My day as Karen...

My friend, Lisa, has a yearly tradition of attending Football 101 at the University of Georgia. She and her sister, Karen, go each year as a little sister- bonding time. Unfortunately, one of Karen's twins got sick the night before the event this year so Lisa thought of the biggest UGA fan she could think of and called me! :)

I really do love football and am growing to be a GA fan, so I was excited to go. It was a really fun time... we saw the locker room, the weight room, had lunch with Mark Richt and his mom, got info on all their best defensive plays, a tour of the stadium, and generally soaked it all in.

I will tell you that these women are very serious about their team and football. It was awesome to see their passion and I know why Lisa loves this event so much.... she was right in her element. Here are a few pictures...

Lisa and I at the stadium at the end of the day -


With Mark Richt...


Trying on the players helmets....


Lisa looks more menacing...


And after all the fun, the ladies got out and practiced the plays, ran drills and scrimmaged. Being in my delicate state, I decided to sit it out and watch #65 (Lisa) do all the work...



We also had fun throughout the day with a little project. Lisa got a mini helmet for her son and had all the players and coaches to sign it. I thought it would be fun to take pictures of it throughout the day at all the places we got to go and put together a book kind of like Flat Stanley. We had a blast taking the little helmet everywhere (locker room showers included) and got more than one funny stare!

Here are a few of those...

on the practice field...

down in the players area - this was the coolest looking hall full of awesome photos of games, etc...and of course the big "G" is everywhere!


Thanks to Lisa for inviting me.... I couldn't replace the sister-bonding time with Karen, but it was such a fun time and fun memories! I had a blast.

Happy Birthday

With all the craziness of last week, I didn't get a chance to sit down and blog about my sweet hubby's birthday. He's not a big one for parties and cake, but I did get to give him a little time away from responsibility for a movie with some of his fantastic guy friends. We will celebrate more soon with a vacation and time of rest!

Really I just wanted to take a minute and embarrass him a little by telling you how great he is. A few months ago, the Deeper Still Event came up on my radar and I was hoping I could go. The only catch was that it was ON his birthday weekend and would leave him with Lia all weekend long. I asked and he graciously said - Of course you should go!

I am so thankful for this sweet man, not just because of how wonderful he is to me, but because of the blessing of walking each day with him. I have the privilege of being up close as God leads our family through him and molds him into an amazing man of God (of course, he's pretty amazing already!). I get really excited about all that God is doing in our family and the adventure we are on together seeking Him.

Not to mention, he is super funny and keeps me laughing!!!!

I love you Brendon... Happy Birthday!

Trip to Charlotte

We went for a little visit to Nana and Papa B's house a few weeks ago and had a fun time. Lia loved it!

She took walks with Papa B....

got to visit with Auntie Mac....

Great Jeff and Aunt Cindy came down from Raleigh...

and we attempted a big picture....


why is the pregnant lady in front!

A natural big sister

Lia has come around with the baby dolls and likes to feed hers some "maaaailk" and "rock her a little bit". She is so cute walking around with the baby doll, but it scares we a little when she gets tired and just throws it down.



We'll have to have a "no walking with the REAL baby" rule in November!

Educated Guess

Several people have asked for a shot of the baby belly before they can make a vote... so, here it is. I forgot to have Brendon take it this morning so this was my attempt at a self-prtrait I guess.

Yes, it's true what they say about the second one showing faster!


So, what do you think.... boy or girl?

It's like Christmas in July!

In two weeks we will go for our big ultrasound and find out if this crazy baby is a boy or a girl. So, I thought it would be fun to count down the next 14 days by taking a poll. There is a survey to the left so make sure and vote or leave a comment with your best guess.

I was never good at waiting for Christmas, but I'm going to try and be patient for this news :) .

Lazy Days of Summer?

I remember sometimes thinking the summer days stretched out forever... picnics, playdates, lemonade and daisy chains.

This summer seems like it rolled in fast and keeps on picking up steam. I have lost my balance and feel like I've been trying to just keep up. We decided to do swimming lessons this month with Lia and it's been pretty good. She is pretty scared of the water and spent most of her first lesson screaming. She's getting better, but we are still a long way from loving the pool. We will probably be trying another round to try and get her more comfy with the water.

Stay tuned for some pictures of our summer at the pool.

7 Years!

I can't believe it's already been another year. We just keep getting better and better....


Happy Anniversary, Bren - I can't imagine walking through life with anyone else!

Me and My Dad


are silly!!!

Last Day of School

Lia loves to go to school and especially loves her teachers - Ms. Erica and Ms. Carol. I am so thankful for their love and care for her. They have taught her so much this year and have delighted in each day that she has grown. Their class is called the "Busy Bees" and with 9 one year olds... that's an appropriate name.

Thanks to Ms. Erica and Ms. Carol for everything this year! You are both blessings to our family.

I Scream, You Scream!

Lia is loving ice cream these days - no matter what.

Ben & Jerry's had "Free Cone Day" on her birthday and she had "pink" ice cream. She kept saying it was "berry tasty"...


And then her friend Ben gave her a birthday cake/ice cream cone set that she loves to play with...

