An Amazing "Grace"

Mama Grace has finally made her trip home to be with the Lord. At the age of 96, I know she was willing and ready.

Being my dad's grandmother, she loved to joke with him. She was such a blessing to be around, filled with lots of joy and love.

The news of her death has sadden me but I can rejoice to know that I will see her again one day. I know she is sitting up there doing what she loved to do and that is crocheting.

Since it was five generations, I was very thankful that she was able to be here and see Cohen.

Please pray for my Grandma Hardee and the family during this sad time.

More 2009 Babies.......

I have mentioned before that we will be adding on two more family members next year, Charlie's cousin, Tricia, due in April and my cousin-in-love due the end of May, which is so exciting. But, I recently found out that several of my friends are due and expecting in 2009.

Rhonda and Clay are expecting their first,

a baby girl, due February 6th.

Lisa and her husband, along with their son

are expecting a baby girl, due in March.

Dan, Kelly and Caleb are expecting

their second, due June 11th

Jamie, Deanna and James are adding

a little one, due May 23rd

It is just so exciting to see all of these special couples having their first or adding to their families. I know they all are thrilled and will make such great mommies and daddies. So congratulations to you all and I can't wait to see and meet your little ones.

The "Big Day"

At a half past three Saturday afternoon, a gorgeous bride walked down the aisle. The wedding ceremony was so sweet and beautiful. I have to say that one of my favorite moments of a wedding is watching the groom's face as he awaits the moment his bride comes out and walks down to him. It is so touching and just shows the wonderful emotions and love he has for her. So sweet!

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I am a little, well very, disappointed in myself that I did not take hardly any pictures like I had planned. I guess with all the excitement of things going on, chatting with everyone, the good food, tons of dancing (which by the way, I have not done in a very long time and it was so much fun) and of course, keeping up with a 15 month old little boy kept me from snapping that camera. A BIG THANKS to Kimberly for asking my mom to join the reception and a VERY BIG THANKS to my mom for coming and watching Cohen so that Charlie and I, along with several others that I am sure would have helped keep an eye on him, could enjoy the reception. And thank you to all the others who helped entertain our little boy.

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Here are the few pictures that I did get and apologize some are not that clear (due to the flash messing up).

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Everything turned out so wonderful and I do believe that the bride and groom had such a great time. Clint and Kimberly put a lot of work into this and it definitely showed what marvelous taste the couple has. I also have to mention that I was such a proud wife too. My husband, the very shy and reserved guy that he is, was asked by Clint to do the toast. Charlie came up with such a great idea. Now, to really understand the toast, you have to know Clint and of course, had to be there to hear it. Short version of speech, Charlie welcomed Kimberly into the family but he told her that he was glad she came into the picture before cloning was available because he thought Clint would marry someone like Clint. It was so hilarious and I believe everyone had a good laugh with it.


All in all, the wedding was perfect!

The "Rehearsal"

Friday night, family and friends gathered at "The Charles Ezra Daniel Memorial Chapel" at Furman University to rehearse for the wedding followed by a wonderful dinner at the Younts conference center on campus.

It was just a delight getting to meet all of Kimberly's family that traveled from New York. Her parents were so sweet as well as her two sisters and their families.

After an evening of good food and fellowship, we all headed home to rest up for "The Big Day".

Here are few pictures from the evening.

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY......

....for my brother-in-love and soon to be sister-in-love to "tie the knot". We are so excited for these two and are blessed to be able to share this special time with them. Although, we will be battling the cold weather that has come in, I pray that the weekend goes the way they want it to and that they are able to enjoy every minute of it. It is a time that will fly by and be over before you know it.

Clint and Kimberly, probably by the time you read this, you will be married and back to share the wonderful memories of your exciting trip in Mexico. So, we love you both and are happy to have Kimberly become part of the family. It is time that we add another female to the bunch since us gals are out numbered.

I will for sure take plenty of pictures so I can share them with you all..... Please keep Clint and Kimberly in your prayers for their health and safe return from their trip.

Made a Mommy's Day

Just recently, Cohen has officially picked up the letter "M" and has started saying Momma. I was so thrilled to finally hear that word come out of his mouth and hoping that he would stop referring to me as "Baba". If you ask him to say momma, he would use the the b sound. I was willing to take whatever he wanted to call me, but it sure feels nice to actually hear the real thing. So this week, he has been going around the house saying the sweet little sound a mommy loves to here. I might add that he hasnt yet called out for me as Mommy but we still have time for that.

