Dizzy Day

Yes. The title says it all... I'm very, very dizzy today. I mean even more than normal & not in my usual 'blonde' way. Also quite tired. Not because I haven't slept much... no, I've slept at least 8 or 9 hours between last night & a nap today! I'm dizzy / loopy / sleepy because of a sinus infection.

I've been having headaches on & off for the last few weeks. I called in about them & my Dr. ended up wanted me to come in. Great... I didn't think she'd be able to tell me anything. You know, schedule me to see a specialist... And they'll run a thousand & one tests, and when it's finally all said & done they'll tell me my problems aren't physiological at all, but in fact psychological!

That or they'll tell me I have a tumor in my brain & they have to shave my head. That's my biggest concern... shaving my head. HUH?! Waaait a second, if there's a tumor in my brain, I have MUCH bigger problems than just shaving my head!!

Really, I'm more of a hypochondriac than anything else. So up until this week, I seriously thought all these headaches really MIGHT be psychological. Then I started getting kinda dizzy. You know, like you've had one glass of really good wine... and you just can't resist that second... then you get 'dizzy.' Yip, that's how I felt - completely sober, mind you!

So back to yesterday when I went in to see my Dr.

She asked me a ton of questions... "Yes...yes...no...yes...no...yes..." You get the idea. And then she told me that I have a pretty good sinus infection! YES! I've never been so happy about an infection in all my life! And that brings me to why I'm even more dizzy now. One of the medicines she put me on can cause dizziness & drowsiness. Oh, yeah. I'll agree with that!

So even though I have tons of other cool stuff to put up here...I can't seem to coagulate my thoughts & creativity enough to put anything together. I'm afraid it might come out looking like: kf904J(*mf4[nm '',]`9jg~]]] ... Only it would be much more confusing than that. So for now, I'm going to take another nap (Don't worry! My baby's asleep too) and hope that I can soon be rid of this sinus infection & the medicine I have to take for it. Love to all & God Bless!

Scary Weather

After not posting anything for a couple of days, it stinks that I have to report bad weather. And although things didn't really go the way I wanted them to this evening, I definitely feel like God was with me & all my family.

I was planning on going out to my Mom & Dad's after they got off work. I didn't even really think much of it when Mom told me that there were thunderstorm warnings out. I just took a quick glance outside & thought there was nothing to worry about. Dad even called just as I was heading out the door to let me know that if I wasn't headed out soon, the storm might catch me. I told him that I was loading stuff into the car as we spoke, so he just said to be careful.

As I was starting to drive, I saw the thunderstorm line moving from west to east pretty quickly. I hadn't even been on the road 3 or 4 minutes when it just cut loose!

At first it was just a heavy rain, but then the sky began to throw pea-sized hail along with crazy-strong winds. I was scared for a moment that my car was going to topple over! Then, as quickly as the storm arrived, the worst seemed to be over.

It was about then that Mom & Dad called me back to tell me that I oughta just turn on around. I wasn't may be 5 of 10 minutes away from home, so I did exactly as they suggested.

As I was on the phone with them, they also had a nice little scare...!

They were on the very last leg of their journey home while I was talking to Mom & suddenly something really startled her - a cable was down & caught around their car!! At first she didn't know if it was a power line or something like a cell phone line... Dad answered that question for her. He just 'tested' it!! He could've been shocked to death!!!

A bit further down the road, an actual power line was completely down. They ended up backing up & taking another route home. I'm really glad they made it safely.

So, I made it back with no problems, Perry made it home even before I got back; Matt and Kendra & the kiddos are OK, and my Mom & Dad are finally home safely (even though they have no electricity...!) Unfortunately these are all I have personally talked to & know that they are all right.

I'll just have to trust in God that everyone else is safe & sound as well. The weather was very scary, and I know there were a lot of accidents & damage. But I know God was really watching over my loved ones tonight, just like He does every night.

I was told that my Church had about a third of it's roof blown off... But it could have been much worse. I'll definitely have those who have suffered damages & as well as those without electricity in my prayers tonight. Also in my prayers, thanks for protecting and blessing me & my family.

Love to all & God Bless

Bed Time...

OK, so bedtime around here has finally become somewhat routine. Getting Livia into her crib is the easy part... that's when she starts her little routine!


She likes to crawl around a bit, you know just in case I've forgotten in the last 15 minutes how good she is at it.


