Together Forever

Fort

2012-01-10T10:08:00.004-05:00

This kid is all boy! I didn't think we were to the fort building stage yet, but he found his own and was so proud of it.

More Christmas Pictures

2012-01-10T09:55:00.002-05:00

Here are some more pictures I found of Miles opening up presents with Nana, PooPaw, and Aunt Lizzie.

Still

2012-01-09T20:09:00.005-05:00

Miles has been changing so much! But there are somethings that just don't change. My sweet little boy. . .

. . . still melts my heart

. . . still makes the funniest faces

. . . still loves to work hard (check out the tongue)

. . . still loves to smile for the camera

. . . still loves his daddy

. . .still is a messy eater

. . .still loves to be outside

still loves his mommy

8 Months

2012-01-09T20:01:00.002-05:00

My baby is now 8 months old. I can't believe it! We don't have another doctors visit until next month so I don't have any stats. He is still working on his crawl. He can get anywhere he wants by one means or another. He is also pulling up and has 4 teeth. He is such a happy baby and I am such a happy mama!

I like how he is pushing Pooh down to seem taller

"Hello Pooh! I haven't seen you since last month!"

New Years (Christmas: Take 2)

2012-01-09T19:28:00.004-05:00

Carson's family came into town the weekend after Christmas. We had a big family Christmas dinner and a secret santa gift exchange. It was great getting to spend some time with PooPaw, Nana and Aunt Lizzie, as well as a lot of extended family, some of which I had never met!

Miles talking on his new phone

Cousin Tonya

Miles taking a ride in his sweet new ride from PooPaw and Nana

Miles loves Aunt Lizzie. He smiles at her every time.

Playing with PooPaw's hat

Hanging out with Aunt Barb, eating some turkey.

Christmas Day

2012-01-09T16:27:00.005-05:00

It was wonderful spending Christmas morning together as our new family! Miles was most interested in the bows and not so much in opening presents. We had a lot of fun. For Chrismas dinner we had the Aubrys and Caldwells over. It was nice to get together with friends since we did not go home for Christmas.

Our Christmas morning pajama picture

Carson's present from my parents. I think their just plain weird but he LOVES them!

Carson loved his new power drill. Men loving having a power tool in their hands!

A personalized CD from Gigi and Pops where Mickey and the crew sing to Miles. He enjoys listening to it as much as he enjoyed eating it.

And lets not forget the puppies. . .

Daddy helping open presents

Miles did not want to open presents unless he was sitting in one of our laps. So precious!

My new hat from Carson. Now where did the cold weather go?!

Stocking time!

The tree. . . pre-present opening

Christmas Present

2012-01-09T16:19:00.004-05:00

Isn't our little Christmas present adorable! So glad we got to celebrate this Christmas with him!

Gigi and Pops Christmas Visit

2012-01-09T16:13:00.004-05:00

Gigi and Pops came for one more visit this year. Mom has seen Miles once a month since he was born and she wasn't about to mess up that record! We had a great visit and worked on some great projects.

We saved most of their presents for Christmas morning but Miles got to open one of his presents early.

Photographer in Training

2012-01-09T16:08:00.002-05:00

It looks like Miles is starting his training to be a photographer. Here he is playing with daddy's new tripod. He is also great infront of the camera. When Carson sets off a flash, he just starts smiling, even if the camera isn't pointed at him!

7 Months

2011-12-06T17:41:00.002-05:00

Our baby is growing so fast! It seems like we'll be celebrating his 1st birthday here soon. He now has 3 teeth and is working on 2 more. We also have an army crawler. It won't be long before he can get all the way up and into everything!

Baptism

2011-12-06T15:19:00.002-05:00

Carson and I joined Clemson Presbyterian last weekend. We are so thankful for this wonderful church and the people we have met. Miles also got baptized that day. We were very happy to have Gigi and Pops here to celebrate with us.

O Christmas Tree

2011-12-06T14:18:00.007-05:00

I think I have a new favorite tradition to look forward to every year: going to cut down our Christmas Tree. For as long as I can remember, my family had an artificial tree, and since Carson and I got married we have been celebrating with a little 4 ft artificial tree on a table. This year I decided it was time to do this Christmas Tree thing right so we took a little road trip up to Ty-Lyn Plantation near Cashiers, NC. We made a day of it and went shopping in the little mountain towns nearby.

First we loaded up on their truck and they took us out to the field.

Enjoying the ride

Setting out to find our tree

Miles helps us check out the trees

Found it!

I LOVE his face in this one!

I love my little boy!!

Little cold red nose

Getting our picture taken for a discount next year!

Ready for the ride home

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-06T14:07:00.002-05:00

Thanksgiving morning I kept feeling like it was our first Thanksgiving. I thought maybe it was because it was our first with Miles, and then I realized that we have gone home every other Thanksgiving! This was our first Thanksgiving together in Clemson. Because of Carson's limited vacation time and the long trip with the baby in bad traffic, we just decided to stay here. Luckily we had some friends who also decided to stay in town for the holiday and were gracious to invite us to spend Thanksgiving with their family. Thanks Conor, Carling and Ciahna. We had a wonderful holiday with you!

Ciahan and Miles. Ciahna is about 2 weeks older than Miles. It is so fun to watch them grow up together.

Family Picture

2011-12-06T14:04:00.003-05:00

And as an extra bonus, here is a picture of Miles looking snazzy with PooPaw

Happy Birthday Grandma

2011-12-06T11:23:00.004-05:00

All of the family gathered to celebrate Grandma Thomas' 90th birthday. It was a wonderful celebration. We compiled a book of 90 memories from friends and family to mark this milestone that she has reached.

Visiting Friends

2011-12-06T11:00:00.004-05:00

Last month we took a trip to Winston Salem, NC to photograph a wedding. We were able to visit and stay with our friends, the Webbs. Unfortunately, after their daughter helped Carson with the wedding where they shot over 2000 photos, we forgot to get a picture with them! (I guess the photographers were tired:)

Before we left town we were able to get together for breakfast with my 6th grade teacher, Mrs. Theobald. We had a great time visiting. She was one of my favorite teachers growing up. She brought some pictures of my class and even had a picture of my Norway project! We made sure to get a picture for her "Where are they Now" scrapbook.

As we continued our journey home, we stopped to visit some very dear friends of ours, Dot and Ralph. This was their first time meeting Miles! Dot and Ralph were our next door neighbors when I was a baby. They are as close to family as you can be without being blood related. I remember spending many Easters, Thanksgiving and Christmas with them.

Then we continued on our journey home with one more stop to make . . . Carson's grandmother's 90th Birthday party! Pictures to come in the next post!

Fall

2011-12-06T10:53:00.003-05:00

Fall seems to have come and gone already. The trees are bare and the frequency of cold, rainy days has increased. It seemed like I had nothing to blog about for a while, and then life got crazy and I have ton to catch up on. Here are some random picture from the past few months.

Boys

2011-11-13T15:10:00.004-05:00

I mentioned in this post that Miles was one of the only boys his age in our group of friends here in Clemson. All the brand new babies are girls too! He sure is surrounded by girls.

At first I was a little pensive about having a boy. I guess I figured I wouldn't know what to do with a boy. They like to play in the dirt, give their mom's heart attacks with all of the crazy things they do, and then they find another woman and leave. The relationship with a son is so different than one with a daughter, and I only know about the daughter relationship.

God really spoke to my heart last week and showed me how special it was to have a boy. He wanted me to have a boy. So I don't have to worry about all the dirt and broken bones. God wanted me (and Carson) to raise this sweet little boy. And what an important task that is. God has given us a lot of responsibility. Boys grow up to be men, leaders, husbands.

