Our Lifesong...

Last Day of Being 2!!

2011-03-09T19:50:00.000-08:00

And here we are at the end of another year! I was thinking today....Chad and I have know had a child longer than we were married with no child! I can't believe how fast the last three years have gone by and how much fun and joy God has blessed us with through this little guy! Here's how he spent the VERY RAINY afternoon of being two...

SIDEWALK CHALK INSIDE THE GARAGE

LAUGHING AT ME AND HIMSELF

PIXING (as he says) THINGS

I can't wait to see what year number 3 holds for this sweet little man. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALEB!!!

It's Christmas Time Again!!!

2010-11-27T05:10:00.000-08:00

Oh! How I love this time of year! I love all the hustle and bustle, I love shopping for the perfect gift for family and friends, I love decorating my house for the season and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE designing and sending out Christmas cards!! This is our 6th married Christmas and every year I have used Shutterfly to design our cards. Not only do they have wonderful cards to choose from, but the shipping is super fast. I have never once been disappointed in our cards. In the past years I have always sent the flat photo cards because they are great quality at a fantastic price and we send lots of cards so I need a good price! BUT...this year I am really liking the flat stationary cards and think I may order some of these this time. The new holiday collection is just wonderful. There is so much to choose from - from elegant to funky! I love that! They are on cardstock rather than photo paper and just look great! I am also considering doing something for the first time this year and that is making a photo calendar. I have never attempted this, but would love to have it throughout the year and I think it will make a great gift for some special people in our family.

So....now I'm off to attempt taking that perfect photo for our card! Thank goodness their cards are so cute it will cover up any of my awful photography skills!!

See ya later Ali-GATOR!

2010-03-06T20:58:00.000-08:00

Today was a BEEEEAUTIFUL day!! I am a huge fan of winter, but today left me wishing for Spring. Caleb loves to be outside so I think we have lots to look forward to as the weather gets warmer. Since the weather was so wonderful today we headed over to our friends' house (also named Chad and Kerri) so that Caleb could play for a while with their son, Drake. Caleb and Drake are exactly 1 month apart, with Drake being the elder! Today's highlight: The John Deer Gator. Oh boy did these kids have fun! Drake is quite the professional driver and Caleb had a blast being his sidekick while holding on for dear life. Check out his grip on those handles! :) These boys laughed so hard. Caleb's favorite part was when they would get stuck and the tires would spin. He would do one of those hard, can't-catch-your-breath laughs every single time. Both Chads and both Carrie/Kerri's had a great time watching the boys. We look forward to lots more playtimes with Drake. Here are a few more pics of their fun together:

I'm just sayin'.....

2010-02-09T11:02:00.001-08:00

...that I am the worst blogger in blogland. Hopefully I will get better very soon.

Cookin' Christmas Cookies

2009-12-22T11:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we went to hang out with Lindsey and Ella to start off Christmas week with a little cookie baking!! Lindsey and I bought the kids these aprons last year so we only thought it appropriate to get together so they could wear them!! :) We had a great time. We made sugar cookies with icing then let Ella and Caleb decorate them with sprinkles and chocolate chips. Caleb was very into the sprinkles and Ella was very into the chocolate chips....eating them at least! :) Here are some pictures of our great time together....

Oh....yeah. And after the cookie eating, when the sugar began to kick in, Caleb felt it neccessary to take Ella down. He thought it was hilarious. Ella.....not so much!!

Three Words....

2009-12-11T10:24:00.000-08:00

Three words that can melt your heart are I Love You. It doesn't matter who speaks them, they are priceless words. Just since last weekend Caleb has started saying these words and it just melts my heart everytime I hear them. Although I know he doesn't really know what they mean yet, it is still so sweet. Most of the time you have to help him start by saying "IIIIII...." and he will finish by saying "YUUUUUB YYYOOOOUUU!" (as he points to himself!) BUT...the other night he was in the tub and completely unprompted he looked right at me and said all three words by himself. BE STILL MY SOUL! I almost got a little teary eyed! And then this morning as Chad was leaving he looked at him and said " IIIIIIII YUUUUB....(pause)....Da-da!!" It's just so precious watching him pick up on so many things. He's like a little sponge and is repeating everything! I am loving this stage!

Fhoto Friday!!

2009-10-29T20:04:00.000-07:00

WOW! This is LONG overdue!!!

Rockin' out at Lifeway Christian Bookstore!

A little playtime before bedtime.

Punkin Carvin' Par-tay at our house

Final products!!

Exploring, exploring, exploring!!!

Happy Birthday, Love!

2009-10-22T14:40:00.000-07:00

(Notice: I am a very enthusiastic birthday song singer. I like to bring out my operatic voice for these occassions.)

October 22, 1980. I was 19 months old. I was probably running around my house, just like Caleb does these days, getting into everything I could in our little house on Longhill. I'm sure I didn't have a care in the world except eating, sleeping and playing. Again, just like Caleb these days. BUT.....as God would have it, down the highway in Anderson, SC Chad Bruce Byce was being born. At 19 months old the person I was to marry entered the world. After this day it was just God's timing as to when we would meet. We lived our seperate lives for 22ish years until we met at an FCA camp my junior year of college. Again, as God would have it, even after our intial meeting we didn't see each other again for about 3 years....until that day in the foyer at FBC Simpsonville. There he stood propped against the wall in true Chad fashion (as I now know!), looking all relaxed, chatting with one of the youth. I recognized him, went over to say hello, hung out with him and a group of other friends at the Waffle House that night and well....the rest is history!!

I say all that to say this....Do you know how important prayer is? I am so thankful that I know without a doubt that Chad's parents and my parenrts prayed for our future spouses. I am so thankful that Chad's parents raised him according to God's word, that they taught him to measure his successes in life not by the world's standards, but by God's. I am thankful that they took the time to read God's word to him, to share their love for missions with him, to pray with and over him. I am thankful for all this because these things, plus all of Chad's other life experiecens and the way God has worked in his life has shaped him to be the person he is today - the person I get to call my husband and the person Caleb gets to call "da-da". So....if you haven't already starting praying for your child's spouse, today is not too late to start - to pray that they come to know Christ as soon as they understand, that they run hard after Him, and that they will understand God's call to purity. Afterall, they could be being born right this moment!!

Oh...and not to mention that God answered the prayers of my heart for a husband in Chad. :) We are as different as night and day, but I love it!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHAD!!!!

EASY-PEASY PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES!!!

2009-10-14T11:27:00.000-07:00

I'd say it's a fact that cooler weather promotes cooking. I guess because you have to be inside more. Today while I was inside because of the nastiness outside (Lord, I am thankful for the rain, but like the sun also!) I decided to whip out my super easy peanut butter cookie recipe. Folks, you never need to buy PB cookies again once you know this recipe; it would almost be silly. Check it out below.

Preheat oven to 325.

Mix together 1 cup peanut butter, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla extract. Stir well! Form into small balls and press with the tonges of a fork. Bake for 15 min or until a little golden. Place on wire racks after removing from oven and let "set". They take a little while to get firm (5-10 min). They do not get bigger while they bake so the size you make them is the size they will stay. You can also add a mix-in if you like. I used mini chocolate morsels today, but other ideas might be toffee chips, peanuts, whatever you like!

When it rains...

2009-10-06T07:56:00.000-07:00

First, we pitch a giant fit because it means we can't go outside much during the day, especially now that it's been much cooler outside.

Next, we decide on the fun things we can do inside the house! Today we decided to have a little fun in the kitchen sink. Caleb is a big fan of playing in water so since it was too cool outside to play in the rain puddles, I just let him have a little splash in the sink. Maybe this means he will love washing dishes one day!

Finally, we made some yummy caramel corn. What a great addition to a rainy, fall day! A house full of a wonderful caramel smell and a tasty snack! You can make your own by following this recipe.

Caleb watching the popcorn pop.

Cooking up the caramel.

The final product!

Going, Going....GONE!

2009-09-29T18:02:00.001-07:00

Oh Caleb and his corn. This kid loves it...and I must say it's one of my favorite things to watch him eat! He has a little process where he starts by gnawing away at the ends and then he moves to the middle; however, not only does he chew away at the kernels he also spends much time sucking the juices off the cob. It's so funny and it does a nice time occupying his time at the table. Hmmm...come to think of it, I just may start giving him corn on the cob every night! HA! Enjoy the pics!

Gnawing away!!

Inspecting to see what is left...

A happy corn eater!!

The remains

Labor-less Weekend

2009-09-08T07:11:00.000-07:00

All play, no work. That's the way our Labor Day holiday was, and that's just the way I like it! We had such a great long weekend. Chad and I got to spend some time by ourselves and we also got lots of quality as out little family of three. Check out the pictures below for a recap of our days together.

WE RELAXED!!!!
Obviously I was up and about, but Caleb, Chad and Daisy enjoyed a relaxing Friday morning. Caleb woke up and was just getting over being sick so I let him watch a "movie" (aka Baby Einstien) in our room. You can tell Chad and Daisy were oblivious to him being there!

IKEA and BILLY GRAHAM LIBRARY:
Chad and I took off on Saturday to head to Charlotte. I've been wanting to hit up IKEA so mom and dad kept Caleb and off we went. We decided that since we were headed that way we'd also stop by the Billy Graham Library since we'd been wanting to go there as well. WOW! What a neat trip. The whole experience far surpassed our expectations. What a wonderful ministry this is!! It is so inspirational to watch the journey of a man who simply completely yielded his life to Christ. I knew he had touched a lot of lives, but WOW! If you've never been here, you definitely need to make the trip. I promise you it will be a blessing.

GEORGIA AQUARIUM:

Monday we decided to take Caleb to the GA Aquarium. Another very neat place. I will say, it was a little much for an almost 18 month old, but there were parts he really enjoyed. It was somewhat difficult because there were tons of people so we couldn't really just let him walk around so he got a little frustrated having to be held or in the stroller the entire time. However, mommy and daddy had a blast!!

Caleb's favorite part was playing outside of the aqauarium!!!

NEW COUSIN!!!

And last.....although we had a labor-less weekend we had one family member who took the day quite literally!!! Caleb's first first cousin was born on Labor Day. His name is Braylon Jackson Byce and he and his mommy are doing well. Caleb has not met him yet, but is sure to love him!

Do you see what I see?!?!

2009-09-01T06:16:00.001-07:00

For weeks now I have been looking for the first signs of fall. The very first sign I found was on the cover of my Southern Living magazine that arrived last week. Yesterday, while Caleb and I were playing outside, we found something a little more promising. Take a look...

(look around the bottom of the tree!)

Caleb would pick up a leaf and say, "OOOOOOOhhhhh" and then rip it apart and throw it down. I can't wait until they all turn crunchy because he will have a blast!! Fall is definitely on it's way. Oh...and the weather yesterday was absolutely PERFECT!!! It almost felt a little cool. Lovin' it!!!!

Where's the horse shampoo?

2009-08-30T19:15:00.000-07:00

I had a baby shower to attend on Saturday so Chad was in charge of going to get Caleb's hair cut. Keep in mind this is his 5th haircut, so you'd think he might start becoming a pro at it. HA! If you walked in the salon while he was having his haircut you would probably think the stylist was stabbing him with the scissors while his mom or dad held him down and allowed her to. It's the worst expereince ever!!! He did great with his very first haircut and everyone after that has pretty much been a nightmare! I told Chad that since I have to take him to the Dr. by myself, then he had to have the job of getting his haircut! After this past Saturday we may just let the kid have long hair! Here's how it went down:

This is a picture of Caleb the day before his haircut with my brother, Corey.
AND........

This is the result of a screaming, flailing, fighting little boy who let the stylist majorly gap up his baby boy hair. This was the only thing left to do after she cut the large accidental chunks out of his hair...

Chad called me on the phone while I was at the shower and said, "Umm....I think you might be upset about what I did." Yeah, not a great way to start a phone call. Anyway, he explained and yes, I was a little upset, but I got home and he's still a super cute kid!! Thank goodness it's only hair. I feel sure that with daily use of horse shampoo it will soon grow back!!!

FREE PUPPY!

2009-08-04T19:15:00.001-07:00

Need a snuggly friend?!?!! Here's your ticket!!This little guy showed up at Chad's office today. He was with four others and they all now have homes. He's the only one left....poor guy! We have him with us right now and he is very, very sweet and seems to get along great with our cocker spaniel and with Caleb. Chad took him to be checked out by the vet today and he's fine. He had his first round of puppy shots and is due for boosters in a week. He is about 6 weeks old and we think he may be in the lab family. If you or someone you know would like to give this little guy home, please contact me ASAP. We need to have a home by the week's end.

