals. We've added a few more animal sounds/actions including a bull, whale, turkey, guinea pig, crab and a monster. The only animal he has quit making the sound for and calls it by name is a "tiger". Usually you will just hear the noise and he has found one somewhere!!

He has become aware of his diaper and when he goes to the bathroom. He has asked to be changed a couple times and this past week he has looked at us, held up one finger and said "right back" as he proceeds to walk away. Upon following him, he walks to the toilet, stand in front and say PEE PEE. However he is pooping in his diaper. I guess it's good that he is just associating the two together!! We are no where near potty training!!

We still have our paci and blanket and I pretty much take full blame for that =) I'm not ready to give it up especially with our new little man's arrival. It is (usually) ONLY used in the crib and car but it's definently nice to have as a back up!! He is sleeping great during the night and naps and this is such an enjoyable time for us too =)

He is my little helper when it comes to cooking and washing clothes. He loves to stir and put clothes in washer and dryer for me! He still loves music and dancing....even if it's to the dryer!

He is back to eating really well and has been eating just about anything and everything again including some veggie baby food which we discovered as he ate some of my nephews and kept asking for MORE so we thought....why not??? He loves fruit, spaghetti, and his latest...chips and salsa. He wants his own bowls when we go out to mexican. He just loves to DIP things like his momma. And his latest obsession has been ICEEs thanks to MY FATHER who buys them and just hands the enitre cup to him. Yes, it's quite crazy. If G-daddy is mentioned, It is always followed with "icee icee icee" He is up to10 teeth now. His one year old molars came in without us even knowing it!!

Within the past month, we have just started talking about "bro bro" and this past week have tryed showing him some baby things. Poor guy has NO CLUE how much his world is going to be rocked!! I have gotten lots of good advice from people and he is a flexible and adjustable child.

Honestly, he'll probably do better than us =)

Synopsis of Summer

2011-08-12T06:23:00.000-04:00

WOW!! First off, I can't believe it's been two months since I've blogged. Time flew by this summer as we stayed busy with many things!!!

I can't believe our little man (soon to be big guy) is 20 months old. It's just plain ridiculous how much he has grown and changed this summer!! AND not to mention that we only have TWO weeks left until baby boy #2 arrives! Phew, I. JUST. CAN'T. BELIEVE. IT.

TIME FLIES....WOW!!!

The pictures below are just a snapshot of our summer....

We started in Perdido Key, FL (such a nice place) with my family. Rader, as usual LOVED the beach and pool.

After a couple weeks at home, we headed up to Cincy for a couple days of family time (including a stop at the zoo)

and some quality time with Bobpa before we headed off on our BIG adventure to

HAWAII.....That's right. John and I left the little one with my mother in law and enjoyed a week in Kauai, HI with some friends.

We had the best time!!! We got to see and do everything we had wanted to and got lots of time to just rest and relax. Unfortunately there wasn't much sleeping in with the time difference BUT we did enjoy A LOT of our days as we were up super early to start each day =)

(below is the waimea canyon....Absolutely breathtaking in the middle of this small island)

A helicopter ride has always been on my "bucket list" and this was

THE PERFECT place to do it!!!!

Our final destination was Hilton Head with John's family. We had a great place on the beach

some really good food =)

Lots of fun bike riding (and yes! I did it too--I'm actually biking next to them taking this picture)

some mean games of dominos, and lots of down time with our family

we don't get to see often =(

OH AND we moved houses!!! That's right.....it was such a blessing!! We actually sold our house in early April but didn't close on it until July so we had LOTS of time to look for a new house! AND WE FOUND THE PERFECT ONE!!!

We have been here almost a month now and we are absolutely loving it. Moving day was CRAZY because we moved out of the old house into the new one and closed on both of them the same day!! I didn't want to take any chances of someone backing out and being stuck with two!! haha It worked out great though and with lots of family help...we were unpacked in NO time! I couldn't believe how fast it all came together!

Now we are onto the FUN part...decorating =) of course in a few more weeks!

Dearest New Baby....

2011-05-28T22:26:00.002-04:00

.....you are growing so big so fast!

.....you need a name soon so that we no longer have to call you "new baby"!!

.....I'm sorry your big brother thinks he can crawl all over you, I guess that's something you will just have to get used too!

.....you are soooo active all day. I hope you get all your "wild" genes out now so you can be my little chill child!!

.....you are loved so much =)

17 Months

2011-05-10T14:06:00.005-04:00

Our little man is getting soo big!! This week he turned 17 months and it dawned on me how LONG it's been since I've updated on him. I have actually gone back to the blog a couple of times in an effort to remember things he was doing or how big he was at a certain age!!

So random 17 months.....here ya go!!

At 17 months, our blond haired, blue eyed boy is thriving. Weighing in at around 26 1/2 lbs he is in 18 months- 2T clothes and 5.5-6 WIDE shoes. Poor kid will never own sandals as long as his feet stay as fat as they are!! He is transitioning down from two naps to one and every week is different.

He surprises us everyday with his coordination skills. He think he can walk up and down stairs like an adult and what's crazy.... is that he actually can!! Seriously! It still makes us a bit nervous so we are constantly having to remind him to go down backwards or put something down that he's carrying in his hands!

He know hows to throw some pretty dramatic and vicious fits when he doesn't get his way. We've already done this. stopped doing this. and just this past week, we've started again. OH, FUN!!

He LOVES to dance to music and loves to do his hand motions to "The Wheels on the Bus". His two dances include the running man and what we call the monkey dance....in honor of one of his dancing/singing animals. He is pretty serious when he dances and his face shows it!

He is obsessed with animals right now. He does about 20 different animals sounds including everything from a dog to a hyena and even a penguin (which we made up, ha!) He must wave to the animals in his room upon rising and going down to sleep. He can't get enough of the book GOODNIGHT GORILLA. And each page is an "oh and ah" followed by noises and asking to read "more".

He is also obsessed with helping me in the kitchen. It's really difficult to cook cause he wants to see what I'm doing!! So, i've started letting him help me stir things. HE. LOVES. IT. One evening we gave him a glass with water, a spoon, and some sprinkles and he went to town. Literally a solid 30-45 minutes of focused "cooking"

He has finally gotten more teeth. I think we're around 9 now with a few molars peeking through. He had 5 come through at once around a month ago.

He is mr. picky when it comes to food. He'll eat ANY type of fruit but veggies are touch and go. He LOVES lasagna but won't touch ravioli or canned pasta (guess that good but not so convienant!!) His biggest obsession in food is POWDERED DOUGHNUTS!!! He had his first one about a month ago and it's been downhill since. He literally gets giddy if daddy pulls them out to eat and immediately sits down in front of him waiting for a treat!! AND these doughnuts have also caused our first major meltdown in public....We were grocery shopping at BI-LO and I purposely avoided them only to hit them on an end aisle in the frozen section. He caught one glimpse and started begging for them. As we continued to walk away, so did his tears continue to flow. It was quite interesting to say the least! Luckily, I distracted him by letting him help me open the freezer door!!

Ever since we came home from the beach 7 weeks ago, this kid has been non-stop talking. He shakes his head YES and NO to let us know what he does or does not want. He knows where his favorite foods are and can point to exactly what he wants. His new favorite expression is "ONE MORE". It's quite funny as he holds up his finger to emphasize how he'd like one more book to read or one more cracker!

He is rather attached to his blanket and paci and we're trying to keep it to the bed and car but it can be difficult!! We'll be breaking him from that AFTER the baby comes =)

He is great at following directions whether it's "put that in the trash" or "go find your shoes". He is even good at cleaning up after himself.

He is ALL BOY!! When it comes to being outside he is in heaven...kicking balls, digging in dirt, playing in sand, sliding, playing in water, you name it and he LOVES to do it...

I know we've said this at each stage in his life...but we are sure are enjoying it! It's a bit more difficult now as discipline methods are being used constantly BUT watching him learn or do a new thing or skill is really fun!!

In Search....

2011-04-26T21:33:00.002-04:00

We are in search of a new house and I'm searching for some new blogs to check out some decorating ideas....

If anyone knows of any really good ones.....please share =)

Gracias!

Random pictures of two cuties....

2011-04-21T09:18:00.000-04:00

Just having a little fun...

We got to grab a few pictures of this handsome 6 month old while he was visiting us for a week

Beach Bums....

2011-03-26T22:31:00.003-04:00

Spring Break still exists in our house and we LOVE it. It's one week in the midst of John's madness that we can break away and enjoy ourselves!! We headed south to the beach and let me just say that little man......ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!!!

I usually just sit in my chair, people watch, read a magazine, and dig my toes into the sand. John would much rather be doing something....and this year he got just that. LOTS of play time with R =)

This kid was hilarious out there! He jumped in holes, smashed down sand castles, splashed in the water, made new friends, jumped in the pool, and chased birds!! I think a total of 4 random people took his picture because he would just wave and say "hi" or smile at them!!

I used to take as many precautions as possible to keep sand in my stuff to a minimal but this year (and for many to come) I realized that was NOT possible so I gave up on it and jumped in to play with them as well...

I'm sure little man thought that was the BEST WEEK of his entire life!! And we are so grateful for some time away and for our baby beach bum =) wahoo....

Showers Forecasted....

2011-03-26T22:17:00.002-04:00

I think in my previous post...I failed to mention that my sister is getting married!!! So, needless to say, there's been lots to do and lots of showers lately....

Just a couple pics to share--Shower #1 in my parents hometown...all the extended family that helped throw it...

Her "girly" shower....

And then two of my closest friends have had or are having babies!!! Here's the most recent one....(i totally forgot my camera at the other one...gasp, i know)

Only two more weeks til my sister has her BIG day.....YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOW...has it really been that long??

2011-03-10T17:19:00.004-05:00

I am pretty sure that this has been my longest blogging break since I started several years ago??

I do want to apologize to my tens of readers =) AND honestly, I"m not exactly sure why?

It could be the fact that I haven't had much to say. Or the fact that since Jan 1, we have been out of town FIVE times. Or that soccer season is upon us. It could be the fact that my 15 month old doesn't allow me to use the computer in his presence as it's an immediate toy to play with.

What about nap time you say? If I am not trying to accomplish a few small things I have deemed this time as my nap time as well. I think a hand-ful of days have passed this 2011 where I haven't found myself taking a cat nap along with the little man.

And why would I be doing this? Well, it seems that pregnancy with an active toddler is VERY exhausting!! I can't believe how tired I have been this go-around. OH MY!!

Anyways, i'm going to try and be better. I do have a few good pictures to share. But for now, I'm going to get ready as we are having about 20 people over for dinner in a half hour. Yikes!! Luckily I could snag this 10 minutes cause my mom volunteered to play with the little man so i could get things ready....Yes, she's pretty awesome and we are pretty blessed!!

