Our Party of Five

Eleven Years Ago..

2011-04-15T13:51:00.000-04:00

This sweet baby girl was born. Her arrival was such a blessing to me and Hudson, nothing has been the same since and we wouldn't change a thing. Life was no longer solely about us as a couple, but about the precious miracle God blessed us with.

She was such a pretty baby. :)

We were in love with that little bundle.

We weren't the only first-timers, Nana and Papoo with their first grandbaby, they now have 9...which will be 10 this fall!

Ganmamma with granddaughter #3!

We are so proud of you Olivia! God has blessed us with a smart, loving, compassionate and beautiful daughter. Keep trusting in Him and seeking His will! We love you!

Aruba

2011-03-19T15:39:00.000-04:00

Hudson and I escaped to Aruba last week, while my mom kept the kids, we had to deal with this view for five days. Tough. I know.

Our first night in Aruba, we enjoyed this view while enjoying dinner on the beach.

Hudson enjoyed Tuna.

And I had some yummy Chilean Sea Bass.

At lunch one day, we had a visitor...actually a lot of them!

Heading to dinner our last night.

Our last view of Aruba, from the plane awaiting takeoff.

I had to include this...sweet, sweet brother.

2011 BCS National Champions Auburn Tigers!

2011-01-21T21:20:00.000-05:00

I was a bit presumptuous. Following Auburn's win over LSU in October, we ordered tickets to the Tostito's BCS National Championship. After watching Cam Newton's Heisman clinching performance, I knew he, nor the rest of the Auburn Tiger's football team would be beaten. I'm thankful we were able to witness, in person, five games played by this championship team.

Of course, the biggest game we witnessed was the BIG ONE!

The venue, the University of Phoenix Stadium

Under Armour hosted a pregame party for Tiger fans. Fun Stuff!

Our players during their warmups and stretches, if you look closely you can see Coach Chizik having a discussion with the Defensive leader, Josh Bynes.

The AU Marching Band-pregame. TIGERS!

THE CELEBRATION!

This was taken about midnight MT after a looong and exciting day!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T00:00:00.001-05:00

2010-12-20T15:49:00.000-05:00

I tried to get a good picture of Abigail in her sweet Christmas dress, however, she refused to put the football down. Brought tears to my eyes...haha.

Trunk or Treat 2010

2010-11-01T21:20:00.002-04:00

We had a wonderful time at our church's Trunk or Treat this year. The kids had a lot of fun on the rides and visiting with their friends, they also ended up with way too much candy! Abigail really enjoyed collecting all the candy and politely told each person thank you after receiving it. Olivia and Maxwell ran around and played with their friends. It was a great time!

Another Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-27T16:49:00.000-04:00

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-06T16:53:00.000-04:00

Our Beach Vacation

2010-08-18T21:41:00.001-04:00

We spent a great week at Orange Beach this year. It was wonderful to spend time with the family and catch up. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins and wore themselves out every day.

Poor Abigail, she did not love the sand and was very unhappy. Maxwell tried to make her happy with a seashell. :) She did warm up to it though, by Thursday she was shoveling sand into a bucket!

Daddy to the Rescue

2010-08-04T20:04:00.000-04:00

Poor little baby, she didn't want to sit still and pose for a picture. So sad.

Then with perfect timing, my pocket starts to quack. I reached into my pocket and pulled my phone out so that Abigail could talk to her daddy. She has just now started to talk on the phone like a big girl. Before, she was always too timid..she would only talk on the phone if there was no one on the other end!

Our Lego Maniac

2010-07-25T16:00:00.001-04:00

Maxwell is a bit addicted to Legos. He loves them! I'm sure he even dreams about them. He has built most of the Lego Star Wars ships so he's moved on to Lego Atlantis. He bought this one today with his birthday money. This is the Atlantis Typhoon Turbo Sub.

Here's a brief (if you consider 8 minutes brief) video of him explaining his largest Star Wars ship. He built this ship last month.

Excuse the quality please, this was taken with my iPhone.

Future Olympian?

2010-07-14T20:00:00.001-04:00

Abigail loves the pool, she would float in it all day long if she had her way. She also has a new found love of jumping into the water. We think we may have a future Olympian on our hands, she has great form for a 2 year old and is very dramatic about the whole thing. I think she's a perfect 10!

Preparing for her jump.

Check out that perfect form....and those sweet toes. :)

Eyes closed while she holds her breath hoping Daddy is there to catch her!

A Day on Lake Lanier

2010-07-13T19:33:00.001-04:00

Hudson's parents were in town this weekend so we decided to head to Lake Lanier for a day of fun. The weather was perfect and we had a great time!

Pure joy. He couldn't keep the smile off of his face!

Abigail (with her Papoo) would have floated in the lake all day if she had her way; she loved it!

Olivia had a lot of fun swimming and tubing!

Maxwell got up on the skis the first time, I told him next year we were dumping the training skis for some big boy ones!

Sweet baby, pretending to be asleep.

Me and my waterbugs!

Daddy enjoying some much needed relaxation.

Maxwell and Nana at lunch.

Not pretending here, Abigail passed out on Nana's lap..notice the Twix bar she had a deathgrip on!

Heading to the Movies

2010-07-11T13:06:00.000-04:00

The kids have been wanting to see "How to Train Your Dragon", it hit the dollar theater a few days ago, so they sweet-talked Papoo and Nana into taking them. Fun!

disclaimer: The little one with the pigtails did NOT go to the movies, she's way too busy for that.

Abigail's 2nd Birthday

2010-07-06T21:48:00.000-04:00

Our littlest one turned 2 years old on Sunday. It's hard to believe it's already been two years since she was born. It's been so fun to experience toddlerhood again...she keeps us busy and is never quiet but she has been a joy to us every day!

Abigail could not take her eyes off of her cake....

and who could blame her?

She blew out both of her candles all by herself.

Abigail loved the set of play food Olivia gave her.

She also enjoyed the pool Maxwell gave her.

The kids were happy to have Ganmamma here. Abigail calls her "mamma", she's working on the "Gan" part.

Love this.

Happy Birthday America and Our Sweet Abigail!

2010-07-04T20:10:00.000-04:00

Happy 4th of July!

Our sweet daughter Abigail is celebrating her second birthday today!

July, 2008

July 4th, 2009

July 4th, 2010

Happy 2nd Birthday Abigail!

We love you!

Welcome Home Daddy!

2010-06-28T20:15:00.000-04:00

It was a long week last week. Hudson flew 14 hrs to South Korea and then flew to Japan for work. He had quite the adventure and really enjoyed learning about another culture. He was very impressed with their way of life and their work ethic. The kids behaved themselves very well while he was gone and we were all happy when he made it home safely Saturday afternoon. The kids spent the day getting ready for his arrival home!

Daddy brought Olivia a fan and a pretty headband from Japan.

Maxwell got a karate suit!

Looking at the banner the kids made.

My favorite part of the banner.

We're so happy to have you home daddy!!

Happy Birthday Maxwell!

2010-06-18T00:27:00.001-04:00

Our sweet baby boy at one day old.

I came across this sweet video of Maxwell at the age of 3. He was preparing to take his favorite toy to school the next day for show and tell. He loved this space shuttle (complete with boosters and fuel tank).

Maxwell you have been such a joy to us, it's hard to believe you are now 7 years old. Your sweet, kind spirit is clearly a gift from God. I've always prayed that you would bring joy to those around you and you seem to do this effortlessly. We are proud of you for always being a wonderful brother to your sisters (you are going to be an amazing husband and father one day!) and a sweet, compliant son to me and your father.

We love you very much!

Mommy and Daddy

Wordless Wednesday

2010-06-16T16:25:00.000-04:00

Drivin' Home Answers

2010-06-12T00:26:00.000-04:00

This week Olivia and Maxwell attended VBS and had a great time. We are so blessed to be apart of a church that has such a passion for their children's ministry.