Arabian Tea

2009-07-14T06:51:00.001-07:00

This past weekend I made my first journey to Arab (pronounced aaaaaay-rab), Alabama, the hometown of my brother’s fiancé. In Arab it is tradition for each bride to have a bridal “tea”. I had never heard of this before and it was nothing short of interesting. Kristen tried to explain it to me before we came, but this is one of those things you just have to attend yourself. Here are some facts about the “tea”:

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FACT #1:

You don't actually drink tea. They just served typical shower food - finger foods, fruit, and PUNCH! Check out the picture below.

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FACT #2:

The bride doesn’t open the gifts; the hostesses do. The bride basically stands at the door and greets her guests. Most of the gifts have already been delivered to the house hosting the tea prior to the event. A majority of the people in Arab buy their gifts at a few little shops downtown so these stores deliver the purchased gifts to the hosting house and the gifts are already on display in rooms throughout the house (by categories) when you arrive. (see pics below)

Kristen greeting guests w/ the hostess.

Room #1: Kitchen things

Room #2: Auburn related items. No VT things for Corey. Poor guy!

Room #3: Baskets, linens, etc.

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FACT #3:

It is considered rude for the bride to walk through the rooms and look at her gifts! I thought this was crazy!! Kristen and Corey had to wait until they got back to her house to look through it all; although I think I did hear Kristen mention that she went and peeked at the things one quick time!!

Kristen with her mom and sisters.

Me and Kristen

Soon-to-be Sosebee's

Kristen asked me what I thought it when it was over and I told her it was “different”! I meant this in the nicest way; just nothing like I have ever been to or even heard of! I asked her if she got bored just standing by the door and not getting to look at her loot, but she said she had fun and that it was just what she had expected. Of course, she’s been going to Arabian “teas” her whole life!!

It was exciting getting to meet all her family and friends. Only 18 more days and I’ll have a new sis! I can’t wait!

P.S. The house that the shower was hosted in was AMAZING! I never thought I would see a hot pink dining room that looked good, but I did this weekend. I felt like I was walking through the pages of a magazine! Loved it!

The Lazy Days of Summer (so far...)

2009-07-01T10:22:00.000-07:00

Although we haven't vacationed anywhere this summer, we've done lots of fun summer-y activities over the past few weeks. The weather has been unbelievably hot so we've done just about anything to keep cool. I suppose that's the south for ya! Here are a few pics of what we've been up to

PLAYING IN THE POOL AT GRANNIE'S

CHILLIN' ON THE BOAT

(what a stud muffin captain!)

takin' it easy!

PLAYING WITH ELLA CLAIRE

LEARNING TO THROW ROCKS WITH DADDY

(while we wait on fireworks)

Caleb seems to be enjoying it all. He's at such a fun age and is just so curious about EVERYTHING!!! We are enjoying every minute of watching him learn and explore. I will be great until he discovers bugs!!! UGH!!

A shower, our Anniversary, a wedding, Father's Day

2009-06-23T10:10:00.000-07:00

I have been putting off this post because I wanted to add pictures, but that just hasn't happened so I decided just to go ahead and write! Hopefully my brillant verbage will draw just as good of a mental picture for you...ha!

Oh, where to start. I guess I will proceed in chronological order since we've had some big events at the Byce household as of late...

It all started a few weeks ago with my soon-to-be-sis-in-law's bridal shower. We always hold the Sosebee family shower at Brick St. Cafe in Greenville and it has never disappointed us. Oh me, oh my the food and atmosphere is SOOOOO....good there. As a matter of fact, with Corey and Kristen being the last to get married in the Sosebee fam, we started discussing that maybe we need to start getting together to celebrate anniversaries!! The shower was wonderful and the happy couple got lots and lots of very nice things - esp for their kitchen, which is out there somewhere, they just aren't sure where yet....meaning, they still are not sure where they are going to live. Yes folks, they are getting married in 5 weeks and still have no place of residence thanks to the current economy. BOTH are having a hard time finding jobs and they aren't even picky. They seriously will live anywhere....I mean, come on, they met overseas! Please keep this on your prayer list. I know it has to be so frustrating, but also know that these 2 will just be happy to be married, jobs or not! :)

Next was Chad and I's 4th anniversary. I can't believe it's already been that long. It was a fun day. I greeted Chad to sticky notes all over the house and in his car wishing him a happy day and telling him what a great hubs he is and he treated me to a day of shopping at the outlets in Commerce, GA! I do believe I got the better end of the deal! That night mom and dad came over to keep Caleb and we went on a date to The Galley. We had a great view of Lake Hartwell (which is FINALLY full) and many of the boats that are docked at the marina close by. We skipped dessert at dinner and headed to OUR favorite dessert place, Brusters, for some yummy ice cream. It really was a fun evening and gave us some much needed one-on-one time. Before baby, Chad and I always (the 2 whole years that was!) took an anniversary trip. Now that Caleb is around we opted for dinner out on Wednesday and a weekend trip to the giant metropolis of Aiken, SC! Acutally Chad was in a wedding so we had to leave Friday afternoon, spend the night and come home Saturday night after the wedding. It wasn't quite Florida or a Carribean cruise, but it was nice to get away for a night and get to sleep late! We didn't actually pick up Caleb from mom and dad until Sunday afternoon and on Sunday we slept until 10am!!! I can honestly say this is the first time we've done this since Caleb was born. I hate we missed church, but it was SOOOOOO...wonderful.

The Sunday we picked Caleb up was Father's Day so we spent the rest of the day celebrating the dads in our lives. We started with a cookout at Grannie and Papa's and ended with dinner with Chad's parents. Hopefully through all the celebrating with families Chad felt special too!! Caleb gave him a card and a coupon for the gift he is going to give him. He hasn't been able to get back to Greenville to pick it up yet, but this is it. We can't wait to jam the summer away!

And he's off!!!

2009-06-06T09:25:00.000-07:00

My baby boy has offically reached that milestone that distinguishes a toddler from a baby...He's walking!! Caleb has definitely taken his own little time deciding to do this. His progression went something like this: 6 months - rolling tummy to back from one end of the room to another; 8-9 months - army crawling everywhere and pulling up on things; 11 months - crawling up on all fours and starting to cruise furniture, pushing his walking toy around like crazy; 13 months - continuing to cruise furniture and becoming more of a risk taker by attmepting to let go of things and stand on his own; 15 months - finally walking! For about the past 3-4 weeks he would stand and take about 3-4 steps and then fall into your arms, but yesterday we were at mom's house and it just all seemed to click. He and I were the only ones there because we were waiting on mom and dad to get home. He pulled up on one of the end tables and then just decided to walk from the den straight into the kitchen. It was probably about 13-14 steps. It was completely unprompted. He just decided he could do it. Now there is no stopping him! It's so cute to watch. He holds his arms out to the side (for balance) and is so proud once he reaches his destination!! Could it possibly have anything to do with the round of applause he gets everytime he does it?!?! I have to say when he first did it it made me tear up a little. I haven't been emotional about him getting bigger like some people do because I have just loved every stage, but for some reason the walking tugged a little at my heartstrings! He really is getting to be a big boy and I know this is just the start of him being a more independent little man.

VICTORY!!!!!

2009-05-30T21:53:00.000-07:00

Let me just tell you...we had a stubborn and determined little guy on our hands!! After no luck catching the little rodent the first day, we ALMOST got him after the second night. Matt (bro-in-law), who was the fearless one to drive the car with the unwanted visitor checked the second morning and the mouse had gotten stuck in the gooey stuff the night before, but managed to use all his mighty mouse might to get out!!! Left on the sticky stuff was the fur from his belly - seriously. So then we had on our hands a half-skinned mouse running around the car. On his way to work Matt would always see him run around the passagers side so after the third night and not cathing him again, he lined the sticky strips and all the traps in a straight line - the exact path the mouse been following the previous mornings. This must have been the trick because Matt saw him come out for his morning excercise (or breakfast, maybe) during his drive to work that day. The mouse made it through the TWO things of sticky stuff and then this is what happened when he hit the very first trap:

You can see that he was not very big. In this picture he is beside a regular sized mouse trap. I wish I could be nice and say we tried not to kill him, but I would be lying. He is now in mouse heaven and I promise they are happier to have him there than I was to have him in my car! Now, let's just hope he really was a HE and that there are no offpspring!!!

Rodent Update

2009-05-28T03:28:00.000-07:00

And I say update, because HE IS STILL IN MY CAR! Apparently this little guy has made quite the cozy little home somewhere in my car. The day we discovered him we set mouse traps up all over the car. No luck. That night Chad and his brother tore the car apart and found nothing. They set up more traps that night with cheese to intice the little guy, but when we checked the next morning....No luck. Chad's brother drove the car to work yesterday and left traps set up while he was there with peanut butter on them (we read this worked better than cheese) and still NO LUCK! Oh...and I forgot to mention that he SAW him on his way to work gallavanting around the floorboard again. This little guy is tricky, but we are bound to get him eventually. We have vacuumed the whole car so there are no crumbs except what is on the traps. Last night we tried a soft cheese because, again, we read this works better because they can't just get it and run off with it. So, at this point if he wants food he's gotta go to the trap. The only downside is that (in yet another attempt to rid my car of this visitor) we called an exterminator to see what to do and he said they can live without food for up to 7 days. Just great. Thankfully my in-laws have an extra car that they have been driving so that I can drive their car. Unfortuantely, the saga still continues. I will send a final update hopefully very, very soon.

Hickory, Dickory Dock...

2009-05-26T13:23:00.000-07:00

...the mouse ran up the clock and then apparently STRAIGHT INTO MY CAR!!!!! AGGGHHH! I am so not kidding. This morning I was driving to school on I-85 and I thought I saw something run from under the seat to the front of the car on the passenger's side. Of course I only saw this with my peripheral vision, so I wasn't quite sure. I looked as much as I could while driving but didn't see anything except my phone charger in the floor. I just chalked it up to my imagination and kept driving. But then, only a few minutes down the road I saw the exact same thing going this time from the front to the back. I didn't figure there was any way I could have imagined this twice and it freaked me out, so I pulled over on the side of the interstate. I immediately called Chad and this is how the convo went:

Me: Chad, where are you?

Chad: I am at Exit ___ (which happened to be one exit behind me)

Me: Well you have to come and get me.

Chad: What? Why?

Me: Because there is something in my car and I am standing on the side of the interstate.

Chad: (who has started laughing at me at this point) What is it? A spider?

Me: No seriously it is something big and you better come and get me because I am NOT getting back into my car.

So, my knight came to my rescue. We opened the car and he was immediately able to find little "droppings" under the seat. UUGHHHHH!!! Chad and I traded cars and I headed on to school. About 2 minutes after we parted ways Chad called me and told me he'd seen it scurrying around. It even freaked him out and he said he just prayed all the way home that he would get there fast! Anyway, my car is now sitting at my in-laws with mouse traps and this sticky stuff in it to capture this critter. I must say that if I was going to have this happen I am glad it happened the way it did because if I had seen it and recognized what it was while I was driving, I can ASSURE you I would have wrecked my car! My dad always told me that if there was a bee in my car just to pull over (cause I HATE bees)....I guess the same rule applies to rodents!

I'll keep ya updated on how it all goes down!

DISCLAIMER: WE DO NOT KEEP A NASTY CAR . THIS COULD HAPPEN TO ANY OF YOU!

Packing, packing, packing...

2009-05-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

No, we are not moving again, but by the looks of all the stuff I am having to gather to go on our short family vacay to the beach, you would think we are! I thought I took a lot when it was just Chad and I, but throw a child in the picture and I feel like I practically have to load up one entire room from our house. We just take the usual - clothes, shoes, toiletries, etc. But for sweet, little, 1 year old Caleb we have to take it all - pack 'n play to sleep in, pack 'n play mattress, cover for mattress so it will be more comfy, sheet for mattress and cover, clothes and lots of them just in case he messes something up or it's cooler one day, stroller, travel highchair, toys to occupy him while we are in a foreign house, sippy cups, the baby monitor, diapers for a long weekend along with the wipes, butt paste and fresh smelling bags for the "shoo shoo" ones. The list goes on and on and this doesn't include the emergency items (thermometer, tylenol, etc). Oh, and since are headed to the beach, did I mention we are throwing in the wagon too?!?! Ok...off to get it all in the car.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Be safe and remember to give thanks for those who have fought for our country and for those who still are. A big shout out to my cuz, Jason, who will be leaving (AGAIN!) very soon to go do just that. I LOVE YA, CUZ AND WILL BE PRAYING FOR YOU!

My little mocking bird...