More to come...

p.s. if you didn't figure it out...we are expecting baby numero dos August 25! YIPPEE!!!

Winter Wonderland

2011-01-13T10:13:00.003-05:00

We've had such a wonderful week playing in our 8 inches of snow!!!!

We had to get a little creative with our sleds!! Think we'll go ahead and invest in some for the future

And we could NOT keep this little guy out of it!!

He was absolutely LOVING it!!!

We took him out in short increments and each time we forced him to come inside, he cried!!!!

He seriously could have played ALL day =)

We had such a fun time!

Looking forward...

2010-12-28T15:36:00.001-05:00

I always enjoy the last week of the year. We are at home together. We have a few set things we always get accomplished and yet have a tad bit of laziness which includes lots of watching football and PJ days!

It's also a time of reflection. A time to look back at the previous year and yet look forward to the next. what an eventful, exiciting, sad, adventurous, fearful, and blessed 2010 we've had

And.... we are most definently looking forward to next year!! It's the anticipation of the future that makes you feel a tad bit giddy!!

We can't wait to see what all God has in store for us, our family, and our friends!!

So bring on 2011~~

Snow Fun in Cincy

2010-12-26T21:54:00.001-05:00

We had a good time in Cincy for Christmas....

and little man enjoyed his first time playing in the snow--

But NOT so much the taste of it.....

a little too cold for his liking!

We love seeing all of our family but it's always nice to be at home =)

Looking forward to some down time this week with my boys!!!

On a lighter note...

2010-12-23T15:54:00.005-05:00

How cute is our little man in his Christmas outfit....

I do have to remind john that he can only wear these outfits for a couple of years.... =)

Merry Christmas from us to you....

Since when...

2010-12-19T13:56:00.000-05:00

Several things have been stirring in my mind for a couple of years relating to church and the body of Christ. Over the past year, it has intensified as I have watched my church family be torn apart. It's crazy. Really crazy. My view of church has been evolving ever since college and my heart has transformed A LOT over the years. I'm not sure when it happened or if something specifically happened to change my feelings....With all the madness and changes my church has seen in the past year, I think it's forced me to really think about things MORE.

For example---

SINCE WHEN did church become all about us? About the music we like, the dress we can wear, the hours they offer

SINCE WHEN did churches become a form of entertainment.

SINCE WHEN did we start spending MILLION and MILLIONS of dollars on buildings, decor, and flat screen tv's.

SINCE WHEN did we start creating some 1500 denominations.

SINCE WHEN do we spend hours and hours of trying to brainstorm, create, and pay for NEW activities or programs that will draw people to church.

SINCE WHEN???

UGH!!!!!!!!

If you stop and really think about it, it's sickening. All that money, that time, and the energy spent. SOOO much!!!!

Why do we feel like we must do ALL of these things to get people to church????

Jesus met in houses. He had 12 disciples. He gave everything away. He didn't worry about making people happy. HELLO??? He even tells us that we must HATE our father and mother in order to truly serve Him!! (seriously) BUT...All He did was speak the TRUTH and LOVED on others.

So WHEN will we or what will it take to get back to the basics. If we all truly lived and shared Christ with others through our words and actions, we wouldn't need ANY of these fancy things.

The awesomeness of Christ ALONE will draw people to Him and His group of believers.

How are we missing this??

We just started the book Radical in my SS class and I am super pumped. It's been something we've talked about for a while and have finally made time for it. After reading (yes!! i am actually going to try and read it=) despite my lack of interest in books) only the first two chapters, I am even more excited to jump into it. It's already beginning to discuss some of these doubts/questions/concerns I have had about church and the body of Christ as a whole.

It's going to be a tough couple of months but I'm looking forward to the challenges ahead!!!!

Phew...so glad I got that out in the open now =)

Bah! Humbug!

2010-12-17T14:41:00.004-05:00

For some reason I feel like a bah humbug this year. Even though my cards are out and goodies have been made, it just hasn't felt the same!! I wasn't all about the tree or decorations like I usually am. (Actually I have boxes in my basement that didn't make it out?) Maybe it had a little something to do with the fact that i have a very mobile one year old. Or maybe it's because I'm tired of how Christmas is soooo commercialized and the ultimate meaning is lost.

Maybe it's because my priorities have changed since little man came along. Or maybe it's just me being sad cause my baby is a toddler or how family dynamics have changed this year. Maybe because I am a TERRIBLE gift giver and get a tad bit stressed out on purchasing gifts (although we drew names on both sides this year..wahoo!) Who knows but for whatever the reason is....I MUST CHANGE!! So I have made a list of things to look forward to.....

Of course, #1 is my handsome little boy with his curious, serious, and funny faces as he opens gifts

or gets into things that he shouldn't!! WOW...that look!!

#2- Chance of snow on Christmas Eve and Christmas (in Cincy that is....)

#3- John off for TWO WEEKS!

#4-Trip to the zoo for Festival of the Lights

#5-Getting to see my Uncle who has been serving overseas since last year!

#6-Making Christmas cookies with the family

#7-Driving around looking at Christmas lights

#8-GLEE Christmas CD

#9-LOTS of home cooking

#10-And of course getting to see my entire family =)

What are you looking forward to the most???

Arrrrrrgh Matey!

2010-12-12T11:21:00.007-05:00

Little man came down with the flu this past Thursday. I was totally bummed!! His party was suppose to be Saturday!!! Soo....after having myself a little pity party, we decided to postpone the real party but celebrate with family only at our house!!

Even though we didn't get to see all the kids play with the fun game stuff we had bought and I didn't get to make these super cute pirate pops or

my huge treasure map.....We had a good time!

After all Rader doesn't care or even know the difference and that's who it's really for anyways!! (not me, right?) =)

John and I had fun making the invites over Thanksgiving break!!

LiviKate made his adorable outfit!!!

Def. not feeling 100% and being super clingy to me!!!!

Pre-singing and cake picture

He loved it when we sang to him!!!!

He stuck one finger in and said OOooooooo ...precious!

And after just a few bites he was DONE!!!

The other cake! It was sooo cute!!! Lindsay Hughes made it for us =)

He wore his patch for about two seconds!!

Group shot of the birthday crew

Not much to say about this one...other than I LOVE MY FAMILY!!!

ONE YEAR OLD!!!

2010-12-10T14:48:00.006-05:00

Little man turned ONE this past Wednesday!! What a fun and exciting year it has been!!

He is no longer our baby!! He is a toddler in full swing!! He is close to running now and is just beginning to venture away from us and find new things to explore. He still loves his books and dancing to music. In the past two weeks, he has started really trying to talk. You can clearly understand ball, bite, momma, dada and sometimes bye. He has added please, thank you, bath, and sleep to his sign language. He will also shake his head yes sometimes and has learned the power of pointing to get what he wants (we did have a week phase where he grunted/yelled very loudly as he did this but that has passed...thank goodness!!) And he knew where his snacks were!!!

We are on whole milk now and he's not a huge fan of the COLD. He would rather let it get room temp before drinking all of it. He does have a bottle about 1-2 times/week in the mornings when the cups are few & far between but he never fusses for it (thankfully)!! He is eating three meals a day with an good sized afternoon snack and of course...water &"little" snacks all day. This has been a hard transition for me cause we were so used to making sure he had so many ounces of food and formula/milk...and now it's just a well balanced diet?? I like knowing the exact amount I guess =)

He weighs 24+ lbs and his second tooth just came through. Wearing 12-18 month clothes and just about to finish up on size 3 diapers. He made a trip to Chicago this past month and celebrated his first thanksgiving! (pics to come...)

I still can't believe it's been a year....pure madness!! I'm sure I will say that for the rest of my life but WOW! What a year.....This year has made John and I better.....both individually and together. God has blessed us sooooo much not only with Rader but amazing family and friends =) Even as difficult as the past four months have been we know that the Lord takes care of us. He has showed us more about life and love than we could have ever imagined!

Thank you Lord for your blessings, for Rader, and for your constant reminders of how awesome you truly are!!

And a few good ones...

2010-12-03T16:57:00.000-05:00

I haven't started editing any of them yet but here's a glimpse.....

(family....let me know which ones you want!)

I am NOT cooperating!!

2010-11-30T21:12:00.004-05:00

So two weeks ago friday, we realized we had NOTHING planned on Saturday. That's right! NOTHING!! WAHOO!!! So I called a friend of mine to try and meet us downtown for some quick family pictures.

**NOTE TO SELF---next time, take our FIRST FAMILY pictures BEFORE they start walking and become more independent*** Geez....

So here is a tiny glimpse of our not-so-cooperative ALMOST one year old.

Attempting to hold him in place....

This one just cracks me up...."I AM NOT GOING TO OPEN MY EYES"

Of course we ended up with some really good ones too that I will share soon!!

N-S-B #2

2010-11-26T22:21:00.000-05:00

We drove up late Wednesday night and were at the hospital first thing Thursday morning. He seemed fine. He was sitting up in his bed, coherent, reading the paper, and excited to see us. He told us about his crazy day yesterday and how he wanted out of the unit. His nurse informed us he would be moving sometime soon. GREAT!!! He wanted to see Rader and the ICU rules don't allow anyone under the age of 12 back there!! Some of his labs were way out of wack but he was holding his oxygen levels and they were slowly decreasing it. So all day we stayed in the unit. They decided in the afternoon that they would just keep him there. Okay...no big deal. One more night and then we'll go to the floor.

That night, however, he took his first of many bad turns. Heart went out of rhythm and he had trouble holding his oxygen levels (saturation). We had no idea at the time because no one called us. (think we were upset? YES!!)

So friday morning we call for a report and the nurse tells us what had transpired through the night (ugh!) and asks us not to come in yet because "he was back to normal now and he was resting". Okay...no biggie. We'll come around lunch. So around 1pm Laura, John and I head up to the hospital. I will never forget the feeling I felt when I entered that room. I literally froze at the door. He looked terrible, he was gasping for breath, his o2 sats were in 70's, he was restless, and his BP was low. I was SCARED and FURIOUS!!!! Why was he like this? They informed us that his o2 monitor was not working so they went and got another one. Well...guess what? IT WAS THE SAME!! DUH! Look at him. He just asked us when the fireworks were starting?!?! Soon the nurse comes in to finally turn up his oxygen. THANK you! She proceeds to tell us that he has been disoriented and trying to take his IV out and gown off. WHAT??? HE has NEVER DONE THIS!!! Her response "Oh...well...i thought that was normal for him?" UH NO!!!!!! (lack of communication from someone-- somewhere!) NOT NORMAL. And why in the world would you not ask us or tell us this when we called!! **At this point, all three of us had this gut feeling that something was just not right and it might not ever be** We called Katie and Bryan to come and got several prayer chains started. Oddly enough, both of his brothers (from Cooperstown and Philly) had plans to be in Cincy this weekend.

