A Beautiful Life

Anniversary Pictures

2012-01-07T20:16:00.000-08:00

For our Anniversary, Nana came home from the nursing home after Papa went to bed so that she could have a slumber party with Brinley. They were both so excited. Not as excited as John and I though as this was our first date in over 6 months. We went to one of our favorite places to eat and then we walked around Target while we were waiting for our movie to start. I love target so this was a treat! We do not have one where we live now so any time I am near one I have to go. After Target, we went to the movies and saw New Years Eve. It was a really good movie and we had fun watching an actual adult movie instead of the usual kid movies we end up seeing.

Anniversary Cake

2012-01-06T19:23:00.000-08:00

My Nana decided that Brinley needed to bake us a cake for our 5 year Anniversary. The reason that this was so amazing was that my Nana is just incredible. My grandfather was laying in the hospital after having had a stroke and she still was thinking about every one but her self. She honestly amazes me. She asked Brinley what kind of cake she wanted to make and she said 'vanilla and strawberry'. Guess what? Nana had everything on hand to create such a masterpiece. Nana and Brinley had so much fun cooking together and it was a wonderful Anniversary gift to receive from 2 of the ladies I love most. Here are a few shots of the fun that I captured.

{BFF's reunited}

2012-01-05T17:30:00.000-08:00

My two best friends from high school Erika and Jill were both in South Carolina this year for Christmas. We had to seize the opportunity and have a reunion. It was so much fun. Erika's mom cooked dinner for us and then we spent the evening playing games, exchanging gifts and catching up. It was so amazing how we were able to fall right back into the goofy teenage girls that we used to be. It was honestly the highlight of my Christmas break. Everything that happened with Papa put a pretty bad taste in my mouth so it was lovely to end the 2 weeks on such a high note. Thanks girls for a wonderful evening!

Our signature pose - we have the exact same pose taken 8 years earlier at a youth dance. I wish I could post it but I do not have it on this computer :( If you are friends with me on facebook then you can see it because Jill and Erika tagged me in it.

It was so fun posing for picture with these ladies again!

Brinley, Me, Jaxon, Jill, and Erika

Now we are all married women!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-05T17:10:00.000-08:00

Things this year were different. There is no question about that.

Since Papa had his stroke, there was a lot of talk about whether we would still do the annual Christmas exchange, the big family party and the whole shebang. However, we decided that Papa would have wanted us to continue with the 20+ year tradition and we had our big family party. Nana obviously could not host it so we had it at my Uncle Baxley and Aunt Terris house. We still had pizza, yummy deserts, and lots of family fun. I can not deny it, we missed a huge part of what made Christmas Eve so special. Papa being gone was very much noticed. HE is a very key part of our family and I very much noticed that. In fact I struggled to hold back tears the entire night and I am still struggling to do as I type this today.

John and I decided together that it would be better that if she (Brinley) opened up Santa at her other grandparents house in Hampton, SC. When we arrived on Christmas Eve they had already done Christmas. We chatted with John's siblings Nadja and Chris and then we prepared for Santa arrive. Thankfully Chris made cookies for Santa, and there was a bed for the three of us to sleep on. Santa came and then John and I crashed!! We were so tired. Everything dealing with Papa had exhausted us! Not to mention that John had spent that last night with Papa in the hospital room. We were tired to say the least.

Christmas morning came and Brinley was very excited. She did not get every thing that she asked for because the branch of Santa's workshop divisioned with " Amazon" had a MAJOR screw up and her number one gift did not arrive.She understands, but anticipates the arrival when we return home. Her coveted doll house should be on the door step when we arrive.I have no idea went wrong but MAJOR things happened especially with Papa being being sick. All in all, it was a fair Christmas. I wish Papa was there to enjoy it all but we can hope for that next year!

Christmas Morning - She could not believe her eyes when she say everything that Santa had brought her.

Going in for her first gift!

Here she is in front of her loot

Santa brought her roller skates - She started asking for skates back in October! It was a good thing that Santa was listening.

Nana and Pop Pop Pierson got her a scooter for Christmas. She love it!

Cousin Cate on Christmas Morning.

Look at those Baby Blues - We were so excited to have Cousin Savannah with us for Christmas this year.

My father-in-law made Clams Casino for Christmas dinner. They are Amazing! I am so happy that seafood is a Pierson tradition. It is such a nice change from the traditional turkey and ham dinners.

Brinley in front of the Christmas tree before bed on our last day at the Pierson family house.

Cousins Savannah and Brinley shouting for JOY that Santa had visited them that day!

BROTHERS- enough said.

Brothers with their daughters

A mother with her sons with their daughters - got all that...lol?

Like Father, like sons?

5 years ago

2011-12-28T20:38:00.000-08:00

I will never forget where I was 5 years ago on this eve. I was laying on a futon in the upstairs bedroom of my grandparents home with my best friend Jackie and her brother Clifford. Both of whom I have known since I was 5 years old. They were in town from New Mexico for a very special occasion. We spent the the night giggling and chatting about times past and most of it with them calming my nerves.

The next morning I was going to wake up so that I could drive to the South Carolina Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints so that I could marry my very best friend John Ewing Pierson IV. What a wonderful day that was! I still think that was the single most amazing day of my life. We were married in the temple of our home state, had a reception to die for, but most of all we married each other. We spent the day making convennants to each other and to the Lord, the afternoon driving and checking in to our hotel, and the night eating, visiting with dear friends and dancing till our feet hurt. We truly had the wedding of our dreams because we were surrounded by the people that mattered the most.

Tonight I sit here, reflecting on the last 5 years and I can hardly believe that it has been that long. It seems like yesterday that John was on one knee in the Japanese gardens of River Walk proposing to me. Now we sit, with 4 moves under our belts, a 3 year old little girl, miscarriages, a college degree, new friends, old friends, sickness, health, career changes and the adventure of medical school. It has been a whirlwind. I have LOVED every moment of it. I cannot imagine another person that I would rather be on this journey with.

I do not want to get all sappy on you guys, but honestly John is an amazing man. Actually he is incredible. I literally cannot believe that he is mine. We can just leave it at that fact that he restored my faith in men completely. I did not have the most favorable experiences with male figures (aside from Papa and Steve) growing up. Therefor my trust in men was pretty slim. However, John came in and changed all of that. He showed me that men can be supportive, loving, trusting, caring, dependable, trustworthy and so much more. He made me believe that I was worth something. He helped to show me my divine nature and individual worth. My relationship with my Heavenly Father grew because of the insight he was able to help me see. My testimony grew also. John is helping me to become the woman that I am supposed to be. He challenges me every single day to be better than I am. I love him. He is wonderful, he is my husband, and he is all mine!

The past 5 years have been crazy, beautiful, hard, wonderful, whimsical, stressful, but most of all worth every moment. I love you John, and thank you for every second of it! I look forward to eternity with you.

5 years ago

Today

{I wish I had better news}

2011-12-19T17:40:00.000-08:00

I figured that this is the best way to keep everyone updated since we are not all together during this difficult time. Friday night started like a normal night when the family went to Hopeland Gardens to go see the Christmas lights. We left Papa at home since he said that he did not think that he could do the walking that was involved. When we got home he seemed very confused and was acting very tired. About an hour after Papa fell asleep the doorbell rang. It was the North Augusta Police Department. He had called them while we were gone. He thought that the whole family had gone missing and had called for help.We had no clue that something crazy was going on in his brain while we all slept. When we were all awake on Saturday morning, John noticed that half of Papa's face was drooping and his eye was closed. He was also very confused and mumbling his words when he spoke. Long story short, Nana, Uncle Baxley and John ended up taking him to the hospital on Saturday because we all knew that there was something very wrong. It turns put that Papa suffered a major stroke. He also has a 100% blockage of his middle cerebral artery. He is very confused, cannot walk, and goes in and out of reality. He knows who we are some of the time and then 5 minutes later he is convinced we are dead family members or Santa's elves (no kidding). The doctors are very unsure about what the future is going to hold but have told us that we have a long road ahead to get Papa on the path to recovery. He is not in a life threatening situation right now but he is going to have to go to a rehabilitation center to learn to do most of the basic things again. This is not how we anticipated spending Christmas break but we feel very blessed that we are able to be here during it and to offer my grandmother the support that she needs (she is amazing by the way. My Nana is the strongest woman I know.) Christmas will spent a little bit differently this year but who cares. Please keep Papa in your prayers that he will regain a full recovery. I will try to keep everyone updated via blog, Facebook, texts and phone calls. Thank you to everyone that has offered their support. We love you all and wish you a very Merry Christmas.

Hopeland Gardens

2011-12-17T18:48:00.000-08:00

We went to Hopeland Gardens in Aiken, SC tonight with Nana, Aunt Tonya, and then our little family. It was so much fun. We had hot chocolate, apple cider, lots of cookies, and there were so many beautiful lights. Brinley's highlight of the evening was getting to take a bus from the parking lot to the actual gardens. She is so funny. She really enjoyed the lights also including the yummy snacks. A mental not to self: even though we are in South Carolina I should not have worn flip flops. It was freaking cold and I was miserable. Although I was not miserable enough to have not had a wonderful time. It was fantastic and absolutley beautiful and I am so happy that we went.

More hot tub times....

2011-12-17T13:56:00.000-08:00

My grandparents have a beautiful home on the Savannah River in North Augusta, South Carolina. One of our favorite things to do when we come home is get in their hot tub. It over looks the river and has an amazing view of Georgia. It is breath taking. Brinley loves getting in to the hot tub and so do we. You can count on the fact that we will get in there at least once a day while we are home. People wonder why I come home so much...lol!

A visit with St.Nick

2011-12-17T13:45:00.000-08:00

Last year we found a wonderful thing that has become Christmas tradition for this Pierson family. We go to visit Santa at Communigraphics in North Augusta. It is such a wonderful experience. When you first arrive, an elf greets you with cookies and puts your name on a waiting list. When you are finally called you are escorted to a private office where MORE cookies are waiting for you. After filling out an information sheet you are then escorted in to Santa by Mrs.Clause. Santa's office is wonderful. It is decked out and so whimsical. Santa is so authentic and spends a TON of time with each child. We just love going. After finding this place we will NEVER go to the mall to visit Santa again. Oh, and did I mention that it is totally free and you even get to take your own pictures? Oh, how I love North Augusta family run businesses. Plus they are my grandparents neighbors so that it a plus.

She had some very important questions for the big man

Brinley was so thrilled to see Santa

A family photo with Santa

Brinley is an Angel

2011-12-17T13:30:00.000-08:00

Literally.

Brinley was chosen to be angel in her school Christmas program on Wednesday night. We waited anxiously to see if she would actually go through with performance. John and I waited in the crowd seated next to our closest friends the Sowby's and Terry's to see if she would actually grace us with her presence. We did not have much success with her ballet performance so we were hoping for more with this one. Lo and behold, she did it! She did great also. We were seated pretty far back in the sanctuary so I got as good of pictures as I could have. I also took some of her before the program so that is what some of these are from.

Family Christmas Photos

2011-12-13T12:10:00.000-08:00

These are the pictures that we took for our Christmas cards this year. We literally took them yesterday like an hour after John finished his last final. I have been working on them like crazy since I got them printed out last night so that they will be able to get out to our friends and family in time. Did I mention that I love Christmas? I really do. Everything that goes along with it. Including sending out cards to those you love. That is one of my more favorite traditions.
Here is just a preview of some of the pictures we took.

