Our Family is Raised on Love

Getting Ready for Valentines' Day

2012-02-05T19:56:00.008-05:00

Madalyn decided that it was time for her to start wearing her Valentine PJ's tonight. This baby girl has walked and walked and walked all weekend. She is walking all the time and everywhere now. I went to get her bath water ready and turned around and she had followed me into the bathroom. I go to the kitchen to do something, and she's following me in there. We have created a closed circle in our den floor to block her from getting out and to block her from getting to the fireplace, and TV. She knows how to turn the TV on and off now, and she can crawl up onto the fireplace ledge. When she is heading in a direction we don't want her to go in, we can show her the TV remote or our cell phone and most of the time she will come back. If she doesn't, then we have to get up and go after her because she gets faster and squeals with delight when she knows you are coming after her. She's keeping us on our toes!

Mountain Getaway

2012-01-29T20:21:00.020-05:00

This weekend, Kevin and I were able to spend some time together in the mountains, just the two of us. We left for Greer after I got out of school Thursday. I took Friday off. My parents kept Madalyn all weekend. Kevin and I got up Friday morning and headed to Maggie Valley, NC. (My dad was kept Madalyn Friday by himself, my mom had to work). Our main goal, besides getting to spend some time together, was to go snow skiing. We went to Cataloochee Ski Resort. I had gotten the address off the computer and somehow got the wrong address to the ski resort. We ended up on this winding mountain road (that once we reached the top, realized we were on the wrong road.) Well, Kevin watches this show called "Moonshiners" and it comes on the History channel. There is a moonshiner, he's no longer alive, but his name is Popcorn Sutton. We saw his birth place on that mountain road. Kevin was so excited about that. We did find the right road to the ski resort. However, we only had man-made snow since it has not snowed this year. After we got all of our stuff, we headed to the ski lift. We got on and when it was our time to get off, Kevin got off and just as I started to stand up, I couldn't reach the ground and the lift was going up. I got stuck on the lift and had to ride it to the top, then back down. The top was for the most experience skiers, which I am not. The lift's name is called "Oh my gosh lift", and yes, I was praying for God to get me off that lift. I was scared. Kevin ended up getting off at the advanced ski path, and he had quite an adventure to getting down the mountain. We did find the beginner route, but it was very steep still. So, we skied for about an hour and then left. We had a wonderful dinner at this place called J. Arthurs. Saturday we decided to go to Cades Cove in Tennessee and go to Gatlinburg. We were about an hour and a half from there. We had a nice day for our drive. However, once we got to the top of the mountain there were some spots where there wasn't anything protecting you from going off the side of the mountain. I was very nervous during that part. But we had a good time. Then we ate Saturday in Maggie Valley again, at this place called Hurley's which was also very good. We got up this morning and headed back to Greer. We ate lunch with my parents and Papa. Then I went over to visit my great aunt Ann. (she starts chemo treatments again tomorrow,and she's been very sick lately and in a lot of pain). When I got back, we headed home. It was nice to get away from the stress of our jobs and spend some time just us. We both missed our baby girl and were glad to see her today. Below are some pictures from our adventure on Saturday.

We saw this heard of Elk as we were leaving Cherokee.

A mama Elk and baby.

He's a pretty animal isn't he.

My favorite picture of the Elk.

We saw lots of waterfalls along the way.

The Great Smokey Mountains...beautiful view!

The road to Cades Cove.

Entering Cades Cove...would love to see this out my front door every morning!

We saw a good many deer along our way.

He seemed use to getting his picture taken.

Yes, it was cold! It was in the 30's.

A beautiful view but a long way to the bottom!

It has rained earlier as we were crossing the mountain. On our way back, it had turned to ice on the trees. I thought this was so pretty!

We really enjoyed our weekend away!

Stinks to be Sick!

2012-01-23T17:19:00.005-05:00

This is my 2nd time being sick this school year...with the same sickness....and it stinks! I started feeling it coming on Saturday afternoon. I could feel my sinuses starting to act up. Then came the aching all over, the fever, the headache, nausea, etc. It continued on into Sunday. I went to school this morning and was trying to stick it out, but ended up taking a half day. I've been on the couch trying to nurse myself back to my 100% of being well. The worse part about the whole thing is not how bad I feel, but that my baby girl doesn't understand why her mom won't hold her, or play with her. I was laying on the couch yesterday and I felt these little hands pulling my shirt and pulling my hair to get my attention to play with her. It broke my heart, but at the same time I couldn't help but smile. It doesn't matter how bad I feel or even if I'm in a terrible mood, one look into that smiley face, and I can't help but smile. I also have to say that Kevin has been wonderful. He went grocery shopping yesterday, did laundry, cleaned the house, cooked, took care of Madalyn, and me, and the chickens. However, it was funny last night, he said that he was ready for bed, he was very tired. That the last time he had Madalyn all day by himself she slept and you put her in the bouncy seat and that was all. Now she is very busy and very mobile. Back to being sick, I'm about 85% now, so hopefully I will feel up to at least 95% tomorrow morning and be ready to take on Tuesday!

Madalyn 10 Months Old

2012-01-21T18:33:00.016-05:00

Hard to believe that Madalyn is 10 months old today! With it being such a raining day off and on we were able to grab a few pictures today. She is taking a few more steps at a time but when she wants to. She has another tooth that has come in on the bottom. So now she has 4 on top and 3 on the bottom. When she wakes up, she wakes up with a smile and goes all day. Wish I had that much energy.

Madalyn chilling out...and no I didn't place her, she did this on her own.

She's looking at the horses.

When Madalyn came nose to nose with this horse, she didn't know what to think.

Our precious baby girl!

Now for a blooper picture...Kevin loves this one. She is really cheesing in this picture.

Katherine Grace's B-day Party

2012-01-21T18:20:00.009-05:00

This post is a little late, but Sunday, January 8th we went to Columbia to celebrate Katherine Grace's 1st birthday. Here are a few picks from this fun day.

This is the cake we all got to eat. One layer was banana cake with caramel filling and it was delicious!

Happy Birthday to you, Katherine Grace!

She wasn't too sure at first to know what to think about her cake and everyone watching her

Katherine Grace moved to the floor because she kept sliding out of her highchair.

Lily Kate and Madalyn

Madalyn had a great time at the party!

Strong Wind = Fallen Tree

2012-01-13T17:08:00.008-05:00

Well, this week keeps getting better and better. So, far 2012 has not been disaster free, hopefully our luck will change next week. Last night, the wind was so rough, it was rather scary. Our neighbors at the lake called my aunt last night and she called us. However, I didn't find out about this til this morning, but last night the wind was so bad at the lake (Lake Hartwell in Fairplay near Anderson, SC) that it blew a tree onto the house. My dad went home this morning to check on it. Thankfully, it's not as bad as what we thought it would be. The tree did make some holes in the roof of the porch and one hole in the main roof of the house. These pictures were taken after the tree was removed.

This is the front porch where the damage was.

Standing inside the porch

This part of the tree is still caught.

Thank You

2012-01-12T09:06:00.006-05:00

Thank you to all our family and friends that have expressed their sympathy to us over our loss this week. We greatly appreciate your thoughts and prayers. I won't lie to you, as soon as I turned into my driveway yesterday, I started crying because there wasn't anyone that was running to meet me and welcome me home. Kevin said that he passed the house several times yesterday and just out of habitat looked to the porch to see if she was sitting in the rocking chair like she did every day, waiting on us to come home. Even though Madalyn is very busy and feels our hearts with more joy and love than we could ever imagine, the house seemed a little quiet last night...like something....or someone was missing. I miss my shadow that follows me around everywhere. Kevin misses her most at bed time. He said that he thought about putting a brick in our bed just to weigh down the covers like she used to. We were able to talk last night and laugh some at the funny things Abby would do. She had such a fun personality and was a very special little dog; she was our first baby and we loved her dearly. We are so thankful she chose us as her family and we are thankful for the time we had with her. Kevin said that she will be a very hard one to get over and it will take a long time, but day by day will get better and it will.

Abby

2012-01-10T21:49:00.009-05:00

Abby 4 years old

August 9, 2008-January 10, 2012

Reality....Do you ever wish that you could go in your bedroom, close the door, get in bed, and pull the covers over your head and pray that as soon as you lower the covers, that what is reality has been changed and is no more? There have been many times in my life that I have wanted to do that ...this evening is one of those times. This evening as I write this post, my heart is broken and with tears in my eyes, our beloved dog, Abby is with us no more. Yesterday I worked a long time at school and worked some more at home because I had to get papers graded due to grades needed to be turned in. So, today since was caught up I thought I would leave school early and get Madalyn and enjoy the afternoon. I picked her up at 4:00 and by 4:20 we were on our walk in our backyard. She was in her car laughing at Abby running around and barking. We headed towards the chicken houses to see Kevin. We were almost there, when Abby started barking and turned to run behind us. I turned around and there was a car coming, not fast, (but I didn't even hear the car at all), I was yelling for Abby to come back, and then the nightmare happened. I heard the worst sound in my life, followed by the worst sight in my life of my poor little Abby, tumbling on the ground. I ran, pushing the stroller, as fast as I could screaming Abby's name, crying. When I got to her, she was just about gone. I ran to the chickens houses, hunting Kevin. When I found him, I told him what happened. He didn't want me to go back and see Abby again, but I had to for my closure and to be sure she was gone. It has been a very quiet evening around our house. Kevin and I haven't said much to each other. He has busied himself with cleaning the house, while I was watching Madalyn.

Abby came to us August 9, 2008 one Sunday after church and was with us every step until today. She loved to go for rides, she loved, loved chasing after a tennis ball, and she loved to just be anywhere Kevin or I was. Madalyn loved Abby as well. She would just laugh and laugh at her. She would smile when Abby would lick her. Abby slept with Kevin and I every night. She was my buddy and my shadow. She was the sweetest dog, she was so smart and just good natured. At least she didn't have to suffer today. We will miss Abby terribly. Plans for another dog.....couldn't even begin to think about that right now. There is no replacement for Abby...she was one of a kind and we loved her very much. God gave us Abby 4 years ago and for some reason we will never know, He saw that it was time for Him to take her away today. You never would think that something like this would happen in your own backyard.

9 Month Check Up

2012-01-05T20:52:00.006-05:00

Madalyn went to the doctor today for her 9 month check up, which we are a little behind because she's actually 9 1/2 months old, but she turned 9 months the week before Christmas, so things were busy then. She did very well; such a happy baby. She got one shot today, and was actually drinking her bottle when they came in to give her the shot, and she didn't cry as much as she has in the past with the shot and I gave her back the bottle just as soon as it was over and she was fine.

weight: 20.6 lbs. (60%)

height: 29 1/2 inches (95%)

She is right where she should be with her development even advanced on some things. Also, her ears and chest were clear from being sick. So hopefully, she won't have to return until March for her 1 year visit. Hard to believe I'm saying that!

THE BIG NEWS OF THE NIGHT.....Madalyn took her first 2 steps! After this picture was taken she turned around and let go of the couch and took 2 steps to the toy on the floor and then sat down to play with it. Oh my goodness! She's growing up too fast!

2011

2011-12-31T13:24:00.005-05:00

As this year comes to a close, there are so many things that I could write about. We have encountered so many changes, challenges, tears, and blessings in this year. This has been the fastest year yet! We are looking forward to what a new year will bring. Kevin and I are so thankful for our baby girl and the blessing she has been to us. I hope that you and your family have a BLESSED New Year!

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, so instead of a slide show of pictures to highlight our last year; I have two pictures that sum up how my life has changed; how our family has changed this year.

This was ME (and Madalyn) at the beginning of 2011....

AND this is ME and Madalyn at the end of 2011...

Red Velvet Cupcakes

2011-12-30T09:53:00.005-05:00

Kevin loves Red Velvet Cake, so just as a special treat for him, I made him some Red Velvet Cupcakes.

My cupcakes are cooling...