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

James 1:5

2010-06-04T21:16:00.002-04:00

Last week, Olivia completed the 4th grade. She had a wonderful year and breezed through with all A's (with the exception of handwriting but we won't get into that!). The transition to a new school was smooth and easy, one of the reasons, the sweet girl with Olivia in the picture below. "A" and Olivia hit it off quickly and are VERY much alike. They both love school, enjoy reading and are the oldest child in their family. One day in the car on the way home from school, they began comparing report cards and started laughing because they were almost identical ~~with the exception of handwriting of course~~, it was so funny and so them! Their friendship has been a blessing!

During the end of the year program, each grade went up on stage, recited a bible verse and then sang a song. This is video of the 4th graders. Excuse the shaky video please, I was extremely zoomed in.

Our Little Author

2010-06-03T21:40:00.005-04:00

The second to last week of school, Maxwell's class hosted Author's Day for all of the First Grade parents. Each of the children presented the book they wrote and illustrated. Maxwell decided to write a book about giraffes, one of only two non-fiction books that was written. He really enjoyed writing it and took a lot of pride in it. He couldn't wait to share it with me.

These are just a few pages Maxwell wrote and illustrated.

Abigail and the Blackberry

2010-06-01T20:34:00.000-04:00

This is the first time Abigail would cooperate and talk on the phone, unfortunately, no one was on the other end! As you can hear (excuse me) I did my best to get her to share the love with her Papoo. It wasn't happening....this time.

Field Day 2010

2010-05-19T22:48:00.002-04:00

Maxwell had his Field Day today and he had a lot of fun running relays and races. Abigail and I went to cheer him on and occasionally remind him it's all for fun...he's a tad competitive! I can't believe Maxwell will finish 1st grade next week, he's had a wonderful year!

Watching her big brother.

Monkeying around.

I Have a Feeling...

2010-05-18T23:42:00.002-04:00

those two are going to be broke by the end of summer...

but, I don't think they'll mind. :)

So long Spring..

2010-05-12T15:52:00.005-04:00

It's getting ~~hot~~ humid over here.

We'll be in the pool soon, hopefully this little one will enjoy it!

Pottery Party

2010-05-08T23:30:00.001-04:00

We celebrated Olivia's 10th birthday a couple of weeks ago, the party was a lot of fun. Olivia and her friends enjoyed picking out a piece of pottery to paint and then they had a lot of fun creating their masterpieces!

A Hunting We Will Go...

2010-04-03T21:53:00.000-04:00

Our wonderful church hosted their annual Easter Eggstravangza this morning. The kids look forward to it every year and this year, it did not disappoint. We had a great time and the weather was fabulous. Each of the kids ended up with waaaaay too many eggs, but I have a feeling half of them will disappear, mysteriously, in the middle of the night.

It just wouldn't be right if they were all looking at the camera.

Riding a fun little ride.

Abigail hunted eggs with the 2yrs and younger crowd and she was all business picking up "balls".

Olivia offered to film Abigail's hunt and Maxwell pointed out the eggs to her.

Like I said, waaay too many!

Will smile in exchange for pureed food!

Ten is Terrifc!

2010-04-02T16:37:00.002-04:00

Today, our sweet girl, our firstborn turned ten years old. She refused to allow anyone to tell her "Happy Birthday" until 8:08a.m. EST...and she was very specific...Eastern Standard Time! That's Olivia! She's a blessing to us and is the sweetest, smartest, kindest 10 yr old we know! We love you sweet girl!

Hello Spring!

2010-03-19T23:19:00.000-04:00

We are loving this weather!

Do We Really Live in Georgia?

2010-02-24T15:31:00.000-05:00

We've had some very unusual weather around here. The kids, with the exception of Abigail, and the husband have loved it. It's so nice that these snow days always fall on the weekend, we had plenty of time to enjoy it all.

Maxwell, unaware of the impending snowball hit.

Olivia working on her snowman.

Abigail was a bit scared of the snow due to the depth of it.

The sun was so bright, Abigail needed some sunglasses.

Our home

It's okay to be jealous...

2010-02-05T20:52:00.000-05:00

I would be too. Olivia and I met Beth Moore todaaaaaaaaay! I was so excited to find out that she would be signing copies of her book "So Long Insecurity" at a bookstore a mere 15 mins from my house. My sweet husband got away from work early to help me with the kids. The thought of standing in a long line for an hour and a half with my three sweet cherubs was too much to bear. The time passed quickly and before I knew it, there was Mrs Beth! She was precious and sweet, gave me a big hug, and said, "thanks for coming sister!" She introduced herself to Olivia and signed our book after taking this picture. It was fast and a complete thrill to meet her, can't wait to dive into the book!

Btw, if you want to purchase the book, I suggest Amazon. They have the best deal, it was full price at Books A Million. Amazon has free shipping and no tax!

2010-01-26T22:54:00.000-05:00

New Hope in Haiti

2010-01-17T23:51:00.000-05:00

My heart has been heavy the last several days. I cannot even begin to fathom what it must be like in Haiti right now. There are reports that 100,000- 200,000 people have lost their lives. I think of all the mothers that have lost children, one story in particular of a mother who lost five. The grief must be overwhelming. And then to have to mourn such loses in unimaginable surroundings.

Our church, New Hope Baptist, supports an orphanage in Haiti, the Maison d’enfants miraculously sustained no damage! It is only 5 miles from the epicenter and yet is still intact. Thank you God!! Unfortunately, one of the children did not survive. The school building that he was in during the earthquake collapsed and he died. But the wonderful news is that he was a believer and he is now with our Savior!

Hudson and I have been "sponsoring" one of the children in the orphanage for the past year. Nadege is a sweet child who sends us the most beautiful lettters, pictures and drawings. We were so relieved to hear that she is okay. On the way home from church today, Hudson mentioned how he wished we (our entire church family) could bring all of the children from the orphanage to Fayetteville to live until Haiti is in better condition. I couldn't agree more! While that more than likely won't happen, I know that our God is bigger than all of this! He's bigger than the destruction and we continue to pray that He will bring peace to His children and that those who do not know Him, will turn to Him.

I'm so thankful to be a part of a church that has such a tender heart for missions! Take a look at this news story from Atlanta's 11Alive News concerning a New Hope member and her journey to get back to the U.S.

God is so good and He is providing! New Hope is sending resources to the orphanage but the logistics of getting it from the airport in Port au Prince to the children has been difficult. Please pray that God will open the doors to continue to provide food and water. Pray that the children will feel peace and security among all of the destruction. Also, please pray for my sweet friend, Rhodena. She is orchestrating all of the relief and logistics of helping our children at the orphanage. She has her hands full and is doing an amazing job! New Hope has a Haiti blog with updates on the children.

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
John 16:33

Lego-maniac

2010-01-10T21:16:00.001-05:00

One of Maxwell's favorite Christmas presents was this lego set my mom gave him. It's really neat and makes either a helicopter, jeep or firetruck.

The day after we got back from Arkansas, Maxwell got busy, two hours later......

He said he'd keep it together like this til February and then take it apart to make the firetruck. :)

A "cool" time in Hot Springs

2010-01-08T09:55:00.005-05:00

The Wednesday after Christmas we headed up to Hot Springs for a quick visit to Nana and Papoo's condo. The kids were happy to go but it took a couple of explanations to Maxwell to satisfy his desire to get on the boat and cruise around the lake. It was chilly! But not too cold to keep us from visiting Garvan Gardens, the kids love lights and were not disappointed!

Ready to go!

Abigail catching a ride on Papoo's shoulders.

Olivia and Maxwell checking out one of the gingerbread houses.

Warming up with some hot chocolate.

Watching the toy train

Happy New Year!

Christmas in Arkansas, Part 2

2010-01-06T17:00:00.002-05:00

We had a great time visiting with family and friends while in Arkansas. It was fun catching up with everyone and the kids had a wonderful time. Everyday they wore themselves out playing from the moment they woke up, to the minute they went to sleep. I believe I took over 400 pictures, but I won't bore you with them all, here are some highlights. ;)

The grandkids and their families (with the exception of bro-in-law Faber) with Memaw and Deda.

