SC Soldiers Wife

Joy To The World

2008-08-28T21:23:00.002-05:00

I just finished listening to Faith Hill's new single for her new album Joy To The World It's called "A Baby Changes Everything". I couldn't help but to have tears in my eyes. It's beautiful. I love Christmas music anyway. Actually, I love all kinds of music, but in particular I love the Christmas season. I love the smell of cookies baking and cinnamon scented pine cones. Fall and Winter are definitely my favorite seasons.
I've found some really great Fall/Winter recipes. I intend on posting a recipe once a week. Maybe I should say, I'll try to post a recipe per week. This year my family decided to do a family cookbook for our family reunion. I'm excited to see some of my grandmother's recipes in print. I think some of my aunts and uncles have even unearthed some of my great-grandparent's recipes. So, it will be really neat to see the book when finished. We've missed the family reunion the past couple of years. As much as I hate to say it, our reunions haven't been the same since my grandparents passed away. This year my aunts are really going our of their way to make this reunion fun. So, I'm excited we'll all be able to go.
I'm looking forward to all of our Fall activities. Also, tonight we found out my friend Jennifer is having her 4th baby. The baby is due in April. I think they are hoping for girl to even things out. This baby is going to have lots of playmates. It's seems like everyone I know is having an April baby. Congrats guys!

1st Day of School ~ For Mallory

2008-08-25T21:45:00.003-05:00

This is the response I got to taking Mallory's picture on the 1st day of school!

This is the, "Mom, I'm in 3rd grade now, and you don't take my picture on the 1st day of school." look! My little girl is really growing up. She's not a "little kid" anymore. She really was funny. I had to take her tissues, hand sanitizer, etc. into school on the 1st day. However, this year I was rushed right out the door. I guess we're too cool in 3rd grade to have our moms taking pictures. When we went to dance after the 1st day of school, one mom remarked she had to take her kids pictures coming out of school on the 1st day. She said her children wouldn't even let her walk them in. At least Mallory did let me walk her in!

Pictures As Promised ~ BB Camp

2008-08-24T17:33:00.001-05:00

Here are the pics from Mallory's BB Camp. She had lots of fun. She was able to spend time with old friends she hadn't seen in a while. I think it was a great week for her.

The Ending Pose
Mallory is the 3rd girl from the left

Wordless Wenesday: Blast's From the Past

2008-08-20T14:46:00.004-05:00

Uncle Ed

2008-08-19T17:28:00.002-05:00

I've been meaning to post this for a few days now. Richard's best friend Ed (aka Uncle Ed) recently sent me a few pictures from Iraq. He was so sweet to the kids and I while Richard was gone. Tyler thought it was so cool to get pictures from him. My favorite pics are posted above. They are of a sand storm. We're hoping to see Uncle Ed sooner rather than later! We're keeping Uncle Ed and all soldiers abroad in our thoughts and prayers.

Fun Weekend

2008-08-18T08:33:00.002-05:00

Much of the pictures I wanted to post, I took on my 35mm camera. I'll be getting those back on Thursday. So, I'll be sure to post them then. We had a lot of fun this weekend. Richard worked most of the day Saturday. Tyler went to my mema's for a little while, and I was able to spend the morning with Julie, Amber, Amanda, and Carrie. It was great to have a little girl time. Afterwards, I picked Tyler up and we headed home to wait for daddy. Then I was able to go with a friend of mine to look at her wedding dress. I have a feeling the end of this year and all of next is going to be crazy for us as far as weddings and babies are concerned. At the same time, it will be exciting. I know how much fun it was to plan my own wedding. So, I'm super excited for my friends and sister who are getting married next year.
I start my new classes in a little over a week. So, it will be back to the books for me. Mallory starts school on Tuesday, and Tyler starts a couple of weeks later. I can't believe my little girl is going into the 3rd grade. I can still remember taking her to the first day of preschool. I guess a part of you selfishly wants them to cry for you to stay. However, Mallory was quite the opposite. She marched into the classroom and started playing with all of the other children, then turned to me and said, "I'm ok. You can go now." I couldn't help but to be teary-eyed when I walked out of that school. She's so grown-up now. Now my baby will be in 4-K this year. He's so excited about school and can't wait to meet all of his new friends.
Also, there's going to be some big changes around here very soon. I'm very excited and can't wait to share all of the details with everyone. So, stick around, and I will post all of the details in a couple of weeks!