Cream Cheese Frosting with a sprinkle of pecans on top.

Now for the final touch, a pecan on top. The end result....Delicious!

Sick Baby Girl

2011-12-28T12:37:00.007-05:00

Last Thursday Madalyn woke up with a terrible cough. She continued to get worse with her coughing, running nose, and her chest rattling; which was causing her to have trouble breathing. I called the doctor on Friday and on Sunday. We did what we were told to....run the humidifier, suck out her nose, saltine drops, even ran white vinegar in her humidifier. She only got worse and worse. She never ran a fever, or was very fussy, and she was eating and drinking her bottles. Monday night at Christmas with Kevin's family, she was content to sit with either Kevin or me for like 4 hours, so we knew she was sick and didn't feel good, but the earliest we could get her to the doctor was yesterday morning.

Her results....both ears are infected and they gave her a breathing treatment in the office. Her oxygen level was 95 and they want it to stay between 95 and 100. After the treatment (which was a screaming, crying fit with me trying to hold her and give her the treatment all by myself) her oxygen level went up to 97. So she's on an antibiotic and we have to give her a breathing treatment every 4 hours for the next few days. This is the first time she has been sick. So I guess she's been lucky to be 9 months old and make it this far without being sick except for her hives. However, she is such a trooper and you wouldn't know she was sick looking at these pictures. I took these last night and as you can see she is feeling better.

Madalyn's 1st Christmas

2011-12-26T22:26:00.013-05:00

This was Madalyn's 1st Christmas and she had a busy one. It all began two Saturdays ago, Dec.17th at lunch with Christmas at Grandma Thelma's house. (Kevin's mom's side of the family). Monday, Dec.19th we had Christmas dinner at Grandma Kitty's cook house (Kevin's dad's side of the family). Thursday at lunch we headed to Greer. Unfortunately Madalyn woke up with a bad cold. She was coughing, congested, hard for her to breath, etc. She has only gotten worse and will be going to the doctor tomorrow. Despite her feeling horrible, she has been a trooper through all this. She has been around the world for her Christmas sick, and has done very good. Friday at lunch we met my friend Lindsey, her husband, and her little boy, Mason and had Christmas with them. Friday night we headed to Anderson and had Christmas with my dad's side of the family. Saturday at lunch we had Christmas with my mom's side of the family. Sunday we had Christmas with Nana and Grand Dad at my parent's house. Then at lunch more of my family came over. Monday, today, we headed home this morning and after we got the car unloaded we did Santa and Christmas with our little family. Then, tonight we went to Kevin's mom and dad's for Christmas with all my nieces, nephews, etc. So, Madalyn began her Christmas over a week ago and ended up with 9 Christmas...gifts exchanged at 8 of them. WOW! Such a big Christmas for a little girl. Madalyn's favorite part was the bows and tissue paper.

Madalyn's gifts from both Grandma Christmas with Kevin's family.

This is so much fun!

What do you have baby girl?

Emily, Jill, Madalyn, and Papa-his grands!

Madalyn's gifts from my family.

Getting ready for our first Christmas as a family of 3. (or 4 if you count Abby)

Kevin is reading Madalyn her card he got for her.

Madalyn's gifts from us and Santa. (Meme and Pop helped Santa with the car)

Madalyn's gifts from Kevin's family.

This was Madalyn's favorite gift of the day. She loves this car!

Madalyn 9 Months Old

2011-12-21T10:15:00.013-05:00

Madalyn is 9 months old today! I can't believe that in just three short months she will be a year old. It's funny, last Christmas we were all wondering what she would be like, look like, etc. and this Christmas we have her to love and enjoy. I have enjoyed my time off from school this week. It's so nice to wake up in the morning to my smiley girl and have the day with her. There's not a whole lot to report that is different from her 8th month report. She will go to the doctor the first of the year for her 9 month check up. The one thing I have really notice lately is how much she loves music and to dance. But she did that in my tummy, whenever she would hear music she would start moving around. Any time she hears music from the TV, radio, or just your cell phone ringing, she will smile, and start moving and clapping. And the funny thing is she will clap when the song is done or during the song like they are doing a good job.

I love this picture! However, I wish the leaf could be deleted! Ha, Ha!

If you look close you will notice a bow in her hair. Yes, we finally have enough hair to hold a bow!

This is my favorite one from this series!

Happy Girl

2011-12-17T20:25:00.008-05:00

Last night I was waiting for Kevin to finish getting Madalyn's water ready for her bath. So Madalyn and I were looking in the mirror and she crawled into the sink.

She thought this was so much fun to sit in the sink and see herself.

She is all smiles in the morning. She is waiting on her breakfast.

Our Sweet Baby Girl

1st Christmas Gift

2011-12-17T20:19:00.003-05:00

Madalyn gave me my first gift last weekend. Her Meme and her had been hard at work doing some "Arts and Crafts" the other day and this was what they created. How special of a gift this was!

Natalie Grant - I Believe

2011-12-15T21:37:00.000-05:00

Christmas Card 2011

2011-12-15T21:07:00.005-05:00

I just L * O * V * E our Christmas card this year!

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

Christmas Pics 2011

2011-12-13T21:09:00.008-05:00

My sister-in-law, Tori, took these pictures. I asked her to take them with her camera. She has a camera that goes "click, click, click", and I don't. To get a good picture of Madalyn now, you have to have a fast camera, because she is on the move. I thought she did a wonderful job! Mrs. Katie made Abby's bows and made her pretty for the picture. I think these were some of the best pictures we have had taken lately of all of us. (Oh, and we made the pictures at Mrs. Katie's house around the barn and field.)

Ok, this was the first picture that was taken that day. Now, how good is this, baby, dog, everyone smiling and looking at the camera.

This was the family picture on our Christmas card this year.

Our first familyof 3 Christmas!

I love any pictures I get of her clapping her hands together.

Just in case you are wondering, she is standing up by herself, but I am very close by.

Madalyn Meets Santa

2011-12-08T20:44:00.013-05:00

Thanksgiving when we went to Greer, Madalyn got to meet Santa for the first time. He is a patient of the doctor that my mom works for. His job is to 'be' Santa. He volunteered his time and came to the doctor's house for kids in her neighborhood and kids at my mom's work to come and get their picture made with Santa. Madalyn did very well, she didn't cry and went right to him. There was once during the middle of her photo session that her face got crinkly but she didn't shed a tear. I was very proud of her. And I personally think we got some great pictures. Here are a few from our day with Jolly Ole' Saint Nick.

Madalyn meets Santa for the first time....

Madalyn and her first picture with Santa.

Now we are getting some smiles!

In such awe of this large man in a red suit with a white beard.

Santa and Madalyn are having a very in depth conversation about patty-cake.

Tadaaa....Here I am in all my cuteness....Gotta love me!

I had to post this picture. (Madalyn kept turning around and touching the flowers. I believe her face is saying "I'm not touching it...")

New Party Ideas

2011-12-07T20:56:00.005-05:00

I googled "hot chocolate cupcakes' -next week in school we are having a "Polar Express Party". We are studying the book and on Thursday we will wear our PJ's, watch the movie, and drink hot chocolate. I was just curious to see what kind of goodies I could find to go along with our hot chocolate and I found these cupcakes. Then I clicked on the website where they were from and "WOW!" What a great website with lots of party ideas, food ideas, party decorations, party favors, etc. If you love creating things you gotta check this website out. Catch My Party. The other great thing is that it tells you step by step how to create each item you find.

Hot Chocolate Cupcakes-Aren't they cute? Below is the link for the directions on how to make these.

http://blog.catchmyparty.com/2010/12/08/tips-from-a-catch-my-party-member-peppermint-hot-chocolate-cupcakes/

World's Smallest Christmas Carolers

2011-12-05T18:02:00.003-05:00

My niece Lily Kate was chosen as one of the "World's Smallest Christmas Carolers" for the radio station 88.3 WAFJ. Click on this website, find her name, and click on her picture to hear her sing 'Deck the Halls". http://www.wafj.com/headline/worlds-smallest-christmas-carolers

These Days

2011-11-30T19:57:00.006-05:00

These days my baby is changing so fast and every day and week she is doing something new. She is getting in so many teeth. Right now she has 4 top teeth and 2 bottom teeth and another bottom tooth is on the way. She is pulling up and letting go and she can walk along the couch holding on. She is a pretty fast crawler now and it keeping up with her cousin Hunter. Where ever he goes she is close at his heels. We have started her on meats now, and she doesn't like chicken. It's actually pretty funny to watch her face when you fed it to her. I have to mix it with a fruit or a vegetable to get her to eat it. She is talking more; saying "dadadada"," hey"," yea", and last week when I was home for Thanksgiving, no lie, she looked at me and said "I love you". It wasn't as plain as you and I would say, but I have two witnesses her Nana and Grand Dad and they would tell you that she did say that. Which is the most precious thing to my ears to hear my baby girl tell me that; it warms your heart. She is clapping now like all the time; she holds her right hand still and just moves her left hand. She is blowing bubbles and like spitting. When she gets excited about something she moves her arms, legs, and hands really fast, and says "ooooooo". She loves animals, stuffed or real. She really liked my cat Evie at my parent's house and whenever you give her a stuffed animal she just laughs and smiles. She is also ticklish under her arms and will just laugh and laugh. I love to hear her laugh. She is a very happy and content baby. She wakes up happy and unless she gets sleepy or hungry, you don't hear much from her in the way of crying. I am trying to make sure to enjoy every minute of her being little because she is growing too fast and already wants to be on the move.

She is very excited about driving her car. She is saying "ooooo!"

1st Horse Ride

2011-11-27T19:29:00.004-05:00

When Madalyn and I got home today, we looked out the window and saw Pop, Aunt Katelyn, Hunter, and Uncle Ryan riding horses. So, Aunt Katelyn took Madalyn on her first horse ride just a little bit around the back yard. She didn't know what to think about being on the horse.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T16:45:00.010-05:00

We celebrated Thanksgiving as we normally have been able to do: in Greenville at my aunt Ann's house. Madalyn and I came up yesterday morning and Kevin came up yesterday evening. We are so blessed to have such a happy and healthy baby girl. I am so thankful to have her in my life. Kevin and I are also blessed by our families and friends. We hope you all have a blessed day!

Our little turkey

Grand Dad, Madalyn, and Nana

Grand Dad, Nana, Madalyn, Me, and Kevin

Our family

Cousin: Brooke, Madalyn, Emily, and Casey

This Thanksgiving card was started when I was born. Each year a new member of the family comes to Thanksgiving dinner at Ann and Bob's house, they sign the card.

So, continuing with tradition, Madalyn had her name added to the card. If you look closely you will see my name is the first one on the card because I was the first grand baby.

Madalyn 8 Months Old

2011-11-20T13:37:00.011-05:00

I can't believe that my baby girl will be 8 months old tomorrow! It has been a fast 8 months. She has filled our lives with such joy and love we couldn't have begun to imagine having. We are loving every moment we get to spend together. I'm so glad to be feeling better because that was the hardest thing about being sick, staying away from her to try to keep her well.

I kept on taking the hay away, and she kept on putting it in her mouth.

Our little country girl!

I'm Back

2011-11-20T13:24:00.004-05:00

For the past week I have been sick. I started feeling bad last Friday evening. Madalyn woke up that night at 2:00 (we believe that her teeth were bothering her. That's the first time since she was like a month old that she has woken up during the night). I got up with her and I was so nausea feeling that I had to put her back in her crib after an hour of trying to get her back to sleep. Kevin got up with her and she finally went down around 4:00. Then she was back up at 6:00 and I felt even worse. I still had the nausea feeling, a headache, running constantly to the bathroom, you name it, I had it. We said that I had sinus/stomach bug. Saturday night I was running a fever. I went to school Monday, but couldn't make it and was on my way home by 8:00 that morning. Then I shared my germs with Kevin and he came home early from work and was sick with the stomach bug, running a fever. Madalyn had her first sleep over at Meme and Pop's house. Then the rest of the week I have struggled with a cold and I'm not 100% back yet, but I think I'm getting there.