Maxwell loved sharing his DSi with Uncle Adam and Abbott :)

Anna Kate having fun with some gloves.

Abigail enjoying being outside with her new babydoll.

What a happy boy, Garrett enjoying some apples.

Grace smiling sweetly.

Abbott having some fun with Nana.

Abigail looking at one of her new books.

Allie and Olivia

Mary enjoying her new "jumping house".

Maxwell also enjoying the jumping house.

Christmas in Arkansas, Part 1

2010-01-05T17:00:00.004-05:00

Every year, Hudson reads the story of Christ's birth to the kids on Christmas Eve. It's so important for all of us to remember the reason we celebrate this special day!

Olivia was so excited about her DSi

Christmas would not be complete for a six year old boy without a lightsaber!

Sweet Abbott with her presents from Santa Claus.

Thanks Emmy and Adam!

Abigail wasn't sure where to start.

This photo makes me smile.

And in the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields, and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 And the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12“And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger.” 13And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

Luke 2: 8-14

Someone is 18 months old!

2010-01-04T12:30:00.003-05:00

It's hard to believe our sweet girl is 18 months old!

Given the FREEZING weather, I thought this picture was appropriate. Abigail was all bundled up for our visit to Garvan Gardens in Hot Springs, AR on New Year's Eve.

So what is Abigail up to at 18 months old?

She weighs 23lbs and is 29 1/2 inches tall.

She loves looking at books and watching Barney.

She gets so excited about going upstairs to play in the toy room with her brother and sister.

Her favorite song is "If You're Happy and You Know It".

Her favorite food is Macaroni and Cheese.

She loves her crib and sleeps 11-12 hrs a night.

Abigail is very social, as long as you keep your distance, she has smiles to go 'round for everyone.

We love you Abigail!!

Christmas in Georgia

2010-01-03T20:10:00.002-05:00

We celebrated Christmas a couple of days early with my family in Georgia. The kids had a lot of fun and we all enjoyed visiting with each other. After a meal of lasagna, we dug into the presents.

I have no idea what Olivia is doing in the back, maybe she's anticipating a game of "Where's Waldo?".

His favorite.

Maxwell's Party

2009-12-17T22:33:00.003-05:00

Maxwell had his final day of school before Christmas break today. His class had a day full of fun. In the morning they went around to the second grade classes that were hosting themed activities. His favorite class that he went to was the Polar Express...he enjoyed hot chocolate, received a punched ticket and was given a bell. After lunch he had his class ~~Christmas~~ Holiday Party. I was busy helping with the activities and didn't get a ton of pictures, but we had a lot of fun. The kids started out with a book swap, Maxwell took his time picking out his, I told him to go for the one with the good looking wrapping paper! ;)

Maxwell patiently waiting his turn.

Abigail behaved so well...might have been the Cheese-Its...she was busy cramming them in her mouth!

Olivia's Christmas Party is tomorrow and that will wrap up school for a while, YAY! We'll be spending the next couple of days finishing up shopping and making some yummy treats. After talking to some friends, I was convinced I was the only person on the planet that has not finished Christmas shopping. However while driving to dinner tonight (some yummy Thai with some fun friends) I came upon some major traffic that was pointed in the direction of the mall...it's good to know I'm not the only procrastinator. :)

2009-12-14T01:03:00.008-05:00

Our church, New Hope Baptist, performed their annual Living Christmas Tree. After several months of practice, Olivia and Maxwell were so excited to finally perform the songs they had worked so hard to learn. It was a long week of 8 performances but it was completely worth it to celebrate Jesus' birth! Below is a clip of the first song the children's choir performed, "Follow the Star". Maxwell is quite the performer!

Olivia was very excited to have a speaking solo this year, she performed it the first four shows. We think she did wonderfully!

I cut that video short so I could take this cutie pie picture; Olivia looks so young to me for some reason...her sweet little round face.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get a good picture of Maxwell in his biblical costume during the performance, so here's one I took while he tried it on. Sweet little boy.

The Living Christmas Tree show was absolutely amazing! Regrettably, Hudson and I were not Joseph and Mary again this year, they had a couple of age-appropriate teenagers instead. I guess we were deemed too old! The entire show focused on our Savior and the finale really brought the house down. There was everything from angels to wise men to kings and a sweet baby portraying Jesus. And how could I forget the real live camel!? I cannot wait til next year!

Edited to Add: One of Olivia's favorite songs of the Tree:

2009-12-02T00:36:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving Day we packed up and headed down to Warner Robins to celebrate the holiday with family. The kids were really looking forward to getting down there to play with their cousins and have some fun! And they weren't disappointed, after enjoying a delicious meal, cousin Katie hooked Olivia and Maxwell up with some yummy smores.

My BIL, Les, fried a turkey for us to enjoy and oh. my. goodness. It was the BEST turkey EVER! There's no better way to cook a bird!

Mom with her grandchildren

Abigail kept herself entertained with my sister's candles.

Poor Maxwell, not a very gender balanced group.

Time to Catch Up

2009-11-18T19:59:00.009-05:00

I'm so far behind, so now, it's time to catch up. We had a wonderful time at our church's Trunk or Treat despite the misting rain. It was a lot of fun and a great time of fellowship with our friends, and our class won 1st place for our "trunk" (which really wasn't a trunk). We had a 50's themed diner and handed out mini ice cream cones, the kids loved this!

Maxwell recently finished up his first (and possibly last) year of football. Our boy was not lovin' the sweating, he didn't complain during practice or a game but leading up to it, he showed no love for his head sweating under the helmet. After witnessing some of the coaches on other teams and their behavior, I feel so blessed that Maxwell had the coaches he had, they were all so patient and really uplifting.

(Please excuse his hair, he had been running around and playing with about 18 other 6 yr olds.)

Although Maxwell had a good time, he was thrilled to hear that our church offers Upward Football in the fall that does not require helmets!

Some recent Sunday pictures

I had completely forgotten how difficult it is to get a good picture of a very busy one year old.

Abigail's descent off the deck..

2009-10-29T07:30:00.002-04:00

Abigail loves being outside, especially walking around the backyard, fortunately we have a fence so she has free range. Her descent off the deck to get to that yard, is quite funny and quite long.

Our Little Getaway

2009-10-28T00:18:00.006-04:00

I woke up Saturday morning to find out that my second guest blogger had gone ahead and created her post..all by herself. We had a wonderful weekend in the mountains of Georgia, it was absolutely gorgeous! We plan on going back every fall, we had a blast and it was so nice to get away for a weekend! Olivia did a great job of summarizing our little vacation, however, she did not include any photos. So here ya go!

My second "guest:'' blogger

2009-10-24T07:58:00.001-04:00

What surprise was Abigail (Mommy) talking about??????????? I guess it was first floor at the North Point Mall or the American Girl Store.

Anyway, we DID go to " " " ". And, we went up north to Blue Ridge,GA where it was ALMOST below FREEZING. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Maxwell was in the pool the WHOLE time(literally)!

On Saturday, we went to a chocolate shop called Chocolate Express. We also went to a (maybe) 50s' diner.

On Sunday we had a brunch at The Lodge before heading on to Burt's Farm for a hayride, which had a Looooooong line :(

Then we went to the American Girl Store at the mall.i picked out Molly (Home front, WW II, 1944, etc.) which has glasses, braids, beret and other things like that. (ask Allie)

Well, I guess Maxwell is next.... bye! ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOING!!!!!

Introducing my first "guest" blogger....

2009-10-12T14:26:00.010-04:00

Hi family and friends, it's me, Abigail. Mommy came up with this cute idea to let each of us kids write on her blog, I get to go first.

