Our anniversary...

Yesterday was our 3rd wedding anniversary and this one will go down in the books!

I was up in Johnson City yesterday and by the grace of God (and my mother!), we have found a place to live. I met my mom up in our new city and she helped me out with Mallory and also made some phone calls for me to different property management companies to inquire about rentals. The place that she called yesterday morning was the managers of the house we'll be renting. It's a little house that will suit our needs for the next 6 months or so until we can find permanent housing. The place we found will allow pets and a short-term lease, praise God! The back yard is HUGE and has a 6-foot privacy fence, so there is absolutely NO WAY the dog can jump over this fence! If she does, then she's made of magic or something! Now, we haven't had any problems with digging, so hopefully we won't face that. Anyway, it's going to be nice. It's hard to believe that in 15 days, we'll be Tennesseeans! Gosh, it's hard to believe how quickly our move is approaching!

Patrick and I went out to a nice dinner last Saturday, so at least we got to celebrate a little for our anniversary. I was sad to be away from Patrick the majority of our actual anniversary day, but it was necessary for us to find a place to live! And God provided!

As of yesterday, I thought we had 3 weeks until we moved. My mom kindly announced that I really only had 2 weeks before we moved. Yikes! 7 precious days were mentally taken away from me and I'm now in overdrive. We have SOOO much to accomplish in such a little time. It's overwhelming at times, but I'm surprised at how I'm not consumed with worry. God is my strength and with Him, we'll get through! I'm so glad that He's coming with us to this new city. I have to confess that I've been pretty lonely at times these past two weeks. I know that it's only going to get harder, but I also know that the Lord is with me. I'm so glad I have Mallory, too. She's my buddy and will keep me company during the lonliest of times.

Keep us in your prayers as we embark on these next few weeks, which will probably be some of the most difficult weeks of our lives.

I just wanted to share what's been going on in our lives. So, if I'm not faithful with my blog for the next few weeks, please forgive me! :-)

Go Gators!

We're excited about football season being right around the corner!!! We hope to cheer the Florida Gators on to many victories!!!

Remembering Brooke

It was a year ago today that my cousin lost her baby, Brooke MacKenzie. I was only 6 weeks pregnant when it happened and I remember how much it pained me to hear of her loss. I had my first visit with Joy just this past Friday since Brooke's death. I tried to respect her timetable of healing before I visited her, since I knew Brooke's memory was still fresh in her heart. Joy gladly welcomed our visit and it was SOO nice to finally hug her and share my little Mallory Brooke with her. I was able to "meet" Brooke through pictures and memoires, which was so touching. I could see, and almost feel, the pain they experienced with her death, but rejoice that Joy's family turns to the Lord for strength. I'm thinking about and praying for Joy a lot today, knowing that she'll be remembering her daughter today with longing. God is good and provides the ultimate comfort for a hurting heart.

I will be photographing a Rememberance Walk in Winston-Salem this October that Joy is a part of. The walk is to remember babies that died in utero or shortly after birth. She said that there are about 75 babies that will be remembered at this event, which is so wonderful! I'm so glad that I'll have the opportunity to honor Brooke in this way and all the other babies that had such a brief life.

I just wanted to share the significance of this day with you all. Continue to pray for my family!

The Lord is so good!

4 months old!

Mallory was 4 months old on Saturday. It's hard to believe that she's getting so big!!! We had a fun weekend, which I'll share about in a later post. I wanted to go ahead and put this picture on the blog, though. She is just so cute!!!

Crazy Dog

And I thought my dog was crazy! I thought this was a really funny video.

I don't know what to think, Mommy!

Here's a video of the day Mallory tried out her new toy!  I kept asking her what she thought and she kept giving me this look like "I don't know, Mommy!!!".  She's just so cute!

Time for Pictures!

It's been a while since I've posted pictures of Mallory. She is growing up to be so big! It's amazing how time flies. It was a year ago on Wednesday that I told Patrick I was pregnant. Gosh, this past year has totally changed our lives...but for the better!

















Tummy Time!




















My new toy!!!

















I think I like my new toy!





















I LOVE playing with my daddy!

















I love playing with mommy too!

House for Sale!

It's hard to believe that we're actually moving. Our house went on the market last Thursday afternoon and we've already had 7 showings. It's been a challenge getting out of the house with the dog and the baby, but we've managed, thanks to our in-laws who welcome all 3 of us with open arms! We've had great feedback on the property, but no offers yet! Hopefully soon.