Christmas Fun so far....

2011-12-13T08:20:00.000-08:00

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. We have been staying pretty busy with fun things while John has been cramming for finals. The good new is that as of yesterday he is officially ours again! It is so nice to have him around now. The real festivities can begin!

We decorated the tree. Daddy got home just in time to help Brinley put the star on top! She loved decorating the tree. She literally did the bottom half by her self. I think he have another Christmas lover in the family!

We have been baking up a storm also. We gave all of our friends goody bags with cookies and peppermint bark in them for Christmas this year. My kitchen was a disaster for 2 days! It was a lot of fun though and Brinley got really into it. Don't mind the fact that she is shirtless. I tried and tried to get her to put clothes on but to no prevail. At least we keep a warm house. I also apologize for looking so rough in the pictures also. I was covered in flour and chocolate and had been baking all day.

Brinley and I bundled up one night and went to the Lincoln Memorial University Annual Tree lighting ceremony. There was caroling, Santa, candles, Christmas lights and warm treats. We ran into several other families from the ward there also which made it twice the fun! John had an exam the following day so he could not join us but Brinley and I had fun...even though it was freezing!

We have also done our fare share of Christmas crafting. My dear friend Kami invited us to come over and paint homeade ornaments that she made. The girls really enjoyed painting while us older girls caught up.

We went to the Middlesboro City Christmas parade. Some of our friends that are homeschooled were in it so we wanted to go show our support to them. Not to mention that Santa was there are Brinley was just bursting at the seams at a chance to get to see Santa again. That cute lady in the hat is Taralynn and she is such a doll. I adore her. She is like super woman. Not to mention that she is an incredible mom to two darling kiddos, she is also a 3rd year medical student and her husband is the bishopric. She is quite a woman.

Brinley has been in ballet for about 3 months now. They had their first performance on Friday for the Wards Christmas Party. They were little sheep and the performance was adorable. However, I have no pictures of it because Brinley would not do it. She got a bad case of stage fright and refused to participate. So this is the only picture I got of her in her leotard. This was before the party started and she was having fun dancing around with her friend Ella.

{Flashback}

2011-11-26T17:23:00.000-08:00

John uploaded all of the files from our video camera onto my computer a while ago. I finally got around to looking at all of the videos and pictures tonight. It was so fun to relive so many of those precious moments all over again. Brinley was such a doll when she was a baby. I found this picture from her first visit to the beach house in Myrtle Beach. We had such a good time on that vacation. Enjoy a little flashback from 2 1/2 years ago.

{Take me out to the ballgame}

2011-11-26T07:56:00.000-08:00

John played softball at the start of the semester on a city league. A bunch of med students wanted to play so they formed two teams. They were DCOM 1. The ended up playing eachother one night so these are the pictures from that game.

Here are both of the teams together. DCOM 1 and DCOM 2

DCOM 1 - John loves these guys. That is one thing about medical school that I have learned. We have literally made such good friends with all these wonderful people that we consider each other our families away from home. It is such a unique thing. I love getting to know the other wives and their children. Everyone is so fantastic.

#18 John Pierson

The funny thing is that I can not even remember who won. I'm sure John knows but it really does not matter. It was just a fun thing for them to do to add a little change to their busy study schedules.

Our Cruise

2011-11-26T07:35:00.000-08:00

My Grandmother took Brinley and I on a cruise the first week of October. We were supposed to go last year but Brinley got Kawasaki's Disease and was in the hospital so we could not go. Nana and Papa promised that we were going to go still and they kept their promise. Almost a year later we made it happen and we sailed off on a 4 generation cruise to the Bahamas. Yep, thats right a four generation cruise. I got to spend a whole week with 3 of the most important women/girl in my life. My Nana, Mom, Me and Brinley squeezed in a cabin and had the time of our lives! We went to Freeport and Nassau. Funny enough, that was the second time Brinley had been there and she is only 3 years old. Here are a few pics from the trip:

In the cabin when we first arrived

Here we are on the main deck with pool...Brinley was so hungry which is why she is stuffing a roll in her mouth...lol

Brinley and Nana on the bus to the cruise terminal

Mom and I

A beautiful beach in Freeport

This is basically what I did the whole time...I just reclined in the sun normally with a book in hand. It was so nice!

Brinley getting her hair braided. She sat still the whole time!

Nana caught us playing in the surf. I love this picture because we are doing the exact same thing. It is funny to me. We had so much fun on the beach.

Brinley was covered in sand. We were on a public beach and there was no shower so we had to ride in a cab across the island covered in sand. I felt so bad for making the cab so dirty!

After our day on the beach. Brinley was tired she fell asleep walking back to the ship.

I have a ton more pictures so hopefully I will get around to posting some more soon. For some reason it is taking a LONG time to upload just one picture so when I have more patience I will add some more.

Thanks again Nana! It was an incredible trip and I am so thankful for the memories we created!

{Brinley loves learning}

2011-11-26T06:54:00.000-08:00

Brinley is learning so much at school this year. I was a little hesitant about putting her in school this early but I think it is the best thing that we could have done for her. She has really blossomed. As most of you know, Brinley had severe seperation anxiety. Like, literally I could not be out of her sight or she would freak. There were a few people she would go to, but for the most part unless she was very familiar with the person then it would not happen. She did not even go to nursery alone till lately. However, that all changed with school. The first few days were rough but after the initial shock was over she did awesome! Now she will go stay with friends and really enjoy herself. I credit school for that. Socially, putting her in K3 was the best decision we could have made. To our surprise, she has even learned a ton. She has mastered 10 scriptures, knows A-F, 1-20 (forwards and backwards - counting backwards is her new favorite thing to do), all of her shapes, colors, lots of Bible stories, lots of songs, and so much more! I swear she comes home every day with something new to show me. I love it! I have to admit that I love her school. I wish we could just stay here so we could keep her at this school. The uniform thing is nice too. I love knowing exactly what I'm going to put her in every morning. I wore uniforms my whole life till I moved to the states and I loved it.

Here is a video of Brinley showing me something she was very proud of! Sorry the video is sideways. I'm not sure how to fix it! Enjoy!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-25T17:26:00.000-08:00

This year was a different Thanksgiving for me. In fact this was the first Thanksgiving in my life that I have not been with my family. John's school scheduled an exam for this Monday which meant going home was out of the question. However, we got to stay here and have dinner with our friends. It was wonderful! The Sowbys's hosted ALL of us in their home and we had a ton of food. Everyone was assigned different dishes and everyone was to bring their favorite dessert. I think we ended up with like 10 pies! It was crazy but oh so yummy. My favorite was Amber Grover's Lemon Merangue pie. I liked it so much they let me bring half of one home! Score!

All in all the day was awesome! The kids all had a great time playing and the adults had a great time talking and eating (a lot). I would give this Thanksgiving a 10!

Lady in Pink

2011-09-26T16:52:00.000-07:00

My mom sent me some money so that I could buy a new dress since I have lost some weight recently. I found this dress on sale at Goody's and the shrug for under 20 dollars. I was thrilled! Mom wanted to see it so I had John snap a quick pic on Sunday before church. Here you go Mom. Hope you like it as much as I do. Thanks again and I love you mucho!

I love my family

2011-09-12T05:17:00.000-07:00

I really do. They are so good to me and I feel like the luckiest person alive to be John's wife and Brinley's mother. The other day in the grocery store I got to talking with an older lady who asked why I already had a three year old and no other other little ones already there or on the way. She then told me how sorry she was for me that I did not know the blessings of multiple children. I was a little offended by that because I do LONG for another baby badly but for some reason the Lord has not blessed us with that yet. However, I do feel more than blessed that I have Brinley. I am so lucky to be a mother even if it is to just one child. I think that people think you can't be as much of a mother if your mothering one. I think that is very inaccurate. I am just as much as a mother as my dear friends who have multiple children. The Lord knows our desire to have another child but the time is not now for some reason but it will happen. I know that. So for now, I am just so grateful that I have the family that I have and that I can call them mine. I love them deeply and thank Heavenly Father for the blessing that each of them are to me.

'Gyaff"

2011-09-11T11:15:00.000-07:00

Brinley has a new best friend. Lately she has become obsessed with giraffes. When we go to the zoo they are the ONLY thing that she even cares about seeing and once we have seen those she could care less about any other animals. My mom and I took Brinley to the zoo the other day and my mom bought her a little stuffed giraffe. She LOVES it. It goes everywhere with us. It accompanies us on errands and even to church. She loves her giraffe. She will not sleep with out it or do anything for that matter. This morning she was trying to brush it's teeth so it has to take it's first trip through the wash cycle today. I'm not sure what this new obsession with giraffes is but we saw a whole line of clothing in giraffe print at Belks on Saturday and she was SO EXCITED. She literally wanted the pants, jumper, shirt, dress, and leggings. You name it, she wanted it to come home with us. However, I think the line of clothing is hideous and would not buy any of it but I think I have changed my mind. I want her to know I support her when she is passionate about something and if it means buying a few ugly outfits then so be it! I'm going to go to the mall while she is at school on Monday and pick up the dress and leggings with tunic for her so that I can surprise her after school. Anyway I took a few pics of her asleep last night with 'gyaff' so I thought I would introduce him to all of you guys...lol!

It's over!!! (basically)

2011-09-03T05:39:00.000-07:00

I can officially say the nightmare that started this time last year is over! If you don't know what I am talking about I will briefly explain. Brinley was diagnosed with atypical Kawasaki's Disease and required a 6 day stay at the childrens hospital in Knoxville. The disease resulted in a significant anuersim in her left corotid artery. They told us that we would not know till her 1 year check up what the future would hold as far as her heart goes. Well we hit a year (almost) and I was more than anxious to get her in there. It turns out that her heart looks great considering everything it went through. She still has a murmur, and very low blood pressure but I'll take that over more anerurisms any day. The only significant thing that the doctor told us is that Brin will not be allowed to participate in any competition sports till she has a full stress test on her heart which won't be till 8 years old (that is the youngest they do them). She is always going to be at risk for stenosis of her artery where the aneurism was so we just have to be careful. So it looks like no ballet, soccer, or tumbling for Brinley till we get a stress test. But heck, I will take a healthy Brinley over a sports playing Brinley ANYDAY! I always wanted Brinley to be an athlete but it is amazing at how quickly priorities change and things you thought you cared about really do not matter AT ALL. Thank you to all of our friends and family who have supported us through this over the year. It was truly the hardest thing we have ever gone through and it just feels so wonderful to be able to say that the worst is behind us now. We can actually relax. Everytime she gets sick now, I do not have to go in to full panic mode and assume the worst. I get to assume the best now. Brinley is HEALTHY!!!!!!!!!!!! I never realized just how serious this was till her appointment on Monday. The doctor told me that with out a shadow of doubt she knew that Brinley would have required a heart transplant had we not gotten her to the hospital when we did and they administered the IVIG when they did. It felt like a ton of bricks hit me in the head. I knew we came close to losing her last fall but I just had no clue how bad it was. I'm sure that John knew, but kept it from me to save me from insanity. However, the past is the past and we get to move on forward with a healthy daughter. I feel so blessed I can not even convey in words how lucky I feel. Thank you for answered prayers!

