The House That Built Me

December 26- Mine and Kevin's childhood house burned. (Mom still owned it) And although I am grateful no one was in the house, I am saddened by this. I know you hold memories in your heart but that house was were we survived hurricanes, our parent's divorce, Mema's passing. So this blog is dedicated to the "house that built me". We moved into this house when I was in 3rd grade. I remember Bradley being so excited that I was going to be his neighbor. As we grew up, Bradley would knock on my window for me to come outside. Kevin learned how to ride his bike on the grass at that house. Our dog, Star and Roxie are both burried in the backyard. We had a trampoline that ended up being my tanning spot during the season. I remember having a crush on a boy that lived across 2 streets and I could see his house when I jumped on the trampoline. I did it a lot! It snowed once enough that Daddy could make us some snow cream. All of the Christmas mornings! Mom and Dad had to move into the living room while their room was being added on ontop of their old room becoming mom's closet and a bathroom being installed. No one was allowed at our house during this time. Once, my "Rustang's" horn went off in the middle of the night and mom had to go out and beat on the car for it to stop. Basketball Sundays when all of our friends would come over to play basketball. Our first Christmas when our parents decided to get a divorce..Dad was still there on Christmas morning. Easter Egg hunts in the backyard. The plum tree that made such a mess of our backyard that eventually got cut down. Club houses with Joey, Kevin, and Andrea. I have a ton more but memories are in your heart but without our home, theses memories wouldn't be. I recall saying to my parents when they decided to divorce that I was staying with the house..didn't matter which parent it was. My heart is a little heavy today looking back. Dillon will always be home and 450 Pinecone Road will always be "the house that built me".

Colin loves presents!

Let me go ahead and apologize for your drool covered, soggy presents. I think it adds character.  :)  Colin chews on everything and shiny, colorful presents are preferred by little man!

7 months

Finally, I'm posting these! He turned 7 months on December 3.

He's the best thing in our world! We love you so much Colin Michael even if you constantly worry your parents with your falls and attempts to getting ahold of electrical things.    By the way, Colin weighs 19 lbs!!

O' Christmas Tree

We were quite disappointed in the tree selection or lack there of at the Christmas Tree Farm.  Made us miss our Cola days. However, we did find the best out of the bunch and daddy is so strong that he cut that tree down in record speed! :)

Thankful for Thanksgiving and Time with family

Sorry for the slacking here with posts. Been busy with an on the move little guy who has been busy growing not one but two teeth! Not only has he been busy with teeth growing but also fighting a double ear infection which is now lead to a cough and runny nose.  So as you can see...time has been scarce!

Our Thanksgiving was so wonderful filled with such love and family! I can't tell you how grateful and thankful I am to be blessed with such amazing people that I am lucky enough to call my family! Thank you Aunt Colleen and Uncle Tony and Guiness for making the trip from Ohio to spend time with us. We appreciated it so much and can not wait to see you guys again!

I absolutely LOVE this picture.

I thought that maybe since Colin had some teeth, it would be a great time to introduce some turkey to Colin. However, Colin's doctor said not so fast. So Colin enjoyed some of mommy's mashed potatoes and Aunt Colleen's sweet potatoes. He enjoyed them very much. Just check out his little face and bib!

19-26 of thanks

19. quality time with family!
20.  A happy and healthy Colin!
21.Pinterest. I get the best ideas from that site!
22. I am thankful for a break from work!
23.I am thankful that my sweet husband waited so patiently while I got a mall massage.
24. Good Food on a Good Day!
25. Today I am thankful that Colin slept until 7:30. Woo Hoo!!
26. Our Christmas Tree!

