The Family

Heartbreak

2011-06-18T05:46:00.000-07:00

Never in a million years did I think this would be one of my blog posts. It all feels a bit surreal right now. I had just celebrated my 12th week of pregnancy. 12 weeks is a big deal to me. I normally get very sick with my pregnancies and getting past the worst part is one of the best parts. I wasn't as sick with this one and I thought for sure it was because we were having a little boy. I still think he was a boy. Knowing what I know now, I wasn't as sick because "he" wasn't growing.

I went to bed Wed night feeling crampy. I really thought it was just a tummy ache from what I had eaten. Nothing else crossed my mind. I didn't sleep well and cramped throughout the night. When I got up, the girls were still sleeping. That never happens. I'm always the last one up around here. I believe God woke me up because he new what I was about to discover and the kids didn't need to see mommy upset. I discovered I was bleeding. I knew immediately that this was not going to be a good day. I had my 12 week appt set up already for 9 am and I know this was all God too. There would be no waiting on Dr's to call back or sitting for an hour in the waiting room. I called Jason right away and he headed home from Moncks Corner. I called Jason's parents and the came to get the girls right away. I then called the one friend I knew would be awake, Tara. Through my tears I asked her to please pray and I knew she would.

I got to the docs office a few minutes early and signed in. I wanted to just go straight to hearing the heartbeat. Instead, I had to sit through the OB nurses speech on what not to do. I don't think I heard a word she said. She finally got to me personally and asked about bleeding. I told her and she immediately wrapped things up knowing how anxious I was. She had me lay down and got out the monitor. She tried and tried to find that little heartbeat. I'll never forget the look on Jason's face at that moment. He looked so worried and scared. I held back the tears hoping that the ultra sound would find it. She did an u/s on my belly and then made some excuse as to why she needed to do the "other" u/s. We knew for sure what was happening at this point. Finally, she pointed at the screen and said, "This is where the heartbeat should be." Let the flood gates open. Tears poured uncontrollably. We both just sat there crying and in shock. Just hours before, everything was fine.

My doctor came in and talked to us for a bit. She gave me the option of having a D&C or taking meds to miscarry at home. The home thing sounded painful and scary. I couldn't imagine doing that and having my kids at home. I sched the D&C. We rode home in silence. We spent the rest of the day just holding each other and crying. I now know, unfortunately, what so many of my friends have been through. The heartache at times feels unbearable. I had no idea it would be so hard. I had no idea Jason would take it just as hard as I did. I had no idea I'd ever be going through this.

The scariest part for me was telling the girls who, on a daily basis, talk about how excited they are about the baby. I don't regret telling them so early. If I had waited, I still would have told them by now and would be having this conversation either way. We explained it as best we could to them. Taylor dealt with it in an unusual way. She got a little obnoxious and tried to act like she didn't care while tears were welling up in her eyes. She ran out the room smiling but I think she cried a little in private. When she came back she said she prayed that Jesus would put the baby back in my belly. It is so hard for her to understand. Now Camryn on the other hand had a very unexpected reaction. She laughed a little at first because I think she thought we were joking. When she realized I was sad she came and gave me a hug and just as clear as day said, "It'll be okay mom. God will always be with you.". Jason and I just sat there in a bit of shock at the words of wisdom that had just come out of that tiny 3 yr old body. God spoke to me through my baby girl and I clung to those words throughout the most difficult day of my life.

Friday morning I woke up to two very excited girls. They were going to putt putt with Mimi and Poppa while I was at the hospital. It was such a weird feeling to have to hold back tears and be happy for them while I was scared to death and so sad on the inside. Yet another quiet ride in the car. This was it. I would no longer be pregnant. Three months of excitement about our third and what we thought would be our last baby was ending in tears and sorrow. I was admitted and had to answer the same questions over and over again with all the people who would be in the OR with me. I could not believe I was there...for this reason especially. The doctor came in and explained one more time what they were going to do and told me she would see me in a minute. Just as soon as she left, I reached my hand out to Jason and cried my eyes out. They rolled me down the hall as I fell into my deep sleep.

I woke up with tears still in my eyes. It was over just like that. The surgery took all of 5 minutes the doctor had told Jason. I had been miscarrying for about a day and a half already so it didn't take the usual 30 minutes. When I got back to my room I was so happy to see my sweet husband but the grief was overwhelming. I was home in no time at all. No longer carrying the baby I had already grown so attached to.

I went home with 3 different medications and a very sore throat. I was so tired and weak from no food but didn't feel at all like eating. They said the next day I would feel much better. I really wish that had been the case. As soon as I got home I had to take an antibiotic. It immediately made me very dizzy and nauseous. That is a terrible feeling. I had to take some pain pills before bed. Ended up I was allergic to it and itched from head to toe the rest of the night. Jason may have gotten about 2 hours sleep before I needed the second antibiotic. At 3am I took them and the same thing happened only this time I had food in my belly that decided to come out. Physically, I couldn't feel more miserable. Emotionally, I couldn't be any worse. It was, at best, a horrible night. Sometime after 4 am, Jason and I fell asleep. When I woke up, I knew my nightmare was reality and it was a hard pill to swallow. I don't show stress outwardly so my body soaks it up. I was so tense I felt like I could hardly move. My jaw, neck and back felt like they were locking up on me. My throat hurt like I had strep. My heart hurt more than I could bare.

I don't know why this has happened. I may never know or understand. I have my good days and I have my bad days. Every day my heart aches. I feel like time has stopped for me while everyone else has kept on. I'm trying to keep up. I'm trying to be the mom my children deserve and the wife I need to be. I'm trying to keep things as normal as I can while my heart feels a pain I never want it to feel again. I know God has a bigger plan for me. One that is better than the one I had. I'm looking forward to seeing it and living it. I look forward to holding my third child in heaven one day. I look forward to days with no sorrow or pain.

Happy Bloody Birthday!

2011-03-04T17:20:00.000-08:00

Grace C

Grace J

Hannah (BFF)

Ethan (her sweetie)

Moli

Kennedy

Grey

Aren't they adorable!

Taylor turned 7 this year. I decided she could have a big party since her last big one was on her 3rd birthday. She picked Halfmoon Outfitters so she and her friends could do some rock climbing. So we arrived at the store about 10 minutes before the party was supposed to start. I noticed a group of young boys were in the climbing area and seemed to be getting started with their party. You see, I paid money to have this place to ourselves. The whole climbing area was supposed to be our's only so all Taylor's friends could climb till they got tired. Needless to say, they double booked. Should have known at that point that this would be no ordinary birthday party. Friends started to arrive as I was frantically trying to figure out how this was going to work. Taylor had about 8 friends come to climb and the other group was made up of 10 4 yr old boys. Yikes! So I quickly decided we would just do our cake and presents first and then climb. The only area to set up cake was outside on the picnic tables. That was a great idea when I booked the party 2 months earlier. Unfortunately this ended up being a very cold day with 25mph winds. Setting up the tables proved to be impossible. At that point I started running around like a chicken with it's head cut off trying to set up a place inside. We finally got it all worked out. The kids ate a Tangled cake and Taylor loved all of her gifts. It was finally time to climb! All the kids were having a blast. They were scaling the walls like crazy people. Camryn was too little to climb and didn't want to anyway which I'm sure is a big surprise to all of you. She wanted Jason to throw her up in the air and catch her. So he did what any father of a demanding 3 year old would do. He threw her up in the air and caught her...until the last toss. As she came down, he was going to give her a big hug but ended up giving her a bloody nose. Yes, a very bloody nose! She cried so hard I knew she was in pain but didn't see anything at first. Then one of my friends said, "Her nose is bleeding". Sure enough!!! So we rushed to the bathroom as to not draw any attention. Camryn was very brave. She cried a lot but didn't freak out like Taylor does when blood is involved. It took a while to clean her up and I was missing the party so when I came out I had Jason take over. He's an expert with bloody noses because he gets them all the time(not from me:). Right after I handed Camryn over, Taylor came crying to me. I was thinking dear goodness what now?! As she told me the ball hit her in the mouth, I saw blood coming out. Yes, more blood! So, right back to the bathroom we went. It happened to be her front tooth which was already loose. I thought for sure she was going to lose her big tooth at her bday party but it managed to stay in somehow. After all the craziness of the day, I suddenly became very thankful that it was MY kids who got hurt and not someone else's. That would have been terrible! We packed everything up and headed to the car. I told Taylor "I've never seen so much blood at a birthday party." She replied, "Yeah, Happy Blood Birthday to me.".

True Wealth

2011-02-09T09:39:00.000-08:00

What's His is Mine, What's mine is His
I feel hope arise when I think on this
Co heirs with Christ in wealth we abound
In all things above and on the ground
I may be poor in the eyes of the world
But my Father is rich and in Him I am full
Of mercy, grace, knowledge and wisdom
Love, hope, and a heavenly kingdom
I may struggle here from day to day
But my Father and His son have paved the way
Christ paid a debt He did not owe
So that my heart and my life might overflow
With riches and wealth beyond what I could imagine
He pours more on me than I could fathom
Why would God make me co heir with Him?
Why would He bless me with all my sin?
Because He loves me, that's why.
He sent His son out of love
And accepting His gift I'm promised a future above
And here on earth His blessings are not withheld
Have you ever seen sunshine or a baby held?
Do you know what it feels like to be in love
Heard the ocean or seen blue skies above?
His richness wraps us up like a band
Surrounding us like our feet in soft sand.
Can you imagine holding the world in the palm of your hand?
My Father longs for you to be co heirs with Him
To share in His wealth from beginning to end
All you have to do is accept His free gift
Then all your struggles and burdens He will lift
He'll carry your burdens He'll help you through
And His riches will abound in you.
Do this and you'll see what life really has to offer
Money and possessions will take a back seat to the Father
True wealth is found in the arms of Christ
True wealth is yours paid with a price
The price of His blood that was shed for you
Imagine that, there's nothing you had to do.

My Daddy is Rich!

2011-02-08T08:58:00.000-08:00

I'm sure most of you are going to immediately think Camryn has come up with this line and think it's funny. Most of you know that MY daddy is not rich and Jason ain't rich either. None of us are. It's not a line out of Camryn's wandering mind. It's truth spoken through the Bible. When I say my daddy is rich, I mean my heavenly daddy...God. You see, as a child of God I am joint heir with Him. What's His, is mine. I haven't ever really given this much thought until this week. Our SS teacher talked about it Sunday morning. A young man in our church talked about it Sunday night. Beth Moore talked about it in my devotional today. I'm thinking there's a theme here. Maybe even a lesson to be learned? I don't believe I've heard this scripture 3 times in 2 days just to ignore it. Galations 4:7 says, "Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.". Have you given that any thought? Joint heirs with God. Wow!! Everything that is His, is ours. It's mine! I'm not just talking money here people! Read these...Phillippians 4: 19 (rich in glory), Eph 1: 7 (rich in grace), Eph 2:4 (rich in mercy), Isaiah 33: 6 (a wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge. I could go on and on. He is rich in everything we could ever want or need! In reading and studying about my rich Father, I think this verse hit home the most. Romans 8: 17 reads, "and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.". We've all suffered at some point or another. We all go through tough times. Lately it's been financially for a lot of people because of the economy. If you are suffering right now, this is good news. No, this is great news!! God's got this! He has what you need to get through this and to be a better person because of it. He promises that. He can take the very worst of circumstances and turn it into something beautiful. He doesn't want us to suffer. He doesn't sit there and think up ways to make life difficult for us. It's because of sin, we suffer. He allows suffering so that we might learn. So that we might grow and lean on Him. He carries us through and in the end we find ourselves blessed. Blessed beyond what our mind is capable of understanding. We find ourselves rich! The closer we get to Him, the more inheritance He gives to us. Now that's exciting! I want that! I want to claim what is mine through Christ. Beth Moore said, "As children of God we are getting stomped on by the enemy who has no right to take that kind of authority over us. You have certain rights and you need to know what they are and you need to exercise those rights.". Read up on your inheritance. It's empowering and exciting! The next time I start complaining about my struggles please smack me across the head and remind me who my daddy is! Who's your daddy? :)

Just feeling thankful

2010-12-22T17:40:00.000-08:00

For every toothless smile
Every surprise hug from behind
Every silly face in a picture
I'm so thankful

For every long winded story
Every "hold you mommy"
Every sentence that makes no sense
I'm so thankful

For every day he comes home
Every conversation good or bad
Every hug and kiss
I'm so thankful

For every breathe He took on earth
Every sin forgiven
Every time He shows me grace
I'm so thankful

For every time he says, "I love you."
Every time they say, "I love you, Mama."
Every time He reminds me of His love
I'm so thankful

Today I'm feeling so thankful for all I have been blessed with. There are so many people going through hard times right now. In comparison, I've got nothing to complain about and everything to be thankful for. Thank you Lord for giving me such an amazing, loving, sweet family. I can 't get enough of them:) Thank you that we will be celebrating your birth in a few days. Without your birth and death on the cross, there would be no salvation. Without salvation there would be no hope. Thank you for giving us hope. Thank you that I don't have to rely on just doing good to get into heaven. At my best, I am nothing but filthy rags. Thank you for saving me.

Makin Stuff, Jumpin in Stuff, Pickin Stuff

2010-12-12T18:33:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving the girls wanted to make turkeys so we brought out all the craft supplies and got into it. They did a great job. I love watching them be creative.

The leaves her at the Bowick household are numerous. We usually clean up the yard every other week during this time of year but we lose the battle every time. Within hours, our yard is full again. This year we decided to chill a bit and just do the yard a couple of times which the kids love. While Camryn was taking a nap one day, Taylor and I got out the rake and started making piles. She had a blast acting like a frog jumping from leafy lilypad to leafy lilypad. I had a blast watching her and remembering doing to the same thing as a kid.

Our lemon tree is a funny thing. Every other year it produces close to 100 lemons. Very cool to see and pick. Every other year it produces less than 10. We haven't figured this sourpuss out but we surely enjoy picking the lemons no matter how many it has. This year it had 3. I don't mean 13 or 30. I mean 3...total. So the girls picked one a piece and then joined together as a team to pick the third. Just enough to make a pitcher of lemonaide....if I had remembered before they rotted:)

Water Park In the Winter

2010-12-12T16:57:00.000-08:00

Yep, we went to the water park in the winter. Jason and some of his buddies went fly fishing in Cherokee so us gals decided to take the kiddos the Dunes Village in Myrtle Beach. Packing for both cold weather and a warm indoor water park was almost like having the best of both worlds!! My college friend Joey brought her son Hampton and Taylor's bff Hannah. My other friend Amy brought her two boys Nathan and Camden. We put ourselves in the Penthouse suit. Yes, I said penthouse. 13 floors up in a three bedroom condo. All rooms had a plasma tv and a dvd player. My room just happened to have a jacuzzi tub!! The water park was a lot of fun. There were two separate ones. A younger side and an older side. Both had slides, pools and hot tubs. The younger one had a lazy river, pool tables, ping pong, Foosball, etc... Taylor and her friends couldn't get enough of it. Did you notice I didn't mention Camryn? Yep, she got enough of it after the first slide down. All it took was a face full of water and she was done. The slide was too scary, the pool was too cold and the hot tub...well, it was just too hot. I think it was the last hour of the last day when she finally played a little in the 1 foot deep pool. Just a little though. We wouldn't want to get water splashed on that poor delicate head. It actually made it easier to have her by my side. I had to keep a close eye on Taylor and Hannah. They can both swim but there were no lifeguards there so I didn't want to take any chances. The hotel was just icing on the cake for the girls. They LOVE staying in a hotel. I enjoyed having them sleep with me in my king size bed. It was awesome and I slept great! The only issue I had with all of this was the fact that you had to walk outside to get to the water park. It was like 40 something and super windy!! The walk there wasn't so bad but the run back was! Imagine being soaked from head to toe in your bathing suit and having to run across 2 parking lots to get to the elevator that took you 13 floors up only to let you out into a hall that is outside!!! It was more than freezing at night!! We finished up our vacation in MB at Brookegreen Gardens' Night of a thousand lights. It was pretty cool. The weather was great. Not too cold and no rain. The kids especially liked the children's area where all the lights were different colors. Taylor enjoyed seeing all the statues of horses. Thankfully it was too dark to see most of the naked statues. I have a feeling Camryn would have noticed. Sunday we went by Bass Pro Shop to do a little Christmas shopping and to let the kids meet Santa. Then we made one more stop to enjoy a little dessert before heading home. The ice cream was delish!! Jason made it home about an hour after we did and we all crashed that night. It was a fun, full weekend and I can wait for my next vacation. Amy has become my travel partner. I'm looking forward to a vacation with her without the children. What a treat that would be! Don't get me wrong, I love my kids to death but....

