I’ll never forget seeing that precious baby girl for the first time. I noticed that she had a head full of hair which I suspected all throughout my pregnancy. (Hello, heartburn!) I noticed that she had round full cheeks. And, in those few short seconds I waited to hear her cry so I’d know she was strong and healthy. She cried and my heart sang.  Seeing the love and emotion that washed over Mickey as he took in the sight of his new daughter was incredibly amazing too. I got to hold Macey skin-to-skin once she was cleaned up and that was just awesome. To hold our daughter, to cradle her to me and to just be with her was beautiful. I was a mommy, at last, and we were a family of three. We could not have been more grateful and we continue to give thanks for our girls every day.

The first few days and weeks were admittedly tiring and trying, but we made it. Looking back now, it seems like the blink of an eye. Who would have thought that six years could pass so quickly? Macey has gone from a beautiful, helpless, chubby, happy and charming baby to a lean, beautiful, sweet, imaginative and caring little girl. She is officially a “first grader” although school won’t resume until August. She can read, write, add, subtract and begin to tell time. She loves to draw, create and cook. She is a big fan of music and always has fun singing and dancing. She is a joy. A delight.  She’s our sunshine.

Having these two girls has blessed our lives immeasurably. There are times, sure, when things are less than perfect, but the sum of our life as a family could not be more perfect. And, to think, this all started with Macey’s birth six short years ago. How blessed we are! I have heard it said before that with parenting the days are long, but the years are short. I could not agree more. I am thankful for every moment with our precious family.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MACEY!! We love you more than words could ever express and we always will!!

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Six Years…

Our first adventure was dinner at Rainforest Cafe. Here are Mickey and the girls heading in:

Here are the girls in front of the sign:

The girls LOVED Rainforest Cafe. They loved all the animals and decor of the restaurant. It was a lot of fun!! After dinner we hit Build-a-Bear Workshop and each girl got to create a stuffed animal. Macey chose a frog which she named Freddy. Mariana chose a HSM bear which she named Gabriella. We walked around Opry Mills a bit and then called it a night. Our first evening in Nashville was quite fun!

On Friday we got ready to head out to the Nashville Zoo . We stopped at a Shoney’s near our hotel and had their breakfast buffet and then went right out to the zoo so we could be there when they opened. That was a wise plan because it was already HOT first thing in the morning.

We really enjoyed the Nashville Zoo. It was beautifully laid out and had so much to see and do! Here are some highlights from our visit:

Hyacinth Macaws:

Mariana looking cool in the play area:

Macey in the snake tunnel:

Macey talked her sister into coming into the snake tunnel too:

How cool is this play structure?!

There were flowers and plants all over the place. So pretty!

There was also beautiful scenery such as this wagon near the old plantation home and barn:

We got to see so many animals. I won’t post pictures of all of them, but here are a few.

We all thought the girafffes were cool and, of course, we thought of Grammie (Mickey’s mom) when we saw them. She loves giraffes!

The elephants were so pretty too:

Alligator Cove had quite a few gators in a pond. The girls were very fascinated with them.

I thought this stump was pretty cool looking:

Macey pointing up at the gator that was floating “above her head”

The girls got a souvenir cup with fun straws. What is better than a cool drink on a hot day?!

Loved the lamps in the Asian section of the zoo:

The photos don’t cover nearly all of what we saw and did at the zoo. Our visit there was SO much fun and I’d highly recommend the Nashville Zoo to anyone visiting or living in that area. We would love to go back and may visit again in the fall when it’s a touch cooler.

On Saturday evening, we went to Aquarium for dinner. Another hit with them – they loved it!! The atmosphere there is what really makes it. The food is okay (somewhat spendy), but it’s a lot of fun to see all the fish, etc. My camera battery went kaput when we got there, so these are the best photos I have from my phone.

The view from our table:

The girls thought it was VERY cool when the SCUBA diver swam by our table:

Here are Mickey and the girls as we were getting ready to leave after dinner:

After dinner, we went to Stingray Reef to feed the stingrays and ride the carousel. The girls weren’t altogether too sure about feeding stingrays, but they liked it when other people did it. The stingrays literally come right up to the edge of the tank to be fed shrimp. It’s cool to see! The carousel was a hit with the girls too – they always love carousels. Our second night in Nashville was a lot of fun!!

On Saturday morning we went to breakfast at the “famous” Pancake Pantry in Nashville. Our friend Christie had recommended it and said that we’d probably have to wait in line, but that it was worth it. So, we tried to get there early in an attempt to beat the crowd. I have to say that we did NOT beat the crowd, but we only had to wait about 10 minutes and we did beat the “big” rush. The lines was super long just after we got there and was even longer when we left. The food was fantastic! I asked our waitress about the sweet potato pancakes and she recommended them highly, so I got those with some traditional buttermilk pancakes too. DELISH!!

