What a "One"derful year it has been!!

I cannot believe that this little face....

...wore these clothes today.....

I can't believe that this little face....

....looks like this today.....

How can one year go by so quickly? How can one little boy completely change our family for the better?  How did my heart, which I thought was already filled up with love for another boy, create enough room for another boy to move in?  How did this boy and I form a bond that is just as sweet, just as special, but so completely different than the bond I have with his brother?

Jacob, you have brought so much joy and happiness to our lives since you joined us! I am so blessed to be your mommy and so happy to have you as my little Mini-Me!  You are my blonde-haired, blue-eyed angel and I love you so much!!

Five is Fantastic!!

I'll never forget the day I found out I was pregnant.  April 28, 2007 helped my heart heal after losing my first baby when I was only 9 weeks along.  I never would have imagined that 7 weeks after my greatest loss, I would be given a great joy.

I'll never forget the day I held my baby for the first time.  January 9, 2008 taught me that hard work (12 hours of labor; 2 hours of pushing) and fear (emergency c-section) can still bring about something sweet.

Today that precious baby turns five years old, and I'm beginning to forget.

I'm forgetting what it was like to hold and rock him until he fell asleep in my arms.
I'm forgetting what it was like to hold a little hand as he takes unsteady steps.
I'm forgetting what it was like to listen to a little voice ask for a "cheese shanka" or his "on-ge na-na".
I'm forgetting so many things.

I don't want to forget.

Babies grow up in the blink of an eye.  I've got to stop blinking.

But if I stop blinking, I won't be able to see what is right in front of me.



Quinn turned 5 on Pajama Day

 Please Lord, help me see in the moment and never forget the memories.

Mommy loves you Quinn.  I am so proud to be Your Girl!!

Quinn is FOUR!!!!

On January 9th, my sweet boy turned 4 years old! I can hardly believe that this day has come. He is growing up so much and is doing so well in school. He is just a precious part of my life and makes his daddy and me so proud to be his parents!

This precious little baby......

....is now my big 4-year old boy!!

Has it really been 3 years?

It is so hard to believe that in just 3 short years, my son has gone from this.....

1/9/08



March 2008



1/9/09



July 2009



.....to this! 1/9/2011. Three years.....such a short time, yet it seems so long.

Dear Quinn,

You just had your 3rd birthday a few days ago. It seems like only yesterday I was at the hospital waiting for you to make your entrance into the world. You amaze me every day with all the new things you know. I am so proud of you for knowing your colors, shapes, numbers and letters already! You are such a smart boy! You love to have fun and play...especially the slides or swings. It was fun taking you swimming this summer for the first time. I love that you have such a sweet spirit and how caring you are. You love to give me hugs and kisses...snuggle time is the best. You love to go to church and Sunday School.

I don't know if you will remember all this as you get older....but I will. You have stolen Mommy's heart! I am so blessed to be your Mommy. I pray for you every day. I pray that you will grow up to be the man that God would have you to be. And I pray for you to accept the Lord as your Saviour at an early age.

Your daddy and I love you so much Quinn! Happy 3rd Birthday!

Love Mommy

90 years is a milestone!!

This past Saturday, we celebrated the birthday of a wonderful lady. My Grandmother, my last living grandparent, turned 90!! Back when she turned 85, we threw her a big party and invited all the relatives and friends and had a big time. This year, she only wanted the immediate family with her...something that typically only happens at Christmas (and sometimes in the summer). Back at Christmas we discussed the plans and knew that we should all show up in SC for that special weekend.

We had dinner at a nice restaurant, one we would probably not go to on a usual day. My aunt's friend came to the restaurant and took pictures of all of us out in the garden. We took pictures of each family, some of just us granddaughters, and some of the whole group. Of course, Quinn in his 2-year-old fashion, would not cooperate for pictures. We did get a couple of him running through the shots. As soon as I get these pictures, I'll do a post on that.

I decided that for Grandmother's 90th birthday, I would find out her secret to life. 90 years is a long time to be alive. She's had really good health up until the last few months where she has had a few complications. She has now lived longer than her parents did, and is currently the oldest member of our family....on both her mother's side and her father's side.

Here are Grandmother's 9 tips for living a long, happy, successful life....one tip for each decade of life!

1. Walk with the Lord. Grandmother reads her Bible and prays everyday.

2. Go to church. Grandmother was a member of the same church for 88 years. It was a small mill-village church that closed 2 years ago. It was a Methodist church not far from where she lives and her parents brought her there as soon as she was born.