2009-05-19T06:34:00.000-07:00

As soon as Caleb turned 1 it was like he decided it was time to start picking up words. As of yesterday he could say mama, da-da, juice, Daisy, uh -oh (but he leaves off the oh and just says "up"), Papa, and quack quack. Well today he added a new word to his reportoire. Here's how the story goes. I had him on the kitchen counter putting his shoes on. As he was sitting there he picked up an apple. I said, "APPLE". He tries to repeat my word and does a pretty good job. Then I suppose he decides this apple is very ball-like and tosses it to the ground. As he does this I say to him, "OHHHHH.....NOOOO" in which he repeats back to me as clear as can be and as if he's said it 100 times "OHHHHHH....NO!" Of course I die laughing and then get him to repeat it 10 more times just to make sure he was really saying it, and sure enough he was. He is just getting to be so funny, but I guess we really must start watching the things we say around him. No more of the "s words"...you know shut up, stupid, etc. - that's about as bad as it gets at our house!

Fhoto Friday

2009-05-08T11:33:00.001-07:00

A moment with Ella Claire

WHOA!!! It's electric! :)

Enjoying his most recent favorite activity - wagon rides!

Caught!!!

2009-05-01T07:29:00.000-07:00

When I walked into Caleb's room today this is what I found. I ran to get my camera. I have many, many hopes and dreams for my little guy and one of them is that he enjoy reading. Hopefully we are getting off to a good start!!!

Happy Friday to everyone!

Oh so random...

2009-04-23T12:04:00.000-07:00

1. I have been a super slack blogger lately!!

2. Going back to work part time has been wonderful!! I am working at my old school, still in first grade, but only as a teacher's assistant. I am there 8-12 and it's the perfect amount of time. Then, I'm off to pick up Caleb by 12:30 and we have the rest of the day together. The adult interaction and getting to work with the kids again has been wonderful. And I might add it's the perfect job...walk in the door at 8, out at 12, take nothing home, and plan nothing in between!! Ahhhhhh.....

3. Caleb started having super bad relux a few weeks after he turned one. He's never had it before, but it was classic symptoms - screaming and bowing his back when you tried to lay him down, not keeping down food and not sleeping at night. It was AWFUL. Honestly, we got less sleep during all this than we did when he was an infant. After about 5 days of trying things (taking him off dairy, going all soy, etc) we finally figured out it was reflux and he started Prevacid. Now, he's back to his happy, sleeping little self!!! Let's just hope we don't have to stay on the meds long because they are not cheap!!!

4. My little bro is moving back to SC next week. He's been in CA since September and is coming back this way. He is also planning a wedding and getting married in August. I am so excited about have a new sis! Oh...and the bridesmaids dresses are AWESOME!!! She found them at etsy.com and I can't wait to wear it!

5. I am loving American Idol this season. I agreed with the vote offs last night, but am going to have a hard time from here on out because everyone else is so good!!!

6. We are about to hit what seems like a second Christmas in our house. It starts this weekend with Chad's mom's b-day, then mother's day is around the corner, Chad's dad's b-day is the weekend after that, my dad's is a few days after that and then it's wedding shower time for Corey and Kristen. Guess it's time to do some holiday shopping!!!

7.I am headed to a Women's Retreat next weekend with church in Mt. Pleasant and I am so pumped. I can't wait to be refreshed and renewed and also get to spend some quality time with some great girlfriends. This will be the first time Caleb has been with Chad for the entire weekend, but I'm sure he'll do great!

8. We are planning to have a yard sale at the end of May so this means we are going to be spending our free time "cleaning out" everything. I think the decluttering will be very theraputic...at least at the end of it. Thinking about doing it actually stresses me out!!

9. I gave in and ordered The Wave . I saw the infomercial and thought it looked pretty cool. I have tried it a few times and it IS cool! You don't feel like you are really working out, but boy was I sore the days after! You totally enagage your core in all the exercises so you can really feel your abs the next day (although I am still lookin' to SEE mine!). I never buy this stuff, but I really liked this. Oh...and an added bonus is that the studio that came up with this produt is in Columbia, SC and the girl that owns the studion went to High School with me. I guess that made me feel like it was more legit than other things I've seen.

10. This is one of the scriptures that was used in our sermon this past Sunday and it's one I've been meditating on and being so thankful for this week:
"Therefore, since we have a great high preist who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have high preist who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receice mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:14-16

OK, that's it for my randomness right now! Maybe I will get back to being a regular blogger very soon!!

Christ the Lord is Risen Today!

2009-04-13T19:33:00.000-07:00

We had such a great Easter spending time with our church family and our immediate family. We celebrated with our family at church first thing Sunday morning and then headed to our house for a big 'ole yummy to the tummy lunch complete with turkey, mac and cheese, green bean casserole, pineapple casserole, mashed potatoes and rolls. We enjoyed watching Caleb look through his Easter basket at his goodies; although he wasn't really sure what was going on. Most of all, we loved having a day set aside to celebrate our risen Saviour. What I'm even more thankful for is that this is something we can celebrate EVERY day!

Checking out his new Baby Einstein video

The lunch centerpiece. The flowers turned the water pink, but made for a cool effect!

Me and the hubs.

This time last year...

2009-03-09T18:11:00.001-07:00

...Chad and I were spending our last night as a family of two at GHS. It was a Sunday and as I was I was attempting to nap on the couch, God's perfect timing arrived and my water broke. Words cannot describe how I felt. I mean, I had been waiting on that moment for the longest time, but when it actually happened, I almost couldn't believe it. For 39.5 weeks I had been wondering where I would be, what I would be doing, etc when it all happened and here it was happening right before me. The anticipation you feel knowing you are about to bring a child into the world and into your lives in a matter of hours cannot be described - total excitement and total fear all wrapped up with a big bow! Chad and I got to the hospital a little before 6 pm and were sent to Triage. They checked to make sure my water truly had broken and then sent us on to Labor and Delivery. We spent a pretty sleepless night enduring my contractions and then morning came....TO BE CONTINUED!!!!

Here are pics from March 9, 2008...

Me and my big belly

Calling friends and family

One of our last pictures of our family of two

Snip, snip

2009-03-09T06:41:00.001-07:00

Last Thursday (after being snowed in for our apppointment on Monday) we had a meeting with the "hemlet doctor" and YAY we are finally done with it!! Caleb's head started out with a 18mm difference and the helmet has corrected it to only a 10 mm difference. The doc was hoping to get down into the single digits with only a 8 or 9 mm difference, but his head growth has started slowing down since he's older and he said we'd have to wear it 6-8 more weeks to get that result, and he just didn't think it would be noticable enough to put him through that many more weeks. So....we are helmet free!!! However, being helmet free presented a few new problems. Not only do we no longer have built in protection for those clumsy falls babies take, but we also no longer have a device to hold Caleb's hair out of his face!!! With that said, Saturday afternoon we took a trip for Caleb's first haircut! We went to this place called Jellybeans and they charge 1 cent for your child's very first cut. He did great and acted like he'd been having his hair cut his whole life! It was amazing how much older he looked after only having a little hair cut....perfect for his first ever birthday party which was the following day (that blog to come soon!!). Enjoy the pictures!

Sleepless in Anderson

2009-03-05T05:35:00.000-08:00

Yep, that's us. Caleb started sleeping through the night at 11 weeks. He has always done well except for occassionally when he's teething. Lately, he's started waking up super early in the morning....like 4 am!!! It's about to kill me!!! Last night he was awake from 1:30 - 3am! To all you mommies out there....how old were your kids when they dropped their morning nap? He still sleeps about 1.5 hours in the morning and then 1.5 in the afternoon. I am starting to wondering if maybe he is getting too much sleep during the day and not needing as much sleep at night 'cause when he wakes up at 4 am he is WIDE awake and wants to play!!! Any ideas from any professional mom's out there?!?!

Winter Wonderland!!!

2009-03-02T06:44:00.001-08:00

So here we are on March 1st, 9 days before Caleb's first birthday, and we get out first snow of the winter. I was wondering if not being in school this year would cause me to be less excited about the snow since I stay home anyway, but let me tell you, that was not true. I was JUST as excited!! Here are some pics of Caleb going out in his first snow. Oh, and by the way, we only stayed out about 10 minutes. I had to preface the pics with that because he has no gloves on and we had a VERY hard time getting him to keep his hat on. Since he's had his helmet all winter we never purchased a stocking hat that ties under the chin, but we are definitely in the market for one next year! Enjoy the pics and enjoy your day at home...if, in fact, you are getting to be "snowed in" too!!

Caleb and Daisy checking out all the white stuff!

4.5 inches!! WOW!

Our backyard

Caleb wondering what this is all about.

Playing with Da-da.

They were hopping through the snow!

Family snow pic.

Our house covered in white

Our slushy street

Chocolate Mug Cake

2009-02-18T13:44:00.001-08:00

OK...I did not come up with this recipe nor have I tried it. But it looks WAY good and I am definitely going to give it a try ASAP!! Thanks, Khristy, for sending it to me!!

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 egg

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons oil

3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)

A small splash of vanilla extract

1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.

Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.

Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.

The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!

Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.

EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).

And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world ?

Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

A penny for your thoughts....

2009-02-17T09:56:00.000-08:00

Except I am PRETTY sure you would not want the penny I gave you. Let me explain...

I go to change Caleb's diaper last week and guess what I found?!?! Yep, a penny. Right in the middle of his "shoo shoo" (as we call it). Oh yeah. Mom of the year for me. When did he eat this, you ask. I HAVE NO CLUE!! I thought back over the few days prior and the only time I could think it may have happened was about two days before. Caleb was with me in our room playing - pulling up on anything he could find, crawling all around - while I was getting dressed. Then, he started coughing. Of course, I immediately looked down at him and he spit up some (which is a little odd because he hadn't just eaten and he never spits up anymore) but he seemed to get a hold of himself and go right back to playing. He never even cried or anything. So, I finished getting ready. And then two days later...well, you read the beginning. When Chad got home, which was about 10 minutes after I discovered this, I took the diaper to him and told him I knew how we were going to strike it rich. I opened the diaper and said, "Look!!! Our child poops pennies!!!" We did have a good laugh over it, but boy did I feel like a poopy mom (literally!)

Have you ever done something that made you feel like an awful mom??? PLEASE share your story and let me know I'm not the only one!!!!

Fhoto Friday

2009-02-12T19:02:00.000-08:00

A decade ago...

2009-02-12T05:51:00.001-08:00

....I was turning 20. I was a sophomore at Winthrop University living in Margaret Nance with my roomie, Lindsay. Oh my how things have changed in the past 10 years, and I'm not talking about little changes, I'm talking about huge, significant changes!! Take a look down memory lane with me:

I met another significant person in my life, Janelle, during my sophomore year. She's a dear, dear friend to this day and someone I could not imagine life without. She's the friend you call when you want to chat or when you need the complete honest truth - because she will deliver it to you, but with love.
I graduated from Winthrop with a B.S. in Elementary Ed.
I graduated from Furman with a Masters in Reading
I got my first teaching job at CCES.
I met, planned a wedding and married my sweet hubby, Chad.
I moved 6 times (Winthrop to home, home to an apt, apt back home, home to Anderson, Anderson to Easley, and Easley back to Anderson!! Makes me tired just typing it!)
My family joined an amazing church (Simpsonville First Baptist) where I've been active ever since and have met so many of our "couple friends" there.
I had a baby!!!
I became a stay at home mom
I almost have a 1 year old!!!!

Isn't it amazing to take a look at the road God leads you down in hinesight?? But, although these are all great and wonderful things what matters most is that I pray I was pleasing to God in everything I did in these last 10 years. I know I blew it a WHOLE lot, which is why I am thankful for forgiveness and grace. I am also thankful for the next 10 years ahead. I can't wait to see what my list will hold then and just where God will have led us by then!! I'm going to leave you with the words on the birthday card that my wonderful friend Jennifer gave me because they really spoke volumes to me, and I hope they will to you too:

God is writing a book about you.

The pages tell of your life

and the lives you were created to touch.

No one else will take exactly the same path as you,

meet the same people,

or have a chance to show the love of God in the same way.

You are unique and so is your story...

and it's one of the Author's favorite reads.

Too easy NOT to make...

2009-01-27T11:23:00.000-08:00

Do you ever need a quick, but yummy meal. Boy, do I have one for you. It takes about 15 minutes from scratch to table. Try it on one of your super busy evenings. It's yummy and super filling.

