Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Wow! What an amazing year it has been.... Life is good. Edgar and I are having so much fun and just enjoying our new lives here in Savannah.

Addison is doing great. She is registered for Pre School for next year. Just a three day a week program, so she won't be at Nonny's, but she will be with all of her friends still. They are all going to Isle of Hope Methodist Pre School. Jackson will still go to Nonny's the days I work and Add is at Pre School.

The greatest blessing of this year came in the form of a little 7lbs, 15oz baby boy. We just feel so lucky that we are Jack's parents. There could not be a happier baby. I was terrified of having another infant after Addison. She wasn't exactly a "good" baby. None of it her fault, she just struggled a lot, with eating, sleeping, etc. But Jack, he renewed my faith in babies!!! He came out sleeping through the night, eating like a hoss, and just constantly being happy and content. And oh boy does he love his sister! They are so close, which does my heart so much good....

Tonight we are hosting a New Years Eve Game Night. It should prove to be as interesting as the one after Thanksgiving! We are so blessed to have such wonderful neighbors who we love to be around - it makes nights like tonight so great because we don't have to actually go anywhere!!

All in all, life couldn't be better. Every night when we pray with Addison we thank God for all of our many blessings. We pray you and your family rest your heads tonight at the close of this New Year with as many blessings as have been bestowed upon our lives.....

Wish me luck

So Maggie and I ran a 5K two weeks ago. It went great. We didn't make the BEST time, but we really kicked some serious butt! That was in preperation for the Savannah Big Bridge Run that is Saturday. I am so nervous, but so excited. She and I are slowly trying to work our way up to the Peachtree in July and then the Army 10mile in the Fall...... We shall see.... So wish us both luck, we will need it!!

New Moms....

So many of our friends have had children recently. I sent an email out about an article I read about Mommy's finding Mommy time in their weeks. It is so hard, but the email was so true. Anyone that knows me knows I struggled right after I had Addison. I was so distant from her. I loved her, yes, but it wasn't that mushy, cuddlely, snugglely love.... I didn't rush home from work to be with her every night. Instead, I went to the gym. I would delayed going home as long as possible.... Sounds horrible, I know..... I have since learned, and feel like I have made great strides....

But, in the past two weeks, I have come to realize, that it might not have been just me.... What I mean is this - Jackson has been sick lately. At first he was just teething, and then it progressed... Staying up all night, not napping, me staying home from work to watch him, etc. It has been rough. He doesn't want to be put down at all. Anyone who has laid eyes on Jackson knows this is SOOOO not him. He is the most laid back and chill baby ever. He is a good eater normally and loves to sleep. He started sleeping through the night when he was 5 months old.... We were SOOO lucky. Anyway, I got to the point the other day when I just had to get out. I called my mom and asked her to come over after school for an hour. I just couldn't take it anymore. I felt for the first time ever with him that I could not hold him another second.... I feel like many first time mom's with difficult babies go through this. What I just described in a nut shell was Addison. She NEVER slept, she didn't want to eat, and was constantly sick. It was horrible for about the first 9 months. I honestly don't know how Edgar and I did it (and then wanted more kids....)

Anyway, I hope all moms know that while we aren't perfect, we need time to get be alone without demanding children. And they are so demanding. Now, I am not advicating going to the gym after work, because in hindsight, that was selfish, I could have worked her into my exercising like I do now with both of them, but time away is what the doctor calls for. I often talk to Edgar about if I had been a little more relaxed and if she weren't such a difficult baby, would I still feel like I wasn't the best mom the first year of her life.

I talked to my priest about having pent up frustration with how I acted that first year. And even though he is a man, he is such a wise man..... He said by knowing I did wrong and improving it, is what matters - not the mistakes. This is how God looks at our lives and our mistakes as well..... Anyway, to all you knew mothers, and women thinking of being a mother - I am thinking of you. And the first year is the roughest anyway, after that, it is smooth sailing. I never thought I would love just being with my little monkies as I do. Addison told me the other day that I was her "best friend". Now, could you ever beat that???

Addison went to Princesses on Ice!

Addison went with my parent's to see the Disney Princesses on Ice this past weekend! She had a wonderful time - Pop (whom if anyone knows my daddy knows he is about the cheapest man EVER) sprang for the good seats for his "Sweetie Pie" and she enjoyed every minute!

