Scarecrow Trail at Huntsville Botanical Gardens

Each year for fall Huntsville Botanical  Gardens puts together ''Scarecrow Trail'' various businesses, schools, groups etc. get together and make a scarecrow for the trail. It's always fun to go to the Botanical Gardens, we go multiple times a year.

 Fall is always extra fun though, we get to see all the creativity and hard work that is put into each scarecrow. This years theme was ''traditonal''

So one day Making Connections got together to set up the Autism Awareness Scarecrow. I don't get to be as involved with the group as I would like to be, and I was off the day they were setting up so I decided to go. Debbie did a fantastic job with the design. It's hair was spray painted and it had cute little iron on puzzle pieces all over it's overalls.

It turned out to be such a cute scarecrow too! After that my friend Whitney, my daughter and I all enjoyed a lunch at Clementine's at the Gardens. Then we took a short tour around the gardens, skipping most of the different sections of the gardens. It was so hot that day, and I had to pick up my little man from school so we were rushed for time.

Whitney working on the hair.

Little Miss Sassy working on his ''stuffing''

After it was all finished

How cool is this? I love the sunflowers, they add a nice touch!

Angry Birds made out of gourds and plastic jugs.... pretty neat! 

 

 

Giant Lilly pads in the water garden.

If you've never been you really should make plans to go. Fall is the perfect time, the weather is cooler, the leaves are changing and who doesn't love scarecrows?

 

Little Gymnast

Our little princess fell in love with all the jumps, flips and pageantry of the Olympics. She is obsessed with Gabby Douglas! She begged and begged to take gymnastics so I finally went and got her registered. She absolutely loves it!

doing a roll

Jumping on the AIRTRACK

Very first time on the bar

So proud of getting her hand stamped after completing her first class

Balance Beam

 

 

This Saturday is ''Open Gym Day'' for members and they get to bring a sibling or a friend. She  is going to take her older sister Lindsey! Super excited!

''A Red Carpet Event''

A Red Carpet Event, what an awesome name for my princesses first dance recital! It was a busy day but an amazing day! I got up and got my princess dressed in one of her big brother's button up shirts. We went to see our good friend Beverly at her salon, and of course she did an amazing job on her hair!

Next up  we headed over to the civic center for her Mary-Kay make-up by Miss Carly, who also did an amazing job on her stage make-up! She looked like a little porcelain doll!

Then she was ready to go onstage for her rehearsal. She was super excited! She went backstage then I took a seat out in the audience and waited to see her rehearsal. I'll even admit that I cried, as she was the first one to walk onto the stage with her beautiful little golden curls! Such a bittersweet moment, seeing her onstage for the first time! I can remember the day she wanted to take dance classes and she was still too young. Now here we are, her first year has just been completed!



Rehearsal



They all looked so stinkin' cute dancing around in their little costumes, with  their bouncing curls! As soon as her rehearsal was over I left the concert hall and met her as she came off stage. I hugged her and told her that she did an amazing job and I was super proud of her! The first words out of her mouth were....''where are my flowers?'' hahaha!!!! I had to explain that she was only at rehearsal and that she would get her flowers later that night after her performance! So after all that we went home and relaxed until it was time to touch up her hair. Then we went back to the civic center for make-up. I left her backstage with her group and took a seat with my family! I couldn't wait until it was her turn!!!!

Opening Act

Choo Choo  Cha Boogie





My beautiful Princess Dancer



With her teacher Miss Stacey



She was so very proud of her beautiful roses!!!!



Daddy's girl!!!!




We had a fantastic time watching her performance! I can't wait until the DVD of the show arrives next month! I'm so thankful that Ann's Studio of Dance made her first year of dance a year to remember!

January aka not so FUNuary ....

Sunday January 15th I woke up dizzy as can be. I couldn't even open my eyes. I would drag myself out of bed to go to the bathroom and getting up would make me vomit like crazy. I had never felt so horrible. I stayed in bed until around 1pm. I got up and tried eating something, only to throw up again. My husband made me go to the hospital. Thankfully Nessa was over and could stay home with the babies.