I know I'm not perfect and I don't take this responsibility lightly. Only with God leading can I "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it (Prov. 22:6)". We have been praying since before Miles was born that he would grow up to be a strong man. We have been praying for his salvation! We have been praying for the woman that God has planned for him to meet however many years down the road. I sincerely mean these prayers but I know they will all take on new meaning as he continues to grow.

I feel blessed that God chose to give me Miles. It is His perfect plan that I have a boy.

6 Months

2011-11-13T15:01:00.004-05:00

Miles is now half a year old! He is growing so much and changing every day! Here is his 6th month Pooh picture and stats

Length: 28 inches/ 90 percentile

Weight: 16 lbs/ 20 percentile

Head: 17 inches/ 65 percentile

The doctor is going to watch his weight because there is not a significant gain from his 4 month checkup. But it could just be he's skinny like his daddy who was always in the 10th percentile. The doctor also said it's normal to not gain a lot during this time because he is working so hard growing. Miles does like to work. He is always trying to get to the next stage. He is sitting very well now and is up on his hands and knees ready to crawl. He is such a joy to be around. His smile lights up the room! Carson and I have a hard time getting anything done because we just want to sit and play with him and look at his adorable facial expressions.

Our Weekend

2011-11-07T12:34:00.002-05:00

Carson and I attended a marriage conference this weekend at our church. They provided child care so Miles got to spend a lot of time with his friends. Miles is the youngest one in the bunch and one of the only boys his age in the nursery. Here's a cute picture of him hanging out with his friends.

L to R: Olivia, Ciahna, Miles, Lucy

Food!

2011-10-31T12:35:00.007-04:00

Miles had his first food the other day: Avocado! He mostly just played with it but it made for some great laughs. It was also well documented. These are just a few of the many picture that Carson took.

At first all he wanted to do was play with his bib. So we took it off.

Nana, Poopaw and Aunt Lizzie

2011-10-24T10:27:00.004-04:00

We had a great visit with Carson's family while we were home. I know I'm late in getting these up but better late than never.

Miles just adored Poopaw! They did this for a long time.

PJ was jealous

Eating the new Tractor Book Nana and Poopaw got him. I asked Nana if she taste tested it because all he wanted to do was lick it!

Miles loved PJ's fluffy hair

Clemson

2011-10-20T12:00:00.006-04:00

Miles took his first trip to Clemson this weekend. Carson had a few photography shoots and after we were done with those, we stayed for some of our own pictures. The weather was beautiful and there was so much for Miles to look at. It's hard to pick my favorite pictures so get ready for picture overload. I know the grandparents don't mind :)

Chewing on the teething necklace working on that first tooth!

He loved playing in the grass

Learning to clap (for the Tigers!)

Miles meets the Dapper Dans

2011-10-20T11:39:00.006-04:00

Miles got to go to Disney to meet the Dapper Dans. It was fun to surprise my dad and it also happened to be the 40th Anniversary celebration.

I love dad in the background on this one

Miles has a tooth!

2011-10-20T11:27:00.002-04:00

Miles cut his first tooth on Monday. He was 5 1/2 months old and it is on the bottom right side. He is soaking all of his clothes with drool and putting everything in his mouth to chew on. It has completely thrown off his nap routine (as in he hardly takes any right now), but I'm sure it could be worse. We're taking the day at home to relax and sleep when we can after a busy week.

5 months

2011-10-14T20:30:00.005-04:00

We were a little late getting Miles' five month photo because Pooh had to stay in South Carolina while we travelled. I guess since I made you wait I should give you more than one picture. Gone are the days of him sitting quietly next to Pooh.

Everything goes to his mouth

Ready, set. . .

Attack!!

Making up with Winnie

He is so long!

Wedding

2011-10-06T21:21:00.003-04:00

Carson's Uncle Lou got married a few weeks ago in Hilton Head. It was a great family weekend and Carson had the honor of capturing the day in pictures.

Changes

2011-10-06T17:52:00.002-04:00

We're still down in Orlando but I wanted to post a quick update about all the new things Miles has been doing before I forget. He had his five month birthday on Tuesday and I just can't believe how much he has changed since we got down here.

He is now reaching for me (melts my heart)! He is grabbing his toes all of the time - making it very hard to change a diaper. I can't keep him contained on a blanket anymore because he is rolling and scooting so much. He is still trying to crawl but can't get his hands to cooperate, so right now he's just pushing with his feet and sticking his butt up in the air. He is grabbing and playing with his toys more than he used to and tracking things really well his eyes. Watching him watch the vacuum is hilarious. Every day brings about something new and I am just so thankful for this sweet little blessing!

Miles goes to Disney

2011-09-28T09:02:00.012-04:00

I considered breaking this post up into a few different ones but I decided our day was pretty crazy yesterday so why not make this post crazy too. Get ready for a lot of pictures!

My day started at 4:45 am yesterday getting up to get ready, feed the baby, and leave by 6 to get to the airport. Miles and I made it through the airport very easily and then, since it was his naptime and he didn't have a bed to sleep in, he proceeded to scream very loudly in the airport terminal. (Miles has not liked to nap since he was about a month old and really fights it! He really only cries if he's hungry or tired.) I know all the people waiting for our plane were not very excited that we were joining them on their journey to Orlando. I had a wonderful grandma that had pitty on me and came over to help. The minute Miles was in her arms, he was asleep. There is something about the grandma touch. This lady was going to visit her 4 grandchildren that were coming back with their parents from being missionaries in Africa.

We then borded the plane and Miles was now happy because he got a short nap. He was either feeding or sleeping during the entire duration of the flight and I sat next to another wonderful grandma who was very helpful and wonderful to talk to. All in all the morning was a success and was sure better than the 13 hours it would have taken us to drive home.

So we arrived in Orlando with a fed, rested baby who was very happy to see Pops, and a Pops that was very happy to see Miles, and a mommy who was very happy to pass him off so she could go to the bathroom! It was just Pops that picked us up at the airport because Gigi was working yesterday. We quickly decided to brave the Orlando heat and go suprise her at Disney! We called up Aunt Selina and she accompanied us on Miles' first trip to Disney. I call her Super Aunt because she is so good with Miles! She's going to make a great mom one day.

Miles rides the boat across the lake at EPCOT.

We ran into the American Adventure just as the group began singing their first song. We plopped down on the floor right infront and watched as mom tried to keep her composure as she was trying to sing. She was smiling and we were all trying not to cry!

Miles was very sleepy and I was worried he would just want to cry but he sat entranced by the beautiful music. (Side note: finger sucking is his new thing. Not his though; it has to be someone elses!)

Gigi ran to us the second the show was over and quickly scooped her sweet grandbaby up!

Oh the faces people will make to get a baby to smile :)

We made our way back to the car, made a quick stop to change clothes and then head out to Selina's birthday dinner to celebrate her turning 21 (last Saturday). Exhaused doesn't explain how tired we were last night but it was such a fun day. I'm excited to have two weeks to spend here with everyone.

P.S. We miss you daddy and wish you could be here playing with us instead of working! Love you!

Grandparents Day

2011-09-11T16:28:00.004-04:00

Carson's eyes light up every time I mention taking a photo. My intention is to just snap a quick one on my phone, but Carson goes running for his gear. Today I humored him and let him get his light stands, umbrellas, flashes and cameras out. I wish I had thought to snap a picture of the setup. We wanted to do something special for Grandparents day. Here is Miles being patient and adorable while his photo shoot is set up.

