Day 04 & Leaving Santa Cookies....

Day 04: Thankful for my sweet boy who is growing like a weed!

Leaving cookies for Santa :So..... We decided to leave Santa some cookies... But we had to try one first....

And with Cookies... you need to leave some milk....

And then we had to taste the cookies again....

And wash down our bite with some milk.....

So Santa only got a one cookie and a half eaten cookie, with a tiny sip of milk....

Day 03

Day 3: Thankful for a supporting husband.

Through thick or thin, we have made it through. I can't wait to see what 50 years of marriage look like.

Will it look my my grandparents, who have been married for 52 years? They have the same routine everyday. And believe that time apart from each other is being selfish. So they spend 99% of the time in each others presence.

I wonder if they ever run out of things to talk about.

But they unconditionally love one another.

And that is all that matters...

48 1/2 more years of marriage until we reach 50 years!

Its gonna be a long ride. But I can't wait.

Day Two: Gratitude Project

Day two: I am Thankful for compassionate patrons at O'Charley's Restaurant today, and for the chocolate milk that finally calmed down "AV"'s meltdown of 2010.

Well... it is official... I think we are banned from fine dinning restaurants until "AV" and future kids turn 18.

I have been blessed with a job that gave me a four day weekend and
"AV" has gotten quite used to being home and having me all to himself.... Last week, "AV" had pneomia so he was home from daycare. We made it though all of the Christmas holidays festivities , and we decided to have a PJ day on Sunday. So today, we were ready to be out and about. "AV" and I went to the Charleston Children's Museum with some friends today. And we both took a late nap....

So since "AV" had such a good day, "DH" suggested that we go out to dinner. And obviously... it was a disaster. "AV" screamed and cried and I think you could hear him in China...

Neadlesstosay... he has reach that age of "independence" and defiance and therefore public places that are not meant for kids, we will only be enjoying by carside food service or on a date....

But I wouldn't have it any other way.....Lets just pray to tomorrow at daycare drop off is smooth...

Day 01 ( Gratitude Project)

How could I not start our this year of Gratitude by not thanking our Creator.

I am so thankful that God sent His Son for us. And who continually forgives us, even when we do not deserve it.

2010

I am not sure how I have managed to go through all of 2010 without a blog.... no update.... nothing..... Very depressing.

So much has happened in 2010 and I have had a lot of lessons learned....

2010 has been such a blur... and I (feel that I ) lost a whole year of growth..

As a review for those who have missed...

2010 started out:

• Jan: "AV" was admitted to the hospital for brochettes. He has always had a breathing problem it seems like and had been on and off the nebulizor for a while.. Every time he got a cold, his chest would wheeze. Three days on oxygen and intensive inhalers we were released from the hospital and Avery was placed on a preventative medicine until May.

I remember driving to the hospital to meet Brant and thinking... I should be panicking... but I guess as a mom, your instints kick in and you know that you have to be strong. I also knew that his condition was not life threathing as I have watched two of my close friends have "heart" babies and their struggles.

• Febuary and March seemed to fly on by..."AV" grew!

• April- "AV" turned one! It was a crazy safari weekend! Mimi, Pop-Pop, Uncle K and Gramma came down from MD and we all through a huge party for my boy! A week after that , I (reluctantly) gave up nursing, and a week later had "AV" off of his bottle! At the end of April early May, "AV" started to walk... or should I say ru
  

• May- "DH" and I enrolled "AV"in Infant Swimming Resource. My sister "M" enrolled her daughter, "E" first and I attended one of her lessons and knew that we had to get "AV" involved. ISR gives one-on-one lessons in survival swimming. For more information, follow this link...http://www.blogger.com/www.infantswim.com

Also, in May... "M" and I founded Because of Brayden, a non-profit (still waiting on our certificate) organization to teach our community Water Safety.

• June-"AV" was certified in ISR. He can now find his exit in water and is able to float (even in winter clothes) for up to 10 minutes.

• July-We took a huge family vacation to NY and MD to see "AV 's great grandparents and grandparents. It was an amazing trip

• August- We held our first Water Safety day! It was a huge success and even had a TV spot! The Friday before the big event, "M" and I were running around like crazy! We ended up parting ways to run separate errands... when I got the call to have the two of us interviewed... For those of you who know me, I am very particular about my house.. but the week before, I let everything go because we were rushing to prepare for our big event... So needlesstosay.. I had to run home and clean for the shoot. I found that the oven is a great place to hide dirty dishes! LOL.
  

