Happy 2 year Birthday Evelyn!!!

Two years ago today you came into our side of this world. I wanted you so much! I could not wait to meet you and hold you in my arms. And you made your entrance into our world so easily. My birth with you was everything I could have hoped for and more. Having you at home with your Dad and my parents and Heather and Christine was exactly what I wanted and needed. There was more love in that house that day then I have ever felt before. You bring so much love and light into my life and into everyone's life you encounter. You could light up the state of Georgia with your smile and your laugh. You are truly a gift to me and your Dad. He and I may not have succeeded at marriage but we definitely succeeded at making and raising the smartest, sweetest, funniest, and silliest child ever. And you are the greatest gift that your grandparents and great grandparents have ever received. Your Grammy and Gramper love you more than anything in this world, anything. They tell me all the time how much they love you and how incredible you are to them. Your Nana never fails to mention how amazing you are when she calls me. Your Mimi and Grandpop feel the same way too. And your Gigi and George and Great Grandma Evelyn and Oma love you to pieces too! And your Uncles Paul and Stan and Aunts Karen and Vanessa all love you tons as well! You won't know for many many more years how amazing your existence is to us and what an amazing and wonderful impact you have had on all of us but that is okay. For now just know that when I rock you and bathe you and kiss you and chase you and tickle you I am in heaven. And the same goes for your Dad I am sure and your Grandparents and your Aunts and Uncles. We all love you so much!!

Happy Birthday Evie! =)

Bye Gramper

This weekend we went to Blairsville, GA to send Gramper off to hike the entire Appalachian Trail in the next 6 months. We went swimming at the hotel and we went out to eat yesterday. This morning we drove to the trail and said our goodbyes. I am so excited for my Dad but I am also sad that he'll be gone for so long. He will take a break when he is halfway done and come home for a week, that will be so great! So here are pics from this weekend.










Evelyn really loved running around the hotel room with a blanket wrapped around her like a toga. It was really cute!

Evie Loves to Cook!

Happy 4 Year Wedding Anniversary!

It's been a wonderful, crazy, hard 4 years. I am so glad to be married to Ben. Here's to a lifetime of memories and fun! This is a picture of us the night before our ring ceremony. We got married at the justice of the peace and then had a ring ceremony at my parent's 100+ yr old victorian house. We had almost all of our family and close friends at the ceremony. It was a wild, crazy, fun time. =)

New Sights

Here's some pics of us in our new house. =)






The pic above is my record of what I looked like 6 weeks pregnant with Baby #2.

p.s. I just updated "My 100" you can read it here.

Long time...

It's been a long time since I posted, sorry about that. Life has been wonderful and crazy and up and down. Mostly up. I am just going to make a list because there are too many random things happening.

1. Paul and Karen are moving to Japan on Monday. To say I am sad is true but doesn't feel strong enough. I have loved having them so close and spending time with them. They supported me so much while Ben was in Africa. And this past weekend I went to see them for the last time before they move. I know it's not forever and I know they'll be back for Christmas (yay!!!) but I will still miss them so much!!

2. School is still totally fulfilling and wonderful! I haven't made any real friends but I am slowly getting to know people. My favorite class is my Special Ed. class. The prof. is very knowledgeable and encourages us to discuss the major problems affecting education and special ed. It is fascinating!

3. I am 6 weeks pregnant as of yesterday. I had my first appt with an OB nurse yesterday. I got blood drawn for tests and I pee'd in a cup. At my next appt. I am getting a pap smear, blech! Oh well, that's just what you have to do when you are a chick. The baby is doing great as far as I can tell. The queasiness has set in for me. It seems to be linked to certain foods at this point. I know I can't eat PB&J sandwiches anymore, I get really nauseous for a few hours after. And I think bacon might be out of the game too. I ate 4 pieces of bacon this morning and I felt queasy all morning as a result. I also am tired all the time and I have to pee every hour it seems like. Even with all that stuff I am doing great, I know I could have it a lot worse.

4. Ben and I had couples therapy this past week. It was wonderful!! We both felt comfortable with our therapist and she was able to clear some things up for us even in our first session. We are going to focus on couples therapy and wait on the individual therapy.

5. Evelyn learned how to climb onto the couch last week. It has made life really interesting and occasionally heart stopping. She loves to fling herself all over the couch but sometime she misses the couch. No permanent injuries so far. But boy, they should call toddlerhood, evil-knievel-hood. This kid is fearless!

6. Grammy and Gramper are doing great at the farm. They got a new dog to keep Bonnie company on the back porch. The new dog is a little boy named Hooch. He is sweet and Bonnie loves him!

7. Ben and I are hosting our first social event in our new place. Tomorrow afternoon 2 couples and their child are coming over for a game night. The adults will be playing board games while Evelyn and the other little girl her age play with toys and such. It should be big fun and low stress.

I think that is everything for now. Have a great weekend everybody! =)

Cute Pics

Number 2?

We are trying to get pregnant with our second child. Yup, that's the big news. We are hoping to be pregnant this month, but we won't know for a few more weeks. We started to realize that Evie really needs someone to play with and share all this awesome farmness with. And it feels like the right time. We are excited and a little nervous. Two kids, holy sheep! That is a lot of responsibility, money, and sacrifice. But holy sheep, 2 kids, that is a lot of fun, love, and awesomeness. So here we go, we are taking the plunge!

Thanksgiving Camping Trip

We went camping for Thanksgiving this year. It was really fun and extremely cold. People up North may scoff at us Southerners thinking it is cold here but trust me it was cold. We ended up only staying out 1 night because it was too cold for us and way too cold for Evie. She would have loved to stay because she was having big fun. Here are some pics from our trip.

Evie scopes out the campsite.



She LOVED the beach and all the rocks!



We loved the sunshine and warmth of the heated bathrooms.



Grammy and Gramper were super happy to have their grandbaby.


Good Times!



Evie really enjoyed playing with the rocks and dirt around the camp site.




Something really cool was happening to the right.




Gigi and George and DocRom and BigBro came out to enjoy the fun.



Super close up!



Playground Fun with Daddy.




Evelyn showed off her superior soccer skills.






DocRom and BigBro took pics and enjoyed the warm campfire.




The moon was unbelievably beautiful, just amazing!




This morning we got up with the sun, cold and hungry.



Again we sought out heat by the fire.




Cuddle time in our heated tent, yay!




Group photo after breakfast.




Home, here we come!



Thank god we made it back to heated enclosed spaces!!!