Then she gazes at her lights & sounds show... sometimes she'll even stand up and turn it on & off. And oh, she just smiles and giggles!


Then she plays a game with Mommy after I lay her down. It's a combination of peek-a-boo, making funny faces, and look what I can do with my legs! *FWOP, FWOP, FWOP!* (Taking both of her legs & flopping them hard onto the mattress)
I just love the funny face she's making here.

So does that mean she's finally ready to get going to sleep?

Oh, no way!!


"That's too funny, Mommy! It'll take a lot more than just 5 or 10 minutes to get me to sleep!"

Well, that's the time that I spend with her putting her in the crib. I then lay her down one last time (sometimes she actually stays put, other times she doesn't...) and I close the door to her room. She'll usually go to sleep all by herself within 10 or 15 minutes. And I always tip-toe in to cover her up & check on her one last time before I go to sleep. I love our little routine :o)
Love to all & God Bless!

Pics from the Past

Maybe it's because I don't have any new, cool pics to put up here... Maybe it's because I was just thinking about how much people change over the years... Whatever the reason, I've been reminiscing looking through a ton of old pictures & decided to put some of my favorites up here.


Here's little bitty baby Livie within the first couple of days of bringing her home.


And one more within that first week of having her home. It's so sweet how it almost looks like Livia's smiling in this snapshot.


One of the very pictures of me & my hubby - love it. Too bad this shirt totally does not fit me at all anymore!

One of my sis-in-law, Kendra & her hubby (Perry's brother) Matt. This was taken while they were down in Florida.


One of the very first pics I snapped of my nephew, Nolan - he's only 5 in this photo! Now, he's 7 and a half (can't forget that half - I remember until I was like 10, it was always my age and-a-half!)


And here's my niece, Maggie-Boo at the ripe ole' age of 2! She looks like such a princess already, doesn't she?


And last but not least, here's my other little nephew, Garrett. He's just a few months old in this picture & doesn't he just look so sweet?!




One of the very first pictures of the triplets! Oh, they're so very tiny in this picture! Unfortunately I don't know exactly how old they are in this picture. I'm pretty sure it was within that first month that they were born. And I think the order in this picture from left to right is Jay, Meg, Sam... Oh, I'll have to ask my Aunt Tanya on this one!


And here are those little rascals for their first Halloween. My Momma took this one on her camera & you can see the date stamp - how clever is that?! Anyway, I know the order in this one goes Meg, Sam, Jay from front to back.
These the pic of the kids in these costumes made me think of a really funny story. I originally wanted to dress Livia up as a cow for her 1st Halloween this year and dress myself up as a milk-maid. Yes, I know that would have been totally backwards! But also quite funny :o)


This is one of my favorite young-and-hot pictures of my husband. This was taken back when he was in the Marine Corps. He served honorably for 5 years & got out just a few months before 9/11.


And one of my favorites of me - my Momma took this picture when I was about 4 I think. Not exactly sure, but I know I sure do love it! It looks so professional.


Here's one that my sis-in-law, Kendra, sent me just a few days ago - Perry & Nolan. I think we established that this was back in summer of '05! Don't they both look so young & handsome?


Me & my Daddy at one of my college track meets. A little piece of me still wishes I could be in track, but honestly I'm perfectly happy with the memories.


Obviously as the pic says, this is my husband & his mom after his friend Donny's wedding. I adore his smile in this photo!


My sis Laura & me a very looong time ago! I love this picture for so many reasons. One because I remember my Mom saying, "Girls, act like ya love each other!" We look so sweet in this photo, like we'd never fight... riiiiight.


And finally, one of Perry, his brother (Matt), & his mom while he was home on leave. He's so dang skinny in this picture!

Well, anyway, I'll have to get some more new pictures up next time! love to all & God Bless.

Inspired

I mentioned a new website I discovered - RedBubble - and it's inspired me to find some of my first photographs taken even before I got my digital SLR.

A few years ago, I took a film photography class during the summer. I was smart enough to get a lot of the pictures copied onto CD. At the time, I wondered if the CD's were a waste of money. Now I really wish I would have gotten them all on CD!

Here are some of my favorites that I do have from that class...


I just loved these ducks - I took several of them & this was definitely my favorite.


Overlooking the river in downtown Evansville


Another downtown shot. Just an exit ramp, but I just loved the curves & lines.

And here's just a couple more taken with my film SLR. These were from our family vacation down in Florida, summer of '05 (That seems like eons ago!)