Let's Dance!

Most of you know that in a few short days we have a big event to attend "Uncle Clint and Aunt Kimberly's Wedding". Which we are so excited and cannot wait to be a part of this special event. For the ones that don't know, Cohen's mommy loves to dance unlike his daddy. So I have been talking and working with him, as much as a I can since he started walking, about dancing. In hopes that a 15 month old might just be able to show a little dance move at his Uncle's wedding. He normally would just do a up and down movement but this week, he decided to pull a little Fred Astaire on us. To give a little more insight, I had purchased him a pair of slippers and when I put them on, he just went to town with the tapping. It was so cute and not really sure what made him do this because he has never done this while he has worn regular shoes. But is was so adorable and daddy was able to catch a little video of this action.

Fun in the Leaves....

Sunday was such a pretty day and after enjoying some good food at GG's, Charlie and Pops took Cohen outside to ride his power wheels. Cohen seemed to take a liking to the leaves so I went out to get a some shots.

Here are a few more pics from our fun day in the leaves.....

The weekend seemed to be a little busy but not too hectic. Our norm Tuesday night dinner with my in-loves had been moved to Friday night which we enjoyed one of Charlie's favorites, Chicken Casserole or as Charlie would call it "Kathy's Casserole". Yummy! I believe it has become one of my favorites too.

Saturday, Cohen and I made our way to check out the new Wal-mart on Pelham, which I have to say was a nice store, to do our normal grocery shopping. After dropping the groceries off, we met Grandma and Papa at the mall to visit for a little while. During this fun time, Charlie went over to help GG and Pop's with a house issue. Later, we joined them for a little while.

Sunday, we headed off to church and then headed over to GG and Pops. After another wonderful meal, some fun time in the leaves and a little rest, GG and I went to their church to enjoy a drama called "Heaven's Gates and Hell's Flames". It was really good and it sure does put things into perspective. It was exciting to see all the ones that went down to except Jesus. Thinking we would come home to two men and a little boy asleep, we found them watching the Wizard of Oz. Cohen was just sitting with Pops with a bowl of cheerios and in deep thought of what was going on in the movie. We were told that he had been watching from the beginning and at that time it was almost an hour into it. It was so adorable and I found myself wanting to watch him instead of the movie. So Cute.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Ride'm Cowboy!

"Hi Ho Silver" is what Uncle Clint would say while riding this horse when he was just a young'un. GG and Pops decided to get out "Silver" the horse to see if Cohen would like it and so he did. Pops would say "are the Indians coming" and Cohen would look behind him to see if they were and then turn and try to take off. It was so cute. I decided to try to catch his excitement on video via cellphone so the picture isn't that clear. It has been neat to see all the toys that the boys played with and now Cohen can enjoy the same ones that his daddy and uncles did.

T.G.I.F.

Well it is that time again, for all of us to have a few days off and enjoy whatever it is we all enjoy. For me, it is spending time with Charlie and Cohen. Tonight, we are going over to GG and Pops to partake in another one of GG's delicious meals, so looking forward to that. I intend to work around the house cleaning and re-organizing some things. Getting rid of stuff we don't need or use. So we will see it that actually happens.

I will leave you with a few pictures of my adorable little man. Cohen loves to look at books, pictures and magazines. It is so cute to hear him look at something and say "whoa", turn the page, and say "whoa" again.

Have a Great weekend!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Is the song I have stuck in my head today. Not sure why but it does get me excited about Christmas. I hate it when I can't wait for something to get here because you know it will be here before you know it and then it is over. But when you go out and you have this cool weather and you see Christmas stuff and that smell of cinnamon pine cones, well it just gets me excited!!!

It all makes me ready to decorate. I never thought I would be one of those that liked to put lights on the house; however, we plan to this year. My first thought is of Cohen's reaction. He loves to look at lights turn on and off and so I can hear him now saying "Whoa" which I really think he means "wow".

But I cant wait for Christmas because it should be a little more fun doing the Santa thing for Cohen. Even though I don't think he will understand that much of it. I am just thrilled about his gifts this year and just know that he will like them. I had purchased his first gift months ago and I am done or at least I better be with him. I love buying gifts for people especially when you know what you want to get them. I have all the little ones' gifts purchased, Cohen and Charlie are basically done and I can check my parents off. But I still have several to go.