Broccoli and Chicken Casserole
1 can chicken
8 oz chopped broccoli (I use frozen)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup milk
1 cup minute rice

Put broccoli and about 1 tbsp water in 1 1/2 qt. microwavable dish and microwave uncovered 2 minutes. Add all other ingerdients except 1/2 cup cheese. Mix together and microwave for 6 minutes. Sprinkle remainder of cheese on top and microwave 5 more minutes.

Enjoy!!

I usually serve this with bread and some fruit. Also, if you have leftovers, warm them the next day and put it in a wrap...delicious!!

Date with a BLONDE...

2009-01-24T07:58:00.001-08:00

Last night Chad and I had the night all to ourselves. Caleb went to mom and dad's for a sleepover, so we decided to have a date night. I got all dressed up (well, as good as it gets these days) and Chad met me in Greenville after work. Only one thing....last night, I'm pretty sure Chad felt like he was out with the blondest chick in the world!! Let me explain...

Dinner went just fine. Flatrrock Grill - one of my favs. Then we went to the movies. Chad is always sweet about seeing whatever I want to see. I think he does this because he knows I may actually stay awake through the whole movie if I pick it. So, I picked Bride Wars. I got in line to buy the tickets while Chad parked. After getting the tickets, I went inside and waited on him. I called him twice because it seemed like he was taking forver. There were a lot of people there, but it seemed like it was taking him a long time to find a spot! Finally he came in and we went to find a seat. After we got seated, he pulled out a coffee, which he had gone across the street to Atlanta Bread and gotten while he was "parking" the car. What an incredible hubby! :) OR, yet another ploy to keep me awake in the movie...ha! At this point in the evening everything is still fine. We watch the movie in the rather packed theatre and about 3/4 of the way through I decide I need a little more wiggle room. The seat to the left is taken, so naturally I decided to shift toward the right where Chad is. I lift the arm divider rather quickly and Chad leans over and quietly reminds me, "Carrie, your coffee was in there!!" AHGGGGHHHHHH!!! I freaked and turn around to explain to the woman behind me, who I was SURE I had just drenched in coffee! Luckily she hadn't even noticed, but the floor right at her feet was wet. We turned around and couldn't quit laughing!

So the movie ends, we again apologize to the woman behind us for the flying coffee cup and head on out. In the lobby I run into a former student and her parents (her mom was my room mom last year) who I just love. I had chatted with them some before the movie so we stood there a bit longer and compared movie notes. As we were talking my lipgloss somehow fell out of my purse. My friend points it out to me and I pick up and toss it in my purse.

We leave, and decide to go look for dessert somewhere. As we are driving there I pull out the lipgloss to freshen up a little, put it on, rub my lips together and suddenly realize....IT IS NOT MY LIPGLOSS FLAVOR!!!!! What?!?!?! I turn on the light and see that the lipgloss looks like mine, almost even the same color with a silver lid, but it's definitely not mine. GROSS! Then I just start imagining the skank that probably used the gloss last and the gimungus fungus that will probably appear on my lips the next day. So we get another laugh off of me on this one.

To wrap up our date we decide to pay a visit to Krispy Kreme donuts...AND the hot-n-now sign was on, which is a major plus! To end our night, as we were leaving KK I did my very best to get into someone else' car!!! The bad thing is that it didn't even look like ours - wrong color, wrong model, wrong everything!!

Oh well....all I can say is that we had a great time and had some really good laughs. Unfortunately, they were ALL at my expense!!

Don't waste your money...

2009-01-21T18:50:00.001-08:00

I love a good cup of joe. I love it black. I love it by itself, I love it with a meal, I love it with dessert. Tonight I decided to treat myself to some Starbucks after church. I had done really well with my points (I do weight watchers) today so I decided I would have a little dessert to go with it. I choose very carefully so as not to ruin the rest of my week. After much deliberation I decided on the cinnamon twist. It was the only one that had the calories listed in front of it, so I fugured it was a good choice....and I had planned to make it even better by only eating half. It was 300 calories, so I was going to consume 150. I got my coffee and my highly anticipated cinnamon twist, settled in my car, and was pretty excited about my nice, quiet ride back home. That all changed as soon as I bit into my dessert. GAG!!! It was as dry as the Sahara!!! Seriously, it was a good thing I had to coffee to revive myself or I may have choked!!

It was after this that I really started thinking...have I ever had ANY dessert from Starbucks that was just to die for??? My answer....no. All this to say, stick to the coffee, folks - at least at Starbucks. Save your calories for your momma's home cookin'!!

6 more weeks...

2009-01-19T11:44:00.000-08:00

...give or take is the amount of time Caleb has left in his helmet. We had our every 3 week appointment today with the "helmet doc" and that was his prognosis. We were crossing our fingers and praying that today might be the magic day, but it didn't turn out that way. Mr. Todd did do another scan (which they haven't done since the first visit, and is a far more accurate measurement than the hand measurements they've done on all the other visits) and he was very pleased with the progress he saw. He was very happy with the improvement in Caleb's forehead (one side was bossed when we begin treatment) and also his head length had significantly improved. When we began the length of his head diagonally was longer than it was front to back. Now his front to back measurement is completely normal. We are basically waiting on one spot near the crown of his head to round out and we should be done. I must say that Caleb was a major trooper today. Our appointments there are usually abour 30 minutes and today's was 1 and a half hours because of the scan and many, many adjustments to the helmet (and after each adjustment he has to wear it 10 min or so to make sure it isn't rubbing anywhere). He never cried or whimpered one time. He ended up taking his bottle and eating his lunch there! He fell asleep before we even got out of the parking lot and slept 1.5 hours after we got home. My baby was worn out!! So, he will still be wearing the helmet a bit longer and we will still have to endure cleaning it and the stinky head it gives him, but I know it will all be worth it in the end.

Worshipful Running

2009-01-16T13:41:00.001-08:00

Well this day's been crazy

But everything's happened on schedule

from the rain and the cold

To the drink that I spilled on my shirt

'Cause You knew how You'd save me

before I fell dead in the garden

And You knew this day

long before You made me out of dirt

And You know the plans that You have for me

And You can't plan the end and not plan the means

And so I suppose I just need some peace

Just to get me to sleep.

You may call me old school, but I am a huge Caedmon's Call fan and the above song, Table for Two, has always been one of my favorites. As I was running today it played on my iPod during shuffle mode. I listened to it twice. I especially love the last two verses.

I love being reminded that God knows everything about us before we're even formed. Psalm 139:16, "Every day of my life was recored in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day passed." I love that since He knows the end, He's going to give us a way to get to it. I love that just last Sunday I was reminded by the person preaching that everything we go through is first filtered through the fingertips of God before it even gets to us. The good. The bad. The ugly. All of it.

My prayer last Sunday was simply to do my best this year to completely abide in Christ. And that is a scary prayer because I have no idea what this year (or tomorrow, for that matter ) holds. I am writing this because I urge you to do the same. Thankfully, I serve a God who knows what the future holds and I know that no matter what, He will be just enough. I pray I can abide in that this coming year and that you can too.

And one final thought.....I love worship and the fact that you can do it anywhere!! Although I was running indoors at the Y today, it was such a refreshing and renewing time for me! Praise the Lord for iPods to take our minds off of what we're really doing!!! :)

Fhoto Friday (is back!!!!)

2009-01-16T09:21:00.001-08:00

Future coffee drinker

2009-01-15T04:58:00.001-08:00

Lately, Caleb has started pulling up on things - basically anything that won't fall over because of his weight, he tries to pull up on. Currently he only gets to his knees, but I know that will soon come to and end and he will be cruising around on everything. If you know me well, you know that I am one of those people who has a particular place for things in my house. Yes, I move them around occassionally, but I have things "decorated" the way I like. I seriously put thought into that items I am going to sit on my coffee table and they are stratigically placed I do, however, feel that is about to change. This morning Caleb and I were sitting in the den. I was checking email on the laptop and he was "supposed" to the playing with his toys. I guess he changed his mind. When I turned around I noticed my coffee cup dangling from his hand. Apparently he pulled himself to his knees on the coffee table, grabbed the coffee cup (which I had pushed back from the edge of the table to the middle) and decided to try a bit of coffee. What a GREAT Sosebee he's going to be!! Thankfully, there was only a little in the cup and it was very cool. The only real messes were his pj's and the little bit I had to clean up off the table. Yay for the rug being spared this time!! Looks like we may have a coffee drinker on our hands. I'm thinking we may even start him in his sippy cup....HA! :)

Christmas 2008

2009-01-14T18:16:00.000-08:00

YAY! So, I’m finally posting about our Christmas. Sorry it has taken me so long; I know some of you have just been on your toes waiting for me to post (ahemmm…Lacey!!). I guess I can start by saying that we had a wonderful Christmas…a bit different, but wonderful nonetheless. And when I say different, I definitely mean that in the good kind of way. Here are a few examples:

1. My brother was home for the first time in 2 years for the holidays.

2. The day after Christmas we added one more gathering of family among all the others that happen on Christmas and before.

3. We were in [yet] another house this year.

4. We have a child this year.

#4 was the most life changing one, but oh was it so fun. I remember last Christmas thinking “This time next year, we’ll have a baby”. Boy, did that time come quickly - and to think we are almost a year into it. WOW! Anyway, Caleb was pretty clueless about all that was going on around him; he just kind of watched and took it all in. Even though we were slightly off our normal schedule and he wasn’t feeling so well, he didn’t seem to mind being passed around like hot potato for a few days. He kinda figured out the unwrapping and definitely was into the paper - although the toys seemed to intrigue him momentarily. He got lots of neat (and noisy!) things and he’s already enjoyed them so much. Thank goodness most of them have off switches! Oh, and just for the record. I absolutely LOVED playing Santa!!!

As always, the thing that stuck out the most to me this Christmas was how important family is to me and just how blessed I am to be a part of so many wonderful relationships. I still don’t know how I possibly deserve the wonderful people that God has placed in my life, but I am so thankful for them - not only my immediate and extended family, but also my church family. I am so thankful that God has placed people in my life who help me to celebrate the birth of His Son all throughout the year. People who remind me through the examples they live everyday about what it means to fully trust and abide in God; what it means to lean not on my understanding, but to seek His; people who will pray with and for me; people who are willing to follow God wherever He may lead them; and people who love me even when I mess up all of these. This Christmas, along with the beautiful reminder that Christ was born to die, I was reminded of how much better life is because I have an entire family and many, many friends who have accepted Him and who celebrate the real meaning of the season. And now I am longing and praying for the day when our son joins us in celebrating this true meaning.

I'm still alive...

2009-01-12T18:10:00.001-08:00

...but blogging has seemed so hard to get to these days!! Goodness!! And the crazy thing is that things have actually been much slower lately. One problem is that our internet has been down for about 4 days. Anyway, I am going to try my best to make time to do it very soon because I still want to update on Christmas...I mean, if it's still OK to do that almost one month later!!! Keep checkin' back, I'll be back on the scene very soon.

The dreaded visitor...

2008-12-23T10:51:00.000-08:00

No, I am talking about the person that you dread seeing over the holidays or the neighbor that stops by to bring you goodies when you haven't seem them all year. I'm not even talking about a little rodent running around your house. The visitor I am speaking of creeps in slowly and secretly, it wrecks havoc on your family and causes any planned activities to come to a screeching halt. It is the STOMACH BUG!!!! AGGGGGHHHHHH!!! So, I thought we had escaped it until I woke up at 5:30 this morning. I went to check on Caleb and when I got back in bed I could just feel it coming on. I sat there and prayed that it wasn't what I thought it was, but by 6:30 I had been confirmed as I spent my first of many moments today with Mr. Toilet. He and I have had a bonding expereince like no other today!! Sweet Chad had to take care of all Caleb's morning routines - giving him his bottle, feeding him his oatmeal, giving him a bath and dressing him - and he did a great job. And he even arranged for Caleb to spend the day with his mom. As much as I hate getting up early sometimes, I really missed doing all our routines this morning. But more than that, I missed not being able to hug Caleb or Chad. I definitely don't want them catching this right here at Christmas....or ever for that matter. Please be praying that they will avoid it. OK...off to find the Lysol!!! :)

Teething BITES!!!

2008-12-16T11:41:00.000-08:00

Seriously, I am about convinced that I would rather Caleb just have some dentures later in life. These two top teeth coming in have been AWFUL!!! This is by far the worst days I've had with him. He is a really good baby and has been so easy and I am just not used to all this screaming. Let me give you some scenarios:

Pre-Teething: At naptime and bedtime I rock Caleb for 3-5 min max, lay him down semi-awake with this paci. Somtimes he will babble, etc but then he falls asleep usually within 15 minutes or so. Naps last about 1.5 hours and he sleeps soundly at night from 8ish - 6:15ish.

