Monday, January 28, 2008

1st Trip to the Dentist. . .

Today, we(Brandon, Brynn, & I) all had dentist appointments. I have taken Brynn with me the past 3 or 4 times I have been so I thought she would do fine. The plan was for Brandon to go, then Brynn, then me. While Brandon was almost done, they wanted to start on Brynn in another room. Brynn hopped in the chair and I was explaining to her what the Dentist was going to do. I then told her to lay back. This is when trouble erupted!! Oh no !! She didn't want to lay back. She wanted me to go 1st. So I did.

While the assistant was working on me, Brandon finished up and it was now Brynn's turn...again. I was not in the room but Brandon said she jumped right up in the chair and was ready to have the "bugs" cleaned off her teeth. She calls them bugs because of a commerical she has seen on TV. She did a great job!!! THe hygenist explained all the tools to her. They have cute little names... Ms. Tickle and Mr. Thirsty. She said "Ms. Tickle tickled my teeth and made me laugh!"

At the end she was able to pick a prize out the box... a pen. The hygenist also made a special balloon out of a glove for her. I am so proud of her. She is really growing up toooo fast.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

It's a BOY!!!

Finally, someone in our family is going to have a boy!! Brandon's cousin, Jessica, is due in a couple of weeks and she is having a little boy, Landon. Today, my mother-in-law and i hosted a shower in her honor.

As you can already tell it has been a busy couple of days for me. I traveled to Georgia yesterday and had to be at church today very early. I was suppose to help Tammy, my MIL, with the decorations and food preporation yesterday. I was also suppose to make my gift... a diaper cake. Since I did not get home until late all of that was messed up. Tammy had to do everything herself and the cake didn't get made until noon... the shower started at 2.

The diaper cake was turning out great until I got to the last tier, the bottom. I had all the diapers rolled up nicely and was putting the ribbon around the tiers. I heard a snap and I knew immediatly the rubber band around the bottom had broken. My cake was ruined!!!! What was i going to do???? Not to worry with a little help from the hubby life was back on track.

THE FINISHED PRODUCT

Tammy made a great spread. Jessica received lots of beautiful gifts. The shower was a success!!

AMRBC Preschool Choir. . .


At the begin of January, I began helping with the preschool choir at chruch. I was a little nervous at first, but the kids are so great!! They are so cute when they are learning their songs. Today, we had groundbreaking at church and all the choirs had to sing including our kids. They sang "How Great Is Our God"...well...just the chorus. They did great. I was so proud.


I know the picture are kinda dark ( Brandon took them). I told Brynn for weeks that she had to sing as loud as she possible could because there would be people sitting in the very back and it would be hard for them to hear. This is the reason for the crazy face she was making when she was singing.

The ground breaking was great. I am so glad my family had the opportunity to take part in this major event in our church. It will be neat to look back at this day in years to come.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

A New Addition. . .

As of 12:46 pm I became an aunt!!! Lilliann Avagrace Bradley came into the world 2 weeks and 2 days early. She weighed 6lbs 15 ozs and was 19 inches long.


My brother called me late on Friday telling me Chere was admitted in the hospital. Her blood pressure was extremly high and if she went home it was very likly she would have a seizure. They began the induction later on in the night.

I was very worried 1) that Chere and the baby would be ok 2) that I would not be there when the baby was born. I had a full day of work on Saturday and was not sure if I would be able to reschedule everyone on such short notice. After making many phone calls at 8 am, I am pleased to say all my clients were able to reschedule for Monday!!! I am so blessed to have such great and understand clients. By 9:30 we (myself, Brynn, Addie Grace, and my grandma (Mama Ann)were on the road heading for Augusta, GA. The ride down was great, we made record time.

I was excited. I have never been on this side of a delivery. I have always been the one having the baby. We arrived only minutes before the Dr came in to say she was ready. Off to the waiting room we went. The part seemed to take awhile--there's not much to do in a hospital. 46 minutes later Lily arrived!!!

God has truly blessed our family with GIRLS!! Pink all around. I don't think I would know what to do with a boy.

I know now that my little brother is no longer little anymore. He is now a father-a great father he is going to be . It was a great feeling that filled me as I watched Blake look at his new daughter. I am amazed how a baby instantly changes a person.