As the day progressed he got a little better.

Later that afternoon, Laura's pastor came to pray for him. John, Laura, and I were in the room. After he completed his prayer for Norm, he asked Norm to repeat the sinners prayer after him. Norm repeated it word for word. THIS WAS HUGE!!! Norm may have been a believer prior to this but we were all unsure. His faith was a very private issue and it was not discussed. (hence one of our biggest life lessons we learned...)

He had moments where he was disoriented but overall was VERY with it on friday. That night we had a nurse that was God-sent!! SERIOUSLY! Her name was Anne and she was FABULOUS!! She pulled the three of us out of the room and REALLY talked to us. She told us what she thought and what she anticipated would happen. She encouraged us to discuss with him, while we could, about his options...does he want a vent? if so, how long? does he want CPR? etc. Not only was she up front and honest with us but she was wonderful to him. She did the little things to make him more comfortable!! She truly cared.

That night we discussed with everyone what she had said and what we thought should be the next steps.

Saturday morning John, Katie, and Bryan headed to the hospital first b/c laura and I were going to Norm's apt to take care of some things. John called us almost as soon as they got there and told us to come b/c one of the doctors wanted to talk with us about some "important stuff" so we headed straight up there. He had gotten pneumonia and the pulmonologist wanted to know what we wanted to do in case he needed a vent. So the 3 kids had that dreaded talk with their dad as he is hurting, can barely talk, and somewhat disoriented (hence life lesson #2). Norm at first was reluctant but after we told him that it might give him some time to rest he said he would be okay with it as long as it was temporary.

And about three hours later we were faced with this decision. YES, do the vent!!! The doctor told us that it was not going to help. In the back of our mind we knew that was a possibility but AT THAT MOMENT.... Were we ready to let him go????? Of course not! And my argument was the fact that we have to be okay with knowing that we did EVERYTHING we thought we could have. I mean...we were talking about a man who a week ago was FINE. Sure, he had cancer and he was on some oxygen but he was NO WHERE near the point of death!!! He was just vacuuming and broke his leg!!!

to be continued....

TN fun

2010-11-17T20:39:00.005-05:00

****For some reason my computer will not let me upload these after i rotated them so...sincere apologies****

Last weekend we were all able to attend a UT game together and we had fun especially considering the fact WE WON!!!

Watching the band walk in...

Walking around Volunteer Village

And not so happy about having to leave!!

Group shot before heading up to our seats

**I don't think you can really see it but little man got an orange T painted on his face!!**

Leaving the game....Little man fell asleep as we were leaving the stadium and slept the entire way home =)

11 Months

2010-11-07T21:34:00.010-05:00

That's right. I'm a day early!! We finally got a lazy Sunday afternoon which included a nap (for all of us!) and some pictures!!

At 11 months, Rader is sooooo much fun!! We just said tonight that it's kinda sad that he's getting older but at the same time he is at SUCH A FUN AGE!!!

***Rader is overall very easy going and super flexible!! In the words of our babysitter "he sleeps good, he eats good, and he plays good!" This kid can adapt to just about anything. IT'S WONDERFUL!!! He sleeps great at night and his daytime naps seems to be getting longer =) We attribute this to the fact that he is pretty much running at this point and always on the go!! He still usually lingers where we are but has just recently realized he can venture into rooms without us! I can barely do anything in the kitchen without him wanting to see what is going on. In a new environment, he still starts out very timid, observing everyone and everything. After he warms up, he will smile and visit with anyone!!

***He weighs 22 lbs and eats just about anything. Although this past week he has decided that he doesn't like bananas...hmm??? He does really well with table food considering he only has ONE tooth!! He finally got one a couple of weeks ago, wahoo!! He can't stand it when we are eating and he isn't so it seems like he eats ALL DAY LONG!!!

***He stills goes the church nursery and others very well. He does refuse a nap in the nursery though because there is just too much going on and too many other kids to play with! He goes to a sitter when I work and absolutely LOVES her!! When we are walking up to her house, he starts getting soooo excited. It's precious!

***He LOVES books. He likes to turn the pages and look at the pictures either by himself or with us!! He has a Seek-N-Slide book that I think he can play with for a good 15 minutes!! We just inherited some new trucks and cars that is really enjoying right now as well. We also do kindermusik and Rader enjoys playing with the musical instruments and dancing to the music!! He is just getting over a double ear infection and during that time he became obsessed with his blanket and pacifier. He would carry his blanket everywhere with him!

***He will sign to us MORE and EAT frequently, so we just decided to start teaching him some new ones. He will blow kisses and show you his hair when asked. He also tilts his head to one side when you say "awww....how sweet". It's precious! He's learned object permanence so we can no longer hide the tv remote or cell phones! And his latest "trick" is when we say TOUCHDOWN....he does this...

aww, love him =)

We get so excited over these little milestones and are enjoying each one!! I've said it once and I'll say it again.....we are loving every step of this journey!!!

***UGH---I've tried FIVE times to space my paragraphs but they keep running together when I post it to the blog..no clue?? Anyways, hopefully the *** will give you an idea!!

N-S-B #1

2010-11-04T16:01:00.005-04:00

***The following post is the beginning of a couple of posts. Mostly therapeutic for me and key for my terrible memory. Feel free to skip if so desired =) ***

Three months ago today, my father-in-law passed away. He had battled cancer on and off for 3 years. My second post ever on this blog was about him! He beat a lot of odds during this time. QUICK BACKGROUND: His cancer was a type of sarcoma which started in his leg and rapidly grew. For example, on initial diagnosis it was the size of a tennis ball and after 3 months of radiation it GREW....to 10 cm in diameter. YES, VERY rapid!! They did surgery and removed about 3/4 of his quad. Couple of months later it spread to his lungs. He did the "strongest" chemo. Didn't work. Tried another type of chemo, it worked! Another round, it worked. Stopped for one cycle. Next CT scan, it's back. Referred to MI Research Center. Removed an entire left lobe. No more cancer. Next CT scan, it's back. Targeted radiation. It worked. No cancer. Then enters THIS POST!!

So as you can see it was a roller coaster from the beginning. Things that should NOT have worked did and vice versa. He still beat several odds. His oncologist thought Norm would not have even make it through the first year, but he did.

And this is what left us in a little bit of shock come the end of July. We knew he was going to have this very important scan and doctor appointment to determine the next move. And the move was all based on his CT scan results. Either radiation again or nothing. This appt was to be the beginning of August.

In the back of our minds we always knew that this was going to turn terminal. I mean....it's the 2nd leading cause of death in America!! And I knew that there would be a moment when we would have to hear from the doctor..."There is nothing else we can do, you prob have 3-6 months to live" You see and hear of this often with cancer patients. So THEN (i thought) we'll have TIME...time to prepare. Time to say our goodbyes. Time to get to the "heart" of some issues. Time to discuss his spiritual relationship with the Lord. Time to laugh together. Time of reflection. Time to do stuff with him that he's always wanted to do. You know...THAT KIND OF TIME.

So fast forward to that last post. He fell broke his leg and is going to need some extra assistance. I immediately go into my FIXER/PLANNER mode. Calling rehab facilities, friends, thinking of people who can make meals, how i can re-arrange my schedule to go stay with him once he returns home, etc.

THEN we get the call that he has had some respiratory distress and is being moved to the ICU. WHAT?? I had just talked to him 3 hours before and he was just "tired". Then my heart sinks. John was on the Ocoee with the soccer team and limited cell phone service. So after several attempts to get him, he decides to head home and we decide to head up to Ohio. At this point he had stabilized but we just thought...what if?? Would we regret making a trip up there if all was well? of course not. Plus John had not started school either and I didn't have any plans so-- why not??

It turned out to be the right decision AND the beginning of the biggest emotional roller coaster we have ever been on.

(to be continued....)

I don't even know where to start....

2010-11-01T21:43:00.001-04:00

Life just goes by WAY. TOO. FAST. and it's driving me CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!

We have had quite a bit going on lately and I THINK the madness is over for a little while! (of course i always say that and something else comes up...) God got me to slow me down this weekend with an illness...YUCK!! I have not been this sick in almost three years! That's right...THREE YEARS!!! So even though it was no fun, he got my attention!!!!

Anyways, here are some highlights via pictures.

Cheering Rhea on at the soccer fields...

Another trip to OHIO....Isn't this gorgeous... This is from the lake down the street from where John grew up!! I had to stop on the way out of town for a quick picture!

Meeting our NEW and FIRST nephew, Caleb!!!

And visiting with friends

And meeting a new cousin! Quinn was born 4 weeks early but it worked out great for us since we got to visit both in ONE weekend =)

Taking pictures for a friend on her wedding day!

At the reception

With the Newlyweds

Then last weekend we had a wedding in Charolette so we dropped little man off with some family and stopped at the biltmore on the way over!! It was a wonderful date day =)

This was the view off their back porch/balcony!! A-MAZE-ING!!!!!

The wedding was right on Lake Norman. It was absolutely beautiful!!

Then my grandma came to visit for a week and we went to visit the apple orchard

Got to dress up for a birthday party

And for Halloween... He has an adorable hat with this outfit too!

(sooooo sad that i couldn't go out with him cause i was sick!!)

So for this month...we're going to SLOW down. Enjoy our time together. Keep our weekends as free as possible. Catch up with some friends. Cook dinner more. Blog more. Take more pictures and videos. Plan a birthday party. Keep my fridge stocked. Catch up our scrapbooks.

Cause my baby is growing up sooo FAST!!!!!!

YAY!!

2010-10-11T09:00:00.001-04:00

My sister got some of our UT pictures up!!

Check them out here!!!

Nine AND Ten months old...

2010-10-08T22:05:00.001-04:00

Apparently, I'm combining months together these days...so here ya go!!

Our biggest milestone is WALKING!!! Little man took his first steps on Labor Day and has gotten faster and faster everyday! It's amazing to see where all he can go and how fast he can get there now :)

I seriously feel like he eats ALL DAY LONG! He has a great appetite but at our last check-up he had only gained one pound!! Moving much??? ....I think sooooo....

He goes to bed by 8pm and sleeps until 7 then takes two 1.5-2 hours naps! It's wonderful!! And sometimes squeezes in a third little power nap!

He still enjoys watching and playing with others. We are working on some independent play time as he tends to cling to my leg in the kitchen after he is done playing with his toys i.e. the contents of my kitchen cabinets!! He joins 3-4 other kids at our sitter's house when I'm working some days and HE LOVES IT!!!! When I come to pick him up, he will smile at me and continuing playing until I pry him away!!