3. Find true love and keep it forever! Grandmother married her high-school sweetheart and she was married to him for 42 years. She stood by him as he served our country in WWII and was gone to the Pacific. She stood by him as he was sick and was there with him when he passed away in 1982. She never loved another man. (Click here to see old pictures of them.)

4. Be loving, Godly parents. Grandmother was raised by Godly parents and she brought what she learned from watching her own parents into her marriage. She and my grandfather were also loving and Godly!

5. Work hard everyday. Grandmother worked hard around the home, raising her three children and keeping a lovely home. Later on she worked hard to keep her home a place her granddaughters would love to come to. I can remember seeing Grandmother working in the yard, in the garden, and around the house. She was always busy!

6. Exercise and be active. Grandmother was always doing something. One thing I will always remember is her and her sisters driving to the Y several times a week to do water aerobics. They only stopped going a few years ago, after her sisters' health prevented them from driving as much. (Grandma never learned to drive!)

7. Have good nutrition. Grandmother made many meals from scratch and grew fresh vegetables in her garden. Sure, she enjoys a bit of chocolate or something sweet every now and then...who doesn't? And we tease her about putting butter on her biscuits! But she typically is a healthy eater!

8. Never smoke or drink alcohol. This one needs no explanation.

9. Be surrounded by loving family and friends. Grandmother has always loved being with her family. She and her sisters were very close.....so close that all four of them lived next door to each other their entire lives! Our extended family (the kids and grand kids of her brothers and sisters) is as close as most people are with just their siblings.

I am so lucky to have such a wonderful example to live up to. I am so glad I was able to be there for her big, special day! Grandma, thank you for everything you've done for me over the years. You will never know how much you mean to me!

(one of my favorite pictures of Grandma...holding her great-grandson for the first time!)

Two Years Old Today!

I can hardly believe that I am the mother of a two year old! It seems like only yesterday I was pregnant, and now my sweet little Quinn is TWO! Time has sure flown by with him, and I have enjoyed every moment of being his mother.

It has been such a big year. Quinn went from barely walking without needing help, to running and jumping and climbing all over the place. The only things he hasn't figured out how to climb on the counters and climb out of his crib. He loves to play outside and explore. He can entertain himself with toys, or he can be a fun playmate. He loves to stack blocks, knock them down and start over. He likes to build towers with his big Legos. He loves trucks and balls....typical boy! He likes books and listening to stories.

He loves music. Since I've joined the choir, our director will give us a CD every so often of songs we will be learning. When I play them in the car, Quinn will clap along to the songs, and saying "Yeah!" when the song is over. He loves to sing along with me and do the hand motions to different songs.

Quinn is a good eater! So far, we have not found him to be particularly picky. He has things he loves to eat, but when it comes down to it, he will eat any (and every) thing we put on his plate. We have progressed from bottles and baby food to sippy cups and using utensils to feed himself.

I am just so amazed at all he has done this year and can hardly wait to see if the twos will be terrible or terrific! Either way, he's my boy and I love him!

Here are a few favorite pictures of Quinn from this past year.

This is last year's first birthday party. Isn't he cute with cake all over?

This was from last February....not long after Quinn's first haircut and after we got Harry the Elephant.

This was near or around Easter time.

This was from the summer...love those curls.

18 months old

My Halloween Saint Bernard.

And finally, meet my two year old sweet heart!

I am so blessed to be the mother of this precious child!

What I Did On My 30th Birthday

Yesterday was a wonderful day. First of all, I have to comment on the weather. If you live in my town, you know how beautiful it was yesterday. For those of you who don't live near me, let me just say it has rained off and on for about two weeks or so. Yesterday, the sun came out and it was a clear, blue sky with hardly a cloud in the sky. I think the Lord knew I needed to see a pretty day. Someone at church told me I should have a birthday every day, if that's the kind of weather we will have!

The day started off with Buddy and Quinn giving me cards, each with a sweet message written inside. I guess Quinn told Daddy what to write down! Then my two favorite guys took me to breakfast, since Buddy was not able to take me out for supper. We came home and I did some things around the house and then Quinn and I did our usual Saturday morning trips to the grocery stores.

While Quinn napped in the afternoon, I debated cutting the grass, since it was dry (finally) and a nice day. I decided not to, saying, "I will NOT cut the grass on my birthday." I should not have listened to myself and cut the grass anyway, since today, it rained hard early in the morning, causing the grass to be too wet to cut.

Some friends at church found out that, due to certain circumstances, I would be spending my big birthday evening by myself, so they got together and took me out. One friend, Kim, who is my pastor's wife, and her sister Jenn, even arranged for Quinn to stay with their mom and Kim's daughter Claire. So not only was I getting to go out with girl-friends, but I didn't have to be a mommy!