After several hours and tests later they diagnosed me with vertigo. The doctor gave me a prescription and released me. I would much rather have 10 more cesareans than feel  that sick again. The prescription made me soooo sleepy that for the next three days that's just about all I did. My friend Lisa covered the RCMC meeting for me since I was in no condition to go or even drive for that matter. Thankfully it went away, and hopefully it won't happen again.


Tuesday night my husband and I were in our bedroom folding the laundry that I had just taken out. (isn't he sweet for helping me?) All of a sudden I hear a gosh awful scream coming from my three year old daughter. I immediately knew something was wrong. I met her halfway down the hall. First thing I see is that her beautiful blond hair is soaked in blood! I picked her up and she had already stopped crying. She is such a tough little girl! I was still  in full panic mode though!

I knew she probably needed stitches so I quickly got her & myself dressed as we had already gotten ready to go to bed. I just grabbed the first things I could see, threw them on and grabbed her favorite stuffed animal and ran out the door.

She however wanted to show our neighbors her bloody mess of hair before we went. I was thinking seriously how can this child be so calm and not crying after busting her head open? I didn't stop though, I quickly got her into her car seat and literally flew to the hospital. Once I got there I realized that she had passed out, which made me freak out. It took me a minute or two to get her to wake up. It was cold so that helped out I'm sure.

I got her inside and she was still bleeding. I filled out her form, they weighed her took all her vitals etc. and immediately took us back to a room. A few short minutes later a nurse came in to  look at her head. Then the nurse put this clear numbing gel onto the gash. About 20 minutes later the doctor came in and looked it over and said it needed staples! WHAT???? A few staples later we were being discharged. On the way out we ran into an EMT we know. He said what are y'all doing here, and I just pointed at Miss Graceful! So then he had to look too.

So it turns out that my son and daughter had pushed the step stool against my son's dresser and they were both standing on the stool. And somehow made the dresser wiggle enough to where a painting I made for my son's room fell off the dresser and hit her in the head. Needless to say it's found a new home!

So tomorrow is Friday and will be 10 days since her accident & getting her staples. She has an appointment with her pediatrician to have them removed. She is a little worried because she thinks it will hurt, and sadly it will hurt a little. Poor baby. I just hope it goes smoothly tomorrow!

We will never forget

The alarm goes off, the tears begin to flow uncontrollably. I hit the snooze button.

That is how my day started.

After hitting the snooze button more than a dozen times I dragged myself out of the bed. Not because I was still sleepy but because I feared the unknown. My husband and I got up, showered, dressed and off to the funeral home we went. Walking in the door, I recognized so many familiar faces. Some I have known for a while, others whom I have only come to know and love in the past few days.

I took a deep breath and walked into the room, there sat the family. I hugged all of them and told them how sorry I was and that I love them. It was then I looked to the far end of the room. There laid this beautiful tiny baby girl, surrounded by beautiful pink blankets and flowers.

I cried and cried and even cried after I thought I had no tears left.

Her coffin wasn't much bigger than a shoe box. It was the saddest thing I may have ever seen.

We went and sat in another room. Later on my friend's sister came and sat down beside me. I put my arm around her. I had no words. I don't even know what to say to them anymore. I know ''I'm sorry for your loss'' just doesn't get it. I honestly didn't know what to say to her. She sat there, and I could see her whole body trembling. I feel like I failed her today, not even being able to speak. Searching for words and nothing coming out. I was speechless.

Her graveside service was beautiful. Each family member was given a pink balloon, and they all released them at the same time. The wind quickly took them away. Afterwards everyone was asked to join the family for a meal at Ryan's. So we all headed over there. I'm happy that I was able to be there for my friends during their time of sorrow. If I have learned one thing from this sweet baby passing away, its the fact that she brought two families together. She made friendships grow closer, stronger. She has created a bond between strangers. There is no greater love than that of a child. She was loved and in return she gave everyone who knew her love and friendships that will last a lifetime. I am so blessed to know this family, and to have had the chance to meet this baby and be a part of her life.

Day 14 {What you wore today}

I really don't remember what I wore today. I do know that I wore my heart on my sleeve. I wore my emotions, constantly streaming tears down my face. A baby is supposed to be a happy time in a mother's life. Instead my friend is burying her child. She was born premature, so they never had a chance for a baby shower. A baby shower was recently put into plans, and now instead they are dealing with the task of planning a funeral.

