Beach Bums

Well...we're here. At my favorite place. The beach. Needless to say, I find MANY other things besides computers to keep me busy while I am at the beach, huh? Oh how happy I was last week when my Mom said she and Dad were headed south...and asked our little brood to come too! We got Nanma off on her plane Tuesday afternoon and all headed out about 6 pm. Arrived late night as always to the sounds of waves and smells of salt water and could hardly sleep dreaming of this white beach and our, well, white legs that would soon be tan! :) Rich, of all people, was the only one to burn to a crisp on the first day so he spent the rest of his days in t shirts, baby sunscreen, and under the umbrella. Always happens to at least one. :) The second "wave" of good news came a couple days into our trip when we found out Mom and I could stay a few extra days at a house across the street...and that two of our favorite girls were coming to join us. Oh what a week it's been...words can't do it justice, so I'll just share some pics!


Early morning kite flying... Another Seaside Bike Day...Jadey's favorite!!! So thankful these dudes like to hang together...they have to do it a lot! :) Happy girl! Love Birds...still! A cool morning on the beach... Our last "family of 3" pic on the beach... You can't imagine how much fun this girl had with her Daddy all to herself, all day, every day!!! A drip castle for Courtney...she always makes them on our Florida trips, so we "built" one in her honor this time...we thought this was such a cool pic Rich took!

Non and Jade played in the sand on our crab night...
Lookin' for crabs...


Not a single carb spotted, but still a fun time!
If you can't take a late night ride on a golf cart when you're on vacation, when can you??? Been lookin' forward to this picture all year...my sweet girl in her two piece on the beach! Ahhhhh I love her!!

...and her best friend came to join her for these last few days...

You Know Nanma's Here...

...When you find your 22 month old drinking hot tea each afternoon!!!

Oh we've had the best couple weeks so far with Nanma staying with us. It's funny how you get used to life just the way it is...for us, with Rich's parents living 3000 miles away year round. We miss them always, but we all get "used" to it. Having Nanma here for an extended stay has reminded us of just how MUCH we miss her being around every day. She is truly the sweetest hearted person and so easy to get along with...you know, it's not just any ole mother-in-law that one could have staying for two 1/2 weeks! This lady is so fun to have around, so HELPFUL (especially at this point in my pregnancy!), and so loving to both us and our sweet Jadeybug. I told Rich just last night how fortunate I feel that when it's time for her to leave on Tuesday, it will not be relief that I feel, as goes the jokes toward mother-in-laws...I will TRULY miss her, so much more, after these treasured days together.

Nanma, (and Mum!)...you're a gem and I am so thankful you took so much time out of your very busy life in California to come love on your Tennessee kiddos. We needed it and we have L-O-V-E-D it! We will always cherish this visit when Jade got to know you and love you so much...and you and I got ready for another baby/grandbaby! THANK YOU!!!!!


More pics soon of our almost-finished nursery!!!

Round Two

Seems like yesterday my fabulous mother-in-law came in town to help me decorate a nursery...round one. We didn't know the sex of the baby, and decided on silver sage walls, a big white tree...and chocolate brown and light blue polka dot fabric. It really looked more BOY than girl, honestly, because I was feeling boy (talk about motherly instinct, I have it!) :) Ok...so we brought home a bundle of PINK instead of blue, and we quickly had to add nests in the in the tree with PINK eggs...PINK "jadeybugs" crawling all over the tree...PINK pillows...and a PINK monogram. That was just yesterday, wasn't it? No...I suppose it's been two years already...
Last night I got into bed, late and tired, but found myself still tossing and turning after a long while. I had a familiar anxious "tummy". Two years ago I laid in our bed about this same time of year and sobbed into Rich's arms, mourning the soon-to-be "loss" of those wonderful years of just us, he and I, as we anticipated our Shaelyn Jade. It was a very similar feeling last night. I have indescribable excitement to experience this sort of LOVE all over again and add to our little family again...but oh the joy of these days of just "us", he and I...and her. So there I found myself, 1 am, in my baby girl's room. I pulled her out of her crib and into that comfy brown chair that she and I have rocked a million hours in together. One last rock in that chair, in that room...one last time to lay her back in that crib. Again, I found myself sobbing within just a few seconds. It's what I needed, really needed. And that was it. I laid her back in her crib and said goodbye to a chapter of my life that has brought me more love and peace and joy than any other. And I KNOW that just as it was "bittersweet" to leave behind the days of just Richard and I...I KNOW that even greater peace and love and joy is soon-to-be, again, with this new baby, and as a family of 4.

