I'm Still Here..

Hi everyone! I just wanted to let you all know that we are still here... alive and kickin'!! Here's what's happened since I last blogged:

:::MONDAY:::

Maddy, Nash and I just hung out at the house for the day. About 4, my friend Jess came over to hang out before our big dinner out. We went to dinner, which was pretty dang good, at Texas Roadhouse. By the time we got home, it was almost bathtime, then bedtime.

:::TUESDAY:::

Not a whole lot happened on Tuesday. We stayed at home all day. About 5 PM, we went for a walk with Jess. It was nice to get out in the fresh air. That could be our last walk for a while, though. It's still only 22 degrees here right now. The high for the day is 47, so I'm not sure that we'll venture out into the great outdoors too much. On our walk, though, Jess had a good suggestion for my mom and me for our trip to South Carolina. She suggested that if we were going to stay in a hotel in Little Rock, that we should look into staying on the Air Force base there. I thought that was a GREAT idea!! So, we actually have some pretty concrete plans now. My mom will fly in on Monday (the day after my dad's birthday). I will pick her up at the airport, then we'll start our 8 or 9 hour drive to Little Rock. We'll stay on base in the hotel there (where Nash can stay with us too). When we get up in the morning, we'll start our 5 to 6 hour drive to Nashville. Depending on what the Nashvillians have going on, we'll decide how early we want to get started. Then, we'll visit with the folks there and stay with Chris and April (THANK YOU). Then, Wednesday morning, we'll hit the road again for another 8 or 9 hours to South Carolina. We'll be in South Carolina for just a couple of days before we hit the road once again to visit all you fine folks in Atlanta!! After the Atlanta trip, I think we might be able to relax a little before doing the cross-country trek again, in reverse. I was very pleased to get some sort of "final" plans mapped out...

:::WEDNESDAY:::

About 2 PM yesterday, we still had not left the house, and Maddy was getting a bit of cabin fever. I was pretty content with vegging on the couch for another day, but she needed to get out of the house and have a change of scenery. I couldn't figure out where to go (that didn't involve spending money), so we went to the "Y" to visit some of my former coworkers. Everyone LOVED seeing Maddy, and I LOVED having a few other people hold her for a little while. It was a nice break. While I was there, Jess called to see if I wanted to go on a quick shopping trip with her. I, of course, jumped at the opportunity. So, Maddy and I loaded up in the car and joined Jess while she hunted for a new sweater. Maddy and I finally returned home so we could have some dinner. Maddy wound up falling asleep in my arms off and on starting at about 7:30 PM. At 9, she was still sleeping, so I had a big decision to make... Do I still do a bath, or do I just skip the bath and feed her and put her to bed. We opted for no bath. I think it was a good choice. Maddy slept until about 4 AM, then again until about 7:30 AM!!! I almost forgot to mention... Maddy's passport got here on this day!! Isn't that EXCITING?!?!?! She's all ready to be a world traveller now!!!

:::THURSDAY:::

Maddy and I are just hanging out on the couch. She's, again, sleeping on me. I love her to pieces, but I wish that she'd nap in her crib. My mom tells me that she's going to get this kid to sleep in her crib during the day while we're visiting. She's got a lot more Mommy experience than I do, so I hope she's successful and can help me out with this!! Once Maddy wakes up, we're going to go to the Post Office to get stamps for our Christmas cards... which should be here ANY DAY NOW!!! Then, later this evening, Bryan's friend Marshall has invited Maddy and me to join him for dinner. He called yesterday just to make sure that we were hangin in there since Bryan had to leave. I thought that was really sweet. He offered to come over and hold Maddy if I needed to get anything done. I appreciated the offer, but we're doin A-OK. When he asked us to join him for dinner tonight, though, I couldn't pass that up!! I'm all about some food!!! :) It's also good to just get out every once in a while!!

The rest of the week doesn't have much in store for us. I have made a to do list of things that must get done before we leave, and I've spaced it out over the days leading up to our trip. Now, the real challenge is to make sure that I do everything on the days that I've assigned them, and not let them pile up until the last weekend!!

:::SPEAKING OF CHALLENGES:::

Here's my response to my mom's challenge... I know that this is not an original answer, but the thing I'm the most thankful for is my family. This includes my immediate family, extended family (Atlanta folks and those up north), my in-laws, my Air Force family and my friends. It's truly a blessing to know that pretty much no matter where I am, what the situation is or what I need, there is SOMEONE there who loves me and will be there for me. Even if that just means an ear to listen on the other end of the phone!! I've met some pretty amazing people in my life, and the vast majority of those people still pour out love and encouragement my way!!! I am also VERY thankful for the events of this past year!! I made it through a deployment (February through June), God gave us an incredible little person (October) and now I get to spend my favorite time of year (Christmas, New Year's and my birthday) with some of my favorite people!! I also have a husband who takes very good care of me... even when he's not able to be right here by my side. So, I'd like to thank each and every one of you for standing by me (even if it's just figuratively) through all the ups and downs!!! I couldn't imagine my life any other way!! You guys are the BEST!!

I guess I've gotten more wordy than I had planned (shocking, I know), so I'll end this!! I hope that everyone has a great ending to their week!!! I can't wait to see you all VERY soon!!

Love you guys!!