I'm in the midst of packing boxes while trying to keep my house neat in case a realtor calls to request a showing. It's been challenging and requires a lot more time! I've got 12 boxes packed so far and a whole lot more to go! Does anyone have any boxes they're willing to give us?

Yum-Yum Time is Over!

253 - that's the number of how high my cholesterol is. I was shocked when I found out this past Monday! So, I've decided to start some more exercising and totally changing my diet. I'm now walking my dog every morning around 7am, which I've done for the last 3 out of 4 days. I've dropped almost 3 pounds since then, which made me realize how much my lack of activity and eating habbits affected me! But, it's been REALLY hard to give up my evening ice cream. I have a "yum yum" bowl that's about a half-a-cup big, which holds maybe a scoop and a half of ice cream (much smaller than my usual 3 or 4 scoops!). I just use a smaller spoon to make it seem like it's more than it really is!














(Then and Now...respecitively)

I hoping that in these coming weeks and months, I'll be able to lower this cholesterol and feel better about my well-being (for those of you in Bible Study yesterday, it's a way for us to be "busy at home"!!!).

So it got me thinking, what would be the hardest thing to cut from your diet if you had to?

Anyone want to buy a dining room table?

Or do you know of anyone who wants one? I'd like to sell ours before we move...

Are you from Tennessee?

"You're the only 'ten I see'." I hear this from Patrick ALL the time, which is sweet but annoying when I hear it OVER and OVER!

Well, it's official. We are moving to Tennessee sometime in the middle of September. There is A LOT to do between now and then, but we're excited about starting this new adventure in our lives. It will be VERY sad to leave all the friends we've made in the last 5 years of living in Charlotte, especially leaving Patrick's parents and our dear church family. We anticipate LOTS of company to come visit us in the mountains of Johnson City, TN (skiing, hiking, and for you NASCAR fans, Bristol!!!)! Please pray for us in this endeavor and that the inevidable chaos won't overwhelm us to the point of missing out on Mallory's early months. Also pray that we won't succumb to unneccessary arguments between each other!

God is sovereign and we praise him for this opportunity! May He be glorified in our move!

The High Calling of a Wife

I have the joy and priviledge of leading a bible study this Thursday regarding the Titus 2:4-5 instruction for women to be "busy at home". In my research, I came across this great article about our calling. It's pretty long, but it was a blessing to read.

Sunny Florida!

And my, what a sunny Florida it was! Mallory and I took a 7-day long adventure down to Florida to visit some friends and family that I haven't seen for a while. My mom wanted to go down south to see her mother and I asked if we could join her. Patrick was so wonderful to let me take off for a week with his precious little daughter so I could take this trip. It meant so much to me for him to be so supportive! He at least had Cayman to keep him company!

Mallory and I headed off on our adventure on Sunday afternoon, July 16th. Our first stop was Elberton, GA to meet my mom. We left her place on Monday morning around 8am after Mallory's first feeding of the day.














We stopped about an hour and a half later for Mallory to eat and stretch before we got back in the car. She was such a trooper during the entire trip! She napped well and played with herself while she was awake. My mom bought her this cute little mirror that allowed us to see what she was up to and gave her some distraction from the long trip! I loved having this mirror!















After one more stop on the road, we made our first destination around 3:30pm, which was Orange Park, FL. We made two stops here; one stop included cookies and ice cream with a long-time family friend, Mary. Her house was the only house I didn't take a picture at!!! But, it was nice to visit with Mary and show off my baby! The next stop was at my Uncle Bob (my dad's brother) and Aunt Gail's house, which was also in Orange Park. They lovingly made us dinner and we enjoyed having another opportunity to stretch out our muscles and play with the baby.




















After we left their house around 8:15, we headed up to Jacksonville Beach to stay with one of my best friends, Kristin. We got there about 9pm and were TIRED! It was good to see Kristin's house, though, which was about 9 blocks from the ocean. The next day, we headed out to the beach for a few pictures, but we were only outside briefly, since it was so HOT! But, I got several pictures of Mallory's first time at the beach. She slept through it all!!!