And then there's The Teething Experience: Rock Caleb for his 3-5 min, put him down and he instantly starts fussing. I leave him there to fuss it out.....25 min later, still fussy. I pick him up, his eyes close before I can even get to the rocker. I rock him some, he seems asleep, I put him down....he starts screaming again. Finally after 45 min - 1 hour of battle he falls asleep...BUT, not for long. He's been waking about 45 min into naps and last night he was awake from 12am-3am crying away. I have given him tylenol, teething tablets, oragel....people, we have tried it all. It's so pitiful because he seems to miserable and there's nothing I can do. Oh...and today his eyes were all red and irritated looking because of lack of sleep. From the looks of him, people probably thought I was one of those moms who carts their kid in pj's to Wal-Mart at 11 pm and then heads on to the Waffle House for a little midnight snack!!

Anyway, all I keep saying is that I sure hope his teeth are really cute. And I also remind myself that this too shall pass - well, until I have other kids - oh my I can't even think about that right now, I'm likely to reconsider!!

We've been ELFED!!!!

2008-12-14T20:36:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Sweeter with Time...

2008-12-13T01:38:00.000-08:00

...that's certainly how I feel about these two friendships!!! Last night, I had the fun opportunity to go out to dinner with two of my high school friends and their husbands and we had such a great time!!! We ate at Longhorns and then came back to our house for dessert; but even sweeter than the dessert, was just getting to hang out and chat and laugh. Although meeting new people great and forming new friendships is wonderful, it's always nice to go back to your "comfy friends" - you know the ones who have known you longest, know more about you than most people shoud and yet still love you the same...the ones who you can laugh with and if you snort, it's ok...the ones who you can let in your house even when it's a wreck and they understand...the ones who you don't hesitate to ask a fovor from....etc, etc, etc. Their like an old, comfy couch you can just snuggle down in and be completely yourself; no impressing needed. Let me tell you a little about my two "comfy friends":

Lacey (in black) and I have been friends since 6th grade. We met in the lunch line at Hillcrest Middle School and were basically inseperable until we went to college. She was the one I considered "my best friend" - and still do. We called each other every night to discuss the days events at school, homework, what we were wearing the next day.... whatever. We had numerous sleepovers which hosted a variety of activities from playing M.A.S.H. (remember...masion, apartment, shack, house) to painting our faces with lipstick (really!). She was one of the first people I called to laugh with or cry with about anything.

Brooke (in red) and I met in high school and I don't even remember where or when, but she became a great friend also. Although I didn't do as much with Brooke outside of school as I did Lacey, she was still a great friend and remains one to this day. Brooke and I became closer when our brothers also became best buds.

The crazy thing about life and the way God works it out is that we have all ended up living in the same city!! Brooke and I both married guys from here and I guess Lacey just liked the city enough to live here!! Because of this, the three of us have been able to continue to develop our friendships and it has been so neat watching God at work in these girls lives as they've gotten married, started families and just continue to grow in their Christian walks. What a blessing their friendships have been to me over many, many years. I can only hope and pray that we will be able to maintain such a strong friendship in the years to come...and that we have many, many more nights like last night!

P.S. Isn't the photo editing above cool?!?! Go here to try it on your pics!!

Top 8

2008-12-09T04:51:00.000-08:00

8 TV shows I like to watch:
1. American Idol
2. Cosby Show
3. Friends
4. Today show
5. Rachel Ray
6. Seinfeld
7. I Love Lucy
8. The Brady Bunch
( I am SOOOO... old school. I just can't seem to get into any of those "new" shows!)

8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Brick St. Cafe
2. Flatrock Grill
3. Lieu's Chinese Bistro
4. Olive Garden
5. The Peddler
6. California Dreaming
7. Smoke on the Water
8. Chick-fil-A

8 things that happened today: (keep in mind I am typing this at 7:54 AM!)
1. I woke up
2. I got Caleb up
3. I feed Caleb a bottle and some oatmeal
4. I made Chad breakfast (bacon, egg, cheese sandwich...yummy)
5. I made a pot of coffee
6. I checked my email
7. I washed dishes
8. I am drinking my coffee!

8 things I am looking forward to:
1. shopping with my mom in Gaffney on Thursday
2. my brother coming home on the 19th
3. our house closing on the 28th
4. my renewed Y membership
5. Christmas!
6. my SS/C4 party next weekend
7. dinner with some good friends on Friday
8. wrapping the presents I have bought

8 things on my wishlist:
1. to loose about 10 more lbs VERY soon so I can fit back in my pre-preggo pants.
2. to be completely debt free (including the house!)
3. a maid for my house
4. to become a pro at keeping up with my husband's business accounts
5. for an extra burst of energy at about 7:30 when Caleb goes to bed
6. to visit Janelle very soon and meet Cayden, who I have yet to meet and she's 15 months!!!
7. a sister-in-law named Kristen (hint, hint Corey)
8. for Caleb to have a wonderful first Christmas

8 people I tag:
1. Lacey Councill
2. Brooke O'Neal
3. Lindsay Stovall
4. Lindsay Powell
5. Emily Jennings
6. Dana Reeves
7. Amanda Cassidy
8. Lauren Stoddard

It's Christmas at the Byce House...

2008-12-07T11:41:00.000-08:00

...and here are a few pictures to show you some of our festiveness!! I LOVE getting ready for this season; although, it took me a little longer to decorate this year with a little one on my hands!!

The tree

Dining room centerpiece

On top of the piano (oops... the pink broom handle made the picture too!)

The mantle

Shelf in the dining room

The nativity - my personal favorite

The breakfast area

Centerpiece in the breakfast area

Yay! for christmas cards!!! And boo! to the sad looking plant. I guess I need to pay him some attention!

The front door.

Need Help, Fellow Bloggers!!

2008-12-03T05:05:00.000-08:00

If you are Brooke O, Meghan C, Jennifer B, Brooke M or Lindsay P could you send me info on how to get the big picture at the top of my blog like y'all have? I can't seem to find out how to do it!!! Thanks fellow bloggers!! By the way... I LOVE reading y'alls blogs. :) Keep 'em coming!

YAY!!!!

2008-12-02T09:55:00.000-08:00

OK...so as soon as I posted that last entry my mother-in-law called. She was over near Office Depot and drove by and FOUND THE FLIERS!!! YAAAAAYYYY!!! They were in their bag laying in the parking lot, just waiting to be found! Maybe this day is looking up!

One of those days...

2008-12-02T09:37:00.000-08:00

Ever have one? You know the one where it seems like your pretty much doomed? Where every single thing goes wrong - even the little things. Well, so far today has been one of those. Thankfully they don't come along very often so when they do, YUCK! Here's how it's gone so far:

1. Caleb is teething therefore he seems to be an insomniac. He's decided the past two days should start at 4:15 am and then today he only took a 30 minute morning nap!! Usually I can let him lay there if he wakes up and he's fine, but oh no, not today. Today leaving him there followed with wailing and screaming. No fun. Sure hope these top teeth are cute! :)

2. After the 30 minute nap, I got Caleb's bottle ready to feed him at 11:00. Before I gave him his bottle I decided to change his diaper and somewhere in the course of that diaper change my mind ran out on me because as soon as I changed him I loaded him in his carseat and headed out for some errands...WITH NO BOTTLE, I might add. As I am driving across town I started thinking to myself..."Did I ever feed him?" and the bad part is that I seriously couldn't remember!! I deduced that since I couldn't remember, I must not have. I FORGOT TO FEED MY CHILD!!

Oh...and it only gets better!

3. Our errandS, turned out to only be an erranD because of neglectful mom who forgot to feed her child, but the errand didn't go so well either. We went to Office Depot so I could make some color copies for a party tonight. $15 later we came out and loaded up to head home. Shortly after we got home, I realized I couldn't find the copies. My brain went in rewind mode and I remembered that I had put them in the basket in the bottom of the stroller. I went to check for them and...NO COPIES TO BE FOUND!! I suppose they fell out when I folded up the stroller. Talk about throwing money to the wind?!?!

And the terrible part about all this is... IT'S ONLY LUNCHTIME!!!

The hum of the dryer...

2008-11-15T05:19:00.000-08:00

...is the only thing I can hear at my house right now and it is very weird. Caleb and Daisy spent the night at mom and dad's last night, Chad left this morning to help our friends Cam and Lyn move back home after being in Raleigh for Cam's bone marrow transplant, so that just leaves me and the sounds in the house. I honestly can't remember the last time I had the whole house to myself. So, you ask, what am I going to do?!?!? Well, I'm leaving!!! My friend David says you should always have something to look forward to and this week I have been looking forward to my shopping trip today. My friend Jennifer and I are heading out this morning for Commerce!! YAY! OUTLET SHOPPING!! I am so excited. I haven't been shopping for a whole day since before Caleb was born. I love my son to death, but boy do I miss shopping trips. BUT, it's probably been for the better since we've had two mortgages lately!! Oh...little side note - our house had a showing last night and Chad spoke with the realtor this morning and he said he will be putting in an offer! PTL!! Please pray that it's decent. Anyway, I have my Christmas list in hand and ideas for my shoe supply that needs to be replenished. (FYI...a whole huge box of my favorite shoes were somehow lost in our move!!) So, we are off this morning for some good fellowship and hopefully some good deals. I'll be sure to post any bargains I find. Later, peeps! :)

Fhoto Friday!!!

2008-11-07T19:49:00.000-08:00

WHEW...one more hour until 12 midnight; I barely got this one in!!

Caleb with his new ball.

Being a helper with the mantle installation.

Playing with Papa (the mantle builder!!!)

YAY! It's in, it's beautiful, it's yet to be painted!

Caleb testing out the hearth

Making peach cobbler with Mama. Yum!

Happy (Belated) Halloween!!!

2008-11-05T11:30:00.000-08:00

Halloween has come and is long gone and I am finally getting around to posting!! Caleb had a great 1st Halloween. He decked out in a frog costume and we attended Trunk or Treat at our church; it was a blast. The only downfall was that it started at the time he is usually starting to wind down so he was a wee bit sleepy throughout it. Note the solemn expressions and paci in the pics. It also didn't help that he had a Dr's appt earlier in the day and did not get his normal afternoon nap. We took him around to all the booths at trunk or treat to show him off - I mean, isn't that really what his 1st Halloween is about anyway?!!? I kinda felt bad taking candy because obviously HE can't eat it!! This year was a lot of fun, but I can't wait until next year when we'll probably have to chase him around and he may actually know what candy is!

Chad's "trunk"

Two new things...

2008-10-31T08:37:00.000-07:00

Caleb has recently acquired to new things in his life: his helmet and his doorway jumper. Although it seems as if the two may go together, they don't! Caleb got his helmet last Friday and it has not seemed to phase him at all. Now, other people....that's a different story. It's amazing how many looks you get when you put a helmet on your child's head! I would just rather them come ask, than stare!! I have had a few very nice people say things like "Now how long will he have to wear that?" or "My niece, nephew, family friend, etc had to wear one of those too!" Anyway, other people's reactions is whole other blog for a while other day! Like I mentioned before, he has transitioned well. He has never cried when we've put it on or taken it off and he just acts normal as if nothing is any different. My biggest fear was his first night sleeping in it. Since he's been pretty much sleeping through the night since about 11 weeks, I just wasn't ready to go back to those long, sleepless nights, BUT he did beautifully! He never made a sound all night long! WHEW!! So, we are 1 week into it with hopefully only about 12 more to go. We had a check up today just to make sure the helmet wasn't rubbing him anywhere and we go back again in 2 weeks for some measurements. I suppose we will know more about the length of time after that appointment. I'll be sure to post an update.

And as for the doorway jumper...well, let's just say him being a frog for Halloween was a GREAT choice!! I'll post pics of that too after this evening's festivities are all over.

6th folder, 6th picture

2008-10-28T20:11:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by Jennifer, so here's the 6th picture in my 6th folder. This is a graph that I did with my 1st graders the day I was going to find out if I was having a boy or girl. Looks like they did a pretty good job guessing!!! The next day I put it on the smartboard "IT'S A.....BOY!!" and I revealed each word painfully slow. They were dying in suspense. It was so fun!!

Ok...so now I tag Lindsey Powell and Lindsay Stovall. Follow these directions.

1. Open your pictures
2. Go to the 6th folder, 6th picture
3. Post the picture and the story that goes with it
4. Tag 2 other people.

Fab Fall Fun @ Denver Downs

2008-10-28T12:34:00.000-07:00

Caleb on his first hayride. You know you live in the South when you document 1st Hayrides!!!
Our little fam (minus Daisy Dog)

I think this is the one!