We met at Olive Garden, which is one of my favorite places to eat. My friend Alycia, who's son Alex is Quinn's best friend, also came, along with two other girls from church, Kelly, and Elizabeth.

This balloon was on the table. It was big enough that I think the whole restaurant could see it, and big enough that when I got it home, my dog Tillman was scared of it. (He's only 10 pounds and the balloon is bigger than him).

We all ordered our meals and we had lots of "girl talk" at dinner. Did you know you can order the "lunch portion" during dinner hours at Olive Garden? The portion is much smaller, and a few dollars cheaper, yet is enough to fill you up. After we finished, all the waiters and waitresses came to the table to do the typical sing-happy-birthday-and-embarrass-you-in-front-of-everyone thing that most restaurants will do. But our waitress took it one step further and ANNOUNCED to the restaurant that "Kimberly is turning 30 today. Raise your hand Kimberly so we can all see who you are!" I about died! But after that we got to eat this yummy cake!

It was decorated in orange, since I am such a huge Clemson fan. I love the flower, too. Here I am with the cake.

The girls had all signed a card for me. The individual messages were all very sweet, but it was the verse on the card that really hit home. It just further impressed on me my new take on becoming 30. The card said "Some birthdays are more meaningful than others because they remind us of where we've been, what we've learned, and where we've yet to go...." I know that my 20s brought so many good things into my life. I am excited about what the 30s will bring.

We had originally talked about going to PF Chang's, a Chinese bistro restaurant, that Kim has talked about so many times. Buddy really wanted to go there too, so I decided to wait and go when he could come too. When I opened my gift, it was a gift card to....PF Changs!! I already know when we will be using this....for our anniversary coming up in June.

Kim, Jenn, Kelly, Alycia, and Elizabeth: I had such a wonderful night! Thank you all for such a fun, friendship-filled evening. If I couldn't be with my husband or other family on my birthday, I can't think of 5 other people I would have rather spent the time with! You girls are AWESOME!! I am so thankful that the Lord has brought each one of you into my life. While I love my husband and am thankful for his friendship as well, there's just nothing like having good friends!

(L to R: Kelly, me, Kim, Elizabeth, Jenn, and Alycia)

I heard from a birdy....

....that someone is turning thirty. And that someone would be YOURS TRULY!!

Yes, today is my 30th birthday. To be honest, I wasn't really looking forward to this birthday. There's something about no longer being able to say you are twenty-something. I think it's how you say it.....you turn 30. No one turns 20, or 25 or even 29. You just say "I'm 25 today", or whatever. But "turning 30" sounds wierd to me. When stuff in the fridge "turns" sour, you throw it out.

But then something happened yesterday that completely changed my thinking about this birthday. I was at the DMV because it occured to me that my license was expiring....due to my birthday. The lady that was helping me noticed my birthday on my license and commented about it. I said, "Yes, I have to turn 30 tomorrow." She told me that her 30s were the best years of her life and that I shouldn't be worried. She asked what all happened to me in my 20s. I graduated Clemson, got married, moved from my hometown to NC, bought a house, and had a baby. She said, "See all the good things that have happened to you....what more good things must be in your future."

That was the moment I decided I am going to embrace this being 30. I am excited about this day. I am PROUD TO BE 30!!!!

So, on this day, I want to share with you some pictures of me through the years.

This is me and my grandmother. The back of the photo says Jan. 1980, so I am 8 months old here. My mom thinks it looks like Quinn is in the picture and not me.

I am not sure how old I am here...probably 3 or 4. I am rocking the bed-head though. And my mom still has some of those Christmas ornaments!

I am not sure how old I am in this picture either. Again, probably 4 or so. I don't remember why we had so much wood. According to Buddy, every little kid needs a picture by a big pile of wood. Notice how sweetly my hands are folded....and yes, that is a Clemson jacket. I was a fan at an early age.

Ok, this is what I've termed as my "mushroom head" look. I sported this style for quite a while. Again, I'm probably 4 years old here. This was a spring picture at the daycare I went to.

All right, fast forward to May 1997. This is me on my prom night Senior year. I did not have a date, but some girl-friends and I all dressed up, went out to eat, and then went to prom as a group. We had the best time and got to dance with whoever we wanted to. (Wasn't I skinny back then? I think I was about 95 pounds.)