I just LOVE this pic of the beach. The sand looks SO cool!


A beautiful Florida morning sunrise. Even though you can't see the sun, I really like the colors.

Anyway, I know these pics are ancient, but I still love them. It reminds me of when my love of photography first began. Enjoy!

Love to all & God Bless

Livia's Favorite Places

I thought I'd stick a few pics up here of where Livia is the happiest!

Believe it or not, her crib has become a place she just loves. I think it's mostly because it's really easy for her to stand up in it :)

She's looking at Perry in both these pictures - he got just as big of a kick out of her as I did!


More big grins... She feels so big!


And here's Livie in her bouncer - we have it hanging in her doorway & there's a mirror right in front of her. She always tries to jump towards that pretty baby in the mirror.


Caught her in mid-jump here. She was babbling and chattering almost the whole time.

Well, that's about all I have in terms of pics today!

I did get a couple of pics of her in the pack & play, but I took them through the screen, so you can't really see much of Livia. Oh, well. I'll just have to get some more tomorrow! Til then, love to all & God Bless!

RedBubble

I have discovered a new website - and I think I'm already addicted! I can upload as many pics as I want. It's a lot like Smugmug in the fact that you can sell your work, but the people are all SO nice & helpful. There are how-to groups, groups for whatever you like to capture on film...very, very neat stuff! The only thing I'm not a huge fan of is that you can only upload one picture at a time. Oh well, it's free & fun!

So, if anyone's interested the website's at: http://www.redbubble.com/

OK, now I need to get some more Livie pics up here!

Livia - 9 Months Old!

As of today it's official!

We had her 9 month check-up, and she's absolutely perfect! We already knew that, though. The best part of this Dr. visit was that she didn't have to get any shots - Yay!

She's hit every milestone right on schedule thus far. Everything I had questions about were answered - she's perfectly normal and doing GREAT!

She now weighs 18 lbs 15 oz and she's 27" - she's really close to getting into a forward-facing car seat!

Speaking of her car seat, she fell fast asleep in it on our way home. She even stayed asleep when I brought her inside!


I couldn't resist getting a couple of pics of her sleeping so sweetly.



So, that's really about all I have for today... I'll have to get some really cute stuff up tomorrow. I should have some funny ones of her playing in her pack 'n play from her Great Aunt Tanya.

Til then, Love to all & God Bless!

Milestones

Today was somewhat bittersweet - my sweet little baby is growing more every day, and this day she seemed to grow before my very eyes...!

I went to church as I most often do on Sundays, Livia showed off her patty-cakes, said Da-Da, & babbled during the service... She seemed to enjoy church as much as I did! I hope to raise her up so that she loves & looks forward to church as much as I do. Oh, I don't want to give a sermon in this entry - though I do want to give God special thanks for answered prayers and for speaking to my heart today.

Back to Livia's exciting day!

After we got back to her Grandma & Grandpa's house after church, we had a wonderful lunch, we cleaned up, and Livia got in a nap. A very teeny tiny nap of like 30 minutes! Anyway, then we were all playing with her in the living room when my Mom & Dad decided to try to let her scoot around on her own.

Imagine our surprise when she started getting up on her hands & knees & CRAWLING!!! We've been working with her for several weeks - she's been itching to get mobile for like a month or two at least. Up til now, she's just been rolling and kinda scooting backwards. We were just starting to think that she might skip crawling all together. Once again, she proves us wrong :)



I really didn't get much of any pictures - I was just wanting to get all her crawling captured on video (There were several - I restrained myself from putting them all on here! I'm such a proud mommy!) I wanted to show them all to her Daddy after we got back home (which he was very glad to see)

This one that I did get of her crawling was later in the evening after she'd had a bath.

Oh, yes she definitely needed a bath! Why?


Well, Livia also tried her first cookie today! It was actually a Gerber Biter, made for little kiddos.


And how sweet is this?! She's offering to share her yummy treat with the baby doll :)


Even though Livie really made a mess, it was totally worth it! She loved her 'cookie' so much that I ended up having to take it away just after this pic. Not worth her getting choked.

So the reason for her getting a bath is pretty obvious!


And just after her bath we did more crawling, playing and...


watching the grandfather clock. Livia LOVES the clock!


Every time it chimes she patty-cakes and grins from ear to ear!