Here is the sweet picture we sent to the grandparents

Here is the picture that made us laugh that we almost sent to the grandparents

Miles is very blessed to have 4 wonderful grandparents. Gigi and Pops and Nana and PooPaw. We thank God for the blessing they all are on his life.

4 Months

2011-09-05T20:25:00.005-04:00

Weight 15 lbs 3 oz (45 percentile)
Length 26 1/4 inches (92 percentile)

Miles gets more and more personality every day. I wake up to his smiles and we have great days together. He is getting really strong and can get up on his knees and elbows, lifting his whole torso off the bed. He loves to squeal in delight when people talk to him and is always trying to stand up when we hold him. He's still learning what his hands do and has started grabbing things. He loves to read! We are so blessed to have such a happy healthy baby!

Here are his 3month, 2 month and 1 month pictures

Labor Day

2011-09-05T19:48:00.005-04:00

We spent Labor Day relaxing. We played games, watched some movies, and just enjoyed being together. We had a friend who is going to Anderson University come stay with us for part of the weekend. Miles just loved Tallyn. He would laugh and talk to her every time she was playing with him. We got some pictures today to capture him at his 4 month old stage. I'll have his growing up picture with Pooh tomorrow after we get his stats from the doctors.

This kid loves to read! We have a good number of books but we read so much I feel like I could quote them all by heart.
He doesn't know it yet, but he's a Clemson fan!

Fall is coming

2011-08-31T09:56:00.000-04:00

We've been enjoying a break from the miserable summer heat. We've been getting out to take walks in the evening after Carson gets home and enjoying being together as a family. Last night we just stayed in the yard to play. Here are some pictures of our time together.

Miles climbing his first tree:)

Feet

2011-08-29T15:58:00.004-04:00

I love baby feet!

Camera Fun!

2011-08-28T22:46:00.006-04:00

Warning: The following photos may be to cute to handle. Any woman of child bearing age should be careful. This might make you want one.

Checking In

2011-08-26T09:24:00.004-04:00

This has been a pretty random month for us. Miles and I have spent a lot of time at home which is nice when he can be on a schedule and getting proper naps. My parents came for another visit before the school year starts. My mom thinks now that she'll be teaching again they won't be able to visit as often, but I don't believe that will keep them away:)
Carson is really focusing in on finishing his thesis. Yes, he's still working on that but a very sick wife followed by a very cute baby can be very distracting. He's been focusing on his family lately so I have no complaints!
As September approaches, our schedule gets a little busier and a little more routine. Things at our church, such as bible studies, revolve around the school year here in this college town so I'm excited to see some of those things starting back up.
Sadly we haven't had the cameras out much so I don't have a lot of pictures to share. We're already planning his 4 month portraits so I'm sure you won't have to wait long for some more pictures of our precious little one.
Miles continues to practice rolling over. It's most common to see him flipped over when he gets up in the morning. He loves our reading time. The brighter the colors in the book the better. He is getting so strong and loves to stand up (with our help of course!). I look forward to each day watching him grow and finding what new thing will make him squeal with delight. He's about to graduate from the co-sleeper crib to the crib in his room. I'm just not ready, but I don't know that I'll ever be. I keep thinking if I can't even move him to his room how will I ever send him off to college!?!
This time last year we didn't even know we were pregnant yet. It's amazing to see this little perfect person here with me that didn't even exist a year ago. God is truly the Master Creator and sometime I just stand in awe at the miracle of creation. We're so thankful for the blessing of Miles in our life.

Miles Rolls

2011-08-17T12:46:00.002-04:00

Miles rolled over for the first time this Sunday. He is 3 months, going on 3 and a half months:) His first roll was belly to back and Carson and I were both there watching it. I'm so glad Carson got to be around for that milestone. I know he will probably miss others while he's at work so it was nice to be together as a family. The next day I was able to capture video of his first time rolling back to belly. Our little boy is growing up! It's so exciting to see him learning. He'll sit in your lap and coo at you but he is happiest when he is working: trying to roll over, sitting in his bumbo, playing in his exersaucer or trying to stand up. He is starting to understand what his hands do and it's so cool to see him working to reach out and touch things. Every stage is a new state of precious!

Just for fun

2011-08-10T12:32:00.002-04:00

Here are a few random pictures we've taken over the past month. We are so blessed to have such a happy, healthy baby.

3 Month Portraits

2011-08-10T12:22:00.004-04:00

Miles Waves

2011-08-05T16:23:00.001-04:00

Miles and the Itsy Bitsy Spider

2011-08-05T16:16:00.002-04:00

We sing to Miles a lot so I decided I would go ahead and teach him some of the motions. He got a little camera shy and wouldn't do it very well but normally is very good at it.

The Pups

2011-08-05T15:45:00.003-04:00

Ginny and Rylie are doing great with Miles. Sure, they are a little jealous, but they will LOVE him when he starts throwing food off the highchair so I'm not worried. Besides loving to eat his dirty bibs and burp cloths they are doing great with having a baby in the house. They got to spend a few weeks with Rylie's brother Baxter while we were in Orlando. Baxter can wear both of them out and still have energy to spare, but they had a great time together. I think they slept for a week after he left though.
On our way back up to South Carolina we stopped at a dog park so the dogs could get some exercise. They had a great creek that the two labs loved to play in. Neither one of them get to play in water very often so this was a special treat.

3 Months

2011-08-05T15:23:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was Miles' three month birthday. Sadly he spent most of the day sick and fussy, but generally he is a very happy baby and is on a great schedule. He started sleeping through the night when he was 10 weeks old! Mommy and Daddy are very happy and well rested. Miles enjoyed is first Sunday in the nursery last week and Mom and Dad got to enjoy Sunday school AND Church!
He is a growing boy and already weighs 14 lbs and change. He is trying his hardest to roll over and is getting very close. He loves to read big, colorful board books, talk to anyone that will listen and loves it when daddy gets home from work to play with him. His smiles just melt my heart; I love my lil' man!

If you want to compare his growing pictures here is 1 month, and here is 2.

Alabama

2011-08-05T14:30:00.006-04:00

Miles got to travel to Alabama last month to visit his great-Grammy and some other family . We had a great time hanging out with Grammy. It was a great four generation weekend.
Aunt Julie

Aunt Lynn

Aunt Betty

Aunt Betty is known for trying to feed little babies real food. Miles didn't seem too interested and luckily we got Aunt Betty to surrender the tomato after the picture was taken.

I love this face. "Hmm, I don't think I've seen her before. She looks nice."

Our growing family

2011-08-04T12:37:00.006-04:00

Sunday, July 17th we went hiking at Twin Falls. Matt and his girlfriend Selina flew in that morning (mom and dad were already here) and we went out for the afternoon to hike. We made a big deal about it being Miles' first hike, which it was, but we were trying to make sure Selina was surprised when Matt did this:

How romantic! A proposal at the top of a waterfall. Good job Matt! She of course said yes!! Here is a far away shot. Can you spot them?

Miles was a great hiker, but of course, he had the easy ride. Here comes the happy, newly engaged couple down from the top.

My parents may have only had two biological children but they now have four! I love our new family. Selina is such a sweetheart and she fits so well with our family, much like Carson does.

Miles had a great time hiking and can't wait to go back!!

Just for fun, this photo was taken years ago (I think before we got married) up at the same place they got engaged!

Friends

2011-08-04T12:28:00.003-04:00

Miles has gotten to meet so many people in the first three months of life. I wish we had a picture to document everyone he's met, but here are a few friends that Miles has made.

Christen Martin is a friend from high school and her little girl Eden. They live in Louisiana and we live in South Carolina, yet we both had to travel to Orlando to catch up:)

Olivia Johnston. Her parents are good friends of our from church.