A year ago: This is the second night at the hospital where she had actually improved a lot. I am glad we did not take a picture of her the first day we were at the hospital. I do not want that reminder of how bad she really was.

A year later: What a relief and a blessing to have such a remarkable, loving, and sweet little girl to call our own! She is such an inspiration to me and her strength makes me aspire to be more like her. I love you Brin!

First Day of School

2011-09-02T18:02:00.000-07:00

I know that she started a few weeks ago but I have honestly been putting this post off because we have not wanted to jinx anything as far as keeping her at school. Most of you know that she has severe anxiety when she is away from me but we got so lucky. Brinley loves loves loves school! It is wonderful to see her growing and learning every day. My heart melts when she comes home with a new scripture memorized. It is so amazing to see everything she is learning. I love her school.

Uniforms

2011-08-03T04:57:00.000-07:00

I grew up wearing uniforms to school since I went to private schools so when I found out that Brinley was going to be required to wear one also to school I was very excited. They are also very cute so as soon as I picked them up I had to put her in them and have a mock photo shoot. Of course this is not her first day of school so be prepared for A LOT more pictures on her actual first day of school but for now here is a preview of what she will be wearing for the next year. I think she looks adorable!

Happy Birthday

2011-07-31T18:18:00.000-07:00

We had a Dora Fiesta for Miss Brinley yesterday. She turned three. I can not believe that my baby is now a little girl. A little girl that is starting preschool in 2 weeks I might add. Our dear friends the Sowby's let us use their house for the festivities and we had a blast. All of Brinley's favorite foods were served and all of her favorite friends were there. She loaded up on presents and good memories. I would say that they day was a success.

Where did the time go?

2011-07-28T11:49:00.000-07:00

I'm doing Brinley's birthday post today because the rest of this week will be hectic and we are having her party on her actual birthday (this Saturday) so I'm worried I won't get around to it if I don't do it now.

Brinley,
Where do I even start? First off I love you with all of my heart. You are truly 'my girl'. I could never imagine what the world would even be like without you in it. I thank Heavenly Father every day that you made it through a complicated pregnancy and were born a perfect healthy little girl. I will never forget your tiny little face and 7 lb body. You were 19 1/2 inches long and had the most hair I had ever seen on a new baby. It was jet black and stood straight up! I instantly fell in love with you and so did Daddy. We have entered a whole new realm of life with you now and I am cherishing every second of it. I love how special our relationship is but I want you to learn that it is okay for me to be out of your sight for a few seconds. I always come back! I am endeared by the fact that you have 'mommyitis' but I really want you to spread your wings and fly. Not too far away from me but just far enough to where you will have some experiences and make memories without me. I am so excited for you to start K3 this fall. You are going to do so well. Brinley, I hope you always stay the sweet little girl that you are. You are always so thoughtful, caring and kind. Daddy and I knew you were special when you were born but we had no idea just how lucky we were going to be to have you as a daughter. We love how concerned you are about others and how exuberant you are about life. I love watching as you sing, dance and twirl your way through your days. It is delightful to see. I guess the bottom line is that I am so thankful that you are mine and that you are happy in our family. Continue to grow, progress, and excel! Just not too fast....okay? I love you little girl.
Love,
Mommy

Newborn

1 years old

2 years old

3 years old

Where did the time go?

Birthday outfit

2011-07-26T12:59:00.000-07:00

I tried to get some pictures of Brinley in the outfit that I bought her to wear at her birthday party. It is from Gymboree and says "Birthday Girl" on the front. However, the photo shoot was doomed from the start. She refused to go outside with out her rain boots on, then it started raining (good thing she was persistant about the boots), and then she was just in a really funny mood. However, it was not a hahahahaha mood but just a pretty goofy mood. She would not smile for me nor pose, so this is the best that I got out of the 55 pictures I took. ENJOY! Our little girl is three....well almost...in 4 days.

Playing in the backyard

2011-07-20T10:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Brinley and I went outside for a little photo shoot. I'm trying really hard to learn how to use my camera. These are few of the shots that I got that I thought were decent.

Excited...maybe just a little

2011-07-18T16:38:00.000-07:00

Can't you tell how excited that she is to have a puppy of her very own??

Dora and Brinley

2011-07-16T09:54:00.000-07:00

Brinley has been begging us for a dog or a brother or sister for months now. Since the latter is not possible right now we settled for getting her a dog. The Pierson family would like to introduce Dora. Yes, she is named after Dora the Explorer and Brinley did name her. We have already fallen in love with her. She is a Boston Terrier and about 6 weeks old.

New Bedding

2011-07-15T18:11:00.000-07:00

It is no secret that Brinley has NEVER been a good sleeper.In fact it has been a struggle from the day she was born. Transitioning from crib to big girl bed has been really tough for us. To be honest, we end up with a guest in our bed every night at around 2am. Now that she is bigger and we only have a queen bed this has become close to untolerable. It is really tough and we are all struggling to get a good nights of sleep. However, we bought Brinley new bedding that she picked out and we are hoping that this will be a new motivation for her to stay in her room. So, here is to a new night and hopefully a full one of sleep. If ANYONE has any form of suggestions on how to keep a nearly 3 year old in her bed all night then we will take anything you got!

Play Date with The Jones's

2011-07-09T14:59:00.000-07:00

We had a special treat the other day when our dear friends the Jones's came over for a play date! We ate food, the girls played and we caught up on our summer happenings. It was a great day.

Mini Party

2011-07-09T14:49:00.000-07:00

We had a tiny little party for Brinley and John's birthday's before we left SC. We grilled some burgers, had cake, and enjoyed laughs with family.

A little Swimmer

2011-07-05T06:07:00.000-07:00

Guess who tried to swim yesterday? If you guessed Miss Brinley then you would be right. She has gotten pretty confident swimming around with her water wings on. However, yesterday she though she had them on and just walked right on in. She kicked her feet so hard and actually kept her head above water. I caught her right before she went under. I was so proud of her for kicking so hard. There was such determination in her face. I saw so much of her daddy in her at that moment. I am very thankful that I was so close to her and that she was brave enough to try to swim.

Family Pics

2011-07-02T09:22:00.000-07:00

I took family photos for the reunion today. I think that they turned out decent, but I still have alot of work and practice to do before I am confident in what I take.Keep in mind that half of the Pierson Clan is missing but we made do with what we had. We sure missed Lauren, and Chris's family.

Cousins, Cookies, and Cupcakes, Oh My!

2011-07-01T17:48:00.000-07:00

We are back in Hampton for the Family Reunion. So far we have had a great time. We are so lucky that we got Savannah for the week so that all the cousins can be together for the first time in a long time. Tonight that kids decorated cookies and cupcakes and they had a BLAST!

Can you beleive it....

2011-06-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

Brinley is turning 3. In less than a month we'll be celebrating her big day. Her personality is really starting to shine through and I just love what I see. She is so sweet, kind, patient, loving, and totally adorable. She loves all things girl but also loves to wrestle with Daddy and play with her trains. Her behavior has really changed lately and I am so grateful for that. She was going through a stage for a couple of months that really challenged me. However, a friend told me to just ride out the stage and eventually it will get better. She was right. I know I have many more stages to go through but for now I am just going to enjoy my easy going 3 year old and her relaxed attitude about life.

Cousin Fun

2011-06-27T08:36:00.000-07:00

Brinley and Catelynn are two peas in a pod. We have been spending alot of time with them since we have been home. I grew up very close to my cousins and I am just so thankful that Brinley is getting the same chance. We had a sleep over with Cate last night and they just thought it was the coolest thing ever. I love those two girls to pieces.

Swimming

2011-06-27T08:19:00.000-07:00

Brinley is now swimming with water wings on. If any of you know Brinley pretty well then you know she is terrified of water. This is a huge accomplishment for her. John literally let go of her and she started paddling around. We are pretty excited. My grandparents have a great pool so we are out there all day most days. Now I don't have to carry her around in the water anymore. Freedom for me and her :)

My sun baby

She is doing it finally!

I have gotten so tan this summer. I love it!

There she goes. On her very own.

!90 Years Young!

2011-06-27T08:11:00.000-07:00

My great Aunt Inez turned 90 on Wednesday so we threw her a big family bash. She is officially the oldest person living on my Nana's side of the family. It was so great to see all of my cousins and we had great time.

Blankie

2011-06-27T01:11:00.000-07:00

Brinley loves coming in the living room every morning and wrapping up in this blanket. When I am making breakfast I will let her watch some tv so I can get it ready. It literally takes me prying it out if her arms to get her to come to the table. However, I think it is adorable so of course I had to get a picture.

Anniversary Party

2011-06-26T05:19:00.000-07:00

John and I put on some fancy clothes and went dancing last night at the Moyles' 50th Anniversary Party. We had a blast. It was a fun date night for us. It was the 2nd time that Brinley has spent the night away from us, but she was in very good hands with family. Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Moyles!!

Watermellon Festival

2011-06-26T05:08:00.000-07:00

After 5 years of being with John, I finally got to go to the Hampton Country Watermelon Festival. It was a fun time with family. We went to the street dance on Friday night and then went to the parade on Saturday morning where they threw TONS of candy out for the kids. Brinley really collected tons of loot.

* Daddy's * Girl *

2011-06-22T13:57:00.000-07:00

I have to admit that at the beginning of the summer I was a bit jealous. I had been the apple of her eye for an entire year while John was slaving away at school and I never thought that things would be the same again. Boy was I wrong. She is more of a 'daddy's girl' now then EVER before. It makes my heart sing. I never had a father (till my mom married my wonderful step father in 4th grade) growing up so I always wondered what the father daughter dynamic was like. I LOVE what I see. It is beautiful. They are two peas in a pod. I do however worry about this coming August when life will be flipped upside down again. All I can say is that I am so thankful for the memories and pictures. I love both of them so much and appreciate the relationship incredibly. I think when you don't have something crucial yourself, them you SO want that for your children. I always said that I wanted to marry a man that would be an incredible father. I got that times 1000. He is an amazing father and wonderful partner to me. I basically hit the lottery - and for that I am thankful.

(Brinley is Going to School)

2011-06-19T12:12:00.000-07:00

It is official. Brinley is starting K3 this August. I never thought that I would put her in preschool this young but she is in desperate need of the structure and social interaction. We thought really hard about where to put her and we kept feeling very strongly about this little private school in Middlesboro. It is called Gateway Christian. The only thing that is a little bit of a draw back is that their program in M-F which means my baby will be away from me every day. She is only there a few hours though and we feel like it will be a great opportunity. We interviewed her before we left for SC, put down a deposit and her uniforms are ordered. Her orientation papers should arrive any day now. I honestly do not know what I will do with my self for 3 hours every morning but I am sure I will figure something out. The one thing that this means is that there will be NO more traveling for me and Brinley this year. We are going to be staying put in good ol' Cumberland Gap. Last year, I was literally out of town every other month for a month. I had a really tough year as far as my health went and the whole adjustment to a husband as a medical student. However, I feel really good about this year. We have some incredible neighbors, amazing friends from school, and even more amazing people from church. I have a good feeling about this year and everything it is going to offer. I know Brinley is going to do amazingly well at school and that she will learn so much.

Summer so far!