A lot has been happening around here lately. Daddy bought mommy a new camcorder and she absolutely loves it, she gets all crazy about electronics...I don't know what that's all about but she says she loves electronics just like I love my cat, Tiger. She has had the camcorder out a lot and always seems to have it pointed in my direction. See????

I can't believe mommy took video of me in nothing but a diaper! She said that's okay though because I can only pull that look off for a little while longer.

Ganmamma came to town a week ago, she is so funny and likes to spoil me with a lot of attention and a bunch of kisses. She kept me while mommy and daddy went out to eat all by themselves, which I'm sure was no fun without me!

I insisted on keeping the football in the picture...I love tossing it around with Daddy and Maxwell in the backyard.

Mommy says I am one busy baby and never sit still. So I shocked her when I sat still for this picture, mommy was happy so I think I may do it more often.

This past weekend, Nana and Papoo came to see us. They said they couldn't believe how big I've gotten, I think it's because I eat a LOT of food!

Daddy and Papoo like to sit and talk, mommy said I will be talking a bunch before we know it!

This is me and Papoo, he was so silly with me and tried to teach me how to wink...I would make a funny face and try my hardest to do it!

We all went to church and Sunday School on Sunday, this is me and daddy before we left. I love him a whole bunch, he gives me a bunch of kisses, talks silly to me and rocks me before bed...mommy says he's going to spoil me but I don't think he's worried about that right now!

While we were out eating lunch after church, Nana taught me "Nana face" which is when I smile super big and tilt my head to side. Mommy said I reminded her a lot of my big sister and she said as soon as she could, she'd get a picture of me doing this face. Mommy was not very good about taking pictures this weekend and did not get a picture of me with my Nana, she said she'd do a better job when we visited them at Christmas.

Olivia gets to write on this blog next, she loooooves writing so I'm sure she'll have lots to say, plus Mommy and Daddy said they have an extra special treat planned for us this weekend, I'm sure Olivia will write all about it!

2009-09-13T22:00:00.010-04:00

In honor of our 13 year anniversary, I thought I'd take a moment and show some love for my hubby. Honestly, I don't even know where to begin. NEVER in a million years did I think I'd marry someone from Arkansas, but I also never thought I'd meet someone so completely perfect for me. Without a doubt, God had His hands all up in our business! Despite only knowing him for 4 months, I decided to spend the rest of my life with him and never once did I question my decision. God gave me an undeniable peace about it. Did I mention I was only 20 yrs old?

Aww, look at us. We were so young and carefree. I was so chubby and Hudson was so skinny...those were the days. And check out that adorable 4 year old in between us. Katie is now almost 17 yrs old and I would be one happy momma if my girls grew up to be as sweet as she is today.

With this being our 13 year anniversary, I thought it would be appropriate to list 13 things I love about Hudson.

1. His Faith. By far, this is the most important. Hudson's faith has seen us through some trying and difficult times. But his calmness during a storm has not only given me a peace, it has helped me grow in my faith....and that's priceless!

2. His love for me. I'm sure this will come as a surprise to most, but I'm not perfect. I know. Shocker, right? Being a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to certain things and also a tad opinionated, it's a wonder Hudson's still around, LOL. In all seriousness, Hudson is the first to shower me with praise for being, in his eyes, a great mom. He acknowledges on a regular basis, the difficulty of my job and his appreciation for what I do for our family.

3. His love for his children. Hudson began praying fervently for our children before they were even born and he continues to pray with them and for them every day. It's rare that a day or two go by that he doesn't make a comment to me about how sweet and precious our children are. Of course he knows that they are not perfect, but he sees them as the sweet blessings that they are to us. I thank God that my children are blessed to have such a loving father who truly understands the importance of his children having a relationship with their Heavenly Father.

4. He's compassionate. Hudson will be the first person to volunteer to help someone in need (unless it's me, in the middle of one of Abigail's diaper changes!). He has such a sweet heart. When I see Maxwell's sweet and loving personality shining, I know that he inherited it from his dad. I can imagine Hudson at his age...what a sweet, freckled face little boy he must have been!

5. His honesty. The man could not tell a lie to save his life. Unless it involved whether or not he really ate a salad for lunch at work or had dessert, and even then, his facial expression gives him away!

6. His work ethic. Hudson has the best work ethic of anyone I know. He's always gone above and beyond for his employer, cuz that's how he rolls. :) He's a rockstar and kicks butt at work to provide for his family.

7. I love that he insists on being the one who gets to wake Abigail up in the morning and he loves putting each kid to bed at night.

8. He lets me choose what restaurant we eat at, of course I always take his opinion into account!

9. He thinks nothing of picking up dinner on the way home if I've had a long day and don't feel like cooking. (of course this is rare, hehe!)

10. He takes pride in keeping our grass looking fabulous. And I believe, he has a little yard envy of some of our neighbors whose grass is more mature. Seriously, some of the yards around here looking like the greens on a golf course.

11. He's known as the "Jack of all trades" in our 'hood. He can grill, smoke, fry, stone, construct, paint, stain, plant, grow anything you ask of him.

12. He's smart. If I were as smart as him, I'd go around putting every one in their place! But he prefers sitting back, listening and then giving his thoughtful opinion.

13. He likes playing his guitar for the kids and even made up a silly song for Abigail that makes her dance. So funny!

Okay..I can't stop at 13.

14. He appreciates me. He's said many times he knows how hard it is to be a stay at home mom and he supports me having time for myself.

15. I'm so thankful he's the father of my children. Our kiddos are so blessed to have him as their daddy. Hudson wants nothing but the absolute best for them and he truly enjoys being with them. I think it's sweet that he is a little sad that we are done having children.

I love you Hudson and appreciate you putting up with me for 13 years!!

A Girl Needs Her Cheese!

2009-09-03T23:22:00.010-04:00

Abigail's favorite place at our house is the deck. So, when she woke from her nap Monday, I thought I'd take advantage of the cloudy day and get some pictures on the deck. Abigail was having no part of it!

A bottom lip that only her older sister could appreciate. It's identical to Olivia's.

Not loving the settee

Time to bust out a snack, I decide on the one thing that never fails to satisfy this girl. Cheese. Abigail loves some colby-jack!

All Better! Cheeseburger!

My notetaking, football playin' children.

2009-09-01T13:28:00.003-04:00

It is hard to believe that it is currently 71 degrees here in Georgia. I'm soaking it in with my windows open....sweet fresh air! After surviving some sort of stomach virus/attack this weekend, I finally feel 100% and am having a wonderful day. I cannot believe it is September already, where has the summer gone? Olivia and Maxwell are both enjoying school so far and have had no complaints...well, Olivia is a little perturbed with all of the notetaking she has to endure in some of her classes but she'll get use to it come about her junior year of college. I'm sure any day now, she'll suggest to the teacher that all the kids need to get one of those little mini-laptops to type all of their notes on, it would be faster!

I guess football season is around the corner, but honestly, I really haven't been following Auburn much this year. I do believe Chizik is a good coach, but I'm still annoyed with the board that pushed Tuberville out. Of course Tubs is probably sitting on a boat right now fishing in some treetops on Lake Martin while studying his bank statement and laughing at the University.

I do want to try to make it to at least one game this season, if for no other reason than to witness this scene in person again. AU's band started playing Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer" a few years ago and the students really get into it...well I'm sure the whole crowd does but as usual most of the noise comes from the students. It's really cool when the band cuts out and you hear THOUSANDS of people singing "ooooh we're half way there, ooooohh livin' on a prayer". Bless their hearts, most of the kids weren't even born or were in diapers when this song came out. Man, I feel old!

I'd be a terrible mommy if I left out my most favorite, mean machine, don't blink or you'll miss him football stud. Here he is in all of his glory. Excuse the lack of eyes.

Olivia's First Day of School

2009-08-21T21:07:00.005-04:00

Olivia had her first day of fourth grade today. It's hard to believe she's only two years from middle school...YIKES! Our first baby is growing up so fast, it's hard to believe that she'll be in college in nine short years. Olivia is really excited about her teacher this year and even said tonight that she wished it was Sunday so she could go back to school tomorrow. I think it's going to be a great year for our fourth grader!