On a serous note, we were able to educate over 50 children the importance of water safety. For more information or to request a newsletter: http://www.blogger.com/www.becauseofbrayden.org

• September-Our kick off for the holiday season it seems like... Life starts getting crazy!

• October-"DH" turned 38 and Halloween! "AV" was peter pan, "DH" was Hook and I was Wendy...

• November-"AV" got a great big surprise! he got another cousin (on DH side) ! Cousin N is a great addition to our family!

We had a trip to the zoo

And we hosted Thanksgiving!

• December-I turned 26, we took a mini-vac to VA/MD to see the new baby and grandparents. "AV" is truly spoiled by them! We also had a small (perfect) Christmas!

It is also time to reflect on this year... I lost contact with some friends, did not purse my relationship with God as actively as I should.

But...

I did..

• get connected more with my small group,
• Feel like I can now manage as a new mom. (for those of you who don't know(many don't).. I struggled a bit with the big change of being a mom.)
• Grew my marriage
• Was blessed each day with my baby boy...

My goals in 2011:

1. To be more thankful. I will be taking a challenge to find one thing in each day to be Thankful. thecreativemama.com/the-year-of-gratitude/ Hopefully, everyday, I will post either here, or on my facebook, one thing that I am thankful for for a whole year.
2. I want to run a 5k this year.
3. I am going to participate in the Daniel Fast www.daniel-fast.com/ with my church www.seacoast.org and hopefully this will jump start me in actively pursuing God everyday.
4. Keep in contact with friends and family more.

Lets roll 2011! Hopefully this time next year will be more progress!

Macaranna~

Are you feeling guilty for avoiding making a dentist appointment for just one more month because you hate going there so much? Hope that no one saw you pick your nose while you sat at the traffic light? Overcome with shame because, in your house, cleaning for guests just means shoving stuff into drawers and closets? Well don't be! Not Me! Monday was born out of my desire to admit some of my imperfections and reveal a few moments I'd rather forget. You may find it therapeutic to join in and do the same thing! Just make your post and add it to McMama's blog! This week, I did not leave work early with a headache and heard the Macarana song and crank the music up loud and dance to this oldie. No, that was not me you saw making a fool of herself at the stop light doing that old song and dance. No, not me. I did not eat icing out of the jar all week long. I know better and am trying to stay away from cavities. And I know that eating out of a jar leads to weight gain.. which I haven't had.. not at all... I also did not throw myself a pity party as I cleaned out Avery's closet because my little boy is growing up. I also did not leave my screaming child under the chair so I could take a picture of him and how he got himself stuck! I am also NOT going to grab a bit of icecream out of the container before I go tobed. I am not a pig like that. Good nite!

I hit the hubs with the car...

Are you feeling guilty for caving in at Wal-Mart and buying candy for your children just to keep them quiet and happy even though you never buy them candy? Hope that no one saw you pull your infants diaper waaaaaay back in the middle of the sermon at church to see if it was dirty? Overcome with shame when you sleep in at morning until after your children wake? (And, trust me, this week I wouldn't know anything about any of those examples.) Well don't be! Not Me! Monday was born out of my desire to admit some of my imperfections and reveal a few moments I'd rather forget. You may find it therapeutic to join in and do the same thing!

This week I certainly did not hit my husband with the car. I mean, I know how to drive and know that I need him to wait until he moves away before I back up. Therefore the mirror won't hit him I also did not think.. oh what a great not me monday story it would make. Meanwhile, I also did not almost hit my sister with the car the exact same way a few days later. This past week, I didn't stand in front of my work's sink and just put my hands out expecting the water to just turn on. And then sign about how the automatic sink doesn't work every. Then realizing that the sink wasn't automatic. This week, I also did not almost burn the house down when I left a pot of beans simmering on teh stove as I watched tv for three hours. Nope I am completly careful and remember to always check on my cooking food This week, I also didn't let my child fall and tap I mean bang his head against the floor resulting in a piercing scream from my sweet boy. No, I am always careful and would never let my child fall over and hurt themselves. I also didn't beg my husband to take our little one to the store so I could catch up on couponing and instead took a nap. Nope, I always take advantage to my babyfree time to catch up on things around the house!