I have been so emotional, I haven't wanted to do anything but sit around and cry. I was only a friend to the family, so I can't even imagine how they feel if I'm feeling this bad. I pray for this family to find comfort in the loss of this beautiful baby girl. My heart aches for them.

I took my children with me tonight and tried to go shopping for something to wear to her funeral, instead I tuned into the crazy crying lady on aisle six! I just can't control it, I can't stop thinking about it. It's constantly on my mind.

There are so many undeserving mothers in this world, mothers who abuse their children or even murder their children. Then there is my friend, someone who wants more than anything in this world to be a mother and it's just out of her grasp. I can't imagine loosing one child let alone three. She has an amazing strength, and I hope and pray that someday God will bless her with a healthy child. She deserves it more than anyone.

I hope it's a long weekend. I know I am not ready for Sunday, I know her family is not ready for Sunday. I hope and pray that I can find strength, to know all the right things to say to comfort them.

Today I wore ............tears.

Day 11 {Your Children}

My children are my life.......my world. They are my inspiration. The source of all my happiness and at the same time the source of insanity. Most of everyone already knows everything about my babies. So I will write about their births.

 I was a very happy pregnant woman. I dislike hearing pregnant women complain ALL the time. I was so in tune with my son when I was pregnant that I actually  had dreams about him before he was even born, even before I found out that he would be a boy. Some of those dreams were exact right down to every detail. I don't know how that happened either, maybe hormones. I also had nightmares when I was pregnant with him.

There is no deeper connection in this world than that of a mother and her child, especially  while she is pregnant.  I dreamed once about my son's birth, before we knew he was a boy. I dreamed that he wasn't breathing when he was born. When the time really came for me to have him, by dream became a reality. He wasn't breathing. I was panicking.

I couldn't even imagine loosing him. The doctor worked on stitching me up and I was trying my hardest to get my half numb body off of the table to get to my brand new baby boy. The doctor told the two nurses that were already in the room to get the NICU nurses. Within seconds the door flew open and there was a combination of ten nurses and doctors trying their best to get  my angel to breathe. I didn't even get to hold him, he was taken to the NICU. He was only tree weeks early, so I never imagined it would turn out that way.

They took me upstairs to my room and I started throwing up and having the worst chills and I was itching from head to to clawing at my skin. They gave me a shot and it knocked me out. Three hours later I woke up in pain, and the nurse come in to take care of me. She asked if I wanted to see my baby. So more than three hours after he was born. I was able to hold him for the first time. It was so much better than I ever imagined it could be he was perfect.


About two months later I found out we would be having our second child. It was unexpected but more than welcomed. I was at work one night and felt like my pants were wet. I looked and it was blood. I immediately went to the hospital. This happened several times with no explanation. My doctor told me it was time to stop working and just stay at home. I had no problem with that. I hardly ever felt my baby move, which concerned me all the time. With my son he moved all the time, and I could always feel it. She always checked out fine at the doctors office though. She came two weeks early.

It was shift change when we arrived at the hospital, which meant I didn't get seen right away. I had to wait in the waiting room. By the time I got to see my doctor I was at 8cm, and still had nothing for the pain.My Dr suggested an epidural, so I agreed. She came back an hour later and it was time to start. She however had to leave to do an emergency Cesarean on twins.

So there I was with my husband and the nurse. I pushed for over two hours. When the doctor came back she said this baby hasn't even moved. I then laid down and just gave up. I told my husband I was tired, and I couldn't do it anymore. I was physically exhausted. The doctor said I needed a Cesarean, so off we went to the OR.

Turns out our little princess was well over 8lbs and that's the reason she had gotten stuck inside my pelvis. She has been mischievous ever since! I actually would prefer  a Cesarean rather than the natural way any day. It was so much easier, I was back to normal the next day.

I love my babies with everything I have. I have been blessed beyond anything I ever imagined. It's bittersweet watching them grow up. I love watching them grow and learn and achieve new things, but at the same time it makes me sad. It goes by all too fast. I try to take lots of photos so we never forget anything. I keep up with the little moments by writting them down and making scrapbooks. There is nowhere in this world that I would rather be than right here with my family.