Special Request

First things first. You didn't honestly think I would post each day on here, did you? Haha! You're so silly if you did. I have a hard enough time finding the time to actually post. My crawling little man likes the dangerous stuff- you know cords, sockets, dirty shoes, cell phones, computers.  He keeps me pretty busy these days! Anywho!  :)

Day 15 - I am thankful for the fence that was built so that our little boy can play safely in our backyard. Also for when summer comes and I'm pasty white, I can have comfort in knowing that I can lay out and not be noticed b/c I will be hidden by our fence!
Day 16 - I am thankful for a beautiful home that provides shelter for me and my family.
Day 17 - I am thankful for my students. Although they drive me crazy, I am thankful for them. They teach me so much.
Day 18 - I know I said I was thankful for my husband already- But I am thankful for his understanding. and this is where I will lead into the reasoning behind my title....

We were blessed to be able to keep a foster child for a very short period of time.( a week and a half).(The child is not jumping from home to home; his foster parents went out of town and I offered to keep them)  Ever since I heard this child's story, my heart has been heavy and I can't explain it but before I knew this child, I felt a connection. I've prayed for and continue to pray for guidance.  I feel like I have a role/ a purpose/ something. Like I said, I can't explain it.  I don't think I really ever realized some of the monsters that  actually exist in our world. I have not yet figured out my purpose so my request is that you pray for this child and that we'll be able to hear and follow God's plans for us. I am so thankful for my husband who realizes and understands when something is important to me and makes it important to him.

7-14 of thanks.

7. I am thankful for blue skies and white puffy clouds. Always puts me in a good mood.

8. I am thankful that my parents installed morals into me and that I was brought up in a home filled with love. My mom always made sure and still does that I knew she was proud of me.

9. I am thankful for a growing, beautiful family.

10. I am thankful for the wonderful people in my life. Both professionally and socially. I am so glad to be surrounded by people who influence me to be a better person.

11. I am thankful for the men and women who have and continue to fight for my freedom.

12. I am thankful to live in such a wonderful country where I am able to choose my religion!

13. I am thankful for sleep which is so scarce!

14. I am thankful for a warm bed!

6 Months Old!!!

Wow! His Half Birthday has already arrived! Where did the time go? My sweet boy is growing like a weed! You blink and he's changed. You blink and he's discovered something new that he can do! I am amazed at how God has created something so perfect, so wonderful and how in such an instant I have fallen in love with this blessing.  Colin Michael, I love you more than I even know how to say!

At 6 months, this is what Colin has discovered/can do:

• Crawls/Scoots
• Hold his own bottle
• Laugh when he is tickled on his belly
• Screams like we are hurting him when getting dressed
• Makes Sounds like "puh" and I'm pretty sure "mama"  :)
• Still gives the sweetest kisses with the meanest hair pulling
• Lately acts like he's 6 weeks rather than 6 months with his night time schedule.  Pray for his Mama!
• Loves his sitter and her son...He walks in the room and Mama no longer exists!
• Has discovered peaches and loves them!
• Sits up so well
• Crawls and then sits up from that position
• Can get to where is he wants to go.
• Favorite toys: His doggie and his book Mimi got him
• Such a tall boy!
• Hair is getting thicker and now is growing over his ears...it drives his daddy crazy.
• Kicks off his shoes within 30 seconds of his mom putting them on.
• Can finally where the baseball caps his mama bought for him before he was even born!

We go to the doctor in a week for more shots ( ughhhh!) and to get weighed and measured.  Baby boy is probably pushing 20 lbs! We'll see!

Day 5: I am thankful for my job! I feel so blessed to have a job and even more blessed to be able to do what I love to do!

Day 6: I am thankful that God knows what is best for me. There have been many times I've prayed for things to happen/not happen and God listened but knew what was in store for me down the road.  So today, I am thankful for God's assurance and all-knowing!

Day 3 and 4 of Thanks

Day 3: I am thankful for the amazing blessing that is Colin Michael. Lord knows my heart could just burst because of that sweet boy. Watching him grow and discover his world has been simply wonderful.

Day 4: I am thankful for my family. Brendan and I are both blessed with such loving families! God sure did place us with the right bunch!!

Day 1 and 2 of Thanks

So I've seen some people online posting each day what they are thankful for- They are posting I guess until Thanksgiving so I thought I'd do this via the blog rather than facebook.