2011-06-15T10:56:00.000-07:00

We have been having a great summer so far. We have had lots of fun filled days in the South Carolina sun.

Our first fun began at the beach house in Myrtle Beach, SC. My sister Erika, her husband Matt, and their son Xander came all the way from Southern California to join us for the week. My mom even flew in and surprised us all from Japan. We were not expecting that at all! It was a fantastic time with family and the kids had a blast on the beach. We had great food, fireworks, family time, beach time, and lots of shopping. We always enjoy it there. We love Weebees! Unfortunatley, I do not have many pictures from the trip. We honestly had so much fun, I forgot to snap pics of the memories. Sad...but I will do a much better job for the rest of summer.

View from the back porch of my grandparents beach house


Brinley and Xander attacking my mom when she walked through the door and surprised us all. They love their Gammy!


Brinley playing with sparklers on the front porch. This was totally a hit with the kids.

After the beach house we headed to Hampton, SC to spend a few days with the Pierson side of the family. Our niece Cate and nephew Caleb were there which was a hit with Brinley. They are such close cousins. I am so happy that they are getting to grow up together. We made a make shift water park in the front yard for the kids to enjoy and cool down from the heat. Talk about a blast. They ran around and sliped and slided for ever. John's Dad took us out on his boat one day also. We went down to Beaufort and found a private island to hang out on for the day. That was such a fun time. My personal favorite was the tubing. I felt like I was 10 years old again.

Slip and Slide Fun

We added some soap to make the slide extra slippery

The Three Musketeers

Cute Brinley

She had such a great time. That slide was one of the best 10 bucks I have spent.

Watching the baseball game

Daddy and Brinley up to bat

The rest of the summer has been spent at my grandparents house around the pool. John has been busy though working on a project for Nana and Papa. He is reconstructing the bank on the side of the house next to the creek. It has been a victim of erosion so John has his engineering brain on and has been working like crazy trying to save it. Let's not mention that he has shoveled 2 dump truck loads of clay by himself trying to fill it in. I will get pictures of the wall he built and fill in he has done. He is such a hard worker. The one thing nobody can ever say about John is that he is lazy. Even on his time off he is working. Hopefully the project will be a success.

We have a busy rest of the month coming up. Aunt Inez's 90th Birthday party is on Saturday, Father's Day is Sunday. The next Thursday is Aunt Terri's graduation from radiography school, and then on Saturday is her parents BIG 50th Wedding Anniversary party. Then we have the Pierson Family Reunion the following weekend. After that we are finally going to head back to TN and that is where we will be for the rest of the summer. Basically we are spending June in SC and July in TN. We hope everyone else is enjoying their summer!

Easter 2011

2011-04-27T02:17:00.000-07:00

This post is a little late but I figured now was better than never. We have had a whirl wind of a month hence the lack of posting on my blog. We were actually flying on Easter Sunday so this picture was taken a few days after the fact.

Brinley made out for Easter. The Easter bunny came to LA early so she could share the fun with her cousin Xander, he also stopped by Nana and Papa's house, and then when we arrived home in TN, there was another basket of fun waiting for her...and me.

We are so happy to be home now. Nothing feels like home.

LA Trip

2011-04-23T07:59:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics that I have taken since coming to LA. We have had a really good time and done TONS of stuff. I'll post more later with comments. Brinley has a really bad ear infection and the doctor told me to NOT put her on a plane till the antibiotics are on board so we postponed a few days. She is so miserable so I am glad that we did lots of fun stuff when we first got here. Hope all are well! Were enjoying the sunny Cali weather!

Fun Day in the Sun...with many more to come!

2011-04-03T15:03:00.000-07:00

The weather has been pretty fantastic since we have been home in SC. We had an 84 degree day and decided to put our suits on and soak up some sun. We tried to venture into the pool but it is still a little cool. Enjoy some pics of our fun day.

Even though we miss TN, it does feel good to be here. Especially, with everything that the family is going through in consideration of Japan, it just feels right to be here with my family. This has really taken a toll on everyone emotionally. I can not even begin to think of the ramifications this is having on my parents financially, spiritually, and every other spectrum you can think of. I can say that they are some of the strongest people I know and I feel very lucky to call them my parents. The are excellent role models. I am so blessed to have role models in my parents. I do not take that for granted for I know that is not the situation with everyone. I hope everyone enjoyed conference weekend! Love to all! Hugs!

Spring has Sprung! Aren't these flowers gorgeous?

After a long day in the sun, she passed out eating popcorn. I felt very fortunate that she decided to take a nap. I was exhausted myself!

(Flower Child)

2011-03-30T14:48:00.000-07:00

Have I ever mentioned how cute I think my kid is. Well if I have not (which I totally due everytime I blog...) I think she is just the best. She is so funny, cute, and a sweet heart. I love you Brin Marie!

Family and Friends - this is the most recent picture taken of Brinley. I took tons so I will post more later. Enjoy!

(lOvE}

2011-03-30T14:42:00.000-07:00

I love my husband. Enough said. He sacrifices ALOT for us and for the I am thankful. I can not imagine my life without this handsome guy in it. Right now I am in SC (like always...lol) and all I can think of is my man. That's sounds kind of sappy though huh? He is amazing at what ever he puts his mind too and I think that is pretty swell! He is my 10+++ for everything. I really feel like a lucky gal to have him. There really is no meaning to this post except to publicly announce that my husband is basically the bomb.com...lol! Love to all!

(Happy St. Patty's Day Ya'll!)

2011-03-18T07:51:00.000-07:00

These are all of the lovely faces that we got to spend St. Patty's Day with. I do not even want to think about the fact that almost ALL of them will be gone in a few months. I will not even go there. This pic is from Jen's blog. I had the wrong lens on my camera and all the pics I have there is at least one beautiful face missing.

When the only thing you can do is watch....

2011-03-17T05:29:00.000-07:00

As all of you are aware by now, Japan has suffered a huge tragedy. It has impacted me so much I have hardly been able to write about it. My family is there, my friends, and my childhood home is there. Not only is my family there but my Dad is there and he is one of the most important people to me. He is my step father and stepped up to me my dad when my biology would not and could have cared less about me. I love him for that and for being such a good dad to me. That is the one way that I can explain him - he is a great father and an amazing grandfather to Brinley and his other grandkids. He is truly a wonderful man. Those of you who know him, know this. He is so patient and kind and giving and has so many qualities that I hope have rubbed off on me.

Well, he survived the initial earthquake, and the tsunami that actually hit our hometown. Now there are so many radioactivity concerns that I am once again terrified for my Dad's life. I actually called him last night begging him to get on a flight and come to the states. He has professional responsibilities that I know about but I think with my heart and I just want him here with us, now. He assured me that if he feels unsafe he will get on a plane and come to us. He is a very smart man and knows so much about nuclear power (after all he is a nuclear engineer) that I know he will make the right smart choices.

I hate that this happened. It kills me that my hometown is in shambles and so are the people I love. Stay strong Japan. Your courage inspires me. Please continue to pray for the people of Japan. They need it and deserve it.

Gala

2011-03-14T07:39:00.000-07:00

Here are pics of Gala. Things are kind of crazy right now so I will update with edits and comments on the pics later. Plus, I will add more pics. There are tons. Especially for you (Taryn).

Camping Out

2011-03-08T11:27:00.000-08:00

We decided to go camping last night...lol! We pulled out our tent and set it up in the living room. It made Brinley so so so happy so it was so so so worth it. John walked in to a camp site and we just enjoyed ourselves as a family for a few quick hours. We even ate dinner inside the tent. I love making memories like the one we made last night. I really do love my family more than anything.

Excuse the fact that Brinley is just in panties. She was way too excited to even think about getting her pj's on at this point. I could hardly pull her from the tent when she had to potty (potty training is almost complete I might add!)

The tent in our living room. It literally took up the whole room...lol!

Daddy Daughter teaching moment. Priceless! He was trying to explain to her that the tent would still be there when she got back from the potty.

My handsome guy enjoying dinner and Brinley still not positive about the tent's existence if she left it for a while.

2011-03-07T13:30:00.000-08:00

Today was a very good day. The day started out early as it usually does. John got up and got ready for the day. He took me a little by surprise this morning when he was dressed up and had his white coat on. He is a TA for the PA's now which means I get to see him in his white coat every so often which I love...lol! What can I say? I watch too many of those doctor shows...lol!

Then I decided to take Brinley to the park at 9am. It was freezing! I have no idea what I was thinking...lol! We only stayed about 30 minutes and we had fun but it was cold. It is not quite park weather yet. Very soon though we hope.

I got an appointment with a rheumatologist much sooner than we thought I was going to get in so that is very good news. Hopefully they will be able to fix me really soon and I can continue to run around with my little girl.

All in all we had a very good day. I love days where I feel that things were accomplished and we cherished our time we had. I love days that we try to live to the fullest. That is my new take on life. I want every day to be wonderful for us as a family and I think with some effort we can make it that way.

I'm still here....

2011-03-03T13:42:00.000-08:00

Yup, I am still here and I really need to update this thing! I will hopefully have the time and feel like it later but we are all alive and well (basically). I have so many pictures to upload and fun things to talk about so check back in the next couple days. Hope all are well! Hugs!

Cali Trip

2011-02-16T17:21:00.000-08:00

So I made it! I am partially home. I am in SC right now waiting to feel a little bit better before I heard back to TN. Brinley caught a pretty nasty cold and I just do not want to put her in a car for a long ride till she feels a little better plus the fact that I have been traveling less than a week since my gallbladder removal. I am exhausted. However, we had a blast! It was so fun to see my siblings and be there for my sister Tawn's wedding. Now for the good part - PICTURES:

My sisters minus the Bride!

My youngest sister who I think is just totally gorgeous!

All the siblings at the reception

My sister Melea and myself the night before the wedding

All six of us plus mom

My sister Erika and I with the Groom Ryan

The Bride and Groom at Brunch

My mom's side out for Brunch

The reception

4 sisters again minus the bride

Tonya with her girls

The first kiss

The new family!

The bride and mother of the bride

{Bright Eyes}

2011-02-08T16:22:00.000-08:00

Brinley is 2 1/2 years old now. Where has the time gone? I can hardly believe that just a short amount of time ago she was a tiny little thing with this huge head full of jet black hair. The first time I saw her, my perspective on life changed. For the first time I actually loved with all of my heart and nothing could touch the amount of love I felt for her. The only thing that has changed is that she now has a head full of blonde hair and I love her even more than I did 2.5 years ago.

Look at those bright eyes! I love that she communicates with me now, so that I can actually gain glances in to what goes on in that head of hers. There are few things she loves more than baby dolls, toy trains, Elmo, Dora, berries to eat, and milk to drink. She still has to have her 'binket' (blanket) to nap with. We watch at least 30 minutes of cartoons a day, and going to the park is a must. She prefers a snack over a meal any day and doesn't understand why all milk can't have chocolate in it. She is still Daddy's girl and my sweetheart. Life would be so boring with out her. I love her enthusiasm for life, her quirky sense of humor, and her tender heart. Needless to say but she is very special and I thank Heavenly Father every single day that she is in my life. I love you Brinley!

Did we look alike?

2011-02-06T22:26:00.000-08:00

When Brinley was born everyone said that she was my twin. Now we look hardly anything the same. I stumbled across my 1 hour picture and also Brinley's so I decided to do a side by side comparison. I think the big thing that makes us look alike is the fact that we have hair.