Gatlinburg,TN

Our friends invited us to go to Gatlinburg with them, they completely paid for everything. The hotel,food, and attractions. The only thing I paid for was a few things for the kids and having a few ''Old time photos'' made. Such a blessing that we were able to go and that we have such thoughtful friends!




a train at the Chattanooga Choo Choo museum

 Saturday October 8th was the day we left. We stopped in Chattanooga. First we went to the Chattanooga Choo Choo and toured the museum, went on a trolley ride, then visited the gift shop. It was a lot of fun and my little conductor had tons of fun!


After that we took a trolley over to the Creative Discovery Museum it was a blast for all of us. We spent several hours there. I would love to take the kids back again sometime.

We stopped and got something to eat then made the rest of the trip to Gatlinburg. The weather was beautiful there, mostly in the 70's. The tree's were beautiful! We spent an entire day at Over Gatlinburg, we did the chair lift multiple times. We did the alpine slides, the water slides, the animal exhibit,the playground, the maze, and the train.                                                                      

We visited Fannie Farkles multiple times when we were there. The kids loved it, I loved it, lol everyone loves that place! The babies got airbrushed t-shirts, lil man picked Angry Birds, and Miss Priss picked out a ballerina one. She had her photos made at Ole' Thyme Photo. I think they turned out really cute despite the fact that she had a boo boo under her nose due to her runny nose that started Saturday.

One night we were standing outside of a candy store, watching them make the taffy. All of a sudden there was a man dressed up as Captain Jack Sparrow! Not only did he look like him, he talked like him, and his movements were exactly like they are in the movies! We were quite entertained by him. My sweet angel said ''don't let him shoot my mommy'' gotta love the way little ones think! We explained to her that it wasn't a real gun, and that he was only wearing a costume sort of like Halloween, only it wasn't Halloween. She was happy with that and wasn't afraid of him anymore.

We went to eat at Texas Roadhouse, which has great food but poor service. The police were called there because the waitress added gratuity to a check, probably because she knew she wasn't going to get a tip. They wanted her to remove the gratuity, and so they called the police. There was a lot of yelling involved. Anyways I was amused by their high-chairs for the little ones! They are made out of old saddles! Cute idea if you ask me!

We had a wonderful time with our friends. I'm glad that my step-daughter was out of school for fall break and got to go too! I enjoyed spending time with her and the babies.

Monday we ate at the Pancake Pantry, lil man fell asleep waiting on his food. Out of the dozens of times I have been to Gatlinburg it was my first time eating there, I absolutely loved it.



Chocolate chip pancakes

 After breakfast we made another visit to Fannie Farkle's. We all played then cashed in our thousands of tickets for prizes. We walked the strip in Gatlinburg one more time, then started the trip back home. We stopped to see a small waterfall.

We stopped at a train museum in Townsend, it was closed but we still took photos of the kids with the old engine outside. Later on we took the Foothills Parkway, we wanted the scenic route home.

Along the parkway there was a place to stop and park. Then we had a half a mile walk up the mountain to get to what is called Look Rock. I managed to get a cramp in my calf during the walk up the mountain. It was well worth the view once we were at the top though. We could see Maryville, Cades Cove, Clingman's Dome and several other places from this one place. We got to see the sunset while we were up there, and it was absolutely beautiful!

Beautiful view from Look Rock

sixteen days

Today was a very exciting and special day. I had the honor of going to the NICU with Rachel to visit her baby girl. The hospital is about five minutes away. We had just enough time for a little chit chat. She told me that she just wanted to give me a warning in advance that the baby is small. I was thinking this whole time and trying to imagine for the past two weeks just how small she was.

Once we got to the hospital it took a few minutes to find a parking space. Then we went inside to the NICU. We washed our hands and headed in the direction where she was. The blanket was lifted off of her incubator and I stepped closer to get a better look. I thought I knew but really I had no idea at all, about just how tiny she would be. I really wasn't prepared at all. I never in my life imagined a baby could be so tiny. It really caught me off guard and shocked me. I began to cry, and Rachel told me to stop before I made her cry too. Just to try and give you an idea of how tiny she is, make a fist with your hand. Her head is smaller than an adults fist.