Even though Baby-Boo sometimes acts like she could stay up all night, she does eventually tire out...


With a little help from her Grandma, she was out cold within minutes.

We may have made a mistake by laying her in the living room near the clock...

She was in the middle when we first put her down - every time the clock would chime, Livia woke up & scooted a little. How cute is this?!

I know this was a very long entry, but I was just so excited about everything that happened today. I wanted to make sure to write it all down. Aunt Tanya, thank you SO much for introducing me to this wonderful way of recording Livia's life. And thank you to all who care to read our little stories.

Love to all & may you all be truly blessed by God as much as I have been!

"I Like Being Big"

If Livia could talk, I imagine those would be the words she'd say the most.

Whenever she's walkie-walking, sitting up in her high-chair, sitting in the shopping cart, or even being carried in her baby front-pack Livia is always happy as a clam.

Not too long ago, I discovered that she also loves sitting on top of my shoulders! I do this with her quite a bit, even though I don't get the reaction I did when I first tried it. (She just laughed & laughed and batted her little hands against my head!) Now she still bats me, but she also does patty-cakes and pulls my hair!

Perry was sweet enough to get these pictures for me this last week when I had Livia up high.


This pic just cracks me up - she looks like she's doing a little baby-gorilla impression...and come to think of it, she was kinda growling when she was doing this. Oh, and you can also see some of my hair that she's pulling!


Since her Daddy was looking right at her snapping photos, she did patty-cakes to show off.


*Clap-clap-clap...grins*


And then laughs as she bats at Mommy's head a bit.


And finally pulled at Mommy's hair just a little bit more before I decided it was time for her to get down!

Oh, what fun :)

Love to all & God Bless!

Livia Says Da-da!

Exciting Day

Even though I was up VERY late last night, it was totally worth it! My sweet little Livia said her first real word: da-da! I feel so lucky because she actually said it several times throughout the night.

At first I was just too amazed to even think about grabbing a camera. When I put her down in her crib, she got especially chatty - babbling & blowing raspberries, so I decided to get some of her cute sounds on video.

I just happened to totally luck out; I had the camera on her when she said "da-da" in her crib!



I figured this pic of Livia & her da-da taken just a couple of days ago fits this entry perfectly.

Love to all & God Bless!

I'm Learning...

SO much about this whole blogging thing. There's so much more that I can do to this blog than I have been doing...

So, soon to come...

Some super cool stuff! Thanks to some MUCH needed help from my awesome Aunt Tanya!

I didn't have time to do it tonight (It's almost 2 in the morning & need to go to bed. Baby-Boo is down in her crib, but she does NOT want to go to sleep!)

Love to all & God Bless!

Livie's a Standin Again!

As I was fixing dinner tonight, I sat Livia in her crib to play...but I shouldn't really be surprised that she had absolutely NO desire to sit at all.

She's become a pro at using the side of her crib to stand up.


Even the side of the crib that's against the wall. I like this just fine - I don't worry about her going over the edge!


And she's also learned that she can use the crib to 'walk' to the end where the lights & sounds show is that my wonderful Aunt Tanya sent for her to use. She absolutely LOVES it! She liked it ok when she was just a teeny little baby, and now she's just fascinated with it.


You can see her grinning from ear to ear watching the lights & sounds show... You may also see that she's standing without using her hands! She's kinda leaning against the back of the crib, but how cool is this?!


Oh, she's such a happy little girl! One hand on the lights & sounds show, and the other hand holding her 'taggies' mouse (and putting it in her mouth, of coarse). You can't tell, but she's grinnin like a monkey!


Looks like she's waving in this picture - almost like she's saying, "Hey Mom! See, I told you I'm such a big girl!"


And she finally plopped back down - show's over...for now!

Love to all & God Bless!

Winter Wonderland

Here in Southern Indiana, we've finally received our first substantial amount of snow for the season! For a moment, I thought about putting up some pictures of the beautiful scenery around my house -- but then I came to my senses! Who wants to see pictures of snow…when a snow-baby is SOOO much cuter :o)

I put little Baby-Boo in her adorable little snowsuit and ended up with some SUPER sweet pictures



I sat Livia down on the steps right outside our house, and she just looked around...and looked at me...




And then she started eating the snow! No surprise there, if you know Livia. And don't worry, I took her back inside to put litle socks on her hands within like 2 minutes. I just wanted her to feel & taste snow.