I am a little silly when it comes to wrapping the gifts. I like to wait until I have all my gifts purchased and I make a big spot in the living room floor next to the Christmas Tree. With the Christmas tree lights on and some nice Christmas music playing, I will sit on the floor and begin wrapping all the gifts. I usually do some kind of theme, with all gifts wrapped in the same paper and an ornament to add a little extra touch.

So for now, I will hum the tune and wait patiently for November 28th, which is the day I WILL decorate.

Blast from the Past....

Last night, I joined several girls that I went to High School with and even one I attended elementary with, at Monterrey's to enjoy some delicious food and fellowship with one another.

About a month ago, I joined Face book something I sure you all are familiar with. And I have to say, it has been wonderful reconnecting with old friends whom I haven't seen in years. I am glad that I finally joined and have the opportunity to find so many people to see what is going on in their lives and share about mine.

We hope to continue this little get together and stay in touch with one another. Today, with all of us married and having families, it can be hard and not all were able to to make it this time. But hopefully we can make it happen.

Angela, Kristen, Crystal, Rhonda, Lisa and Bridget, it was truly a wonderful time getting to see you all and hearing about you and your families.

Welcome to the World "Charlie"!

Charlie Alexander was born yesterday at 4:47 pm, 7 lbs 4 ozs 20.5 inches.

Congratulations Lindsay and Monty.

I know you guys are exhausted and overjoyed at the same time.

We are so happy for you and will continue to keep you guys in our prayers.

No wait at the Outback!

Cohen and I originally joined my family at Olive Garden to celebrate my cousin Derrik's 27th birthday. However, the wait was going to be hours due to the two buses that came in before us. So we all headed over to the Outback where we were seated right away.
Grandma and Cohen waiting for the decision to stay at Olive Garden or to head somewhere else.

Although I am sure Derrik was thankful that the Outback crew did not sing "Happy Birthday" to him, the waitress did bring him a dessert to enjoy. We don't get to see each other a lot, but it was nice having dinner with the family and spending the time that we did with them.

Derrik, hope you had a wonderful time......



I enjoyed watching Cohen and Kayla's reaction to each other. Kayla is such a joy to be around, she is all smiles. She was even raising her hands like she was "Praising". So cute. The two kept wanting to swap with each other pacifiers. Looking forward to them getting to play at Christmas time.....

What a weekend!

Here I am back to work. Which today has started off to be a good day. I am just waiting to hear the exciting NEWS of Charlie Alexander's arrival. Hope all is going well for Mommy and Baby. Keeping you guys in my prayers.


To give you an update on Little Man. We were able to get some sleep this weekend with the help of allowing him to sleep in the same bed. He seems to be passed the teething for now.


Friday, I left work a little early to go see Charlie before he headed off on his boys only weekend to celebrate with Clint. They all seemed to have a great time and I am sure they were good as they could be.....Clint, I do hope you enjoyed your bachelor weekend!

Later, I joined GG and Cohen along for the ride to take Uncle Clark to Target. Never pass up a trip to Target even if I don't buy anything. After dropping Clark off, we picked up Chick-Fil-A and went back to GG's. GG was very gracious to keep Cohen for the night so that I may catch up on some well needed sleep. I was asleep around 8:30 pm.......


Saturday, since I didn't have Cohen there to wake me up bright and early, I slept in a little. Took care of some errands, picked up Cohen and met my family for cousin Derrik's birthday dinner. My parents, Cohen and I went to ToysRus where I couldn't help myself purchase a few more Santa items for Cohen. The place was packed but it is always fun checking out the toys and listening to Cohen's version of "wow".


Sunday, Cohen and I attended Church. Afterwards, we, along with GG, met Aunt Kimberly at PF Changs for lunch. And oh, it was good. Gotta love those chicken lettuce wraps. I wanted to take a picture; however, I just forgot to. I think it might have had something to do with Cohen being really fussy there. I felt bad for the people next to our table. He was just sleepy and was fighting it.


Overall, the weekend was really busy and fun. We were especially excited to have daddy back home with us on Sunday.

Many Reasons for loving Friday....

1-Charlie heads out this evening along with a few of Clint's friends to join him in Savannah for the Bachelor weekend. Although I am sad that we will be without daddy/hubby for a few days, I am glad he is getting away for a well deserved weekend trip. So boys, make sure you have a great weekend and remember to be well behaved boys.

2-Getting closer for the anticipation of Little Charlie's arrival date. I know Lindsay (especially) and Monty are so thrilled and filled with so many emotions for this little one to arrive. Guys, we are praying for you all and cant wait to see pictures of Charlie.