You can't put Madalyn down without her pulling up on something. These were taken last weekend when I was sick.

My happy girl!

Happy Veteran's Day!

2011-11-11T03:46:00.004-05:00

For most of you, you are still cozy and snug in your beds as I am awake at 3:47 and have been awake now going on for two hours. I have tried and tried to go back to sleep, but I just have too many things rolling around in my head. Or it could be the excitement of not having school tomorrow. Tomorrow or today really, is Veterans' Day... which as a kid, it's hard to comprehend what that means; but as an adult you begin to understand. I just wanted to say thank you to all those men and women who have severed or who are still serving for our country. It doesn't matter if you have seen action or not, you still gave of your time (no matter if you volunteered or the if you were made to volunteer) and you still knew the risk you were taking. We, I, could not enjoy the freedoms that I have if it wasn't for you. Thank you!

For the Veteran's in my family:

1. My Dad-served in the National Guard. He spent most of his time in New Jersey, where the winter's are colder than anything we in the South have yet to experience.

2. My Papa-served in the Army during WWII. He was the first wave to hit Normandy and ended up being a medic and following General Patton around. He has seen and experienced things that none of us could begin to imagine.

3. My Papa Pick-served in the Army during WWII also.

4. My Uncle Bobby-served in the Army during the Korea War.

5. My Uncle Dan-served in Germany.

6. My childhood best friend, Rhett-served in the Army and spent most of his time around here with the Cost Guard.

7. My best friend from college, Noelle, her husband Dee, is still serving in the Army Reserves and just got back from about a 6 month leave over seas.

81st Birthday for Grandma Thelma

2011-11-06T20:21:00.012-05:00

Today we celebrated Kevin's grandmother, Mrs. Thelma or Grandma Thelma to most, 81st birthday. Mrs. Katie (Kevin's mom) with the help of her sister Wanda, planned a surprise birthday party for her today. (Tomorrow is her actual birthday). And if you can't tell from this picture she was very surprised and grateful.

She is blessed to be surrounded today by family and friends that love her very much. She has many grands (7 grands) and many more great-grands (10 great-grands).

There was a big blow up slide and jumpy for the little kids and us big kids too had to join in. (Jared and Kayla on the slide)

Hunter in his coon cap. It was a bit windy out.

My precious little one. Love that smile and her expression! She is doing her favorite thing...bouncy, bouncy, bouncy!

4 Generations: Mrs. Katie, Madalyn, Kevin, and Grandma Thelma

4 Generations on the other side: Kevin, Madalyn, Mrs. Kitty, and Mr. Tim

Some of these pictures were taken by me and the others by Brantley. (As you can see the ones that are more professional looking are done by Brantley.)

Play Time

2011-11-06T17:13:00.007-05:00

I have been trying to teach Madalyn how to play Peek-A-Boo and patty cake. With patty cake, she will put both of her hands around mine and try to push my hands together. In these pictures we are playing, "Where did Madalyn go?" There she is! She just smiles and laughs!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-30T21:22:00.013-04:00

Last weekend Madalyn was 7 months old. Here is what she is up to:

-a very busy little bee. She doesn't sit still, do not expect to put her in one spot and she will stay there.

-if there is something that she wants and it doesn't matter where in the room it is, she can get to it.

-she has started pulling up; she did it 3 times last week at Mrs. Katie's but Kevin and I haven't seen it yet.

-she has become very vocal and to Kevin's delight is saying "dada" over and over.

-she is a wiggle worm when it comes to changing her now; in fact she has been moved to the floor this weekend after she almost took a nose dive off the changing table with me. Thankfully I caught her before the rest of her body went over. Scared me!

*OH, and Thursday evening I got the report back from Madalyn's allergy testing and everything she was tested for came back negative. So the doctor said that she was going back with what she thought before it was viral hives. However, Mrs. Katie gave Madalyn squash on Friday since we had gotten the ok, and it messed her little system up. She was spitting up a good bit and had an upset tummy. So, even though the test was negative I think we still stay away from squash and pears for now. But Kevin and I were so thankfully the test came back negative, but we will still be keeping a close eye on her when we start her on a new food.

Madalyn celebrated her first Halloween. She really didn't have much of a costume this year. I looked and looked for something but I never found anything that I really liked for her to wear. So she went as a "Diva Farmer". Mrs. Katie had a "Halloween/Fall" party this evening. There were lots of people there and the kids wore their costumes. We had hot dogs, chips, dessert, and the kids rode on a hay ride and got to trick or treat. It was too cold outside for Madalyn so we skipped the hay ride this year, but it was a nice time. However, when we left the bigger kids were continuing to dive into their candy and you could tell the sugar was kicking in.

My Diva Farmer with her John Deere shirt, zipper boots, pink overalls (which were mine), and her horse.

Madalyn and her pumpkin she got at Grandad's Apples last weekend.

I carved the pumpkin and I thought it turned out good. Just in case you can't tell, it's a cat.

Pop and Madalyn (Pop was a bull rider for Halloween)

The younger kids made a Halloween gingerbread house.

Spiderman (Geoffery), Red Power Ranger (Kayla), Miss America (Lily Kate)

Our finished house.

Hunter and Kevin. Isn't he the cutest little monkey! He had a booboo over his eye; so we said he was one of the monkey's that were jumping on the bed and fell off and bumped his head. (I'm not really sure how he got his booboo.)

Cow Train Ride

2011-10-22T22:17:00.000-04:00

Madalyn and I riding on the Cow Train at Grandad's Apples.

Pumpkins, Apples, and Mountains Oh My!

2011-10-22T21:07:00.014-04:00

Today Kevin, Madalyn, and my parents and I rode up to Hendersonville, NC to Grandad's Apples. The weather was perfect; a little breezy, but it was a nice day. We rode up after lunch so the weather would be warmer. We had a wonderful day in the mountains.

This is the biggest apple I have ever seen! It was almost as big as Madalyn's head!

They had two animals there to feed.

Our first trip to the pumpkin patch!

Madalyn got to bring home her first pumpkin!

We had to get a picture of Madalyn and her Grandad with Grandad's tractor.

Grandad, Madalyn, and Nana

Then we ate dinner with this view; over looking Lake Laure. We ate at Larkin's on the Lake. Here's the funny thing, it's owned by the same people who have Larkin's on the River, downtown Greenville; which is where we had our rehearsal dinner!

Happy Sunday!

2011-10-16T15:58:00.007-04:00

Madalyn wore her Halloween dress to church this morning. I decided since it was getting close for her to get some use out of it she should go ahead and wear it. I found the dress at a big consignment sell in Greenville back in September or August sometime. The pumpkin in the picture was my "pumpkin man" from when I was a little girl. My mom bought it to Madalyn last weekend at the beach and she has had a great time playing with it.

I'm a Big Girl!

2011-10-15T19:46:00.008-04:00

Madalyn sat in her highchair for the first time today to eat her lunch and then again to eat her dinner. I think she enjoyed it. She was able to look outside while she ate and was up high so she could see more in the house that was going on.

We went to the allergist on Wednesday and spent about 2 hours there. We really liked our doctor. He said that Madalyn was having food allergies and for us to test her. So Friday, she went to her regular doctor and had blood drawn. She will be tested for like 20 different foods and about 10 other indoor/outdoor allergies. She has only had a reaction so far to squash and pears by breaking out in hives. They said that even if she tests positive for some foods, that it doesn't mean she will have a reaction if she eats that food, just that she has a higher chance that she might have a reaction if she does. The allergist said that the only way to know if she will have a reaction is to give her the food and see. We now have an epipen that we carry with us everywhere (which is a scary thing). He did say that most people grow out of food allergies by the time they are around 2 or 3 years old. However, peanut and shrimp allergies they don't out grow and cause the most severe reactions. The doctor also said that if we take away a food, that at her age the right nutrition is very important and we will have to replace what is missing. He will send us to a nutritionist if needed. It will be about a week or so before we learn the results of the test. So, I'll give an update on that when we know something, but until then we are just sticking with foods that she hasn't had a reaction to yet: green beans, sweet peas, sweet potatoes, carrots, apples, peaches, and rice cereal. We do have to avoid for now the squash and pears.

Africa

2011-10-09T21:05:00.004-04:00

Mr. Tim (Kevin's dad) got back today from Africa about 2:00 this afternoon. We went over to see him this evening. He has experienced many things that none of us have experienced before or might never well. He's main mission was to pass out Bibles while he was there. He said that 67% of the nation of Zambia was 18 years old or under. The generation before them had died due to AIDS. He went to schools every day. The students wear uniforms and if you can't afford to buy a uniform you don't get to go to school. The school also isn't larger enough to hold all the students for an entire day. So half of the students go in the morning til lunch then another group comes in from lunch to about 4:00. The lunch that students are fed is popcorn. He said they eat a lot of popcorn, I guess because it's cheap and filling. He said that each day they went to a school twice to see the two groups of children and it would be any where from 500-800 students twice a day and each child got a Bible. He said that out of all of those children they saw only one boy refused to take a Bible. He was able to share the Gospel pretty much every where he went. He and the other Gideons have planted so many seeds of faith. He also had some opportunities to preach while there and visit with the head of the Zambia police force for the nation to pass out Bibles to his crew. He said that at one school they were mobbed twice by the students there because they wanted the Bibles so badly. A funny thing I think, he said he was the only American Gideon to have to have an interrupter because they couldn't understand him. He was also the only Gideon from the South. (doesn't say too much about us and the way we speak, but I thought that was funny). He said when he would start to talk that the children would cover their mouths to keep from laughing and held it in until he left the classroom. Then he could hear the whole room laugh out. We are thankful that Mr. Tim listened to God's call for him to go Africa and we are thankful for how God was able to use Him and we are thankful that he is back home safe. There were some threats that came up while he was there, but God protected him and the other Gideons.

This is the wooden giraffe that Mr. Tim brought back to Madalyn from Africa.

Tim & Amanda's Wedding

2011-10-09T15:23:00.034-04:00

This weekend we headed to Beaufort,SC for my cousin Tim's wedding on Fripp Island. My parents, Papa, my uncle Keith, Felicia, and Emily,and Kevin, Madalyn and I all went to the wedding. The wedding was Saturday, Oct.8th at 5;30pm. Tim and Amanda got engaged one year ago on the beach Oct.8th. Amanda grew up going to the beach in this area all her life and wanted to marry here. The original plan was to marry on the beach at sunset but due to the weather: wind and potential rain, the ceremony was moved to the grass. Thankfully the ceremony and pictures ended just as the rain came. It was a very nice and sweet ceremony and we had a great time. We wish Tim and Amanda all the best and congratulations!

The Groom and his Groommens

The bridemaids and flower girl.

Her step brother walked her half way and her dad walked her the rest of the way down.

Mr. and Mrs. Tim Boothe

My uncle Dan, Amanda, Tim, and my aunt Susan

The lovely Bride

Going to get beach pics made before the rain. (They may not be the best quality I had to zoom in a long ways.)

Dan and Susan

The couples first dance as husband and wife.

The cake and cupcakes; they were delicious!

Tim, Amanda, Me, Madalyn, and Kevin

Me, Madalyn, and Kevin our first wedding as a family of 3. The last wedding we went to I was still pregnant with Madalyn.

Papa and Madalyn enjoying themselves.

Madalyn was such a good baby through all of this; however it wore her out. Taking a nap in Nana's arms.

Madalyn's Hives Return

2011-10-05T17:54:00.007-04:00

When I was leaving school this afternoon, I had a message from Mrs. Katie to call her. This afternoon Madalyn broke out in hives again, but far worse than the time before. She said she was hot to touch, was running a small fever, and looked like she had been painted red. You can see little bumps all over her body and feel them too. She called the doctor and they said to give her benadryl and our doctor decided to go ahead and make a referral for an allergist. One thing that I did notice was that Madalyn started pears on Saturday and Sunday she was broken out. She had not had pears since Sunday and had them at lunch today. So I don't know if there's a connection with the pears, but no more pears for her for awhile. They also said that this wasn't a reaction to her shots she had on Monday. So hopefully, we will get some answers soon with the allergist.