Much Better

2008-08-11T22:20:00.002-05:00

Richard seems to be much better. Although we didn't get to go on our little vacation, we did go to the water park last week, school shopping, and spent some much needed family timer together. All in all it was a great week. Today we started on some summer cleaning. I don't know if my children enjoy having to try on clothes, clean out closets, or sort through toys. However, it has to be done. Today we actually accumulated a large storage bin of items to be donated to one of our local shelters.
I will post pics of our water park adventure, Mallory's experience with her rash, and the renewal of vows ceremony I photographed this past weekend in the coming days. I had a lot of fun doing the photos for a friend's parents. They celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. It was so sweet. My sister Angela and I worked great has a team to manage the reception and the photographs. I'm so thankful to have shared such a wonderful occasion with Laurel, David, Amanda, and Melody.
Of course, thanks to my sister. She was a big help. I can't believe this time next year we'll be gearing up for her wedding. There have been times in my life where I really wondered if she would ever get married. It makes me feel old to know she's getting married, but I'm truly enjoying all of the wedding planning with her. Hopefully, we're going to take engagement pics really soon of the happy couple. So, keep checking back.

Summertime Flu

2008-08-06T22:59:00.002-05:00

Yes, I'm for real. Richard came home from work earlier this week with "flu-like" symptoms. Yesterday I was really nauseous all day and didn't really feel like eating anything. Tyler was kind of the same way. However, Richard has really taken a beating with this one. He went to bed very early today and pretty much did nothing but lounge around all day. Anybody who knows Richard knows he must be really sick to just lay around the house all day. Needless to say, this nixes our plans for Pigeon Forge and Dollywood.
I've left Mallory at Tracy's until tomorrow morning. I'm going to go and get her, and we're going to do some school shopping. I hate that he's so sick. He felt a little better this morning, but by late this afternoon he was shivering with cold chills and had a fever. I'm praying he'll get better very soon. We're going to try to make the best of his "vacation". Hopefully he'll feel better by the weekend. I have some new pics to post, but I'm much too exhausted right now. Hopefully, I will get them up in the morning.

5 Minute Moms Summer Fun

2008-08-02T18:19:00.003-05:00

Here's a summer fun entry for 5 Minute Moms! This is the weekend we picked Richard up from Ft. Bragg! Enjoy!

Settling Down

2008-07-28T21:36:00.002-05:00

Things are finally settling down around our house. I think everyone is headed in the right direction. We're all finally feeling a little better. I'm glad, because we're going on vacation next week. The next thing you know we'll be home from vacation, and Mallory will be back in school. School is starting a little later this year due to the entire state converting to the same school schedule. This means Tyler will start school a little later as well. This will be his last year at preschool. Next year he will start "big boy" school. I can't believe my baby is turning 5 later this year.

Today is my Mema's 67th birthday. The kids made her the sweetest cards, and they enjoyed a meal from Fatz while I was at school. I wanted to take a few pics of her with the kids, but the timing just didn't work out today. Hopefully, we can work that out tomorrow. Needless to say, Happy Birthday Mema!

Everybody's Sick, Except....

2008-07-26T14:12:00.004-05:00

Mallory's Arm

Tyler's Leg

Tyler's Leg

Mallory's Back

RICHARD! Of course he's not sick. LOL! However Mallory, Tyler, and I are all sick. When we went to Charleston last weekend, Tyler came down with a sore throat and a rash. Now Mallory and I have the rash and sore throat. My rash looks more like sunburn. So, the kids are definitely getting the worst of the rash. On top of everything, I have a super infected ear. The doctor is treating it as a bacterial infection due to the fact that our throat looked really bad. Plus Tyler still had a fever. There's a possibility it's still viral. Who knows at this point? You be the judge. Check out the pictures!