We stayed at the hospital for awhile. Before we left I wanted to help Blake and Chere by making them a few meals and freezing them. They will be no one there for them when the get home and I thought this might make things a little easier.

By 6:30, we were on the road headed towards Spartanburg. What a long 2 1/2 hours. We made home by 9 and everyone, including Brandon and me, were in the bed by 10:30. It was a long day but a great one!! I AM AN AUNT!!!!!!!!!

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Genius. . .

Tonight I was reading a magazine and holding Addie Grace. To my surprise she was very interested in my reading matieral. She was trying her hardest to pull the magazine out of my hands. I believe she is a genius..5 months old and already reading.
Well, she may not be genius, but Dr. Phil has a hugh green M&M is pretty funny to look at!!!

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Snow Night & Day. . .

We were so excited that it was snowing. Between Brynn and I, we probably looked out the window a thousand times. Brynn kept asking when she could go out. Finally, around 11 pm-yes i mean at night, I decided to let her go out. I knew by the morining it would be raining and the snow would be ruined. Brynn and I put on our snow gear and out we went. Brandon thought I was crazy for letting our 3 year old go out that late, but I figured she is only little once and we need to build memories.


In the morning we went out for just a bit as a family. The snow was not as pretty as it had been the night before but Brynn had fun throwing snowballs at Brandon!




On a different note... On my way back to work from taking Brynn to school, I saw a snowman in someone's yard and could not resist taking a picture...

Yes folks the snowman or should I say snowwomen is wearing lacy pink and black under garments.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

The Snow Is Coming!!!!!!

I am so so so excited!!! We went to eat at Zaxby's tonight and when we came out . . . THE FLURRIES WERE STARTING!!!! We were with our friends the Waddells. Ella Kate, Jake, and Brynn were so cute. They didn't want to get in the car to leave. They just wanted to play in the flurries in the middle of the parking lot.










I was hoping that it would snow all day. Not so I could stay home from work, but for Brynn to be able to see and play in snow. She as seen snow before but not very much just a dusting. It was not enough for her to play in.
It wasn't sticking at 1st but now it is!!!! I am such a little kid, all giddy inside. Brynn is already asking if she can put her boots on and go outside. We told she has to wait until the morning. I am sure Brynn and I will both be up extra early to see just how much snow we get. Lets hope it doesn't start sleeting before morning and ruin the snow.

First Trip Out On The Rink. . .

Instead of having cubbies at church tonight we went to Roebuck Skating Rink. I have been looking forward to this all week. Brynn's first time skating!!! I was a little worried how she would do. She was a little wobbly at 1st but she caught on quick. Brandon skated with her and after some persuasion he talked me into putting a pair on. What memories this brought back. We did the hokie-pokie and Brandon tried to get me to do the "bounce". There was no way I was doing that. It was alot of fun to do this with our family and friends.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Brynn's New Style. . .

I know no one probably cares about this but it was a cute picture and I wanted to share. Brynn had an accident at her Mimi's. I am not sure why, she just says she had to go and no one was there. Anyway, she had no change of clothes and Brandon's mom did not have enough time to wash and dryer her clothes because Brandon was almost done working.

The results. . .












Brynn is wearing Brent's socks as pants which as you can see take up her entire leg. She wanted them off immediatly and was not as excited as I was to take her picture. I thought she looked cute and who knows maybe socks as pants are in our future!!

Monday, January 14, 2008

Our Crazy Sunday. . .

Sunday was a very busy day for us. We went to church at 9:30- we actually made it on time this week. We were there before 9:30. This alone was an accomplishment! After worship Brandon and i helped sell t-shirts for our groundbreaking/20th anniversary ceremony that will be held on January 27th. It will be an exciting day in our church. Next we went to Sunday school. We love our class. This Sunday was very crowded and we got there late so there was no where to sit. Our friend, Micheal, surprised his wife, Rhonda, with cake and ice cream. Her birthday is today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY RHONDA!!!!

After church, we had a quick lunch and headed to Brandon's parent's. We were all going to Laurens to celebrate his great grandmother's 92nd birthday, which is also today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANNIE RUBY!!! She has overcome so many things in her life. It was nice to see and spend time with Brandon's family. It was a quick visit.