I Will Rise

2009-08-19T22:28:00.004-04:00

I've heard Chris Tomlin's "I Will Rise" many times. I know the words, I've sang the song. But I never really listened to the words, until today. And the words came alive to me. I MUST see Chris in concert. I've always been a fan of his, but WOW!

Beautiful, don't you think?

Maxwell's First Day of First Grade

2009-08-17T14:47:00.006-04:00

It's hard to believe our little guy is in the first grade now. He loves school and was so excited to be starting back. I pray that he will always be so enthusiastic about it!

Here he is at his desk, I'm sure a lot of work will get done here!

All ready to go!

Olivia starts school a week from today and is very excited and eager to get started (she's bored out of her mind!). :)

She's on the go.....

2009-08-15T21:21:00.004-04:00

Abigail has taken off! It's amazing how far she's come in the last two weeks. She is walking more than crawling now and VERY proud of herself. It's so sweet to see her do her wobbly walk around the house but also kinda sad, our little baby is becoming a toddler very fast! It's hard to believe she's our last one, though if it were up to her daddy, we'd have a couple more!

Abigail had a check up on Friday and weighed in at an even 19lbs and is 28 inches long. Huge, I know. She was even cooperative enough to show off her walking skills for the doctor.

Here's a short video of her walking (she was in a very silly mood at the time, such a happy girl).

If you feel lead, please pray for my brother in law's sister, Katie. She and her husband, Jason had a beautiful baby girl (Reese) on Tuesday. Their sweet girl passed away Thursday. Katie is an amazing woman with a strong faith but of course this has been devastating for them. Please pray that God will comfort them and carry them through this storm. A link to their blog: http://therowefam.blogspot.com/

Abigail's First Birthday

2009-07-20T14:05:00.006-04:00

On July 4th, we celebrated Abigail's first birthday. Abigail has been such a sweet blessing to our family and we are so thankful to God for her. It was a long journey to get our sweet girl here but she was more than worth the wait. She's a happy, busy and funny baby girl...and we wouldn't have it any other way!

We were in Arkansas for her birthday so she had a little family party at Nana and Papoo's house. I don't think she had a clue what was going on but she looooved her smash cake!

A Video Slideshow of Abigail's First Year.

Busy days...

2009-07-12T20:29:00.024-04:00

Wow, I'm so far behind. Obviously summertime has been pretty busy around here, either that or I just haven't felt like updating my blog. Hmm, where to begin? Hudson took off for an extended fishing trip the second week of June. He was gone an entire week, but came back with a lot of fish. Hopefully that trip won't be as long if he goes next year. Hudson's mom volunteered to come and keep me company. We had a lot of fun and did a lot of eating and shopping! Unfortunately Abigail came down with a bad ear infection, only the second time she's ever been sick, it was nice to have Margaret here to help with Miss Abigail's needy self.

The day after Hudson got home, we celebrated Maxwell's 6th Birthday! Hard to believe it's been 6 years since our sweet boy was born, it feels like at least 10. I kid. Maxwell is a tender-hearted, compassionate, outgoing, Star-Wars loving sugarcube. He's a protective and loving older brother and has perfected his role as a pesky little brother :) Now for some pictures of his big day!

How great is it that shooting water into the air is so entertaining?

Must have braces to join club. Fortunately for Olivia, 2 of Maxwell's best pals have older sisters who are Olivia's best friends.

Who could have guessed? A Star Wars cake!

Happy Birthday to the sweetest boy ever!

A couple of weeks after our little guy's birthday, we made the loooong trek to Arkansas, yeehaw! We spent several days in Hot Springs, soaking up the rays, eating a lot of food and boating around the lake. Hudson's parents were able to meet us there and provided a wonderful place to stay.

Hanging with Nana after a burger at Jason's.

There she is wrinkling that nose again.

Poor Abigail, she never gets any attention.

Nana spoiling Abigail with a slushie.

Olivia caught, reeled in and even posed with this bream.

Olivia sporting her patriotic braces.

Abigail's favorite pastime? Crackers on the deck with Papoo (or anyone else who will give her one!).

Silly girl.

Abigail watching her daddy, big sister and brother on the tube.

Check out that cool kid skiing!

Pigtails Anyone?

2009-06-15T00:14:00.005-04:00

When there is a need to brush a baby's hair after a bath, it's time for pigtails.

And yes. I did.

Freckles anyone?

2009-06-08T00:49:00.005-04:00

This pretty much sums up Maxwell's personality. He's a ham, but the kind of ham with pineapple and brown sugar all over it. Very Sweet!

A Great Way to End the Year

2009-06-02T23:54:00.003-04:00

Olivia and Maxwell have finished another year of school. Olivia had her best year ever in the 3rd grade. She had a fabulous teacher who she LOVED and she learned a ton. Awards day was this past Wednesday and Olivia scored a nifty certificate for all A's this semester and a sweet medal for all A's this year. She also was given a savings bond for having the 3rd highest Scholastic Reading Counts total for the whole school....my little girl loves to read. She has really enjoyed the Little House on the Prairie series the most this year.

Maxwell had a really fun year as well. His school doesn't do "real grades" until 2nd grade but he did receive all S's this year and never had a note sent home from his teacher for bad behavior...he saves all of his rambunctious, wild and strange behavior for home!

Somebody's....

2009-05-26T22:53:00.002-04:00

a fool for her daddy.

Finally..

2009-05-22T21:21:00.004-04:00

This is probably not blog worthy, but I'm going to blog about it anyway. I use the blog more as a journal for our children than anything else, I think Abigail would like seeing this picture and reading this post in a few years. So here it goes.

Hudson loves snuggling with our kids, especially while they're still babies. Olivia loved sleeping on her daddy's chest, once she slowed down long enough to fall asleep. Maxwell was a busy little guy so it was only on rare occasions you could find him in this position once he was mobile. Well, little Miss Abigail only had one nap yesterday so she was especially tired. I left her with Hudson while I ran to the gym; I told him to just put her down when she seemed tired. Hudson has been complaining lately that he can never get her to sleep on his chest....well, this is what I came home to last night. This man looooves his little girls.

'
Awwwww.

I took Abigail to the doctor for a weight check. She's at an even 17lbs and 26 1/2 inches tall. While there, I ran into her doctor and she said, "no worries, she's gaining..and you're small and you said her dad was small, right?" Uh no. Doc must not remember our first visit when Abigail was 2 weeks old...the one and only time she's met "dad". Abigail looks more and more like her big sis but she's definitely not going to follow in her footsteps size-wise. If she doesn't get some meat on her bones she's going to miss out on about half of her summer wardrobe...she's no where near a 12-18 months yet. We're thankful she's happy and healthy though, that's all that really matters!

Btw, I'm loving my new lens. That picture was taken in almost complete darkness (the TV was on) with no flash. I LOVE that cheap lens!

On your mark. Get set. Go!

2009-05-19T13:20:00.004-04:00

During their visit, Nana and Papoo bought the kids a slip-n-slide. They love it.

Ten months old already!?

2009-05-05T15:49:00.007-04:00

It's hard to believe that Miss Abigail is already 10 months old. I wish I could pause time for about 6 months, I absolutely love the first year of life. She's changed so much in such a short period of time. Abigail loves crawling and chasing her brother and also the cat! She's become very brave and adventurous in her attempts to climb the stairs. She's finally gotten her two top teeth in and has been good so far at not biting. If you look closely at the picture, you'll see a little curl right above her ear, this reminds me so much of Olivia. She's starting to talk a little and says, "momma" and "bye bye". We've just started working on the sign for "more". Abigail is still stuck at 16lbs but on a heavy day, after a lot of eating she does sneak up near 17lbs. We go for a weight check next week. We cannot wait to get her in the pool Memorial Day weekend, I have a feeling she's going to love it!