Baking Birthday Cookies

Miss Shae-Shae is going to be gone this week to the beach so Lia and I had to be early wishing her a happy birthday. We decided to bake one of her favorite cookies and Lia did most of the work.

Thanks to Em, Dave and Will for the appropriate outfit! A baker in the making....


We measured out all the ingredients....


And started mixing...


And, of course, all good bakers test their creation before giving it to someone else....


MMMM... yummy!
Shae - I hope you enjoyed eating them as much as we enjoyed making them for you. Happy Birthday!!!

Future Photographer

She a natural! She's been using the toy camera to take our picture and the cutest part it to "take" the picture she blinks really hard.


She thought it was really funny when I took this picture of her taking my picture....

A Week of Loss

It's been an emotional week around here. My heart is heavy for three families dealing with loss this week. My prayers and thoughts have gone out to them all week and it has made me reflect about a few things that I know for sure.

#1 - Don't let a day go by without telling those people you love that you do love them! It's important for them to hear it.

#2 - A life well lived is one that leaves your family celebrating your life. Whether is is 80 years or 30 years... each day we leave an imprint on the people around us.... I want mine to be an imprint of love and caring - one that reflects the grace of God in my life.

#3 - Every child is a miracle - hug yours a little tighter today.

#4 - God is a faithful, gracious heavenly Father who wants to walk with us in the valleys of life. He desires for us to trust him and walk with him even when we don't understand the path we are on. He is the only one who can do the impossible and redeem a tragedy by bringing glory to himself.

What do you know for sure?

______________________________

For those of you also wondering about me and the lack of posts... it's mostly b/c each day I have just want to lay down and rest when the day is over. I have been sick with allergies and asthma which is no fun, but I seem to be getting a little better. I also went to the doctor today and the baby's heart rate sounds good. Stay tuned for more updates along the way.

Two Years

Today is Lia's actual birthday and it has got me reflecting on the past two years and all the joy, laughter, tears, and growth (both hers and ours) that has happened in such a short time. We are so blessed to have this little blessing with a big personality in our lives and I become more and more thankful each day that God chose us to be her parents!


In honor of the big #2 I thought I would do some fun facts (in pairs):

Favorite Foods
#1 - Strawberries
#2 - Peanut Butter Sandwich

Favortie Songs
#1 - Amazing Grace
#2 - Signing Time song

Most Used Words/Phrases
#1 - "No"
#2 - "No, Mommy, No"
*she is two after all!*

Things she's learning
#1 - To Share
#2 - praying - it is so sweet to hear her say Thank You God at the end of the day and list the things she's thankful for

Funniest things she said lately
#1 - "Yes, I'm going to swing...*pause*.. all weekend long."
#2 - ...."a little bit".. this works for - I want to eat a little bit, I sit a little bit, I want to rock a little bit, I will walk a little bit. Mostly it's really cute to hear her sweet voice say it. I'll try and get a video of it and post it.

Favorite things to do
#1 - Swing @ the park (or at home now)
#2 - Play with her Daddy and be tickled


Lia - You are such a blessing to us and I pray each day for the wisdom to raise you, love you, encourage you and guide you as you become the young lady God has for you to be. We are so proud of you and thankful to have you in our family. You fill up our lives each day with joy and laughter.

Happy Birthday, sweet pea!

Lia has an Announcement

Lia also got to wear a special shirt on Saturday. The front said " I'm 2"...


and the back...

says....


Yep, we are expecting another little peanut in late November. For those of you doing the math that makes me 10 weeks along. We are really excited that God has blessed us with a new little life in our family, and can't wait to find out whether Lia will have a little brother or sister.

For those of you wondering, YES, I've been really sick, but have had some good drugs to help so we are excited to make it to mid-June and for me to be feeling better!

Birthday @ the Park

Lia turns 2 this week and we had a little party at the park to celebrate on Saturday. It was really fun to have a few friends and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Lia enjoyed swinging, eating the butterfly cupcakes we made and playing with her friends.

Here are a few pictures...

blowing out the candles...


playing with the balloons and Daddy...


eating some goldfish with Haley...


with Nana and Papa B....


our family....

Red Car

While we were in Nashville, my friend Carlee was getting rid of some little kid toys and offered for us to take the Red Car home (especially since Lia wouldn't get out of it the whole time we were there).

So, we loaded it up in the van and brought it home.


Lia loves "dribing" the red car and putting her rocks in the back compartment. She never actually pushes it anywhere but does get in and out saying she's going to "dribe to Grandma's house".

Autism Walk

Thanks so much to EVERYONE that supported me in the Autism walk. It ended up being a rainy day and I didn't get to walk with the group, but our team raise ever $3500 for Autism Speaks and The Marcus Institute.

Thank you again to each person who donated to me or our team... your donation will make a difference in children's lives.

Here is Team Myles-A-Part....

Nashvegas

We visited Nashville afew weeks ago and got to see the Murfreesboro crowd...



Visit with Carlee and her kids...


And, of course, G-Mommy and Papa.


(we even went on a walk with G-Mommy and saw a horse that lives next door...


and lia "helped" Papa fix the broken door handle...


It was also fun to see the Mooneys and the Biggs, but I forgot to take pictures :(.
We missed not seeing more of you, but had to get back to ATL for the Autism walk.