Look at how much they have all changed!

2011-02-06T16:25:00.000-08:00

Caleb, Catelynn, and Brinley posing for Mother Days Pictures. Brinley is almost 1 here, Catelynn is a little over 1 and Caleb had turned 4.

Now they are 2.5, 5, and 3. Please stop growing up. It is happening too fast!

A Small Update

2011-02-06T14:10:00.000-08:00

There are so many reasons why I love being a mom. I had my gallbladder removed on Friday and I have been in some pain. Brinley has been good to me. I am so thankful for help from family at a time like this though. I still can not pick her up or wrestle her in to timeout. She came up to me earlier and kissed my tummy and said "I kissed it all better". I think she really thought that cured me because a few seconds after that she brought me lots of books to read and said, "I so happy your better!"

Reading to her is an activity that we can still do. I had no clue that having such a tiny thing removed was going to hurt so bad. It is a good thing that I followed my 'gut' and came home. There was just something really nagging at me to go to SC and see my GI doctor. I was so blessed that I was able to see him first thing Tuesday and then be scheduled for surgery on Friday. I had spent the last 3 weeks puking every single time I ate and I was just exhausted.

As most of you know this has been a really strange year for us especially with medical stuff. The general rule is that we are normally the healthy family but that has not been true. I am a little nervous to see how much medical debt we have racked up. From Brinley's Kawasakis's Disease, my ankle, miscarriages, and now my gallbladder surgery it will be very interesting and scary to see this final tally. However, we are all healthy and I am so thankful for modern heath care. We have been very blessed and I am so thankful for all of the blessings that he has given to us.

I am still leaving for Cali on Saturday morning for my sisters wedding on Valentine's Day. I am just praying that I am going to be all better. Perhaps my darling girl will continue to kiss my tummy and make it better.

Cousin Time

2011-02-05T09:15:00.000-08:00

My mother and law and Lauren with the dog.

Cate and Brin found the baby powder....enough said

Beautiful girls

Sweet Catelynn

Cute Cupcake Cousins

I hope they will have a special bond since giving Brin a sibling is probablly not going to happen for a long time.

Caleb in the Middle.

No party or GallBladder - sad day :(

2011-02-03T12:54:00.000-08:00

Things have been in a whirl wind since my birthday. John threw me an amazing surprise party and all of our dear friends were there. However, when we got home I told John that something was not right with me and that I was pretty scared since it had been going on for like 3 weeks. John helped to pack me up and threw us in the car and we headed to SC. Simply because I knew there was something wrong with me and that I was going to need help with Brinley. Well, low and behold when I went to the doctor he said it was my gallbladder. They did a sonogram and found a stone and 'sludge'. So, I am having my gallbladder removed in the morning. Sorry to tell most of you via blog but I'm in some pain and kind of bummed. I HATE hospitals. I figured that since Brinley got really sick and then I dislocated my ankle that we were going to be free of anything medical this year. Well, I was wrong....again. I am having in taken out tomorrow and then hoping that I recover SUPER fast so that I can fly out to Cali for my sister Tawn's wedding. I'm already booked for a flight and I have to be there...in pain or not. Therefor, I had to cancel this awesome Valentine's Day party for the lovely ladies and their cute ones that I had planned. My sister moved her date up so they are now going to be married on Valentine's Day which means that I had to choose. Luckily, I have the most amazing girl friends in TN that were totally understanding. (Thanks gals! You are really the best)

Thank you again everyone for making my birthday the best one I have ever had! Honestly it was wonderful! I can not thank my dear husband and all of those lovely people enough. I love all of yall! So, the next time you guys see me, I won't have a gallbladder...lol!

Some Fun

2011-02-01T04:31:00.000-08:00

I came home to presents and a cake waiting for me from my dear friends Sarah and Jen! Earlier that day Bekah came over and brought me cupcakes and a present. Then that night, John planned a surprise party for me with all of our friends at Pelanchos. It was perfect and wonderful. Jen put a lot of pics of it on her blog...I might steal some to blog on here about if you dont mind Jen! We literally have the most amazing people here!

A walk in the Park

The Daddy

The Mommy

Brinley on the merri-go-round

Brinley is starting school and this is the outfit she picked out for her first day!

Our family at the lookout point!

She needs to STOP getting bigger. She is going to be 3 people!!!! Can you believe it?

Riding in the Yard

2011-01-27T15:36:00.000-08:00

I took Brinley outside today to play on her bike. It was above 40 and actually kind of sunny so we jumped at the chance to go play. We should have gone to the park but it was not nice that long so we just made due in our 'yard'. I use the term loosely because we actually have a 10x10 (if that) slab of concrete in the back and a drive way in the front for Brinley to play on. All I can say is that our rotation house will have a yard!

Clean up, Clean up, everybody everywhere!

2011-01-27T11:29:00.000-08:00

This is what I feel like I do all day! I clean all day! Poor Brinley. She tries so hard to help me but just ends up helping me to make a bigger mess. This is the new apron that I got at Ross that has a matching one to Brinley's. We have had a busy cleaning day actually. We have deep cleaned everything. Brinley is so wonderful, because she cleans right along side of me so that I am interacting with her. No dangerous chemicals for her though! She loves to sing the primary 'clean up' song. Actually she loves to clean so I am lucky in the sense that she thinks that it is play time so we get to have a pretty orderly home.

Happy Birthday...almost

2011-01-25T20:30:00.000-08:00

Guess who has a birthday soon?? Me! That is who? I love my birthday's. Saturday is the big day. I have to admit that I am a little homesick this time around though. This will be my first birthday away from my family. However, I have the perfect little (J+B) family that I am sure will make my day wonderful!

Hair Cut

2011-01-25T11:30:00.000-08:00

Here is my new hair cut. I happened to have it pulled back today so I suppose you can not really get a true picture of what it looks like, but it is way shorter than it has been in years. Thank you Tara for always playing with my hair! I love you!!!!

Sweet Brinley

2011-01-24T06:19:00.000-08:00

I told her to smile and she stuck out her tounge. She was not trying to be ugly just funny. I was so cracking up when I took this.

Look at that face. Who could not want kids when you look at something as sweet as that?

Hiking in the Gap

2011-01-24T04:57:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we decided to go Hike the Gap. Bad decision with a bum knee and foot that has still to yet to be X-rayed and MRI'd , but you can't replace the memories and the 4 of us had a great time! It was painful but hilarious and so much fun!

Ballet, Braids, and Potato Heads

2011-01-22T16:08:00.000-08:00

Ballerina Brinley
We are enrolling Brinley in a ballet class as soon as we get home from Japan. There is one available for her age group in Pineville which is about 30 minutes from here. She (me) is pretty excited to start. I went ahead and got her ballet clothes because I could not wait since she is so dang cute.

Lauren French Braided Brin's hair while she was here. She would not look at me for the life of her but it was really so so cute. I need to learn to do that. However, even if I did know how too, she would NEVER sit still long enough for me to do it. I am lucky to get regular pig tails in her hair. Thanks Lauren for the cute hair pic though!

Proof the Brinley will play alone. Since Brinley does not have any siblings and that does not seem to be in the near future I play with her ALOT. Actually, most of my day is spent playing with dolls, Mr.Potato Head, doing puzzles, and watching the occasional episode of Dora. Since it is about to make me go nuts for her to ALWAYS needs me to be with her all the time, I have been working on getting her to play alone. For 30 minutes every day I ask her to choose an activity to do on her own so that I can just read a book or watch tv. Today, this was her in her room being such a big girl and giving me some much needed time alone. I actually ended up getting 45 minutes. Thank you Brinley for giving me some adult time.

(Just to clarify - I am in the living room and her bed room is about 4 feet from me so she is technically not alone...lol. Just thought that I would throw that out there so no one thinks I am leaving her totally ALONE)

not private

2011-01-21T05:51:00.000-08:00

We decided not to go private! So the blog will be open for anyone that ever wants to read it. We just decided that we are gonna keep it basically a picture only blog (with comments) with out any of the emotional/personal stuff. I hope you continue to read and enjoy pictures of Brinley as she grown up!

Just comments

2011-01-17T17:43:00.000-08:00

Brinley's earrings!!! How cute are they? This was before church yesterday and she looked adorable.

My life saver! Me and the fabulous Mrs. Tara Marie Randall

Jerry and John. They would not cooperate for a picture so this is what you get...lol! They are pretending that they don't even see me standing in front of them with a huge camera in their face.

My sister in law Lauren came in to help me out for a little while. It has been fabulous having her here. I have loved every minute of it. I don't want her to leave. She cleaned my whole house today just to help me out. I love her to death. Thanks you Lauren for being such a huge help to me!!!! You know how much I need that right now.

This is one of Brinley's favorite pastimes. The bathtub. She will sit and play in here for hours but just wait till I try to wash her hair then it sounds like CPS needs to be called on me.

Lauren and Brinley. She has really bonded with her aunt and I am thrilled about that.

Earrings for a Big Girl

2011-01-15T19:56:00.000-08:00

Let me preface this by saying that there will be better pictures to come of this but, tonight while we were at the mall we went on a total whim and had Brinley's ears pierced. She has been begging for earrings for months so we finally decided to let her do it. We explained to her that they were going to have to hurt her for the earrings but she acted like she did not care. So, we let her choose the ones that she wanted and she sat in the chair like a big girl and got her first pain of earrings. I only wish that I would have known that we were going to do it tonight because I would have had my camera and documented the entire experience. I only took this one picture and it happens to be of just one ear while she is asleep so it is not very good but I was to excited so I had to share. Tomorrow for church I will pull her hair up and snap a few good ones. So, expect another post tomorrow.

Budding Artist

2011-01-14T08:46:00.000-08:00

I finally put Brinley's Christmas present together. We ended up getting her a Melissa and Doug Deluxe Easel. She loves it. I works out really well in her room too. She has the white board and chalk board that she can use unsupervised and when she wants to paint I just go in and make sure she doesn't ruin any carpet.

John and I have realized lately that Brinley is really into the arts. She loves music, reading, painting, crafting, and dancing. I only wish we lived somewhere that provided an opportunity to put her in ballet or something. I might be taking her to Knoxville a few times a month if I can not find anything in this area. TN ladies - any suggestions?

Snowed In

2011-01-12T15:31:00.000-08:00

The last week we have experienced a good amount of snow and icy roads. This has caused everyone to be snowed in. Most of the schools in our area have been closed and most of John's classes have been canceled. I have to admit that I have rather enjoyed this. I have adored being snowed in with these lovely faces. There is honestly no where I would rather be than stuck in my warm house with my darling girl and hot man. The pantry and fridge are stocked and we have really had no reason to venture out. It has been lovely. John has even tried studying at home so he wouldn't have to drive in this, and I think that it has actually worked out pretty well. He has set up shop in the kitchen and Miss B and I have been snuggled on the couch with cartoons and popcorn. She understands that Daddy has to study and she actually leaves him alone - mostly.

He decided that the sleds just looked to inviting on the back porch and had to take Brinley for some fun down the hills.