Oh to be like Him

2010-11-15T13:12:00.000-08:00

So I've been a slacker and haven't been reading my Bible. I think most of us go through times of getting into God's word and then falling back into our old ways. I haven't been taking the time to spend time with the one who changed my life forever. I've been expecting Him to hold up His end of our relationship but haven't taken any steps in holding up mine. How can I love God more than anyone or anything if I don't spend time with him. How can I expect to walk through fires without smelling like smoke if I'm not close to the only one who can bring me through it. Sure, I go to church and am involved in different things there but that's not a relationship. I love spending time with my family. I can't wait for Taylor to get out of school, I can't wait for Jason to get home from work but how often am I jumping out of my seat to spend time with the one who gave His life for me? God's also shown me how selfish I've become. I used to love giving. There's just something about giving that makes me so happy and makes me feel so fulfilled. Through a serious of situations in my life, I started to loathe giving. I felt like some people expected things from me and took advantage of me for it. That shouldn't have stopped me but it did. Recently I've started to do little things here and there, mainly for family, that I hadn't been doing. All of the sudden, I felt happy! Go figure!! I began to feel like I was doing what I was supposed to do!! I then started thinking about how different life would be if I was living the way I was meant to live. So I brought out my Bible and started reading in Philippians. Don't ask me how I got there. Ask God. I believe he led me straight to it while sitting in the car loop line. Anyway, I read the first two chapters and then wrote the following. Well, Paul actually wrote it. I just rearranged it to summarize what I read and make it easier for me to understand. For those of you who know me, you know I hate reading. I know, shocker!!! So if there is any way I can make it easier on myself...I will. Enjoy.

Like Him

To live is Christ. To die is gain.

I live on to be obedient even through the pain.

Living up to your standards as best I can.

Being firm in the Spirit, here I am.

To be like you Jesus, same mind, same soul

To live like you Jesus is my daily goal.

Setting my selfishness aside, my empty conceit.

Putting others before me, making my pride retreat.

Doing all things without grumbling and without complaint.

I will not grow weary. I will not faint.

I will wait on you Lord. New strength you will give.

For you, like you, I want to live.

In writing this, I hope it will be a reminder to me of how I'm supposed to be living and who I'm supposed to be living for. If you are going through a tough time, if you're not feeling loved or you're feeling like you've given your all and it's just not enough, look to Jesus. Read about the life He lived. He was obedient to the point of death. How many of us can say the same? How simple does it seem to be obedient in the little things yet how often are we not. It may be as simple as saying yes when we would normally say no. Loving when we aren't loved back. Keeping the promises we made when there is no gratitude. Caring for someone who has hurt us. You may even be the one who doesn't love back, who never says thank you or who hurt others. All you have to do is ask for Jesus to forgive you and move forward. Don't just sit around and do nothing. By doing nothing, you're falling back. Paul says, "forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14). If you don't have a personal relationship with Jesus, then ask Him to take over your life right now. He will change you forever. You will never regret it. I promise. He will forgive you and you will want to live a life like Him. Just remember that He is always here for you. If you don't feel close to Him, you're not doing your part in the relationship. I'm speaking to myself just as much as you. I love you all and can't wait to see each and every one of you in Heaven!

Taylor's First Book

2010-10-10T12:28:00.000-07:00

Taylor is big into reading and writing. She just finished writing and illustrating her first book about Tinker Bell. I wanted to share it with you.

One time tenkr bell was walking. She startid to think of a tea party. She asked all of her frinds to come.

The nekst morning tenkr bell ast her frind videa. She is the menist farey in the land and videa siad no.

The nekst day tenkr bell wint to get some pikse dust but her frind videa posht (pushed) her in line. She got verey mad.

The nekst day tenkr bell hit videa but videa puncht tenkr bell. Tenkr bell was ded.

Videa was not sad but the other fareys wr sad. The qwaen (queen) pot (put) videa in jail. The end.

By Taylor Bowick

Taylor's Heaven

2010-08-14T12:48:00.000-07:00

This horse followed me around like it was in love with me.

Camryn fed the chickens

I liked this sign:)

Taylor and her friends fed the horses.

They also groomed them. The bows were put in place

by yours truly. I can't say I've ever done a horse's mane before.

Ha ha! Looks like she's shoving a carrot up his nose.

They decorated horse shoes.

Jenna and Taylor

Macey and Camryn

Adults resting at the edge of the Edisto River

Me and my man.

Taylor loved feeding all the animals.

especially this one.

Tay getting attacked by hungry goats.

Camryn grooming the big horse

Tay and Delilah.

A friend of mine (Shelbi) invited the girls to come out to her parents farm in Givhans. We knew there were horses but had no idea how many animals would be there to greet us. Six dogs, a million goats, some chickens, a peacock, and a bunch of horses all greeted us. The girls had so much fun brushing the horses hair, painting horse shoes, feeding all the animals and painting random things at the farm. Shelbi's mom (Leslie) was so sweet. She had all kinds of snacks and crafts ready for the girls when they arrived. I think Taylor could have stayed there forever. Camryn was none too thrilled about the dogs, goats, heat, and whatever else she complained about but she did like painting, brushing the horses and feeding the chickens. After the farm visit we headed over to Edisto River for some swimming. It felt oh so good to cool off in the water. Somehow we managed to avoid the rainy weather. Thank you Shelbi and Mrs Leslie! Betsy, we enjoyed hanging out with you all!!

Grace C's bday bash

2010-08-06T07:06:00.001-07:00

Taylor and her BFF, Hannah

Camryn...being Camryn

The Glovers minus one.

Cheese shot of me and Donna C

Love this pic of Tay and daddy

Silly girls

Body art

Taylor and the bday girl Grace C

Don't ever allow this at a bday party:)

I just think he's hot:)

Taylor and her peeps Caroline and Lauren

Camryn and her boyfriend Mr Corey

After our vacation to the mountains, we had an invitation to go to Taylor's friends birthday party. Grace C was turning 6 and she was celebrating at the Riverdog's game. It was the perfect night to be there. Not too hot, lots of shade, a slight breeze to keep the bugs away and no rain! The kids had a blast playing pin the tail on the donkey, eating cake and face painting. Well, it started out as face painting and turned into body art but they had fun. I love hanging out with all our peeps!!

Camryn's on a roll

2010-07-29T17:20:00.000-07:00

I was just bragging last week at how good Camryn has been. Then she turned on me. She's been full of herself and completely disobedient. She pushes me to the limits sometimes. She's been in that mood where if she doesn't want to do it, she's not gonna do it. In Walmart she insisted on walking so we didn't get a buggy. She immediately started asking Jason and I to hold her but we refused. At some point I realized she wasn't with us. About 50 ft back she was sitting in the middle of the aisle sucking her fingers. With Taylor, I can give her a look and she jumps. Camryn is a different story. I gave her a look and she just looked back. I brought out the stern voice of authority and she just glared. I wanted to pick her up and spank her bottom but you know I'd be the one getting in trouble then. So I picked her up and gave her a talking to. Then I put her down and we tried again only to find her sitting in the middle of the aisle again. Oh for the love!

Tonight she looked up and saw flies buzzing around. She has a terrible fear of bugs at this stage in her life. She kept obsessing over them and I finally told her that she just needs to pray and ask Jesus to protect her from the bugs so she would calm down. This is what she said.
"Thank you da Lord. Please make the bugs fly away. Amen"
Then she said, "Hope Jesus comes through!". Sigh.

Our Trip to the Mountains

2010-07-23T17:53:00.000-07:00

Nightime prayers

Fly fishing

My sweet girl..so pretty.

The water was cccccccold!

Horse of course

Who wants tickets to the gun show?

Looking Glass Falls

Silly girl

Messy girl...ice cream sandwich.

Jump Off Rock

Jump Off Rock in the sun.

Mimi and Poppa

Taylor and her friends

Poppa relaxing on the porch.

The snake that was only a few feet away from me and Taylor.
Freaked me out!

Hooker Falls

Collecting rocks.

Hot dude

I HAD to sneak one in.

Mimi

Poppa and Camryn

Future career

We had a wonderful trip to Hendersonville this year. I've been going to the same camp for over 10 yrs and Jason started coming with me when we got married. It's fun watching our kids make memories in the same place. We always visit several waterfalls when we're there and Taylor's favorite thing to do is collect rocks. We went to Hooker Falls, Looking Glass Falls, sliding rock(but they were too crowded for me to slide:( ), Piggy Park (ice cream), putt putting, and Jump Off Rock for the first time. The weather was gorgeous. Mid to low 80 during the day and low 60's at night. Perfect! No rain either. Mimi and Poppa came with us (Jason's parents). The kids rode in their car everywhere we went so Jason and I had uninterrupted conversations the whole weekend! It was awesome!! That's enough talk. I have a million pictures to post.

I Can't Make This Stuff Up

2010-07-07T17:39:00.000-07:00

I just got back from Publix where some strange guy tried to be Camryn's father!? She had taken a 3 hour nap so I knew she needed to get her energy out. I let her walk down the aisle instead of ride. On one aisle this guy saw Camryn skipping and I told her to come back. The guy looked at Camryn and said, "STOP! Get back down here!". I looked at him kind of surprised and Camryn just laughed. She's not the kind of kid to take orders from strangers. When she came back to me he told me she just needed to hear a voice of authority. Just then, Camryn started skipping the other way. The man yelled at my child again!!! He said, "STOP RIGHT NOW! STOP!". Camryn took one look at him and started running! I had to take my cart with groceries and Taylor inside and start running after my child. The crazy man had scared her to death and she wasn't stopping. When I finally caught her she said, "I not stopping. I keep running. I gotta go!". I don't blame her! I wanted to run as fast as I could too!

The other day Camryn found a bug on the playroom floor. She came up to me and said, "Momma, ders a bug on duh floor. Here." She handed me her Barbie. "Kill it with Barbie." Now that's one thing I never even thought of using.

When we go to the mountains, we always go to a place called Piggy Park for ice cream. We were standing in line with some other people and it was a little crowded. I looked down and Camryn walked up to a lady, grabbed her butt and then kept walking. When the lady turned around, all she saw was me!! She thought I grabbed her butt! She totally set me up. When we asked her why she did that she said she thought the lady was Mimi.

Name That Business!!!

2010-07-01T11:13:00.000-07:00

We are very excited to announce that Jason is going to be starting his own business!! He has worked so hard over the years to finish his Civil Engineering Tech. degree and passed all 3 survey tests. I could not be more proud of him!! He will still be working at the same company but he will also have his own land surveying business. He has worked out a deal with his company so that he can do extra work for them and some on the side if he wants (or has time). Soooo, here is my question. What should we name his business? We have to come up with a name so we can start getting things started. I was pretty much set on Hottie Tottie Land Surveyors but Jason doesn't want to sound conceited.:) We are looking for good suggestions. We obviously have to pick a name that hasn't already been taken. Palmetto, Atlantic Coast, Tricounty, and Tidewater are all taken. We want to be creative but we don't want to sound unprofessional. I would love to hear your suggestion!!! If we pick your suggestion to be the name of the company...........
we'll say thank you:) What?! We're not seeing the money yet! I can't buy you anything!!! How about a big ole hug? Love you all!!!!

Goin Hardcore

2010-06-07T17:19:00.000-07:00

Did the summer just get started? Has it really only been a week since Taylor got out of school? I can't believe it! We may have to go hardcore on these kiddos this summer. So far I've disciplined for...

hitting
Camryn hit Taylor in the head with a flashlight. When I asked her why she did it she replied, "Well, I wanted to push her.". I guess in her mind hitting is better than pushing?

name calling
Camryn came crying to me about Taylor calling her a name. I asked Taylor what she said and she told me she called Camryn a Big Fat Balloon Head!

bad words
Taylor tried to get Camryn in trouble for saying I hate you. I asked Camryn where she heard that and she pointed to Taylor. Taylor immediately gave me the I'm guilty look and got in big trouble.

In the midst of all the craziness I've had to console a worry wart and laugh at smarty pants...

Taylor the worry wart
Is now worried (after I tried to talk to her about alcohol) that she will get accidentally drunk. I'm sure she will try to use that excuse later on in life as well

Camryn the smarty pants
I've been working with her on potty training. Not much though because she's pretty hard headed. I've never been successful. At church on Sunday she pee pee'd on the potty for Mrs Sherri. When she was done she looked up at her teacher and said, "See, I can do it!".

With all of that said, I need to say that I'm already having a great summer. All the naughtiness only makes up a small part of our fun times together. They make us laugh so hard it hurts. They play together so well and love on me more than I ever imagined they would. In fact, they fight over who loves mommy the most. I just sit there and soak it all in because pretty soon they will be arguing over just the opposite. I love you girls with all my heart and always will no matter what!!

Kindergarten Graduation!!!

2010-06-02T04:44:00.000-07:00

All 4 of us

Me and my big girl.

Mrs Funk and Taylor

Mrs Tilman and Taylor

Blurry But Beautiful!!

Mrs. Yonce and Tay

Poppa, Gigi, and Taylor

Taylor performing with a top hat and gloves.

Camryn and mommy

Pirate Pete

Crazy child

Don't ask! If you look close enough you can see

a big goose egg on her forehead.

She got it at Taylor's class cook out.

Mischevious...

Finally, a normal face!

My oldest little girl is all growed up!! Yesterday was her last day of school and last night was the big celebration. Taylor was absolutely beautiful!!! She has the cutest smile EVER! She got it from her cute daddy. Anyway, they sang several song for us and I have to admit I teared up a little when they sang "I love you". At the end she looked at me and gave me a big ole dimply smile. Priceless!! At the end, only one parent was allowed to go pick her up so I sent Jason back there with flowers. He said he gave her the flowers and she just looked up at him and he started tearing up! He said he felt like he was giving her away at her wedding or something. So sweet. She is daddy's girl! Taylor was so excited to see Gigi and Poppa (my parents) at the ceremony. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that they had a gift for her. She also got a quick picture with Mrs Yonce. It was so sweet of her to come find Taylor and give her a big hug. She will be missed. More than anyone, Taylor is going to miss her teachers Mrs Funk and Mrs Tilman. I am convinced they are the best teachers EVR. The end! That's how Taylor would write it in her journal. I really don't know how it could get better from here but it sounds like her first grade teacher is pretty awesome too. I'm so thankful God is placing Taylor under the care of christian teachers in public school. I think it makes a huge difference! Of course, right now you wouldn't know they were even being raised in a christian home because they are fighting like cats and dogs. Whatever!! It's summer break!!!! WOOHOO!!!