Back to church we went for a meeting about the groundbreaking , that i missed. Kids cause you to miss a lot. After the meeting, I helped with the preschool choir. They are all so cute. It amazes me how fast they are able to pick up the songs. Brandon stayed for body building- not a work out but a class on Sunday nights.

Finally we made it home around 8. What a busy day! It was fun and exhausting at the same time.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Ouch. . .

On Thursday, Addie had to have her 4 month shots. No fun. Since this is my 2nd time at this, it does not bother me as much as it did with Brynn. Probably because i know what to expect. Brynn was very good with her shots, she only cried 1 time out of the shots. I was very lucky. Addie on the other hand screams like someone is trying to kill her- not so lucky.

She had to have 3 shots- 1 in her right leg and 2 in the left leg. Brynn was with me and i tried to explain to her what was going to happen. I told her it would be like when she had a flu shot except it was going to be in Addie's legs not her arm. I told Brynn that Addie might cry because she does not understand what is going on. Brynn seemed ok with the whole thing.

Well that was until the nurse gave Addie the 1st shot. She began screaming. Brynn's little face was filled with great concern for her sister. She looked at me with her big eyes as if she were saying,"Mom stop that lady from hurting my sister. Please help her!" As i consoled Addie, I also tried consoling Brynn telling her Addie would be fine, the nurse was just helping her so she would not be sick in the future.

Brynn felt special because she helped look after Addie's new boo-boos. Addie had no reaction to the shots which was great!

Poor little girl had a bad week though shots and a scratched eye. On Tuesday, she scratched underneath her eye in 3 spots. She looked like she had been in a fight. Hopefully this week will be less exciting.

Monday, January 7, 2008

Life Lesson. . .

Today was a very challenging day, and I need to vent a little. How do you teach your children to be grateful? I struggled with this today. We (myself, Brynn, & Addie) were at Sam's today and Brynn say this pink pony that she wanted very much. I kept telling her that we were not getting the horse that she had plenty at home. I thought I had finally convinced her to leave the pony because 1-Mimi was coming to get her 2-she might get it for her birthday, which is in September!

As we drove home ( less than 1/2 a mile) she repeated over and over "I want the pink pony from Sam's." We came in and I immediately took her to her room and showed her she already has 5 ponies and that she did not need another one. Well as you can image she was not happy. This really frustrates me because 1- it was just Christmas, she received more than enough 2- she should be happy with what she has. It is very difficult to get a 3 year old to grasp the concept of being grateful but i tried. I tried to explain to her that she should be happy, she has 5 horses, lots of kids have none and possible no toys. She should be happy with her toys. She still continued with the "I want the pink pony from Sam's."

So as my last resort i told her she could have the pink pony under one condition--she had to give away all her other toys. Which to my surprise she said would be fine. Now i had to prove my point. I told her ok when she got home from Mimi's she would have no more toys in our house just her new pink pony, so she need to go ahead and tell all her toys good-bye. I left her in her room. A few minutes later i heard her in there talking to her self. She was in the closet, so i snuck in to see what she was saying. It was kinda sad. She was crying and telling each toy bye...Bye kitchen...Bye wagon...Bye blocks...Bye animals...etc. I tried to video this so i could show Brandon, but she stopped before I could.

Mimi came and convinced her she might get one for her birthday. This of course worked this time because Mimi told her. They left and i began contemplating if i should really move all her toys out of the house. I talked to Brandon and he said no so i didn't.

When Brynn got home, she was still upset, not about the pony but because of how she had acted. She said she wanted to keep all her toys and not give them away, that she would wait to get the pony as a surprise for her birthday- I'm sure by September she will have forgotten.

This was a difficult day in my parenting life. I am not sure if this was the right thing to do but it was hard to see my child not appreciate all that she has. I know she is only 3 but 3 year olds understand alot more than people give them credit for. I just don't want her to grow up not being grateful and appreciating all the things that lots of others will never have. Today was a lesson not only for Brynn but me too. I hope we both pass this life lesson.

Friday, January 4, 2008

Addie Grace. . .