Lovin' the Outdoors

2009-04-21T15:06:00.007-04:00

The weather is finally nice and we have been enjoying the outdoors as much as possible. Olivia and Maxwell started soccer and had their first game on Saturday. They both did really well, Olivia stayed on defense the entire game and did a wonderful job as goalie. Maxwell picked up where he left off last year and scored 4 goals, he was PUMPED! He also enjoyed having his daddy as coach.

Abigail's new favorite thing to do outside is crawl all over the backyard, she loves going up and down the slope in our yard and loves exploring it all. It's so nice to be able to get her outside and enjoy the nice weather.

Maxwell taking control...

SCORE!

Olivia..on defense and smiling.

Abigail going near the danger zone (a.k.a. Maddie)

She loves to crawl...fast!

Number One is Nine!

2009-04-13T20:54:00.016-04:00

Our first baby turned 9 yrs old last week. It's hard to believe it's almost been a decade since we first became parents. God blessed us with a good baby and a sweet girl; Olivia is a loving and happy girl with a sweet spirit. Olivia loves reading this blog, so in her honor....nine facts about the birthday girl:

We are so grateful for:

1. Olivia's sweet spirit and her love for God and desire to learn more about Him and His will for her life.

2. Olivia's love for her baby brother and sister...they (Olivia and Maxwell) have their bad moments, but play so well together most of the time!

3. Olivia's passion for learning, we are so thankful we don't have to nag her to do her homework or study!!

4. Olivia's passion for food! We've never worried she's not eating enough...I wonder who she inherited that appetite from?

5. Olivia's curiosity...at least 2 or 3 times a week I direct her to her dad to answer a random question.

6. Olivia's love for writing...we hope this continues, we tell her it's important to be a good writer!

7. Her love for reading...no idea where she got this from!

8. Olivia's love for school! Her teacher recently told me that she is all business in class and very serious...then a chatterbox during lunch and on the playground!

9. Olivia's ability to see the best in people...one of her lastest quotes, "Don't judge a book by it's cover!". Such a good heart, we pray she'll always see the best in people!

Mommy and Daddy love you sweet girl! We are soo proud of you and thankful that God blessed us with you nine years ago!

Busy Baby

2009-03-25T20:07:00.004-04:00

Abigail reminds me soo much of Olivia..and she's just as busy as her older sister was!

A Tutu on Youtube

2009-03-22T22:29:00.007-04:00

I'm a visual learner, so it was a great find for me to discover that you can find directions for just about anything on Youtube! I stumbled across a video of how to make a no sew tutu. Abigail and I hopped in the car and headed to JoAnn's...a little while later, we had a sweet, pink tutu! (Don't pay attention to the wrinkled bow.)

I'll give you a hint to my next project.

Olivia's Day

2009-03-11T08:15:00.008-04:00

Olivia receiving her award.

Olivia with her certificate and ribbon.

Proof mommy does exist and proof that daddy does know how to use the camera.

After weeks of studying and preparing, Olivia competed in the county's Science Olympiad the first weekend in March. Olivia studied various topics relating to our environment in anticipation of the questions she would be asked to answer.

After lunch, all of the parents, teachers and students gathered for the awards ceremony. We were thrilled that Olivia was awarded 6th place! Not too shabby for a third grader..competing against 13 other elementary schools.

2009-03-08T21:44:00.004-04:00

What a difference a week can make. Last weekend it was cold and snowy and this weekend it was warm and beautiful! My mom came to town last weekend and we visited the GA Aquarium. The kids enjoyed showing Ganmamma around during her first trip to the Aquarium

The next day, we headed to church, it was drizzling when we went in and a winter wonderland when we walked out!

Yummy Friday

2009-03-06T17:22:00.004-05:00

The weather was so nice today after school, we took advantage of it! Abigail loved watching Maxwell ride around the yard in his gator. And Olivia and Maxwell had a picnic outside and jumped on the trampoline. All three took some time to pose for mommy.

Someone wishes mommy would have put socks on her feet so she didn't have to feel that yucky grass!

Check out those teeth!

This Week's Happenings

2009-02-27T23:39:00.005-05:00

Olivia came home with her face painted after church Wednesday night.

Maxwell got to raid his classroom's "treasure box" this week, he was THRILLED to get this happy meal toy out of it. You would have thought he had just won the lottery!

Little Miss Short Stuff. I couldn't resist taking a picture of Abigail in the same position as her cousin, Garrett. I was curious to see how she compares to him in height, not even close! I wonder about Miss Grace, Abigail's other baby cousin...I'm tagging her mommy for a similar picture!! hint!

Short Sunday.

2009-02-22T21:39:00.007-05:00

Abigail's discovered a fun thing...her tongue.

Valentines and Treats

2009-02-16T16:37:00.010-05:00

How nice that Valentine's Day fell on a Saturday this year, we got to spend the whole day celebrating. Olivia and Maxwell went to a party Saturday night at the home of one of our church pastors. Several of the families from church hosted children so that their parents could celebrate Valentine's kiddie-free! We took our smallest Valentine with us to dinner, she really enjoyed getting dressed up and going on a date with mommy and daddy.

Her eyes in this picture make me laugh.

Mommy and Daddy's three Valentine's

I had been wanting to try to make cookies on a stick with royal icing for a while, so what better time than Valentine's Day! I decided to make these cookies for the kids to give to their friends and teachers during their school parties on Friday. It took about 2 1/2 days to make the cookies, each layer of icing needs to dry for 24 hrs, it was completely worth it though, the cookies turned out great and actually tasted really good!! One of Maxwell's teachers thought they were store bought, so I consider that a success!

Abigail had to make a trip to the doctor today to have a rash checked out. She weighed in at 16lbs 7ozs, that's about the 30th perecentile for her age of 7 1/2 months. She's eating really well and has not turned down one fruit or vegetable yet. Her doctor suggested to continue feeding solids twice a day (she's eating about 4ozs at a time) and nursing 6-7 times a day. She stressed that it's very important for her to continue to nurse b/c that is where her nourishment comes from, not the solids. The solids just get her ready to eat textured food once she turns one year old. She needs the fat from the milk to help grow her brain and that is super important....you see, Hudson and I are banking on all three kids being super smart so that they can all get full scholarships to college. We'd like to use their college funds to take some luxurious and exotic vacations around the world once we are empty nesters. Huh, what? Oh wow, I just woke up from a dream....anyway, Abigail is doing just fine. ;)

First Tooth

2009-02-10T13:33:00.004-05:00

Abigail's first tooth is up just enough to see, if you click on the picture you can get a better view.
Her second tooth is visible under the gum, before long, she'll have some toothy smiles to show off. :)

Cora

2009-02-09T23:17:00.002-05:00

While visiting Kelly's blog to check on Harper, I learned of a family that just lost their sweet 10 month old daughter, Cora. Cora was diagnosed with neuroblastoma (a form of cancer) only 2 short weeks ago. This sweet baby is now with Jesus but her parents are in need of prayers, so if you feel lead, please visit their blog and pray for them!

It's hard to believe that two weeks ago their biggest concern with Cora was a simple ear infection. It's a jolting reminder of how quickly things can change; it's a reminder to be thankful for your child's health..even when they are fussy because they are cutting a new tooth or have a stuffy nose and can't nurse well. I learned an important lesson almost 2 1/2 yrs ago, God never promised us a fair and perfect life, there are going to be valleys, but He will always be there with us and He does not waste these painful experiences. There will be blessings that come from this family's pain and from the life of this sweet baby, Cora.

"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

A new do

2009-02-06T15:27:00.003-05:00

Please Pray

2009-02-03T16:29:00.002-05:00

While checking on Harper (see link on the sidebar), I came across a woman in desperate need of our prayers. At 38 weeks pregnant, Cynthiaa's doctor discovered that her sweet baby boy had died in utero due to cord strangulation. This hit close to home for me, having lost our baby girl at 15 weeks and then delivering Abigail with her cord wrapped around her neck twice and a nice size knot in that cord, things could have been so different for us. Thank you God for your grace!