We at lunch at a really neat beachy restaurant in Atlantic beach (2 beaches up), visited a little more, and then headed off around 2pm to go to our next destination, which was my brother-in-law's parents, who live just within the border of the Ocala National Forest in Silver Springs, FL. Now, if you've never been to the Forest, it's pretty dismal! Nothing but pine trees for miles! It's been a LONG time since I've asked the question "Are we there yet?", but I think I asked my mom that question a couple of times on that leg of the journey. We FINALLY arrived at the Latonas around 4:30pm on Tuesday. They LOVED seeing Mallory and it was so much fun to have them gush over her!















It was nice to be able to visit them and catch up on their lives. After Mrs. Latona fed us some delicious coconut cream pie (one of my favorites), we headed up to Candler, FL to see my grandparents.

We briefly visited with my grandma and grandpa on Tuesday night, but we were so tired that we headed over to my Uncle Dave (mom's brother) and Aunt Maureen's house for some dinner and bed!!! On Wednesday, we went back to my grandparents to visit. It had been over a year since I've seen grandma and grandpa and it was SOOO good to be able to hug them! I've missed seeing them. I have so many good memories with them as a kid and it's hard to be so far away. But, the time I do get to spend with them is always sweet. My grandmother has been struggling with her health over the past year or two and is gradually getting worse. I was expecting the worst when I went to visit her, but she looked really good and I was able to have some very nice conversations with her. She was very happy to comply to a "4 generation" picture!!!















She enjoyed Mallory so much and I was so thankful that she was able to meet her second great-granddaughter! This picture was actually taken on Mallory's 3-month birthday, so it will actually be Mallory's 3-month picture. It was such a sweet time! Here is a picture of my grandpa and grandma with Mallory...














We spent all day on Wednesday in Candler with my family. I have 5 cousins on this side of my family and I was able to see 3 of them. My cousin, Aaron, and his wife have 1 1/2 year old daughter, Peighton, who came over on Wednesday night to visit. I also have a cousin, Elisha (a girl...pronounced "Alicia"), who is 1 year older than Mallory (my aunt had her at 39!!!) and having all three little girls there was so much fun! We had a big dinner together that night and it was nice to just catch up and watch the girls! Elisha's sister, Kenzie, is 11 and she's such a beautiful girl! We spent a lot of the day on Wednesday with her, too. I took some beautful portraits of Kenzie and Elisha that I can't wait to show them.

On Thursday, we said a tearful goodbye to my grandparents and headed up to Albany, GA to see my sister and brother-in-law. We stopped in Gainesville (my hometown) for a brief visit to some old family friends, the Clendenins. It had been over 10 years since I had been to their house, so it brought back a lot of memories for me! It was fun to show off Mallory, yet again, and she was being so cute...as always! Later that afternoon, we headed up to my sisters (finally!!!). It had been several years (probably around 6 years) that I had see my sister's dwelling place, so it was LONG overdue for me to go and see her! We had a great time together!!! My cousin, Charmaigne, and her family came over to visit that night, too! Goodness, we had LOTS of visiting going on! Anyway, we stayed in Albany for a night and my sister had the opportunity to show us around her city for a few hours on Friday, after a mean game of Texas Hold'em, which I beat out my brother-in-law for the VICTORY!!! It was a nice visit, but too short! I wish I could have stayed longer.



















We left Albany about 4pm on Friday to head back to Elberton. Mallory had been so good on each leg of the journey, except this last one! Our nerves were pretty frazzled by the end of the trip. A normally 4.5 hour trip took about 5.5 hours....most of which included us entertaining a fussy baby! But, it was all worth it.

My dad was anxious to spend some time with Mallory before we went to bed that night, since he had only seen her a little bit on my brief stops there. But, he was able to get some of her sugar before we headed back to Charlotte the next day.

After loading and unloading the car several times in 7 days, I was ready to be home! It was good to be in Patrick's embrace again and he spent a lot of time holding and kissing Mallory. He missed his girls!

I was SOOO thankful Mallory and I were able to make this trip with my mom. She was so helpful with me and the baby; she seemed to know what I needed before I said anything. That was nice! Plus, we had a lot of time to visit with each other over the many hours we spent in the car. I don't think many girls can say her mom is one of her very best friends, but I can honestly say that! I have such an awesome relationship with my mom and I appreciate her so much more, now that I'm a mom myself.

I know this was a newsy post, but I wanted to get the outline of the week we spent in Florida down before I forgot it! Our life is about to go into overdrive pretty soon and my brain is not the same as pre-mommy days! I hope you enjoyed with account of my trip!