LIFE

2011-10-04T22:12:00.004-04:00

Life is....

PRecious......Short.....SWEET.....Unpredictable....WondERful......SAD......Happy.....ETC.

We are so blessed beyond our wildest dreams to have all that we have. We are blessed to have a healthy, loving, family. Every day we need to cherish our time with our loved ones, we never know when God will call us home. So much sickness and sadness around, it's very easy to get depressed with all that is going on in the world. It's harder to have faith in God and remind our self and believe that He is in control, but He is. I'm so thankful He is, what a comfort that is. Take time every day to be thankful for what you have. As the old saying goes "True Happiness is wanting what you have; not wanting what you don't have." Each sun rise is a new beginning and a chance to start over and make that day right. Each sun set is a reminder of the blessing that we had to have been alive for that day.

Current Prayer Requests:
Prayer Request: A fifth grader a my school is waiting on a heart transplant. She's been waiting for about 3 weeks now. Pray that one comes soon and her body will accept the heart.

Prayer Request: My father-in-law is in Africa for the week. He will start His journey home Saturday and will be home Sunday. He said that he wanted to see God do a miracle while He was in Africa.

Prayer Request: Some big things are happening in my school district and it's got everything in turmoil; pray for guidance, wisdom, clarity, and peace.

6 Month Check Up

2011-10-03T19:37:00.011-04:00

Last week, Madalyn had her 6 month check up for her hips. The doctor said that everything looked good and she didn't have to come back unless we had problems. Today, she had her regular 6 month check up. Here are her results:

-27 3/4 inches long (95%)
-17.4 pounds (75%)
-15 inches head (50%)

-She got two shots and an oral vaccine today. She didn't like the first shot and really didn't like the last one. (The nurse said that the last one the medicine burned).

-We were told to get ready to baby proof our house; that she will be moving soon!

-She can up her intake of solid foods and move to stage 2. She is also to start going to a sippy cup instead of a bottle.

Yesterday at Hunter's party I noticed that she had broken out again on her back and stomach. The doctor said that this was eczema this time instead of hives. So she gave us some lotion to try and see if we can get it cleared up. If not, then she will have to see an allergist. She got a good report today and we are so thankful for a healthy and happy baby. She goes back in January for her 9 month check up. My baby girl is growing up too fast!

You can see her pink camo band aid. She has one on each leg. Poor baby!

Hunter's 1st Birthday Party

2011-10-02T20:22:00.013-04:00

Hunter turned 1 years old on Thursday, September 29th. His birthday party was this afternoon at his Meme's house. It was a nice day for a party.

I think these cakes are too cute!

He enjoyed his cake!

This was his favorite toy of the day. Happy Birthday Hunter! We love you!

Madalyn Trying to Crawl

2011-10-02T20:20:00.000-04:00

This may not be the most entertaining video but it will show you how Madalyn is trying to crawl.

Saturday

2011-10-02T17:15:00.009-04:00

We have a happy baby in the mornings-what a great way to spend our Saturday!

She's all ready for the big game! I actually got to take a nap and when I woke up Madalyn had on her jersey and so did Abby. I didn't get Abby's picture.

More 6 month Pics

2011-09-29T20:48:00.016-04:00

Here are some more pictures that Brantley took of Madalyn for her 6 month pictures and our family house divided pictures.

How precious is that smile!

Love my baby girl in her yellow dress.

Looks like brown hair here! :0)

This rattle sure tastes good!

Caught in the middle!

Madalyn's Dedication

2011-09-25T12:31:00.026-04:00

This morning we had Madalyn dedicated. My parents came down along with Papa. Mrs. Katie and Mr. Tim were there with Grandma Kitty, Chuck, Grandma Thelma, Heather, Michael, Kayla, and Geoffery. Madalyn did very well in church. Rev. Lee Clamp did the dedication. She did kick her feet so much that she kicked one of her shoes off when we were standing up there and she did grab the microphone but didn't make a sound. After her dedication I did take her down to the nursery just because I knew she wouldn't sit much longer being patient plus it's hard to focus on the preacher when you have to focus on her. (Sorry there's so much space between the words and pictures; I can't for anything figure out how to fix it.)

Getting ready to go to church; a few quick pics before.

Madalyn with her mom and dad; Meme and Pop; and Grand Dad and Nana

Madalyn with her Great Grands-Papa, Grandma Kitty, Grandma Thelma

Madalyn with Aunt Heather, Uncle Michael, and cousins Geoffery, Kayla, and Chuck

Rev. Lee Clamp -The first picture I think she has both shoes on, but I can't say that about the last two. :0)

Madalyn's special bib for today and her Bible that Lee gave her.

6 Month Update

2011-09-25T12:08:00.008-04:00

Here is what Madalyn is up to these days:
-She has two teeth that came through on the bottom. She has two teeth on the top that are beginning to come through.
-She is loving to eat her veggies and fruit
-She is getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth.
-She is smiling all the time now. You can forget about getting a smiley picture outside though, there is too much for her to see.
-She is laughing at other people now not just Abby.

Mrs. Katie lets us bring home this Baby Einstein exercise jumper. It's Hunter's, but he's not using it now because he's up walking and climbing on everything. Madalyn loves, to jump. Even when she's not in the jumper, when you hold her she jumps.

Two night this week Madalyn ended up sleeping on her stomach. Most nights this is how she sleeps. Her hands under her head and her legs sprawled out in a frog position. (I don't now how she sleeps this way).

I love her expressions! She is getting very good at sitting up on her own. She can still fall over if she reaches for something way out of her reach.

Sneak Peek at Madalyn's 6 Months Photos

2011-09-18T20:18:00.007-04:00

We went to Columbia this afternoon to have Madalyn's 6 months pictures made. She will be six months old on Wednesday of this week. Hard to believe she is already that old. We did a few pictures in the studio and then went to the Horseshoe downtown Columbia. Brantley took the pictures and I think they turned out great. And yes, I think we now know what color her hair will be and her daddy is so proud! Here's a sneak peek; there will be more to come!

Sunday Morning

2011-09-11T18:42:00.005-04:00

This morning at church we had a guest speaker Dr. Ross. He has had 30 years in ministry and was the co founder of True Love Waits. I will be honest (and I don't mean this against anyone) but this was the first time in awhile that I have heard a preacher that really spoke with such passion for what they were sharing with us. His message this morning was very short and to the point. It was directed at us parents; bottom line "How will your 20 year old view Jesus? When they are ready to go off to college, how will they view him?" He said there were many topics that he could talk to us parents about but the most important was our influence in our child's life on how they would see Jesus. He said that God's design was for the mom and dad to have the biggest influence on their child and it's our job (yes the community and family help us) to make sure our child knows Jesus. He said that so many of us keep like a little Jesus in our back pocket and pull Him out when we need something. We need to realize that the Jesus we serve is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, He is the only One, the One who created the universe and us. We need to realize that He is a Great and Mighty God. He doesn't just sit and wait for our wish list each day. Yet, He loved us so much He died for us. He wants us to praise Him for the wonderful, amazing, forgiving, gracious, all powerful God that He is. Dr. Ross said this was the Jesus that our children needed to see in us and for us to teach them this Jesus because that is who He is. This message really struck me this morning. How many times am I guilty of focusing only on what I need from Him, or what I need Him to do to help others, instead of praising Him for all He is. How many times am I guilty of being too lazy to pray that way? Countless....I fall short, yet He continues to bless me...why I wonder? Madalyn is a blessing from God; a true joy. He has entrusted us to raise her with the knowledge of Him and to one day become a child of His. When we were trying to get pregnant; I was praying to get pregnant and I was praying for my child to be. I told God that this child He would bless us with would belong to Him and He would use this child to bring glory to Him. We are all His children if we have declared that His son Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose in 3 days. If we have asked Him into our heart and believe He is the one true God and the only way to salvation. Kevin and I pray that one day we will be able to rejoice in Madalyn's decision to follow Jesus and to be saved. Who wouldn't want that for their child? For them to know the one that made them and that loves them even more than we do. I challenge you as I am challenging myself to be in awe and respect yet to know intimately the creator of the universe, the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings, the One who has always been and who will always be. Have that feeling of how great and worthy He is of our praise yet we are not worthy of Him, but He loves us just as we are. If you have children or are around children, pray for them to see that Jesus in you. Not just a Jesus that we bring out when we need our wish list met and then put away again until something else bad happens.

Sweet Moments

2011-09-06T22:48:00.004-04:00

I picked Madalyn up this evening from her MeMe's house and we had some time together before Kevin came home. The last two chicken houses went out last night so he's got a busy week ahead of him cleaning out the houses and some late nights. Madalyn was in her walker and I was sitting in the chair and had the TV on. I was looking at the TV and then looked over at her and she was just smiling at me. My heart just melted; it almost brought me to tears thinking about how blessed I am to have this sweet baby girl in my life. Her smile can brighten any day and I look forward to her waking up in the morning just to see her smiling and to pick her up in the evenings to spend time with her. There is saying from one of my favorite movie series "The Love Saga" "that when you love someone so much the love just spills over and makes a baby and that babies are a testament to the love that you share with someone". I am so thankful for Kevin and that life that we share together. He is a super dad and loves his little girl (all his girls: his big girl, little girl, and hairy girl (which would be Abby). He works so hard to provide for our family and gives us his all in his work and when he gets home. I can honestly say that we are his world and the center of it. I am so thankful that Madalyn has such a special dad and gets to spend time with him. Kevin has said on many occasions that once 5:00 hits; it's hard for him to work late knowing that he has Madalyn to come home to. We both fall more and more in love with our baby girl each day and within that I find more and more things that I love about Kevin. God has truly blessed our family and we are doing our best to enjoy it to the fullest each day.

Madalyn's Hives

2011-09-04T18:47:00.008-04:00

On Thursday of last week I noticed that Madalyn was broken out on her back, chest, and stomach in a raised rash and big circles. I called the doctor and she said to stop her eating squash that she could be having a reaction to it or it could be a viral rash. So we stopped the squash and kept her off veggies for 3 days. It didn't go away and got worse when she got hot or had her bath. So, this Thursday was a week and she was still broken out. Saturday, my mom and I took her to the doctor and she has a viral rash and was broken out in hives. She has had a cold for awhile now and the doctor said it probably came from that. So we have to give her benadryl for a few days. If it doesn't clear up by the time we go back in a few weeks for her 6 month check up then she will have to see a dermatologist to see what is causing this out break of hives.

Madalyn had so much fun waiting on the doctor. She loved to tear the paper because it made a lot of noise and she could tear it easily. Oh, and she weighed 16.8 pounds!

Madalyn is 5 Months

2011-09-04T18:25:00.008-04:00

Brantley came down on August 29th to take pictures of Hunter getting his first hair cut and got a few pictures made of Madalyn too.

At 5 months Madalyn is....
-squealing with delight and enjoying sitting up and playing with toys (she can't sit up yet by herself but with our support)
-She is rolling over and over when she's in the floor
-She is enjoying eating her veggies
-She is on a routine; she wakes up anywhere from 6 to 6:30 in the morning and goes to bed around 8-8:30

She is such a joy and at the end of the school day I can't wait to get my work done to get home to see her. She is growing and changing so fast.

Cousins sharing a secret.

Hunter 11 months

Madalyn's Walker

2011-08-28T08:10:00.008-04:00

Madalyn is getting to where she likes to sit up and play more so than lay down. She still loves her rain forest, but this week Kevin put her walker together. She has enjoyed sitting in it.