Krazy Kidz

2010-05-30T12:30:00.000-07:00

I have to of the craziest, silliest kids in the world! I love them to death and they make us laugh so hard every day. Sometimes they're just too smart for their own good...

We were in the car one day and Taylor started crying. She said Camryn bit her finger. I scolded Camryn and told her to apologize. She did, but with a smile and a bit of laughter like it was funny. I told her that was not the way to apologize so she quickly switched personalities and very sadly said, "Sorry Tay Tay. I forgive you." Then she pointed to Taylor and said, "Bite me!" Eye for an eye.

Taylor writes in her journal every day at school and when she's done with a book she brings it home. One day Jason was reading it and started laughing hysterically. I asked him what it was. He then showed me a beautiful picture of a house with a pretty lawn. On the lawn was a small dog...pooping.

Another more recent journal entry said this...

"I can help my mom clen the tolit. It is fun and goey. The tolit is green and pink."

She must have run out of room so she got her teacher to finish it at the top of the page...

"Because dad poops in there. It's like two hours!"

The other day we were trying to figure out something to do so we started naming off things. How about the beach? Camryn, "Beach too sandy." How about the water park? Camryn, "Water park too wet." How about taking a nap? Camryn, "I not tired". How about a spanking? Camryn, "It not my fault."

Every time we have a thunderstorm the girls get scared. I tried to explain to Camyrn that it's just the clouds hitting together and they make a loud noise called thunder. Later on we were getting into the car and we heard a big boom. Camryn started crying and shouted, "It's cloudy flounders mama!!"(clouds of thunder). I guess we might take them fishing too much:)

God Is Good!

2010-05-28T08:48:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited! I had Taylor's first piece of artwork put on some card stock and it looks so cute! It didn't turn out quite as I hoped because the color isn't as bright as the original but does that really matter? I went to Kinkos and the guy wouldn't make cards out of them because it had sand glued to it. So I took it somewhere else and made a color copy. I then took the copy back to Kinkos and as I waited in line, a lady asked me what I needed. She then told me she could show me how to do it on the copier side of the store and it would cost less. So she ran copies for me, with envelopes, and it cost $1 each instead of $1.50 each! God is so good!! I really do believe He had His hand in all of it. Not only were they cheaper but the lady was super nice and I had a chance to tell her about what Taylor was doing. By the way, she chose to make her first card from the blue crab picture I put on her blog. It has that "Charleston" feel. Her goal is to sell these at $2 each and then use that money to make cards for other children. That way she can begin to understand how money works through buying and selling but she also learns the valuable lessons that come from giving. She will not be keeping any of the money. My personal goal for the future is to set up a once a month card making play date at the church and use any profit to provide supplies/snacks so that her friends and their friends can make cards for other children(especially at Christmas time) at no cost to them. Several friends have shown interest in getting their kids involved as well so I think this could turn out to be a great ministry.

Decision Made

2010-05-26T13:19:00.000-07:00

So I've talked to Taylor about all of our options for serving others. Thank you all for your input and suggestions! We have decided she will use her artwork to make cards for children in the local hospital and for her friends when they are sick. She is really excited about getting started so I hope this will be something she will jump right into and really enjoy. I started a blog for her as well so she can journal about her cards and her experiences while giving the cards to other children. I hope she will grow to love doing things for others and that her heart will grow more and more compasionate toward the needs of others. More than anything I want others to see Jesus in my little girl. She is so sweet and tenderhearted. I just know she will have a blast making these cards and watching the kids read them. Please follow her blog and encourage her as she blogs about her journey. Her blog is www.taylors-tidings.blogspot.com

Serving Others

2010-05-24T08:29:00.000-07:00

I want to start this summer off on the right foot. We've been working very hard on our budget and although we seem to keep having set backs, we continue to press on. I cannot believe how far we've come in such a short time. So now I'd like to start focusing on teaching my girls the value of a dollar. I'm going to be putting Taylor on a little budget. I've learned to separate the money into 3 categories... giving, saving, spending. I'll probably start next week when she is out of school. Something that Jason and I have discussed is getting Taylor to do something for others. Not for money, but for that awesome feeling you get when you give from the heart and expect nothing in return. We are looking for ideas on a place to volunteer or maybe earning money to be given to a charity of some sort. I would love to hear your ideas so I can decide on something soon. I really want my girls to have a sweet giving heart. There's been way too much complaining and ungratefulness over things that they just don't realize are blessings that so many people don't have the opportunity to enjoy. I want to to realize that things are really just things and it's what you have in your heart that really matters. I want people to see Jesus through my little girls.

Play Date

2010-05-18T14:06:00.000-07:00

Camryn ringing the cow's bell.

Butterflies caught in a net.

Beutiful Butterflies

Getting her paint on.

Grace was very interested in how this was done.

Camryn being silly.

Waiting in a very long line to get their faces painted.

Cam n Daddy

Ladybug

Tay holding a flower while a strange lady
stares.

"shishin pole"

Pickin teeth:)

Grace

Friends

Today Taylor had a friend over for a play date. They were both so excited. When I picked them up from school Grace kept saying, "I've never been to your house before!". They were talking about their day at school when I heard Grace say, "I like Camryn. She's cute.". Taylor replied, "Yeah, she's cute but you don't want her. She bites.". Just to make sure everyone knows, Camryn bit Taylor one time about a year and a half ago. It's true, women never forget. When we got to the house they played play doh, ate brownies, got manicures and watched 101 Dalmations. Then we went to Chick fil a for a kids night. They had a blast getting balloon animals, facepaintings and jumping in the jump castle. Play dates are so much fun!! Especially when the visitor is as super sweet as Grace!

My sis and her 2 cuties.

2010-05-16T17:27:00.000-07:00

My Chicken.

Cool Chick.

Libster

Something must have looked interesting.

Gracie

Look at those thighs:)

Camryn playing mommy.

Rock stars seem to run in the family.

Still can't believe this is the same little
girl who looked so tiny in the orphanage.

A couple of weeks ago my sister and her 2 girls came into town. We had a blast going to the beach, hanging out at the grandparents house and celebrating our grandma's 80th birthday. My girls had so much fun with their cousins. I wish I had taken more pics! I can't wait to meet my third niece...Keemberlie. Cindy is actually in Haiti right now getting ready to meet her for the first time. So exciting!

Camryn Cuttin A Rug

2010-05-16T16:53:00.000-07:00

Servin it up- Spring Break Style

2010-04-12T17:26:00.000-07:00

I think they're about the same size.

Cute!

Daddy really gets into it.

This is what kindergarten does to a shy child.

Action shot #1

Action shot #2

Camryn really really really enjoys everything we do.

Well, the second half of spring break looked a lot like the first half without the beach. We played more tennis, worked and played in the yard, went shopping and just enjoyed family time. Spring break made me realize how much fun we are going to have this summer.

Spring Break First Half

2010-04-07T16:44:00.000-07:00

Taylor's teacher, Mrs Tilman, turning her world upside down.

There's really not enough stuff in her classroom:)

Cute Easter bag she made in school.

Being silly.

Toots' Easter egg hunt.

You can just tell she's the naughty one

Taylor and her friend Grace

Going on an egg hunt.

Sun must have been in her eyes.

Taylor and her bff Hannah.

Digging her personal potty hole in the sand.

Wind blown.

profile

Super models in the making.

Camryn didn't touch the water and preferred not
to walk on the sand. Makes for a difficult beach outing.

Taylor's last day of school included an Easter Egg hunt and a party. I love going to her class and seeing all the things she and her friends have been doing. The kids in her class are so sweet. I never leave that class without lots of hugs.

The next day was bitter sweet. We went to the "last ever Easter egg hunt" at Toot's house. She has always thrown the absolute best Easter Egg hunts EVER! The kids love them and come home with way more stuff than a mom should allow. Thank you Toots for all your hard work over the years and all the great Easter memories!

Saturday we were going to the egg hunt at church but decided we had been a bit overloaded so we just had a family day.

Easter was a beautiful day. We, of course, went to church and then had lunch with Jason's family. Would you believe I didn't even think about taking any pictures that day?! Oh well, I'll get pictures of them in their dresses one day. We ended the day playing tennis at the new park. Taylor got a raquet for Easter so we were teaching her how to play. We had the best time! I think we have a little tennis player on our hands. I can't wait to get out there again without the kids though. I LOVE playing tennis even though I have no clue what the rules are.

The rest of the week has been spent with friends, going to the beach, playing outside, blowing bubbles, playgrounds, working in the yard and shopping. I am LOVING spending time with both my girls. They are the very best!! I love spring break!!

Here We Go Again...

2010-04-01T12:21:00.000-07:00

I've been pretty tired lately. Exhausted. Taking naps in the middle of the day and sleeping all night. That's not like me at all. I am always having trouble sleeping. I've gained a few pounds and have been wondering what in the world I'm doing differently to be gaining weight. Then I remembered I'm 32 and metabolism seems to slow down after 30. THEN I went to the dentist. I had a cavity. I didn't even know it was there. Thankfully they caught it early. The dentist jokingly said, "You better take a pregnancy test.". We laughed and I posted it on fb thinking my dentist is so whitty. Then friend after friend was telling me to take a test. I laughed some more. I thought "That's crazy. I'm not ready to have a baby yet!". Then I started to put a few things together. I'm tired, hungry, gaining weight, getting cavities...could it be? So I bought the trusted $1 pregnancy test from the Dollar store. Laughed as I waited on the results because I really did think people were just being silly. Then I realized it was POSITIVE!!! Positively april fools day. Did you really think I would give into peer pressure and take the test? You don't know me at all:)

Not For A Weak Stomach

2010-03-28T17:15:00.000-07:00

This past Friday started out great! Taylor didn't have school, I slept in till 8 and the weather was beautiful...then Camryn woke up. She was snotty and cranky. She wouldn't eat and cried a lot! I quickly discovered a 2 year molar poking through. I thought, "Of course she would start teething today. Today is the first time I'm getting her picture taken since she turned one.". If Camryn is involved, something crazy or out of the ordinary or embarrassing happens. You can always expect a good show. I just knew picture day would not go as I had hoped. After a good nap and a dose of Tylenol we were off to the mall. The girls were super cute in their Easter outfits. Both of them were in great moods and it made mommy happy. Taylor was a super model. She did exactly what the lady asked her to do. She smiled big and was very patient with her little sister. Camryn on the other hand...

Every time she was asked to smile she would do this big cheesy grin with her lips closed and her chin up. The lady would say, "I'm gonna get you." to make her smile. Instead, she would get a mean face and shout, "No way!". Each picture she was supposed to be in by herself she would lift her dress up and rock back and forth. The lady said she had never met a child who liked to lift her dress up as much as Camryn. Such a proud moment. Believe it or not, we got some really cute pictures. While the lady got the computer ready for me to pick out pictures, I changed the girls into their play clothes. I gave them each a juice box in hopes of them sitting down and behaving while I made the tough decision on what pictures to purchase. I had not even started when Camryn coughed, burped and threw up! She did it over and over and over again. I had immediate flashbacks of lunch with the Finks...

A few months ago we went to eat lunch with some friends after church. Camryn woofed down a pizza when I realized she hadn't had anything to drink. I gave her my drink and kept chatting away. Before I could blink my eyes she had finished off the whole glass of tea. I picked her up out of her highchair and in mid air she coughed, burped and threw up ALL OVER ME! I'm talking hair to toes, over and over and over again. It was one of the most disgusting things I had ever seen in my life! I couldn't do anything but hold her while she puked all over me. I turned to look at my family and friends only to find the table EMPTY! They all ran away! People eating in the restaurant wouldn't even look at me. I saw Taylor and her friend Hannah sitting at another table talking about how gross it was. Then the adults came back. They had gone to get help and cleaning supplies. They hadn't deserted me after all! Jason took Camryn outside and took all her clothes off while I took the very long walk back to the car with vomit dripping from my hair and clothes. The only thing I could change was my shirt. So right there in the parking lot I took off my shirt and put on the fleece. Unfortunately I had to sit in the car on the way home with a lap full of Camryn's lunch. Taylor was talking about how bad it smelled, Camryn was pretty satisfied, Jason was laughing his head off and I was hanging my head out the window. Yes, all of this flashed before my eyes when she lost it at the photo place.

Positive side, Camryn did not have the stomach bug, she did not ruin the backdrop, and she did not ruin her Easter dress! Perfect timing!

Lesson learned, never go get pictures taken of your kids when you are the only adult. Take help! Do not give kids drink or food until you have left the building.

I'll have to get them to pose for some pics here at the house so I can post a pic. They really are beautiful in those dresses!

Me, Myself, and I

2010-03-24T10:25:00.000-07:00

I set aside a day this week to go shopping for myself. I very rarely do this and when I do, I end up with clothes for the kids. I was determined to find a dress for me, myself, and I. I was quite successful! I found an awesome dress for less than $30 at Banana Republic. Their dresses and blouses are 50% off right now. So I bought myself a dress and blouse. Jason's mom bought me another dress so I scored big time! To top it all off, Jason loved everything I brought home. He's usually super picky and it's hard to please him. He gave me a compliment I prefer not to repeat but in man language it meant...I like it a lot! The whole day made me so happy I think I'll go "me" shopping again very soon! Sorry I'm so excited about this but I shop so little for myself that I'm still wearing jeans I'm pretty sure I wore back in high school. I've had them for a very long time. New clothes make me smile:)))

You're Going To Hollywood!

2010-03-18T14:07:00.000-07:00

Aunt Cindy (famous singer/song writer:)

We were listening to the radio when Taylor asked why Aunt Cindy's songs aren't on the radio. I told her that Billy and Cindy's songs ARE on the radio. It just isn't Cindy singing them. She said, "Well, Cindy needs to be on the radio. Then she could go to Hollywood. She would be a great GREAT singer." She is so right. We should all be listening to Cindy singing those songs!

When I Grow Up...

2010-03-13T08:08:00.000-08:00

Taylor has condensed her list of things she wants to be when she grows up. Here it is...

1. Horseback rider (we all saw that one coming)

2. Teacher (thanks to Monica and Pam)

3. Doctor (we've had a long week with lots of appointments)

4. Judge....on American Idol (you laugh but even my 6 yr old knows when a person should and should NOT be singing)

If I had to pick one of these, I would say she would end up being a teacher. But I think her true calling is a mom. She's so good with her little sister. You can just tell she'll be a great mom. I'm not rushing things though. She told me yesterday that she will be grown up soon and not need me anymore. It made me want to cry. I've had her home almost every day this week. It's going to be hard enough taking her back to school on Monday.

Picnic at the Plantation

2010-03-09T18:11:00.000-08:00

Wouldn't it be cool if she got married here and I
took a pic of this same pose?

Picture perfect day

Enjoying her sucker

Cuties

Silly smile

Sisters

The girls

Petting the deer

This one cracks me up for some reason.