Thursday Thirteen

Well, it's been a while since I've "blogged" and I'll have to catch you all up on my Florida trip in another post. I'm currently packing to head out of town AGAIN this weekend, but will try to get a newsy post up soon! In the meantime, here are 13 facts you may/may not know about me...

1. I love crafts. I enjoy making things with my hands rather than buying things.
2. I'm a huge game player, especially cards. I'd play cards every night if I could. Whenever I go home to my folk's house, we would play cards for hours. Well, that was before the grandbaby arrived!
3. March is one of my favorite months of the year. Can anyone say NCAA?????
4. I love macaroni and cheese. That's my comfort food.
5. I played 1st base on my high school varsity softball team all 4 years of school. My nickname was "Big Mel"...I don't know if I should be sharing that...BUT I was told it was my nickname because I was the tallest girl on the team... :-)
6. I would like Mallory to learn how to dance. I've always loved dancing, but I've never taken lessons. Maybe one of these days I can drag Patrick to some.
7. I hate cleaning bathrooms. It's the chore that I put off the most.
8. I collect teacups
9. I love to sing...especially with my mom and sister. We watched so many musicals growing up and listed to records/tapes/CDs ALL the time. So, whenever we get together, we always burst into song if some random comment reminds us of a familiar tune. Some people say it's very annoying, but we don't!!!
10. I used to work for Duke Energy as an Application Developer. I'm now a mommy and pursue photography on the side!!!
11. I'm a sucker for a good chick flick.
12. I have crooked ring fingers on both hands. That's always annoyed me!
13. I LOVE going on a cruise! It's so nice being pampered for a week. If you've never been on one, you have to go one day!

Thursday Thirteen

This was an idea that I got from my friend Jen's blog. On Thursday's, she suggested writing 13 things about yourself that people may/may not know. So, hopefully I'll remember to do this on Thursdays in the future. Please feel free to share 13 things about yourself in the comments! I love learning new things about my friends!

1. I'm 28 years old
2. My first job was a Burger King crew member when I was 14 in Gainesville, FL
3. I was on the drumline in band during highschool
4. I was a drumline co-captain my senior year of highschool
5. I received my bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia
6. My first car was a Chevy Corsica (lovingly referred to as a "Porschica")
7. My next car was a Mitsubishi Eclipse
8. I used to volunteer as a DJ at a Christian radio station in Gainesville
9. I love photography (that's a no-brainer, though)
10. I've highlighted my hair once about 12 years ago and will never do it again (it was bright orange)
11. I love Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea (the movies...never read the books)
12. I've lived in 3 states (Florida, Georgia, North Carolina)
13. I'm married to the best-looking guy in the state!

More to come next time...

A bit of catching up to do...

It's been a little while since I've "blogged", so I guess I have some catching up to do. Patrick and I headed down to my parent's house in Georgia last Friday for a visit. It was nice to show off my big girl to her grandma, grandpa, and aunt Amanda. She slept the entire 3 hour trip down there, which I was SOOO thankful for! Thanks to her snuggly Britax carseat, she sleeps like a dream whenever she get's put in it! When we arrived on Friday night, she was bombarded with hugs and kisses from her baby-deprived "Gwampa". He's SOO in love with his little "Gi-Gi" (Gwampa's Girl).














Mallory has been sleeping so well lately (about 7 consecutive hours after her 11pm feeding), but she was a little fussy in her new environment. My mom (and dad) didn't like hearing her cry herself to sleep, so after my permission, my mom held her until she fell asleep on her chest (which is about the sweetest thing EVER). On Saturday morning after I fed the baby, my parents watched the baby AND the dog and let Patrick and I get a few extra hours of sleep, which was SOOO nice! We're up at 6:30 every morning now-a-days, so it's nice to sleep a little longer than our norm. Thanks Mom and Dad! We spent Saturday hanging out at my folk's house and Mallory was always in someone's eagerly open arms for some lovin'.



















Aunt Amanda was SOO obliging to hold her little neice! My sister and her husband live several hours away from us, but only about 4 and a half from my parents. Their house is a good rendezvous point for us to see each other. Plus, it gives my parents the opportunity to see both of their girls and, more importantly, Mallory :-). On Saturday afternoon, we ate pizza at Papa's Pizza To-Go (the best restaurant in Elberton, hint-hint) and my mom showed off her little granddaughter to all of her customers! She has pictures of Mallory up all over the restaurant! It's pretty funny, actually. Later on Saturday, my dad was playing with Mallory in their hot tub, which was so fun to watch! He blowed bubbles and was kissing her feet and she LOVED it! She was so cute watching him be crazy over her. I have a video that I'll post when I have a little more time...