My Classroom

2011-08-23T19:27:00.004-04:00

As promised here are the pictures from my completed classroom. I thought it would be easiest to show you around via slideshow; so enjoy! I am really enjoying being in my room. I am the most pleased I have been with this room. I feel that it's the most organized and clean, etc. and I love my theme this year in all my short little 7 years of teaching.

This free picture slideshow generated with Smilebox

Our First Swimming Lesson

2011-08-23T19:01:00.010-04:00

Sunday, Madalyn was 5 months old. I haven't had a chance yet to get her 5 month picture taken yet, but I will. We decided to go swimming in Meme and Pop's pool for the evening. She loved the pool! She kicked her feet and squealed. We stayed in for about an hour. She's not sitting up by herself yet, so you have to really hold on to her, but she had a great time.

After Madalyn got dried off, she decided to have some time in the swing before going home.

Mr. Mom

2011-08-17T20:39:00.009-04:00

This week, as you know, was my first week back and school. From not working for the past 4 1/2 months, I have been very tired. Leaving the house at 6:30 or earlier each day and getting home around 5:00 has left me wanting to go to bed as soon as I get home. ( Ha Ha!) But Madalyn needs to be feed a bottle and then cereal, dinner needs to be cooked, bottles washed, clothes washed, dishes washed, things prepared for the next day for Madalyn and me, showers and baths to be taken, school work to be done, and finally crawling into bed around 9:30. Kevin has completely taken over for me this week. He is taking Madalyn each morning to his mom's house around 6:30. I have picked her up the past two days but didn't get her today; he finished his work before me so he got her today. He is completely taking care of her while I cook dinner (or sometimes he will help with dinner). He gives her a bath every night and gets her ready for bed while I'm doing school work and preparing myself for the next day. Then he is washing bottles and cleaning the kitchen and washing clothes. The four hours that I have at home before bed time go by in a hurry. I'm trying to spend as much time as I can with Madalyn after being gone all day, but during the school week that is hard to do. But Kevin has been so good to take over. He has become Mr. Mom; and is getting really good at his job. (Including not wanting to waste a diaper because the tape part on one side came off; so he used masking tape to hold it on. And hey, it worked really well.) I really appreciate it; I can't do it all and wouldn't be able to do all that I have to do without his help and keep me from loosing my mind.

Kevin says this is his favorite part of the day; holding his baby girl in his arms.

Changes, Changes, and more Changes

2011-08-13T15:13:00.004-04:00

This past week has been full of changes for our family. It was my first official week back at work and Madalyn's first official week with her Meme and Hunter. We both did very well. However, going from being at home for the past 4 1/2 months to a 50 hr. plus work week has been very tiring. (And just a side note, I only get paid for 35 of those hours) and Madalyn has been very tired from getting up early and watching Hunter and playing with Hunter all day. They get along very well together; which I'm glad. I'm pretty much ready for the week; I'm for sure have everything ready for Monday.

This morning I got up at 5:45 because I heard Madalyn moving around and we didn't have any bottles ready for her. ( I was to tired last night to clean and sterilize them) So I did that, then decided to start on my laundry ( 3 complete loads of washing, drying, folding, and putting away.) Cleaned up our bedroom, washed dishes, and straightened up the den. Kevin was like now what are you going to do the rest of the day? Well, at 7:50 Madalyn and I were on our way to Aiken to the doctor. My doctor's office is open on Saturdays from 9-11 and Sundays for a 2 hour window for sick children only for a first come first serve basis. Last week she had been sneezing some and coughing some and this morning her cough sounded bad. So I thought it was best to go ahead and get it checked out. She has a bad stuffy nose, upper respiratory thing. Her ears and lungs were cleared. I have to use saline drops and then suck the stuff out (she doesn't like this at all!) and things like that. So, thankfully no worse, but glad I checked it out before it did go to her lungs or ears. Then Madalyn had her first veggie for lunch...green beans. She loved them! At first she was like; this isn't cereal....this is yummier than cereal! I first gave her half of the Gerber stage one cup of green beans. She was looking around like, where's the rest? So she ended up eating the whole thing! She weighed 15.2 lbs. She has gain a pound and a half since her last doctor visit. So, that's the scoop on us! I will do my best to get my completed classroom pictures up this week; I haven't had the time to take the pics yet.

Life Is Like A Cup of Coffee - Inspirational Video Movie

2011-08-13T15:12:00.000-04:00

My principal showed us this video this past week. I thought it was a great reminder of what is important in life.

End of Summer Vacation

2011-08-08T14:38:00.014-04:00

Today is the last day of summer vacation; tomorrow I go to school. This week will be teacher work days and the kids come next Monday. The summer has flown by; these past 4 1/2 months have flown by. It was March 21st when I left school and it's already time to begin another school year. I have enjoyed being at home with my baby girl. I am ready though to get out and do something; but I know I will miss her. I really would like to be able to enjoy my job this year, so I pray for a good class of students and parents. The last 2 years have been very hard. There have been many tears, me making myself physically sick because I despise going to school, etc. I feel refreshed though and excited about being in 2nd grade and really want to be able to look forward to school for the most part. There will still be days; we all have those days; but anyway. Another prayer is for balance. I have been told by everyone to leave when it's time to leave school; don't stay and don't bring anything home. This will be my 7th year teaching and I have yet to figure out how to do that, so I hope this year will be different. Here are a few pictures I got this morning of Madalyn. I figured this would be our last morning photo shoot for awhile.

We haven't forgotten about Abby; she just has to share the spotlight now with Madalyn.

Madalyn at 4 1/2 months

2011-08-08T14:06:00.006-04:00

Madalyn is becoming such a big girl. She is sleeping at night in her big girl crib, and developmentally each day and week she is doing something new. But as far as she has come in 4 1/2 short months, I sometimes forget that she is just a baby and is only 4 1/2 months old.

Madalyn taking her morning nap in her crib. (just in case you are wondering, since Madalyn is sleeping in her big crib now and napping in there some, we took away her bumper pads that match her nursery bedding and put up these breathable bumper pads; just to help us rest easier in case she gets next to them.)

Her feet are always up and in her month now.

It won't be long and this girly will be chasing after us when we leave the room.

Still loving her bath time! And just in case you are wondering, we haven't had any more wet socks :0)

Our Weekend

2011-08-02T20:55:00.008-04:00

We have been busy lately. Madalyn is just growing and changing so fast. And it's only going to get busier for us. My mom is here for the week and I'm going to school every day to work and next week I'll go to work for "real". How fast these 4 months have flown by. I left school in March, I can't believe it's August and time to start a new year. Please pray for balance for me. Everyone has told me to leave school when my time is over because Madalyn is more important and she won't be a baby long. Even though I know that and I will do my best, school is like a black hole, you just get sucked into it for the next 9 months with no way out until it's over. Also, pray for a good class and good year. That will make all the difference in the world is for me to have a good class this year.

-She is now eating cereal as you can see from below that it's a messy process and she doesn't like it because it's not as fast as her bottle.

-She is rolling over every time you put her down. No more rain forest time, within like 10 seconds she is flipping over.

-She is also scouting backwards off any blanket that you try to lay her on in the floor. She also puts her legs up and it won't be long and she will be crawling.

-She is also going to be a tiger fan! She will growl at you. It's the funniest thing! No lie, she is growling or like roaring at you. She is doing it all the time.

I had some things to do in Greer this past weekend, like an eye doctor appointment and a bridal shower, so Madalyn and I were able to have a lunch date with my friend Lindsey and Mason. Mason slept through most of the lunch date. I bet he won't the next time we get together. (Mason is 2 months and 3 days younger than Madalyn.)

Wet Socks and a Rubber Duck

2011-07-26T21:16:00.010-04:00

Riddle: What do wet socks and a rubber duck have in common?

Answer:Bath time with Daddy

Tonight I was on the phone with my aunt Ann. She had treatments today for her cancer that has come back; so I was seeing how things went today. Kevin knew I was on the phone and it was time for Madalyn to get her bath; so he took it upon himself to give her a bath. (Now that Madalyn is older and bigger; he feels better about giving her a bath. So I have shown him how to because school is around the corner and I can't always be the one to give her a bath.) I came through the house to find out where Kevin and Madalyn were and what they were up to and was very surprised to find them in the bathroom with Madalyn in the tub. Now you see this picture I have of white wet socks and a rubber ducky. Kevin forgot to take off Madalyn's socks before he put her in the tub. He said that he noticed that Madalyn was picking her legs up an looking at her feet with a funny look on her face. Then he realized that she had her socks still on her feet. I wish I could have of seen this. I have laughed and laughed all evening about this. I wish I knew what Madalyn was thinking. Probably "my mommy doesn't leave these on when she gives me a bath." Oh, me! At least he is trying to be helpful and if the price is a few wet socks, that's okay. They were going to have to be washed anyway.

Blog Title

2011-07-26T21:09:00.004-04:00

You may have noticed that I have been changing my blog title. I wanted something different besides just "The McCormicks" especially now that we are a family of 3 plus a fuzzy family member. I think I have finally decided on our new title and I got it from a picture frame that sits in our den. I got this frame sometime within the past 4 months at the Hallmark store.

4 Month Check Up

2011-07-25T19:34:00.004-04:00

Madalyn went for her 4 month check up this afternoon. She weighed 13.8 pounds. She was 10.4 lbs. her last check up (she is in the 50th percentile for her weight). She was 26 inches long. She was 23 1/4 inches long last check up. (she is in the 90th percentile for her length.) She got a good report. She can start cereal now for the next few weeks then she will get to start her solids. We tried some cereal tonight, but she was so hungry it didn't go over too well. We will try again tomorrow. Madalyn got another oral vaccine today and 2 shots. Her first shot, the nurse hit a vein and she bleed on her outfit and cried and cried. I felt so sorry for her. However, she seems to be her normal, happy self this evening. Kevin went with me and he said that he thinks all the vaccines should be oral; it hurt him to see her get stuck. She goes again in 2 more months for her 6th month check up. She is growing up fast!

Good Morning

2011-07-25T11:16:00.007-04:00

In the morning when I get up; this is the picture that I see. Madalyn has her feet up in the air and she bangs them down on her bed. And then you hear her sucking her fingers. She will do this off and on for like an hour or more. This is how she wakes up.

She is just about to get too big for this bed and will soon be moving to her own room. However, it's on the opposite end of the house to where our room is, so there's a few steps that will have to be made to get to her when she moves there. But I think she will be glad to have a bigger bed. She ends up sideways when she wakes up now. She always wakes up with a smile, but that smile wouldn't show with the light of the camera because she would stop smiling whenever I put the camera back up. Oh well...

Madalyn is also holding her own bottle now! Not all the time, but she can hold it and take it in and out of her mouth. I quit taking a bottle when I was around 9 months old, so I guess she might follow me.

It's funny, my mom gave me my baby book so I'm comparing Madalyn's milestones with my own. And some of the things Madalyn has done is right when I did or at least close to it. The big difference is that Madalyn was 14 days earlier and I was 5 days late so I was an older newborn. The other big difference is that I started off sleeping on my stomach so I was sitting up and crawling early; but now they don't want you to put the baby on their stomach; on their back instead. There are many things that I have done a lot sooner than Madalyn has too as far as milestones but like I was eating cereal at 2 months and had apple juice for the first time at 2 1/2 months. But times were different 30 years ago and things have changed.

My Classroom

2011-07-21T18:55:00.010-04:00

I mentioned on an earlier post that they were remolding our classrooms this summer; they are finally finished (almost) to where we can get in there and start working. So, Madalyn went to stay with Meme (Kevin's mom) and Hunter today while I was at school working. I got to school at 7:45am and left around 4:45pm. I would have of finished today, but there were two shelves that were not screwed back into the wall, so I will have to finish up one morning next week. I was very proud of myself and what I got accomplished today. I did it all by myself too! I will later post pictures of the completed room when it's ready for the kids.

Before....

After...with only one day of work and one person working

Madalyn is 4 Months Old

2011-07-21T17:29:00.025-04:00

My baby girl is 4 months old today! Time has gone by so fast! She will go this Monday to the doctor for her 4 month check up.