1. Today I am thankful for God's abundant love!

2. Today I am thankful for an incredible husband who is not only VERY good looking :)  but so understanding, caring, and supportive. I could probably go on and on about how blessed I am for my hard working husband who makes me feel loved each day.

Daddy makes Colin laugh

My pumpkin in the patch

Last Saturday, Daddy, Mommy, and Baby Colin went to the pumpkin patch. It was a nice patch that even had a small petting zoo. The donkey and goats were very interested in Baby Colin and Colin was a little interested in them as well. We could have actually taken a hay ride to the patch and picked our pumpkin out but we thought that would probably be a little more fun for him next year so we just picked out one of the ones that had already been plucked from the patch. Mommy even got a nice size mum! ( No jokes here about my brown thumb...hopefully this plant will survive my care) We ate lunch at the patch and even tried some of their homemade cookies. Yummmmy!  Our Saturday wore us all out!

Could you not just sop him up with a biscuit?!  ( My Mema would be so proud of my reference...my true southerness coming out with that one!)

Amazed at the straw. This picture is put on here to basically show off his cute shirt!

So intrigued. He would not look at me in a single pumpkin picture. Out of probably 50, there are NONE were his eyes are on mommy. He was either looking at his surroundings or people watching. Mommy just was not interesting enough for this little man.

Boo at the Zoo Con't

For some reason this photo would not load when I was making the first entry! I am usually the one behind the camera so it's rare to get a picture where there are all 3 of us in it! However, I made it a point to get our picture made with Colin dressed up in his costume! I love my sweet little family!

Boo at the Zoo

Colin is a horse by the way.  :)  Griffin is a puppy and Blakely is a strawberry!

Mad as Fire

Colin just happens to make THE MOST adorable upset face. Unfortunately my husband and I are never able to catch this on camera until I discovered that growling like a bear makes this little man tear up. So as horrible as it is that we made our son cry so that we could catch a picture of this total cuteness- check out how beautiful this kid is even when he's "mad as fire".

My babies

This year God has truly blessed me with some kids. From the very beginning ,before children were picked, I prayed that I would get some of those sweetie that their stories were just...unbelievable. I don't know if it's my hormones or if God was just laying it on my heart, but my prayers were answered. Little did I know, I would have kiddos that really needed love, patience, and guidance. I find myself at the end of the day,a little upset that some of them have to leave me. My heart aches imparticular for this one child. I am not allowed to say much or give their identity, but I ask that you please pray for my kiddos: The homes they go to, the homes they crave, the things they see and hear it just isn't fair. They are too little and too innocent and too precious to have expierenced such heartache and pain. Please pray that I can give them what they need, please pray for them, for their well being and that what is stirring up in me finds resolution. Thank you.  (Sorry, my heart and mind are heavy tonight)

Quick, Hurry!

Check out Collin M. Smith's blog over there > to the right. Colin, Brendan, and I...mostly Colin made their blog! He does wonderful pictures and his wife was excellent at soothing and rocking Colin to sleep. Anywho! Check them out!  This was his newborn session. We were quite blessed to have 2 photographers snap our little man's picture. I booked Collin before Colin was even born then later learned about Donna Kay doing pictures and well it's obvious how wonderful her pictures are as well! Both amazing photographers and both sessions turned out differently!  Just thought I would share.

Colin tries to crawl part 1

5 Months Young!

Not to brag or anything. (Ha!) But my youngin' is quite photogenic!

Here is what little man does now:

• He is rolling all over the place
• He pulls my face close to his and gives me the best, wettest, most sweet kisses
• He laughs
• No matter how upset he is, if Mommy gets up and dance- Colin will instantly smile and laugh.  ( Maybe this will make mommy a skinny mommy come next summer!) I had to laugh at myself the other day...Oh the things we do to make our babies happy.
• He loves green beans
• Bath time is still a blast
• He absolutely hates getting into his car seat
• He doesn't mind the ride
• He absolutely loves his daddy
• He is trying to crawl
• He "walks" backwards in his walker
• Colin is such a happy boy!
• He tries to take mommy's cup from her and put his mouth on it
• He is squealer!! a LOUD one!
• Anything near him....he grabs and puts into his mouth!