Traveling

2011-08-03T14:14:00.003-04:00

Miles was such a trooper on our long travels this month. We learned that it is easiest to drive through the night when traveling with kids! On the way back home we had to stop four times to nurse and a 9 hour trip took 13!

In the first three months of his life, Miles was in 5 states! He was born in SC, traveled through GA on the way to FL and AL and made it to NC when we missed our turn for a hiking trail. We didn't get road sign pictures for AL or GA because if you're traveling and the baby is sleeping/happy, you just keep on going:)

Babies need so much stuff when you travel. We left the baby bathtub at home and Miles got bathed in the sink! He was pretty happy with it. He loves floating in the water.
When we finally made it back home after our 13 hour drive and a week away from daddy, Miles just clung to Carson. It was so precious. He was ready to get out of his car seat and ready to see daddy. I'm pretty sure they stayed like this for 20 minutes.

Cow Appreciation Day

2011-08-03T14:08:00.005-04:00

Once a year Chick-fil-a gives out free food if you will dress up like a cow. We have sadly never taken part in this but my brother got us caught up in the excitement this year and we took Miles along. Mom snapped this picture as we headed out the door. She was rolling her eyes and saying, "Poor Miles". We had a great time though! Up in South Carolina, Carson went to Chick-fil-a for breakfast, lunch and dinner that day.

Orlando

2011-08-03T13:57:00.004-04:00

It was so great to have time to spend in Orlando. It was so relaxing to be home and get to see so many friends that I haven't seen in a while. We just hung around the house most days and it seems like we had visitors almost everyday. I'm ready to make this an annual trip!

Carson took the camera home with him because he had a few photography jobs lined up so my pictures are very limited:(

Hanging out with Rylie

Aunt Lizzie

Aunt Selina and Baxter

Catching up after Vacation

2011-08-03T13:13:00.002-04:00

I don't realize how many people read my blog until I don't blog for a while, and then people start asking. We were out of town/busy with family for the entire month of July and then our internet has been on the fritz. So now, once again, I'm playing catch up.
We started out the month going home for 4th of July. Carson was able to join us for a long weekend and then he left me, Miles, and the puppies in the loving and helpful care of my parents for a week while he returned to work. My parents then drove back up with me to South Carolina and stayed for a visit. We were later joined by my brother and his girlfriend (although by the time they left she was his fiancee!). Then mom stayed to helped me take Miles over to Alabama to meet his great grandmother and other family. Mom left a week ago and I still don't feel settled in!

I'm still sorting through pictures but I will have some soon and cover our month a little better. Thanks for being patient.

And He Shall Be Called . . .

2011-07-04T09:39:00.005-04:00

PooPaw!

Dave was the last grandparent to pick a name to be called. Lesson learned. If you don't pick a name for yourself, you will be christened PooPa because your grandson likes to poop every time you hold him:) It is a pretty cool name though.

Drop In- Take 2

2011-07-04T09:12:00.005-04:00

Miles has been passed around so much this weekend. He has been the star of the show. It has been wonderful for him to meet so many friends. Today he got to meet his great grandpa Derric for the first time. It was special and he was such a proud great grandpa.

4 Generations

Uncle Matt

Jean and Tallyn Collins

Taking a break from all the excitement

Addie and Megan Neal

Tracy

Steve

Proud Gigi

So happy to see Pops again

Matt's girlfriend, Selina

Florida Vaca

2011-07-02T22:34:00.006-04:00

So we loaded up the two month old baby and both puppies and took a 9 hour (12 with stops) road trip. Crazy, huh? Miles traveled wonderfully and we're so glad that we made the trip down. We've gotten to see a lot of friends and have many more that we will see before we leave. Since this is Miles' first trip to Florida we decided to play it like geeky tourist. We had to get a picture at the Florida state line and then at the restaurant we went to dinner at in a very touristy part of town. We're really enjoying ourselves. Now he just needs a Mickey Mouse hat to make the vacation complete.

Friends and Family Drop In

2011-07-02T21:55:00.004-04:00

With decided to take our first vacation with Miles down to see both of the family for the 4th of July. We had so many people that we so generous and came to baby showers for Miles that we wanted all of them to get a chance to meet him. Each of our parents are hosting a drop in. We spent the day at the Snipes visiting with all of their wonderful friends.

Great Aunt Jenny

Kristin and her son Caleb who is one month older than Miles

Brenda Kittle, the Snipes' next door neighbor

Miles foot on the left, Caleb on the right

Hugs for Nana

Debbie

Two Months

2011-07-02T21:43:00.002-04:00

Miles will be two months old this Monday, July 4th. We had his two month check up before we left for our first vacation. He got his shots and was such a trooper. It was so hard for mommy to watch though!

Date 6/30/2011

Length: 24 inches/94th percentile

Weight 11lbs 10 oz/ 41 percentile

He's going to be tall and lean like his daddy!

Play Date

2011-07-02T21:39:00.002-04:00

Miles has a friend, Ciahna, that is just two weeks older than he is. We get together for play dates which at the moment is mostly for the sanity of the mothers:) We couldn't get them to even look at each other at this play date. We look forward to them growing a little bit and enjoying each others company.

Berry Picking

2011-06-20T14:57:00.004-04:00

As you know from last year, we love to berry pick. So this summer we took Miles when he was six weeks old. He didn't do much picking; he slept the whole time. We were able to pick 33 pounds of berries while he slept! There were some precious little kids helping their mom and grandma pick and it makes me smile to think about how Miles will be helping us in years to come.

His hat looks like a bonnet here but it's a really cute bucket hat.

Happy Fathers Day

2011-06-19T10:50:00.003-04:00

Happy Father's Day, Carson. You make an amazing dad. I love how attentive you are to Miles and how much you love to spend time with him. It makes my heart melt to see you bonding with our son and my love for you grows stronger every day.

One Month Old

2011-06-18T20:54:00.003-04:00

This picture was taken on his one month birthday. We're going to take a monthly picture with this pooh so we can see how he grows. At his one month check up he weighed 9 lbs 14 oz and was 22.75 inches long.

Memorial Day

2011-06-18T20:40:00.003-04:00

For Memorial Day we enjoyed a relaxing day at home while Carson's family went out on the boat. We joined them for dinner that night. I love the cute little outfit that Nana got him!

Portraits

2011-06-17T19:21:00.005-04:00

When Miles was two and a half weeks old we took his newborn portraits. We wanted to capture his precious, tiny features.

These were taken when he was 5 weeks old. I can't get over how much he changed so quick.

The Many Faces of Miles

2011-06-17T19:14:00.004-04:00

Miles has so many different expressions he sometimes looks like a different baby. Here are some of the expressions we have managed to capture.

In other news

2011-06-17T19:12:00.005-04:00

The girls have actually adjusted pretty well to having a baby around the house. Ginny was very protective when we brought him home. She would get up with us in the middle of the night and follow us into the nursery to change his diaper. The first night we were home Ginny actually woke me up when she heard Miles starting to wake up. They mostly lay around or beg to go outside if Miles is crying. It's going to be great having Miles grow up with them and they will make great playmates.

Bath Time

2011-06-17T19:11:00.002-04:00

Miles hated his sponge baths. We were very excited when his chord finally fell off so we could give him a real bath. He loves his baths now. He likes to just let his little legs float in the water. It's precious.

This was taken after his very first sponge bath just a few days after he came home from the hospital.

This is a real bath when he is about 5 weeks old.

Carson's Family and Then Some!