Then a few minutes later my awesome husband came out with us & was sweet enough to snap a bunch of pictures of me & Livia, too! I love it that he's been taking more and more pictures of us.


She looks a little sleepy in this picture, but don't be fooled...


She got so excited that I thought she was going to fly out of my arms!


Livie babbled, and patty-caked, and looked all around - she really seemed to like the snow!


Except her Mommy wouldn't let her down to really play in it. Rats.


I did give her little bits of snow to try, though!


I just love the look on her face - like she doesn't know what to think about the taste of it.

And finally, just before we went back inside... I couldn't resist!


Livia's very first little snow angel! Ok, I helped her & stood right beside her while her Daddy snapped this cute little picture. And then I snatched her right up & took her inside to get warm!

If she were just a little bit older, I would have shared some warm cocoa with Livia, But that day will come soon enough. Tonight she just got a warm bath & her last feeding of the day, then it was off to bed. I'm so very content to cherish the time I have with her as a baby!

Love to all & God Bless

Jumping on the Bandwagon

Wordless Wednesday

Date Night Pics

Last week my husband & I made a point to go out on a date together. I had to put some of the cute pictures up from that night


Here we are still at the Steakhouse just after our wonderful dinner.


My Mom took this pic for us after we got back to their house. It was pretty in color, but I liked it even more after I turned it into black & white.


And finally a pic of all 3 of us just before we left. Livia is sooo sleepy - that poor little baby needed to get to bed!

Even when you're married & have kiddos, it's so important to have time for just Mommy & Daddy. We are so blessed to have gotten this opportunity to spend time with each other! I hope all married folk get a chance to have some time for just each other, too. Even if it's only once in a blue moon...!

Love to all & God Bless!

Livia & Her Daddy

Livia loves her Daddy SO much!


He takes her 'walkie-walking' and it makes her feel SO BIG!


Livia's Daddy teaches her so much, like how to clap her hands! He taught her one night while I went grocery shopping.


Ever since, that's been her thing when she sees her Daddy. *Clap, clap!* (See how one hand stays open and the other closes into a little fist? I love that)


Our baby grins from ear to ear every time her Daddy walks in the door, and of coarse Livie shows her Daddy that she knows how to patty-cake just like he taught her.

Love to all & God Bless!

Jaw-Droppers

The title says it all - these pics are a bit surprising to say the least!

This first shot isn't really all that shocking to me. I see it all the time when I'm out at my parents.

They have a kittly, Henry, and his food bowl is right out back on the deck. Well, Henry isn't the only one who enjoys this food...!



A big healthy SKUNK feasting on kitty food!

And this isn't the only skunk that comes around - my parents tell me that there are several that show up to chow down.

When you think about country critters, these guys aren't necessarily the 1st that come to mind (deer, 'coons, 'possums, squirrells...) but they're definately the stinkiest! What do you do when you have a skunk at your house? If you 'scare' it away, it'll probably just spray. Doesn't seem to bother my parents though. They just knock on the door and shoo them away. (With no sprays as of yet) Count your lucky blessings, city folk!


Now this next picture of is Livia with her 1st experience with sweets - a Christmas candy cane to be exact. It was so cute to see her holding on to it, sucking around on it (ok, more like drooling on it!)



It was just a surprise to see this little baby... not really looking much at all like a baby. My little Livia Rachelle is a growin' up!



I think more than anything, Livia was just happy to have something in her little hands that tasted so sweet. And for once Mommy didn't snatch it right away.


It was after I'd gotten back to my house & was trying to get Livia settled down for bed that I got a surprise that left me almost speechless.



I had just put Livie down in her bed so I could change out her trash. I heard her squealing as I walked back to see about her...and as I walked into her room I saw Livia standing up in her crib!



At first, all I could say was, "Holy cow!!!" I wasn't even out of her room more than a minute! After I regained my composure, I grabbed my camera to get Livia in action (she was now using the side of the crib to help her bounce!)



Livia's been trying to pull herself all the way up for a few weeks, and it looks like all of a sudden she figured it out. And oh, she laughed & laughed! I guess Livie got as big of a kick as I did out of her new trick. WOW!

Livie Looks Like...

Me or Perry?

You tell me! I dug up a couple of baby pics of me & Perry, and it's tough for me to say who she favors more. I mean, there are charisteristics that she has of the both of us. But does she look more like one than the other?

It should be pretty obvious which of us is in the picture - let me know if you can't tell who's who though!