This is in October 1997. I was 18 years old. This is the first picture of Buddy and I together. We had been dating about 4 months or so. We were going to Homecoming at his highschool that night. That was my favorite outfit. I loved the plaid pants. And that's my dog, Desi. I got her for my 16th birthday, so she is about 2 years old. (She's still alive by the way, living with my parents).

This is my 21st birthday. Buddy took me to see Travis Tritt perform at an outdoor concert. Back in Greenville, every year on Memorial Day Weekend, they hold a hot-air balloon festival and there is a concert outside each night. My family threw me a surprise party and then Buddy and I went to the concert.

This picture is November 2002, so I am 23 here. We were all decked out for the Clemson/Carolina football game, last game of the season. (Remember....in SC, Carolina stands for USC Gamecocks, not the Tarheels). The other couple was my roommate, Stephanie, and her boyfriend-now-husband, Josh. Steph was my maid of honor (since I'm an only child...no sisters), and I was a bridesmaid in her wedding. We got married 4 months apart.

This was taken in the Fall of 2004. I was 25. This was our first apartment after we moved to NC. That is our dog Tillman. He was 3.

And this was taken last Sunday before church....so I'm practically 30 here.

I am so thankful that the Lord has blessed me with 29 wonderful years of life. I have had good health during all this time. I have a wonderful family, with whom I am very close. I have had many good friends over the years, who now live in many different places all over the world. My prayer is that the Lord will continue to bless me.

And to quote a Tim McGraw song "My next 30 years will be the best years of my life...."

Happy 1st Birthday, Quinn!!

I can hardly believe that this day is here. January 9, 2009....my baby is 1 year old today! It truly seems like it was just yesterday that I was finding out I was pregnant. It seems like just yesterday I was looking at a sonogram of a little "peanut" and wondering what this child would look like. It seems like just yesterday that I was looking at myself, at my hugeness, and wondering when this baby would ever get here.

Getting here was the hard part. I remember wishing all of Christmas 2007 that Quinn would make an early arrival, since I did not want to go back to school. But Quinn decided he did not want to come early, or even on time.

January 8th, 2008 was a Tuesday. I had spent the day at school teaching my children, and waddling up and down the halls. My classroom is as far from the main lobby area as it can be and at this point, 5 days overdue, I was miserable. I remember as soon as I got home from work, I changed clothes and started walking. I was NOT going back to work the next day. I walked through the back part of our subdivision and up and down the huge hill, and then back around the block. When Buddy got home, we walked that far again, and then went out to eat at our favorite restaurant. I remember he said to me, "We won't have many more nights that are just the two of us. Let's go out one more time."

We came home from dinner and I was exhausted. I fell asleep on the couch and then went to bed about 9:30. Buddy was sleeping in the guest room, because apparently I snore while pregnant....and I also kept the house so cold he had to sleep in a toboggan hat! Anyway, our little dog Tillman sleeps with me and he wouldn't settle down. I remember he wouldn't settle down that night. Somewhere around midnight he got off the bed and scratched the door...his signal for wanting water. I let him out to the kitchen and he scratched his dish...his signal that the dish was empty. When I bent over to get his dish, my water broke! I truly believe the Lord allowed Tillman to get me to the kitchen so I could make a mess on the kitchen tile, and not our mattress!

We got to the hospital around 12:30 am on January 9th, and I got put on a penicillin drip due to being positive for Group B strep. I labored for 12 hours! Yes, 12 hours. Around noon or so we started pushing, but nothing was happening. I kept trying for about 2 hours. The doctor came and realized Quinn was facing my inner leg, not the floor, and worst of all, his heart rate plummeted every time I had a contraction. After a short discussion with the doctor, we realized that I was going to need a C-Section. This was 2:30, and by 2:55pm, January 9th, I heard the most wonderful words in the world, "It's a boy!"

I'm telling you....I am one blessed Mama! With Quinn being my first child, I'm not sure what I was expecting, but apparently the Lord decided to give me the easiest child ever. Quinn was not a crying baby. He wasn't fussy. He was very pleasant and easy going. I can remember 5 distinctive nights of him being absolutely inconsolable. 5 nights....out of a whole year. He was sleeping through the night by 7 weeks (the week before I had to go back to work!) He met all his milestones for his first year at the right times. He (so far) has not gone through the "stranger anxiety" so he easily goes to any adult we need him to be with...even those he meets for the first time.

Here are some pics of him through-out this year. Isn't he the sweetest??

Quinn, I am so glad that I have been given the chance to be your Mama. I am so lucky that you are my precious gift from God. Your Daddy and I love you so much. I am looking forward to celebrating your first birthday with you!

Love,

Mommy