I sure do breathe, eat, sleep, live for COLIN MICHAEL.  My baby boy is getting so big and growing much too fast!! Stay tuned to the latest. We've got lots of upcoming events and firsts!  :)  Happy Fall, Y'all!

Random Photos found

Can you guess who picked this shirt out?  :)

Buhbuhbuhbaby

I am hoping this video plays all the way through. When I saw it, it went mute at the end and I don't know if I hit mute when videoing or if it was an upload error. Either way, you can hear my little man. He gets even louder...at 6 in the morning. I do have such a happy boy who happens to have the most beautiful smile I have ever seen! ( you also get to see that!) How awesome is our God to create such a wonderful blessing in our lives! How in the world did I breathe before Colin Michael?!

Colin hanging from the door frame

Just showing off our growing boy. Tomorrow he'll be 5 months!! My goodness, where did the time go? I am constantly looking back at pictures and videos and thinking "what?!, that was only a month, 2 months, 3 months, etc. ago! It is so true, you blink and he's doing something new. Watching him discover his world has been so rewarding. I love my little boy more than I thought I could ever love!

Whooooo is it?

Uncle Michael!

How I ever let these pictures escape their appearance to the blog, I have no idea!  Uncle Michael came for a visit and Colin sure had a great time getting snuggles from him!

Hurricane Irene in Myrtle Beach (Tropical Storm)

Grandparents Day

( A week late...it was last Sunday)

We just wanted to say thank to our grandparents! Although times have changed and we don't see you often or unfortunately anymore because you've been called Home, we were and continue to be blessed by the love that  was shown and given to us by you. We love you always!

To Colin's grandparents: 
 Thank you for all that you do for us and for Colin. Whether it was to watch him so we could sleep or just coming to visit him- it always means so much. Thank you for always thinking of him when you're out and about and for calling us to check in and answering my questions/concerns when I am freaking out because I am still learning the ropes here!  We mostly thank you for your constant love. Your love for him is gigantic and it's obvious with every visit how much you love him. Seeing how you love our son fills us with so much joy and makes us appreciate you even more.  I know we were blessed with the best grandparents but I've got to say Colin sure is blessed with the greatest grandparents as well!

Happy Grandparent's Day!

(by the way- Grandparent's Day last year, we announced to Grandpa and Mimi that we were expecting!)

Beach Day Part 2

Playing with Papa Randy!

 Our sweet friends, Keith and Ashyn.

 Our little family of 3. I think this may be the first picture of all 3 of us since Colin was first born and Donna Kay took them. Please just take a quick glance and go to the next pic please. We just had a baby......  haha

Even though there are so few pics of me with Colin because I am usually the one behind the camera. I can't get enough of seeing my husband with our son. It brings an automatic smile to my face.

  Thanks mom for letting me steal this pictures....you didn't even know I did so. But thank you for taking them and for loving us so much! We sure do love you!!

Ohhh Ahhh

You can't help but to look at this photo and smile! What a happy little boy we have. He smiles all of the time therefore, we smile all of the time! Brendan said it best when he said it's even better when he smiles because we can make him smile now! He smiles if we smile, he smiles if we laugh, he smiles if you make a silly noise, he smiles if you talk to him...you get the point!  I actually think he favors his cousin Case here!

Friends and the Gamecocks

Labor Day weekend was such a wonderful weekend and one we were so anxious for! Not only was it the first USC football game of the season but some of our best friends came for the weekend! Thank you  guys so much for making the trip. We miss you guys so much and love when we are all able to get together.  We are so blessed!

Beach Day

Griffin and Colin passed out on the beach! This was such a sweet picture of the 2 of them!

More pics to come...I just have to steal them from my mom's camera!  However, this has to be one of my most favorite pictures. Those 2 are my heart!

Colin is 4 months!