Now for the record, I think Livia is just the perfect mix of the both of us!

Have fun comparing! Love to all & God Bless

From Steamy Showers to Bubble Baths

I haven't willingly taken a bath in years. But watching my baby daugher splash & play in her little tub has actually made me start to think...am I finally getting back to the age where baths could be fun again?
I love my showers. Whether they're 2 minutes, 10 or 20 minutes. I love the way the water cascades down my back & washes away the stress of the day. But how relaxing would it be to lay down in a bubbly tub? I have the perfect bathtub for adult baths too. It's bigger than most tubs - it comes about up to my knees and is just a bit longer, too. Another perk is that it's a jet tub - great for making bubbles, right?
The only thing is, baths aren't as easy to get in & out quickly. If I were to draw up water for a bath, I'd feel cheated if I didn't get to spend at least 20 minutes in it. Baby-Boo would definately have to be asleep for the night. Maybe next time I get Livia down early in the night I think I just might be ready to give baths another chance.
Until then, the sweet pics of little Livie having a BALL with her bathtime


Livia looks SO much like her Daddy in this picture! I may have to prove that later!


This is the duck my parents got Livie for Christmas. Looks like she's thinking "Hmmm...tastes like chicken."
The duck's really cool, it has a color changing circle that will tell you if the water's too hot for baby.


Livia & her squishy fishy


Splish splash!! I love how you can see the little water droplets from her splashes.


This one's definately my fav - I think the faded black & white just rocks :o)

More tomorrow, I'm sure... Love to all and God Bless!

Happy Happy Camper

I'm in such an incredibly good mood! Tonight my husband & I went out to eat while my parents watched the little one. We went to Haub's Steak House and it was AWESOME! Very up-class & ritzy...and also quite pricy. Luckily we were there because my parents had given Perry & me a gift certificate there for our anniversary, so it didn't really end up costing us that much. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that may literally be that! My parents are so awesome to do something like that for us. Perry & I really needed the time together. Since my Mom was sweet enough to pick up Livia for us & babysit her at their house, we actually had about a few hours where it was just us. We loved having a 'date' but by the time we were on our way to pick up little-britches, we were both missing her pretty badly!
I may actually put a pic or 2 up later of us on our date, but for now some [very rare completely un-edited] pictures of Livia grinning from ear to ear. These were about the only pictures I could find that looked even close to as happy as I am right now. Love to all & God Bless!

Baby-Boo & Mommy Too

I know that I need to be better about getting pictures of my daughter & myself, but it's rather difficult when you're always behind the camera! I wanted to share just a few that I do have though. Livia, I hope you know how much I love you. Even though I'm not often in pictures with you, I'll always be here for you in every way I can. I thank God for every day He has blessed me with you in my life. I only hope that I will be as good of a mother to you as my Mom was and still is to me.


A very recent picture of us at Shyler's BBQ. Livie, Perry & I met up with my Mom, Dad, Laura Belle, Michael, & our Aunt Bonnie to celebrate Laura's 21st birthday. What do you think about that hair-do? It's been standing up like that a lot lately unless I slick it down. Is it too early to be using hair product on my child? KIDDING!



Just after bath-time. I love the hooded towel!



Me & my pretty purple princess back in November



The day I brought Livia home from the hospital



Outside on my parents swing in late August - I love her little smirk




A lot of the pictures I have of me & Livie were captured when she was asleep. There's nothing better than holding a sleeping baby :o)


I hope I look as happy as I felt in this picture - my husband was doing a rare photo session for me. I was so tickled to finally get some really good close-up pictures of me & Livia.


Within the first few days of bringing Livia home from the hospital. Doesn't she just look like a little bitty peanut?


More from the photo session. I'm not actually asleep. My eyes just happened to be closed in this pic, but I loved it anyway.


The best place in the world:
Nose to nose, heart to heart
With my sweet little girl
Who I've loved from the start

You're nearly nine months
And I just cannot see
How I lived life before
God brought you to me

I'll cherish you always
Our time here together
My sweet little baby
I'll love you forever


A poem my Mom has said before fits much better... I just hope I don't botch it too badly!

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait til tomorrow
For babies grow up we've learned to our sorrow.
So settle down cobwebs and dust go to sleep
I'm rocking my baby...and babies don't keep.

Love to all & God Bless!