Saturday was a beautiful day. It was sunny without a cloud in the sky. So I told Taylor to help me get a picnic together and we could go eat next to the horses. I didn't have to say it twice. I think we may have had lunch together in record time. The three of us went to Magnolia Plantation. Man was it gorgeous out there. Both the girls were so excited about seeing the animals they barely ate their food. They talked to the horses and donkey for a while then we headed for the petting zoo. We were met by very loud turkeys. It startled Camryn but she was brave. They both ran to pet the deer and I just loved watching them enjoy every second of it. After the animals we went to the gift shop. I bought them each a sucker and we went for a walk to find alligators. We didn't see any but the flowers were starting to bloom and it was so peaceful on the trail. We, of course, had to make one more trip back to the horses and then packed up. I had such a great time with them. I'm so thankful for memories like these.

The Horse Whisperers

Hot Dog Hot Dog Hot Diggity Dog

2010-03-09T17:50:00.000-08:00

Amy and Camden

Minnie and all her friends

Camryn got to see her princess

Me and my baby

I don't take Camryn out to do something special very often. Not too long ago I was thinking about all the things I did with Taylor when she was this age and started feeling really bad for Camryn. Her highlight of the week is going to Target or picking Taylor up from school. Right about that time my friend Amy asked me if I wanted to take Camryn to the Mickey Mouse Roadshow. So off we went. I had high expectations(as I always do) of Camryn's reaction. Well, she stayed true to her personality. The first half of the show she just fussed about Minnie being too far away. She crossed her arms, lifted her elbows in the air and said in a very upset voice, "I want to say hi to Minnie. HUMPH!!" And the arms came crashing into her chest. She did this at least 20 x's. She was so mad Minnie was not visiting her personally. So I finally taught her how to wave from a distance and just when she did...Minnie waved to the audience. She finally got over her disgruntled mood and chilled for the rest. She did eventually enjoy the show believe it or not.

Taylor's Thoughts

2010-03-09T13:07:00.000-08:00

Mommy, I'm glad I came out of your belly. I'm glad you married daddy. He's handsome. When you saw him, did you ask him if he would come with you to the marrying prom?

Mommy, how many more days till K4 is done? I don't want to go to another class. In 1st grade, 2nd grade, and even 3rd grade, you have to open your own milk carton!

DRAMA

2010-03-07T16:02:00.000-08:00

Does drama follow you? It follows me. It's not like I'm out there looking for it. It just shows up as if I've invited it in. Already it's been a challenging year and I feel like it just got started. Sometimes I wonder why I'm trying to get back into therapy. Therapy means helping others. Helping others is what brings on the drama. I try to do what's right. I try to help someone in need of a job or someone in need of a friend and the next thing you know...BAM...they are taking advantage of me. I'm starting to feel like my whole approach on friendships needs to be changed. Maybe I should just stick to the small group of friend who I know I can trust and forget about the rest. I try to follow the golden rule... do unto others as you would have them do unto you. How is it that I keep getting into friendships with that in mind and then(pardon my wording) get screwed in the end. Thankfully, the drama I've been living through has not been directly to me but I was hurt both times. Unfortunately it just means other people were hurt even worse by my "friends". I'm not trying to come off as the perfect friend. I know I've done and/or said things I shouldn't have so feel free NOT to point that out:) This most recent DRAMA is something I just can't seem to wrap my head around. I feel so lost as to how I should react. I've been praying about it but the answer right now just seems to be "Keep your mouth shut". But all the emotions of anger, disappointment, sadness, frustration and confusion are really hard to keep to myself. Thank the Lord for a husband I can confide in. As a true man, he thinks I should just be able to cut off all emotions and move on with my life. As a woman I'm thinking, fat chance. Am I right ladies? I think the most frustrating part is that these "friends" call themselves christians. How on earth can people do the things they do and think that it's okay. Or even worse, do the things they do, realize it's not okay, and then not care. Do they not have a conscience? Well here's a quote for you. "Conscience is Gods built-in warning system. Be very happy when it hurts you. Be very worried when it doesn't.". If you do something wrong and have no remorse, you better recheck your believer status. I'm not usually one to vent on a blog open to everyone but I have so few followers I'm not sure any of you really care. And if I have offended you....TOO BAD!:)
Let's end this on a positive note. A big THANK YOU to all the family and friends who are true friends. I couldn't live through the DRAMA without you. I love you dearly!

The End of Upwards

2010-02-27T17:34:00.000-08:00

Daddy and Cammie enjoying watching Tay Tay.

Taylor the cheer leader

Taylor cheered for the last game of the season today. She has really enjoyed cheering. I didn't think she would actually do the cheers so I encouraged her to join the basketball team. She can dribble the ball like nobody's business. She still chose to be a cheer leader. Surprisingly enough, she has done an incredible job of not only cheering in front of a large crowd but remembering her cheers. They have a big awards ceremony in a couple of days and all the cheer leaders have been practicing a special routine to do in front of all the families involved in Upwards. I can't wait to see them practice tomorrow! She is the cutest cheer leader EVER! I want to give coach Betsy a special thank you for all her hard work. And trust me, it was HARD work. The team wasn't exactly a well behaved group of girls. In fact, they stressed me out at every practice and especially the one game that I had to coach. I don't get stressed out easily. And yes, I said I coached a group of cheer leaders. I never ever thought I would have a little cheer leader in the family much less that I (of all people) would coach them during a game. The things I will do for my girls! I'm so glad Taylor got a chance to cheer and most of all that people who may have never heard about Jesus got a chance to. Upwards is an incredible program and many children and parents gave their lives to Christ because of it. To God be the glory!!

BTW, I didn't mean to upload the first video but it took so long I decided to keep it on here. Enjoy!

COTA update

2010-02-25T07:16:00.000-08:00

In order to start shadowing OT's (for PDU credit), I had to go through a volunteer orientation at the hospital. 7 of us were sitting side by side in a small office for 1 1/2 hours. Every time I moved I would kick someone next to me. It was so uncomfortable. On top of that, I have old lady legs. My varicose veins were killing me! I looked around at all these gorgeous college students and thought, "What am I doing?". I swear the one guy in there was coming off a high. He could not stay still. His head was constantly bobbing around, he kept touching and rubbing his head and made weird comments about everything. Thankfully he's shadowing a PT instead of an OT. He made me nervous. Then we took a tour of the hospital. I worked there for around 5 years so the tour did me no good. Just when I thought I was done, I was told I had to go get my ppd. So I went to the nurse's office to wait. It was so hot!! I started feeling miserable and had to pee really bad. I didn't want to leave though because I would lose my spot. I waited another hour in there! The ppd literally took 1 minute. So this is where I am.
Orientation...check
ppd...check
ppd read...check
paperwork turned in...check

Next week..
2nd ppd
hopefully a clear background check
set up 1st shadow with OT
fill out cert renewal packet
complete assessment tool test (1PDU)

I still can't believe I'm doing this.

Girls Night In

2010-02-20T10:19:00.000-08:00

Go Taylor Go!

Taylor and I chillin on the couch.

Hunter and Aunt Becky.

Love this smile!

Uncle Kelly and Hunter

Couldn't get him to look at the camera.

Dressin up.

Jason left for the weekend on a much needed fishing 'man'cation. So the girls and I were left to fend for ourselves. We started the evening with pizza and visitors. My brother and nephew came to visit us for a little while so Carissa could rest. She's been feeling under the weather and with another little one brewing I feel she deserves the break. Taylor was the only local niece for a while so she was spoiled by Kelly and Carissa. Ever since her sister and Hunter came along, she has had to fight for that attention a little bit. She and Camryn changed outfits numerous amounts of times to show off for Kelly. Hunter was mesmerized by her pom poms. I'm pretty sure he has a deep longing to be a cheerleader as well:) We loved on and played with Hunter. That boy is so much heavier than Camryn and he just turned 1! After the boys left, us girls headed for the mall. We looked around a little bit and ended up in Target as usual. We weren't actually looking for anything but I did leave with some very yummy Reese pieces candy shaped like eggs. They are sooo good. I rented Bolt to watch with the girls, made bowls of ice cream and snuggled up in our jammies. Just then Camryn decided to poop and go night nighk(that's how she says it). So that left me and my sweet Taylor to watch the movie alone. I have so much fun with Camryn but getting a chance to spend time alone with Taylor doesn't happen very often anymore. I loved every second of it. The movie was pretty cute too. Whenever daddy is out of town, I let Taylor sleep in my bed. She gets so excited. She said, "When daddy's gone we get to do whatever we want". Sorry babe, I'm not so sure you were missed?! Well, I missed you:) Can you believe the girls and I slept in till 8?! What a treat. Taylor had a cheer leading game at 11 and at 3 we will be going to a bday party. Daddy should be home after that. I'm excited to see him come home because we get to exchange our love letters tonight. It's our homework for Sunday School. We are starting on Song of Songs. The only reason I'm excited is because Jason called me last night and said he was going to start on my letter. The fact that he even remembered is huge!! Don't worry, I won't share it with you. I don't want any of you to get jealous:))

COTA

2010-02-17T14:01:00.000-08:00

That stands for certified occupational therapy assistant. It's what I went to college for. I graduated, passed the cert exam, got my license and never got a job. After much searching, getting married, and moving a couple of times, I decided just to start my life as a stay at home mom. That's what I would have done at some point anyway but it would have been nice to find a job as a COTA. I had pretty much decided that I would just stay at home with my kids for the rest of my life. I didn't keep up with renewing my cert or my license. I regret that now. Times have changed. Money is tight, we have very little put away for the kids future much less ours, a house that needs major work, one vehicle, and you really never know if Jason's job will be here tomorrow. Like so many he has been through the stresses of losing jobs, watching retirement dwindle and savings accounts going down down down. I love my kids. I wouldn't trade the last 6 years for anything but I've been feeling like I need to make a change. I have a degree that could make a big difference in our lives. So after about the millionth time Jason tells me I should look into renewing my license, I finally did. After lots of phone calls, searching the internet and praying I found this out...
1. I have to apply for a cert renewal
2. Pay a couple hundred dollars
3. get 36 hours in PDU's
4. Apply for license renewal
5. Pay $620 in renewal fees
6. Get a job lined up under an OT
7. Get a temporary license
8. Get 750 hours under an OT in less than 1 year
THEN I can can get my perminent license. WHEW! It would have been a lot easier to just renew my license every other year. Several people told me they thought I would have to take the exam again but I found out today that I don't! That is great news! So, I've decided to do it. I've been praying over this decision more than I have prayed over anything recently. Mainly because I'm just not sure I can do it and I'm hoping God will just tell me not to go through with it. So far, it's just the opposite. I've gotten confirmation after confirmation. I know that if this is really what God wants He'll make it all happen but I must admit I am terrified. I've been out of school for almost 11 years!! Who in their right mind will hire me?? No experience and old! Oh well, I'm jumping head first into this and I won't stop until He tells me to. Just in case you feel the urge to pray for me, I'm praying for the right job, facility, and supervisor. I would love to enjoy the job enough to stay there after my 750 hours are done. I'm not looking to work full time. Just around 20 hours a week to help out financially and give me something productive to do. This way I'll be able to still spend time with the girls, go on field trips and stuff like that. I may be terrified but I'm also very excited! I have no idea what to expect but that's what's so exciting about it..the unkown.

A New Family Member.

2010-02-16T13:02:00.001-08:00

Jason's mom bought a puppy. It's the cutest little fur ball I've ever seen. The girls adore her and can't keep their hands off of her. All you hear is, "Can I hold her?". I'm always afraid Camryn is going to squish the poor thing. She is a toy poodle and weighs only 2 lbs. Too cute! Her name is Bella. We love the new bundle of joy (mainly because I don't have to take care of her).

Snow? In Charleston?!

2010-02-16T12:19:00.000-08:00

Our street covered in white.

I guess the snow makes her sick.

I call him 'Casper the Friendly Ghost Snowman'

Taylor and Daddy creating Casper.

My sweet snow angel.

Such a cutie!

Hot stuff in cold stuff!
I'm surprised he didn't melt
the snow;)

Still not enjoying the snow.

Worried I will MAKE her love the snow.

Just havin fun.

Just NOT havin fun.

This was in the hotel room in NC.

We WOULD pick this year to go chasin snow! Taylor was turning 6 and had never seen snow before. Our friends, the Jacksons, called us up a week before Christmas and asked us if we wanted to chase snow with them. OF COURSE!! So we packed everyone up and ended up somewhere in North Carolina. We were all very excited. It had been a while since Jason and I had seen snow too. Taylor had a blast sledding, making a snowman, throwing snow blocks and playing with her friends. Camryn on the other hand was none too pleased with the fact that snow was cold. She cried the entire time she was outside. "Make em warm. Make em WARM!!". How did I end up in a family full of drama? Little did we know that God had a cool present coming for us on Feb. 12th...SNOW IN CHARLESTON! I would love to say that the girls had a blast but only one of them did. Once again Miss Drama Queen whined and complained about the snow. "I NOT make a snow ball! I NOT play in the snow!". So she didn't and I didn't care. I just took pictures of her typical grumpy face and enjoyed Taylor's delight. It was amazing seeing everything white. What was even more amazing is that our electricity stayed on. Over and over again bright flashes of blue lit up the house. The electricity would go out and come back on and finally just stayed on. Another reason to be thankful. I enjoyed our snow day but must admit I like the warm weather better. Thank you Lord for bringing the snow and thank you for taking it away!

Hot Date

2010-02-10T18:16:00.000-08:00

Jason's parents bought us John Mayer tickets for his birthday this year. I was so excited I thought it was MY birthday. They even offered to watch the kids for us so of course we accepted. We went to eat at Chili's and we decided to get something different this time. For some reason, Jason decided on a hamburger rather than a steak. I decided to get the BBQ shredded pork with cheese and coleslaw...NO ONIONS. Our kind waiter said there were no onions on it and I kindly showed him that the menu said otherwise. After going back and forth he said he would make sure there were no onions on it. Needless to say, we waited and waited (after waiting and waiting for a seat). The waiter came out to say our food was ready but there is one problem, the onions are cooked into my pork. Real shocker! Long story short, our awesome pre concert dinner ended up with Jason and I sharing a burger and fries. Can you tell I don't like onions? The good news...we only spent $10 on dinner:) So then we headed to the concert. We knew the seats would be up high because Jason's parents got the tickets well after they went on sale. We started up the stairs, my calves started to get sore, and I was out of breath by row N. I thought, "It can't be much higher than this.". Up and up and up we went. I had no idea row U was the very top row!!! Jason and I grabbed onto our seats and quickly sat down as the room started to spin. I seriously thought Jason was going to get a nose bleed. Wow, that is HIGH UP!! We had a great view of the stage until the group of homosexual lovers sat theirselves down two rows in front of us. We spent much of the concert watching him kiss on her, then her, then her, then she kissed on her and so on....disgusting!! There was groping, alcohol, awful dancing...you get the picture. A couple of songs into John's act, they finally moved over a little bit and we were able to enjoy the concert. Carissa was right, he does move well with his guitar. I love his....music:) Next time, we get better seats.

101 Dalmation Days

2010-02-10T18:07:00.000-08:00

Taylor's class had a doggy day celebration on the 101st day of school. They had to dress in black and white so I cut out some black spots and stuck em on her shirt with some velcro. I made some ears and she put spots all over them. She made a super cute dalmation. Her dog name was Lollipop. The teachers called the kids by their dog names all day and they had to eat scooby snacks without their hands. Too cute. I love her teachers!

