Just me and two small children: day 1.

I am staying at home with Claira and not going back to work!!! I am super pumped about being able to be at home. We aren't exactly sure how we are going to make all the money stretch as far as we need it to but, we know God is going to help us make it work.
Amy and Ben are letting me keep Carter while they are at work and I am so thankful for it. Not only do I get to see my nephew every day but they are also paying me to do it.
Today is the first day and I was a little nervous about the thought of having a 3 month old and a 14 month old at the same time. I know Claira can't go anywhere if I lay her on the floor but Carter is walking all over the place. I know lots of moms have two small kids but it is just a new adventure for me. Today has been wonderful. Carter and Claira have both been angels and it just makes me so excited about all the fun we are going to have (especially when Claira gets older and can actually play with Carter).
Carter's favorite thing today is to pat Claira on the head (sometimes you have to remind him not to do it so hard) but, it is so sweet. He wants to know what she is doing and tries to give her toys to play with. Claira took a good nap this morning and Carter and I got to hang out and explore our house. He loves walking up and down our long hall.
Right now, I have two sleeping angels. I can't imagine doing anything better than this.
God is so good.

Claira's crazy beginning.

A recap of Claira's first 17 weeks of life.


Week 1: Being born, coming home, lots of friends and family came to see her.
Week 2: Doctor's apt., Uplift meeting, Nonna stays to help out.
Week 3: Aunt Jessie & Uncle Taran come to visit, shopping in Little Rock and rolling over.
Week 4: 1st Sunday at church, Nonna & Papa go home, Uncle Jordan comes to visit.
Week 5: Baby blessing at church, went to the doctor with thrush and sucked her thumb.
Week 6: One month old, Grammy comes to visit and Cousin Carter's Birthday party.
Week 7: Slept through the night, Grammy went home.
Week 8:First plane ride to Houston, first Astros baseball game, meeting Aunt Kelly, Uncle Tyler and cousins Keynan and Parker.
Week 9: Uplift begins, Nonna & Papa come, spent the afternoon with Aunt Amy.
Week 10: 2 month shots, Grammy comes to visit, Uplift continues.
Week 11: Aunt Melissa, Cousins Ty and Emily come to visit, Uplift continues.
Week 12: 1st time swimming, 1st night away from Mom and Dad, Uplift ends.
Week 13: 1st trip to Atlanta to meet Aunt Melissa, Uncle Jay and Cousin Owen.
Week 14: Dad in Nicaragua, 1st time in the nursery at church, came home from Atlanta.
Week 15: 1st trip to Pensacola to meet Grandma and Gulf Shores to meet the rest of the family.1st time to the beach, ate sand!
Week 16: Spent the week with Nonna & Papa while Mom and Dad went on a cruise.
Week 17: 1st time to Stone Mountain park for family photos, home at last.

Claira has had a crazy and fun beginning- hopefully she won't get to bored just being at home with mom.

Home from Atlanta: Packing for Cruise.

Claira and I spent this past week with my family in Atlanta while Brandon was in Nicaragua. It was the longest amount of time we have been apart since we were dating. I had a wonderful time but it was alot harder than I thought (just ask Kelly who I called crying one night). I have an amazing husband and I think I must have forgotten how awesome he is until he was gone. I am so thankful that I am not a single mom- I have so much more respect for those women who are. All that to say, I am glad to be home and glad my husband is home too but, we are once again packing our stuff.... this time to go on a cruise with Brandon's family. I have major mixed emotions right now. I am excited about our vacation and a little sad because Claira can't go with us. She is spending the week with my Mom, Dad and Grandma in Pensacola. So, pray for me as I leave my 12 week old for 5 nights.

Here are a few pictures of Claira in Atlanta- she is getting so big.

There is more than one way to watch fireworks.

Claira and I flew into Atlanta today to spend the week with my family while Brandon is in Nicaragua.  Who knew that there was more than one way to celebrate the 4th of July?  I always thought it involved laying on a blanket with some good friends and good snacks watching LIVE fireworks. No sir, not today- I learned what people who drive a Mercedes (yes, we parked the old church van in the same lot) do for this special day. 