Playing in the corn box.

Mom, look what I found!

Petting daddy rather than the nasty sheep.

First of all, you know you love the alliteration in the title!! HA!

Second, I am like many others and absolutely love the fall! I love how refreshing it is to feel the cool, crisp air outside. I love how beautiful the trees are! I love knowing (since I taught 1st grade!) how and why the leaves change colors and marveling in the awesomeness and creativeness of our creator. I mean, wouldn't it have been easiest to leave things the same year round? But He delights in us so much he wanted our eyes to be able to feast upon his greatness and goodness. I've never understood how people can look at creation and say there is no God because to me it just scream his name.

So....since the seasons have been changing we've been hanging out doing some "fallish" things and one of those things included a day trip to Denver Downs Farm right here in our little town. It's probably one of the neatest things I've found in Anderson...well... there are other neat things, but if we ever moved this is something I might actually drive back here for (besides seeing family, of course!). So, take a gander at the pics above and if you have time you might want to consider driving out this way and enjoying a day at the farm too!!

R.I.P Mr. Coffee

2008-10-27T07:34:00.000-07:00

Mr. Coffee passed away on Sunday, October 26 at 7:30 am from unknown causes. He was the ripe old age 3 and a half. Mr. Coffee brought joy to many and is survived by many coffee cups. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Starbucks. Please keep his family in your prayers as they do their best to replace him.

A new "hat"...

2008-10-15T13:08:00.001-07:00

Caleb wearing the gauze for the scanning.

Having the StarScan done

He had to be really still.

The random child wearing a Star Band. Caleb's will be light blue.

Since Caleb was born we have been watching the shape of his head. He's always had a "flat spot" on the back right side that we've been concerned about. After his 6 month check up we were referred to a physical therapist for a consultation. We had that appointment on Monday. She took some measurments, diagnosed him with mild torticollis and also felt his measurements were severe enough to warrant a visit to Orthopedic Services. We had that appointment today. Here he had more measurements taken and it appears that our little guy does have severe enough plagiocephaly that he will be gaining a new accessory for approximately 13 weeks - a helmet. Because there is a difference of 17mm between the lowest part of the back of his head and the highest part, because his ears have moved slightly, and because the longest part of his head is diagonal rather that front to back the orthopedist said that he would highly recommend wearing the Starband for correction....so we had our StarScan today to get the exact measurements of Caleb's head, picked out a nice light blue color to match his eyes, and the new "hat" should arrive toward the end of next week - just in time for him learning to crawl which is pretty perfect timing for a little extra head protection! Above are a few pictures of the scanning today and also a picture of random child wearing a StarBand so you can get an idea of what it will look like.

WHY???? (by Caleb)

2008-10-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

Why play with toys when there are clearly much more interesting things in the house - you know, folks.....remote controls, plastic strips, and mommy's bracelets. Please! Toys are so overrated!! We kids aren't that hard to please. Save your bucks and just give us household things; we love them!! Later taters!

Love,
Caleb

P.S. See I TOLD you it was hard to get ahold of the computer in this household!!!

Fhoto Friday...

2008-10-02T20:16:00.001-07:00

...at least it will probably be Friday by the time most of you read this! Here are a few pictures from the things that we've been up to lately. I just can't believe how quickly time flys. Since I don't have time to write about every event, I thought a few pictures would suffice. Enjoy.

We've been...

Watching Caleb grow like a weed! 17 lbs, 14 oz at his 6 month check (but he was closer to 7 mo. old)

Playing with anything we can get our hands on

Decorating the house for fall. Above is the wreath I made and below is the picture I found in Southern Living that I copied!!

Hanging out at Falls Park

Playing outside in the incredible weather

Sitting up like a pro!!!! And doing some adding and subtracting with the abacus!! HA!

Being dedicated a church

Learning to share with my bestest, Ella Claire!

Still sitting up!!

New business venture...

2008-09-23T11:30:00.000-07:00

...well, I guess you could call it that. I should probably call it "first" business venture because it's a first for me not having been a part of the business world previous to this! Anyway, now that I'm home I decided it might fun to do one of those home businesses. I have some time on my hands and it would be nice to have a little extra dough for fun things - clothes, accessories, clothes and shoes. Oh...did I mention clothes? HA! Tupperware was ruled out, Mary Kay and Avon are not for me, and I think there's some candle company and although I like them, I don't want to sell them. SO, I went with Southern Living at Home. (OK...that was my first link within a blog so I hope it works!) I love home decor and I love the products this company sells so I'm gonna give it a try. It's actually been on my mind for a few years (since I went to a party) and this just seemed like the right time to do it. So, I'm diving in. It's slightly different than teaching, but I think it will be fun. If you'd like to book a party with some girlfriends to see some great home decor (and get some great benefits if you host!) then give me a call or send me an email and we'll set a date!

Why not NOW?

2008-09-17T18:30:00.000-07:00

One thing I have always loved about working with kids is how you can learn so much about living life from them - their innocence, sweetness and genuine concern for others is always amazing to me. I am helping out with 1st and 2nd grade GA's (Girls in Action, for all my non-baptist readers!!) this year on Wednesday nights and tonight I had one of those moments that just stops you in your tracks. We were talking about a particular people group in China called the Zhuang people. We read over some facts about them, chatted about them some, and then the girls asked some questions. As we were wrapping up our chat, we were reading a list from our book of ways that we could pray for the Zhuang people. Me, being the hurried leader who was trying to get it all in before our time ended, had planned to read the requests and move on; however, God laid something else on one of the girl's hearts. As I finished reading the list, ready to move on, one of the girl's said, "Well, why don't we stop and pray for them right now." This momentarily froze me. I must admit that this suggestion completely caught me off guard, but it also really spoke to my heart. Oh how I wish I was more like this - taking the time to stop and pray in the moment. Listening to someone share a problem with me and then instantly praying for them. Visiting someone who is sick and praying over them right then. Sharing in congratulations with someone by thanking God with them. So, we took the time right then to pray. Not what I had on the "agenda" at that moment in the evening, but I sure thank God for that special little girl who was yeilded to the Spirit and helped me remember that it's not my agenda that matters anyway.

Happy Half - Birthday!!

2008-09-12T19:44:00.000-07:00

Half a year has come and gone
Oh! How the time does fly...

That little boy I held in my arms
Had the most precious cry
That sweet little cry has turned into a laugh
A laugh you just can't pass by

That little boy I held in my arms
Had wrinkled hands and feet so small
Those hands and feet now explore the world
Taking in it all

That little boy I held in my arms
Had a very spontaneous grin
That little grin has turned into a big, toothless smile
That he gives us whenever he can

That little boy I held in my arms
Is still part of a much bigger plan
No matter how big he gets, or how far he goes
I know he’s in the palm of God’s hand.

I can only imagine what the next half year holds
Fun and adventure galore
God has blessed us beyond our dreams
And we can’t wait to see what else is in store.

Caleb with his half birthday cake for his half birthday and a little gift.

Tearing into it.

Hmmm...Let's taste it!

What is this mess?!?!

Sweet 6 month old boy!

All tuckered out from the the birthday festivities!

What a blast we had celebrating Caleb's half year birthday! This is not something I plan to do every single year, but I figured he'd only be 1/2 a year once in his life, and I am all about some celebrations!! We had a great time letting him grab a handful of cake, but we didn't let him play too long because we didn't want to ruin the fun on birthday #1. He has been such a blessing to us and we just can't wait to see what God has in store for his little life. Six months has gone by so quickly, but we are so thankful for every second of it.

Yummy to my tummy...

2008-09-03T19:20:00.000-07:00

OK, so I haven't actually made this recipe yet because I am trying to loose the baby weight (still!), but boy does it sound tasty!! Maybe by posting it, I will get it out of my system to want to make them!! This is a great recipe to let your kids help out making. Here goes:

S'more Bites

18 wooden toothpicks
18 large marshmallows
1 (12 oz) pack milk chocolate morsels
1/2 cup graham crackers, crushed
waxed paper

Insert toothpick into center of each marshmallow; place on tray and freeze 10-15 minutes or until firm.
Place chocolate morsels in microwave bowl and nuke on HIGH 1-2 minutes; stirring occasionally until melted.
Dip each marshmallow in chocolate, spooning chocolate over top, if needed. Let excess drip off. Roll in crushed graham crackers. Place on waxed paper to cool and set.

Oh so yummy! I think it will be fun one day when Caleb and I can make these together. If anyone decides to venture out and make them, let me know how they are!

WE WON!!!

2008-08-30T07:46:00.000-07:00

Friday night Chad and I participated in our first 5K since before Caleb was born. It was the Anderson Midnight Flight, which is a 5K that starts at 10 pm. It was a lot of fun and running in the coolness of night is always a plus. Oh and how could I forget to mention......WE WON!! Well, ummmm, at least based on the following, I'm pretty sure we won:

We couldn't see anyone in front of us, but there were some behind us.

We had more people than most of the other runners cheering for us as we rounded the last corner and crossed the finish line.

We had a very high score. Isn't that how you win most sports?!?

OK...in case you didn't figure it out, we were nowhere close to winning. We actually walked the entire thing for the first time in 3 years! This post pregnancy body was not ready to run quite yet! BUT, it was tons of fun and we were winners in our eyes!!

Overwhelmed by Joy...

2008-08-30T06:07:00.000-07:00

This is one of those posts I wasn't sure how to start so I'll just jump right in. This week Caleb had his first cold. It started Tuesday during the day he just got progressively more stuffy as the day went on. We put him down at his normal time that night (8 pm). Now on a non-stuffy night we wouldn't hear from him until about 6:45ish the next morning, but with him not feeling so well he awoke whimpering around 10:30ish. I went to check on him, which ended with me picking him up to rock him. As I was rocking him I did something I do often when I rock him and that is to pray for him. I pray for his salvation at an early age, for him to have friends who love the Lord, for all the temptations he will face (and those are scary to think about), for his future wife - all kinds of things, but on this particular night I was, of course, praying for him to feel better and get a good night's rest. During this precious time with Lord (and Caleb) I also began thanking Him for Caleb and for the abundance of joy this little gift of God has brought into our lives - the joy we get from his smiles, his laughs and especially the way he has started reaching for our faces when we hold him. I'm not sure if I have a big nose or what, but he especially likes to grab it! Anyway, as I was thinking about the pure joy he has brought us just in his little time here, it made me think about our relationship with God - how we are His children and how He must take so much joy in us; even how He delights in us.

"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

After this thought crossed my mind, I stopped. Do I do enough each day that God should take joy in me? The answer is no. But, the good part is that he will rejoice over me anyway because I am His. Isn't grace so wonderful and yet so unexplainable? The more I thought about this, the more I was convicted to do more, give more, etc to bring Him glory. I want Him to have every reason possible to rejoice over me with singing. Will I accomplish this? No way. Every day I have oh so many times where I do not deserve to be rejoiced over. I miss opportunites to share His name. I let my toungue run away from me. I think things that I shouldn't. I get wrapped up in life and forget that my life should point to Him. As a matter of fact, I deserve to be put in a corner and forgotten about, but instead, I serve an awesome God, a God who I cannot even fathom the goodness of, a God who chooses to treasure me despite it all - and that makes my cup not just run over, but spill all over the place!

"The wildest part is that Jesus doesn't have to love us. His being is utterly complete and perfect, apart from humanity. He doesn't need me or you. Yet He wants us, chooses us, even considers us His inheritance (Eph. 1:18). The greatest knowledge we can ever have is knowing God treasures us."

(from Crazy Love by Francis Chan)

Baby Blues

2008-08-28T13:58:00.001-07:00

Hi! It's Caleb here! I got a hold of the computer for a bit (which is quite a feat with my daddy around!) so I could show you my new baby blues - not my eyes, but my very first pair of jeans!!! Mom bought them for me the other day 'cause she said something about the seasons fixin' to change. I'm not so sure about all that stuff yet. Anyway, here are some pics mommy took. You will also notice that my legs are getting pretty strong. I practice kicking lots during the night and nap time. I'm pretty sure they will be scooting me along sometime in the near future. Can't wait to see everyone again soon. I'll give you another update as soon as I can find my way back here!

Fhoto Friday!!

2008-08-22T06:49:00.000-07:00

So happy I could spit milk!

Gazing out the window with Daisy

Just chillin'

This is the first toy Caleb won on ebay. His dad is starting him young!

Sacked out for a morning nap

Caleb and Daddy

Me and Caleb

Running to get Daddy

BUY IT!!