The Ugly Bug

2010-01-28T06:23:00.000-08:00

A random cute pic.

This is a picture of what I looked like all night long.
I chose this one because an actual picture of me
hugging the toilet wouldn't be nearly as cute.

I am recovering from the awful ugly stomach bug today. I came down with it Tuesday night and was up all night. I'll spare you the details but if you've had it before, you know how terrible it is. I'm so thankful that no one else in the family has come down with it. I'm convinced that I got it from Taylor's field trip to the Childrens Museum. I even told one of the moms that I'm not a germiphobe but places like that make me nervous. I looked over and saw Pam(one of Taylors teachers) pouring anti bacteria gel all over her hands. Guess who Taylor said wasn't in school yesterday...Pam. I bet she had it too. I'll never go back there again!! Unfortunately, one of Taylor's best friends is having a bday party there in a couple of weeks. It sounds like something fun for Jason to do. Anyway, I felt really bad because Taylor had to ride with Papa to school, eat a cafeteria lunch (she's never done that) and get picked up by Mimi. It was just a different day for her and I worried that it might stress her out. Well, when she got home she told me all about her wonderful day including lunch. "We had spaghetti. It was better than yours! It had cheese on it!!" Here I am at my worst, been in bed all day, taking care of Camryn, feeling bad for Taylor and she tells me the school makes better food than ME?!!! I bet if I made her eat lunch in the cafeteria every day, she'd appreciate my cooking a little more.

Funny Stuff

2010-01-11T06:44:00.000-08:00

I am really on a roll here. My girls are just crazy this week and I wanted to remember these things so I can hold it against them later. Just kidding.

Taylor got a warning at school for the first time the other day. So I was talking to her about how to act and asked her what I should do if she gets in trouble again. She replied, "Banish me?" Now I know I can be hard at times but I didn't think I was THAT strict.

Taylor wanted her fingernails to be painted before church so I sat down and started painting. She said, "Momma, your belly is fat.". I replied, "Thank you Taylor. I have been working out but it's just not going down." "Maybe Jesus just wants you to be fat." Taylor said. Maybe that's it! Maybe Jesus really DOES want me to be fat. I don't have to work out anymore. I can just be large and in charge!

As I write this, Camryn is screaming at the top of her lungs. I laid her down for a nap about 20 min ago and she is screaming, "I don't want to take nap!! Mommy!! I not tired!!! Mommy!!! I not sleepy!!!!" In between the words are really high pitched screams. The only reason I haven't gotten her out of the crib is because she is entertaining me. Is that wrong?

Breakfast with Santa

2010-01-09T17:12:00.000-08:00

I really just wanted to post one more time so I could prove my friends wrong. Anyway, we had breakfast with Santa at the mall before Christmas. They had coloring, free breakfast from Chick fil a (my favorite), balloon animals and face painting. Taylor chose a poinsettia for her face painting and Camryn chose the Grinch which is so appropriate because we were already calling her that. She whined, cried and fussed the whole time we were there. She was so excited she was going to see Santa and when he came out...BOOM the tears were flowing. Surprisingly enough, Taylor ran to him. She couldn't wait to give him a big hug and even took a picture with him. I remember the first time I took Taylor to see Santa. She went with her friends Ethan and Grace. They are all about 2 months apart in age and we thought it would be too cute if we got them matching pjs and took a pic with Santa. We got them all dressed up and it was our turn to see Santa. Grace and Ethan went right up to him and were ready to go. Taylor was just following the crowd and looked up at the camera. I was thinking, "This is going to be the cutest picture ever.". Then right before the picture was taken, she looked to see who was behind her. This awful look of fear came over her and she cried her little eyes out and came running for mommy. There was no turning back. She was afraid of him every year after that. I guess my little baby has finally turned into a big girl. A big beautiful girl if I might say so myself. So I guess Camryn will come around some day. I thought it would be different with her though. She chased the Easter Bunny down when he was at the mall. I thought she was going to tackle him. She couldn't wait sit in his lap. I guess bunnies are cuter than old fat men.

Upwards Cheerleading

2010-01-09T15:47:00.000-08:00

Taylor cheered for her very first game today. All the girls were super cute in their blue and orange uniforms. Taylor was so excited she couldn't stand it. When I told her it was time for her game she jumped up and down and up and down. With Taylor, you never know what you're going to get. Before school started you could pretty much bet on the fact that she would just stand there or run back to sit with me in the stands. Now that her teachers have broken her out of her shell, all bets are off. I really didn't know what would happen. All the girls ran out of the tunnel while the music played and their names were announced. They lined up and the first cheer was announced. Taylor stood up, got into ready stance and cheered her heart out! She even threw in a couple of jumps. She loved it! I thought for sure Camryn would try to steal the spotlight. She started to a couple of times and then ran back to Daddy. She wasn't quite comfortable with the crowd......yet. I'm sure those fears will pass quickly and she'll join right in. Wanted or not. After the game, we treated them to ice cream. And why not? It was only 30 DEGREES outside with a windchill of about 20!!! But that's what my little cheerleader wanted so that's what she gets. I'll try to get better pics next weekend and post them.

I'm a Slacker!!!

2010-01-07T08:09:00.000-08:00

Sisters and Best Friends

Some attitude for the camera

After she lost her first tooth

Alright, let's see what I've missed. Not much, just Camryn's 2nd birthday, halloween, my sisters family visiting, Thanksgiving, first and second lost tooth, Christmas, New Year's and Taylor's 6th birthday. This should be easy to catch up on. HA! Life has gotten so much more busy this year. And I'm pretty sure it just keeps getting worse. Worse in a good way of course. Taylor is doing Upwards Cheerleading this year. I can't wait to start posting pictures and videos of her cheering! I strongly encouraged her to do basketball because i know she would be so good at it but being the girly girl she is...cheerleading it was. I still cannot believe I have two of the girliest girls ever. I started this whole mother thing thinking I would have all boys. Now poor Jason is just hoping and praying for one. No, I'm not pregnant. Nor am I trying, just to clear that up. Well, I guess the next several posts will be random and out of order I'll try to catch everyone up while not getting further behind. For this post, I think I'll just write down a couple of things the girls have done or said recently that is worth remembering.

Of course, I have to start out with Camryn because she is a nut. Lately she's been trying to get out of doing things and the only thing her little mind can come up with is "sleepy". She's been too "sleepy" to eat, drink, clean up, brush teeth, get out of bed, etc... She'll even do the whole dramatic arm flinging across the forehead move and closing her eyes saying, "I too sleepy!" Drama Queen!!

Taylor brought up heaven the other day and was talking about being sick and needing Drs. Of course, I told her we wouldn't need Drs in heaven because we would never get sick, or sad, or go hungry. We will live in mansions and walk on streets of gold. (Which, by the way, gets me really excited). So Taylor got real excited too and said, "Mom, when I walk on the streets of gold can I pick some up and keep it?!" I'm sure there will be no laws against that. Then she asked if God makes ponies too. I said yes and she got even more excited. "Will He make me one too so I can keep it in my big house?" Too cute.

Camryn has this thing where she calls women around the age of 45 and up, grandma. So, as you can imagine she has embarrassed me on several occasions. We took the girls trick or treating and she got candy from a lady who had a few gray hairs and Camryn said, "Thanks Grandma!". We quickly hurried out of that yard. She also found an actual grandma in Belk one day too. She had white hair and was using a walker. When we got out of the elevator, Camryn saw her and ran for her. All I could hear was, "Hey Grandma!" and then a bunch of chit chatting. That old lady just stood there and smiled. I'm thinking she couldn't hear a word Camryn was saying...Thank goodness! In that same visit to Belk, Camryn saw a lady standing next to the girls panty display. She grabbed one of them, looked at the lady and said, "That Tay Tay yucky underwear!". Oh brother!

Taylor has lost two teeth now. And since there is never a dull moment I have a story for each of them. The girls love to play baby, puppy and animals with each other. They will take turns acting them out. Well, apparently Taylor was the puppy on this particular day when I asked them to get their shoes on so we could leave. Next thing you know, Taylor runs to me with a tooth in her hand. "How did you lose it?" I asked. "Well, I bit Camryn's shoe so I could bring it to her and my tooth fell out." Tooth one. Now, tooth two. We were at the house when Taylor ran up to me with blood all in her mouth. I asked her what happened. "I don't know." Where's your tooth. " I don't know." What were you doing? "Camryn was riding the spring horse in the play room and I was the cheetah. I was biting the horse's tail when Camryn started bouncing really hard. Then I started bleeding!" Thankfully I found the tooth on the floor under the horse's tail. Can't wait for tooth 3.

I'm getting tired now so I'll post pics later. Chow for now!

A Day In The Life of a Kindergartner

2009-09-11T13:33:00.000-07:00

Taylor loves school. She loves her teachers and playing and coloring and learning. She has an awesome christian teacher who is a total answer to my prayers. I'm so happy she is enjoying it and proud of her for doing so well. I like to try and keep the lines of communication open so I ask about school often. I love hearing her stories...

One day Taylor got in the car very excited and said, "Mom, Grace was back at school today.". I asked her where she had been and she replied, "She had an ear confession.". I think I've had a few of those myself.

Today she said she got to play in the new kitchen during center time. A boy named Joshua kept asking her out on a date. "Mom, I just kept telling him NO!". That's my girl! I dread the day she says yes.

Every night before she goes to bed I ask her what the best and worst things were that day. Every night she gives me the same reply. My favorite thing was going to school! My worst thing is SAM! She'll probably end up marrying this SAM.

Today she told me she loves her teacher. "Not Mrs Funk, Mrs Tilman. It's because she makes funny noises.". Well, that must be why she loves her daddy so much too:) BTW, she DOES love Mrs Funk. How do I know? First of all, she goes to school every day without a fight. Second of all, I asked. She just gave me her classic big dimply smile. I love that girl!

1st Day of Kindergarden

2009-08-18T07:14:00.000-07:00

Riding to school.

Camryn seeing Taylor off.

New bookbag and lunch box.

My beautiful 5 yr old. Excited and

ready for her 1st day of school.

CAUTION:

This video may cause permanent neck damage.

Sorry, I have no idea how to fix it.

This Too Shall Pass

2009-08-17T10:07:00.000-07:00

So I'm sitting here crying

tear after tear

Wondering how time could fly so fast

in the last 5 years

A whole new phase in life

she's about to begin

She's looking at me with a smile

and I force out a grin

I AM excited for her

all the friends she will make

all the new things she'll try

for her, it'll be a piece of cake

But for me it's not so easy

For me it's different

I feel anxious and nervous

It's so hard to be a parent

Then my heavenly father

gently reminds me

This too shall pass

and be far behind me

"But until then sweet child

I want you to know

I have her in my hands

and will never let her go."

So the comfort of my Savior

will see me through

Knowing He's in control

There's nothing left for me to do

but pray her through each day

love her unconditionally

Enjoy every moment

Don't let it go by too fast

Because I've been reminded

This too shall pass

Thank you Jesus for my sweet Taylor. Please help her to be a light in a very dark world. Continue to hold her tight in the palm of your hand. And help me too because it's hard being a parent but I guess you already know that.

What The Girls Do On Summer Vacation

2009-07-06T18:37:00.000-07:00

Taylor smiling for the camera at Folly.

Camryn gulping down a cold one at the beach.

My beautiful 5 yr old.

Water park pose.

Camryn and Banjo chillin on Uncle Kelly's couch
cause you know it's hard playing in the sun all
the time.

Taylor had nothing to do with this.

Okay, maybe she did...

What is this thing Taylor put on my head?

We pretty much have spent the summer at the water park or the beach. We have had a blast hanging out with our friends and Daddy has even had time to swim this summer. I'm trying to make the summer one for Taylor to remember since she starts K5 in August. I'm very sad my big girl will be in school all day every day but I think she's ready. She keeps telling everyone she is going kindergarden cause she's 5. I'm really excited about her new school. I've heard so many good things about it but I will miss her big time. It will take a little adjusting for the both of us. Until then, we swim, play games, dress up, fish, have playdates, etc... I love my life and the wonderful job of raising two adorable girls.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY JASON!!

2009-06-19T12:06:00.000-07:00

I love celebrating Father's Day. I love having the girls make cards and videos. They always have just the right things to say to their daddy. Jason, you are an amazing father to our girls. I can't believe that so many years ago we weren't even going to have children. Now there is no way we could imagine our lives without them. I know there is no way I could be the mom I am without your support and love. There are so many dads out there today who put work, hobbies, and friends before their family. I have never had to worry about that with you. I love how you make time even when there seems to be none. You're the best and I know the girls think so too. I hope you have a wonderful day!

Singing a sad sad song

2009-05-17T16:10:00.000-07:00

Taylor just "pretend" played her guitar and sang a song for me. It was kind of sad. This is how it went...

When I was a baby girl, no one loved me.
Except my mom, my mom loved me.
Except my dad, my dad loved me.
I miss being loved on like a baby
I miss being loved on like a baby.
I love my mom.
I love my dad.
I love my mom and dad too.

Am I not showing her enough attention. Do I not love on her enough? I thought I was doing a pretty good job at loving on both my babies. I guess I need to work on that a little. Of course, immediately after the song I grabbed her and gave her a big hug. She rolled her eyes and she said she wasn't a baby. I'm confused. Is this how the teenage years are going to be?

Why?

2009-03-23T17:35:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention that Camryn is very into asking, "Why?". At 17 months she is asking why. I knew I was in trouble when she started throwing full on tantrums at 9 months. Maybe everything will happen early.

A Million Miles A Minute

2009-03-22T10:42:00.000-07:00

Cutie Pie with a rough hair day

Two peas in a pod

Playing with bubbles

Taylor looks like an angel all lit up.

Walking...

Enjoying Taylor's pretend dinner party.

Sisters forever

Camryn is now 17 months old and I don't think she has stopped talking since she learned how. I think she has an amazing vocabulary for her age and I just wanted to post a couple of things she says so I don't forget. Some are very clear and some are only recognizable by mommy. But she has thrown out a sentence or two, in front of witnesses, that just blew my mind.

"Shish"- fish
"Dump"- jump

Her favorites right now are.... "No Way!" and "Stop it!". She tends to yell those out at the top of her lungs. She also yells, "TAY TAY!!" pretty much every 5 min or so. She also said, "I want to play." one time at around 15months when the other kids were going to the play area and I was strapping her in the highchair. Tara is my witness on that one. Her favorite foods are "nanna's, shish, and monkey (yogurt)". Don't ask me how I figured that last one out. She is getting better with the actual word, yogurt. She can pretty much say any word you tell her to which is quite amusing to big sis. She loves to get Camryn to say "I poop.". Now if anyone makes a noise that sounds anything like a toot she says, "Uh oh, I poop.". It is kind of funny. My favorite thing right now is when she sings. She sings Rock a by baby, Twinkle Twinkle, Head shoulders knees and toes, and her ABC's. It is super cute. Right now I am listening to Camryn say, "Daddy" over and over again while he is trying to work on something. I'm sensing a little annoyance in his voice so I'm going to rescue him now.

Taylor?....Stubble?