So Sunday, my fabulous mother-in-law came in town again (bearing gifts of course!)...


...to help me decorate a nursery...ROUND TWO. We've been busy turning our first nursery into a big girl room...and moving the nursery a few feet down the hall. Oh Shaelyn Jade was so excited as we moved her crib out...

and her new bed IN!


...She climbed all over it and jumped and squealed. And tonight...


...Tonight, my big girl is sleeping her first night, still under that big white tree, but this time, in a big girl bed.

As for that nursery down the hall...Again, we don't know the sex of the baby, which presents its challenges when trying to create the "perfect" nursery. But again, we have overcome. :) Again we have a sewing station in my living room...lots of fabric cutting and the buzz of the wonderful sewing machine my mother-in-law bought for me two years ago (which I am only brave enough to use when she is sitting beside
me!!!!)...


... and a familiar excited "tummy" as I anticipate rocking another bundle of PINK or BLUE for a million hours in this sweet, sweet room...in just 8 weeks.
Stay tuned this week to see our finished product...
...Round two.

Matilda Jane

Hey friends!!!

I am SOOOOO excited about a very fun clothing show I am hosting tomorrow at my Mom's house...Matilda Jane clothing, if you've never heard of it, has the CUTEST clothes for both little girls AND big girls! I am inviting ALL OF YOU who are close enough to come- AND BRING FRIENDS- to come out and enjoy an afternoon of all things "girly"...food, chatting...and shopping! The "trunk" will be opened from 2-4, so drop by anytime! Let me know if you think you're coming so we don't close it before you get your chance to look! :)

Seriously, bring you mom, sister, or friends...and just come! I went to a show a few weeks ago and it was GREAT!

Check out the website HERE.

Hope to see you there!!!!

my birthday

Well, folks- Shadey Jadey ended up being sick from last Monday (V-day) until this Monday, really. Saturday afternoon was her last fever, but she honestly didn't start acting like her healthy little self until Tuesday. That means we laid low ALL last week (cabin fever affected us both by Friday, so we packed up and spent the night at Nonni's just for a change of scenery :))...

...but it didn't affect my birthday on Sunday! It was WONDERFUL! Rich always plans my special day for me, makes it way more enjoyable that way, we think...so that morning, although our girl was still cranky (finally fever-free, though!) we packed up and went to the ZOO!!!! It was such a gorgeous day (I decided that my birthday present from God :)) and oh to be outside...it was wonderful!! My Mom and Dad met us there and we just strolled and enjoyed the animals...







...and then they took the cranky, now needing nap, Jadeybug back to their house so Rich and I could catch a matinee. Peeps, if you haven't seen UNKNOWN (Liam Neeson), it's really good...

...Then, a few friends met us for a yummy dinner at my fave Italian restaurant, Carrabba's...


Here is the official "hand off" of my birthday gift that traveled the farthest, all the way from the hands of my sweet sis, Court, in South Africa (by way of Rocky)...to me!


...a handmade, BEAUTIFUL scarf...which will not be worn like this-

-although Teri really wants me to! :)

And can you believe that we are ALL preggo together? In order (of biggest belly!)...Baby Andrews due beginning of May, Baby Beasley due middle of June, and Baby Calmus and Baby Walker are literally due within days of each other at the beginning of August. The BEST part is...NONE of us are finding out what we're having, so it's gonna be one, fabulous surprise after another!!! Oh I love these days in my life...


Perfect group, perfect night...

Perfect birthday.

And happy to report that today, this Friday, Shaelyn Jade is back to her old self, inventing new ways to do old things...



Happy weekend.
Love you all...