2008-08-20T20:12:00.000-07:00

This is a small plug for a good friend of mine!! Her sis wrote this book and it will be in stores September 9th. You can read the synopsis on ther website http://www.kimberly-huff.com/index.html I don't know about y'all, but I am definitely willing to try any book that has something about a coffee product in the title!

Google it...

2008-08-19T14:09:00.000-07:00

...just because you need to see the cute little things they are doing with the Google logo for the Olympics. There are different ones everyday. You never know what you will see, but they are always cute and creative!!

A WOW Weekend!

2008-08-18T09:18:00.000-07:00

(I started this post right after the weekend, but am just now getting it finished!)

This has been one of those weekends where I have just felt God's presence so real each day. Let me give a recap:

Friday night:
We had a get together with our Small Group that served two purposes 1) because we all love hanging out and 2) because were saying a temporary goodbye to our very special friends Cameron and Lyn Wooten. They've only been at our church for a short time, but oh, how we've come to love them dearly. Cameron and Lyn were missionaries for 2 years and then moved back home. About a year after their return Cameron was diagnosed with leukemia. However, their story is not your normal story! They have had such a wonderful outlook on everything since day 1. They have clearly been able to see God's hand through this whole ordeal and He has gotten so much glory from it all! They have been able to share their story and touch so many lives. It's been amazing watching them live out their faith in God - truly trusting Him for their future and whole heartedly beleiving that whatever they are going through He has a purpose in it all. Such an inspiration! Although the leukemia is now in remission (praise God!) he is having to have a bone marrow transplant. Please pray for this family. He will have to be in the hospital for a solid month and will not get to see his little girl (who is 13 weeks old).

Saturday:
"Coke on the Corner" with our church - FBC WEST!! We had a blast. We stood on the corner of Harrison Bridge Road and Fairview Road and passed out free cokes to the people who were stopped at the intersection. Thankfully we all made it back alive! Each drink had a little business card on it that gave our church name, worship times and a map. It was just a neat way to live out our love for the community.

The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Gal. 5:6

It was funny to see how people reacted. We had people who willingly accepted, people who tried to give us money even though we never asked for it and people who completely ignored us. There were times we couldn't even give away a FREE coke. But the more we thought about it, the more sense it made because how many things in this life really are completely free - no strings attached. I can't think of anything - especially material things like a coke. Well, that is unless you think like one of my first graders who one time told me that he got cereal for free at the grocery store. I asked him how because you had to buy cereal. He said, "No...we got buy one, get one FREE!." Ok, that was completely a little side note, but one of my favorite stories! Anyway, the only completely free thing I can think of is our salvation in Christ. The free gift of eternal life that is for everyone who will simply take the gift - not ignore it, not try to pay for it - just receive it. Isn't that awesome?

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8

So this one man has really been on my heart. I offered him a coke and he said, "No, but I'll take the card." This was the only response I got like this, so it made me think that he must really be seraching. I know it's far fetched but I have really been praying for this man - that maybe he would find his way to our church. Sounds silly, but I also believe that God can do more than we could ever ask or imagine. It's funny how God has had this man stick out in my mind - don't really know why, but I know I can pray.

Sunday night:
This was one of those nights that I know I will have a hard time describing. It was one of those moments with God that just surpases explaining with my insignificant, human vocabulary. Our church hosted Selah in concert and it was wonderful. Chad and I almost didn't go - a free Sunday night was sounding pretty good! But, last minute he was like, "I keep hearing about that concert on WLFJ (the local Christian station). I think we should get tickets." So, I got up Saturday morning and ordered ours and boy am I glad I did. I was excited because I love any kind of music, but I wasn't super excited because I didn't know much of their music. Let me tell you, I SHOULD have been super excited! It was such an amazing concert. Their voices reminded me of a marriage. Two voices blending so well together that it seemed like one. The harmony the two lead singers made was - oh my - unmatchable. These two voices were meant to sing together!! And, no worries about me not knowing any of the songs because they sang mostly older hymns! Love them!! It is Well With My Soul (my favoite!!), Amazing Grace, Closer Walk with Thee, Be Thou My Vision, Power in the Blood, etc. It was such a wonderful time of worship. Now I love me some contemporary music, but it pains me to think the kids of now may not grow up hearing hymns, so I am all about groups that like to put a little comtemporary twist on old hymns because their messages are so powerful!! Anyway, music is one of my main ways of worhsip and this was just one of those unforgettable times - where I got to close my eyes and have tears brought to my eyes because of the wonderful lyrics of these timeless songs. Thanks Selah for sharing your gifts and your stories with our church. What a night!!

It's OK for grown men to cry...

2008-08-14T19:27:00.000-07:00

OK, so I was just watching my first of the Olympics because we just got our TV set up and let me tell you what I heard. This Lochte kid just won gold for the first time on his life during the Men's 150M swim. So of course at the end of the race they are showing his family, etc. His dad was (or maybe still is) his swim coach, so naturally he has some tears of joy. The camera crew shows him and the announcers words are as follows, "There's Lochte's dad, Steve, and he's having a hard time holding it in." HEEEEELLLOOOOOO!!!! Holding it in?!?! Are you kidding me? His son just won Gold at the Olympics and you expect him to "hold it in"? That just disturbed me a little. No wonder boys/men are afraid to cry with this silly mentality. I personally don't see a thing wrong with it. It doesn't mean you are any less of a man because you shed a few tears - happy or sad! I think it makes you MORE of a man because you are willing to let others see the real you - you are being vulnerable and transparent. You aren't trying to hide your feelings and have a big ole "I'm too macho to cry" ego. Anyway, just a little pet peeve of mine. Men, if you are out there reading this, cry a little. I mean, don't go overboard and start crying at sappy, girly chic flicks, but a little outward emotion never hurt anyone - it just makes us stronger!

I married a movie star!!!!

2008-08-13T18:07:00.000-07:00

Check out Chad's TV debut! For those of you who have never met him, he's the hot guy at the very end of the video! He has used this local bank forever and knows all the sweet ladies there, so a few weeks ago they called and asked him to be in a commercial. It will be airing on Fox News, ESPN, HGTV and a few other channels. He will probably be getting a call to be one of the crazy people in the Sonic commercials soon, so if you want his autograph you better get it now while he's just a wee little peon. I have a feeling we're going big!!

(you will need to pause my play list at the bottom in order to hear this)

God is Faithful...

2008-08-13T08:16:00.000-07:00

Yay! For the rain today! There's nothing like waking up to a darker than normal room and raindrops on your window. Well, except for snow outside your window! Just in the middle of a severe drought, we get a load of rain. Isn't that just like God? It works the same way in life - just when you think things are as dry as they can get, God's spirit breaks in and rains down a good, soaking, rain. It refreshes you and fills you to the brim - if you let it. It seems like the theme of my life recently has been "Having an Open Spirit". We've talked about it in church, in Sunday School and I've even heard about it on the radio recently. Hmmm....sounds like God is teaching me, right?!?! Don't you love it when He makes himself so evident. Anyway, the rain today reminded me that my prayer each day is that God rain down his Spirit on me. Like the lyrics below say "open the floodgates of heaven". Isn't that an awesom picture - the floodgates of heaven opening up and God's spirit pouring all over you. But not only that - that my Spirit will be open to what he is leading me to do, that I will remove myself from the picture and let the Spirit of God, the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead and is living in me, guide me.

Let it rain, let it rain.

Open the floodgates of Heaven

The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad

Let the distance shores rejoice

Clouds and thick darkness surround him

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne

A fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side

His lightning lights up the world

The earth sees and trembles

The mountains melt like wax before the Lord

Before the Lord of all the earth

The Heavens proclaim His righteousness

And all peoples will see His Glory

We want to see Your Glory, God! Do you want to see His Glory?Lift your voices, lift your hands!

Let it rain, let it rain.

Open the floodgates of Heaven

While I was out...

2008-08-11T19:04:00.000-07:00

During my "girl" time tonight Chad was in charge of Caleb. This included feeding him carrots, giving him a bottle and putting him to bed. I left a detailed schedule about when things were supposed to be done; however, Chad said he wanted to "spice things up a bit". Here are the pictures/videos I received while I was gone. Aren't daddies so much fun?!?!?

Chad taught Caleb how to use E-bay. (Oh...and excuse the mess, we are still getting things settled in the office from the move!)

Chad let Caleb play with his bowl when he was all done. Notice: Did he eat any carrots or is he just wearing them all?

P.S. Chad wanted me to add that he DID get him to bed on time!!! :)

The Amish, Friendship and Pedicures

2008-08-11T18:41:00.000-07:00

Hmmmm.....so you are probably wondering how in the world any of these things relate! Well, they do because they were all a part of my day today - and no I didn't see Amish friends getting pedicures. BUT, let me tell you, it's been a great day! I started it out with the Amish because these sweet neighbors in our neighborhood brought us a zip-lock bag of this ooey gooey substance with a recipe for "Amish Friendship Bread". It had directions for 10 days. Each day I had to do something to it (usually just mash the bag) and on the 10th day (today!) I added all this other stuff and make the bread, or the muffins, in my case. I also seperated out 4 other batters to give to friends. Let me just say....I don't know how something that sits on your counter and ferments for 10 days can taste so good, but it sure does. I gave away some of the muffins (with the starter batter, of course) and we kept some for ourselves. I'm thinkin' a muffin will be great with a hot cup 'o joe in the morning!

Next, comes the friendship and the pedicures. Tonight my dear friend, Jennifer, and I went out to do a little shopping and also got pedicures! It was so wonderful spending time with her. I think she and I are a lot alike and she's one of those few people who you can confide in and know that it will go no further than the place you are sitting. Love it and love her. I've known her for quite a few years, but we've just recently become good friends and I am so extremely thankful to God for her friendship and the Godly life that she leads. She is such a shining example of God's love and she's just one of those people who makes you feel closer to God just by spending time with her. Oh...and the pedicure was so nice. I hadn't had one since before Caleb was born so the piggies were in desperate need of some attention! Oh! What a day!

Say a little prayer...

2008-08-11T04:52:00.000-07:00

...for my sweet cousin (and bestest friend!) Lindsey today! She had Ella just a month after Caleb was born and she is having to go back to school today. I just talked to her and she had just dropped Ella off at the sitter's house. God answered her prayers and gave her some wondeful, Godly women to look after Ella during the year so Lindsey is very thankful for that. BUT, dropping her off for the first time couldn't have been easy. Please pray for an extra topping of God's comfort and peace for her today. Also pray for her time today to be occupied and that the day pass quickly. I know she will be watching the clock!! This is picture of Caleb and Ella a few weeks ago. They are also best friends!! :)

Being "Green"...

2008-08-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

Green Beans, that is! We thought we had a great time with rice, but the green beans were even more fun! Caleb really seemed to like them and he's now had them three times. The Doc says to try each veggie for 4-5 days to make sure he's not allergic to it. One more day of greens and then we may move on to sweet potatoes. YUM. I figure we'll mix in a sweet one. He's doing much better eating the food and not pushing it out with his tongue as much, but we still have a ways to go. One spoonful usually takes about 3-4 shoves in his mouth! Here are some pics of our green bean experience!

Bittersweet...

2008-08-06T12:41:00.000-07:00

Mom. Kristen. Me. Patiently Waiting.

Our handy dandy Welcome Home sign!

A hug two years in the making!

Caleb meeting Uncle Corey for the first time.

Taking it all in.

The fam - together again!

Corey Ross and Caleb Ross

Still bright eyed at 11:30 pm!!

Having a moment

All I can say about this night is that it was bittersweet. I'm telling you I was so excited about Corey getting off that plane I felt like I could jump out of my skin! We got there expecting him to arrive around 10 and then they told us it would be close to 12! We were so sad, but then the sweet security lady came and told us that it has been changed and that the plane would be in at 10:54. Thank goodness! So we sat around and chatted and when time got close we all went and stood right next to where he was coming out. We had our sign ready and the anticipation of the moment was killer! I stood there watching every person that came down the escalator just praying it would be him. People passing by were wondering what was going on. One plane unloaded, but he wasn't on it. Finally, the next plane started deboarding (is that even a word? oh well) and all these people came off, but no Corey. We knew it was his plane so we waited - and let me tell you, those minutes seemed like hours! I made everyone let me stand at the front because mom and dad had seen him when they went to visit, BUT I made myself stand back some because I was afraid I would see him, go right through the security doors and then get arrested - which would have made for an interesting night, but is not exactly what I had in mind. Finally he came down the stairs and I screamed "THERE HE IS!!", ran very close to the door (you can see in the pic) and gave him a hug that I've been saving for 2 whole years! Shortly after lots of hugs from family, he got to hold Caleb for the first time. It was awesome. Caleb had been asleep, but woke up to say hello to his uncle for the first time. What a precious moment!