3-Saturday, Cohen and I will be joining my family for a birthday dinner to celebrate my cousin's, Derrik, birthday. Cant wait to see everyone!

4-Hoping that Cohen and I will be able to have good sleep tonight and if not, at least we DO NOT have to get up for work tomorrow morning. I will be able to nap when and if he takes a nap......

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

NEED SLEEP.................

So, last night was another bad night with little man and we are lacking major good sleep. Which I know that after having children, I don't think you ever get any good sleep anymore. It starts with the normal baby stuff. Then as they finally start sleeping through the night, you might be up with one being sick and then the next one gets sick. Oh and then it comes the teenage years, when they are allowed to drive and go out by themselves. Do you even get sleep then?

The joys of being parents and yes there are so many joys and I would not trade these terrible nights for the old days when I could go to sleep whenever I wanted and get up whenever I wanted. We are very fortunate to have both sides of parents willingly to take Cohen whenever we need that break.

How I managed years ago, staying up or going out late and still able to function at work the next and to start it all over again. I don't know how I did it. Guess I am just getting old (lol)

I just hope we can get passed this and little man will be normal again. and of course, so we can get some sleep...

Place your Trust in God....

This week has been a very interesting one with the crazy election we had. I have been listening to both sides, ones that are extremely disappointed and scared for our nation and then the others, who believe there is good change that will be coming. Whichever side you may be on, the main thing we need to remember is that GOD IS IN CONTROL. He knows what is best for this nation and its future. On my way to work this morning, the song "In Christ Alone" was on the radio (and was sung by Brian Littrell from the Backstreet Boys, who I had no idea had gone contemporary Christian). As I was listening to the words, I thought about this election and all the worries that some have. You may not agree with everyone, nor the new President, but we should pray for our nation and our President, along with his family, in hopes that something does turn out for the good. But if a better change does not come, as long as you have faith in God and trust him, then we will get through whatever it is.

"In Christ alone, I place my trust, and find my glory in the power of the Cross. In every victory, let it be said to me, my source of strength, my source of hope, is Christ alone."

Teething is Ruff!

The past several days, little man has been feeling pretty bad. We were able to make it through at least 12 teeth before he would have any major side affects. Until lately. We battled a while back, right after he turned one with a sickness and now we going through it again. Poor little man. He has been running high fevers and just not feeling the best at all. It just breaks your heart not to mention the lack of sleep. This past Sunday night, well it was a ruff night. Monday, he seemed to do OK. Tuesday night, it started back up and he stayed with GG and Pops, and it was a ruff night. And last night, again was a very ruff night. Let's just say that I am glad we have a comfortable couch. At six o'clock this morning, I had decided that it might just do me some good and stay home in hopes to catch up on some z's then realizing Cohen wasn't going to go back to sleep to all, well I figured it would be best to go to work and tough it out. (and yes I am having a hard time holding my eyes open).


Knowing this is a normal thing and he will get through it, please say a little pray that it might move a little faster for the little guy.........

Becoming a lil' daredevil....

Most of you know that for Cohen's first birthday, we got him the Power Wheels Lil' Quad. Since then, we (mostly daddy) has had to bend over and push the button to make it go. He loves to take one of his animals along for a ride too. But recently, Cohen has found the "red button", the button that makes it go. We were so excited, however, he has not grasped the idea of steering the thing. I guess one thing at at time, right? So this means straight into furniture and walls, or whatever is in his way. He also has learned that he can stand while riding or actually stand on the seat of the power wheels. He seems to like to climb onto things and stand up which can make a mommy nervous. I know, I know, this is just the beginning of what this little man is going to do. I definitely don't want him to be scared of things so hopefully he will make smart choices as he tries to become this Lil' Daredevil he is......

Oh Boy, an Apple!

If you are a mommy, especially a new mommy, you will know that just the smallest things touch your heart. And for me, this was one of them. Cohen has a love for apples. We use to cut them up for him but after the apple picking at Skytop, we realized that he loves to hold the whole apple.

Last night, as I was cooking dinner, Cohen spotted an apple and started asking for it. I wish I had recorded him saying it, because it is so cute the way it comes out. So I decided to go ahead and let him have it, at least it wasn't a cookie which is the thing he normally would ask for (and can say really good- a word that you for sure can understand).

He was so cute as he would just walk around, the apple's juice just running down his arms and taking bite after bite.

Then I found him laying on the floor, propped up against some pillows watching T.V.

TOO CUTE!