My Valentine

I had big plans for today when I went to bed last night... I had decorated Rich's office for a surprise for him (not like pink and red streamers and balloons- I mean, he had never hung his pictures or organized his book shelves or bought any decor since they moved in MONTHS ago...so I actually "spruced" it up a little for him)...Jade and I were going to go and meet him for lunch...I bought everything for a big, homecooked dinner he'd love...and planned a fun night at home for us three.

Well, as I am learning happens often with little ones, our plans don't go, um, as planned sometimes, do they? Jadeybug woke up this morning a little less thrilled than she normally is to be awake. She was snotty and whiney...and feverish. After breakfast, instead of her normal request for me to "pay" with her...she simply had one wish: "mama...bed." She was back asleep in minutes...with a 102 fever.

Plans cancelled. Day shot.

But not really. I spent almost the entire day in my PJs snuggled up with my little valentine. She literally didn't want to leave my arms...ALL day long. I spent the first part of the day thinking about HOW unproductive my day was becoming. Then, it dawned on me at some point, that this day of snuggles was the BEST VALENTINE'S DAY GIFT I could have ever even asked for. See, my little lady is needing me less and less each day...she is rarely happy sitting in my lap for too long...and I usually avoid thinking about this reality for fear of crying! But today...on this day of love...I felt so LOVED.








And if that's not enough, my real sweetheart came home with a wonderful surprise----he bought me a prenatal massage that I can cash in on a "sore" day here in this last trimester. What a good man!!!

Hope you all felt love today!

from where I sit...

It's naptime. At 4:22 pm every day, it's usually still naptime. Nearing the end of these few, quiet hours of my day. They are usually not still, however, because I almost always find lots of things to keep me moving... but today I decided to just SIT on my couch and check my email and call H & R Block about filing our taxes and look at THIS great promotion for nursing moms(Enter "VALENTINE" as promo code at checkout for FREEBIE!!!) I have been sitting for almost an hour, now, and started noticing "movement" out of my peripheral vision just a few minutes ago. Raised the blinds to find winter "flurries" comin' fast again...reminding me that this winter isn't quite over...


... Within just about 20 minutes, Joe and Greta's yard is starting to become covered....



...and Clive Staples has roused himself from my bed to come and count snowflakes with me...


...He hasn't said so himself, yet, but I am thinking he's as ready for spring as I am. Usually, on a warm day, this guy's out and about in the neighborhood at this hour, but not during the winter. 4:22 pm means naptime for him, too, these days...along with about 17 more hours of the day! Winter sleeper. Can't blame him. These white flakes a' fallin' are making my eyes heavy too...

Just a few minutes later, now, and the road is starting to accumulate snow...


I wondered if that would happen. That means, without a doubt, no school tomorrow...which doesn't really affect my life, but which I know is getting old for lots of friends! :) It also means that Rich will be later getting home because, as we all know, a single falling snowflake here in Tennessee usually means multiple car wrecks on the already-too-crowded I-65 S at quittin' time. Think we'll just have soup tonight. Yeah, warm veggie soup (although mine doesn't hold a candle to Greta's homeade soup!) sounds good...


...starting to really cover things up out there...

We'd planned to do our new fave winter activity tonight, "mim" at the Rec Center... but donning a bathing suit is hard enough when the temps are just low...I can't see myself also donning my snow boots to get there tonight! No, tonight may call for a "nuggle" night. Jadey is big on those lately. We push the fronts of our two couches together so they are touching and it kinda makes a "double wide" (obviously:)) and extra comfy palate for us...when she hears us moving the coffee table she runs in an screams with delight, "NUGGLE"...and jumps on the couches. She tells us both where to sit and once we're all situated she gives the cutest nod of contentment.

Hopefully me and my sweetheart (V-Day is close enough to start calling him that,again, right??? ;)) will find a good movie (that is, after Jadey has tired of crawling all over us and settles down)...and drift off into a sweet, warm dreamland together. Just about 3 feet away, outside, these flakes may still be falling from the storehouses...


...and I will dream of sunshine and sand...