2009-03-19T17:43:00.000-07:00

So I think a few of you moms might know where this is going. I'll make it short and sweet. Taylor was taking a bath while I was entertaining Camryn, answering the phone, cleaning up the dining room table and trying to post the last blog entry. While I was on the phone with my dad, Taylor called for me to come to the bathroom. I, of course, said hold on. A few minutes later it sounded a little more urgent so I told her I was coming and slowly walked to the bathroom. As I rounded the corner I saw blood all over Taylor's chin. She looked at me and asked, "Do you see a boo boo mommy?" I must have looked a bit concerned when I said yes because she busted out in tears and just whaled. I asked her what happened and she said, "I was trying to shave.". Well the cuts ended up being very small but they sure did bleed a lot. She insisted on a bandaid but that makes her look pretty silly. I guess whatever makes her feel better huh? I would show you a picture but she won't let me take one. No blackmail for later...

A Day At The Park With Hannah Banana

2009-03-19T15:35:00.000-07:00

Perfect ending to the perfect day.

Chocolate Mousse....mmmmm!

Camryn helped herself to Hannah's ice cream
every time it came close.

The girls were getting tired and wanted to hitch
a ride.

Taylor took this pic. Lighting is off
but she did good.

That's one handsome man.

BFF's

Hannah posed for every pic.

One of my faves.

Mommy and Camryn on the slide

Daddy helping Camryn down from
the lookout tower

On the way down...

Two beautiful girls.

Three beautiful girls.

Aunt Jo Jo and Cammie

I told Taylor she could pick one friend to spend the day with her last Saturday. Our intentions were to take them to a carnival put on by Taylor's future elementary school but they postponed it till the next Saturday. So, we had lunch with the Fink's (love that family), took the girls to Palmetto State Park and then to Marble Slab for ice cream. We then went to Lowe's and bought seeds for our gardens and that was quite interesting. Hannah wanted every seed ever made while Taylor and Camryn fought over who got to hold what seeds. By the end of our excursion, they were all wiped out. I promised Jo Jo I would take lots of pics so here they are.

Facebook Tag

2009-01-26T05:51:00.000-08:00

So I've been tagged about a million times on FB to list 25 facts about myself. In order to do that, I have to tag 25 people and I just don't feel like doing that so here's my Facebook tag on my blog...
1. Hello, my name is Becky and I'm addicted to chocolate. I have to have something with chocolate in it every day.
2. I lived most of my life thinking I would never have kids and now I have 2 a love every minute of it.
3. I may have 2 more. Hopefully not the way Tasha is doing it.
4. I'm a bit sarcastic and I get it from Jason:)
5. The second I saw Jason for the first time, I knew I was going to marry him. It only took him 3 years to ask me out on a date and another 9 years to marry me.
6. I started working out at the beginning of Dec and I'm actually enjoying it. I've been pretty slack the last two weeks though.
7. I have a pooch I can't get rid of.
8. I got fitted for a bra for the very first time yesterday. I heard Oprah a long time ago saying that most women wear the wrong size bra...maybe she IS always right.
9. I can carry a tune in a bucket. I guess it's a step up from a joyful noise...Tara.
10. My favorite movie is Dan in Real Life.
11. I hate to read. I sat down about 4-5 times to read Kate's new book and have made it to page 40.
12. I met Kate Gosselin. We had a long conversation and I gave her lots of advice on how to chillax. Just kidding. We said Hi.
13. I'm sure there is some way I can get famous or at least rich off my sister and brother-in-law but I'm still working out the details on that one.
14. Jason and I love to play pranks on friends.
15. I have an extra long second toe. I'm actually typing with it right now.
16. I cannot wait to finally have a nephew here in Charleston to love on. Looking forward to meeting you Hunter!
17. I am very disorganized and lose stuff all the time.
18. I said I'd never work after I had kids. Now I'm working with kids and looking for more work. Hey, times are tough!
19. I have guns. Not the bullet kind. It's the bicep kind. Back in middle school I would arm wrestle boys and beat them. I have man arms...without all the hairiness. YUCK!
20. I have to see the Cardiologist every 2 years just to hear her say everything looks great and pay her hundreds and hundreds of dollars. I guess that's better than bad news, huh?
21. I dream of owning some land out in the country with a house(at least 3000sq ft), a mother-in-law suite(you never know who's gonna need it), and a 4 car garage for our SUV, pick up truck(because we can't sell it), Porshe(for hot dates), and a boat(for fun and fishin).
22. I would LOVE to learn how to play the guitar. I'm so jealous of my brother! You're so good, Kelly!
23. My favorite place to be is my own bed.
24. I have an amazing and very hot husband whom I love with all my heart and will NEVER stop loving.
25. I LOVE my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and enjoy talking with Him every day!!!

Taylor is 5!!

2009-01-14T06:23:00.000-08:00

My beautiful family

Like two peas in a pod

Hurry up already!

Littlest Pet Shop

My so very sweet 5 yr old.

Me and my big girl

Camryn is cheering on big sis!

Pancake birthday cake

Love the excitement.

Daddy and Taylor bowling

Daddy taking Taylor's place in the back seat

Mommy taking Camryn's place

Camryn is very excited about Taylor....

taking over at the wheel. YIKES!

My very first newborn baby.

Miss Dimples

Love the pigtails

Getting bigger...

and bigger..

We celebrated Taylors birthday last week for about 3 days. Day 1-we took her bowling. She had only been bowling once before and I knew she would love it so we surprised her. When we got there she was so excited and she did great! Mimi and Poppa were able to join us and we all took turns helping her roll the ball. By the end, she was throwing it herself and doing quite well. Day 2-It was her actual birth day so I knew I needed to do something special for her. I asked her what she wanted for her b-day breakfast. She said, "I want a big pancake, orange slices and a candle.". So, of course, I made her b-day wish come true. She loved it! Day 3- Birthday Party! She chose Littlest Pet Shop for the theme. We have LPS overload at our house. Anyway, the party was in our church gym. They made LPS houses/garages out of shoe boxes and jumped in the jump castle. She had a ton of friends and family there to celebrate the big day. She got about a million presents because she didn't get enough for Christmas. I made cupcakes with little paw prints on them and I have to admit they were pretty delicious. When everyone sang happy birthday, Taylor looked like she was about to cry. She has never liked a lot of attention. She was so embarassed. That's just her personality and I love it. Taylor is such a sweet girl. She was the easiest baby in the world and she continues to be a very easy child to raise. It makes my life a lot less stressful than it could be.
On Jan 2, 2004 I delivered my very first child. I remember thinking labor was pretty easy. It started around 6am and I stayed home most of the day. I had to see the Dr. at 2:30 and I was 3cm. By the time I got into my hospital room around 3;30 I was 4cm and I delivered her at 7:09pm. She was 7lbs 13oz, 20 1/2 inches long, and beautiful!!!! As soon as they laid her on my chest I remember thinking, "I could do this again and again.". Thankfully, I gave myself a little break. Her sister is quite a different story but that's for another day. The nurses told me that Taylor won the best baby award both nights she was there. She was quiet as a mouse. She took forever to nurse but overall that went well.
She started sleeping through the night at 12wks, had an amazing vocabulary by 1, and took her first steps the day before her first birthday. Year 2 she started using the big girl potty and moved into a big girl bed.
By year 3 she ws completely obsessed with horses so I through her a party with a real pony. It was the best party so far! At 3 1/2 she became a big sister. I was so nervous about this. I didn't know how she would do. I felt horrible for taking so much attention and time away from her but there was never a reason to worry. She is the best big sister ever! She adjusted better than I ever imagined. She loves Camryn more than life itself. They are going to be so fun to watch over the years. BFF's, I'm sure!
Year 4 was so much easier for me. She has been so independant. She is writing words and starting to read...a little. She has a much better understanding of God and Jesus and I love taking every opportunity I can to teach her more. She looks after her sister and goes to extreme lengths to protect her. This is also the last year for thumbsucking. I told her that 5 yr olds don't suck their thumbs anymore so she quit. Just like that! Well, with a little help from some hot stuff I painted on her thumbnail. It worked!
Now my little girl is 5. Wow! I'm having to think about school for the fall. I'm having to think about not having her around during the day. I'm having to think about the influences of the secular world. I'm having to think about her growing up and it scares me to death! Of course it makes me sad and excited too. You know, all the emotions of a mother. As I'm wiping away tears, I have to say that I love being a mom. My girls make me so proud, happy, and loved. I wouldn't trade it for the world. I know the coming years will bring so much laughter and so many smiles with two girls in the house. Lots of funny sayings and hilarious stories to share. I can't wait!
Speaking of stories to share...I have 2 from this past week. I think 5 has brought a whole new light to Taylor's eyes. She thinks she has more authority or something. I came home the other day and was exhausted. I laid Camryn down for a nap, put a movie on for Taylor and put myself down for a nap. Next thing I know, Camryn is talking and laughing. She doesn't do this at nap time unless she has company. I was too tired to fuss so I let it go. BAM!!! I hear someone fall and go running into the room. I see Taylor smiling and Camryn crawling across the floor. Taylor had used Camryn's diaper bag as a step stool and pulled Camryn out "...by her shoulders.". Thank the Lord they both fell on the diaper bag. Somebody would have had a few less teeth or broken bones if they hadn't. I nipped that in the bud real quick:)
Taylor got a new dvd and it has a brief cartoon that shows Jesus hanging on the cross. So...I heard Taylor yelling something at Camryn a couple of days ago and I went to investigate. Taylor was pointing at Camryn and yelling, "Crucify him, crucify him!". My first reaction was probably the same as yours. I stopped her and asked if she knew what that meant. She said no so I explained it in kid terms. She teared up and looked at Camryn and said, "Camryn, I'm sorry. I was just kidding. I'm not going to crucify you." Oh my, what's next?

Time To Update..

2008-12-31T06:33:00.001-08:00

Crazy face

Cute pic sitting on top of the seat in Moe's. I know
they just love us coming there.

Taylor putting on make up from her new (very big)
make up kit. Thank you Aunt Judy!

Reading the Christmas story.

Big Cheese!

Opening presents was not her strong suit.

Taylor was so thankful for all her gifts.

Camryn in her hot rod.

Taylor's new bike.

Well, so much has gone on since I posted last. I don't really know where to start. I guess the most exciting week was when Cindy, Billy and Libby came to town for a week. I love it when they are here. Taylor has someone to play with, I have someone to talk to, and Jason has someone to fish with. Poor Camryn just sits around telling people what to do. She's our bossy one. For example, a couple of weeks ago she had finished nursing (I've weaned her now) but I wasn't paying attention so she bit me. My immediate response was a loud "NO!" It hurt! Her lip puffed out and began to quiver. Big tears began to fill her sweet eyes. She sat up, crawled over to Jason and laid her head on his chest. Feeling just awful about this, I tried to get her to love me again and said "Camryn, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. Please forgive me, blah blah blah." She kept her head on Jason's chest, still looking away from me, lifts her finger and points to the door. Taylor laughed histarically and said, "Momma, she just told you to get out!" Yes, she did. My 14 month old told me to leave her sight. BOSSY!
Jason and Billy went fly fishing in Georgia over their vacation. Billy must really love fishing to drive to Charleston for 22 hours, a couple of days later drive 5 hours to Georgia, drive 5 hours back and 24 hours later start that 22 hour trek. I think he might have a slight obsession with fishing but that's not what I want to focus on. Jason caught a ton of fish. He had the time of his life and I'm sure he will never forget it. Thank you Billy for making one of Jason's dreams come true. You're his hero!!! Okay, he'll probably make me erase that but he is very grateful.
While the Foote family was here, we celebrated Christmas with my dad's side of the family and had a wonderful time. Camryn didn't really know what to do with all the craziness but Taylor did. She tore open presents like the Tazmanian devil. I don't think I saw her open half the stuff. It's so much fun watching her get excited at Christmas time. It reminds me of when I still believed in Santa. I would look up in the sky on Christmas Eve and see the red blinking light on top of the tower and think it was Rudolph. Those were the days, but I wouldn't trade them for what I have now. I not only get to play Santa with Jason, but I get to share the true meaning of Christmas with my girls. I think it's going to take a little more time to really sink in but Taylor does now understand that we are celebrating Jesus' b-day and is beginning to understand why He came in the first place. It's so neat watching her little brain work and hearing her explain it all to me. It amazes me that little children can understand and accept what Jesus did for us on the cross, that God made the world and everything in it, but intelligent scientist can't. Speaking of believing, I was able to see my Aunt Jenny who got saved several years ago. She is such an inspiration. Everytime I see her she has a smile on her face and is so excited about Jesus and what he's done in her life. Well I am too! Her daughter Arlyn and her sister Barbara are also fairly new believers and it's wonderful to see the change God has made in their lives. Jenny had some very encouraging words for us and it was really good to hear them. Sometimes you just need that. Now we have one more Aunt on my moms side that needs the Lord and I ask that you pray along with us that the Lord will reveal Himself to her in every way and show her what an awesome change can happen in her life if she would believe in Him and live her life serving Him. We are praying for you Aunt Marion!!! We love all of you!!
Okay, back to Christmas. We did make it to the Festival of Lights and had a blast. The Foote family and my brother Kelly and his pregnant wife came with us. The kids ooooed and awwwed over all the beautiful lights. Camryn kept saying, "COOOL!" It was too cute. Of course we couldn't leave without a ride on the carousel so off they went x's 2. It still wasn't enough for Taylor. She could ride horses all day. Fake or real. We ran into some friends of Kelly's who graciously gave us a big bag of marshmellows, chocolates, and graham crackers. It was an unexpected surprise. We all stood around the fire stuffing our faces with more sweets..smore sweets:)
I was sad to see the Foote's leave but I knew they wanted to spend Christmas at their house for the first time this year. I don't blame them at all for that but I miss them terribly. The girls did spend the night at our house while the boys went fishing so it was like a grown up sleep over. FUN FUN! I haven't shared a room with my sister in like 14 yrs or something.
My girls had a great Christmas. I think they got everything they wanted and more. Santa brought Taylor a big doll house and she didn't even acknowledge it for the longest time. Now she plays with it all the time and it's really cute listening to her pretend to be a mom. Taylor also got a bike, a cupcake maker and about a million other things. Camryn racked up too. I think her favorite toys are the ones Taylor got but that's just fine with me.
Both girls got toy overload with all the presents from the grandparents. The one she loves the most is her big wheel. Do you remember having one of those? I do. I remember when I had my heart surgery they had one in the play room. I would ride it up and down the halls as fast as I could. Every time I passed the nurses station, a nurse would jump out and give me hugs and kisses. I ate it up! Taylor rides the big wheel all over the house. I don't think she even walks anymore. Camryn got a sweet ride too. It's decked out with music, noisy buttons and a mirror. She looks like such a big girl in that car.
I mentioned earlier that I am no longer nursing. My last day was on Christmas. It was and is still a bit emotional for me. Camryn is adjusting well, as long as I don't take her into my room first thing in the morning. I learned that very quickly. She cried, screamed, hit me and would not drink anything. Now my mornings start even earlier. I have to pick her up and take her straight to the table for breakfast. If I do anything different, she pitches a fit. That's just my little Cammie.
I would like to brag on myself for a second. I have been working out for about 15 min every night for almost a month. This may not sound like much but it's a big deal for me. I'm actually enjoying it and Jason even bought me the adjustable weights I had been wanting. He made sure to tell me that this would not have been his choice for my gift and that he doesn't think I need them at all. He just got them because I wanted them. He's so funny. He's such a man covering all his bases.
Taylor will turn 5 in 2 days. I won't even go there. Another Christmas, weaning and now my oldest turns 5...that's just too much for me to talk about right now. We are celebrating her bday on Saturday and hope to have pics soon. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year.
This blog is dedicated to Shannon for reminding me that I don't update my blog as much as Tara:)

Taylor's Voting Advice

2008-11-04T16:53:00.000-08:00

We were on our way to vote today when I told Taylor what I was doing. She replied, "Remember it's Mccain Momma, NOT Rock Obama." Well Taylor I do hope Mccain Rocks Obama's world tonight!