2011-06-17T11:30:00.008-04:00

Carson's family was a little delayed getting up to meet Miles because Dave was still having issues with an infection that he had from his heart surgery last September. We were so happy that they finally got a chance to meet Miles! A lot of Carson's extended family came for a visit as well so Miles had a busy weekend but it was so special to see him with all of the family.

Nana

Aunt Lizzie

Grandpa (yet to pick a name)

Great Grandma Thomas

Great Grandma Snipes

Great Aunt Gloria

4 Generations on the Snipes side

The Thomas side of the family

4 Generations of Thomas'

Cousin Kim and Great Aunt Cel

Cousin Tonya

Uncle Matt

2011-06-17T11:25:00.006-04:00

My brother was able to come up for one day. It was a short visit but I'm so glad that they got to meet. It was really special to see my little brother holding his nephew. He is going to be a very fun uncle.

They are going to have a lot of fun together

Gigi and Pops

2011-06-17T11:17:00.004-04:00

My parents came up the day Miles was born and helped us get settled in at home with a new baby. My mom was able to spend three weeks with us and it was such a special time. She cooked for us and helped me keep up with the house; I even let her hold the baby a few times:) I really enjoyed the time we got to spend together. We haven't spent that much consecutive time together since before I got married. I think it's safe to say that my parents are addicted to Miles. It's wonderful to know that Miles is so well loved.

Love you mom!!

Pops getting his cuddle time in! Thanks for sharing mom with me!

Visitors

2011-06-16T21:38:00.006-04:00

Miles had a lot of visitors the first few weeks of his life. We also had some wonderful friends from church that brought us meals which were such a blessing. It's amazing how much work it is to take care of a newborn.

Allison and Sawyer

Ashley

Lynn and Jason
Rick and Phyllis

Abby

Welcome to the world

2011-06-15T20:14:00.006-04:00

We welcomed our son into the world 6 weeks ago. The last thing I have had time to do is sit at the computer but I'm hoping to catch up on the last 6 weeks so we can have a good record of his life.

Lets start with the birth story because it was pretty amazing. At my 38 week appointment I was already dilated 2.5 cm, which I found out could mean nothing and I could still have weeks to wait before we met Miles. At my 39 week appointment the doctor was shocked to find that I was already 6cm dilated. The doctor could not believe that I wasn't in any pain and instructed me to get in the car and get myself to the hospital. Carson was already at work for the day so he just met me there. The nurses were expecting me when we arrived and could not believe that I had driven myself an hour to the hospital while I was in labor (although I had no pains or any idea that I was in labor).

So I got all hooked up to the machines and settled in to find out that I had already dilated another two centimeters (we're almost there!). The doctor finally came in to break my water and that is when the pain started. Very horrible pain! I quickly screamed for an epidural and was relieved that the anesthesiologist was very close. By the time I had my epidural it was time to start pushing. We had arrived at the hospital at 12 noon and Miles was born at 4:06pm. We sent the grandparents all a picture and my mom could not believe that I was holding my baby because I didn't look like I had been in labor.

Miles' first picture. Just a minute old.

First family photo

Dr. Dach delivered Miles

Monitoring body temperature before his first sponge bath

My parents had left as soon as I called leaving the doctors office and they arrived later that night to meet their first grandson. I don't think that I will ever forget the looks on their faces when they walked into the hospital room. Priceless.

Gigi and Pops

We stayed in the hospital until Friday and then we got to take our precious son home.

Miles Thomas Snipes

2011-06-15T20:11:00.002-04:00

Miles Thomas Snipes
May 4, 2011
4:06 pm
8 lbs/ 20 inches

The Last One- I hope!

2011-05-03T13:59:00.003-04:00

Last night we took what I hope will be my last baby bump picture. If I'm still pregnant at 41 weeks, I'm not going to be a very pleasant person to be around. From what I've heard from other friends who have recently been 9 months pregnant, my feelings are pretty normal. I've heard that the whole last month can be pretty miserable (Carson was even warned by a few new dads that it can get pretty bad). I feel good that I made it a little longer than that before the crankiness and misery set it full swing.
Carson has been so wonderful in helping me do all of the things that I can no longer do with such a huge belly. He even took me on a date last night so I didn't have to cook dinner. He asked me how I wanted to celebrate Mother's Day and I said that I would love to not have to make the bed, do dishes, or clean up after the dogs. That's all I want. For him to help me keep the house clean for a day. So if Miles isn't here by Sunday, I'm looking forward to a day to get off my feet and relax. Don't I have a wonderful husband?

Here's my picture from 37 weeks that I never posted:

And here is 39: And here's to hoping in my next picture I'm holding a baby!

My baby is one

2011-04-09T20:56:00.004-04:00

Today is our youngest puppy's birthday. Rylie (and her brother, Baxter, who lives with my parents) have now experienced the first year of their life. She only weights 63 lbs so I think we are going to end up with a pretty small dog for a lab. Rylie celebrated her birthday with trip to the vet. I know that doesn't sound fun but we didn't realize it when we made the appointment. It wasn't all bad; she got to pick out a nice new bone while we were at the store that she has been chewing on ever since we got home. Here are some pictures of her playing.

Ginny got to do everything Rylie did today so she didn't get left out. She had so much fun playing with daddy in the yard this afternoon that she decided she wanted to chill on the porch. This picture just melts my heart.

One Month

2011-04-08T21:37:00.007-04:00

Tomorrow will be one month until Miles' due date! It's so crazy to think that we will be meeting him so soon. I am so ready to meet him and so ready to not be pregnant anymore. I feel like all I remember is me being pregnant. Although time has flown in some aspects, I feel like I have been pregnant forever! I don't mean to complain but it is the truth. I am not one of those lucky women (like my mom) who just absolutely loved being pregnant and didn't have any problems with it. Maybe the next pregnancy will be different. People have told me (and warned Carson) that the last month is the most miserable so I am totally looking forward to that- NOT! Ok, enough complaining from this tired, cranky pregnant woman. Here are some pictures to enjoy.

Here I am at 35 weeks. I think my smile gets a litte more fake every time we take one of the photos.

Carson's dad built us a co-sleeper. The bedding just arrived for it so now it's all made up and ready for Miles.

Sitting in our glider in the nursery tonight I took some random up close shots of different aspects of the nursery. Enjoy some of these detailed shots. Final pictures of entire room still to come.

Wubanub pacifier- I love this little puppy. Someone said that this should make it easier for the dogs to be able to pull the paci out of his mouth. Oops!

We got some Winnie the Pooh wall hangings to go over the crib that are so precious. Here is Roo. He is just one of the five characters hanging on the wall.

Boo Boo Bunny. Comes with a reusable ice cube to soothe boo boos. I had one of these guys when I was little. I was so happy to find them when I was registering and blessed to receive it as a gift.

These are the monogrammed drawer pulls we had made for some of the drawers on the crib. I love how they turned out.

Cute little baby sandals. From my experience babies just love to kick these off, but it will be cute while they last.

Good-bye crazy gas bills

2011-04-02T21:40:00.006-04:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, we sold Carson's jeep a few weeks ago. It was a great car and he had a blast with it in college, but we needed a more grown up, family friendly car and also one that wouldn't kill us with gas bills. So this past week we purchased a Toyota Prius for Carson. He is loving his new (to him) car and is making it a challenge to maximize his gas mileage. Let just say that 48 mpg is way better than 17!!

Nursery Progress

2011-04-02T21:21:00.005-04:00

Well my thought of finishing the nursery all in one weekend sure didn't happen but I feel much better with the furniture in it. It actually looks like a nursery! My parents came to visit for about a week and it was so wonderful to have them here! Dad worked hard putting the changing table together that he had built and then mom and I got our turn to get in the nursery and put all the baby items away.