He is babbling more and more and making 'sounds' of mama and dada but I don't really thing he knows what he is saying! He will, however, look straight at the front door when I ask him "Where is Daddy??" SO he does understand its meaning!!

We have made multiple trips to Ohio these past two months and he has experienced his first UT football game (hint hint allie--I WOULD LIKE THE PICTURES!!!)

We are taking a Kindermusik class and it's so fun to watch him learn more each week and see his face light up when he hears the music! (although this week he nailed a little girl in the head with an egg-shaker---I felt horrible and fears of bullying entered my head--well, after reading the PEOPLE magazine today I definitely did...GEEZ!!)

We are still enjoying this phase!! Even though it's become a little more work, he provides lots of entertainment and excitement for us :)

Just for the mother in law...

2010-10-07T10:55:00.003-04:00

Aren't you proud?? :)

(My MIL is the best at flowers, gardens, etc and well...you see...we're not!! So when we got our gorgeous mums I just had to share!!!!)

And he just wanted to say hi....

This is his new excited face! He's trying to catch me with the camera :)

He says it all.....

2010-10-02T21:00:00.000-04:00

Yummy!!

2010-10-01T10:27:00.003-04:00

Some more proof that this kid LOVES his food!! He's enjoying every last drop!!

Smorgasbord of pictures....

2010-09-30T14:20:00.006-04:00

I. CAN"T. BELIEVE. IT'S. ALMOST. OCTOBER!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHERE IN THE WORLD HAS THIS MONTH GONE TO?????

Just some random photos of our happenings....

Mr. Independant these days...even up and walking around. (pictures to come) We are saying HELLO TO A NEW world very early!!

Soccer games.....

(and yes he is standing up in his stroller...ugh...it's his latest favorite thing to do!!!!! everytime we go walking he finds a way to wiggle out of his straps and he's up before i know it....)

I love this.....

DeeDee on dog duty!!!

Happy as he can be!! Like his new outfit?? Yep! Me too.

Thanks to this talented lady and her new company. They have some ADORABLE new fall clothes!!

Our Annual trip to the pumpkin farm in Ohio!!

Sweet baby....

And a wonderful visit with little man's GREAT Grandfather...aka BOBPA (turning 92 soon!!!!)

I know I say it WAY too often but these past two months have been a whirlwind.

Hopefully soon and VERY soon, I'll be better at keeping up with my blog. I do however make time to read everyone else's so thanks for YOUR GREAT posts!!!!

And I am loving this weather...can I get an AMEN???

Visits of all kinds.......

2010-09-08T23:12:00.001-04:00

Just a couple group shots to share.

My Uncle was on 'break' from Afghanistan so we had a large family cookout at their NEW custom built A-MAZING home a couple weekends ago.

And here was a group shot from dinner in Ohio with John's family. It was so good to see everyone but obviously not under good circumstances...

And another lunch date with "The Ridge" babies. All of these little kiddos are products of L&D nurses. Think something was in the water????

Seven babies in one year....

(one little one not pictured!)

And a random one. Little man is not much of a cuddler anymore...he would MUCH rather be on-the-go but we were trying to keep him up a little bit and all he wanted to do was cuddle. It was precious!!

And after working one and a half days at the hospital...i'm exhausted!! It seems to be a baby boom lately....phew! So, i'm off to bed. Night Night

It's Football Time in TENNESSEE!!!

2010-09-06T14:35:00.003-04:00

This was little man's very first football game!! We cheered on the blue raiders to VICTORY on what we hope is a good season!! I think we spent more time showing off Rader than actually watching the game! It took us a good 30 minutes to just leave the stadium!!

And of course this past saturday we headed to good ole rocky top!! Little man didn't make the trip cause grammie was visiting but keep checking back cause he'll have a debut and a really cute outfit coming soon!!!

Notice the score in the left...yep!! 50-0!

There is just something about this time of year that makes me feel giddy!! I woke up saturday morning to a cool breeze, enjoyed a walk on the greenway, some perkits for lunch, and then the fam loaded up for our first of many trips to knoxville!

To some this may sound cheesy but to others you understand! I absolutely LOVE the feeling that the start of football season brings. It brings pure excitement to hear the announcer say IT'S FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE on the home opener!!! Then gives you chills when you watch the band line up and the team run through the T for the first time. I know...I know...a little ridiculous but if you've ever experienced it, YOU KNOW what I'm talking about. Maybe it's because I grew up going to knoxville and traveling to games far & near. Maybe it's the fresh start of a new season. Or maybe it's because of the memories I have had and do share with my family there.

For me it's probably a combo of all and the main reason why
I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR...

AND I LOVE MY VOLUNTEERS!!!

Back to School Frenzy

2010-08-18T20:13:00.006-04:00

The week before school started, I tried VERY hard to see all of my teacher friends before they started back into their school routine! It got cut short due to our impromtu trip to Ohio but here are three of the get togethers we got to enjoy!!

R & G are 5 days apart! Aren't they precious!! This was one of the best photos I got.... it took some crazy attempts to get them both looking and smiling. Unfortunately we couldn't get both but at least their look is similar!!

And the out of town family came down to visit before their school started back! They spent the night with us and played all day long!! I can't believe my cousin is a freshman in HS this year...that is just absurb.

Then we had a pool date with more friends and kiddos. I forgot to get a picture with Emily or Carter but they joined us for lunch & swimming!

R & C are 4 1/2 months apart. They were exhausted from swimming but took a nap outside for us so we could still sook up some rays!

Too bad we had to wake them early cause a storm was blowing in!!!

This time of year was bittersweet for me. I was kinda sad about not starting back but at the same time I was super excited to be at home with little man. And then for John to be back at work. I can't even begin to express what a blessing it is for him to be at home with us all summer. It REALLY is soooo much fun!! I have been SUPER spoiled!! So this week has been really hard for me. Yesterday I was rather lonely. It hit me that I have been surrounded by someone since MAY...and usually a lot of people with all of our family visits and vacations. Then I got kinda sad. It was raining, little man was fussy in the afternoon, and my mind was thinking about how crazy the past three weeks have been. Thankfully my brother hasn't started back to school yet and he was willing to come play with R so that I could just get out for a bit!!!

And today was MUCH better! My cousin brought us breakfast (since he doesn't have to be at WVHS til 11:30 this semester), WHICH included a chick fil a sweet tea, then we ran some errands, and I finally cooked dinner!! (I can't even remember the last time I did that---thanks to being out of town and our SS class giving us some amazing meals ALL of last week!!)

So I'm convinced that it's all going to be okay!

I know there will be more days like tuesday but hopefully they will be fewer and far between!

And to all my teacher friends and family...........

HAVE A GREAT YEAR BACK!!!

All by myself...

2010-08-18T19:56:00.003-04:00

momma's not ready for me to be....ALL BY MYSELF!!!

Yes...that's right.....singing Celine Deon to my own words (which i tend to do often- change the words....not necessarily sing her songs, ha) ........and so not ready for the next phase YET!!!!

He started this about a week and a half ago and has gradually extended the time he is able to stand on his own before gracefully falling to the ground!! We joked that we should knock him back down to see if it will delay any steps forward but then decided that might be a little mean....we guess time will tell.

crazy how time flies!!!!!!

Growing like a weed

2010-08-12T19:50:00.000-04:00

Wow. It's been quite a while since I've really blogged, so we've got A LOT to share!!! But this post is primarily dedicated to our little man who is....GROWING LIKE A WEED!!!!!!! Over the past few weeks our family has deemed him our "happy place" as we have gone through the loss of john's dad. (more on that later) So here's to our happy place....

We never got a 7 month post so this one is a combo of what he has been doing for two months since he is EIGHT months old now!!

He is crawling everywhere and quite fast now. He will crawl normal on carpet and soon as he hits the kitchen or our hardwood, he is up in a bear crawl...too funny! He is adventuring from room to room and getting into everything. He loves to follow me. He is pulling up, opening drawers, and taking things off the fridge. AND WE STILL have some baby proofing to do as he has managed to pull down a TV tray, a speaker, and multiple pictures!!

He is sleeping all night and taking 2-3 naps during the day! We've started the weaning process so he is getting a couple bottles during the day and just nursing morning and night. He still puts himself to sleep and it's so fun to hear him singing or talking himself to sleep! He has also learned to throw his paci across the room... as an effort to get our attention! Crazy kid!!

He LOVES to EAT!!! And IF you are not feeding him fast enough, he will let you know!! Many times my arm will start to cramp up from the same repetitive motion, ha! He is loving his "puffs" and sippy cup. Anything that lets him be independent, he LOVES!!! We have still been kinda slow through trying different foods but we are about to pick that up again soon :) I'm still making his food but not sure how or IF i'm going to venture into meats. That just sounds gross to me!

He wants what he wants when he wants it! And if he can't get it...he LOSES it! After a few alligator tears and some loud crying with his head thrown back, he'll stop. I find it amazing that they already know how to pitch a fit at this age!!

He gives kisses and raspberries to us. And anytime he hears music, he starts to dance! It's sooo cute!!

This age is still so much fun despite the constant mobility of him which constitutes more work!

Prayer Request

2010-07-26T17:24:00.003-04:00

Please pray for John's dad. Last night he fell and broke his femur. He is undergoing surgery within the next hour. Some of you are already aware but about a month ago he had trouble breathing and went to ER. Turns out his cancer is back AGAIN in his lungs. It was really surprising because in early May we were told that he was cancer free?! Guess that's just how this nasty disease works but anyways... This time the tumor is so large that it's completely blocking the only good lobe he has left in his left lung. So he underwent radiation the following day for a couple weeks and was sent home with oxygen. He will have a follow up CT scan in the next week and as we learned last week the results will bring about major news. If the radiation worked then he will begin chemotherapy ASAP. If it does not work then the doctors do not feel like they can do anything else.

SOOOOO as you can imagine this is A LOT to take in and lots of decisions are going to have to be made, not to mention his recovery from this break. And now we're even questioning if the cancer is in his bone (should do biopsy tonight)?! SOOOO please say a little prayer for him and us as we face what is ahead. It's scary but we know we serve a God who cares about us and will take care of us....AMEN?

p.s. thanks to those of you who have followed him (online or in person) and asked about him =) that means so much to us!

What have we been up to?

2010-07-16T09:43:00.004-04:00

A road trip to see them...

A vacation with this family...

Which included a cooking adventure....

A day trip here...

A little fun here...

Lots of relaxing here...

And a little bit of this...

And A WHOLE LOT OF THAT.....

Not to mention a whole lot of work for me!!! So maybe in the next two weeks I'll get some more photos and a little man update to ya.