Pics of the Flower Bed

I wrote last night of all the beautiful flower pictures I'm lucky enough to have back in my posession, and these are just a few of all the beautiful blossoms - I guess this is my way of 'pic'-ing flowers for my Mommy! Hope you all enjoy them as well.
Love to all & God Bless!

Hidden Treasures - How Sharing Can Come Back

About a year ago, it was a very hectic time in my life... I was just married and recovering from the stress of planning it in such a short time, and my new husband was trying to get moved into the house. I was hormonal, nausiated, dealing with heartburn... you get the picture. Well, at least I had my pictures. Even then, Ioved taking pictures. Little did I know that I wouldn't have my photos forever...
The wonders of our digital world has given us so many advantages - we get to see our pics instantly, we can edit them, we can even print them out ourselves. Computers (fortunately or unfortunately) are often a very important part of digital pictures. I didn't even realize how important my computer was until it crashed!
I lost virtually everything that was on it. At first I thought I'd just get some of my snapshots from websites I'd uploaded them onto. The quality was definately too low resolution to print out. Even 4 x 6 prints were quite blurry. I had just a few of my most important saved on a flash drive, and I had several printed out from years past...but so many of my recent memories were 'gone.' Oh, why hadn't I been better about printing out all my wonderful pictures?!

Just today I came across some CDs out at my parents' house. They don't snap a whole lot of pictures, so I'm very careful to back up all their photos. The CDs were all the pictures that I had backed up for them, as well as a few pictures I had taken & copied for them! There were pics of the triplets back in 2005, pics of Laura & Michael, graduations, birthdays, weddings...and my Mom's flowers.
I spent a whole summer getting beautiful pictures of the flowers guarded by my mother's green thumb - they were some of my most prized & precious pictures. I cried several times over the last year when I thought about losing them all. When I look back now, I know my tears weren't because I'd worked so hard to get those pictures. It actually felt like I had lost a part of my Mom. I look at those flowers and I think of my Mom. Even though I don't even know the names of some of the flowers I know my Mom does.
I realize there may come a day when I won't have my Mom here on this earth with me...we're all human & none of us are guaranteed a tomorrow. Only by God's grace are we granted a tomorrow. But when I think about not having my Mom with me forever, it just makes me want to cry. What would I do if I didn't know the answer to a really tough question from Livia... a recipe ingredient...the name of a flower?
I suppose all we can do is cherish every moment that we have on this earth. Be glad for every talk or visit with our parents. Most importantly, keep God in our minds, hearts, & prayers. I must remember that He has a reason for everything and for everything He has a reason. I like to think that God's reason for me finding these lost treasures is to be more thankful.

From now on, I'll be sure to offer to share my pictures with others involved in the fun - there may come a day that I'll be begging to 'borrow' them back!

Christmas with the Triplets!

I'm forever running behind on getting pictures up here...I'm still putting up some from Christmas! Maybe getting pictures up in a more timely manor should also be on my list of 2008's goals. Anyway, these pics are from just this past Sunday when we had Christmas with my Mom's side of the family. I screwed up though - I brought the zoom lens and forgot the regular lens for my camera. So I was a bit limited on the shots I could take...still managed to get some really good ones though!


Jay, Meg & Sam - This was the only pic I could get of all three at once. And Meg isn't even looking my way!



My Dad & Sam playin around before the unwrapping fun had begun.



Livia looks completely awed by all the presents. More likely she was just looking at all the wrapping paper & bows



I just loved this one of Meg & Sam - Meggie had her cute little pink sparkley outfit on (what a little princess!) and just look at Sam's cow boots. If only they came in my size...!



My cousin Travis tickling Sam with Amy (Trav's wife) sitting beside them



My Aunt Tanya & Princess Meg sitting together getting ready to open presents



Jay's very concentrated on getting into a gift in this pic



Perry held and played with Livie while they watched the triplets open presents. Livia got so excited when the wrapping paper started flying!



Meggie got her Daddy to lift her up high on the banister so she could look around on everyone in the room



I can't believe I was lucky enough to get a pic of her little grin! She doesn't let it sip very often...



I guess there are advantages to only having the zoom lens on me this time!



Jay decided he wanted up right after Meg got down - I love how he looks just like a little monkey!



Sam joined him very shortly thereafter



Sammie looks so comfortable, like it's absolutely nothing being up a few feet higher.



Sam & Jay just loved being up on the banister!