My Lovely Camera

2008-07-25T14:10:00.000-05:00

My camera is so lovely. It randomly formatted my disk today. Luckily, I had all of the pictures saved except the ones from Charleston. :-( Oh well better luck next time.

Isaiah's Funeral

2008-07-23T18:03:00.003-05:00

Today I witnessed one of the saddest occasions I can recall. I watched my friends hold funeral services for their baby boy. It was a beautiful service. Isaiah was such a beautiful little baby. A lady by the name of Mary sang the song "Jesus Has Rocking Chair". Before she started singing, she told the story of her own personal losses. She had lost four pregnancies of her own and her story was truly inspirational. I'm feel so fortunate to have Mallory and Tyler. However, most of you know I've suffered three pregnancy losses of my own. Today made me thank God he took my babies early and didn't let me carry them until full-term. I don't think I could have had the strength Charlie and Tonya showed today. I'm posting the song below. It's a link from youtube. Just continue pray for their hearts to be healed and for them to have strength in dealing with their loss. ">

Our Trip

2008-07-20T22:30:00.003-05:00

I promise to post about our trip tomorrow. We had a great time! However, Tyler did have to go to the doctor yesterday evening. After talking a while with Kristi, I noticed Tyler had a rash on all over. It was beginning to get worse, and I mean a lot worse. Pretty soon he looked like a tomato all over. At least this was his interpretation of his skin. Luckily we were able to find a Dr.'s Care near Folly Beach and take him there. They prescribed him meds and the rash is looking much better. I took pictures and plan to post them tomorrow. Let's just say Tyler was not a happy camper. We didn't go to church this morning due to the possibility of exposing other children. However, we made the best of our weekend.
Two exciting things happened. Up until this weekend, Tyler was petrified of the ocean. He totally surprised all of us and played quite a bit in the water and sand. He even searched through the water for shells. I was so proud of him for overcoming one of his fears. Mallory is quite the opposite. She's not afraid of anything. Saturday were walking along the sidewalk at the battery. The gentleman beside us was fishing. Mallory was very interested in this and expressed a lot of interest in fishing the next time we go to Charleston. So, she started watching the man. Finally, he had something on the line. Mallory started running his way. She stopped dead in her tracks when we both realized he had caught a SHARK! Hello a SHARK! Granted it was a baby sand shark, but a shark is a shark. What does my child do? She proceeds to pet the shark. I had to take a picture. She said, "awwww he's so soft". I was just waiting on the "Can we keep him?" question to come. Thank God it didn't, but it was still really cool to see the shark and touch him.
We came back a little early today. I had a funeral to go to in Union. So, we headed home. I just love going to Tabernacle. My grandparents were members there and most of my family from Union either are or were members there during their lifetime. The church has beautiful stained-glass windows, but my favorite part are the acoustics. Anytime someone sings or the organ plays you get what I call the "angels" singing back to you. Anybody who was in band with me remembers the "band angels". Well these are the "Tabernacle angels". It's just simply beautiful. The burial was in the cemetery where both of my grandfathers, grandmother, and various other family members are buried. It had been a long time since I went to their grave. So, I was thankful to have the opportunity to visit today.
I promise to post pics tomorrow.