In the meantime, we're hitting the road again. Stay tuned!!

Happy Anniversary...plus a few days!

2010-06-30T18:30:00.001-04:00

On the 24th, we celebrated FOUR YEARS of marriage! It's so crazy to think how fast time has flown and how much we have grown over the past four years!! I couldn't imagine ANYONE else better to live my life with than John. I am so blessed.

SO FAST FORWARD FOUR YEARS and here we are... WITH A CHILD!!!

We still have those moments where we look at each other and say..."reallly?" "are we this old" "do we have a kid" haha

AND A HAPPY ANNIVERSARY (on the 28th) to my parents.

Here is a picture of them EARLY in their relationship.... they were high school sweethearts but I'm thinking this was during college or early marriage!

(they are going to kill me for posting this...sorry mom and dad)

This year marked THIRTY years, so we decided to throw them a surprise anniversary party.

AND we got them good!!!! We held the party at the chamber...thanks dette! AND THEY HAD NO CLUE!! Plus we did like two weeks before their actual anniversary so it was even more of a surprise!!

I love their expressions...

It was a sunday afternoon so we did snacks. I actually made the cake. NOW THAT WAS AN ADVENTURE. I had some tips from this lady but the icing was WAY trickier than i anticipated! I made it from scratch but the cake was from a box. Everyone liked it so I guess that was good!

Doing some last minute set up...their wedding photo album was on the table and the back wall is covered with pictures from recent and long ago....

Allie made the banner and we couldn't hang it to the walls so opted for the gift table!

After the surprise, we had them cut cake and feed it to each other. They were so funny!!

My parents have always kept it simple when it came to their house. Mom could care less about decorating or having new things. THEY STILL HAD SEVERAL THINGS FROM WHEN THEY GOT MARRIED such as towels and pans, etc.

So....we decided to register for them! Now, that was fun!!! My mom about died when she found that out! haha--

Mom said at one point how she hadn't really gotten to open gifts like this since I was born!!

The entire family that came (minus a couple cousins who left early) We had a great turnout, even my dad's best friend from HS/College drove 3 hours to come.

And then just us.......

I consider myself super lucky to call them my parents. They have such a great relationship and have been excellent role models for us. They raised me in a stable, loving, and Christian environment. They taught me so much about life and how to deal with situations. They encouraged and pushed me to do my best yet knew how to embrace me when I messed up. They have always been honest with me. Of course, sometimes a little more brutal than others...but I ALWAYS knew they had my best interest at heart. I NEVER once DOUBTED THAT!!! And even as we have transitioned into adults and our own family, they have made it super easy. I know that I can call on them for anything at anytime.

I seriously could go on and on...

I don't think I can even truly express my gratefulness to them. They have done so much for me and I am blessed and thankful that God gave them to me :)

da Beach

2010-06-28T13:41:00.001-04:00

We just returned from our first beach trip. This year was our first trip to Hilton Head and

WE LOVED IT!!!

Here is Rader sporting one of his new "beach" outfits!!

One of our favorite things to do was bike! It's THE PERFECT place for this.

We biked to dinner at The Bamboo Cafe one night and it was SUPER YUMMY!!

(thanks to her for the recommendation :)

On the bike ride home, little man fell asleep behind and holding onto grammies purse...

Group shot on the beach

Here is our beach set up...HE LOVED IT!! We put water and little toys in for him!

Another night we headed into Harbor Town for dinner and then

met up with this fun crew for ice cream!!

We even got to see Rader's "gal" friend :)
Aren't they so cute resting their arms on the chair and each other....

And catch the gorgeous sunset before heading back home.

He also enjoyed the pool everday! We even took him underwater...and he did great!

Then hurried through some family beach portraits cause a storm was blowing in!!

I LOVE this outfit.

My friend Lauren & her mom made it for him!! I had been on the lookout for a cute lobster one for weeks!!

And you will see it again in more pictures to come later this summer :)

I can't wait to play around with these photos. We have a lot of them :)

It was a great week!! I'm hoping we'll def. return to HH again!!

I am one little....

2010-06-16T09:36:00.000-04:00

HALF A YEAR--WHAT???

2010-06-14T20:08:00.005-04:00

That's right....little man turned SIX MONTHS OLD LAST WEEK!!!

I can't believe it!! It's just ridiculous.

I have loved every phase of his life so far and i think each one just

keeps getting better and better.

This weekend, however, our life has probably just taken a crazy turn!!! He has started an army crawl. In all honesty, I was sooo hoping he wouldn't do this for a while....and purely out of selfish reasons. We did some baby-proofing today and have lots more to do which i will show later.

I feel like this picture below gives you a good visual. I have about 10 takes in 10 different positions, this is the best. And yes the sign is partial chewed as we couldn't get it away from him quick enough. (I'm thinking this pose is no more.)

At six months, he is 19lbs and 10oz--27 7/8 inches long. He LOVES to eat. He is now up to 5 veggies choices and 3 fruits. (We've been taking our time) Still gets his milk every 3-4 hours. STILL WAKING UP once at night but slowly extending these times. He has FINALLY learned to take naps. He puts himself to sleep which is awesome!!! He laughs and talks all the time. He LOVES his daddy. His legs kick like crazy when he comes around. It's so cute! He loves his pacifier and blanket to sleep with. He LOVES technology. Pull a cell phone/remote/lap top out and literally dives head first for it. He is still learning to play with his toys. I feel like he thinks when he puts them in his mouth...something is suppose to come out and he tends to get frustrated when it doesn't!! He has to have some alone time! He's made trips to the pool, sat in his first restaurant high chair and rode in the shopping cart like a big boy.

He has become an even BETTER baby! He really only fusses when he's hungry or tired. We have learned that when he pitches a fit cause he's tired, he goes to his crib and BOOM he is asleep. It's amazing!! If only we would have tried that earlier!!!

Because I'm such a planner, I have already started planning his birthday party in my head!! I have thought about all the fun things that we'll get to do "when he's a bit older" I CAN'T WAIT!! I don't want to rush the time away but it's hard not to think about the future. There are just so many things to look forward to. But for now I'm enjoying each step of the way!!!!

Got Oatmeal?

2010-06-05T20:12:00.000-04:00

School's....Out..... for SUMMER!!!!

2010-06-04T23:59:00.003-04:00

And we are doing our happy dance around here!!

We kicked it off by a road trip to Ohio. First stop on Friday... GRATERS for me and SkyLine Chili for John!! YUMMY

Then we went to services with Laura and waited for Aunt and Uncle Beeh to

make it in from Chicago.

Saturday, we had a wedding shower for one of their family's friends.

Immediately after the shower, we headed downtown for some REDS baseball. We considered going to the TASTE OF CINCY but opted for traditional baseball fare for dinner.

The whole gang. Geoff and Lisa came to join us too. Don't think I've mentioned this yet but John's oldest sister, Laura going to have a baby in late September and Lisa is due early November! Christmas is going to be quite different this year!!

Sunday we had lunch with John's friends from High School and got Paul for the first time! He is a month younger but a little bigger!!!!

Then we were off to the neighborhood pool (a cool thing in their town) for a little sun and swimming

I turned to John when we first arrived and said that THIS OFFICIALLY BEGINS THE NON-RELAXING POOL TRIPS...haha

And He was SO NOT a fan of the water this day!

He prefered the GRASS! We kept putting him further away from it on the blanket and each time he would find a way to get to it. Think we're going to have our hands full...um YES!

Bath time in the sink! He fit perfectly!

Then we had a cookout for Memorial Day. Pam has the perfect yard for pictures so of course we had to sneak in some in his red, white, and blue!!

So happy to see Aunt Laura!!

And then we met Bobpa for Breakfast on the way out of town. Have I mentioned he is 91 years old?? AMAZING and in such good health.

Over the course of this year Bobpa has gotten or is expecting FOUR great grandchildren! So much FUN!!

Life As a Coach's Wife

2010-06-04T03:19:00.002-04:00

So...if I must admit, I struggle with this role.
There are times I embrace it and times I wish it wasn't so.

Life is full speed during soccer season. It was definitely different this past spring with a child. There were so many times that I felt like a single mother. There were times R didn't even get to see John!! I remember walking him over at halftime one evening just so he could see him for a second. Literally, that crazy.

HOWEVER, It's summer and we get to see him ALL the time now!!

Which is pretty AWESOME!!

And there are lots of things you get to experience such as:

*Doing extra laundry since each day holds a work outfit, a practice or game outfit, and sometimes a home one.

*You get to see him give encouraging speeches at banquets or send offs such as this one which was their FIRST trip in school history to the state tourney.

*You get to deal with extra facial hair as he promises the players that he will not shave until they lose in the post-season.

*You get to read good articles about them in the paper and see their pictures as they send off athletes to play at the collegiate level.

*However, interviews (and clean up) after the games TAKE FOREVER!!

*You get to celebrate their BIG wins and championships yet mourn with

their heart breaking losses...Fortunantely for us-there haven't been too many of those

*You run into situations in which you wish you could take out some parents. UGH! Don't even get me started on a few...(parents are crazy!)

*You keep weather.com on the computer and hit refresh A LOT.

*You get frustrated with the opponents fans....cough cough BEARDEN... and evil BCHS mom who yelled at our kids. Thank goodness my brother was there to calm me down. GRRRRR I can feel my BP rising right now....

*You sit through blazing hot or FREEZING cold games!!

*You get to watch your family and friends come out and support your husband EVEN IF and when they don't understand (or really like) the sport :)

*You have twenty plus boys over to your house for food & corn hole...in which you can't make the cookies fast enough!

*Your son gets passed around and talked to by every single parent (and some players) on the team.

*At the end of the day, I know my husband LOVES this role. He loves to teach. He loves to coach. He loves to build relationships with these boys. He loves soccer. Even though I am still lukewarm about my role as a coach's wife for several reasons I know that HE IS CALLED TO DO THIS. HE is good at it and HE LOVES IT.

And because of those reasons, I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

Pictures to Ponder...

2010-05-28T12:40:00.000-04:00

Now what do you think this means??? Hmmmm...........

IT'S ORANGE WEEK!!!!

2010-05-27T15:31:00.003-04:00

In our household, I've deemed this week--ORANGE WEEK...

In honor of starting our orange veggies...yay!!

SO far, we've done sweet potatoes and he's loved them! The coolest part is that I made them!! I have been doing a lot of researching and asking people about it so I thought I would try it. And it was SUPER easy and SUPER cheap!!!

Up next.....carrots and squash!!

I've tried dressing R in as much orange as possible!

And somehow the day he wore his TN shirt, daddy managed to get sweet potatoes

ALL over it....Hmmmmm

Apparently little man "hit the spoon"! Yeah. I see how it's going to be!