She is the smallest most beautiful little girl, she is just perfect.  She has the tiniest hands and feet, everything about her is so adorable. I wish I could just hold her and kiss her! I am completely amazed at the work of God, HE is so awesome! I could even feel his presence in the room. I stared in awe over her, she is truly a blessing! Today she was 16 days old!

The nurse asked Rachel if she would like to change her diaper. I think she was shocked because her answer was ''can I''? She did a fantastic first diaper changing! Even the diapers are so stinking cute, I should have stolen one lol! They are smaller than baby doll diapers! She forgot her camera, so I used mine to capture her first diaper change from her mommy! I will ask and see how she feels about me adding photos, so maybe later on I will add them but not for now.

I have prayed for her multiple times since she was born,but to finally be able to meet her was just an honor. She has already found a place in my heart. I will continue to pray for her and her family. Today was a wonderful day!

I also got news that my step-daughter will be induced at 5am. So I went to a local crafts store to purchase items to make her a wreath for her hospital door.

the letter ''n'' in the center of the wreath

the wreath I made for tomorrow

While I was at the craft store I came across a wooden cross. I immediately knew I had to buy it for Amaya Faith's mommy!

I don't think I could have found a better gift to buy her than this today! I'm so happy that I found it. I came home and made the wreath for my step-daughter's door. Later on I even made a special gift for Amaya. I took a regular sized baby stretchy headband and cut it and made it into one that will{hopefully} fit her. Its pink and ever so cute! I took a photo of it next to a regular sized headband, to show the difference in size.



Isn't it cute????

 Hopefully the nurses will allow her to wear it just long enough for photos! I already can't wait to see her again! But until then I will continue to pray for her! And I'm looking forward to our new family member arrive tomorrow.

The Lincoln County Fair

Every year since I have known my husband we have made the trip to Fayetteville,TN for the  Lincoln County fair. It's become a tradition. We went before I was pregnant. while I was pregnant, and now we take our children there.

It's not just one of those carnivals that travels the country with a few questionably safe rides and a creepy clown. It's a full blown old fashioned county fair. A fair of a dying kind.

They have everything from rides, beauty pageants, livestock judging, 4H competitions, quarter horse races, cooking competitions, antique tractor display, demolition derby races, and so much more. Not to mention performances by country music artists Steel Magnolia, and Colt Ford.

It's almost like stepping back in time for a few hours. I have forgotten with the everyday hustle and bustle of adult life how much fun the simpler things in life can be. I enjoyed watching my children as they watched the hog judging, they informed me that it was the ''three little piggy wigs.'' I loved the excitement on their faces when we went into one of the barns and there were dozens of miniature horses waiting their turn to be judged, They were so cute almost made me want to bring one home! I can get away with telling people its a dog right?

Cotton Candy

As I walked around I took in all of the typical ''Fair'' smells like popcorn, cotton candy, funnel cakes, and so on. We tried just about everything. After all it only comes once a year so we might as well indulge ourselves. My babies are too small to ride most of the rides, so they had a few kiddie rides they could do alone. Then a few they could do with a parent. I let loose and had just as much fun as they did.  Seeing the excitement on their faces is just priceless. This was really the first year that they got excited about everything at the fair, not just the pretty lights. I could hear faint screams in the distance from the kids on the roller coaster and a few of the other rides too.                                                

                                                                              

I love that I have been able to share this experience with my children.  I hope this fair lasts for years to come. I wish that more old fashioned fairs like this would make a comeback. Maybe someday my children will still be able to take their own children to this fair or one like it. It saddens me to see good old fashioned fun events like this slowly disappearing. Kids these days are so wrapped up in video games and such that they don't do much of anything else. It was nice seeing all the kids in the arena with their animals for judging. At least someone is teaching the next generation how to carry on an old tradition.

It was an absolute blast! I would suggest this fair to anyone! If you are within a reasonable traveling distance it's well worth the trip!
  

                                                                               


Here is a link to their website http://www.lincolncountyfairinfo.com/map.html

and here is the link to their Facebook event's page                                          http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=149866958400564