Meg wasn't really interested in what the boys were doing. Megan was seeing how tall she could stack the blocks - she got 'em pretty high!



Perry's holding Livia like a baby in this pic. She hardly ever lets us get by with that anymore! Only when she's got something in her hands to keep her occupied or when she's getting very sleepy - which was the case on this day!



Just a short time after that, Livia fell fast asleep. Here my Aunt Dana is holding Livie while she napped.



So sweet

Bits & Pieces

During the Christmas season, we spend SO much time getting ready - decorating, wrapping, cooking & cleaning... and I was determined that this year I wouldn't let everything go unnoticed. So, for your enjoyment (or at least mine!) some pieces of Christmas!

There were lots & lots of beautiful ornaments on everyone's trees! The swirley - twirley ones are my sister's tradition to our Mom every year. These are just a few of the ones I really loved. I didn't even get pictures of ornaments at all places - next year, next year :o)











And here's a pic of Livia with an ornament Perry & I got her for Christmas.
On one side, "Livia's 1st Chrstmas" on the other, "Christmas 2007"






And all the presents were wrapped so perfectly, it was almost hard to open them! Actually, at one point it WAS hard to open them since Livia can't really open her own yet! And boy, that sweet little baby racked in the presents :o)




And such beautiful decorations...the white candle is from Michael's Mom. She makes them every year! It's a countdown to Christmas that you burn once a day & the last day it burns is on Christmas. I love red hots - they always remind me of this time of year. The wooden Santa next to the pic frame was carved & painted by my Uncle Don, and the 3 stockings hanging up are Perry's, mine, and Livia's.









And finally, the best pic of all! Livie with the sweetest, most teeny little barrett in her hair. That was a gift from my Mom actually to me - not really meant for kiddos under the age of 3.

My Inspiration

My husband is more than my best friend, confidant, and lover. He really is my inspiration...
Just a little background about him - his name is William Perry Fultz III, born on October 30, 1977. At work he's Will; around here, he's Perry. He served our country for 5 years as a Marine and was honorably discharged in 2001 - just 3 months before 9/11.

I didn't meet him until summer of 2003...we talked, got to know each other, even went out on a couple of dates. But for some reason we just didn't really hit it off. To this day I don't really know why we didn't 'click.' I thank God that I met him again! He's my reason that I don't belive in love at first sight; I believe in love at second sight. Anyway, when Perry & I met up again at the very beginning of 2006 we both fell pretty fast - we were married in December of that year!

The one thing I haven't mentioned about my husband is that he's a smoker. He has been for almost half his life. He's very good at hiding it when he wants to though. Very few of his customers realize he smokes, and I didn't even know he's a smoker until after our 1st date the second time around. He let me know from the get-go that he never planned to quit. After our little daughter was born & he still didn't express any interest in quitting, I guess I never expected him to want to.
It seems all that has changed. For the last month or so, Perry's been talking more and more about wanting to quit. At first, I really thought it was just talk. I realized it wasn't just talk yesterday when he called me... I was out at my parents' visiting with them - they watched Livia for us the night before so that we could go out for New Year's. Anyway he called me to tell me about something he'd typed & put up in the bathroom...

He's phychologically programming himself to hate smoking & make it easier to quit. I'll be praying for him a LOT! I'm already so proud of him though. The fact that he sees how bad smoking is for him and that he wants so badly to hate it & quit...it's a big step. And no matter what, we're with each other every step of the way on our journey through life together.

Resolutions - For Real.

Yesterday's entry started out as a joke, but I realize I really DO need to make some goals for this year. So with my husband's help that's what I shall now do...

- Keep the house picked up
- ORGANIZE ORGANIZE ORGANIZE!
- Get Livia's picture & scrap books up to date
- Print out more pictures
- Put printed pictures in albums
- Get in a better routine (for me & Livie)
- BE ON TIME!
- Don't criticize Perry over small stuff
- Be more understanding
- Make time for me

These are the main things we were able to come up with. I think these are actually pretty reasonable 'resolutions.' None are particularly admirable, but I think they're definately do-able. Having them written down will make me feel more accountable... especially since anyone can see this list & call me out. You know, like for not BEING ON TIME!

New Year's Resolutions

I promised myself that I'd make a list of all my resolutions for the New Year... FIRST on the list is: STOP PROCRASTINATING.


I'll finish this tomorrow...

Happy New Year! Love to all & God Bless