Random...Random...Random...

2010-05-26T17:13:00.003-04:00

Testing out his new jogging (actually power walking to me) stroller. He seems to like it. Even with his crooked hat that I later fixed :)

This was an ADORABLE outfit John's aunt and uncle sent us. The shoes are duck feet that say "FLIPPER" on one and "FLOPPER" on the other

A couple weekends ago, John and I went to ATL to see her! MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE DISNEY MOVIE!! I felt like a kid in a candy store...I was so giddy :) hehe The show was GREAT!!! I just heard about it being there Saturday so I immediately booked tickets and thankfully we had no plans Sunday cause it was their final show!!

Of course, we couldn't take pictures inside the theater so here we are outside...if you look close you can see the '96 olympic torch in the background!!

And we spent some time last week watching Rhea and Tripp play some soccer! The Smith boys and their newest addition also came to cheer them on!!

Like I said...pretty random!!

Will you marry me??

2010-05-25T21:04:00.003-04:00

Sunday evening, my sister got engaged!!!

I got to hide in the bushes and take some pictures! I was so excited to be a small part of it :) Here are just few highlights...

Here she is realizing that I'm hiding...hehe

Took some pictures around Black Fox Farms (it's BEAutiful out there)

And then Caleb had another surprise for her...an engagment party!! We all went to his parents house for dinner. It was a great evening.

I CAN"T BELIEVE she is old enough to get married...but she is!! Man, I'm getting sooo old!!

The Power of Fear

2010-05-24T23:57:00.004-04:00

Fear is defined as: a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid (thanks to dictionary.com) and it can also be used as a verb such as: to regard with fear; be afraid of OR to have reverential awe of

You see, I get scared very easily. I like to blame it on a little movie called SCREAM. Yep, that's right. Pull that one off your shelf and blow the dust off!! I'm talking about the original one which left me FREAKING OUT!! And thanks to a little prank played on me in early high school, I still try to avoid being home alone after dark. For example: My siblings spend the night when john is out of town (which is rare, thankfully) I have watched several episodes of LOST through my fingers, AND I close my eyes when trailers of scary movies come on. Seriously, it's bad!

But this isn't the only fear I am talking about. I'm talking about the type of fear that creeps in and makes you doubt yourself or others.

I have allowed fear to dictate sooo many decisions in my life. Some good. Some bad.

One positive influence of fear on my life is that it kept me out of trouble. I didn't have the typical teen complex of "nothing will happen to me." I thought if it could happen, it would. So in this aspect of my life, I think fear kept me from getting physically involved with guys, it kept me from getting involved in drugs or alcohol, and from venturing into something that may have been unsafe. So for this aspect of my life, I am grateful that fear helped me to steer clear of a variety of detrimental consequences.

On the flip side, fear has held me back. It kept me from meeting people or reaching out to others. It led me to "play it safe" and not take as many risks that I could have. OR it's left me doubting myself, my family/friends, and most importantly God.

I remember when we found out we were pregnant, this immediate FEAR came to the forefront of my mind. Fear that i would miscarry, he wouldn't be healthy, that i'd need a emergent c-section, or he would have issues transitioning (sometimes, ignorance is bliss!!). I remember going for our 20 week ultrasound and being so nervous that I was physically shaking. I remember telling John that day that he may have to knock me out before we would go to the hospital to have him cause I just knew I would be scared. But what is amazing is that the second half of my pregnancy, I was unbelievably calm. It was like the Lord just told me to trust him.

Of course when he was first born it attacked me again. I feared he would quit breathing at night, get sick, or that he would get choked and I wouldn't have any equipment to help him!!! Then one day, I felt this peace come over me. It was like God was telling me to trust Him and to remember that He knows what He is doing & He will take care of Rader.

I have already amazed myself at how I have been able to grow as a mother and as a believer over the past year. Rader's been in his own crib for almost 3 months now and I haven't worried like I thought I would. AND as we just made a decision for me to not work full-time, I am not fretting. I know it's going to be difficult at times but I also know God will provide. Just as HE has my entire life. It may not be easy but I'm determined to refuse being filled with doubt, to have faith and to NOT LET FEAR TAKE OVER!!!

Nap time

2010-05-22T14:43:00.003-04:00

A child after my own heart. FINALLY figuring out how to be a good napper, sleeping on his side with a blanket over his face :) hehe

So long...Farewell....

2010-05-18T10:07:00.003-04:00

Well...last week I officially resigned from my position at Cleveland High School. John and I had prayed about and discussed all of our options and felt this was the best thing for our family. I am thankful that I even had a choice but it sure was hard to make. There are several things I will miss about working there...the most obvious one is working my hubbie! And of course, fun days like these....And I'm going to miss some of the students. The excitment in their eye when they learned something new. The "hook" factor...when I felt like I had hooked them into the medical field. I'm going to miss being a part of this world (minus the drama factor). I'm also going to miss my co-workers!! Although...I will still be connected via John, it will be different. On the flip side, I'm NOT going to miss discipline,certain knuckle-heads or saying SHHHHHHHHHHHH 1500 times.

But what it boiled down to was this little guy!

I just wasn't ready to leave this sweet face all day, everyday

And yes...even these faces......

So back to "subbing" at the hospital and hopefully a little adjunct with CSCC :)

(As if that wasn't God's perfect timing!!!!!!)

Saturday Snapshots

2010-05-15T21:41:00.004-04:00

AND... done....

Well...good morning sunshine!

2010-05-13T09:42:00.004-04:00

If Rader wakes up early morning hours to eat, I just go back to sleep on the futon in his room. This morning I heard him playing in his crib. All of a sudden, it got quiet and I looked

over to see this....

HAHAHAHAHA......LOVE him!!

Mother's Day Weekend

2010-05-12T19:27:00.003-04:00

We had quite an eventful week/end!!

First off, HAPPY belated BIRTHDAY blog wishes to my mom!!!

On Saturday, little man turned 5 months old! I know I say this often but I can't believe HOW FAST TIME HAS FLOWN!! I worked in the nursery last weekend with all newborns and I just kept thinking "man, i don't even remember him being that little"

I feel like these pictures sum up him at five months. FULL of personalities, movements, and putting EVERYTHING in his mouth!

Yep...everything! Several weeks ago, he finally got his feet in there...despite his big ole belly.

I wish I had a weight for ya but I don't! maybe soon...

We just upgraded from rice cereal to oatmeal. He is still LOVING it although he thinks he needs to feed himself which tends to make for a mess! He is rolling back and forth and has become quite active in his crib. We never know what position he is going to be in when we walk in. He has learned to take his pacifier out and then put it back in! He has started to realize when I leave the room and fusses a bit. The second he makes eye contact with me....he is good to go!

I feel like he thinks he is older than he is!! He acts like he wants to crawl and is super close to sitting up. He gets frustrated when he can't get to an object in front of him. He would much rather stand up than lay down. He knows how to pitch a fit to get what he wants. usually it's sleep! one second crying, the next sound asleep. Speaking of sleep....yep, still NOT SLEEPING all night. We did hit 8 hours ONCE but usually hang around 5-6. Thankfully I'm physically okay with that but I just keep wondering why. AND I KNOW what you are all thinking...let him cry (done)...give him his pacifier (done)...pick him up and put back to sleep (doesn't work) BECAUSE this child is really HUNGRY!!! We can maybe hold him off an hour but he really does want to EAT!!! And he does take a full feeding so who knows?! maybe next month when we start baby food...hmmmmm?!?!? he does, however, put himself to sleep :)

He talks with his eyes and has some of the funniest looks. He has the pouty face down pat!! Here is one of "smiles"!

On Sunday, we dedicated him at church. It was a very special time for all of us!

He is so attentive. He was literally staring at Jeff the entire time he was introducing him. It was precious! Of course he was the most active while the others were being introduced but at least he was quiet :)

Group shot of the new parents with the new babies!!

On our way out to the nursery! He has done GREAT in the nursery the past month! Thankfully we know all of the care takers so it's much easier to leave him! They say he just watches all the other kids and is pretty chill!

We are sooo blessed to have amazing friends and family surrounding us! We took up THREE rows at church!! We hosted lunch with soup, salad, and homemade ice cream! Here is half the crew squeezed into our living room!

And to finish off a sweet picture of grammie. Even the Ohio crew got to make it!

What a great first mother's day!!!

We are so grateful to God and everything that he has given to us! Our moms are amazing and have played a huge role in making us who we are today. Who knows where we would be without them!

Of course now it's our turn to raise up rader in the ways of the Lord. It's quite the task these days but we know we are up for it! Our prayer is that He will have a realtionship with the Lord at a young age and follow His leading all of His life. And of course we are praying for wisdom for us to lead him in that direction!!

New Pictures...

2010-05-05T16:45:00.001-04:00

Check out my sister's blog for some recent pictures of Rader!!!

Ever wonder....

2010-04-27T13:04:00.002-04:00

Who came up with certain nursery rhymes? I mean really.....

"London Bridge is FALLING DOWN......Take a key and lock her up?"
(I'm pretty sure that's illegal)

"Rock a bye baby....when the bow BREAKS THE CRADLE WILL fall"
(that sounds peaceful)

Or what about the bedtime prayer
"Now I lay me down to sleep I pray the Lord my soul to keep, IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE"

Thanks to a new gift of 200 nursery songs on 6 cd's from g-momma....I have had some time in the car listening to these!! And my mind likes to wonder about random things sometimes so...hmmmm. I am thinking i should do some research BEHIND the songs. MAYBE THEN I will understand them? And then again maybe not?!

Random Rainy Day Ramblings

2010-04-26T15:09:00.003-04:00

1. Don't you love the feeling when you find a $10 bill in your pocket that you didn't know about? Yeah, me too. Except this time it wasn't cash...it was CLOTHES! Last spring break I bought a lot of cute capris and tops for the summer and fall. Well, due to my expanding belly I was unable to wear most. SO MUCH TO MY SUPRISE, when I pulled out my summer clothes from our bin last week, THERE THEY WERE!! Ahhh...it's the little things, ya know!!

2. I have yet to break out the sandals because my toes aren't painted! Why the delay? I plan to get a cheap pedi at CHS from some students but have yet to schedule my appt.

3. I can't stop eating for some reason these past couple of days. Seriously! I have had a double serving of at least one meal A DAY!! Good thing I am getting my thyroid level checked wednesday cause it's GOT to be out of whack

4. I wonder if making little man laugh will EVER get old?

5. I'm such a pack-rat. Geez. I wish I could snap my fingers and just get rid of stuff. I am trying VERY hard to gather stuff up for a yard sale in two weeks. I've noticed when I do get into an "i really don't need this mood" I need to just CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN cause I def get rid of more stuff.