We are so thankful to have all of this special furniture that our dads made!!

For right now I just have pictures of the changing table. We're still working on getting the crib finished up and put together, but I'll post pictures as things come together.

Gardening

2011-04-02T20:55:00.006-04:00

On top of the may things we have to do to prepare for the arrival of our little boy, we (I) decided it would be fun to try our hand at gardening this year. We had a tomato plant and some herbs last year and I thoroughly enjoyed being able to make a meal using produce that I had grown! I had heard about square foot gardening and I so I did some further research into it. It looks like a great way to garden and once we get it all set up and started, it should be a very low maintenance garden by the time Miles arrives. By that point I'm thinking it will be great to go and get food out of my garden rather than packing up a baby and going to the grocery store. We'll see if my theory pans out. . .

We are planting Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Pole Beans, Green and Red Peppers, Basil, Broccoli, Zucchini, Rosemary, Oregano, Lettuce, Spinach, Cilantro, Marigolds, Zinnias, Mint, and Lambs Ear.

But for now, I have some pictures of getting all set up. I have had some seeds growing inside for a little while and just transplanted our first little plants, so the plan has been set in motion.

Carson was very helpful in the manual labor of building the actual boxes and carrying the large bags of soil.

Ginny had to leave her mark and be a part of the garden building

Our finished main garden (except for the netting for the tomatoes and cucumbers to grow on) We put the trellis up to deter the dogs from running through the garden when they are running through the yard.

This another box that we put by our back door. We'll put Marigolds and Lambs Ear in this one.

In the home stretch

2011-03-21T13:14:00.006-04:00

I am now 33 weeks along and as it gets harder to breathe as Miles grows, we are getting very excited about meeting him soon. I thought I would freak out when I hit 30 weeks but instead I became very excited about the fact that I'm going to be a mom soon! I have spent the last 12 years of my life babysitting and playing with other peoples children, but soon, God will bless us with a little boy that he has entrusted to us! That thought just thrills me!

We have almost completed our pregnancy classes and I am feeling much more prepared on what to expect. I used to be scared of labor because I handle pain very poorly but it's the means to an end. It's what has to happen to welcome little Miles into the world and at the end, I won't care about the pain he caused me as I'm holding him in my arms.

I have just a few more day left working at Hallmark and then I will be home to fully concentrate on getting things ready for him and to get as much rest as I can.

Here are the latest pregnancy photos:

31 weeks

33 Weeks. A few notes about this photo. Not to point out my flaws but yes, my eyes look very tired. This baby is wearing me out! I am getting very tired very quickly these days. Also, Miles wanted to be a part of this photo. He was kicking my bottom hand the whole time!

Playing catch up once again

2011-03-20T23:09:00.003-04:00

I have desperately been wanting to sit down and update this blog about all the happenings in our life but just have not had the time to make sitting at the computer a priority. So I'm staying up late tonight to at least say that I haven't forgotten about my faithful readers. We have had a very exciting time lately. I have been doing some traveling since pretty soon I won't be able to for a while. I went to visit my grammy recently in Alabama and we had a great weekend spending time together. We rarely get one on one time any more because normally I have hubby or one of the puppies with me so it was a special time. A few weekends later I traveled home to Orlando for some baby showers (pictures to come soon as soon as Carson can edit them for me). Ever since I returned from Orlando and recovered from the sleep deprivation I have really been focusing on getting things ready for Miles' arrival. Each weekend I have different projects lined up for Carson to help me with. Poor guy never gets a break! Two weekends ago we started our square foot garden (more to come in a later post) and this weekend we pretty much rearranged the entire house preparing for all of the nursery furniture coming up next weekend! Things are getting accomplished here but there still seems to be so much to do!

Our most exciting news (or sad if you are Carson) is that we said good bye to the beloved Jeep this weekend. We found a private buyer without even looking and before you know it we were one car down and I had a very sad husband on my hands. We are on to a better, more family friendly (and fuel efficient) car now and I'm sure I'll have picture of that to share as well as soon as we find the right car.

So there is very brief update on our life. Hopefully I can get the other post I mentioned up soon.

Our Big Day

2011-02-28T21:09:00.003-05:00

Today was a big day at our house. First off, Carson now has a full time permanent job! We have been looking forward to this day for a long time and it is so nice to know that God has us taken care of. Carson is loving his job and it fits his skill set perfectly.

Today I also hit my 30 week mark in my pregnancy. I told Carson I would probably freak out when I hit 30 weeks because it all seems so close now and there is still so much to do! I've been pretty calm today and I'm just trying to work through the details and remaining projects as I am able. Since I hit my third trimester I have been so tired! My energy does not go near as far and I seem to struggle to get everyday chores done. I have been able to enjoy some nice, relaxing time out in the back yard with the puppies because the weather has been beautiful here! I figure I better read some books for enjoyment now, because Miles sure won't leave me a lot of time for that kind of stuff.

I'm a little late posting this picture but here is my 29 week picture:

27 weeks!

2011-02-07T20:13:00.002-05:00

I'm getting very close to my third trimester. Miles is very active at this point and we're getting very anxious to meet him, although there is a lot to do before he arrives.

Fence

2011-02-06T17:35:00.004-05:00

We have a fence! Carson and some friends worked very hard over the last two weekends putting up almost 400 feet of fence. This will be a huge help to me when taking care of the puppies while Carson is at work during the day. This is a very exciting day!!

Serious Growth!

2011-01-24T21:04:00.004-05:00

It's time for the next baby picture. Today marks 25 weeks- only 15 to go! Carson could not believe that it was time to take another picture. Time is really flying now!

Just for fun I'm posting my 23 week picture again so you can see the difference. I have grown so much over the past two weeks!

2 Years!

2011-01-22T21:01:00.003-05:00

Carson and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary this past week. We went to the same restaurant we did for our 1st and they actually sat us in the same booth. It was a weird deja vu moment but made for some fun conversation about where we were compared to last year. We asked each other questions such as: Did you ever think that we would be planing for our first child one year later? Or that Carson would have started his career? Or that we would have another puppy? So much has changed over the past year and it's so fun to sit and talk about how far we have come in that time. It makes us appreciate the experiences that we have!

Thanks for a wonderful 2 years honey! I can't wait to see what adventures God has in store for us to experience together!

Cabin Fever

2011-01-16T12:43:00.004-05:00

Last Sunday night/Monday morning, we had a very big (for this area) snow storm hit. It brought about 8 inches of snow that is still on the ground a week later! It was fun and powdery the first day but then it began to ice over at night and even the dogs didn't like going outside because it was hard to walk on. You think we would have pictures this but things are still crazy for Carson getting settled into his new job and still working on grad school work. He had to work from home on Monday and Tuesday but was able to carefully drive to work by Wednesday. My entire work week was canceled and I only made it out of the house once to go grocery shopping and even then the road were still pretty icy. It sure felt good to finally get out of the house!

Carson is really liking his new job now that his is getting all settled in. The commute sure isn't fun, but he loves what he is doing and the people he is working with.

I've been getting settled into a schedule here at home with the puppies and just keeping up with things in general. I feel like there is so much that I should be doing to get ready for the baby so I'm trying to be productive with my time. Here is my newest baby bump picture at 23 weeks:

A New Year with lots of changes!