Here is what Madalyn is doing now:
-cooing and laughing out loud and squealing with delight
-drooling like crazy ( I think she is in the early stages of teething)
-her hands still go in her month a lot along with her bib or clothes or anything she can get to.
-she can roll over from back to stomach and just this week she rolled over from her stomach to her bad.
-She has very good head control and sits up well with you holding her.
-She wakes up with a smile on her face
-She still really loves her rain forest. You lay her down in one direction and she can make a complete circle.
-She still loves bath time. She can even splash me now with her kicking.
-She is still sleeping good through the night.
-She has been taking 5 oz. of her bottle, but I think she will be excited to start on cereal. That just at times doesn't seem to satisfy her.
-She loves anything that is very colorful or moves
-She is starting to reach for things
-She moves her knees back and forth sometimes when she is on her tummy
-When you are holding her or she is in her bath tub, swing, bouncey seat, or car seat, she tries to sit up.
-When you go in a store, she wants to be out of her car seat and up to where she can see and look around. If she goes to someone's house, she is constantly turning her head and looking around. She is very curious as to what is going on around her.

This was probably the easiest photo session I have had with her so far. However, it's very difficult to make faces and shoot the camera at the same time to get her to laugh. It was hard to choose my favorites.

Charm Bracelet

2011-07-20T22:30:00.005-04:00

For my birthday this year, there really wasn't anything special that I wanted, so I mostly got money, which is always nice! Since Madalyn was born, I have wanted something with her birthstone in it. Today, Madalyn and I went to Aiken for a short outing, and we stopped at one of our favorite gift shops. They sell the Pandora bracelets and beads, but they also sell Davinci bracelets and beads (which look just like the pandora ones, but are so much more afordable). I decided to use some of my birthday money to start this charm bracelet. I thought this will be something fun that I can add to and other's can give me, especially Kevin. He's always wanting to give me something special for Christmas, or my birthday and now, there are so many charms he can choose from.

They have 3 types of bracelets, I chose the one with the lobster claw because I thought it would be more secure. The charms I got today are:

-diamond birthstone for Kevin's April birthday
-ruby birthstone for my July birthday
-aquamarine birthstone for Madalyn's March birthday
-a "faith" bead sepperates Kevin and my birthstone
-a "mother" bead sepperates Madalyn and my birthstone

Then I have a stopper at each end. The stoppers have rubber in them to keep the beads from moving and sliding around. I got all these beads and bracelet for the price of one Pandora bead. Pretty good deal I think! I was very happy with my choice and I have already enjoyed wearing it.

Butterfly

2011-07-18T21:30:00.009-04:00

Sunday, I came home from a weekend in Greer. (Madalyn and I headed to Greer early Friday morning. The idea for leaving at 7:00 am was that she would take her normal 3 hour morning nap. Did she? Of course not...she fell asleep as we left Blackville and woke up somewhere in the middle of hwy 3. I had to feed her in Cayce, 40 minutes earlier than she was suppose to be, but it was either that or stop somewhere on 26 in the middle of nothing. When we got to Greenville it was raining and 67 degrees. Our first stop was for me to go to the teacher store there, which I ended up having to feed her in the store. (The joys of traveling with a baby...they eat and get changed anywhere :0) We got to visit with my friend Lindsey and her baby Mason. Mason and Madalyn were both asleep when Lindsey got to my parent's house. Then Madalyn woke up and it was time to feed her, Mason woke up and he needed his diaper changed, then he decided it was time to eat. So, hopefully, the next time we meet, both will have just been fed and in good moods. Madalyn and I on Saturday went with my parents and Papa to my mom's side of the family reunion at Lake Keowee. Madalyn was the star of the picnic. Kevin didn't get to come with us because he had just spent 2 weekends away from the farm on our lake vacation, so he couldn't be away again that soon. On the way home, Madalyn slept most of the ride; I did have to pull over in Newberry to change her diaper. She slept until then and then went back to sleep and stayed asleep until we got home. I think she was tired after her busy weekend. Which it made it much easier on me, since I was by myself that she did sleep the way home). Anyway, while we were unloading my car, I saw these butterflies flying around my lantana at the back porch. After the car was unloaded, I found my camera and got a few pictures of one of the butterflies.

Madalyn Squeal.mpg

2011-07-14T09:46:00.000-04:00

Along with Madalyn cooing, Tuesday I put her in her crib for a minute after a diaper change and I heard her squealing. I grabbed the camera and got a short video.

Madalyn Cooing.mpg

2011-07-14T09:44:00.000-04:00

Madalyn really started cooing last week. On Tuesday, I was able to get a video of her "talking".

Madalyn at 3 months

2011-07-10T23:24:00.011-04:00

Madalyn is growing up fast! This past week she has filled out more and really has started cooing all the time now. She has developed such expressions and reactions that have the perfect timing. She was the entertainment on our family vacation. Here are some highlights of the photo session that Brantley did.

Our Lake Vacation

2011-07-10T22:50:00.012-04:00

This past week we were on our family vacation at Lake Hartwell. We had a pretty busy week; I have already blogged about some of our week so here's the rest. Thursday, we had some more family come down, Papa, my great aunt Ann and my great uncle Bobby. Papa spent the night and Friday, my uncle Keith, Felicia, and Emily came down. Then Saturday, my best friend from college, Noelle, came down with her little girl, Elizabeth and they stayed the night Saturday. We had a wonderful week full of family, fun, water, sun, a mini day trip, a decade birthday to celebrate, and precious memories of our first family vacation with Madalyn. Madalyn did so well for her first vacation. She slept well at night and did well during the day. She stayed at the house all the time; my mom kept her in the house;because Madalyn was way too little to go to the lake and get in the water and be out in the sun. It was a nice week; it was hard to come back home; but Abby was so glad to see us!

Papa and Madalyn; love how she is looking at him!

Madalyn and Grand Dad; looks like she's ready to ski!

Madalyn and Elizabeth (4 yrs.) watching a Barbie Fairy movie

Happy 30th Birthday to Me!

2011-07-06T22:43:00.009-04:00

Today was my 30th birthday. Kevin had asked me what I wanted for my birthday and my answer was to go to the lake and eat at The Galley Restaurant in Anderson at Port Shoals Marina; and that's what he gave me. I had a nice day and got to spend it just like I wanted to. I am very blessed to have a loving husband, a sweet and healthy baby girl, and a wonderful family and great friends. I couldn't ask for anything more!

An Afternoon in Helen,GA

2011-07-05T22:58:00.017-04:00

This morning it was overcast and cool; so we decided to go do something instead of being around the lake for the day. We decided to go to Helen, Georgia. My parents and I had been before, but Kevin had not. It is about an hour ride to Helen from our place. On our way, we took a detour through Toccoa and followed the signs to the Toccoa Falls. The falls actually sit in the middle of Toccoa Falls College. It's a Christian college and back in 1977, the college was flooded during the night and many people were killed. They have rebuilt it; it seemed to be a nice place. It reminded me of North Greenville, but the campus was more spread out. The falls are 186 feet tall.

Then we continued our our journey to Helen. Helen has a section of the town that is set up like a small German village; similar to Gatlinburg, TN but on a little bit smaller scale. It's a very pretty mountain town.

Kevin and I were going to ride a tube down the river, but a storm came up just about 5 minutes after we got there; so that got postponed to another day. We waited the storm out in the car. Madalyn was happy to be out of her car seat.

The storm did finally pass and we were able to get out and walk around. The rain continued to drizzle on for about another hour, but then the sun came out. However, due to the storm it was a very pleasant afternoon, not hot at all.

We got an afternoon treat of an ice cream and in this ice cream place, all the chairs had different pairs of kids shoes on the bottom. I guess like using tennis balls to not scratch the floors.

There is a park that sits up on a hill and over looks the town. Madalyn was very interested in the kids that were playing in the park.

Madalyn's first ride on a horse.

We left at 12:30 and returned home at 9:00 that night. Madalyn was so good. The only time she wasn't happy was when it was time for her to eat and we couldn't get the bottle to her fast enough, but other than that, she rode in her stroller and took some naps and just looked around. She was very amazed with all the sights and sounds that surrounded her today. This was her first big outing and she did great!

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-04T18:01:00.009-04:00

Happy 4th of July, from the lake. Saturday at 5:00pm, Kevin, Madalyn, and I left for our family vacation for a week at Lake Hartwell. It was 9:00 pm when we finally pulled into the driveway. Its about a 3 hour drive normally, but we had to stop to fed Madalyn and ourselves on the way; and one dirty diaper stop. We are staying at my parent's lake house. My aunt Susan and uncle Dan came down Sunday and stayed the night. It's a family tradition that we spend the 4th at the lake, but normally we don't get to stay a week. Kevin is so excited to get to spend a week at the lake. We will have some more family come down this week, on Wednesday I will celebrate my 30th birthday! Then next weekend, my best friend from college, Noelle, is coming down with her little girl Elizabeth who is 4. I will have more posts to come as our week at the lake continues. Happy 4th America!

Who are all these smiles for? Her daddy of course!

Watching Sesame Street

2011-07-02T22:39:00.002-04:00

Madalyn has started watching TV some. She started watching it with Kevin during the college world series for baseball. She will watch Sesame Street, and Barney. She will watch for about 30 minutes. She doesn't watch TV every day, but as you can see she is really into it.

Sunset

2011-07-02T22:25:00.006-04:00

One night last week when we were on one of our stroller walks, we had this gorgeous sunset to enjoy. The colors were so vivid!

Back 2 Back

2011-06-30T07:45:00.004-04:00

Well, once again, Kevin is smiling and running to get the State paper first thing in the morning. Anyone who knows Kevin knows he's a big Carolina Gamecock fan. However, Kevin has 2 sports that he cares about football and baseball and he only cares about the Gamecocks. I am so thankful that Kevin's not a big crazy sports fan like some men are that I know, meaning he doesn't have to watch it all the time and he only watches games when the Gamecocks are playing. Over the past week and a half Kevin's been the last one to go to bed for a change. He's had to be careful not to yell in the result of awaking Madalyn; so that's been a challenge. He was very excited that the Gamecocks won the national championship again; however he said that it wasn't as exciting this year as it was like year. He said the reason was because they won last year, so it wasn't as big of a deal and he was now use to winning. He also said it was because he knew by the 3rd inning that they had won so it wasn't a dramatic finish like the Monday night game. However, going to Aiken last night to look for a microwave, he made me drive because last year the day after they won, he got pulled so he didn't want to risk it. The really funny thing is that it cost us the same for a microwave as it did for his speeding ticket last year. So he said that he could afford that price each year if it meant the Gamecocks won each year.

Lightning Struck!

2011-06-29T12:33:00.011-04:00

Yesterday afternoon, we had a horrible thunderstorm hit us. We needed the rain very badly, but all the thunder and lightning, especially the lightning, we could do without. About 2:30 yesterday, I started to hear the rumble of thunder and I checked outside and it looked dark over town, and I wondered if we would get it. I checked the weather and it said only 50% chance, but the radar showed that it was coming our way. In the next 30 minutes it started raining, thundering, and lightning. The lightning was popping like crazy. I was sitting in the floor with Madalyn and Abby, trying to stay away from the windows. (I'm not crazy about storms in the first place, and I have great respect for lightning.) Madalyn started to get fussy and I got up to change her diaper. Before I could get to her room, this flash of orange lit up my house and then there was the loudest pop of lightning I have ever heard. I screamed and ran into my bedroom. I sat on the floor in between our bed and the wall, the only place in our house besides the closest that doesn't have windows. Madalyn was crying, I was crying, Abby was sitting in between my legs, and she was shaking. We were all scared to death. I kept on petting Abby saying, it's ok Abby, it's ok; praying that it would be. The lightning continued to pop and just wicked stuff. This lasted for 1 solid hour. Then it was another hour before the thunder and lightning finally went away completely. We found out that the lightning got our microwave-so off to Lowe's or Home Depot tonight to look for a new microwave. It got Madalyn's swing-didn't think to unplug that during the storm. We are going to see if it will work with just batteries, but I have my doubts. And my alarm clock is gone. I got it when I was a Senior in high school or just going into college, but that's no big deal. And the alarm clock in our guest bedroom is gone; again no big deal. And thankfully nothing worse than that. We just hope over the next few days or weeks that nothing else goes out. Kevin called our insurance man this morning to let him know what happened. I tell you, I have never experienced something like that before, so thankfully all 3 of us are safe, and I hope not to go through that again, I was so scared. Thankfully too, the house didn't catch on fire or a tree fall on the house, that was my other worry during the storm, me having to get all of us out of the house and safely with the lightning still going on. God kept us safe; praise Him!