Look at my sweet boy!! He's growing way too fast! He has his 4 month checkup yesterday including shots. Booo! Tears were shed again but not quite as bad as last time.  Colin weighed in at 16.8 lbs (75th percentile) and 26 inches long (90th percentile). 

Just some new things about little man:  His personality is starting to show! He is such a flirt and a happy baby! He smiles at everyone and giggles now!! He can roll over from back to tummy and tummy to back. Although he prefers back to tummy. He holds his head up so well and can take toys from my hands. He has successfully put his passy in his mouth a few times!  He loves his sitter, Mrs. Leslie and he loves the children she keeps.  They all love him too which makes this mama so proud and happy. Last week was the first time I did not cry leaving him. Tuesday doesn't count because we had a long weekend together. :)   Colin also loves to talk and I'm hoping "ma ma/ da da" are in his very near future!  He also loves his hands! He is always sticking them in his mouth- occasionally gagging himself.  He can eat cereal very well and last night he got a little bit of squash last night for the first time and loved it! Daddy doesn't like that he's so messy when he eats. Mommy thinks it's funny and adorable to mommy does the feeding most of the time!  Bath time is so much fun! I usually get pretty wet from all the splashes! No teeth yet but Colin is a drooling machine! We go through at least 5 bibs a day!  Colin makes his family so proud! Also- he is getting told quite a bit that he is looking more and more like his mommy and his mommy is growing a big head. haha  I just happen to think he is gorgeous so I'll take that compliment! haha Well, my happy boy wants me to come play and there is no saying no to him- for now! :)

Roll Colin Roll Baby

Breaking News!!

Colin rolled from his back to his tummy today!! And he kept doing it!  Video to follow soon!! This has made changing his diaper a little more difficult. SO very proud of our growing boy! I am one proud, proud mommy!!

Bubbles

 Colin and his great,great Aunt Lynn. Such a sweet picture! Who doesn't love Colin's sugar? It's the sweetest!

First Swim

Colin, Daddy, and I went to Aunt Lynn's condo for a swim! She's got an indoor pool and it had rained earlier so we thought indoor was the way to go! However, that water was still chilly!! Colin did not mind the water.  He was very unsure at first! We plan to take him back to the pool soon! He enjoys bath time so much now and so I am curious to see if he'll enjoy the pool the same!  The next day, he did go to the ocean and I did dip his fit into the rushing water. That scared him and needless to say, we were done with the ocean. This is Colin in his bumbo, under an umbrella (although it was so cloudy, he didn't need one). He even had a bottle on the beach. Thanks Donna Kay!  :) She also took those amazing pictures above!

One sad mommy

So the time has arrived. August. The time when children go back to school which means this new mommy must go back to work too. I honestly thought at first, it would be so easy to go back.  As much as I love Colin, I do miss adults and I can go a bit stir crazy sitting in the house all day, every day.  However, as soon as August hit, I realized this was going to be no easy thing to do! I cried before I was even due back. Just the thought broke my heart! They say it gets easier and I pray and hope "they" are right. Whoever "they" are did not have Colin Michael as their son that's for sure. Leaving this kiddo is insanely tough and there has not been a morning so far that I have not cried on the way to his sitters and then again on the way to work. Our mornings are so sweet together and he is such a happy boy!  It is astounding to me how much I am in love! He did not have a great day today as he cried and cried and Mrs. Leslie had a difficult time soothing him so please pray that we'll both get the hang of this. My heart can hardly take this! I try to think of the positives like how wonderful a life we will be able to give Colin with me working such as a paid for college education! haha In honesty, please say a quick prayer for me that I can cope with not being with my son all day and one for Colin that he will have a much better day with his sitter which by the way is such a sweet person and I am so pleased with her! I have a lot of pics to share but as of right now every spare moment is spent with my loves.  By the way, he's snoozing right now.  :)

Colin is 3 months!

As of Aug. 3.  I'm late and sweet boy will soon be 4 months but this was taken when he turned 3 months!

Action Shot of him spitting up.

 This is the same face his daddy makes!

 Just the most amazing, cutest little thing in my world!