Update on Our Friend and a New Prayer Request

2008-07-18T22:00:00.000-05:00

Yay! We finally made it to Charleston. We are settled in and can't wait to enjoy the weekend together as a family. We're planning on going to the beach, the market, to visit friends, and relax. I promise to post pictures when we get home. However, the laptop just isn't very cooperative with that some times. So, I'm not even going to attempt it.
Today Mallory had her camp performance. It was so cute. She did a great job. It was wonderful to see many of her friends and their parents. It was also fun to see some of my old friends. It's always great to catch up! After camp the kids headed to mema's for a couple of hours, and I enjoyed lunch at one of my favorite places (IC&CB) with Amber, Amanda, and little Ethan. I must say Mr. Ethan was so adorable. He's such a content baby. The chicken salad was yummy and the fellowship was even better. Thanks ladies!
I posted yesterday about a friend of mine. Today her baby was born. The baby was of course stillborn. I cannot imagine going through what she is having to experience. The baby was born with an abrasion on his head. They think they potentially nicked his head with the needle during her amnio causing the baby to essentially bleed to death. I know all things happen for a reason, but this family has been through so much. They have an older special needs son who is just the sweetest thing you have ever seen. So, it was a big leap of faith for them to try for baby number two. Just keep them in your thoughts and prayers. I've never been to a funeral service for a baby, and I'm kind of dreading this. I just pray they will find comfort during this difficult experience.
On top of that, today at Mallory's performance. I received news that my friend Erin from high school suffered several strokes this week. She's 26 years old, married, and a lawyer. It turns out she had a growth on her heart. This caused clots to form, which broke off and went to her brain causing the strokes. She's having a hard time right now, because her short term memory is not what it was before. She's really frustrated right now, because her profession requires her to think quickly and have great critical thinking ability. She can't do either right now, but she will slowly regain it all in due time. Right now she just needs to focus on getting better. I'm so thankful she had Erin and Leah there to help her this week. I know it helped to have her best buddies there to pull her through.
With that all said, we did receive great news today. Kristi finally had baby Shepherd! He's a whopper at 10lbs 4oz. I can't wait to visit and see him later this weekend!
I hope you all have a great weekend! Good Night!

Praying for a Friend

2008-07-17T13:11:00.003-05:00

I just received news that a friend of mine lost her baby boy, Isaiah, at full-term. She'll be placed in the hospital this evening and induced. Please be praying for this family. She's very nervous and upset over the delivery and the lost of her child. I can't imagine what they are going through right now.

My List

2008-07-17T07:11:00.003-05:00

I really did my best to right down everything I could on my index card. So here we go....

1. 8:00a.m. Alarm Rings- 1st thought...I wish Mallory could drive herself to camp.
2. 8:45a.m. Rushing everyone out the door and raising my voice louder than I should
3. Speeding on the way to camp (I've really "tried" to work on this)
4. Getting angry at the old lady blocking the drop-off area at camp
5. Speeding home (why am I speeding? I have nowhere to go)
6. While eating lunch with the kids and my sister, I became very aggravated with a not so nice or organized waitress.
7. Left smaller tip for said waitress
8. Went shopping. Granted we did go to a consignment store, but still I went shopping. I wanted to buy a purse a lady was consigning so bad. I didn't need the purse. I just wanted to buy it. Luckily for me she decided not to consign the purse. Whew!!
9. Tyler refused to get out of the swimming pool. We had to ride in Sierra's car after this, and I didn't want him to have wet swimming trunks. So, he needed to dry out for a while. After several attempts to get him out of the pool, I just said, "Fine Tyler. Take the shorts off and swim naked." Well, he showed me. He marched his little rear end out of that pool, dropped his shorts, and proceeded to swim naked. I couldn't help but laugh. However, I should have tried a better approach.
10. I made a conscious effort on the way home not to speed. I think I did a pretty good job.
11. Went to bed without finishing the laundry. (I know it's not a biggie, but I did tell Richard I would get it done)

I know there were tons more all day long. It's kind of hard to write everything down. There are days I surely wouldn't want to have to do this. More to come....