We are home this week as Jackson is sick. I don't mind so much, I didn't get to take time off with Addison when she was sick, so it is nice to have both of my love bugs home all week.

New York

We had such a wonderful time in NY..... Hopefully Edgar and I can go back sometime soon without kids and do the romantic tour of the city! The picture of Addison is at the Bronx Zoo - she was showing the toys that she got - one is for her and one is for Jackson! She missed him so much, and he missed her.... He didn't even care when we got home to see Edgar and I, all he wanted was his sissy.....

Sigh......

I have a very "Type A" personality. My husband, does not. That is why we work so well together I believe....

BUT, Right now, my stress level couldn't be higher.... We leave for NY in 4 days. And I have NOTHING packed. Nothing. Yesterday, I finally went to the store to buy Jackson enough food to get him through at my mom's house, but other than that, I am way behind "schedule". I need to do a Sam's run, get dinner's fixed for this week when we are here, get the house cleaned, laundry done, and most importantly, PACK!

Addison could not be more excited about this trip. She doesn't really understand, but will enjoy the time alone with us. I will post pictures of the trip when we return. Wish me luck!

It's like going home....

We took Addison to the GSU game a week ago and she loved it! She is still talking about the Eagles!! And Edgar and I loved it too..... Going to Statesboro holds so many wonderful memories for us - it is where we fell in love and decided to start a life together. Hopefully we will take Addison back soon!

September

Wow, it has been awhile.... We are so busy. I only thought this summer was busy. And it would seem like our travel schedule would slow down with two kids, but Jackson is just so laid back and chill - we pretty much do whatever we want - with him dragging along with us....

Both Addison and Jackson are at Nonny's the three days I work. It has been great. They both love it there, and Jackson has not had one moment of difficulty. Addison is a rock-star at her Gymnastics still. We were going to take a session off, but she threw a fit. And she loves it so much. I hope they move her up to the next level class soon because it is getting almost unbearable for me to take Jackson in the Snuggli. Addison's friend Calvin from Nonny's goes now, as does one of my girlfriends from work and her daughter "Hamryn" (Camryn).

Edgar is still loving work. They keep us busy, that is for sure! We have two firm events in October to attend and he is traveling once with them (we are taking this trip off!!). This hardly leaves time for the family and football.

I still greatly enjoy work. My biggest blessing there is my aid, Maggie. Besides being a wonderful friend, she is an inspiration as a woman. She does so much - so much that some don't even realize, and does it all with grace. She is truly a beautiful person and I feel so blessed that she is in my life and is my friend. I had my high school reunion a few weeks ago, and it was AWESOME! It was so wonderful to see so many folks from high school and catch up.

So that is the past month or so in a nut shell. We are going to be so busy coming up - we have a trip to Atlanta planned, a few to Athens, St. Simons for the GA/FLA game, and then taking the kids to NY for a week (and by week I mean 5 days ;-)) I will post some pictures of all of those soon!!

These are the moments....

I have such a wonderful little girl and boy... Although Jackson can't communicate yet like Addison, it is such a joy to just watch him daily... Just today as Addison touched my cheek and said, "I love you, Mama" I thought, this is what life is about... These are the moments that make our lives complete. It is the small moments in life... not the big ones that define us. It is our spouse and a loving touch from them, or the things our children say and in Jackson's case, do. It is our friends, and family. It is the daily lives that we lead that are so precious.

The four of us were riding down the road on Saturday listening to a JoJo's Circus CD that Livvy gave Addison and we had the windows down and it turned up. Out of the blue Addison says, "I happy my DaddyMama" (that is her name for both of us when she is too lazy to say Mommy and Daddy). I thought I might just pass out with joy - they pick up on the neatest things and a moment like that makes me feel complete and as if all of the not so great moments in life are worth it..... I hope my sweet peanut will always tell her DaddyMama that she is happy.......