6. Anyone up for taking a cooking class???? I'm good with the basics but would LOVE to learn some tips and tricks....such as flipping an omlet like Meryl Streep in Julia and Julia :) Now there is a visual! Egg flying all over the kitchen....

7. After taking care of newborns all weekend, I seriously can't even remember Rader being that small!!! It's crazy scary how fast time flies!!!!!!

Work, Work, and Work!

2010-04-25T23:20:00.002-04:00

I'm officially a working mom....But thankfully NOT full-time!

My hat goes off to those of you. Wow. What a lot of work!! Not that being home everyday isn't because it MOST DEF. is...but it's just different!

I have failed to mention my new little part time job! Since I'm still technically on maternity leave from CHS I can only work after school hours. As a nurse, that is NOT A PROBLEM! So about a month ago, I got a call for an urgent need from Cleveland State. They were needing a clinical instructor for L&D. I had less than 36 hours to make the decision because of time restraints. So some quick prayers and discussion and I decided to jump in. I'm always up for a challenge...so, why not :)

So for the past month, I have been a clinical instructor for Cleveland State at Erlanger in L&D/Nursery. I was a little nervous thinking about the fact that several of my students were going to be older than me but John kept reminding me that it was the experience that set me apart. (but still a little intimidating...) OH and also by intimidating...ERLANGER! aka "DOWNTOWN" "THE BIG HOUSE" Hello...this is a HUGE hospital system, with lots of high risk patients, lots of residents, a slightly negative nurse rep, AND no familiar faces! And now that it's almost over already, i can say that I have thoroughly enjoyed it!!!

It's combining my favorite things together...teaching, nursing, laboring patients, and newborn babies!! And what was even more perfect was the timing. It was only two evenings a week in which my family/friends or John could watch little man.

With all of that being said, this weekend has been exhausting! I was at Erlanger both thursday and friday evening until midnight. Then for some UNKNOWN reason, I decided to work in the nursery 12 hours on Saturday and then 6 more hours this evening. Really? Was I even thinking when I signed up for that? NO! Fortunantely I was put on call earlier in week or I would have really gone crazy AND my parents played w/Rader to let me grab a quick nap this afternoon!

John and I have been and still are praying about what job move I should make in the fall. There are several factors and we just want to make sure we make the right one! I know many of you have been in this situation so please say a little prayer for us. For wisdom, For peace, and for clear direction!!

Sit back and relax or Scroll FAST

2010-04-15T14:23:00.000-04:00

Cause we have a lot of pictures to share :)

The week before Easter, Tony finally got to come and visit!

We went to Newport for Easter.

So jealous right now of his tan...geez! I LOVE this picture :)

Some of my family was out of town but Aunt Carla was excited cause

that meant more time for her!!

Uncle Bryan and Aunt Katie were in a wedding in Asheville so they drove over to visit us

And we did a lot of this...

Then off to my grandmother's Easter lunch which included these new babies as the MAIN attraction! The oldest is on the right..born in november...then us and then January for Kennedy

Early Monday morning the MIL and I took Rader on his very first FIELD TRIP.

The weather was great and he was a trooper!!

He enjoyed the carrier better than his stroller at times!!
Then the MIL stayed all week with us and helped us celebrate his 4 month-day by a visit to the doctor for yucky shots!

He is wearing his Master's shirt in honor of the first round that day!

Then he got to eat cereal for the first time!! He LOVED it. He wanted to help us..which is beginning to get MESSY!!!

Grammie had some gel so we spiked his "peach fuzz"...I think it looks rather cute!!

And then last Friday headed to a soccer tourney in HOT-LANTA! Lakelee was there too!!

He got to go swimming for the first time in the indoor pool.

And he really liked it!! Please excuse my face as I am in mid-sentence!!

Then after all the games we stayed an extra night and enjoyed lunch at the underground, walking downtown and then took a tour of this building

And played in Centennial Park

He was awake for the entire tour and did great. He checked EVERYTHING out!!

That's all for now. Next time I'll try to post shorter sooner ones :)

LUB-DUB...LUB-dub....lub-dub

2010-04-11T22:48:00.003-04:00

That's the sound your heart makes when it beats......my point? Mine is still beating..... but with a lot of exhaustion.

We've been SUPER busy this past week. Largely due to soccer season and a little part time job i took for a few weeks. But we've also taken Rader on a couple of "field trips" including a visit to family, doctor visit which included shots, play-dates, picture taking, AND a new adventure in cereal eating!! Oh and have i mentioned that I have started couponing?! I am still deciding if it's worth all the time...maybe in a month I'll know.

So my plan this week is to nap, upload pictures, nap, blog, cook dinner again, and start back WALKING!!! Oh and then maybe take another nap :)

Man, is it summertime yet?

BEAUtiful

2010-04-01T19:26:00.003-04:00

It has been a GORGEOUS week in TN and I am soooo excited!!

Warm weather is finally here.....YAY :)

I must get my SPRING to-do list together!!

Mini Photo Shoot

2010-03-26T10:10:00.000-04:00

Three Months Old

Just a few of my favorites to share :)

The Time Has Come

2010-03-25T09:45:00.000-04:00

Ohio State vs. Tennessee

Friday Night * 7:07

March Madness has been FULL of close games and upsets this year!! And we have LOVED it!! I'm still beating John (and several of his friends, I might add...ha!) in our brackets but there is one major game we differ on....and it's on Friday!! It's probably a good thing that neither one of us will be able to watch it live or together for that matter.

I think Rader's pumped...what do you think??

Over the river and through the woods...

2010-03-24T21:27:00.000-04:00

To Grammie's house we went...

That's right, we made our first adventure to Ohio to see them again:

And of course her...

And he was super excited to see everyone

And mom was super excited to eat this....

That's right...Grater's Ice Cream. A little bit of heaven! YUM!! It would be a sin to go to Ohio and not enjoy this. I couldn't decide which one I wanted to I had this....

(in case you're wondering, starting at 9 o'clock and going clockwise....peanut butter chip, blueberry cobbler, chocolate chocolate chip, and black raspberry chip)

Little man was a trooper! We saw a TON of John's family and friends. It was crazy cause it seemed as if each time he woke up from a nap, we were in a new place!!

THEN this week, we headed over to Jackson to watch allie in the final four. They lost by four points but once again allie played amazing! She was the leading scorer AGAIN! You can tell it was a bittersweet moment for the whole fam. Including Rader who slept through the enitre game and woke up to eat right as the team was walking out so his expression just fit in with everyone else's.

He stayed in his first hotel room.

(i am in LOVE with this picture...so precious!!)

Taking a break to eat and let the little guy stretch out in the floor. He was in the car for 20 hours over one week!!

Just trying to keep him entertained with a toy. Thankfully mom had a visor that acted as a hanger. Hey...whatever works, right?

Just a little bragging...

2010-03-21T16:19:00.002-04:00

On my little sister...

They advanced to the final four in their national tourney.

Click here to read all about her and the lady flames.

She played amazing! We listened to the game on the radio yesterday but thankfully get to watch the next one live!!

Way to go Allie!! We love you and we'll see ya soon!!!

Random Days

2010-03-12T09:31:00.007-05:00

I realized the other day that I had not really taken any random photos in a while.

So I tried to snap some of just our random daily activities and the out of towners were wanting more pictures so here ya go

He is getting better at waking up from naps like this-- I will hear something, go check on him and he's just playing...

Here he is talking to mobile above his changing pad. This was taken prob 5 minutes AFTER I had finished. He loves it...

He is not a fan of tummy time but is slowly getting better! He holds his head up fine but would much rather be sitting or on his back. He also makes very different noises and faces on his tummy!!

Happy as a lark on his back with his play mat. He can sit here for close to an hour just kicking, cooing, and checking himself out in the mirror.

He has been trying to sit up for several weeks now. The only time he lets me hold him like a baby is when I am feeding him!! It's really crazy but i tried to get him in action! Notice the safety barrier of dad's arms!! It's needed as he has taken a couple face plants into the couch!!

We lean him back on us and shortly he is up! All on his own...

All the way up...

This one just cracks me up.

And I think I have failed to mention that little man has found the TV. It's crazy. He will be moving like crazy and as soon as he finds it, he gets soooo still! I can already tell this is going to be a battle we are going to have to fight!!! He will seriously bend his neck backwards on his mat! And here daddy is stepping in and making him smile for the camera :)

COME VISIT US SOON, OUT OF TOWN FAMILY!!!

The Attitude Explained

2010-03-11T22:13:00.003-05:00

IT is called an ear infection! YUCK!!

We started amoxicillin...remember that from your childhood...ya know the pink, bubble gum flavored stuff!! Wow. I can remember WANTING to take that medicine (and the grape dimetapp)! haha

Anyways...hopefully this will be the end of the sickness run!

I have taken some new photos that I will try to post tomorrow but I am off to bed NOW because if tonight follows the past three nights...I will be awake A LOT!!!

Three Months and an attitude

2010-03-08T09:14:00.000-05:00

Apparently at our 3 month photo shoot, little buddy was NOT very excited! Could be the fact he is still getting over his sickness or the fact that his mom wanted him to wear this jacket that required to be zipped up pretty high in order to see the bulldog on the front!

Either way...here are two of the best....

(does it look like he is holding up an inappropriate finger through the chair to you? ha!)

At three months.....I :

*Love my play mats

*Am (despite these pictures-) smiling frequently

*Eat every 3-3 1/2 hours during the day and can be done in a max of 15 minutes

*Have just started to laugh out loud

* Can roll from my back to my side

*Am 15lbs and 5 oz and in size 2 diapers

*Have made a trip to Newport and Rome, GA

*Coo back and forth A LOT

*Can't remember the last time I cried during a diaper change because I have found my elephant mobile to look at and talk to

*Have overcome RSV w/o treatments or a hospital visit

So long...

2010-03-07T19:01:00.002-05:00

Allie had her senior night a couple weekends ago and just last night finished off her conference tourney. We were able to make the trip to Rome to watch. They were first during the regular season and finished second in the tourney. Allison had a great tournament and finished as a member of the ALL TOURNEY TEAM!! She will advance to the National Tourney over spring break. Here are a few shots from her senior night.

P.S. It was THINK PINK night...hence the pink jerseys.
Here are all the senior girls!

For my sweet tooth...

2010-03-03T15:00:00.001-05:00

There are two things that are just meant to go together....

Chocolate AND Strawberries

Oh man...how I love these two things together!!

My mouth waters when I begin to think about the super scrumptious gelato from Italy. I tried several options but always ended up with one scoop of strawberry and one of chocolate. I think we had this just about everyday and sometimes twice! Hey...it was cheap and we were in ITALY...you just have to :) Right, KJ??