What these pictures don't tell you is that as we were outside having fun as a family, I had totally neglected to grab my keys and twisted the lock as I walked out the back door. We were locked out. You can not really tell from the pictures but it was 6 in the evening, and about 18 degrees outside. It was so cold. So, John's keys and mine were in the house along with our cell phones. Luckily, there was a nice man sledding with his family a few doors over from us who had his phone and let us call our land lord. Mr. Ball though had a meeting with the mayor and could not bring the key to us so our sweet friends the Randall's took us in and John and Jerry drove all the way to Tazewell (about 15 miles) to get the spare key for our house. We have such wonderful friends here. For future reference, Tara and Jerry will have a spare key for us as this is the second time I have done this (while snow was on the ground I might add)

The one thing I can say about the medical school experience is that, not only will we be leaving here with John's degree to practice medicine, we will also be leaving here with wonderful memories and incredible friends.

Snow Bunny

2011-01-08T11:41:00.000-08:00

We have gotten a decent amount of snow over the last few days so I decided to take Brinley sledding. Our friends Tara and Jerry got us a sled when they were in NY over Christmas break. I ended up picking up an extra one in town which is very good, because Miss Independent Brinley will not let me ride with her.

All bundled up and ready to play. She said she needed her umbrella to protect her from the snow falling from the sky.

Ready to go down the hill

Weeeeeeeee!!!! Weeeeeee!!!! (That is the sound I heard all morning!) She had so much fun. We are really lucky that our house is on top of the hill. We literally just go off the back porch, get on the sleds and then go down the hill into our neighbors yard. We have a very large hill to the right of us but that experience did not end well. We went a little to fast and ended up crashing off the sled and hitting the snow pretty hard. I am very surprised that I even got her back on the sled again.

A successful run down the hill. Of course she wanted to do it again.

The aftermath of a morning in the snow. I finally had to break down and take my walking cast off of my foot and put on both my snow boots. I am paying majorly for it now though. Ouch...the memories were worth it though. Thankfully John is home from school for a couple of hours so if she wants to go out again then he can take her so I can rest my ankle.

{Blessed Beyond Measure}

2011-01-06T15:56:00.000-08:00

When Brinley was put in to the hospital in October for Kawasaki's Disease, the very last thing that we thought about was how much it was going to cost. We did however get quite a shock when we got the final bill for her 5 day stay and the insurance was not going to pay for the IVIG treatments that she had to have to save her life. I worked with the insurance and they agreed to pay for them but we were still left with a very substantial bill. Seeing as how we live on student loans, I knew we were not going to be able to pay off her bill anytime soon. Probably not even till residency with how much we owed. I told a few people that I was pretty stressed about it, because in my mind there are not many things worse than being in debt. (the prophets council always comes to mind) Today I got another letter from the hospital fully expecting to already be thrown in collections for it and when I opened the letter I almost died. It said "Thank you for payment - $4000". I have not even sent the first payment yet so I called them to tell them that there was a mix up and the lady in the billing department said that 6 days ago someone sent an anonymous money order with Brinley's name and the message "Merry Christmas" on it. We still owe a significant amount, but $4000 took care of a huge chunk of it. I have called everyone in my family and nobody knows anything about it. We seriously doubt anyone in John's family would do something like that and most of our friends are either in medical school, fresh out of college, or newly to the work force and would never be able to do that.

If you are reading this, whoever you are, thank you from the bottom of my heart. We do not know who you are but your generosity has forever touched our hearts. I just wish that we knew who these people were so I could send them a proper thank you but since I do not this is my public thank you.

Ironically, I was at a play group yesterday and we were talking and I told them that I never claimed to be graceful or lucky. I take the lucky part back ladies. I am probably the most blessed person that I know right now.

Precious Moments with Brinley

2011-01-04T14:04:00.000-08:00

Brinley swinging once more on the Brinley swing. They put a baby swing on top of the big hanging swing so she would be safe...they really care about her safety...lol! She had been feeding the fish at the pond and decided the fish did not need a while English muffin and that she could eat the other half...hahah!

She and Nana have a very special bond. They connect on a level that I am pretty amazed by.

Papa would give Brinley the world if he could. He told her that on a daily basis, along with other things like "Your something special", "What a sight", and "Your the sweetest thing I have ever seen." She is not spoiled at all...I promise!

After making breakfast thins morning I walked into the living room and she was bundled up under the red fuzzy blanket and I thought she looked so cozy!

We love to do art together. Santa brought her a very nice set of paints and an easel for Christmas. The easel is still in the box waiting to be assembled so I made a make shift one on our dining room table.

I love her little hands, but looking at this picture reminds me that they are really not that small anymore. She is getting so big and learning so much everyday. Brinley is very special to me and I adore that Heavenly Father trusted me enough to be her mom.

She tried to paint her face. When I asked her to let me take a picture of her face painting she decided to lick her face to get rid of the evidence...silly girl!

{Lipstick Lady}

2011-01-03T06:29:00.000-08:00

Several times while we were in SC, Brinley would sneak into Nana's bathroom and climb up on the vanity and get into the lipstick jar. She loved putting on makeup. This made me realize why Heavenly Father intended for us to have grandparents. They are so patient with their grandchildren. I happen to be pretty patient with my child, however after the 6th day straight of cleaning lipstick off of the vanity and mirror I was not so patient and it became a lot less cute. However, Nana and Papa just ate it up every single time. They loved it! They thought is was adorable and so cute....which it was. Look at this precious face!
Excuse the nakedness. I had removed the red stained tshirt she was wearing to perform some emergency stain removal.

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T11:51:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year People!!!!! I hope that everyone had a very safe and fun night last night. I forgot my camera so we have no pictures of the festivities but we went to my Aunt and Uncles house for a big pot luck, bonfire,and football game extravaganza. It was very fun. The best part of the evening was that my my mom flew in at around 10pm. I went to the airport to pick her up and it was lovely to see her. I am only sad that we are leaving in the am to head back to TN and I won't get to spend much time with her.

This year I have a few resolutions. I have never been big on making resolutions only because I feel like making a promise to myself makes me even more accountable. However, this year I do have a few.
1) Get very involved with the Medeterranean Diet and start consistantly cook that way. To go along with this I want to start making more homemade bread this year. I really slacked off this year. The more I read the ingredients on that highly processed sliced sandwich bread the more I hate that fact that I have been feeding my family that. I hope to at least bake it twice a week.
2) Lose more weight. I lost 50lbs this year and I hope to finish losing the rest that I need to get down to my wedding day weight.
3) Be a better mother. I feel like being a mom is something you have to work on everyday and Brinley deserves the best version of me that I can be. I hope to get better and more consistent with doing pre-k work with her. My goal is that she will be able to recognize all of the letters by the end of the year. She know a-j already so I think this goal is obtainable. I also hope that she will be able to write her name. She can spell it, she just needs to learn to write it. I found some good websites on how to have a productive preschool at home and I am looking forward to starting those things with Brinley when we get home.
4) Be a better wife and companion. The one thing that medical school had done has taken a lot of the husband wife time that we used to have and condense it into a few short moments a day. I really hope that we can continue to keep a very strong connection and continue to be each others best friend.

A few more randoms from Christmas

2010-12-30T13:28:00.000-08:00

Brinley got a boy of princess shoes from John's parents fro Christmas. Can I just say that is probably the most perfect gift for her. She loves shoes. We have been hearing click clack on the hard wood all day everyday since she opened them.

I took this picture while Brinley was laying down in her tent. She has requested that all of her meals and snacks be served to her in the tent. It is pretty hysterical actually.

She is wearing one of John's school shirts and a towel on her head. She kept saying that she 'was Daddy'. She would not take it off. I loved it.

We went for a walk the other day to go look for animals. We did not find any but she did find a group of children playing down the street. She wanted so badly to go play with them but they were mush older than she was and they were throwing sticks and rocks at one another so I thought it was best to keep her in our driveway. She just stood there staring at them. It made me kind of sad and wish that we could give her a playmate.

The Lyson Family came over for the annual Christmas caroling party. It was so much fun. We love seeing their faces. They are some of Nana and Papa's oldest friends and we all think of each other as family. In fact, I call them Auntie Irma and Uncle Tom.

Recipe Blog

2010-12-30T09:55:00.000-08:00

I am starting a recipe blog of the different things we will be eating on the Med. Diet that we like. Here it is if you want to read it!

Medeteranian Diet

2010-12-30T09:01:00.000-08:00

I guess we are being totally unoriginal and choosing to start a diet as our New Years Resolution, but what we are doing is just a little bit different. It is not really a fad diet or anything but more of a lifestyle change. John has been doing a lot of research and talking to different people on what the best diet is for healthy living. Hands down people have told us to do the Medeteranian Diet. It is the best diet for heart heath and just healthy food. I don't cook unhealthy food as it is, but this is just going to be a good guide of cooking things that will improve heart health. John has an incredible amount of heart disease in his family. In fact it is pretty scary. Both of his parents have been hospitalized several times this year with heart related issues and heart attacks, not to mention his grandfather has multiple heart problems. We also both have diabetes on both sides so we are really committed to changing our eating habits and teaching Brinley about eating right. The great thing about eating Medeteranian style is that it is all about cooking foods that we already love. We are huge fish fans, we love hummus, and the best thing is that my mom is actually Greek so I grew up eating Greek food and learning how to cook it. I am pretty excited about starting this. I love to cook and I love even more for John to eat my cooking. My goal is to cook as well as my sister Tina. She is incredible!
Characteristics of the Diet include:

High consumption of virgin olive oil.
High intake of vegetables and fruits and legumes.
Use of non refined carbohydrates (portions to be adjusted to physical activity).
Consumption of fish, specially oily (or “bluish” one) three o for times a week
Consumption of milk and derivates, cheese and yogurt (the original cheese was fresh goat cheese). Keep an eye on the saturated fats of the dairy products. Not too much!
Three or four eggs per week.
Moderate consumption of meat and saturated fats.
Nuts as snacks

It also says that people who are bound to the diet have a 70% more expectancy of life, and 80% of better quality life.

What is not to like right? We already love all of the food and it is going to make us healthier. Why not try it right? There are a few downsides to the diet that it warns you of. It is more expensive to cook this way. I am not really worried about that though. I have always been someone who bought organics so I am used to paying a lot for food. The other thing is that most of the recipes are very complex. My cookbook actually states in the front that these are not going to be "30 minute meals". I am fine with that. I love to cook and what else do I have to do...lol! Brinley loves to be in the kitchen with me.

These are the two cook books that I ordered. I already have several Greek cookbooks which I am going to have to be very careful in using. Just because they are Medeteranian does not mean everything in them is healthy. Ever heard of Mousaka...lol?

Both of these had very good reviews. I ordered them a while ago so I am hoping that they will be waiting at the house for us when we return back to TN.

Wish us luck!

Dislocated ankle...ouch

2010-12-29T09:58:00.000-08:00

Before

So I fell down the garage stairs last night running to grab a gallon of milk and I misjudged about 4 stairs. I smacked the pavement pretty hard and sliced my knee open. When I managed to get back up the stairs and John saw me the first thing he said was, "Does you ankle hurt?" At the time my knee was throbbing so bad I did not even notice my foot till I looked at it and I almost fainted. As you can see from the picture I completely dislocated it. It went very numb and I could not put any pressure or support on it with out screaming. It would not straighten out for anything. It was just stuck like that. I told John that I just wanted to sleep on it and see if it got any better (I HATE HOSPITALS with a passion). He laughed at me and told me that he was taking me to get an xray because this was not something that sleep would help. Thankfully we are still in SC and we were able to leave Brinley sleeping peacefully and snuggled in Nana and Papa's bed.