Nap Time

2011-06-23T17:31:00.004-04:00

This afternoon, my mom changed Madalyn's diaper, and then put her in her crib while she was doing something and the next thing she knew, Madalyn had turned over on her side and went to sleep. This is the first time Madalyn has taken a nap or slept in her crib. She's growing up fast and becoming a big girl!

Pictures Take Two

2011-06-23T17:10:00.014-04:00

Since Madalyn didn't want her picture made yesterday at Heather's, I decided that I would go back over there and try to get some pictures on my own. I got a little bit better results with her smiling a little more. And I was able to change her outfit (which I was going to do yesterday but she showed us she wanted no part in that.) and get a few pictures. But she still wasn't wanting to smile as much as she would normally. Here's the best from my photo session with her today.

But once again, her fingers, hands, or dress was always in her mouth!

Here's a few pictures that we got without something in her mouth.

A Sneak Peek

2011-06-23T16:18:00.007-04:00

Yesterday, Brantley came down to take Madalyn's 3 months pictures. Madalyn did not want to have her picture made at all. We went over to my sister-in-law, Heather's house to have some pictures made in her backyard. Madalyn didn't want to smile, she kept her dress in her mouth or her hands at all times. She then she got hungry so I fed her but that didn't help her mood. Then we moved to a different spot and she decided she was hot and she was done. So we headed back to our house. We took a few pictures on the front porch and some with her inside on the floor. But she just wasn't in the mood to have her picture made; and what can you do with a 3 month old that doesn't want to smile, absolutely nothing! Ha, ha!

Happy 3rd Anniversary!

2011-06-21T13:18:00.009-04:00

I had a surprise today when Kevin came home for lunch....he came home carrying flowers! A beautiful bouquet of a dozen white roses with tiny white daises mixed in. How sweet is he! And we exchanged cards and we both picked out blue cards with hearts on them. And the message inside the cards were similar as well; great minds think alike!

Since we couldn't go out for a romantic dinner, I cooked one instead. Each year on our anniversary I pull out our "good" china to use. It seems that so far, we haven't been able to go out to eat actually on our anniversary for some reason or another, and end up spending the night in.

Here I am hard at work cooking for my hubby. What am I cooking you ask? Hamburger steak, fried squash and zucchini, and speckled butter beans, with eclair pie for dessert.

Happy 3rd Anniversary! When Kevin was asking the blessing, he prayed for us to celebrate 85 more. I don't know that we will make it that far, but we will do our best to get as close to that goal as we can! Love ya, Babe!

Happy 3!

2011-06-21T10:35:00.009-04:00

Today, our family gets to celebrate the number 3! What do you mean, you ask? Today is Kevin and my 3 year anniversary and Madalyn is 3 months old.

3 years ago on June 21st, Kevin and I were married. Wow! How the time flies! This 3rd year of marriage had been a challenge for us; not our marriage, but we both have had so many challenges with our jobs. Kevin has worked harder than he ever has with this flock. He's had so much trouble and problems with these chickens. But at the same time, he has gotten the egg production to the highest it has ever been. He's had to work 7 days a week; and that can really wear on someone not having a day off and the hours he keeps (5-7). He's had so many problems with employees as well. For me, this school year was the toughest since my 1st and 2nd year. I had a very immature class, who didn't care about anything. They didn't care about their grades, if they got in trouble and had no respect for me. I had more write-ups, parent phone calls, and parent meetings than I've ever had. And it didn't do any good. My poor Sub even had parents come in and sit with the kids to try help with their behavior, but that didn't work for long. If I didn't have this year cut short due to having Madalyn, I was on the edge of loosing my mind. But God has gotten both of us through and He will continue to see us through. Happy 3rd Anniversary, Kevin! I love you and I am so blessed to be married to you. There's no one else that's more perfect for me than you. Thank you for a wonderful 3 years of marriage. I look forward to celebrating many, many more anniversaries with you.

3 months ago today, Miss Madalyn came into this world. Boy, has she changed since that 21st day of March. Kevin and I have been so blessed to have this precious little girl in our lives. My, how things have changed around our house. You know, you realize how selfish of a person you are once you have a child; because once they get here, it's all about them and their needs and when they need it, no matter what you have planned; and they become your whole world. But then again, to be a great parent, you wouldn't have it any other way. We are rejoicing with her milestone accomplishments, yet sad how fast she is growing up. Happy 3 months old Madalyn! We love you so much and can't imagine our lives now without you!

Here's what she is up to now:
-She rolled over on Friday, June 17th, but she hasn't rolled over since. But she tries every time I put her down in the rain forest or crib.
-She is holding her head up higher and better when on her belly.
-She is smiling and giggles more.
-She is starting to take naps more on her own (meaning to get a good nap, I don't have to hold her)
-She is watching TV; with me I will put her in her bouncy seat and she will watch Sesame Street; with Kevin, she is watching the college world series for baseball games.
-She is really enjoying bath time; she kicks and splashes.
-She still enjoys her stroller and we still have to stroll every night; if the weather is too bad outside, we stroll inside.

Happy 1st Father's Day!

2011-06-19T16:20:00.011-04:00

My parents and Papa came down yesterday, and we had a good weekend with them down here. We didn't have anything pressing to do; which is very unusual and it was just a nice relaxing weekend. We got a few pictures before they had to leave; but it was so hot and humid outside and as you can see, Madalyn wasn't thrilled with the picture taking.

Happy Father's Day, Kevin! I know this is your favorite job title that you have ever had;being "dad". Thank you for loving Madalyn so much and being a great dad to her. I know you and her will share some very special times in the future. I love you!

Happy Father's Day, Daddy! Thank you for all you do for me, Kevin, and now Madalyn. You have always been a great dad and I'm so blessed to have a dad like you! I love you!

Happy 1st Father's Day! Papa's first father's day as a great grand pa, my dad's first father's day as a grand pa, and Kevin's first father's day.

Happy Father's Day, Papa! Thank you for all that you have done for me, Kevin, and now Madalyn. You are very special to us and we are so glad you got to come down and visit with us. I love you!

2 Firsts

2011-06-19T16:14:00.003-04:00

On Friday, June 17th, Madalyn had two firsts.

The 1st first of the day: She rolled over for the first time at 12 weeks! (For mother's day, Kevin gave me some money to get a camcorder and so I got in about 2 weeks ago. It's amazing how small they are now and what all they can do; like I can take movies or still pics.) All last week, every time I would lay Madalyn down, she was rolling to her side and acting like she was going to turn over. I would grab the camcorder and start filming. Friday, once again I grabbed the camcorder and starting filiming. And wouldn't you know, just as soon as I turned the camera off, she flipped! So, I quickly turned it back on. She hasn't turn over again yet, and when I know how to work my camcorder a little better, I will post the video.

The 2nd first of the day: We had a Skype converation with Nana and Grand Dad (my mom and dad.) My laptop that I got for Christmas has a camera built in, so my dad just got one for their computer and we got everything ready Friday night and we had our first Skype call. It was so neat! Kevin was like, I can see now that instead of a nightly call, this will be our new nightly thing.

Our Day

2011-06-13T20:44:00.008-04:00

Our day today began at 5:30 am with Madalyn ready to eat, then at 6:30 am she was back asleep, so Madalyn, Abby, and I were back in bed. Kevin, unfortunately, had left for work at 5:00, so he didn't get to join us. Then Madalyn slept until 9:30 am.

We tried out our bumbo for the first time today, and look whose sitting up like a big girl! She kind of has that deer in the headlights look though.

She got tired of her tummy time today in the rain forest and took a 30 minute nap.

Then we went on our evening stroller ride; but the bugs were so bad tonight, we had to cut it short and Madalyn's not to happy about that. This was the first time we had to cut it short due to the bugs. I have one of those OFF! fans that we hang on the stroller and that normally keeps them away, but not tonight for some reason.

This is always the end result of our stroller ride, even on a short night like tonight.

God painted us a beautiful sunset to enjoy tonight.

In the Rain Forest

2011-06-12T17:06:00.007-04:00

What is Madalyn up to these days?
-She will be 12 weeks old tomorrow and will be 3 months old June 21st (our 3 year anniversary!)

-she is now sleeping about 7-8 hours a night. She is going down somewhere within the hour of 10. Some nights it's 5:30 when she gets up, yesterday it was 8:00 when she woke up and we had two days of 7:00 this past week.

-Our bedtime routine begins with a stroll around our yard, then if it's time to eat, she gets her bottle, if not then we take a bath and then get our bottle.

-She's becoming so alert and holding her head up very well. She's smiling and cooing more and drooling more. :0)

-She is still loving anything that moves and loves to be outside, which is hard to do until late in the evenings with the weather as hot as it is.

One day I got a surprise email from one of my cousins, and they had sent Madalyn a gift card to Amazon as a baby gift. I really wanted to use the money wisely and get things that she would need for her next stage of development in line of toys. One thing that was on my registry was an activity center and I didn't get it. So, that was the first thing that I ordered for her and I'm so glad that I did. She has really started to enjoy it. The theme of the activity center is a rain forest and it plays music, has lights, and different toys that rattle and she can play with. Every day Madalyn gets time in her "rain forest". She starts off on her back and then she has some tummy time. She has really started raising her head more on her tummy now. She's always done it, since we got home from the hospital when someone holds her, but you can tell she is developing more and more.

Last night, Kevin was watching the Carolina baseball game and had both his girls with him. I think it looks like Madalyn is cheering in this picture.

Last Day of School

2011-06-03T13:02:00.003-04:00

Today is the official last day of school. The students' last day was Wednesday, they had two half days; Tuesday and Wednesday. Then the teachers had two work days. I have spent the last two days packing up my classroom. Next year I'm going to be teaching 2nd grade again. I taught 2nd for the first three years and have been in 3rd for the past 3 years. I'm excited about going back to 2nd. It will be a nice change and fun to move into a new room and get it all set up. However, during the summer they are going to be doing a lot of work to our school because it was flooded during some of the bad storms we had the end of April first of May. I won't be able to start getting my room ready until that it completed and I don't know when that will be. So my plan is to do the computer and paper work part of getting things ready throughout the summer. Since I have been out of school for the past 9 weeks, I feel rested and ready to go. However, I will admit, that when I came home Tuesday, Madalyn, Abby, and I took a 2 hour nap. It's been a trial run for us this week with Madalyn going to Mrs. Katie's' (Kevin's mom) and us getting her ready along with ourselves. However, I didn't have lesson plans and papers to grade this week. Most of the time by today, I'm so ready for a break I can hardly stand it. But like I said, I just got my summer vacation, so I'm ready to work. At the same time, this was an extremely hard year and so I'm glad it's over.

Memorial Weekend

2011-06-01T22:48:00.014-04:00

Thursday, May 26th: Kevin, Madalyn and I headed to Greer. My best friend, Lindsey, had her baby on Wednesday, May 25th. "Mason" Timothy Riddley was born at 3:30 pm, he was 7.1 lbs. and 20 inches long. Mason was 4 days past his due date to coming, he was due the 21st. Mason also had a dramatic entrance to this world and a very scary one as well. Lindsey was pushing and Mason's heartbeat started to drop. The doctor had to quickly pull him out, then once he got out, his heart stopped. The doctor immediately called for backup and they had to do CPR on him, and thank you Lord, Mason is doing just fine now and is still with us. What Kevin and I experienced with Madalyn and the car seat was something I will never forget, but we both can't imagine going through what Lindsey and her husband Tim went through just as Mason was born. A little miracle he was! I hope to have pictures to come later. Both Lindsey and Mason are doing well now.