2011-01-06T08:56:00.003-05:00

Carson has been continually on the job hunt for some time now with very few results but the day we left for Charleston, he received a very exciting call about a job. He interviewed as soon as we returned from our trip and came home from the interview with a job offer!! It is a local job which means we get to stay in the area! He was hired by a company called Logic Packaging and they will be sending him as a representative to work for another company called Bosch. While his boss will be very involved in the work that he is doing, Carson is the only Logic employee that will be there on a day to day basis giving him a lot of responsibility. Carson has talked about wanting a contract packaging job because he will always be working on something different. He is just starting his second week of work but so far he is enjoying his job. He is on a 30 trial period right now but if things go well he will have a full contract by the beginning of next month!

This is a very exciting change for our family. It a huge adjustment for me since all I have known for our almost two years of married life is him either working from home or just part time at the University, but this is a great opportunity that the Lord has brought along in his perfect timing!

December

2011-01-06T08:41:00.012-05:00

On December 5th, I felt the baby move for the first time! It was still a couple of weeks before Carson was able to feel it, but it was exciting to be able to feel the baby growing inside of me. I was feeling much better by this time but still had very little energy and had to take things slowly.

On December 21st we had our 20 week ultrasound and found out that we are having a baby boy!! We didn't tell our parents about our appointment because we wanted to surprise them. We were able to record the ultrasound and so we made a copy of it for each family and mailed it home wrapped in a blue bib to open on Christmas. It was a great Christmas surprise!! We will call him Miles Thomas Snipes.

We stayed home again for Christmas this year and I am sure glad we did because it ended up being a White Christmas! It was very exciting for us. We've celebrated Christmas before in Orlando where temps were in the 80's! This was also Rylie's first snow so we took the dogs out the next day to play and we all had a blast!

Rylie's first snow on Christmas night

Right after Christmas we headed off to Charleston for Carson to photograph a wedding for a friend of his from Clemson. It was fun to work with Carson coordinating everything that goes into photographing a wedding. It was much more intense than we had thought but we somehow made it through the day and had a great time doing it. We got to stay right on the beach so I got some sunrise photo's one morning as well.

21 Week Baby Bump:

When we returned home, Carson's family was here to visit for a late Christmas/New Years family gathering. We did a secret Santa exchange with the extended family and had a nice visit for a few days.

To end this year, here are our family Christmas pictures. My parents decided to be in ours this year (normally it's just the kids) but I don't blame them since they have both lost 80 lbs each this year!

The puppies wanted a photo of their own too!

November

2011-01-06T08:21:00.006-05:00

Because I was still feeling bad, not a lot happened in November until we went home for Thanksgiving. My baby bump started to show and I began to document with pictures every two weeks. The first one was taken on November 15, when I was 15 weeks along.

I was able to get about 10 days off for Thanksgiving so we took a long trip down to Florida to visit our families. We started off staying at Carson's house. Carson's grandma was there for Thanksgiving so it was a nice family visit. We had two delicious Thanksgiving dinners and then finished out our visit at my house. We took a family day out to Downtown Disney and took a picnic out on a pontoon boat. The weather was perfect and it was a great way to end our trip.

Family Picture at Downtown Disney

Mom and Dad on the boat

Baby's first picture with Winnie the Pooh (the theme for the nursery)

Captain Carson

And the baby kept growing. My 17 week picture.

October

2011-01-06T08:16:00.007-05:00

By October my morning sickness had set in to stay for a while and I was good for nothing except growing the baby. Carson, luckily working from home at the time, took on a lot of the household responsibilities as well and did an excellent job taking care of me and the puppies. The puppies enjoyed being lazy with me.

We did make it home for a weekend to check up on the dads and to get some car troubles fixed. Carson's dad was still not back at work and was actually recovering from having a lot of fluid on his lung. Carson was able to help his mom and dad around the house with tasks that his dad could not do because of lifting restrictions.

September

2011-01-06T08:05:00.007-05:00

I'm going to update by month to get caught up and then hopefully start fresh for the year!

September brought many changes to our life. In late August, I got a call from my mom that my dad had gotten a skin cancer diagnosis of Melanoma. I quickly rushed down to Florida to be with my family. They scheduled him for a biopsy surgery and while we were at the hospital the day before for pre-op, I got a call from Carson that his dad was being admitted to a hospital across town for heart problems. He had a heart attack that afternoon while I was visiting him, and then again while he was having a heart cath procedure done. He was immediately scheduled for emergency bypass surgery the next morning. Carson, still in South Carolina, quickly packed up the dogs and drove through the night to get there in time for his dad's surgery. He arrived at my house about 4 am where I greeted him with a positive pregnancy test! We didn't have much time to celebrate on such a somber day as we both headed off to different hospitals to be with our dads for their surgeries.

My dad got an excellent report in that they were able to remove all of the melanoma with the biopsy (no chemo!). Caron's dad also came through surgery with a good report, but he would have a much longer recovery. We were able to share the news of our pregnancy with our parents before we left to return home. Both sets of parents were very excited for their first grand baby!

I can't remember what else happened in September (I think that was enough!). We did return home to have our first doctor appointment on September 28th where we got to see the baby and hear its heartbeat for the first time! Once we had the doctors appointment, we began quickly spreading the news!

Update on Life

2010-08-23T20:29:00.008-04:00

Things have been pretty normal around here. I'm getting settled in at my job at Hallmark and I am loving it! I'm sure the excitement of going to work will wear off a little, but I love the people I work with enjoy the job. I don't think that I have mentioned on this blog, that I have started another blog as well: Molly's Homemade Happiness. This blog is focused more on the health changes that we have been making with the foods we eat and the products we use.

Carson is working and getting ready to get really busy with his research now that students are back. The back to school activities at Clemson have also kept him busy with his photography business, which is something that he really enjoys. I used the camera when Carson wasn't home today and got some great pictures of Rylie being lazy in the grass.

The puppies are doing great and getting along better. It is so much fun having two puppies!! I don't always say that but at the moment they are being really cute:) Rylie and I visited Grammy last week in Alabama. My parents also came up and brought Rylie's brother, Baxter. It was fun to see them play together and Baxter was very sad when we left. Sorry that all we ever post are puppy pictures, but until we have kids, this is what you get.
We sent some pictures to their breeder and she said they used to lay like this before we got them. We'll never know if they remembered each other but I like to think that they did.

While we were in Alabama we did some shopping. My parents have both lost a lot of weight and mom is very close to wearing the same size as me! It was fun to shop in the same department together so we got a "twins" outfit. I think she was more embarassed about being twins than I was but I got a picture to capture the moment!

Turned Around

2010-08-05T11:07:00.003-04:00

Things have really turned around here. Carson got "rehired" on a hourly basis doing the same work he was doing with his assistantship. At first we were disappointed because his assistantship meant that his tuition was covered. So we were happy for a job but it was less than he was making originally once you factored in the tuition cost. But God had the best plan in mind and knew what he was doing. Carson's "new" job is temporary, meaning that he can continue the job hunt and leave when he finds something. Until now, we had not even thought of Carson looking for a job in industry until he graduated. The even better news is that we had hoped to stay in this area after graduation and that is more of a possibility now. For the next few months, we can only look locally for jobs so that Carson would be able to finish his thesis work and graduate. We don't have to broaden our search radius until closer to graduation.

God still holds the whole plan in His hands and we have no idea where we might end up, but He has opened our eyes and showed us to begin the job hunt now.

Continuing with the good news, I just got hired for a job at Hallmark. I'll try not to spend all of my paychecks there :) It's just a small amount of time each week, but that is just what I wanted. It will be nice to get out of the house some, but I love being home to take care of things so that Carson can focus on his work, research, and job hunt.