We got to the ER and the doc was really cool till he proceeded to relocate my ankle. If I could have committed murder I would have. That hurt so bad. I think the whole ER heard me screaming. However after he put it back in place the pain decreased by like 50% so then I liked him again. He and John talked about the joys of medical school and gave him some good websites that have lists of little scholarships for med students. The did an x ray and unbelievably not a bone was broken. However, that means that is is probably ligaments which in my opinion is worse. Breaks heal much faster than ligaments. I know...I tore my terrible triad in my left knee playing soccer in high school. I still have issues with my knee 7 years later. So I am splinted up and on pain medicine till I get to an orthopedist in TN. I have no idea how I am going to manage to do this on my own with Brinley in tow while on crutches. I am sure we will be watching lots of Dora and eating snacks for the next couple weeks. At least it is winter and we won't be missing to much good weather.
I never claimed to be graceful...lol! Oh well such is life. All that I can say is that I am so excited to bring in the New Year. This has not been a good year medically for us. What a way to spend out anniversary though right? John always plans something fabulous for us to do and I am sure this year was no exception. At least we are together which is what matters anyway.

After

Happy Anniversary

2010-12-28T22:09:00.000-08:00

Today is John and my 4th wedding anniversary. We were sealed in the Columbia South Carolina Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at 2pm. Patriarch Garn Capps sealed us and John's father and my brother in law Bill were our witnesses. We were surrounded by our dearest friends and family and it was a wonderful experience. After our sealing we had a fantastic reception at the Pinnacle Club in Augusta. That is the club that my grandparents belong to and they gave us the royal treatment. We had a fantastic 5 course meal and had the most fabulous dance party anyone could have asked for. Even my grandparents friends who were on oxygen machines got out on the floor and busted a move. Everyone danced the night away. I will always remember my wedding as being the most fun night of my life.

Not only did I get the most fantastic wedding, I got the most fantastic husband. I can not even express in words the way this man makes me feel. I truly love him and I think that we are soul mates. He is so kind, loving, generous, funny, smart, patient and incredibly good looking. Not to mention that he is an amazing father. He loves me and everything that goes with me. He understands me and appreciates all of my little quirks that I have. We have a great marriage and a fantastic family. I got very lucky. If I could go back and do it again - I would. Over and over and over again. I am so very proud to call him my husband. My family adores him and loves that he is a part of our family. He is going to be so successful and such a good physician. I love my guy...I really do! Thank you for the most incredible 4 years of my life and for the rest of eternity.

When we were dating

When we were engaged

Our wedding day

Before Ms. Brinley joined our family

Merry Christmas everyone!

2010-12-25T18:19:00.000-08:00

We had a marvelous Christmas! It all started off with a bang last night with the annual family Christmas exchange! As always, we enjoyed great food, lots of laughs, inside jokes, and wonderful gifts. We cherish this party every year. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family. I love that we have such wonderful traditions that we can all carry on with our children.

Brinley made out like a bandit for Christmas this year! It is insane how much stuff she got. When "Santa" finally finished putting all of her stuff in the living room I was a little surprised by how much stuff she actually got. A few of her favorites are her Thomas the train sets, her V reader, and her Toy Story 3 tent.

This Christmas was a little different that the past ones however. We had a great morning together but this afternoon John and I went our separate ways. It was a little hard to deal with at first but I am at peace now with everything. Brinley and I stayed in NA with my family for the big Christmas dinner and John left and went to Hampton to go visit his family. I hate that I did not spend Christmas with my husband but it is ok now. He is home safe with me and we are enjoying our evening together.Hopefully next year things will be different.

Brinley and I with my sweet Aunt Inez. She is 90 years young! We adore her!

The most wonderful lil sis! I am so happy that they could come for Oklahoma to be with us for Christmas.

Santa Baby

Santa Babies!

The most fabulous family anyone could ever ask for!

Brin and her rocking chair that Nana and Papa got her!

Playing doctor with Daddy

She was making sure daddy's ears were ok!

Her Thomas Train set that she loves. She and daddy kept taking it apart and trying new designs. When we get home we are going to look in to getting a train table.

Justin and Brinley. Brinley LOVES our cousin Justin. She sat in his lap for nearly an hour and kept drifting in and out. She gave him good cuddles. It was so sweet.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! We love you guys! Hugs to you and your families!

Christmas Eve

2010-12-23T23:20:00.000-08:00

Brinley is pretty thrilled that tomorrow is Christmas day. She has been such a good girl this year. This has been a pretty eventful year for us but she has remained so well behaved and well adjusted. I could not have asked for a better child. I know how lucky I am to have her. Every one that meets her just falls in love with her and my family literally worships the ground she walks on. Let's just say that everyone is happy to have us home for Christmas and that Brinley is getting a 'few' gifts. John and I have been really good about talking to her about what Christmas is really about and trying to instill the true spirit of the season in her. We have done several manger scene crafts and talked about Jesus as a baby numerous times. She loves our nativity scene at our house because of the baby that gets to sleep with the animals... hahahaha. Every time I look, the baby Jesus is missing. The last time I could not find it for several days till I was changing her sheets. She had put it in her pillowcase. She is so silly.

I am so thankful for the season of Christmas. As I have said countless times, it is truly my most favorite time of the year. I hate that is almost over but I am so happy to spend some quality time with family members. Tonight is our annual family Christmas party. It is always SO SO much fun. We are ordering pizza and then doing the present exchange game which is such a riot. After that we always sing carols around the piano and play games. It is always loud, roudy, and wild. There is always so much love in the room you can just see it. It really is very unique. Every one gets along and wants to be here. Everyone rocks! I am excited to take tons of pictures so that we will have the memories forever. Merry Christmas Eve everyone! I hope yours is as fun, eventful and loving as ours is! Hugs!!!

The Hot Tub Times

2010-12-23T18:55:00.000-08:00

Since we got here we have been spending a lot of time in the hot tub. We love Nana and Papa's hot tub. In fact, coming to my grandparents house is pretty comparable to going to a resort. They have everything here, including a waterfront property and super fun boat. It sure is great seeing all of these lovely faces of the people we love.

Ice Skating

2010-12-23T18:32:00.000-08:00

We went ice skating the other day. We had a blast. Brinley did really well actually. We were very surprised. She was able to stay up on her skates and was balancing very well. She took a few strides on her own but quickly fell over. She was adorable in those tiny little skates. We had a blast. We sure are cramming a lot of things in to this Christmas. We decided that were were going to do as much stuff as we can. We are surely staying busy and doing tons of activities, which is great since I have an awesome camera to document everything with...lol!

Early Christmas present

2010-12-19T21:43:00.000-08:00

So.....I got my Christmas early!!!!! I am so excited! I have been wanting to get in to photography for a while! This is what John presented to me over lunch! Can I just express how amazing he is? I love you babe! I have know idea how you pulled it off, but you did it!

Some Randoms

2010-12-13T09:01:00.000-08:00

Tara dyed my hair for me on Thursday. I love this color so much! It is very Auburn and it is perfect. She also cut about an inch off of my hair and redid my bangs. They are just side swept. I am so glad that my sister-in-law gave me the idea a year ago to do them. She said she thought that my hair would look good with them and she was right. (Thanks Candace if you ever read this!)

Brinley is such a little book worm. I can not tell you how often I come in to her room and she is just sitting there with a book in her hand. She is always reading. That makes me very happy though. I love reading so much and makes me so happy to see my daughter have a love of books also.

These are a few pictures of Brinley's room. My sister wanted to see what it looks like so here it is! Sorry that the last pic is sideways. We just got a bunch of silk butterflies that hang from her ceiling. They look so pretty. I still need to get valances for her windows but other than that it is pretty much complete. Yes, 6 months later and we are almost done.

This is what we woke up to this morning. We were so worried that they were not going to have their final exam today and that we would have to wait an extra day to leave, but we got so lucky and they are letting them take them today! So happy! That means we are going to be leaving for Memphis any time now. We are going to go visit John's grandparents for a couple of days and then it is off to SC to be with more family! We are so excited to see everyone for Christmas. We have had fun this morning sledding and making snow angels. I have to admit that it will be nice to be in SC in a snow free zone (hopefully).

#2 My Epitaph

2010-12-11T08:33:00.000-08:00

I kind of think this is a little morbid so I am going to keep it very short. I hope that when I die people have good things to say but most of all that I was a good mother and wife. Those are the most important jobs that I have on this planet and I just hope that when it is all said and done, that I was at least successful at that. I also hope that I can say (and pardon the clique) that I lived well, laughed all the time, and I loved very much!

((A few memories from the week))

2010-12-11T05:57:00.000-08:00

Brinley and I built a foam gingerbread house the other night. It was a super cute project and we had a lot of fun doing it. I had lots of ideas this year about Christmas crafts to do and we have only gotten to do about 6 so far. This has been her favorite though. Jerry and Tara stopped by later that evening and Brinley was so proud to show off her creation. (Thank you Nana for sending all of those warm sleepers! It was 54 this morning in the house when we woke up) I guess since it just so cold the heater can't stay caught up. I really wish we had a fireplace.

Brinley in front of the Christmas Tree. Our friend Audrey has a very nice camera and came and took famly pictures of us. I was so pleased with the way they all turned out. I just got our Christmas cards back so expect one in the mail soon :)

Here is one of the family pictures. I am not going to post my favorite one till after my Christmas cards go out.

Tara and I at the mall a few days ago. Note the huge bling on her finger! She recently got engaged and they are getting married in a week when they go home to New York for Christmas break. She is such wonderful person, and Jer Bear (as John so affectionatly knows him as) is so lucky to have her.

#1 Who I admire Most

2010-12-07T03:38:00.000-08:00

This is #1 of my 54 things to blog about.
I admire a lot of people honestly. However, I have to say that the people I look up to the most would have to be my siblings. Every single one of them. They are all beautiful, smart, loving, kind, genuine, giving, and all around just excellent people. I say it often, but I do mean it when I say that I hit the lottery when it came to sisters and a brother! It is funny though because at different times in my life I look up to different ones differently. Lately, I would have to say that I really do admire my big sister Erika. She was diagnosed with MS last year and it was a very scary time for the whole family. She has a beautiful little boy who she is an amazing mother too. She dedicates her life to helping others as a MFT and also by doing countless fundraisers for the MS society. She manages to do all of that while struggling with some very difficult health issues. Most of all though I would have to say that I admire the mother she is to Xander. She is honestly the type of mom that I aspire to be. She is so incredible with him! Let me also add that my sisters Tonya and Tina are incredible mothers also and I indeed look up to them also!