Happiness

There is so much happiness in my life right now that sometimes I get overwhelmed. There have been so many periods were I would not allow myself to be happy and only looked at what was wrong. There have been periods of life where I didn't act like a very nice person and let other people down. But this past year has taught me so much about living in the moment and in the day. I made a vow to stop being so unhappy and live each moment where I could lay my head down at night happy with who I was and my life. And I am.... I get to sleep next to the most wonderful man I know, and know in my heart that he and I daily work at a good marriage. I enjoy the work I do, and the time it allows me to be a mother and wife. I was able to lose 60lbs since my last beautiful child was born with determination and hard work.... And most of all, I don't wake up full of regret or remorse for past sins. I wake up feeling excited about the new day ahead. I think I realized that life is so short and I might not have another "today". I want to be as that song says, "Never let go a chance to forgive.... Never hold any regrets...." God has graced me with so many wonderful things and I have stopped taking them for granted! I have finally become truly, truly happy.........

A blast!

We have had a blast the past couple of weekends! We attended a wedding of some of our friends and got to see so many of our good law school friends (and the secret boys of course!!). I missed the kids like crazy, but it is so nice to get away and have fun "mommy and daddy" time. The weekend before the wedding we got a fancy hotel room in downtown Savannah and played tourists with our friends Justin and Tracie.

Blessings

We celebrated this weekend.... We had Jackson's christening and once again felt like we are overly blessed as we sat with both my family and Edgar's at our church. The picture is of Jackson's God-parents - Chuck and Sara.

This past week Addison and I got some time to ourselves (that wasn't at "nastics). Weekly, she and I go to a Mommy and Me gymnastics class, which she loves. But we got to sneak away in the evening and head to the mall together. I bought some new shoes and as we were leaving she said, "I yike your ew shoes, Mama"! I thought I was going to pass out because of what a big little girl she sounded like!! I couldn't believe it!

Jackson is doing great, smiling and talking to us. He has been sleeping through the night since about 5 weeks old, so we are so thankful. I don't think I could have taken another baby who was awake as much as Addie was!

This weekend Edgar and I are going on our anniversary trip. Justin and Tracie are going with us. The following weekend we are going to Greenville together for a wedding of one of our law school friends, so we are thrilled to get some kiddie free time coming up!

We pray everyone is enjoying their summer as much as we are!

Addison's birthday party!

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3. I will let the pictures speak for themselves - it was a big bash, and a good time was had by everyone..... We are so blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family......




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So much to be thankful for....

My younger brother has been forced to deal with more loss in his life than most should.... He had a friend of his shot after leaving a ball in Savannah on Christmas eve several years ago. She passed away a week afterwards.... Then this past Sunday, his roommate's sister passed away in a car accident after leaving a Brave's game. Four young people died in that accident, and the driver, who survived, will always think of her friends in the car....

I am very saddened by the news of this young woman's untimely passing. I cannot help but think of her poor mama... And how her life will always be filled with the sadness of not having her daughter there to share things with.

More than any lesson this can teach us, I hope it makes everyone hold their loved ones a little closer tonight. We cannot change God's plan for our lives, but we can make sure we cherish every moment we can........

To Live....

"To live is to struggle and to struggle is to grow..."

I love this quote - a Cory Johnson original. We all face struggles of some kind in life but from those struggles comes growth if we allow it....

And so it goes...

We took our babies to the beach on Sunday. Both loved it - well, we assume Jackson did. He doesn't say much yet :-)

Addison was a little mad that the water was too cold for her to get in. She loves it - she has no fear whatsoever.

The summer is turning out to be quite a busy one thus far. Addison and I had our first "Mommy and Me" gymnastics class this morning. Her favorite part was jumping and also walking on the balance beam. She loved watching the big girls too!

We have several weeks jammed packed full of weddings, law firm functions, and of course our anniversary getaway! We love being busy and feel blessed to have so many wonderful and fun things ahead of us!

Great Quote

I am a big fan of different quotes that Oprah says.... I don't often get to watch the show, but the other day I caught it and that this quote was awesome: "Hating someone is like taking poison everyday and hoping someone else dies."

Wow! How true and powerful. The stress that hate and anger put on your body is immense. If we all learned to let go a little more - to the driver who cut us off, to the person who "wronged" us - then we would all be that much healthier and better off too!!

I hope you can get as much out of this quote as I did!

And two became three....

Close to seven years ago I met the love of my life.... I didn't think it could get any sweeter. Edgar is the type of man whom upon meeting, you know is special. He is not only my best friend, but the most kind, hardworking, and caring person I have ever met. I feel humbled that my children have so many characteristics that are his - they are bound to be beautiful souls.....