Bubble Gum on an Index Card

2008-07-15T22:49:00.003-05:00

Mallory and I were reading a book tonight. The main character in the book is a smart elementary aged boy. However, he's often too smart for his own good. When entering the 5th grade, he is assigned the teacher (Mrs. Granger) that everyone dreads. Mrs. Granger is a stickler for all of the rules and even has very creative ways of punishing her students for breaking the rules. If you are caught chewing gum in class, you must put the gum on an index card and pin the card to your shirt. You must wear the card and the gum the remainder of the day. On top of that the card and gum must go home to your parents to be signed.
I began thinking after we finished reading. What if every time we made a mistake or did something wrong we had to wear it on our shirt for everyone to see? Would we ever go anywhere? Could we actually admit we had done wrong? Can you imagine all of the index cards we would all have to wear? If you placed them all on your shirt for everyone to see would be be judgemental of your mistakes? I've known and do know people who are so consumed and worried about judging everyone else and finding their faults and mistakes, they can't take time to sit back and evaluate oneself. For there is only one judge and one jury. I'm so thankful we have a forgiving God! We'd all be in trouble. I'm so thankful we can have forgiveness for our mistakes and our sins. I'll be first to admit I've made plenty and will probably make hundreds more in my lifetime. I intend on posting more on this idea, but I wanted to throw it out there for all of you to think about. I also intend on taking an index card and writing down everything I do tomorrow that "breaks the rules" or is not in my best interest. Then I plan to post it! Say a prayer. This should be interesting!

Catching You Up

2008-07-15T22:28:00.003-05:00

It has been such a busy few days in our house. So, here's one of those catch you up kind of blogs. We're definitely enjoying summer and being together as a family this year. Richard has even braved taking the kids swimming by himself. Mallory is going to Blue Belle Camp this week (I know Amanda and Amber are thrilled about this one! Ha! Ha!). She seems to have had a great time. She knows several of the girls there. It seems like camp is always more exciting when you have friends there.
We've been swimming a lot here lately. Nonni and Paps have been on vacation this week and have kindly left us the keys to their house. We're loving the free reign on the pool. Granted we are welcome to swim anytime we want. Tyler is becoming more confident in the water. Perhaps he's becoming a little too confident. He thinks he's an expert. Let's just say I have to keep my eyes on him. On the other hand, Mallory can swim like a fish. She's constant cutting flips, doing "water gymnastics" (her interpretation of gymnastics in the water), and trying to swim long distances under the water. My dad's pool is in ground, and she's even braved jumping off of the diving board. On top of it all, Mallory has created her version of the "cannonball". I will definitely have to take a picture of this and post it.
Richard and I finally decided and booked our vacation. Don't ask why it took so long, but we just couldn't decide. His work schedule has been so hectic, and we really wanted to conserve money for our late anniversary/honeymoon we never took and our planned trip to Disney next year. I'll post some details about the vacation later this week.
We are however taking a little weekend trip this Friday. We're going to Charleston. I'm so excited because I haven't been in a while. We plan to take the kids over to the beach for a little bit and to the market. This is the first Saturday Richard has had off since coming home, and we're all looking forward to spending time together as a family. We won't get to leave until late Friday, because Richard has to work, but it works out great for me. Mallory has her dance camp performance that morning, and I'm have a lunch date with some friends. Let's just cross our fingers I have the kids ready and the car packed by the time he gets off work. Ahhh....I better get started!!!!!

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

2008-07-04T21:06:00.002-05:00

The Cake

Tyler opening mommy's presents

Kennedy and Mallory

Kennedy and Tyler

The Family

Tyler and MiMi

Wednesday was my 28th birthday. I'm fortunate to have several friends with birthdays around mine. So, I'm not alone in being reminded I'm not getting any younger. My husband is the best though. He actually invited everyone to dinner and ordered a birthday cake for me. Now for those of you who don't know anything about Richard, he's just not the planner. I'm always the one who has to organize things. He'll help out with anything I ask him to do, but he usually is not the person to plan everything out. So, I'm very impressed with his effort. Ha! Ha! It was a nice birthday. I loved spending time with family.