Our week

2010-07-24T10:14:00.010-04:00

Our week has had its ups and downs. First let's start with the ups with some pictures from our outings this week. We went blueberry picking again last weekend. It was probably our last trip for the summer but I think we have a well stocked freezer. The heat has really kicked in here and so we're spending as much time indoors as possible. (Except for every 15 minutes that I have to take the puppy out!)With the intense heat here we have been taking advantage of the little pool we got for the puppies. Carson has even found me sitting in it just to cool off.

Our garden is also doing well, and we have been having a lot of bruchetta with our basil and delicious red tomatoes. I also discovered how to make mint tea last week. It is so refreshing and will be a staple in our refrigerator now.

On Monday our friends, the Wylies, invited us over to enjoy some homemade ice cream. It was delcious and we had a wonderful evening. Their little almost-two-year-old Lydda Grace got to play with Rylie. It was funny that Rylie actually weighed more than she did. They had a great time playing together. Rylie also made another friend that evening; another puppy the same age. They must have played for over an hour. Needless to say Rylie slept very well that night.

Not to be too negative but our week went down hill from there. Carson found out the next day that his graduate assistantship will end next week. So come August first we have no jobs. I already had a couple applications out that I should hear back on soon. Carson jumped right in and has been contacting people about jobs in the area. He has gotten a few positive responses but nothing concrete yet. So that is our focus at the moment. Every spare moment is spent on a job search or working on the jeep but we know that God has a plan for us and He will reveal it in His perfect timing.

Poor Jeep

2010-07-15T09:15:00.005-04:00

I have always heard people talk about taking the plunge and being a one car family but have never been brave enough to try it. We are blessed in that we have two cars and no car payments so we have never needed to do this. However, Monday we woke up to this:

So we're doing the one car family thing for now. We don't want to rush out and get a new hood in case his turns up at a scrap yard. It has been interesting to see how we can function as a one-car family. I really admire those that do it on a long term basis. We are thankful that more was not taken (it looks like they were planning to steal the front grill and radiator too) and thankful that we are at a place in our lives where we can deal with just one car. I am able to stay home and spend time with the puppies and focusing on getting the house in order.

Happy 4th!

2010-07-04T13:36:00.006-04:00

Happy Independence Day everyone! We celebrated yesterday and had a great day. We spent the morning berry picking trying to stock up on the blackberries while they are still in season. I think we got 13 pounds yesterday and that wasn't our only trip! I have so many plans in store for these delicious berries. The ones that weren't frozen were turned into jam this afternoon along with some peaches that we got yesterday. I now have about 15 cups of jam in my freezer.

Jam. I love it. Not only do I love the taste of it and put way too much on my biscuits, but I love the memories that come with jam. My dad's mom always used to make strawberry jam for our family (well mostly for me because I consumed the majority of it - sometimes I would share with my dad.) She made wonderful strawberry jam. Even though she lived far away and we didn't see each other very often, I loved that we had that connection through strawberry jam. Fast-forward a few years when we were on our annual summer trip to Alabama. My mom and her mom decided that it would be fun to take the kids (me and my brother) berry picking. Well, I had plans of my own and decided it would be fun to make it the most miserable trip possible for them (I was a little terror child- just ask my family). While the berry picking wasn't enjoyable to me, I did enjoy going home that afternoon and making jams of all different flavors!

[Helpful Note: We got some pretty bad blackberry stains on our clothes while picking them. When I got home I began looking for the best natural way to get it out. I was worried when the first few things I read said that they were the hardest stains to get out. You'll never guess what worked: boiling water. Whoever said you need harsh chemical stain removers was wrong!!]

Last night we made our own pizzas and then went to see some fireworks at Clemson. Our friend Lynn joined us for the evening and she had just purchased her first Digital SLR camera so Carson was able to teach her a lot about her camera. It was a very fun and festive evening!

Catch up time

2010-06-25T16:08:00.005-04:00

Okay, so y'all have missed a lot so settle in for a nice long chat :) What? You say it's my fault? I know. I am a horrible friend. I will try to be better.

Lets start with Carson. He is in the middle of his research right now, trying to get all his data collected. It's a little slow going because he has to have student participation and there aren't that many people willing to participate. So once he has found 75 participants he will be able to move on and finish his thesis and graduate. He has some great industry contacts which should help with the job hunt when it comes time. He has also started his own photography business which has been really exciting.

Me, well I have been home taking care of my husband, puppy, and house. I have been doing tons of research on how to improve the health of our family. We have cut processed foods from our diets, tried to buy organic or local when possible, used chemical free-homemade cleaners and have even changed the toiletry items that we use. I have been encouraged to start a healthy living blog and as soon as I can come up with a name for it I will begin posting to it (suggestions welcome). It would be a great way to share the information I am collecting and to keep me accountable. I have really enjoyed making this change and am excited about the long term effects that it will have on our family, as well as the health problems that our children will be able to avoid because of it.

Our most exciting news right now is that we have a new addition to our family! We got a 9 week old black lab recently so life has been anything but dull here. Her name is Rylie and she is just as precious as she can be! My parents got her brother, Baxter so it will be fun to get them together often. For more pictures of Rylie (Purple collar), Baxter (blue) and Ginny (pink), follow this link.
Well I guess that wasn't too bad. I will do my best to keep you updated from here!

Welcome to the family!

2010-01-29T22:15:00.009-05:00

Meet the newest addition to our family!

Full Name: Genesis
Nickname: Ginny
Birthday: July 13, 2009

About Ginny: Carson and I decided to foster puppies from the local humane society. Ginny was the first dog that we fostered and we quickly fell in love with her so instead of returning her when she got better, we decided to adopt! She is a Border Collie/Lab/Retriever mix (but we have no idea where the ears came from!) She is very intelligent but some times her puppy excitement gets in the way of her good behavior. She brings so much joy and excitement to our home!

Activities: "The Magic Carpet Ride", playing with daddy when he gets home from work, attacking her treats, taking very long walks, dreaming, chasing her toys, exploring the woods, attacking her treats, being spoiled, nap time:

Favorite Places:

Her Pillow

At Molly's feet in the kitchen

Country Living

2010-01-28T11:24:00.007-05:00

Most mornings I wake up and look out my window, patiently waiting to one day see a deer. Well this morning while putting the dishes away, I look out through my kitchen window and see this:

I was so excited to finally be enjoying one of the wonderful things about living out in the country!

Our new home

2010-01-26T16:06:00.008-05:00

Office

Guest room turned photography studio (also known as Carson's playroom)

Living room mantle

Living room (plus our foster puppy)

Dining Room

Kitchen

Our First Christmas

2010-01-26T15:33:00.008-05:00

Gosh, has it really been over a month since Christmas. Am I that far behind in keeping you guys updated? Well maybe now that we're getting settled into a schedule I'll be a little better at it.

Our first Christmas together was absolutely wonderful! Moving five days before Christmas isn't anything I would recommend but we were able to stop and enjoy the holiday. We had a wonderful and relaxing Christmas Eve dinner after church. Our dining room was lined with boxes but the table looked nice and we had our first "real" meal since the move. I was looking forward to a relaxing Christmas morning too but I didn't realize that all men turn back into little kids on Christmas morning! Carson was wide awake and ready to open presents while I was ready to sleep in a little more! My brother flew in Christmas night (his first visit to Clemson!!) so we spent the next few days having a great time with him.

I know it was hard on our families and we sure missed them, but I would not trade our first Christmas together for anything. A time to set our own traditions and to celebrate this holiday as a new family.

A little something to tide you over

2010-01-24T22:24:00.001-05:00

Sorry it has been a while. There is so much to catch up on but I haven't been spending very much time in front of the computer while we've been unpacking and getting settled. I'll catch up very soon but for now check out this video of what we're up to right now!