Patrick spent a lot of time on Saturday lounging around the house and getting some much-needed R&R. He's been really busy lately and it's nice to escape the projects around the house and go to my folk's place. Since there is really nothing to do in Elberton anyway, it's easy to do nothing (not that I'm giving Elberton a bad rap!!!).

We had a nice visit, but it always seems to go by too fast! There was a lot to do when I got back....laundry, cleaning, etc. I had got sick on Friday when we went to my folk's house and I'm NOW just starting to clear up. Mallory was a little sick yesterday as well, but is getting better. We turned on the humidifier in her room and she cleared up really quick! Humidifiers are GREAT! I'm spending the rest of this week getting ready for a week-long trip to Florida. My mom, Mallory and I will be heading south on Sunday to visit my best friend in Jacksonville, my grandparents and other relatives in Ocala, some childhood friends in Gainesville and my sister in Albany, GA. It's going to be a lot of driving, but a trip I'm very excited about. It's been a year since I've see my extended family...and a lot has happened in this past year, so it will be fun to catch up.

Well, I may have time for another post before my trip, but if not have a great week and I'll see you all when I return from sunny Florida!

And Cayman Too...

Here's a picture of Cayman I took while shooting Mallory's pictures. Cayman obeyed VERY well as I'll told her to "Stay" while shooting. She was itching to run, so I only got in about 10 shots before I finally let her play. She's getting better with obeying (and I haven't used the "training collar" yet!!!)

Happy 4th of July!

Patrick is unfortunately working today, but I took advantage of a some-what cool morning, an awake baby, and an ansy photographer itching to take some pictures!!! Here are some of the pics I took. Mallory did SOO much better than her 2-month pictures, but I still couldn't get her to smile. It's sort of hard when I have to be behind the camera, too. Anyway, let me know which one you like the best!!! I want to choose one to be her "4th of July" picture.

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Painting...AGAIN!

Well, I've painted the master bedroom...Again! For those of you who don't know, this is the 3rd time I've painted this bedroom in 3 years (can someone say WHY????). The first time I painted it was before Patrick and I got married. He told me that he wanted a bedroom "stone gray". So, I painted it gray and I was going to decorate with black and white. But, our dog came along and she totally ruined the white decor. So, I decided to do a different look. I wanted to paint it a soft coral color, but it turned out BRIGHT coral. It definitely woke us up in the mornings!!! I DID NOT like the way that color turned out and it took me 3 comforters to find the one that looked good with the loudness of the room. Once it finally looked with the bedding, I figured I could live with it, since it was pretty (just LOUD). So, with a potential of us moving, I figured I would tone down that room, so I've finally picked a color that works, though I'm still not crazy about it. The color I picked was called "Ivoire" (pronounced Ivory) and it looked ivory on the swatch, but I think it looks like masking tape, which is more yellow. So, I have a "desert camel" (deep yellow) living/dining room/foyer, a pale yellow nursery, a daisy yellow master bathroom, and a "ivory yellow" master bedroom. I didn't mean to have so much yellow in the house!!! But, it's OK. The bedroom is MUCH better than what it was before, so I can't complain too much. I've looked high and low in all my pictures to find a "before" shot. I thought I had one, but I can't find one! Here's an after...and I'm NOT painting this room again! One thing I've learned (after 3 times of painting this room): whatever color I like on the swatch of colors in the paint store, always get the shade lighter. :-)

Mallory's 2-month check-up

Mallory sure is growing like a weed! She's now 22.5 inches long (50th percentile) and 12 lbs 7 oz (90th percentile!!!). My doctor said that she looks great and is developing nicely. She's definitely chunking out, thanks to mommy's milk!!! She also received 3 of her immunizations today. She was a trooper and I didn't pass out (I'm REALLY bad with needles, by the way)!!! When the nurse stuck her with the needle, she did one of those "silent cries", where her face was bright red but no sound was coming out and with the next breath she took, she hollered LOUD. She got 2 Bugs Bunny Bandaids on her thighs, too.

She's been sleeping a lot today, since I think the adventure wore her out! I just gave her a dose of tylenol, since she's being fussy during her normal wake time (so, I got her a little messy...)