Oh how big my little baby girl is getting. Time has flown by. She is 4 months old now and already weighs 15 pounds. She is such a chunk, but i love it. She is doing so much. Smiling, laughing, rolling over, and beginning to sit on her own. She knows our voices and watches our every move. She is becoming so vocal-all the cooing. She has been so obsessed with her hand. It is constantly in her mouth which leads to her constant drooling. Brynn calls it syrup, I'm not sure why. Her new fascination is with her feet. Hopefully they don't end up in her mouth! She continues to amaze me each day as her personality becomes more and more apparent. I said with Brynn "I can't wait for her to do this or that." With Addie I am trying not to rush all the milestones, instead i don't want them to come. I want her to stay little for as long as possible since she is the last.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

2007- A Year in Review. . .

***WARNING***
***This is a long post and i apologize but i had a lot of events this years***

Oh where to begin. This past year has flown by. So many wonderful things have happen this year. It is hard to believe that just last December I found out I was pregnant, by intention this time! How great it was that our family of 3 would be growing to 4. It was so exciting to surprise our family and friends. Also, it was fun to not find out the sex of the baby this time( more for us than any one else). It was a suspenseful 9 months, and in August we were blessed a 2nd time with a healthy, beautiful, amazing gift- a little girl! Addison Grace Laney. She is perfect in every way and already so much different than Brynn.

Another big part of our lives this year has been our spiritual growth. Brandon rededicated his life. By him doing this it made me realize just how important God is and should be in everyone's life. We really began talking about each of our relationship with God. We joined a Sunday school class, which has been so much fun. We have gotten to know so many more people in the church, many have became life long friends i'm sure. By doing this it has helped us become more active in our church, something that we were not just the year before. The most exciting part is that in October, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior and in December I was baptized! It is truly amazing how God works.


On a different note, I am sad. My little girl, Brynn, is no longer so little. She has grown so much in this past year. She turned 3. It was an ordeal- a birthday party only 3 weeks after Addie was born. Niven's Farm was a great place, the kids had a blast. She went to preschool this year. She absolutely loved Ms. Nicole in the spring. She made so many new friends. Brynn is not one for change so in the fall when school started back it was quite an adjustment. New teacher and new friends. She now adores Ms. Jennie and has made many more new friends(her birthday is late so all her friends move up to the 3's and she stayed in the 2's.) Oh well, let's hope this makes her a leader! Also, in April she became potty trained!!!! Hooray!! One out of diapers before the other one comes. She became a big sister. So much responsibility, but she has really stepped up to the part. She loves Addison with all her heart. She was very accepting to her and she is such a great little helper.


My brother has been a lot closer to home this year. He is in the army and is stationed in Fort Gordon, Georgia. Our family has been so blessed that he has not had to go fight in Iraq. I have seen him more in this past year than I have in the past 3. I am very happy to say that our family will be growing this coming year with another little girl. My brother and his wife are due in just over a month. Brynn and Addison will be cousins and I will be an Aunt. How funny does that sound.

2 big milestones occurred this year. Both my parent's and Brandon's parent's celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. Congratulations!! It is an incredible accomplishment. We threw Brandon's parents a surprise party. My parents got a gift certificate to City Range-- I was due with Addie Grace in a week. Sorry Mom and Dad. They all give me hope that my marriage will last that long. With my generation, people often give up when times are hard and do not take marriage seriously. I know my parents have not always had it easy and didn't always like each other but they stuck together and have some how found a way to make it work. We are very proud of both our parents.


Since i am talking about anniversaries, Brandon and i celebrated our 2nd this year. To some this may not seem like a lot but we have been a couple for 6 yrs! We celebrated by going to dinner at City Range- a tradition we have started. I am so thankful and grateful for my husband. He came into my life and i knew we were meant for each other. Although he drives me crazy sometimes, lots of times, i know i could not live without him. He is a great man, husband, and father. He teaches me something new about myself each day and keeps me in check. He has made me a better person. I know this sounds cheesy but i honestly don't know who or where i would be without him.

2007 was a great year ! We truly have been blessed and i hope 2008 is even better. I pray God continues to bless our lives as well as our family and friends as He has this past year.


What to look for in 08:

  • My brother's baby
  • Brandon's cousin's baby- finally a boy in the family
  • We will start building our house in Rock Springs- at least i hope. Please pray that we do, we are running out of space in our home.
  • An engagement! Brandon's brother, Brent, and his girlfriend, April, have been dating for 4 years. Hopefully this is the year he comes to his senses. She already feels like part of the family.