Look Who's Joining the Club!

2009-02-01T23:43:00.004-05:00

Abigail's not one that likes to be left out...she now joins Olivia and Maxwell in the new teeth club. Each of the kids currently have a new tooth coming in right now. Abigail's first tooth cut through her gum today...look for pictures of her new tooth later in the week!!

Quick, easy, and oh so yummy!

2009-01-26T21:35:00.002-05:00

I thought I would give something new a try. I found a website that had some recipes for homemade baby food. I never realized how fast and easy it is to make your own baby food! So I thought I'd give it a try. First, I did something I rarely do....I went to Wal-mart. (I had to head over there to pick up some throw pillows for my new bedding.) So while I was there, I set out to find some sort of chopper/food processor to make my little one some sweet puree. I came across an inexpensive Hamilton Beach 3 cup chopper. This chopper works perfectly and gets the job done.

First up, I tried the bananas. Bananas are probably the one thing that I won't be chopping, kinda made them a little frothy...mashing them up with a fork or potato masher for a couple of minutes works better. Abigail LOVED the bananas, and I can't say I blame her. They smelled and tasted sooo much sweeter than the jarred. Yum! Be careful not to feed a baby too much banana though, the average banana is about 180 calories, most Stage 1 jarred food has no more than 45 calories. Start off with 1/3 to 1/2 of a banana.

Last night, I tried the sweet potato. I baked a small sweet potato, took the peel off and then put it all in the chopper for about 10 seconds. You can add water to make the consistency you need. Again, Abigail loved this!

Tonight, Abigail tried green beans for the first time. Before seasoning the beans I was cooking for the rest of the family, I dipped out about 10 beans and pureed them in the chopper. The consistency was similar to applesauce. Abigail's first bite was not so favorable but with each bite she seemed to enjoy them more and more.

Tomorrow we're trying pears for the first time. They are very easy to do given their softness. All I had to do was peel and cut up the pear and then puree. Again, the consistency of this was similar to applesauce. I'm looking forward to trying squash and carrots, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Abigail will continue to like her new menu!

No denying her..

2009-01-24T23:32:00.002-05:00

I came across a picture of Abigail that I took this week. I think it's so sweet how much she looks like her daddy and in some instances, her Aunt Meredith. There's definitely no way Hudson could ever deny Abigail, not that he would want to of course!

"Hello Partner!"

2009-01-23T14:41:00.006-05:00

Olivia and Maxwell celebrated the 100th day of school yesterday. Maxwell came with some funky glasses that he gladly modeled for me.

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Later on in the day, he came downstairs dressed in some sort of costume and said to me, "Helloooo partner!" Silly boy.

Who is that passy-loving baby?

2009-01-19T22:10:00.010-05:00

Since the day she was born, we've been working with Abigail on taking a pacifier. I know some experts would not think this was a wise decision, but I've been there and done that with 2 other babies and it is sooo nice to have something to offer the little one when they are screaming their sweet little heads off in the car or crib. All of a sudden, without warning, Abigail has taken to a pacifier! And my sweet little coordinated baby can not only pick up 2 different styles of passys, she can get them in her mouth! I offer it to her after she's eaten and when she starts to get a little sleepy. Thankfully, she's a really good baby and doesn't just get fussy for no reason (excuse the bragging) but it does keep her occupied in the car, and we are in the car a lot.

She's also really improved her sitting by herself skills, I never invested in a Bumbo seat (I'm too cheap) so she doesn't get a ton of practice sitting up, but she's doing really well!! Abigail's hair is growing like crazy, it's just now to the point that I have to actually brush it down after a bath or it will stick up all over the place.

Check out that profile and all of that hair.

If I never post again on this blog, you'll know it's b/c my mom drove back up here to Fayetteville to strangle me for posting this picture, but I thought it was a cute shot of the two sleepy heads this morning (check out Abigail's crazy hair).

Our little one posing for me while watching some cartoons on TV.

In Olivia news, she found out today that she only has three more visits with her orthodontist before she gets her braces off (in May). She's getting them off much sooner than expected, the doctor has done about as much as he can at this point and she may have to have them again in a few years depending on how the rest of her teeth come in. Our experience with her having braces has been so much easier than I expected. I envisioned crying fits after having her braces tightened (I can remember how badly that would hurt me) and stuff getting stuck in her brackets, but it's really been no big deal.

She's acting silly here, but she wanted to show off the pink bands on her brackets...she got those today.

The biggest thing going on with Maxwell right now is his EXTREMELY loose tooth. This tooth is hanging on by a thread, if he sneezes I think it's going to fly out of his mouth. But he refuses to let Hudson pull it (I don't pull teeth, I pulled Maxwell's last one and it grossed me out). I'll try to get a picture of the thing dangling out of his mouth tomorrow...unless he swallows it in his sleep tonight.

As far as me, I'm loving my new laptop. This gem is so fast and I'm actually enjoying Vista, despite all of the bad press, it's working very nicely for me. I love being able to lay in my cozy bed and surf the net until I can't keep my eyes open any longer. By the way for you Gymboree fans, don't forget, Gymbucks expire soon!

Hudson has had a long hard weekend, he's been working on achieving a goal and just cannot get it done no matter how hard he tries. Despite the kids and I cheering him on every step of the way, he's still suffered an agonizing defeat each and every time. No this is not Ga. Pacific related...that stuff is a breeze compared to this....bless his heart, he just CANNOT rescue Princess Peach on Super Mario Bros. This is the old school Mario Bros...the game we played in like '84. We downloaded it to the Wii (for a whopping $5) and it's a been a thorn in Hudson's side since he first picked up the remote to play it. He just can't get past old Bowser on 8-4. If you have any tips, send them his way! And if I never post again on this blog, you'll know it's b/c Hudson strangled me for disclosing his Wii addiction! :)

Yummy Treat

2009-01-13T16:30:00.004-05:00

After Maxwell's haircut (one of his favorite things to do), the kids and I made a quick stop by Starbucks to use a giftcard (thanks Ursula!). I may be the last person to realize this but they now have kid size drinks (80zs) and they were only $1.10. I bought Olivia and Maxwell hot chocolates, they come in cute little cups, just like the adult sizes...which of course, Olivia thought was so cool; She had never drank out of a "real coffee cup before!". Another neat thing about them is that they aren't near as hot as the one I ordered, they were warm instead...so the kids didn't have to wait around for it to cool off. So if you're kids are in the mood for a nice little chocolate treat, stop by a Starbucks!

Six months already!?

2009-01-12T15:12:00.004-05:00

The past six months have flown by! Abigail has been such a good baby and has been a sweet addition to our family. She had her 6 month check up today and is quite the small fry. She weighs in at 15lbs 6ozs (38th percentile) and is 24.75 inches long (16th percentile), she obviously is not taking after her daddy in this area! Thankfully she still has not had one cold (knock on wood) so there was not a lot to discuss with her doctor!

Some of Abigail's favorite things:

1. She loves jumping around in her exersaucer.
2. She loves chewing on a passy after eating.
3. She loves falling asleep to her Fisher Price aquarium.
4. She enjoys watching the cat and trying to grab him if he's within her range!
5. She loves burying her head in mommy and daddy's shoulder when she gets excited.
6. She loves grabbing mommy's hair and pulling it when she eats.

2009-01-12T13:40:00.003-05:00

Olivia has been wanting to visit the World of Coke for a while, so Hudson had the idea of taking the kids Sunday after church. Olivia and Maxwell enjoyed checking out all of the Coke memorabilia and of course tasting all of the different Coke drinks from around the world. The 4D movie was really fun and despite the shaking of the seats, the spraying of water and the loudness of it all, Abigail took it in without being scared silly. It was a fun day out with the kids and definitely worth the trip!