Friday, May 27th: Kevin, Madalyn and I went over to my Papa's house to spend some time with him. Then we headed to the lake with my parents to spend the weekend and Memorial day with them.

Here is Big "Ray" holding little "Rae"

Madalyn in her bathing suit. It was a bit big on her and we didn't take her to the water, she's way too little. But I had to get her picture in her suit since it was her first time to the lake.

This picture cracks me up! Lil' Miss Diva Hollywood

I didn't realize this boat was in the background when I took this picture; but how fitting for Memorial Day to have the flag flying in the background.

Kevin on one ski

We found this tree one night when we were taking a boat ride and I had to come back the next day and get a picture.

In case you can't tell, her shirt reads "born in 2011"; not many babies get to wear this outfit.

After all the excitement of coming to the lake, Madalyn and Grand Dad look wore out and as you can see Madalyn decided to take a nap.

Madalyn is 2 Months Old

2011-05-19T20:56:00.011-04:00

Madalyn is 2 months old on Saturday. I can't believe how fast my baby girl is growing. It was a nice day today, so this morning we went outside to take some pictures. I tried to get some pictures of her on the grass without the blanket, but both times I tried it, she would get upset and start crying. She was happy on the blanket. Then we moved to the front porch for a few more pictures.

7 Weeks Old

2011-05-12T13:30:00.000-04:00

Madalyn was 7 weeks old this past week. I took her to the doctor on Monday because she had broken out in this rash on her face, chest, and back. Turns out that one day last week I used the Johnson's lavender bedtime soap and it broke her out. However, I didn't use it on her face, so not sure why it was broken out so much. Anyway, it should get better soon.

Here is what Madalyn is up to these days.
-She cries when you take the bottle out of her mouth. She doesn't like to stop eating or stop to burp.

-She has finally been able to take a bath like a big girl. We can get through bath time now with out crying. However, the tears come when I get her out of the bathtub; due to her being cold. As soon as I get her wrapped up in a towel, the crying stops.

-She has really started smiling at you now.

-She is making sounds other than crying; like she's trying to talk to you.

-She is sleeping about 6 hours during the night. She goes to sleep around 11 and will sleep to just about 6 in the morning.

-She is very hard to wake up from a nap. The only way to get her awake is to change her diaper. She still screams when that happens. (she has my sleep habits).

-She is very expressive with her arms and hands. She is reaching for things.

-Her eyes follow you when you walk around the room.

-She loves to swing in her swing inside and loves to ride in her stroller. She is also a very good rider in the car.

-If you put her on the floor on a blanket, she can scout from one side to the next. Normally, crying the whole time she is doing, but she has to have her "tummy" time.

-She has been holding her head up since week 2, but that's getting stronger.

She is growing and changing so much. Monday, she weighed 9 lbs. 2 oz. at the doctor's office. She goes back in 2 weeks for her 2 month check up. She also has some fat rolls now, and is now, starting to look more like her daddy. I think that is because of her complexion and that red hair starting to come out now.

Bath Time: still not completely sure this is a good idea mom. But at least I'm not screaming my head off, right?

It was a pleasant morning this morning, so I grabbed some pictures of her sitting in her boppy on the front porch. I was able to get her first picture of her smiling.

Then we strolled down to the chicken houses for the first time to visit Daddy at work. She was asleep by the time we got to the chicken houses. When we walked in, her eyes popped open, extremely wide and then she started to frown. I wish I had caught that on camera; the look on her face was priceless. She didn't cry, but we very aware of this loud and strange noise she was hearing. Also, I think the frown was due to this new smell she was smelling. She was very interested in these strange creatures making all this noise.

Here's Daddy at work picking up eggs. Madalyn reached out her hand for one.

My First Mother's Day

2011-05-08T19:17:00.018-04:00

Today I got to celebrate my very first mother's day. I have had many "fur"babies in my life time,but this was my first official mother's day. My parents came down for the weekend. Saturday we all spent the day outside...my parents had brought down some flowers and my mom planted, while Kevin raked out the flower beds, and my dad worked on a building they have given Kevin for his birthday, while I kept Madalyn strolling around the yard. If the strolling stopped, she woke up and got fussy. Our yard looks pretty with all our flowers, we just hope that our little friend from last year that ate everything is gone. Then my dad grilled out and we had a wonderful dinner. This morning we all went to church and Madalyn slept through the whole service this time. We had lunch at Kevin's grandma's cook house, Mrs. Kitty. I made my homemade strawberry ice cream, since we have strawberries right now. We enjoyed some time with Kevin's family, then came back and have had a lazy afternoon. If you are a mom I hope that you had a day where you felt appreciated and got to spend it with the ones that made you a mom and realized how blessed you were to be a mom. It's still hard for me to believe that I am a mom and my baby will be 7 weeks old tomorrow. Oh, and my sweet husband, Madalyn, and Abby gave me some money to buy a camcorder...so I'll have to go shopping very soon. They also gave me a yellow rose bush for Mother's day.

Happy Mother's Day to the best Mom in the world! I am so blessed to have a mom like you. I only hope that I will be as good of mom as you are. You have set an amazing example of how to be an extraordinary mom and you have always put me and my needs first, never wanting for yourself. Thank you! I love you so much!

Three Generations

My reason for getting to celebrate this day: My sweet girl

Madalyn enjoyed a stroll this afternoon at Grandma Kitty's.

Happy 1st Mother's Day to Katelyn! (Hunter aka "Pork Chop" as Kevin lovingly calls him-7 months) sister-in-law

Happy 1st Mother's Day to Brantley! (Katherine Grace-4 months)-cousin

For Mother's Day Madalyn gave her Nana a special shirt that said "Carolina Nana Best in the World" and my aunt Felicia gave me a Mama one. Madalyn also gave Kevin's mom a Meme shirt just like ours).

Nana and Madalyn

Me and Madalyn

We were twins today!

I know what you are thinking, this picture doesn't go with the others, yet it was taken late this afternoon. I let Abby out to potty and when I turned around to go back inside I saw our little friend here. I said, "Kevin there's a snake on the porch". He said "big or small". I said small. He went outside and got 2 shovels and since it was wrapped around the pole it was a little hard to get to, so he cut it in half, so he thought. The head came back and he was striking at the other shovel (Kevin was trying to get the head). He finally got the snake off the railing and was able to chop it and then carried it off. (Kevin is very afraid of snakes.) We guess that when Kevin raked out the flower beds, he disturbed the snake's habitat. Hopefully we won't see any more, but I will keep my eyes more open for them the next little bit. Kevin said that it was a King snake, and it was about 1 foot long once it was unwrapped from the pole. Not the kind of surprise that I want to get on mother's day.

First Easter

2011-05-07T17:33:00.008-04:00

Sorry these were late getting posted, but having a newborn....it's hard to find a moment to do my things. But we went to Greer for Easter; there were many people that Madalyn had to meet that had not gotten to see her yet. It was her first ride to Greer also and on the way up she slept the whole 3 hours. On the way back she was awake for the first hour, just looking around, and then fell asleep, so she was a very good rider on her first trip to Nana and Grand Dad's house. However, I did tell Kevin that it wouldn't always be this easy of a ride with her, but maybe she will be a good rider for the most part. So far she is.

Our First Family Easter Picture

Madalyn and Me

Me, Madalyn, Lindsey and Mason (Mason is due on May 21st)

Drake and Madalyn (cousins)

Amanda, Madalyn, and Tim (cousins)

Who Do I Look Like?

2011-05-06T16:19:00.014-04:00

When a baby is born the big mystery that everyone tries to figure out is "who does the baby look like?" Mommy or Daddy? Well, my first reaction to seeing Madalyn, was that she looked just like Kevin and everyone else thought so to. That is everyone except for my mom and Kevin's mom, they said me. When my dad came down to see Madalyn for the first time he brought my baby book and as soon as I saw these pictures I knew, I had the claim on her. Yes, she does have some of her daddy's features, but....and she may have dark blue eyes and hair that will turn red (which her daddy is tickled over), however, her overall look is me, at least that's what I think. What do you think? Who does she look like the most...Me or Kevin?

My birth picture in the hospital is first, then Madalyn's

My mom and Me and then Me and Madalyn and yes, another question rises: Who do I look like?

Me at home and Madalyn at home

My first bath picture and then Madalyn's

Kevin's baby pictures-the second picture was taken July 1981-the month and year I was born.

Birth Announcement

2011-05-04T11:48:00.004-04:00

I was able to get Madalyn's birth announcements mailed off this week. I used the beautiful pictures that Brantley took and created the announcement with Shutterfly. I was so pleased with how they turned out!

First Church Visit

2011-05-01T14:30:00.003-04:00

Today, Madalyn had here first visit to church, outside my tummy. She at at 6:50 this morning and her normal routine is that after she eats her first morning bottle, she takes about a 2 hour nap. So we thought, she would sleep through church....wrong! She slept in the car on the way to church and slept through the music. Once the music ended and the preaching began, she opened her eyes. I had to take her out and rock her and try to keep her calm. It worked for the first half of the sermon. Then she had all she could take; so I took her out and changed her diaper, and went back in at the end of the service when they were singing; she was asleep again. When we got to Sunday School, she was back awake and this time she was ready to eat. After she ate this time, she went to sleep and stayed asleep for the next 2 1/2 hours; long enough for me to cook lunch and for us to eat. So, all in all I guess it was a pretty good first time in church. She always liked the music and would move around when she was in my tummy so I think that's why she got upset when the music stopped.

Stronger by Mandisa (From the Upcoming Album "What If We Were Real")

2011-04-25T11:58:00.000-04:00

Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me) - Casting Crowns

2011-04-25T11:54:00.000-04:00

We are Hot, Hot Hot!

2011-04-25T10:33:00.004-04:00

Yes, the song we are all singing in the McCormick household is that we are "Hot, Hot, Hot!" Two Thursdays ago, April 14th, I came home and it was very hot in our house. I noticed that when I turned on the air it wasn't getting cooler but hotter. It was 74 when I turned on the air and then it got up to 77 degrees in the house. Kevin tried to work with the air, but couldn't get it to come on. We used the natural AC that night, open the windows and turn on the fan. Friday night there were some bad storms that were suppose to come through so we stayed at Kevin's parents' house. Then my parents came down for Kevin's b-day weekend and we had a nice breeze and it wasn't too bad in the house. By Tuesday of last week, the afternoon, it was way too hot for Madalyn, Abby, and I to stay so we loaded up and headed to Mrs. Katie's. And we have been there ever since. The man came to fix the air, but ordered the wrong part and here it is, Monday, April 25th at 10:30 am, and still the air hasn't been fixed. I have come home this morning to wash some clothes, bottles, and do some house work. With the windows and fan it's not too bad in the morning, but I know by the afternoon we will have to leave again. I hope our AC will get fixed today; they say the part hasn't come in yet.

Last Wednesday evening, I started hurting really bad; a bad pain in my side. It continued all night and so I called my doctor Thursday morning and they wanted me to come in. He said that he thought it was a pulled muscle and that I had done more than I should have with bending and lifting things. I mean Wednesday night at 3:30 am I was in tears I was hurting so bad. So, I've had to go back to watching what I'm doing so I can get well. But since I don't hurt all the time, I forget I've had a C-section. I told Mrs. Katie, here it is the 21st of April a month later and we are having some repeat of what we did a month ago; me not feeling good, Mrs. Katie taking me to Augusta to my doctor. I told her that I hoped I wouldn't need her to take me to the doctor next month on the 21st.