Sound the alarm!

2008-11-02T17:27:00.001-08:00

No, I didn't set off our fire alarm. We visited our Fire Museum with several of our friends on a very rainy day. We saw all different kinds of fire trucks and the kids were able to slide down a pole. Taylor had a blast with her friends and Camryn was able to roam around on all fours. That makes for a good day in her book.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-11-02T16:47:00.000-08:00

It's a cat! Can't you see it?!

I have to give him credit. He was very close.
Closer than Jamie:) Nice booty, baby!

Gotta love those forced smiles.

She'll pose with any horse.

Daddy and his big girl picking out the
perfect pumpkin.

Cute

As long as no one is looking...

I had to put this one in cause he's so hot!

The sun was a little bright.

All 4 of us.

Last Sunday we went to the local Pumpkin Patch with our wonderful friends Tara, Jamie, Grace, and Moli. We had a great time picking out a pumpkin, letting the daddy's attempt to prove their masculinity by tossing balloons at a pumpkin, and feeding the cows on the hayride. Neither one of the dads were able to win us a free pumpkin but it was fun watching them try. I got a good lick on the back by one of the cows and Camryn was clinging to Jason's shirt while the cows showed off their enormous tongues. Taylor had lots of fun playing with her friends and most of all...seeing horses. She can never get enough. The next day, Taylor and I carved a cat on our pumpkin. We did an okay job. I'll try something a little easier next year. Pumpkin carving takes forever!

Tag-I'm it!

2008-10-31T11:07:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Tara just tagged me to share a few random facts about myself. I'm sure none of you are interested but I'm going to do it anyway so I can tag a few people. Here we go..
1. I was born with a hole in my heart and at 6yrs of age I had to have open heart surgery. We went to Birmingham, AL because the procedure was not yet done at MUSC. During this time my parents took me to the first movie I can remember seeing..Yentel. I don't know if that's how you spell it but I do remember seeing a naked person. I don't think my parents knew that would happen. I also experienced my first vibrating bed. Just stick a quarter in and see what happens.
2. My second toe is longer than the rest. It kind of freaks some people out but I personally think its beautiful.
3. Jason first kissed me in our pastor's driveway. Yep, Pastor Jack helped move our relationship right along. He must of been okay with it because he married us 9yrs later.
4. I used to not want kids. When I got married I thought maybe one would be okay. Now I'm not sure what number I'll stop at and I absolutely love being a mom.
5. I ran a mile for the first time at the age of 31. I ran for about a month and then decided I needed a new hobby. Any suggestions?
Wow, this is easier than I thought. I have so many more things to share but I'll spare you all. Now I get to tag 3 people! Hmmmm. I guess they need a blog.

Cindy
Carissa
Joy

1st Birthday Bash

2008-10-13T10:31:00.001-07:00

MMMM

Me? Making a mess? Noooo!

Taylor, look at me!

My baby holding her baby.

Happy Birthday to you....

Okay Okay, this is MY day. Back off!

Take this stupid hat off!

That's better. Now I can eat.

Okay, so here I am already tearing up and I've just started this post. Why is the first birthday so hard for me?! Sometimes I just don't understand why God has chosen me of all people to be the mommy of 2 healthy, beautiful, smart,sweet girls. At the same time, I'm so grateful for them and pray all the time that I will be able to raise Godly children who live their lives to serve Christ in all they do rather than let the world influence them. It's a scary world out there and it just keeps getting worse. I want my children to have a solid foundation to stand on from the very beginning. Anyway, this past year has been a bit crazy for us for many reasons and Camryn coming into our lives has been the best thing to happen to us this year by far. She is an amazing little girl. I would say she is high maintenance because of having the easiest child in the world first(Taylor). Some of my friends just laugh when I say Cammie is high maintenance. Well, she's high maintenance for me! Example- she prefers to be fed rather than feed herself. She doesn't want it from my fingers either. No, she wants it on a utensil. If she is feeding herself and starts to get messy, she will cry until someone runs to the kitchen to give her a utensil. She ate her bday cake with a spoon. What one year old eats her Smasher cake with a spoon? Another example- she has been throwing temper tantrums for months. I had no idea someone so little could manipulate a grown up the way she does. If she doesn't get her way, she screams like the little girl she is, spreads her legs and lays her forehead on the ground. She'll stay like that for a while too. I've given in a few too many times which I'm sure doesn't help the situation but she's so darn cute. She hates being confined. The car seat is her least favorite thing to sit in. She cries almost every time I put her in it. She expects to be carried everywhere like a queen. It seems like every time I look at her she claps her hands then holds them out as if to say, "Well, you're standing right there. You might as well pick me up so I don't have to dirty up my knees.". She used to cry every time I put her in the bath tub but now she loves it. Apparently it helps her bowel movements slide right out. I can't tell you how many times we've had to evacuate to tub due to her "submarines"(as daddy would call them). Let's see, there is also the whole nursing thing which she is very attached to. I decided not to start weaning her until after her birthday so we will begin that painful process next weekend. When she is ready for milk, if given the opportunity she will attempt to rip my shirt off. If someone else is holding her, she will cry and stare me down. Well, not me...my milkers. So because I never had to deal with all of this when Taylor was a baby, I feel that my second baby is high maintenance. How boring it would be if both children had the same personalities though. I love every minute of being their mommy. They make me laugh harder than anyone ever could.

You know every mom has to brag on their baby's accomplishments so here they come....

She can say...Mama, Dada, Poppa, Mimi, Tiger, Weee, Wow, Tay Tay, Taylor, More, All Done, What's that, No no

she knows some sign language but I haven't been real good at keeping up with it. I think she's communicating just fine without it.

she has 4 teeth. 2 up top and 2 on the bottom

She is crawling and pulling up. she even started squatting but is still not walking. Probably because I can't resist that "hold you" look.

She loves to take things out of containers and put them back in. Usually this involves my purse or a drawer she's not supposed to be in.

If you ask her a question, she will shake her head yes or no. I have proof on video.

She and her sister absolutely adore one another. They are going to be BFF's. No doubt!

Camryn had her well check today and she checked out just fine. She is very healthy but she is a little thing. She weighs 19lbs, 30inches long and her head is 18inches(75%, Uncle Kelly should be proud:)

A few things I love about my one year old....

Her dimples

The way she wets her whistle before it's time to nurse

The way she yells Dada when he comes home from work

When she looks up at her big sis and signs "hold you".

Those open mouth kisses...priceless

The way her clothes get too small too fast

The way she holds onto my neck so tight before she goes into the nursery

The way she sticks her little booty up in the air when she sleeps.

The way she rests her head on my chest when she's sleepy.

The way she sucks her two fingers.

The way she and Taylor play together

The way she lays down in front of us to get her back scratched

Playing Peek a boo with her dress

How excited she gets when Taylor says "I'm gonna get you".

The way she starts my day off with a smile and ends it with eyes that say
"I love you Mommy"

She melts my heart!

Happy Birthday Camryn!

2008-10-11T04:58:00.000-07:00

Today is my baby's one year birthday. We won't actually celebrate until tomorrow, but Jason and I have sang Happy Birthday to her first thing this morning(after her morning milk). She gave a big dimply snaggle toothed smile. I love her smile. It's always such a treat to see her smile because she has that serious Daddy look all the time. We had pictures taken yesterday for her birthday and we also had fall and Halloween pics taken as well. I can't wait to get them. It's the first time Camryn has ever had her pics taken professionally. Yes, I am a very slack mom. Camryn and Taylor both did a great job posing for the camera. Camryn did try to eat everything that was put in front of her like fake apples, fake flower petals, pumpkins, leaves, and even the pink bow on her bunny outfit. She tried to crawl away almost every time I sat her down but the lady managed to get some really cute pics. Jason and I took Camryn to Toys R Us to get her birthday balloon and crown. She tore the crown almost immediately and was amazed by the balloon. She is playing with it right now. I would tell you all about her first year but we are taking her to breakfast this morning so I've got to go get ready. Plus I just don't feel like getting all emotional this early in the morning. I'll post some pics of her birthday party this week. For now, Happy Birthday Camryn. Mommy, Daddy and Tay Tay love you very much. We couldn't imagine our lives without you. Love you bunches!

Camryn's Vacation

2008-09-27T12:41:00.000-07:00

Camryn's vacation was a little different from ours. She had fun being tortured by the girls, sucking her toes, sleeping, and still thinking SHE is the only princess in the world.

Torture Chamber

Daddy's Sleeping Beauty

A little toe action

"Who is this chick? Doesn't she know I'm the only Princess in here?"

More Disney!!

2008-09-27T12:32:00.000-07:00

Biker Babes

Princess Taylor and Princess Jasmine

Princess Taylor & Princess Ariel

Princess Taylor & Cinderella

Princess Taylor & Sleeping Beauty

Taylor was soo excited to meet the princesses. She couldn't wait to get their autograph and take a picture with them. In my own mommy opinion, those princesses didn't hold a candle to mine!

Disney!!

2008-09-27T12:16:00.000-07:00

Jungle Book

Winnie the Pooh ride

What's vacation without a little chocolate

The Girls

The cutest mouse I've ever seen

We are back from Disney and wishing we could have stayed in that beautiful, new, completely furnished house. Oh well, back to reality. I guess a finished house was too big of a wish even for Disney World. Anyway, we had a blast. Cindy, Billy and Libby met us at our resort and spent the whole week with us. We hit Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot and Downtown Disney. The girls had dinner with the princesses, we went swimming, shopping...we did a little bit of everything. It was sooo much fun-and exercise. I think Billy had a completely different definition for the word vacation. Here are some pics. I hope you enjoy.

2008-09-15T13:08:00.003-07:00

Chocolate cupcakes...a girl after mommy's heart

See my teeth!

I get crazy hair when my mommy bathes me.

Picture perfect

I love my girls! They are the sweetest in the world. This month they started school and seem to be enjoying it. I, on the other hand, started working at their preschool. I'm trying to be positive about working again so here it goes... I'm thankful to have a job and to work with friends who I love dearly. That's all I have for now.
We are about to take a 6 day trip to Disney. Jason and I are probably more excited about it than the kids because we get to spend a whole week together. I'm even excited about getting home because I have big plans for Jason and the house:) We'll tell him about it after vacation.
I've started painting the living room and dining room. After a terrible choice in color, I decided to go with a color that I should have started with 3 years ago. Thanks for the color Julie! It looks GREAT! I'll have to post pics when it's finished. I guess you can check back in another year or two. Actually, Jason says he'll have a lot of the cosmetic stuff done by Christmas. Please join me in encouraging him in this process.
Well, I guess the next time I post on the blog will be from Disney. I can't wait!

My Girls

2008-09-15T13:08:00.002-07:00

Camryn has Daddy's devilish look

Camryn is getting her first taste of a popsicle

MMMMMM!!!

No, I'm the Princess!

Taylor loves giving Cammie a back scratch.

Happy Labor Day

2008-08-29T11:46:00.001-07:00

I'm celebrating my Labor day by chasing my little Camryn. Yes, today she started crawling. She isn't getting very far yet, but you don't have to go far in my house to get into something. She's tried eating plastic, paper, shoes, and dried up play-doh. Okay, maybe I need to clean up a little. She is crawling around with a nice red scratch on her cheek. Taylor decided to try writing on her with a pen. First of many I'm sure. Okay, I've had enough for today. I'm putting them to bed now.

Orphans Ticket Home Gala

2008-08-29T11:46:00.000-07:00

I know most of you who read this blog also reads my sisters. Just in case you don't, please go to www.followthefeet.blogspot.com Her friend in Texas is putting on a huge gala for orphans and they are encouraging everyone who has been affected by adoption or have any passion for orphans in any way to participate. Even though we don't live in San Antonio, there are many ways we can help out. My sister adopted her little girl from China and is in the process of adopting another girl from Ethiopia. I can't imagine our family without Libby and I can't wait to see my next niece. Even though God has not laid it on our hearts to adopt, we can help orphans all over the world through this gala. I hope you take time to pray about what God would have you do to help. I can't wait to see how the Orphans Ticket Home Gala goes. May God bless it and everyone involved!

Cindy and Libby Visit Charleston

2008-08-19T18:08:00.001-07:00

Libby with her beautiful smile

Cindy and Libby

Us minus a 4yr old who didn't want her picture
to be taken.(imagine that)

Taylor and Libby cruisin in the wagon

Cindy and Libby came to visit us a couple of weeks ago. We all had so much fun! We spent the day at the beach, played at a park on Daniel Island, went shopping, ate and visited family and friends. I always love it when Cindy comes to town. I don't get to see her as often as would like so it's a real treat when she comes. Libby has grown up so much. She speaks very clearly and is extremely expressive. Those full lips make it even cuter. As soon as we picked her up at the airport, Libby said "You wanna go to the beach and play in the sand and find sheshells? You wanna do dat?". It was very very cute. I knew right then that we were going to have a blast. Taylor and Libby played so much that they were sick of each other by the last day. They fussed and argued with each other all morning so we knew it was time for "personal space". Although their trips here always seem too short, it wasn't as hard seeing them go this time. We are going to see them in a couple of weeks at DISNEY!! I can't wait to share those pics with all of you. My guess is that Taylor will only be in a few of the pics with a half smile, Camryn will have a look of fear and Libby will have some silly look on her face. It's going to be so much fun. Wish you were going too!!!!!!!!!

Camp Harmon

2008-08-19T18:08:00.000-07:00

Peek A Boo

Taylor rocking on the porch

Jason and Camryn at Looking Glass Falls

Taylor took this pic-not bad for 4yr old

We had a great time in the mountains this past weekend. Camp Harmon is a lodge that Jason and I have been going to since we were in the singles class at church. The last time we went Taylor was about 8 months old so I thought we were due for another trip. The weather was great until we decided to take a trip out to Looking Glass Falls. The bottom dropped out and it poured down rain for a while. We finally decided to just go for it anyway. We got a couple of good pics there and at the lodge. One cute thing Taylor said on the way up there was "Does the mountain have a door?". Apparently she thought the mountains looked like they do in cartoons-big rocks with a door that we could walk through. It's so funny how little minds work. The cabins are a bit rugged so when we drove up, the look on Taylor's face was priceless. She was thinking, "Oh my gosh mom! You are NOT going to make me stay in that place all weekend.". When we walked in, the first thing she said was, "Where is the TV?". But she adjusted quickly and had a great time. She can't wait to go back.