Another Slideshow

2009-01-07T20:45:00.002-05:00

We had tons of pics taken in Crossett this year (due to the fact Meredith got a new camera!). I think she took over 1000 pictures. I know you all have been checking my blog every minute for another slideshow (yeah right)...so I don't want to disappoint ;)

Such a big girl

2009-01-05T19:35:00.006-05:00

Abigail has recently started eating solids. So far, she's eating bananas and pears, we are gradually introducing her to new foods. I haven't decided what to start next, possibly sweet potatoes? Since she's such a big girl now, I got out her new seat to eat in. She really likes it and enjoys playing with the toys on the tray after eating!

My view of Abigail from the kitchen....she looks so itty bitty!

Ganmamma feeding her some pears.

Just rolled in...

2009-01-02T22:29:00.009-05:00

Once again we survived the looooong drive from Arkansas to Georgia. We had loads of fun with the family and the kids had a blast. Not only did we celebrate Christmas, but also the 80th birthday of Hudson's grandmother. Memaw is such a sweet blessing to us and we were so happy to be there to help celebrate her birthday. I must give my mother in law a shout out for being a wonderful nurse to me and Nana to the kids...she did a fabulous job of taking care of me while I recuperated from having my gall bladder removed this past Monday. She was right there instructing me to take it easy and also jumped all over me if I even looked like I was thinking about picking Abigail up or doing anything I shouldn't have been doing. Thanks Margaret, you're the best! Thanks to Meredith and Emily as well, for sticking around Monday morning to keep my 3 kiddos while Hudson and Margaret were at the hospital with me...it was nice to know the kids were well taken care of while mommy was headed under the knife! (or scope)

I only have about half of my Christmas pics loaded (onto my sweet new laptop that my sweet old husband gave me for Christmas). I've made a couple of slideshows and will post the rest of the pics tomorrow, including Christmas in Fayetteville with my side of the fam.

2008-12-01T21:36:00.002-05:00

Abigail will turn 5 months old this week. It's hard to believe it's been that long since our little firecracker was born. She's been such a good and easy baby, which is definitely a blessing considering she's our third. She seems to be pretty laid back and easygoing unless she's sleepy, then she wants to eat and go to sleep! In the last week, she's started to scooch backwards whenever she has her tummy time. If I'm not careful she ends up under our ottoman (everything but her shoulders and head!). I have a feeling she'll be crawling a lot sooner than her big sister and brother. Within the last two weeks she's discovered Baby Einstein. Baby Newton is her favorite, she gets sooo excited when the puppets appear.

Olivia and Maxwell are getting back into their school routine after the Thanksgiving break. Maxwell is doing so well with his reading skills, he tries so hard and is very proud of himself when he masters a new skill. Olivia is starting practice tomorrow for the Science Olympiad, she's excited to find out what exactly is involved and excited to be working with some 5th graders! I'm so thankful that both Olivia and Maxwell have such a passion for school, let's pray that continues thru college!

Recessive Genes At Work

2008-11-21T22:53:00.003-05:00

I was just downloading some pictures from my camera and came across one that I took of Abigail the day before yesterday. I never would have thought 2 out of our 3 children would have blue eyes...of course, Abigail's eye color could still change to green. Hudson's great grandfather had blue eyes, as well as his Uncle. My grandfather, aunt and her four children all have blue eyes. Don't get me wrong, I don't sit around and ponder these kind of things all day. I always assumed that at least one kiddo would have Hudson's brown eyes..but he does have 2 sweet nieces and a nephew that have some gorgeous brown eyes. :)

Some recent pictures...

2008-11-17T13:18:00.010-05:00

We've been busy the last couple of weeks with lots of activity. The kids have been excited to spend time with their grandparents. My mom has been able to come up to see us fairly often and Hudson's parents came this past weekend. We're looking forward to seeing everyone even more during the holidays.

Abigail giving Ganmamma her pirate smile.

4 months old!

2008-11-06T00:46:00.002-05:00

As of this week, Abigail is four months old. It was exactly one year ago that we found out we were expecting a little miracle. Our sweet baby has been nothing but a blessing to us, we've enjoyed her so much. It's been a lot less stressful this time around, I think part of that is due to having "been there and done that" and also the fact that it was such an effort to get to this point. The struggles of a miscarriage and infertility help to keep things in perspective and not sweat the small stuff. My family of five is happy and healthy and we're blessed to have each other!

Abigail had her four month check up yesterday and some nasty shots. She did fairly well with the shots and seemed relieved when they were over and mommy could pick her up. She weighed in at 14lbs even (45th percentile) and is 24 inches long (35th). She's doing great all around, she loves her naps and is gracious enough to sleep through the night, poor baby has to be woken up to take her big sister and brother to school. Below is a picture of Abigail and her daddy right after he got home from work, I was able to snap a picture without him knowing. But what I really need to do is get some video, it's amazing what kind of noises he'll make to get her to smile and "talk" to him!

Trunk or Treat

2008-11-06T00:31:00.008-05:00

On Friday we headed to church for Trunk or Treat, it was a lot of fun. Our Sunday School class did a Willy Wonka theme and it was really cute. We had dinner at church and the kids enjoyed the rock wall and inflatables and of course collected plenty of candy....which mommy's been enjoying :)

Superman shooting some hoops.

"Dr Pope" giving the rock wall a try.

Our little butterfly...can't imagine why she wouldn't smile for me..heehee.

Abigail was worn out from all of the excitement, she was even so sleepy she took a passy!

Pumpkin Time

2008-11-06T00:23:00.004-05:00

Every year, Hudson and the kids carve a jack o lantern. This year was no exception, Olivia and Maxwell picked out a stencil and then got busy. Daddy did the dirty work of getting all of the goo out of the pumpkin and the kids were happy to assist when needed.

i

2008-10-26T20:58:00.005-04:00

It's amazing how fast a year can go by. Exactly a year ago today, I had my embryo transfer. Two beautiful embryos were transfered and we held our breath for two weeks. Hudson was out of town for his grandfather's 80th birthday (of course I insisted he go) so my mom was kind enough to take me to the hospital for the procedure. Hudson and I had no idea whether God would bless us again with another baby so we just placed it all in His hands and waited (rather impatiently). Praise the Lord, two weeks later I was expecting our sweet Abigail Grace.

This weekend we went to a birthday party for one of Olivia's friend. "M" turned 8 yrs old and had a wonderful party with a fall festival theme. Olivia's favorite was the horse rides and Maxwell enjoyed the games. What a fun time! (I didn't get many pictures b/c I had Abigail strapped to me ((Baby Bjorn)) and my battery died, once again.)

Before the party...notice the hot pink band Olivia chose at her last ortho appt.

Sweet Sister

2008-10-21T19:31:00.003-04:00

While I was posting the "Not too Shabby" post below, I realized Olivia was reading one of her favorite books to Maxwell before they went to bed. I was able to capture some video without them realizing it! What a sweet big sister. :)

Not Too Shabby

2008-10-21T19:07:00.006-04:00

Abigail recently went for her 3 month weigh-in. She weighed 13lbs4ozs; she gained about 1 1/2lbs since her 2 month check-up, not too shabby. She's a champ at sleeping and eating and smiles at just about anyone who talks to her. Abigail loves traveling around in her Baby Bjorn (thanks Aunt Mer) whether it's walking around the neighborhood or shopping with mommy, she loves checking out the sights around her and even sometimes falls asleep in it! She also loves her Aquarium bouncy seat, she gets so excited listening to the music and kicks her legs wildly as she watches the bubbles in front of her. I have a feeling she's going to be a very busy toddler!

2008-10-16T18:45:00.001-04:00

Some random pictures from this week.

2008-09-25T19:42:00.007-04:00

Abigail is getting so big, she's almost 3 months old and is probably around 14lbs. I'll take her for a weight check at the end of the week. She is eating and sleeping like a champ (slept 11 hrs straight last night!). She's turning out to be the easiest baby I've had so far. She is really sweet and it doesn't take much to make her smile.

Abigail definitely looks like her daddy!

Someone got braces!