(above is a picture of our 1st gelato in Venice and below is our last in Rome....and yes, that is my hubbie enjoying his plain jane VANILLA)

And then the next best thing I have found is from marble slab. Chocolate swiss with strawberries...it's delish! Trust me! She's now hooked too!!

Anyways enough of that....so as a gift to myself I took some of these:

and dipped them in this...

to get this---

And then...I also had some left over chocolate and decided to dip some pretzels!

Another great combo :)

p.s. and it has to be healthy because of the strawberries, right?

Southern Obsession

2010-03-01T15:15:00.000-05:00

John likes living in south but he definitely has a some pet peeves.

One of which being the fact that so many TN fans became Colts fans because of Peyton Manning.

Well, I must admit that I am one of them!!

This was taken before heading to our super bowl party. Even with an unfortunate ending for the Colts, and especially for Peyton, I am sure he'll return again!!

(p.s. his shirt says "DADDYS #1 Draft pick"...love it :)

REWIND

2010-03-01T14:57:00.000-05:00

Grammie and her Valentine!

Here is his very first Valentine's gift from my parents. I WAS SO EXCITED for him...his FIRST VEGGIETALES! I can picture him already singing the theme song!

Last weekend John's dad and grandfather came down to visit...so here are the FOUR GENERATIONS of BROSE BOYS!!

Bobpa is 91 years old!! Doesn't he look amazing...John is getting some good aging genes!

Random photos:

(pardon the blurriness....) He was falling asleep in his bouncer one afternoon so I just moved it to his room for his nap. He slept for quite a while in this thing...

And...look what I found....

MY POUTY Lip (have no clue how you really spell that?!) But....isn't that pitiful!!

Me & My New Best Friend

2010-02-28T16:13:00.002-05:00

That's right...we have a new best friend around here. It's our humidifier. We found out on thursday that despite our wishes, R is NOT invincible!

He has the dreaded RSV. Luckily, we caught it super early and he is doing pretty good. Today has been the worst day in terms of his cough so hopefully it'll be downhill from here. We have avoided treatments so far but you can rest assured that this new mommy is checking his lungs quite frequently and if need be....we'll be making a call to get us a breathing machine!!

SO, we are confined to the house for the week and if anyone without small children would like to come visit, you are more than welcome :)

My other grandmother

2010-02-18T09:40:00.005-05:00

I have been close with several of my friend's families but there has always been one that became my second family. On Monday, my other grandmother...aka Bam..... passed away. There are several things I will always remember about Bam. A few of them include: swimming in the summer at the Davidson's pool, her and Do-da (shawn's grandfather) would taking us to away CHS football games, visitng her in the hospital when Do-da got sick, celebrating thanksgiving, graduations, and birthdays at the Douglas' house, and her scrumptious homemade apple pie. She had a great fashion sense and she loved to laugh. I can remember the excitement on her face when I told her I was pregnant (even though she knew already). And one of the funniest things that happened recently was Shawn flipping a meatball right onto her lap during dinner!!

So tonight and tomorrow we will celebrate her life and what she not only meant to Shawn and her family but to me and mine!

A family photo at our wedding reception:

Quick picture before Shawn's wedding

And when Bam got to meet Rader at Christmas. So my heart is going out to you guys....Love you all!

And to another friend who lost her grandmother on the same day.

It's never easy to lose a loved one.

Weeks Worth of Events

2010-02-13T22:05:00.000-05:00

It's been quite busy this week! On Monday R officially turned 2 months old!!

At two months old he is still wanting to eat at least once/sometimes twice in the night but is learning to space out his feedings more. He is getting better at daytime naps. He loves to play in his crib. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing yet. He is smiling and cooing like crazy. He has discovered his tongue and his fist (still working on the thumb) He weighs a whopping 14.5 lbs (95%percentile) and is 22 5/8 inches long. He has been to basketball and baseball games. He has made it to a couple of restaurants, the greenway, and had a visit to Walmart :)

Also on Monday, he made his first road trip to Newport. He slept the ENTIRE car ride. YAY!! He finally got to meet his Great Uncle Bobby. Cousin Caleb hung out with us a lot and was a great help!!

Then on Tuesday, I turned 27!!! PURE CRAZINESS!!! I can't believe I am that old.

On Wednesday we headed back home and spent Thursday afternoon with these lovely ladies...oh how I miss them!!!

Friday he got his shots. THAT WAS FUN! YEA RIGHT! He didn't scream at all with his 2nd hep b but man oh man he lost it this time. Thankfully it was just two and he was DONE!! So needless to say, friday was not a fun day for me.... He was pretty fussy all day long. Thankfully John was home early that day!!

Then this weekend--Grammie, Aunt Laura and Uncle Josh came to visit. We have been pretty lazy with the exception of a birthday celebration last night at Chilis!! It's been very nice!!

Random cute photo:
He found himself in the mirror above his swing this week. It's so funny to watch him smile at himself!

Happy Birthday GRAMMIE!!!

2010-02-07T08:13:00.001-05:00

Random Ramblings

2010-02-05T12:34:00.001-05:00

1. Our utility bill this past month was RIDICULOUS. I guess you make up for it in other areas considering that I just filled up my car with gas THIS week for the FIRST time since I delivered.

2. I am planning an overnight trip next week to see family and have already started packing.

3. I can't seem to get enough Breyer's Vanilla Bean ice cream these days---drizzled with chocolate syrup and cherries...YUUUMMM--ME!!!

4. I have taped all kinds of random 30 minute TV shows to watch while I feed the little man. It's amazing what

5. I'm soooooooo ready for sunshine and warm weather although the groundhog seemed to disagree.

6. I have only exercised 1 and a 1/2 times since december 8th and am waiting for #5 to come true in order to restart my greenway adventures--I am counting the 1/2 because of my walk with john for two reasons: 1. we had to stop every 5 minutes b/c we kept running into people we knew #2. He's not much into "power walking"

7. I'm so sick and tired of Verizon vs AT&T commercials. I mean really luke wilson, let it go!!! geez

BEEP BEEP

2010-02-04T18:00:00.003-05:00

Imagine singing- The Itsy Bitsy Spider by only using the sound of "beep"

Then suddenly this is what you get:

You can it's coming by the kicking of his legs and then tell he starts to "smile in his eyes" and then it progresses to a full blown smile with a head tilt and arms moving like crazy!!

John discovered this trick for a continuous smile about a week ago and ever since we have been "beeping" like crazy!!

My mom asked us "did you ever think 10 years ago that you'd spend 20 minutes beeping a song to a baby just to watch them smile?"

Nope, we sure didn't and we just can't seem to get enough of it :)

The beginning of something...

2010-02-04T17:41:00.001-05:00

Here's my problem. I get an idea. I start the idea. I DON"T FINSIH THE IDEA!!

This year I am making it a goal to eliminate the last step.

I AM GOING TO FINISH THEM!!

So here is my first project to take on: DINNER MEALS!!
I can't even count how many times I have said to John-- "what should I make for dinner?"

I like to cook but find myself being a "comfort cook" because I always end up making the same ole stuff....favorite foods that I can make without a recipe. I like to try new ones but tend to feel intimidated by the list of ingredients.

Thanks to some snowy weather and extra time inside, I have deicded to FINALLY go through my cookbooks and make a menu. I am still debating if I will make a daily menu for a couple of weeks or just make a menu of things we like and then randomly draw the recipe out of a hat and MAKE IT!!

Step One: Deciding which cookbooks to keep, trash, and look through. I have two other piles that aren't even pictured!! My favorite ones by far are my Kraft Food Magazines!! They have yummy and simple recipies!! Not to mention their website in which you can input ingredients you have and it will give you a list of recipies that you can make!! The magazines were FREE until this year. Although I think it's only $5/ year...not bad at all!!

Step Two: I am going through each book, writing down the page number of the recipe that looks "makeable" and sticking it to the front of the cookbook.

I think it's a good start...next I plan to complie the recipes and begin my menu planning/grocery list :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JOHN!!!

2010-02-03T14:53:00.003-05:00

The BIG 2-8!!!

We like to pick different desserts to celebrate our birthdays instead of a traditional cake. This year John wanted these super yummy OREO balls!

They are really easy to make...and oh so addicting!!

My arms are tired...

2010-02-02T09:46:00.002-05:00

Rader has a new favorite way to be held. I think I've already mentioned that we think he is a bit nosey for a newborn and now he LOVES to be facing outward to see what all is going on.

He was not a happy camper one evening so John was bouncing around the house with R and he finally gave in and went to sleep!!

After about 20 minutes John says "My arms are tired"

(and yes family we are saying this in kaleb's voice from the wedding......haha!!!)

Of course Rader woke up on readjustment so John was sat down and finished watching his soccer game as is....
I'm guessing he is hitting 15 lbs or so now...Rader that is :)

And again....

2010-01-31T09:38:00.000-05:00

Winter White Weekend

2010-01-29T17:20:00.002-05:00

The weathermen were CORRECT!! We have already received a beautiful covering of snow. Rader's first adventure into the snow!

Took a break....it was sleeting a little bit so I"m drying of his face!

Then we figured a better way from the back deck!!

Immediately afterwards he passed out in his "snow suit"!

John got out at noon. My brother just made it home safely from walking from Zaxby's and as I am typing this my dad is en route by foot from Fletcher Park, and my sister is suppose to be walking to our house from Lee as she was at practice!! Kinda scary. Brandon said cars are stuck on main roads and in ditches. Just praying no one gets stranded!!

Let the birthday madness begin....

2010-01-29T17:09:00.005-05:00

AND RADER HAS JUST ONE THING TO SAY.....

IN THREE

ADORABLE FACES!!

mom's mini photo session

2010-01-20T19:25:00.005-05:00

How can anyone NOT believe that there is a GOD?

I mean really....these looks...

These eyes....

This nose and these lips...

The pure innocence

God's perfect creation.

My prayer is that he will never forget....That God created HIM! That God loves him and has THE PERFECT PLAN in store for him.

mini milestones

2010-01-20T19:19:00.005-05:00

He will push off your chest, hold his head up & just stare at ya.... he looks very inquisitive!

Blowimg bubbles.......

Locking his knees so it looks like he is standing ( of course we support the upper body)

Becoming a camelion??

haha...how perfect does that outfit match the bouncer???

AND the sweetest milestone that melted this mom's heart....

over the past week, i felt like he had been getting sooo close to smiling, then yesterday we were in his room and he was super interactive so i just had this feeling like he might so i grabbed the camera. AND THEN after several "teasers" HE DID!! Perfect :) I was sooo happy to get the FIRST one on camera!! (I was holding the camera to the side and he is staring right at me.)