Three Little Fish

2008-07-03T11:12:00.004-05:00

I know I said we were going to go to see the free movie at the mall on Tuesday, but that just never happened. Instead, the kids wanted to go straight to the pool. I'm glad we did. The day was so relaxing and fun. The kids pretty much swam on and off all day. We had a great picnic lunch outside on the deck. Then it was right back in the pool. I'm so glad Kennedy is here for most of the summer. Mallory just loves being with her so much. Tyler was a little unsure about the pool at first today. I'm not sure why. He's been in a couple of times this summer, but today the water felt a little cooler than normal. So, maybe the temperature of the water had something to do with it. Of course, Mallory and Kennedy had no issues with the water. They jumped right in and began to swim like fish. They spent most of the day diving for pool toys, doing gymnastics in the water(quite a sight), and floating on their floats. We can't wait to go back. Also, we are finalizing our plans for vacation. The kids are really excited about going on a vacation. I'll give you all the details as soon as we are finished.

Kennedy, Tyler, and Mallory

Funny Faces

Trying to float on the noodle longer than Kennedy

You can't catch me.
Watch out I might fall asleep

Swim Faster Tyler

He's trying I promise

Yay!~They got him finally

Like Father, Like Son

2008-07-02T21:43:00.003-05:00

Tyler loves the hat for some reason.

I took the pictures after church on Sunday. Tyler just loves when Richard is in his uniform. He thinks it's the coolest thing in the world. Of course Richard does always tell Tyler that he's "going to play Army". So, I don't think Tyler really has a clue as to what Richard really does in that uniform. Needless to say he loves his daddy dearly, and I love both of my boys to pieces!

A Visit With Papa Steve and Nana Robin

2008-07-02T20:34:00.005-05:00

Off We Go
Yes he's always this funny!
And, Yes she loves to take pictures of herself.

Tyler and Kierra in the Pool
The poodles want to join.
Tyler's not so sure abot all of this!
Camping out in the tent and eating marshmallows.
They had the hook up. Papa Steve fixed them up a television and vcr, a cooler with drinks, air mattresses, and plenty of drinks.

They all climbed the big rock.

Tyler even made it!

The poodles made it in the pool.

We went to my in-laws a few weeks ago. The kids ending up spending the night and camping out. I'm sure I posted about it, but I don't feel like looking back through right now. Here are some pics from that visit.

Dancing Queen and Yes I Know It's Late

2008-07-02T20:15:00.005-05:00

I know I'm so late on posting some of our pictures. It's just so hard to find time to sit down and actually upload them. So, here we go. Tonight I'm going to post pictures of activities over past few months. Sorry, it has taken me so long. Mallory did so good at her dance recitals this year. Her costumes were so pretty. We've really been lucky with costumes since she's been dancing. I look at some of them and wonder what their parents must be thinking when they get those things. However, Mallory's never really had one that I just really didn't like. So, here are a few pics from her dance recital, and I promise to do better on posting them on time.

Mallory and Her Buddy Madison
" Ballet Dance
I love this picture.
The Youth Dance Theatre does Mary Poppins
Tap Dance (they actually won 1st place overall at their dance competition for this dance)

Summer Fun and Lesson Learned

2008-07-02T16:40:00.003-05:00

I have lots of pictures to post from the early part of the summer. I promise to do that tonight or tomorrow. Today's my birthday. We don't really have anything spectacular planned. Mallory, Kennedy, and I went to see the new American Girl movie today. Then we went to lunch at Garfield's. We spent most of the day yesterday in the pool. We had to lay off of that today, because we were all burnt. Mallory, Tyler, and I got the worst of the sun though. Tyler has been a little down here lately. He misses his buddy Cori terribly. He's asked about her everyday. Poor guy was running around the house last night, looking like a bright red beet, and still begging to see her. I hate to say this, but he looks so funny with his sunburn. We're definitely going to coat him with sunscreen more often tomorrow and Friday. He can't get that burnt again!!! Mallory has been more of a trooper about it. Quite honestly, she didn't even look the slightest bit red before going in the house. Then she became a little pink. Finally, she ended up with bright red sunburn on her arms and lower back. So, I've definitely learned my lesson regarding sunscreen. APPLY OFTEN, regardless of what the bottle says! I guess time really does fly when you are having fun. None of us really realized how long we had been in the pool/
Now it's off to a birthday dinner with the family!