Spring In Winter

So I am one of those people that just doesn't keep up with the weather. When it comes a big snow, I am usually like a child the next morning because, unless someone called to "warn" me, I didn't know. When I figure it out, I pull the blinds up and exclaim, "SNOW!!!"...and usually tear out through the yard to grab a handful...to eat! :) That's me. So, exactly the same thing happened last Saturday...except it was a "spring day" surprise! I was sitting at the kitchen table early Saturday morning eating breakfast with Shaelyn Jade (Rich had spent the night at The Cabin with the boys) and I thought that the birds in my backyard seemed to be "basking" in the sun...so I opened the back door and much to my surprise I was greeted with the most warm, pleasant, spring air! It was, truly, one of the best surprises of 2011 so far! :) I immediately called my Dad and told him Shadey Jadey and I would be heading that way RIGHT NOW to ride the four wheeler and see the horses and play in the sun all day long! We were in the car about 15 minutes later- windows down, music too loud to be January...and two happy girls. It's crazy how a little sunshine can change an entire day! We started our day with a long walk to the creek...then Poppy picked us up and we drove around on the tractor...down to the horses.


Rich and Uncle Jeff met us there and Jade got to "ride" her horse (thrilling!).


Then Ash met up with us (and brought pizza for lunch!) right as Dad hooked the trailor to the tractor and pulled us all over the farm. A "hayride" lunch on a sunny, January day.


We pulled sleeping bags down onto the trailor and we, like the birds, basked until our hearts were full...and our baby was sleepy!

Jade getting "tickled" by Non...


And proof that this kind of sunshine in winter can make us all do strange things...ever seen two grown men do "the spider"?! :)

Thank you, Jesus, for the surprise of a spring day in the middle of winter.


...and, while I'm on surprises, the BEST surprise of 2010, hands down, was that this sweet friend of mine also has a growing baby in her belly!!! This is my first "belly pic" of her...she's so tiny, but that little baby is starting to "pooch" out a little. Oh Baby Walker how we love you so much already!!!! :)

Birthday Boy!

Yesterday was Rich's birthday, so we made sure to have fun all weekend long! It started Friday night with a date night- dinner @ Jimmy John's (what can I say, big spenders :)) and the movie True Grit afterwards. We always love a good date where we can talk to each other, eat slowly (even if it isn't a steak!), and relax. It was good...
Saturday night we had cake and ice cream @ my Mom's house with the fam- the boys mostly played with the remote control airplanes (and managed to crash them into every wall and some foreheads!) and the Wii (might I add I was top scorer for bowling- which is something I must brag about here because I am TRULY the WORLD's WORST BOWLER in real life!!!)...and the kids' favorite part was loading up and riding down to pet the horses in the moonlight and cold!

Here the kiddos helped him blow out candles!
Yesterday started with a sweet girl waking up her Daddy and giving him his gift...


...tickets to the CIRCUS!!!

...and his favorite, yummy breakfast right there in bed!


He spent the day doing what he loves best- playing with and reading to Jadeybug...


...and then it was time for the CIRCUS!!!

Oh if you have never been (and none of us had!)- the Barnum and Bailey's Circus is an experience that everyone needs to have! We had front row seats to "The Greatest Show On Earth"...and it was truly amazing!


...Our Ringmaster!


Amazing tightrope walkers...


...and the MOST amazing was how many people were folded up inside this box!!!

At least Rich and I loved it... :)

...Shaelyn Jade (who was too excited all day to nap prior to the circus) finally fell out during the motorcycle riders (loudest part of the show!) and slept until intermission. But she was ready again for the second half with cotton candy...



...and loved every second of those elephants!
...And out favorite part was when they brought out the sweet, new baby elephant and his mommy at the end...

What a special memory for us all!


We finished Rich's special day at home, on the couch, with his favorite cake--- Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. He finally got to blow out his birthday candles and make his special birthday wish.

...Apparently this was a fake because afterward I asked him if he made a wish and he reported, " I never really do."

"WHAT??" Not in this house! We wait all year long for one special day where we can make one special wish...and he doesn't do it? He said he wanted to try again...


...and then he wanted to TELL ME HIS WISH (don't worry, friends- I stopped him before it was too late...whew!)... As we curled up in bed last night he said it was a good day...and I agreed. I am so thankful for the wonderful husband that God gave me to spend my days with, and I just know that every year's gonna keep getting better and better!

Happy Birthday, sweet Rich! I love you!!!