When Corey left I had never prepared myself to say goodbye to someone for 2 years - especially someone so close, but when he returned saying welcome home was so easy! The wonderful thing about family and good friends is that even when you are apart for extended amounts of time, when you see each other again, it feels like you are were never apart. I just love this! Praise be to God for his safe return home, his experiences while he was there and all the plans that lie ahead for him. He is very, very dear to my heart and I just can't tell you what it means to have him home. Thank you also to everyone who prayed with us for him during his time there. What a mighty God we serve!

Coming soon...

2008-08-05T05:15:00.001-07:00

Last night I finally downloaded all the pics from our awesome week with Corey, so I will be posting some and a blog on here very soon! With the move and getting ready for the big party, time has been lacking for blogging. Keep checking and I will have something up soon...promise!

Soooooo.....stinkin' excited!!!!

2008-07-19T19:31:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been so excited about something you can hardly stand it? Like the day that it is supposed to happen just can't get here soon enough? Have you ever been so excited that you play over and over again in your head what you think the event or whatever will be like. Well, I am having that kind of excitement these days. You ask why? It's because my brother is coming home!!!!! You see my little brother, who is one of my favorite people in the world, has been away for 2 years doing some really awesome work. My parents and some other family members got to go visit him, but I had just had Caleb and traveling across the world just wasn't an option...BUT he's coming home in 9 days and I just can't wait. Everytime I think about seeing him for the first time just makes me smile. I imagine myself smiling so much that night that my cheeks hurt. I imagine crying because it will seem so surreal. I seriously am going to have to hold myself back from knocking him down with a hug when he walks off that plane. I keep joking that I get to be the first to see him because everyone else has gotten to. Oh...and the other part of the excitement is that he FINALLY gets to meet Caleb. He has already played such a huge role in his life through prayer (he was the very first person to pray over him when he was first born - on Skype!) and I just can't wait for them to meet face to face. I have a friend who says you always need to be looking forward to something, so I thought I'd share a little about something I am looking sooooooo.... forward to. What are looking forward to?

You know you are moving when...

2008-07-17T09:14:00.000-07:00

You have a random pile of boxes by your fridge - none of which contain what they are labeled.

You occupy your child with a Baby Einstein DVD AND a toy so you can pack the boxes.

You have a nice collection of candles, salt, Crisco and vinegar on your countertop.

Your husband has rigged some contraption for dispensing the bubble wrap and put it in your dining room!

And last...your breakfast looks like this because you can't find any bowls!!

For those of you who may be asking...YES! We are moving AGAIN!! If you recall, we just did this last October, but like I've been telling everyone, we just like to keep life exciting. Caleb came and we just needed something else to look forward to. HA! We are headed back to Anderson. Since I am not going to working next year, it is more conveinent for Chad to be close to his job. Living in A-town will allow him to not have to leave until later, be home some for lunch and get home at a decent time. As much as I hate having to leave our house and our closeness to Greenville, I think it will be for the best. So, this weekend we are starting the process. We are moving into a house we have, of course, ripped the insides out of and started over! BUT, we really are happy with the almost-finished product and can't wait to get settled. I will post pics of the house later.

The Mommy "Do"

2008-07-16T06:42:00.001-07:00

So, I finally did it. I got the mommy "do". I told myself that I was going to keep my long hair for a while and possibly even grow it longer, but things quickly changed. You see, after pregnancy you apparently loose a good bit of hair. For some reason while you are pregnant your hair doesn't fall out as much (which explains the luxurious hair pregos have) and then once you have the baby and all those crazy horomones kick in, all those hairs that have been gracing your head for so many months decide they've been around a little too long and let go - all at once. So for the past 3 months or so I've been drying my hair in the morning and then sweeping up a small wig to deposit in the trashcan. Too bad Locks of Love can't take stuff like that because I promise I could have made them more than one wig! Also with the long hair came a longer drying time - which happened to be most of Caleb's first nap and once you have a little one you realize just how precious those nap times are and you sure don't want to waste a whole one drying your hair! Anyway, I went to my wonderful hairdresser, Jennifer, and this is what I came out with. I love it---although I can NEVER seem to make it look quite as good as she does! If you are a mommy out there debating a haircut...DO IT!! It will make you feel great, give you a little more time to spare doing something else, and all that hair you were loosing -well, you still loose it, but it's MUCH shorter!

Rice is Nice.....and messy

2008-07-15T18:19:00.000-07:00

You can tell that I am about as unsure as he is!

We had our 4 month check up last week and Mr. Caleb weighed in at 14 lbs, 14 oz. So for all those people who keep telling us we have a "healthy" baby (which we know really means "fat") he's actually very normal!! We also found out he's 25 inches tall...or 2 feet, 1 inch. With the 4 month check came the discussion of solid foods. We are to introduce all the veggies between now and 6 months, but of course we had to start with the rice cereal. Above are some shots from his first feeding from a spoon. We were basically fighting against his toungue, but it was fun. I still haven't figured out how they are actually supposed to eat the stuff because it was practically like feeding him soup it was so thin. Needless to say, more ended up on his face and down his bib than in his tummy. We'll try again tomorrow!

Happy Birthday Cali!

2008-07-15T18:07:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we got the head to the big 'ole town of Clinton for Cousin Cali's 1st Ever Birthday Party. We had such a great time and got to see lots of family that had yet to meet Caleb or Ella. Ella is Caleb's cousin and also his best friend - at least Lindsey and I are going to force them to be! My family loves to hang out and we basically find any reason we can to get together! Here are a few pics from the fun day. Although I am not wishing time away, I can't wait to watch Caleb tear into his cake at his first birthday party. Cali was definitely into it!!

Sweet and clean Cali BEFORE the cake destruction...

...and after! She had a blast!

Caleb and Ella

Name Change...

2008-07-15T14:31:00.000-07:00

...and no I am not talking about our son! When I started this blog, it was before we even knew we were going to try and have a baby. I just did it to try out the world of blogging, which I am still not that good at! Anyway, the original title was My Lifesong. Now that it has turned out to be more about life with my little family, I have changed the title to OUR Lifesong. If you are curious about how I got the title in the first place go back and read one of my first blogs -you know, in your free time!! :)

3 months and counting..

2008-07-01T18:48:00.000-07:00

Since I have some friends who are blogging now I thought it was about time I updated my page - especially since the last time was over 2 months ago! Caleb turned 3 months old June 10th. This month has definitely flown by the fastest. Here are some fun events from this month:

I am 3 months old!!

First picnic - hanging with the girls!

Caleb's new favorite way to sleep in his crib.

He finally got that big 'ole head up!

Happy baby!

First trip to the beach...

...and it wore him out!

Playing in the water with daddy

Loving his finger

Sleepy, but still holding his head up!

Check back. I will try to do better about updating. If not, the next post you see may be his one year old birthday party!!

Free Things!

2008-04-08T14:42:00.000-07:00

Today was an awesome day of FREE THINGS!!!! The more I think about it, everyday is full of those. And if I think about it even more, I can admit that it’s the free things in life that are the best things anyway! Today my freebies were free smiles, free visits with family, and free Starbucks coffee – honestly! My free smiles came from Caleb. I say they are free because free things have no attachment to them, and that is exactly how his smiles are right now. I’m pretty sure he still has no control over them, so they just come at random times, but it’s so precious every time he shows those pink toothless gums - and they seem to come at just the right times, like when he is supposed to be eating and he’s falling asleep instead and I’m getting frustrated! I am pretty sure that God plans it this way because these smiles just melt me and make me totally forget any frustration I was previously feeling. My free visit came from a visit with Lindsey. Caleb and I went to see her today and we just had such a great time of chatting, hanging out and catching up – probably one of the last before Ella Claire gets here. The gift of family is constantly amazing to me and always makes me so happy. And then, there was the free coffee! I went by Starbucks on my way home from Lindsey’s and noticed they have a new blend of coffee. I inquired about this “Pike Place Roast” and the lady told me it was the new roast that they are going to be serving all day, everyday, so I ordered some to try it out. When I got up to the window she told me they had been giving out free samples earlier in the day, so she just decided to give it to me. AWESOME….what a great end to an already great day! And the coffee was good too!

Caleb Ross Byce

2008-03-22T11:06:00.000-07:00

March 10, 2008

8:18 am

6 lbs, 11 oz

20.5 inches

So, our little bundle of joy has arrived. Acutally, let me rephrase that, our little miracle has finally arrived. After 9 months of waiting, wondering, praying, and preparing on March 10th we finally got to see this creation God has blessed us with. A creation that has been loaned to us and was made for His purpose and His glory - talk about some overwhelming emotions! It's amazing how something so small can fill you with such emotion and such love just in the first minutes of life!

Below are a few pictures of Caleb's first few days. He is a cutie and seems to be a pretty good baby so far! Mom and Dad are adjusting well to having him at home!

First picture of the three of us!

Proud Daddy!

Proud Mommy!

Day 2: A practice photo shoot before the hospital pictures!

Quite alert!

Day 3: Finally chilling out at home!

Day 3: Like father, like son: Napping with Daddy

Just the three of us

Mommy and Caleb!

OH...and no worries! There will be MORE to come! :)

38 Week Belly BULDGE!

2008-03-03T12:39:00.000-08:00

Baby Room: Final Product

2008-03-01T15:46:00.001-08:00

The door

Your first view as you walk through the door

Your view as your look to the left.

NOTE: The rocker in the picture is the one my mom used with me when I was born.

Looking out the door. Across the hall is the bathroom.

The changing table where all the fun messes occur!

Inside the cozy crib. Complete with a blankie that I am very tempted to steal!

Me at 38 weeks and ready to put this room into use!

Is this nesting?!?!

2008-03-01T07:22:00.000-08:00

Ok...so they say you go through a "nesting" phase before the baby gets here so I suppose that is what I have been going through the past week or so. Here are a few things that have been going on at our house...

packing the hospital bags...

getting the bathroom ready...

washing the bottles...

...not to mention the clothes that have been washed, the pictures that have been hung in the nursery and the baby equipment that has been assembled! I think we are NOW ready!

Church Shower

2008-03-01T06:49:00.000-08:00

Location: SFB West Campus
Date: February 17, 2008
Hostesses: Janelle Pusser, Jennifer Bishop, Brooke Sherbert, Carol Evans

The BEAUTIFUL cake that Janelle brought all the way from Charleston.

Opening all the gifts (and wondering how in the world you use most of them!)

The paintings that Janelle painted to match my nursery. They are gorgeous!

Digging into some FOOD! (My best friend these days.)

A beautiful quilt made by a sweet, sweet lady at church.

Me and my girls, Danielle and LeAnne. They were in my discipleship group for 4 years and I love them to death!

The hostesses!

The Family Shower

2008-03-01T06:21:00.000-08:00

Location: Brick Street Cafe
Hostesses: our wonderful cousins!!

Lindsey and I were SOOOO.... excited to get to share a shower together. What a special time for us both with our wonderful family. In this picture I think I am around 36 weeks and she is four weeks behind me.

The huge pile of gifts waiting to be opened.

The YUMMY food! You can see that I had to take a bite of the "love muffin" before I even took the picture!

Let the unwrapping begin!

Caleb got his first flannel shirt sent from his Uncle Corey! I was so excited I think you can practically see my tonsils in this picture.

Monogrammed diaper bags.

Bibs!

The little cousins....

Me and Janelle

All worn out! It takes a lot of energy eating all that food and opening all those gifts.

Me and Linds with the hostesses, our cousins - Andrea Stratman, Tiffany Singer, Pamela Adams and Anna Smith.

WE HAD A BLAST!!!!

SHOWER TIME!!!!

2008-02-19T13:22:00.000-08:00

My first shower was February 2 in Anderson. Chad's aunt and some dear friends threw it for us. It was a wonderful time and we got so much fun stuff for little Caleb! Check out the pictures below...

Me with the hostesses

Wonderful high school friends!

Great gifts...now we just have to figure out how to use them all!

The goods!

Three Generations!

Me with the future grandmothers!

The Assembling of the Crib

2008-01-27T18:27:00.001-08:00

Chad rolling up his sleeves for the task at hand.

Step 1: It's out of the box

Step 2: Intently reading the instruction manual - we really did! Oh...and ignore my outfit, please. Look, it was Sunday afternoon and this pregnant girl was just going for comfort!

Step 3: The bedspring on the support rails.

Step 4: Adding the sides to complete the look.

Daisy across the hall looking in and wondering what in the world is going on!

THE FINISHED PRODUCT!!

(minus the bedding which will be put on after it's all washed)