P.S. I love you, Bryan... I'm not sure if you'll get to read this, but I LOVE YOU!!! :)

Big Girls Don't Cry

Bryan often tells Maddy that "big girls don't cry". I remind him every time that she's not a big girl yet, so that phrase has no real meaning. Boy did THAT bite me in the butt!!! Last night, when I got all weepy about Bryan leaving, he told me that "big girls don't cry". Already obviously upset, I responded with "well, this one does!!!" Again, this morning, I was reminded that big girls don't cry. I no longer care! I got my tears out this morning (more than once), and am doing MUCH better. I have dropped Bryan off for his big trip (Uncle Mike, this means that you can start including him in your prayers now). I had a very difficult time leaving him at work, but we've known this was coming for almost 2 weeks now, so I just had to put my big girl panties on and go into "survival mode". After dropping Bryan off, I saw a couple of other wives in the parking lot, so we all stood outside (in the freezing cold) and chatted for quite a while. (It was apparent that none of us were ready to leave and go on about our days...) While chatting, we all realized that today was not going to be easy for any of us, so we made dinner plans. Tonight is Military Monday at Texas Roadhouse (10% discount for anyone with a military ID), so, we're all going to meet for dinner later this evening. Once our evening plans were firmed up, Maddy and I went shopping. I bought her a new fleece sleeper, a new pack of cotton sleepers (she doesn't have any in the next size, and she's starting to outgrow her 3 month ones) and a new hat and pair of socks that say "I Love Daddy!" Maybe I was just being mushy and sentimental, but I thought the hat and socks were cute (and for $3, I could justify it)!! I also got April's Christmas present. I hope she likes it!! :)

On to other news... Maddy is pretty dang amazing! Just when I think I can't handle anything else, she pulls out all the stops!! The last 2 nights, SHE'S SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!!!!! She hasn't been napping during the day. I can get about 20 minutes out of her at a time, then she's wide awake and ready to go. She, however, gets so tired (from lack of napping) that she's extremely fussy from about 2 PM until bathtime at 9. While she didn't nap the last 2 days, she DID SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!! To make it even better, she woke up this morning at 5:15, I fed her, then she went back to sleep until I woke her up to get her ready to go to base at 7:45. When we left the house around 8, she fell back asleep and slept until we got home around 10:45. Now, she's napping AGAIN!!!! The only unfortunate part is that she's laying on the couch in her boppy, so I can't leave (I really could use a potty break). I'm afraid to move her, though because I don't know if she'll fall back asleep. I guess I'll just wait until she's awake, then put her in her crib long enough to take a potty break, then hold her some more (which seems to be her favorite past time)...

Sorry I don't have any new pictures to share today. We weren't really in "picture taking" condition earlier today. I'll try to get some new ones soon!!

Please keep Bryan and the rest of the guys in your prayers. Especially today and tomorrow while they're traveling. The countdown to my trip can officially begin now!!!

Love you guys, and we'll see you soon!!!!

Have a good week!! :)

We Miss You!!

We missed seeing all of you for the Thanksgiving holiday, but some of us will see you soon! It was fun to talk to a couple of you this morning during the great Zaxby's debate... Dad, I DO think you like Zaxby's!! :) Here are a couple of pictures of what we've been up to since I last blogged:

Miss Maddy showed that she's got a little work to do on her being lady-like:



Daddy was proud of this, so he took a self portrait:


I think he's really going to miss his little girl. We're all going to miss him!! Christmas won't be the same without him, but we'll all survive, and we'll do Christmas all over again once he's home!! :)

Nash had a little photo shoot with Maddy, too:


Finally, Daddy and Maddy were playing PlayStation this morning and Maddy fell asleep:


We'll see most of you very soon!

Love you guys!! :)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Maddy wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! Here she is in her Thanksgiving outfit:



We hope that everyone had a great day!! Love you guys!! :)

My Dress

Hi all! We went to church this morning and Maddy got all dressed up in the dress that Bryan's Granny made for her. I thought I'd share a couple of pictures of her. Unfortunately, she is pretty worn out, so we weren't able to steal a smile from her, but she still looks ADORABLE!! (I suppose I could be a little partial!!) Check her out:




And one last one of the whole family. (Thank God for self timers!!):


Hope you have a good Sunday. We're watching the Titans play the Jets... and hoping to keep our undefeated status!! :)

Love you guys!!

LOOK AT ME!!

Maddy wanted to share some pictures with you today:

Here I am watching TV with Daddy:


And here I am flashing my new-found smile:



Now, I am giving my big brother a kiss... Mommy wasn't too thrilled with this, but it happened, and Daddy got a picture:



Mommy gave me a kiss, too:



Here's a short video of me. Mommy caught me sneezing:




We hope everyone has a good weekend! Mommy ordered new glasses today. Once they come in, I'll take some pictures of her to share. I'm slowly taking over her blog!! :)

Love you guys!!

Love,
Maddy :)

I'm No Good At Poker...

...and this week Bryan and I were dealt quite a hand!!

Since I am no good at poker, and my poker face is the WORST you'll ever see... I would like to take this chance to grant everyone their Christmas wish. Maddy and I will be making the rounds of the Southeast and hope to make each and every one of you on our stop this holiday season. I can not go into any details on here, but patience is a virtue, and you'll find everything out as soon as I can tell you. So, now that I'm the "wish granter" and we've been dealt this doozey, Merry Christmas everyone, and we'll see you soon!!

Love you guys... And, please, pray for us as we sort through this new "adventure"!! :)

P.S. Shhh... Maddy and I will see you soon!! :)