10 Months Already?

2008-08-12T18:10:00.000-07:00

Mommy and her baby

Cool as a cucumber

Happiness before the bathing

Chillin in the pool

Family portrait

Yep, my little girl is 10 months now. The first 4 months I thought she wouldn't grow up fast enough. Now she's growing too fast and she hasn't even started crawling. Camryn is really catching on to her sign language. It's the cutest thing ever. She laughs just like her sister(screams just like her too). She waves at everyone to make sure she has been seen. Of course, when people pay attention to her she buries her face in my chest like she's shy. Yeah right. She's just playing them. She soaks up every bit of attention she gets. Camryn is a bit of a picky eater when it comes to her veggies. Anything else, she will scarf down like a little piglet. Her favorite foods are bananas, strawberries, puffs, and Gerber cereal bars. She is still nursing and is now figuring out how to find the milk. Not such a good thing in public places. I am a little concerned about one thing. She seems to be drawn toward....horses. YIKES! Another one?!!! I don't think I can take it. She will have a pile of toys in front of her but if there is a horse within reach..she grabs it. She can even make a high pitched horse sound. It looks like we'll be moving to a farm in the future. Just call Jason 'Old Mcdonald'. Camryn can say Da Da, Ma Ma, Tay Tay, No No, Duh (for duck), Duh(for dog), Duh(for monkey-not really sure about that one). She can do the animal sounds for horse, dog, tiger and monkey. She feeds herself very well and loves her sippy cup. She's beginning to pull herself up to her knees but hasn't gotten much further than that. It's fine with me because we're going to the mountains this weekend and there isn't a whole lot of room for her to crawl around. She has four teeth. Two on top and two on the bottom. They are super cute. The poor girl has my two top teeth (big) but she also has a big gap between them. It really is adorable when she smiles. She is very ticklish, loves playing in the pool, but hates getting a bath. Her hair sticks up in the back like a peacock and is growing fast. The Dr says she is long and lean. I think she weighed 17pds at 9 months and was 28inches long. She still has those fat rolls though. Gotta love em! I have lots more to say but I'll leave them for another time. I just want eveyone to know that I love my girls a whole bunch and am so happy they are a part of my life. I love you Taylor. I love you Camryn.

A Makeup Over

2008-07-21T20:18:00.006-07:00

Reluctant to take a picture.

She got over that real fast!

Me and my big girl.

Occasionally Taylor and I will get bored enough to bring out the make up, bows, hairbands, etc.. and do what she calls "A Makeup Over". So as you can see, I made her over real good. Don't worry, I got my fair share as well. You just can't tell with these pics. You should have seen her on the bed workin it with her Cindy Lopper hair. She's so crazy!

He Graduated!!! Finally!!!

2008-07-21T20:18:00.005-07:00

Yes, Taylor picked it out.

Jason and his mommy

Jason and Mama Kraft

Jason and Mama Bowick

Pretending to read cards while hoping for big bucks.

Yes, Jason graduated back in May and I am just now posting it. He has his Associates in Civil Engineering and will be working on getting his Survey license. We are so very proud of him. It only took about 14 years but at least he finished. He is now working for a construction company and is in charge of their GPS system. It sounds pretty cool and he seems to enjoy it. I'm just glad he has a job!

Big Sis vs Little Sis

2008-07-21T20:18:00.004-07:00

A loving sister can be a bit overwhelming at times.

Oh no, here it comes.

I wonder if she can kiss me without covering my air passages.

Ouch, you're squeezing me too hard!

Do we have to do this in public too?

Taylor has got to be the most loving sister in the world. Camryn may look annoyed but she really does look up to big sis. They adore each other. I guess the fighting is yet to come.

Camryn's Progress

2008-07-21T20:18:00.003-07:00

Camryn is now 9 months.. I think. Julie, how old is Ella? Ella and Camryn had a race to see who could get out of mommy's belly first. Unfortunately for me, Ella won. Camryn waited another 3 days. She is stubborn just like her daddy. Ella is now running marathons while Camryn sits on her little rump with little desire to move anywhere. She is however progressing in other areas. She says da da, ma ma, and all done. She even said tiger once. She knows the sounds of a dog and a tiger(it's very funny-sounds evil). She also knows the signs for eat, more, all done and bye bye. They are not perfect but I'm her mommy and I understand her perfectly. I'm finding out that she a much more picky eater than Taylor ever was but I should have expected that. They are quite different. Okay, she's screaming. Another poop between the cheeks I presume.

Random Pics

2008-07-21T20:18:00.002-07:00

Another dream fulfilled.

Camryn and her peeps.

Camryn pretending to choke.

She realized mommy wasn't falling for it.

Taylor surfing a lizard at the zoo.

Being Silly

2008-07-21T20:18:00.001-07:00

Cool Cat!
WHATZ UUUPPP!
Daddy nursing Camryn
Hey ya'll!
Blue eyed girl.

Things that make me smile

2008-07-21T20:18:00.000-07:00

I think a lot about being a mother of two. I think of it being a lot of work. It's hard sometimes but the good always outweigh the bad. I love my girls. Every time I turn around, they make me laugh. I was so nervous before I had Camryn. I didn't think that I would be able to be a good mom to two kids. I was scared that Taylor would try to smother Camryn with a pillow in the middle of the night or something crazy like that. Never did I imagine them absolutely adoring each other but that is exactly what has happened. When I see them playing together, I think of me and my sister. I think of all the fun things we did together and how close we've stayed over the years even though we are hundreds of miles away. I'll always remember those nights when we used to play around and giggle late at night. Dad would come in and tell us to keep it down. "I don't want to hear one more peep out of you." Of course, Cindy and I would boldly yet quietly say "Peep Peep". Thinking back and knowing what I do now, it had to have brought a little smile to his face. These things put a smile on mine....

Taylor dresses up and holds a dance recital every day in our living room. She dances the best she can and is very proud to shake her booty. The poor kid has no idea she came from a family of no coordination and even less rhythm.

I'll be cleaning up around the house and all of the sudden get a very nervous feeling in my gut. You know the feeling-when the kids are quiet but it's not nap time. I went to check on them the other day and just knew it wasn't going to be good. I turn the corner to see Camryn laying on her side propped up on a pillow and Taylor is behind her giving her a back scratch. How sweet. I don't know why I'm always expecting the worst.

Of course there was the time when Taylor walked out of her room looking as white as a ghost. What have you been doing? I asked. Nothin she says. I opened the bedroom door and there was baby powder everywhere. Not just the floors and the bed. She opened up drawers too.

Camryn has this thing she does when she doesn't like what I'm feeding her. She closes her lips tight and shakes her head violently. Usually the food goes flying off the spoon but mommy is persistant so I try again. She opens up her mouth and while I'm thinking about how successful I am and how wonderful my baby is, she spits everything out. I get food in my eyes, hair, on my shirt, my legs, pretty much everywhere. I look up to fuss at her and she flashes her dimples. What's a mom to do.

One day when Taylor was around 2 years old, I had to run out to the car to get something. It was raining outside and she didn't want me to go but I did anyway. I came back in with water dripping off my head and Taylor looked very upset. She said, "No no God. No cry on momma's head.". Cute Cute!

Camryn is a bit of a drama queen. She is quite different from Taylor. Taylor could just sit around all day and be content but not Camryn. She can't stand to have a messy diaper. She'll be sitting in her highchair so quietly when out of no where she screams at the top of her lungs. The first couple of times she did this, I thought she was hurt. She was so upset and the crying got worse and worse. Finally, I smelled something. I pick her up and she won't even let her legs down. She stays in the sitting position until her diaper is off so her little cheeks won't squish the lovely present she has left me. Stinker!

My two girls absolutely adore each other. They love to get into a laughing match. I don't know if they are seeing who can last the longest or who can be the loudest but it makes everyone around them laugh too. They are such hams!

I walked into the playroom the other day and it was a disaster. I called Taylor in there and said "Look at this mess." She quickly replied "The dog did it." Nice try Taylor. We don't even HAVE a dog.

Whenever I'm a little late nursing Camryn she gets quite fussy. As we get closer to where I usually feed her, she gets this split personality. She cries, then laughs, then cries, then laughs. It's the funniest thing. She's upset it's taking so long but she knows there is a prize at the end. Wouldn't it be funny if our husbands were like that? Now that I think of it...

Anyway, I just thought I'd share a few of the many things that my girls do to put a smile on my face. Whenever you have a bad day and the kids are going crazy, just remember all the things they do to make you smile. I bet the good days outweigh the bad for you too.

Conversing with God

2008-04-28T11:57:00.000-07:00

The other day I was on my way to change yet another poopy diaper when I saw Taylor talking to herself on the couch. A couple of minutes later Taylor came into Camryn's room and said "Momma, I've been talking to God." I asked her what they were talking about. She said that God told her (in a deep girly voice) "I'm gonna put a horsie in your back yard." He hasn't discussed this with me, but who am I to argue with God.

Funny Bunny

2008-03-17T11:39:00.002-07:00

Daddy and his girls.

Mommy and her girls.

How pretty is she?

Hippity Hoppity

There are no words to describe how cute she is.

I bought some Easter bunny ears for the girls and they took turns trying them on. I don't think they could get any cuter. On Saturday, the church had an easter egg hunt. Taylor and her friends had a blast as baby bunny looked on.

Taylors First Soccer Practice

2008-03-17T11:39:00.001-07:00

Coach gave them blue gatorade but I'm sure

you can't tell.

Taylor's fans...Poppa B, Mimi, Uncle Rob, and

Daddy.

STTTRRREEETTTCCCHHH!!!

She'll be a pro in no time.

Happy 5 month birthday Camryn!

2008-03-11T06:34:00.000-07:00

Our little pink jailbirds.

Guess who staged this pic.

Taylor and her Uncle Kelly.

Thumbsucker #2.

Bathtime is soo much fun. She loves it:)

Mimi and Camryn

Okay, I took a little too long to post again but in my defense, it's been crazy around here. First of all I want to say Happy Birthday to my sweet Camryn. I can't believe it's been that long. She is growing so fast. At her 4 month appt. she was 24inches and 13 1/2 lbs. She loves to eat any kind of baby food. She eats about 4 jars a day and drinks around 5-6 oz of milk per day. She's a little oinker. She is rolling over both ways now and I believe she is teething. There is slobber everywhere and let's just face it, 5 poopy diapers a day isn't normal.
Taylor is starting soccer practice tonight. She was really excited about it at first but now she wants to be a cheerleader and play tennis. So we'll start off with soccer, sign her up for tennis and then she will cheer for upwards basketball at the church in November(I think). Charleston Baptist is looking into Upwards Soccer for next year so that will be lots of fun. Daddy may even coach.
Now for some deeper stuff. As many of you know, Jason was laid off a second time and he has really struggled with it this time. It's so hard to find a job in his field these days. God did bless him with 3 options and he has had a hard time deciding what he should do. He didn't feel he had a clear answer from God but he went ahead and accepted a job at a local construction company. Please pray that Jason gets a peace about this job and that the Lord will keep Satan from putting doubt and fear in his heart. I believe he has made the right choice and will do an incredible job but only time will tell. Please pray as well that he will not be let go again and will have the opportunity to learn his new job and grow in knowledge.
Yesterday I got a phone call saying my brother was taking his wife to the emergency room. She had a severe headache, tingling in one side of her face and her arm had gone numb. Of course, we rushed to the hospital to see what was going on. By that time, the majority of her symptoms were gone but they went ahead and did some tests. They found nothing(typical story). They did say there was a chance she had a very small stroke or it could be MS(very very small chance). She will be following up with her doctor so please keep Carissa in your prayers. There is obviously something going on and she is only 22 years old.
My dad has had a lot of problems lately with dizzy spells, heart palpatations, ear and neck pain, etc. They ruled out the heart a while back but recently found that he had numerous bulging discs. He had a nerve block several days ago so we'll see how that goes.
My grandma has had the shingles for a couple of weeks and has not been feeling well so pray for her as well.
There is so much more but I'll spare you the boring details. Now on the lighter side. Jason has received his Associates in Arts and will be getting his Associates in Science this semester. It's been a long time a comin!! We are putting hardi plank on the shed in the back because Jason was embarrassed that the neighbors had to look at that "nasty old thing". The kitchen is fully functioning. It's not complete but under the circumstances I'd say we're doing pretty good.
My brother, Kelly, is starting a part time job leading worship for his church and is looking forward to working full time with them this summer. He's been waiting for this for a long time.
Our friends Tara and Jamie came home from China the other day with their new daughter Moli. She is a doll and from what Tara says "a firecracker". I'm glad Tara has two firecrackers. It's good training for her next half marathon. She won't have to ride the golf cart the rest of the way in. Maybe she finished that race... I can't remember:) My friend Joy just announced she will be having a 4th baby. We are so excited for you guys. I can't wait for you to be bigger than me this summer:)
I just started a Beth Moore study on the book of Daniel. It sounds like it's going to be very informative and I can't wait to see what God is going to teach me. We have a new play group starting this week at a kids gymnasium called Rollie Pollie. Taylor loves it and so do all the other kids. Hopefully this will be a good opportunity for us to get some lost friends to join us and plant some seeds from there. Now I can't wait to see how long it takes me to post again. The pics will come soon. It's so exciting isn't it? I bet I'm keeping all of you on the edge of your seats. Ta Ta for now.
"...Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, For wisdom and power belong to Him."
Daniel 2:20.

The Family-2008

2008-01-02T13:38:00.000-08:00

It's a new year and I've made my resolution. I'm starting this blog and I'm going to try my best to keep it somewhat up to date. It may not sound like much, but for those of you who know me it's a pretty big deal. After all, I did just get my first digital camera for Christmas(from my wonderful husband) and my sister(Cindy) has been bugging me to post a blog for...forever so she can see updated pictures of her nieces. This is for you Cindy!!!

Last year was a bit of a roller coaster for us. I got pregnant in January and struggled for months with morning sickness(more like all day and all night sickness). We've done some major renovations to our house and I managed to live through a whole year with no kitchen. For those of you who make fun of me constantly for it, our kitchen will be done by the end of the month...maybe. Jason has been busy with work, renovating, school, side work, and fatherhood so I feel like we've missed out on a lot of family time. He's such a hard worker and a great father. I'm pretty sure this year will be much better. Jason is taking his last course this semester and will get his Civil Engineering Technology Degree in April. I'm so proud of him!! His job is still a day by day thing. After being laid off by Beazer, he got a job with an engineering company and is still doing land development. The problem is the housing market. If it gets any worse, he could lose his job all over again. God really came through for us by providing this job for Jason. No matter what happens, I know He has it all planned out for us-No Worries. Taylor just turned 4. Wow, how the years pass by so quickly. She is so beautifull and smart. I can't believe my little girl is getting so big. She became a big sister on October 11, 2007. Camryn Elise is now 3 months and weighs somewhere around 12lbs. She's a beauty too. She looks just like her daddy. Taylor has been wonderful with her and loves hugging and kissing the baby. Camryn prefers to have her personal space but how do you explain that to the most loving 4 yr old in the world. Anyway, that's a summary of where we've been.

Now for 2008! Like I said, my kitchen should be done by the end of the month. Jason will be done with school in April. We hope to get the majority of the renovations done and paid for by the end of this year so we can move into a bigger home next year. I'm not yet done with my family. We do plan on waiting several more years though so we can accomplish a few things. Pregnancy really puts me out. As my friend Tara would say, it turns me into an 80yr old woman. Jason will be taking his tests to become a Professional Surveyor and has talked about starting his own business. We'll see where the Lord leads us. Taylor won't start school this year but will continue with Mother's Morning Out on Tues. and Thurs.. I plan to nurse Camryn until she turns one. Some may think I'm crazy but I know it's what's best for my little girl. Hopefully I'll be able to lose the last couple of pounds my pregnancy so graciously left me. Until then, Jason and I have vowed to eat better and excercise more as a family. I hope to get Taylor into some Tennis lessons with her friend Grace. That should be quite fun. Well, I guess that's all for now but there will be so much more. There's never a dull moment in The Bowick Family!