My brother and his wife work at several different venues selling merchandise during concerts.  Today they got us tickets to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's 4th of July show.  (It was wonderful, just different than what I was thinking.) People came all dressed up and sat outside to hear the orchestra and watch fireworks on big screens.  There were three different types of seating. 1. Tables and table clothes in the very front of the amphitheater for those people with the most money. 2. Seats under the amphitheater for the middle class people to sit.  3. The grassy hill that you could rent a lawn chair for $5 after paying $15 for the ticket to get in (this would be where we sat).

I think the best part of the whole evening was when the lady in front of us broke her lawn chair and fell to the ground. Everyone around us was laughing so hard- she just decided to stay on the ground with the broken chair under her until the orchestra was done with that piece. Jordan and I were both crying we were laughing so hard.

All that to say, I love the thought of live music during fireworks but we were all a little bummed that they fireworks weren't live.  That's the best part.  

Just thought I would share that I learned something new today- there is more than one way to watch fireworks.

Happy 4th!

Uplift Week 2: The Snellvile Army.

Week 2 of Uplift is always wonderful. I have a group of ladies (and a few of their husbands) that come from the Snellville church to help me do whatever I need done. They are awesome! I just give them a list and I don't have to worry about a thing- registration, t-shirts, Uplift Central, snacks for the counselors, sitting with Claira when I had to do something, filling out annoying dorm forms, mowing our yard(Brandon really doesn't have time for that right now)... the list could go on forever. They come in a day early and get it all done and then today, they helped get stuff ready for next week before they leave in the morning. If only I could convince them to stay for three weeks.
Just wanted to say thanks to my Snellville Army for spending their vacation time helping me make week 2 a wonderful experience for about 900 teens.

Uplift week 1: God is good.

For those of you who don't know, Uplift is a summer youth camp at Harding that Brandon runs and I help out with. There are three weeks of camp, the first two have over 1000 people each and the third week is around 500. Needless to say, it's a crazy time of year for us and we just added a baby into the mix (another ball to try to juggle). I was really worried about how we were going to get everything done while at the same time tending to our little girl's needs. I can only say that God is good and as always, knows how much we can handle. The two days before camp started were a little rough- there is just so much to do and I hadn't figured out how to fit Claira into all of that stuff. Since camp started she has been fabulous. She has been carted around all over this campus and even slept through an entire Acappella concert all with a smile (and dimples) on her face. Last night she slept for 8 1/2 hours!!!! It was a first and I was very thankful for it. I even got her up out of her bed, went to Taco Bell and back and she never opened her eyes. God has blessed us so much with an incredible life where we get to spend our summers watching teenagers grow closer in their walk with Him- and now we get to share that life with our precious 8 week old. God is so good.


So, while I was writing this, Brandon was baptizing an Uplift camper. She came with a group that didn't have any male sponsors and told Brandon she was ready if someone would baptize her. Brandon jumped in and baptized Sydney into Christ. Once again.... God is so good!

The Astros and an Angel.

Friday we went with a group from Harding on a recruiting trip to the Houston Astros game. I was so worried about taking Claira on her first plane ride, to her first baseball game, to a whole day of never getting to lay in a bed. She was an angel the whole time. The only time she cried was when she was starving (I couldn't stop to feed her one time for an hour after she was suppose to eat and she didn't cry until a few minutes before we could sit down), worn out, or dirty diaper. I was so thankful for our new sling. She loves being close to mom and getting to see everything going on while we walk around. She fell asleep in the sling for most of the Harding event before the game. Our friends Tyler and Kelly Wiggains met up with us and spent the night with us in the hotel. It was so great to see them and their adorable boys, Keynan and Parker. We had a great time- I think I worried for nothing.
Claira is such an angel. The angel is very happy to be home in her own bed. She has slept most of the morning and when she is awake, she won't stop smiling.
Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! 5 days until Uplift starts!!!!










Claira's first flight.












Claira and Mom on the plane.












Tyler, Brandon and their babies.












Tyler & Kelly at the game.












Claira's first baseball game.
She was really enjoying the game.












The happy girl back at home
and in her bumbo for the first time.