A Thankful Heart

Yesterday came and went just like any other work day for me. Other than being a fairly "slow" day things went smoothly. I guess I just had time to think more yesterday since we actually had down time or maybe I feel like I have so much more to be thankful for this year. I see a lot of very interesting things working in a hospital, very unstable families, horrible financial situations, and not to mention some very sick children. This can be very draining on my emotions after awhile but then there is that one case that defies all odds and reminds me why I do what I do.

It also makes me realize how truly blessed I am. All my life I have had an abundance of family that would drop anything to help me out no matter what. But I have also been fortunate enough to not have to use that help too often! I have been blessed with a wonderful husband, a beautiful, healthy daughter, a loving family, amazing friends, good health, a roof over my head and money in the bank. And of course MANY other things!

Yes, I was working yesterday and I hated to not be with Chase and Emory, but at least I have a job that I know is stable in this economy. I had wonderful patients and great co-workers that know how to cook! We actually had a great Thanksgiving meal with all the fixins. :)

So...

Happy Thanksgiving!! And now I can decorate for Christmas...yea!! :)

Excuses

The thought occurred to me the other day, on my way home from work, that before Emory, my house and the rest of my "domestic" life really had no excuse to not be in order!! What excuses did I use then? I mean really! I have always been a nurse which means I work full time but not really! The first shift I worked was 3-11 7on/7off. Which means I worked 7 days in a row, Monday-Sunday and I was off 7 days in a row! It was wonderful yet my house should have been spotless and my clothes always clean, yet that was not the case. Then I started working 3, 12-hour day shifts. Still, no excuse. Now when we moved to Nashville, I started working nights, which will put a kink in yours plans if you don't have a few days off in a row. Otherwise, I would just sleep but never feel like I had slept enough! Now I work 2, 12-hour shifts one week and 3, 12-hour shifts the next week, day shift. And right now, I'm not working any weekends. But now I have a baby and I really do have an excuse to have a "messy" house.

Last Thursday when I was one my way home from work, I was trying to think of everything I had to do before we left to go out of town...again! I had to pack our bags, pack the car, laundry, clean the house, make baby food, wash bottles, the list goes on. Not to mention feed Emory every 4 hours. I was hoping that Emory would take two good naps for me. Because on a good day I have 4 hours of uninterrupted time to get things done or do something for myself, like take a shower! Now, Emory is definitely getting better at entertaining herself but I hate leaving her sitting on the floor by herself while I do something that could wait! She's just so darn cute and fun and we have so much fun playing and reading books and listening to her "talk." I must admit though, that if I didn't play on the computer as much I could get more done. But it just sucks me in!

I am sure that most of the moms reading this have had the same thought. The thing is, if I asked Chase to take on some of the responsibility he would gladly, well I don't know about gladly, but he would help out. BUT, I am slightly OCD and like things done a certain way, and he doesn't do them that certain way! So things would get done but I would feel the need to do them again, so it wouldn't have saved me anytime! I should probably try to lighten up but I can't!

So what I guess I am trying to say is that if you come to my house and see a little dust bunny in the corner, just ignore it because I really do have a GREAT excuse these days! :)

See, how can you resist that face?!

The Happenings of Birmingham

Emory helping mommy drive her next car, a Honda Pilot!

Frank and Emory.

Our little family.

Chase isn't the best at centering a picture!

Carson (6 months), Lyla (3 months), Emory (7 months), Claire (4 months) we kinda shocked her with the picture, she wasn't quite ready for it!

I must admit this one was staged! :)

Emory couldn't keep her hands off Carson!

Carson, Lyla, and Emory (this is the only picture where all three of them were looking up)

Ahhh! That silly camera again?!

What's goin' on mom?

Emory learning to play the piano with my mom.

These are a few pictures from last weekend when we were in Birmingham. We go to Birmingham a lot, I know. However, I would say 99% of the time we have an agenda. It's never to just hang out with my family we always have something to do and my family just so happens to live there. Whether it be a wedding shower, a football game and tailgating, a baby shower, or a get together with friends, we ALWAYS have something to do. This past weekend was no different. Saturday was spent over at Katie and Frank's house to watch football and the UFC fight (that was for the boys). Sunday was the car show. Now this was with my family. The car show is like a holiday for my dad and I can only think of one year that he didn't get to go! That's pretty impressive. Of course I documented everything with pictures!

6 Month Photoshoot

About a month ago, Katie took Emory's 6-month pictures. Since we were in Birmingham we went to the Botanical Gardens in Mt. Brook for the "photoshoot." I was finally able to get the pictures from Katie this past weekend. There were so many to choose from that I had a hard time deciding which ones I wanted in the slide show. She looks so cute. I am planning on framing some of these but I had that plan for her 3 month photos too and they are still on the computer instead of printed. Oh well. Maybe one day!

7 Months

Our girl is 7 months old!! I can't believe it! I know I say this every time, but she is growing up SO fast!!

Ok so this month...
-Emory experienced her first Halloween...she was the cutest ladybug ever!
-She says "da-da" ALL the time!
-We are working on getting on a schedule...so far it's a no go!
-She got to see the Blazers pull out a win on Homecoming!! :)
-In the last two weeks or so she has started refusing her morning nap.
-However, she is sleeping from 8/8:30pm-8/8:30am. I must say it is wonderful.
-She is officially eating "solids" now and is doing very well with them. But if she doesn't start liking more green things, she may turn orange!
-No crawling yet, which is fine with me, but she is getting more stable up on all fours!

Happy 7 Months!! We love you so much sweet angel!!

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A Dad and his Girl!!

Emory has recently been striking her morning nap...which she is NOT ready to do....but thinks that she is! Saturday morning in Birmingham was no different. She was exhausted but refused to lay down for a nap. I had to take a shower so Chase took over. By the time I was out of the shower she was fast asleep on her daddy's chest, and so was daddy! I love moments like these. They make my heart smile!! :)

(new posts below)

Sorry it's been so long!

Patrick and Meghan dancing at Twist and Shout

The happy couple.

The boys.

Patrick and me.

The four of us at Twist and Shout

Emory playing with Papa at the party.

Our Little Family

My apologies for such a long blogging break. I really haven't had much to blog about. It seems like we do the same things over and over again. We spend the week in Nashville and the weekend in Birmingham or Jacksonville or somewhere else. We are busy people putting LOTS of miles on our cars!! Last weekend though we went home to Birmingham for Patrick and Meghan's couples shower on Saturday night. We had a great time and were able to bring Emory with us for the first half of the night. Our babysitters (Papa and Nita) were invited to the party too, so after dinner they took Emory home and Chase and I were able to go out with our friends for the first time in a LONG time!! We had a great time and can't wait for the wedding in New Orleans in December!

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Who Knew?

That a turkey could be so funny. She was laughing much harder then this before we thought to get the camera. Sorry it's so dark. We used the digital camera instead of the video camera.