54 things that I hope you blog about

2010-12-07T03:24:00.000-08:00

The Person I Admire Most
This Will Be My Epitaph
Why I Love My Hometown
Why I Hate My Hometown
Why I Was a Childhood Bully
How I Shop
How I Choose to Spend My Money
I Wish I Spent Less Money on This
Why I’m in My Current Job
My Ideal Job
My High School Clique
My Worst Subject in School
If I Had a Super Power
Here’s Where My Opinion Differs From the Majority
Why I Voted the Way I Did in the Last Election
Why I Don’t Vote
The Cause I Really Believe In
Why I Came To Religion
Why I Don’t Believe Anymore
Where I Find Spirituality
My First Kiss
My Worst Kiss
The First Time I Had My Heart Broken
Why I Travel
Why I Don’t Travel
My Philosophy on Raising Children
Why I Chose My University Degree
My Favourite Place on the Planet
My Greatest Sin Against the Environment
Why I Married My Spouse
My Most Hated Movie
The Book That Changed My Life
My Unexpected Mentor
I Couldn’t Live Without This Song
If I Hear This Song Again, Radio Personalities Will Suffer
I Have the Craziest Uncle Ever
Why I Believe in Luck
Why I Don’t Believe in Luck
How I Earned My Worst Karma
Where I Volunteer
Why I Don’t Volunteer
My Favourite Item of Clothing Growing Up
If This Celebrity Knocked On My Door, I’d Run Away With Them
Why I Care About Celebrities
Why I Love This Sport
Why I Hate Sports
When I’m at My Most Self-Indulgent
How To Be Selfless
My Childhood Dreams, and How I’ve Fulfilled Them
How I Learned Patience
How My Hard Work Paid Off
I’ve Never Been More Surprised in My Life
What Scares the Crap Out of Me
The Only Thing I Can Teach You

So I stumbled across this article titled 54 things that I hope you would blog about. I found it interesting so I thought I would give it a try. I am not really going to give my self any time constraint with these. I might do more than one a day or go a week with out giving it a thought. I like this and hope that it will give me good motivation to actually blog most days.

Dancing Queens - and King

2010-12-06T22:50:00.000-08:00

We decided we needed a break from this snow and went surfing. This seemed fitting for us since we happen to be a dancing family - our main venue is the kitchen! Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

~My Beautiful Night~

2010-12-05T20:24:00.000-08:00

Brinley and I spend a lot of time together. Well, obviously since I am a stay at home mom and her mother I am going to spend a significant portion of my day with her. However, we spend every waking moment together rarely with a break. This is just the nature of the beast. I have a husband that is a full time medical student. If he had a choice I know that he would be home with us. He surely does not choose to spend nearly 18 hours of his day at the school but he knows that if he wants to be successful at this then he has to give it his all. Let me add that I feel very proud that I have a husband that is so dedicated. With this said, it does not make this process any easier. I miss the time that we used to have. It is not even so much the fact that I have no help. I am learning to deal and we are managing just fine. At the start of the semester my feelings centered around the fact that I felt so alone and like I had become a single parent. I hated that all of the bills, cleaning, errands, child rearing, disciplining, and chores were on me. I was just dying for a moment to breathe, or even a few moments to my self. At that point even a diaper change was like the biggest gesture of help from him that I could have received. Now, I don't feel that way at all. I consider it a priveledge to be on this ride with him. It is an honor to make him dinner, wash his clothes, keep the house clean, pay our bills, and raise our daughter. I am playing a significant roll in his medical education. I am not just along for the ride...I am part of that ride and my role is significant. I feel like this experience is helping us to grow as a family and make us better people. I am learning to rely on my wonderful friends that I have met. I get support from them, advice and most of all love. It can never come close to what I get from John, but it does make the experience seem a little more manageable - especially since so many here are going through the exact same thing that I am. Thank you ladies for helping me to achieve the potential that I have and encouraging me to be a better person.

With that said, tonight was one of my more memorable nights with Brinley. It was snowing like crazy all day today and pretty chilly in the house. I decided to throw our bedtime routine out the window and skip bath time and just put on pj's and let Brinley climb into our bed. I put on Toy Story 3, popped a bad of corn, cut up some strawberries, and mixed up some chocolate milk. We got underneath our big down comforter and just cuddled, ate, and laughed at her favorite movie (and one of mine also!). It was a beautiful memory that I shared with my daughter. I have been taking the fact that I have so much time with her for granted. I need to make a much better effort to turn our time into quality experiences and not just fall back on the fact that we have a large quantity of it. The only thing that would have made this night any more perfect would have been John laying next to us helping to keep my feet warm.We missed you tonight love! Rock those finals babe!

I decided to snap a picture of our girls night. I am so glad that I recorded this fun memory!

SEC Championship Game

2010-12-05T18:09:00.000-08:00

We lost the SEC championship yesterday. We had a really good season though and I am still so proud to wear my garnet and black. We love USC. It will always have a very special place in our hearts! Basically we will be fans till we die. I know that John was especially sad but I think we knew it would be a pretty tough one to win. I am so excited to see what the Cocks have in store for us next year! <3 Go Gamecocks! <3

An average day for us!

2010-12-02T17:01:00.000-08:00

The day for us typically starts at around 7:30. John is up and out of the house generally before the sun even comes up, but he is always very quiet and we never even hear him. As soon as we get up we go in to the living room and I turn on cartoons while I am making breakfast. A normal breakfast for us is a scrambled egg with some fresh fruit. If I am feeling lazy then we have oatmeal or cereal. After breakfast I clean the dishes and start any laundry that needs to be done or folded. I then run around the house and swish the toilets, and make the beds. I jump in the shower shortly after that while Brinley is picking up her toys in her room and where ever else the might have migrated over the last several hours.

As soon as I finish getting us ready for the day we jump in the car and head to the Park. I take a picnic most days since we stay there for a couple of hours. After we eat, we leave and head to the store if we need anything. I normally call Tara on my way home and have her meet us at our house. We like to hang out most days and I really enjoy the company. When we get home I try to put Miss Brin down for a nap and I start prepping for dinner while Tara and I chat. Our afternoons tend to fly by. I am very thankful to Tara for that. She helps me occupy my child and gives me the adult interaction that I so desperately need.

3 days a week we work on Phonics for about an hour. She is getting very good. She can visually recognize A-F and recognize 1-10. She can also spell her name and read small words. Not many, but a few. She can read ‘toy’, ‘Brinley’, ‘cat’, ‘dog’, and ‘Dora’.

John walks in the door almost religiously at 5pm. We love dinner time in our house. We only have an hour with John but we make the best of it. Every evening starts off with a dance party. John will turn on my computer with an online radio station or put on a Glee CD and we just rock out while dinner finishes cooking. We love it. Brinley is a little dancing queen. She begs for us to dance if we don’t remember to do it. I think she looks forward to it more than anyone. It makes my heart sing to see Brinley giggle with delight while John swings her around the kitchen.

After dinner is done and we take off our dancing shoes, we head to the living room for family time. Since John cannot be home at bed time, we do our family prayer, scripture study and singing time before he heads back to school. When he leaves Brinley melts down. It is getting easier but she still misses her daddy. I think she does not understand why he can’t stay home after dinner like he used to. I put cartoons back on so that I clean up from dinner. We have a rule in our house that we don’t go to bed with dishes in the sink. I have a hard time following that rule a lot of days but for the most part I am pretty good about it.

After the kitchen is clean and closed down for the night I put Brinley in the bath tub. Bath time is both stressful and one of my favorite times. I love it because it gives me a chance to really connect with Brinley and talk to her about our day and listen to her tell me how she is feeling. It is stressful because she is terrified of water getting anywhere near her head. I try to rush through shampooing and conditioner but by the time we are done she is so hysterical that she just wants to get out and cuddle in her bed. After we pick out pj’s and she gets water in a sippy cup she climbs in her bed with books.

We use a book number system for positive reinforcement during the day. I got the idea from my sister Erika. Since Brinley loves books so much I use them as a reward system. Depending on how she behaves during the day depends on how many books we read at night together. I take books away for bad behavior and add them when she is good. The max is 10 books. Her books are still very short so I can manage 10. The great thing is, is that most nights she gets 10 books. She is very good during the day and I only have to threaten to take a book away and she stops what ever she is doing. I have to say that I am very happy that we decided to disciple this way.

John and I felt very strongly about not physically punishing Brinley. She is our baby and we both feel that laying your hand on your child in any manner is abuse. I know a lot of people do not agree with that, and that is fine. No jugement here. That is why we are free to parent how we choose to. Before we had Brinley we saw how people would spank, use hot sauce, soap, cold showers, scream, yell, and put them behind closed doors. We also noticed how it was breaking the spirits of their children. We made a commitment to each other and to our future children that we would figure out a constructive disciplining plan that would positively reinforce good behavior and teach when things were not appropriate. We have read so many books, gotten advice ( A lot of it from my sisters. They are all amazing mothers and I really admire them.), and talked to pediatricians and child physcologists. We feel that we have come up with a good method an intend to use it with the next baby ( this is not an announcement. I wish, but it is not.) After we read our books, I tuck Brinley in and turn on a 10 minute cartoon like Thomas or an episode of Max and Ruby. By the time I come back in to check on her and turn off her show she is already zonked out.

I finish up the evening by turning down our bed and folding any laundry that needs to be done while I catch up on my shows with the DVR. I then return phone calls and catch up on emails. I also like to read before I go to bed. Some nights I can manage to stay awake till John gets home, but most nights I am asleep. Then the day starts all over again. I have to say that I love our routine. I also love when we have things that mess it up. We love to go to Knoxville, to play dates, to friends’ houses, the mall, the zoo, and I love our girls’ nights. And of course, when we are in NA visiting family we can just throw it out the window – but those are things that make life grand!

A Beautiful Life

Anniversary Pictures

Anniversary Cake

{BFF's reunited}

Christmas 2011

5 years ago

{I wish I had better news}

Hopeland Gardens

More hot tub times....

A visit with St.Nick

Brinley is an Angel

Family Christmas Photos

Christmas Fun so far....

{Flashback}

{Take me out to the ballgame}

Our Cruise

{Brinley loves learning}

Thanksgiving 2011

Lady in Pink

I love my family

'Gyaff"

It's over!!! (basically)

First Day of School

Uniforms

Happy Birthday

Where did the time go?

Birthday outfit

Playing in the backyard

Excited...maybe just a little

Dora and Brinley

New Bedding

Play Date with The Jones's

Mini Party

A little Swimmer

Family Pics

Cousins, Cookies, and Cupcakes, Oh My!

Can you beleive it....

Cousin Fun

*Swimming*

!90 Years Young!

*Blankie*

Anniversary Party

*Watermellon Festival*

* Daddy's * Girl *

(Brinley is Going to School)

Summer so far!

Easter 2011

LA Trip

Fun Day in the Sun...with many more to come!

(Flower Child)

(lOvE}

(Happy St. Patty's Day Ya'll!)

When the only thing you can do is watch....

Gala

Camping Out

I'm still here....

Cali Trip

{Bright Eyes}

Did we look alike?

Look at how much they have all changed!

A Small Update

Cousin Time

No party or GallBladder - sad day :(

Some Fun

Riding in the Yard

Clean up, Clean up, everybody everywhere!

Happy Birthday...almost

Hair Cut

Sweet Brinley

Hiking in the Gap

*Ballet, Braids, and Potato Heads*

not private

*Just comments*

Earrings for a Big Girl

Budding Artist

Snowed In

Snow Bunny

{Blessed Beyond Measure}

Precious Moments with Brinley

{Lipstick Lady}

Swimming

Blankie

Watermellon Festival

Ballet, Braids, and Potato Heads

Just comments

The Hot Tub Times

54 things that I hope you blog about