Almost two years ago, I gave birth to Edgar's little girl..... And realized, it does get sweeter. The love that is mulitplied when a child is brought into a strong, healthy, and devoted marriage is beyond comprehension. There is no way to explain the amount of selflessness one feels upon rearing a child. Addison filled my entire heart and made it clear to me that I didn't think I could love anything or anyone else more. She is a product of the love of my life and myself. She is a product of all we share and all we hold dear. There is nothing that could compare......

And then, two great loves became three..... Again, it gets sweeter... When you see your husband and child holding the newest addtion to the family - another child.... I prepared myself for the worst. I didn't think I could love again with the intensity that I love Addison. I didn't think it was possible to love her still and love another child in that same way. I was so worried that the baby would suffer because they were already at a disadvantage in my mind. There was no more room in my heart..... But when Jackson came out, it was instant. There was suddenly room and suddenly love. There was my son, Edgar's son, Addison's brother..... And in that instant I realized that the two greatest loves of my life had just become three....

I do not think it is possible to feel more blessed on this Mother's Day than we do tonight. Sleeping in their snug beds are our son and daughter. The future of our family and the two biggest reflections of our love, marriage, and one another....

Happy Birthday, Addison! (Well, a little early)

I thought this picture was too cute not to share! Addison's birthday party will be June 16th, but we are getting the invitations made up now! My cousin, who is in graphic design and amazingly talented, is making them and this is one of the pictures we have sent her to use! Does it get any cuter than this! And if you aren't doing anything the weekend of the 16th, join us for Addie's wet and wild party!

A proud wife and mom......

I am so proud of my husband - well, always, but especially the past few weeks. He was chosen to go to Americus, Ga. by his firm to try to land the Sumter Regional Hospital account recently! You can watch a clip of he and his uncle touring the hospital this past week on www.walb.com - click on "SRH gets Carter, Check" and it will take you there. Edgar is visible if you look in the background talking with his Aunt while the interview is going on.

This project is especially meaningful to Edgar since he grew up in Plains, which is just 10 minutes down the road from Americus. He is really trying to get FEMA involved and get some serious action for folks in Americus. Keep him in your prayers!

On another note, Addison is doing better today. She is recovering well from her surgery, although she is still not eating. As you all know, she is so tiny to begin with, it is hard to watch her not eat and lose weight, but I know as soon as she wants food again, she will gain it all back. Keep her in your prayers as well!

Jackson is still hanging in there - and we feel constantly blessed for our sweet girl and little man.

We love you all...

My sweet child

Edgar and I were in awe of her last night as she slept. We truly don't think there is a more precious sight than this..... She had such a big day and finished it off getting to wear her princess pjs that her cousin Livvy gave her. It was truly a wonderful day for her!

Edgar and I are feel so blessed for this little miracle as well as for her "Bubby". We know each and everyday how wonderful He has been to us.....

Happy Valentine's Day!

Well, most of you all will be getting a card with this picture in the mail, but I just wanted to post and wish everyone a very Happy Valentine's day! Addie has had a wonderful time sporting this outfit that her Nana made her around town. Today we had lunch at Daddy's office and she showed everyone her beautiful pockets!

We do pray everyone has a beautiful day full of love.

Preparing

We are offically preparing for the baby. Addie got herself a big girl bed yesterday. She is SO excited, and is very proud to use anything with the name, "big girl" associated with it. I will have to snap a picture of her on it soon and post it.

We had a wonderful long weekend. We traveled to Plains, probably our last trip before Baby Smith arrives. It is tough traveling with a toddler. She is a good rider, though. Edgar's family was glad to see Addie (we have officially realized it is no long about Edgar and I - just Addie). Yesterday Edgar had to work for a bit in the morning and then we went and got the big girl bed. Addie even helped her daddy put it together. We also went through all of Olivia's clothes to get out summer stuff for Addison - her favorite was the bikini which she wore most of the day!

I think once Addie gets over the inital shock of the new baby, she will be such a big helper. She loves to be called, "Mommy's big girl helper" and when I ask her who my big girl is, she proudly raises her hand!

I go back next week for another ultrasound. Let's hope all is well and that we will get some more good pictures! Maybe I will scan one in and post - you can all give your theories on if it is a boy or girl. Next baby - we are finding out. Waiting is tough :-)

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!