Here is my plate before:

And…after:

What can I say?! Those were some DELICIOUS pancakes! If you’re ever in Nashville for breakfast, definitely give the Pancake Pantry a try. Get there early, but still expect a line.

After breakfast, we went back to the hotel for a bit. Mickey took the girls to the pool while I got us packed up to leave. Our next stop was Chattanooga. And, that will be tomorrow’s update.

In case it wasn’t clear by the pictures, we had a ball in Nashville. There is so much to see and do there. We hope to go back in the fall, as I said above. Great city!!

Stay tuned for more pictures tomorrow…

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Summer Mini-Vacation Photo Recap Part 1 – Nashville

So, yes, we did go on vacation and it was WONDERFUL. We went to Nashville, TN for a couple of days then to Chattanooga, TN for a couple of days. We had sooooo much fun! We are home now and we are all tired, but it’s the good kind of tired. You know, the kind of tired you can only get from having a lot of fun. This was our first family vacation and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I will post a proper update with pictures VERY soon. In the meantime, it’s off to catch up on laundry. EEP.

Hope all is well all around,
Kelly

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The Good Kind of Tired…

This is the only “before” shot I have. It was taken standing in Mariana’s bedroom door and looking into her room. You can see her sweet little toddler bed there.

Now, here are a couple of “after” shots. Isn’t her new bed so pretty in her room?

Another shot of Mariana’s new bed. I got her new bedding at Wal-Mart yesterday and we just love it. It’s so soft and sweet.  I wish the sheets were showing so y’all could see them too. They are green with white dots. The whole set is really cute. I think it all looks so pretty and just perfect for Mariana.

Just for fun, here is one more shot of Mariana’s room. This is standing in her doorway and looking to the left. You can see her curtains and part of her dresser.

So, that is Miss Mariana’s newly updated big girl room.  Did y’all notice how the dollhouse used to be a book case and now it’s not? Well, we’ll see how tidy the actual book case stays once she gets used to it being there. Right now she is doing very well with the “take one book at a time and put it away before you take another one” thing. I’m sure there will be a time when I’m busy and she’s bored, so the book case is sure to be a prime target at that point.

Kelly

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Big Girl Room

Saturday evening, of course, was the Father/Daughter dance at our church. This year the dance was called Hop With Your Pop and it was so much fun!! I got to go to take candid shots, so I got to be a small part of the fun.  Here are some pictures:

Macey prior to the dance:

Mariana:

Sweet sisters in their 50’s attire:

The expression on Macey’s face says it all – they LOVED it!

Twistin’ the night away:

And, here are the loves of my life at the end of a most WONDERFUL evening:

Needless to say, the Father/Daughter dance was a smash hit for our family! It was so awesome to me to look around and see all the daddies there with their daughters. There were so many dads that would be out on the dance floor to twist, hand jive, hula-hoop, hokey pokey, etc. all in the name of love and fun. It was just terrific. I am so grateful to those at our wonderful church that made it all happen!

Sunday was another great day for us. We went to church and attended the Contemporary worship service in its new location (Fellowship Hall). It was a truly great service. Afterwards, we went out to lunch with some of our good friends and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We all took naps yesterday afternoon which was niiiiiiiiiiice. We hit the pool for a bit on Sunday afternoon. Some friends had very kindly and generously offered us a twin bed, so we went to their house last night to get it for Mariana. (She loves it, by the way!) We went to dinner with them and, once again, had a blast!

So, it was an all around great weekend and was just full of happiness and blessings for our family. Hope everyone else had a great one too!!

Blessings,
Kelly

PS: Some of  you might have taken notice that this is the first time I have posted pictures of the girls’ faces. For a long time, I didn’t post because I just felt like my blog was “too public.” But, I have come to realize that it doesn’t even matter if this blog is public. Many of you also post pictures of your children too.  So, I’m posting photos now and trusting that it’s all good.

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What a wonderful weekend!

This evening is a big event for Mickey and the girls. It’s the Father/Daughter dance at our church and this year it’s a Sock Hop! The girls have their poodle skirts, tees and scarves all ready to wear. Mickey is going to sport a white tee, rolled up jeans and cool sneakers. I can’t wait to see my precious family all dolled up. Our friends Dave and Christie have been working so hard to get all this done and today they are going to be going non-stop, pretty much, to make it all happen. They are awesome, y’all. Just awesome! (And we thank them so much! Hopefully they will let us bring them lunch today.) The girls are just thrilled and can’t wait for the dance. I’ll be there taking candid photos, so I’m pretty excited too. Bring on the sock hop!!

Happy Saturday, everyone!

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It’s Sock Hop Saturday!!

Kathy Smith: Cardio Knockout

I found it for $4 at Marshall’s and decided to give it a try. I haven’t done it yet, so I’ll have to post a review once I have done the work-outs. There aren’t many reviews on Amazon, but the ones that are on there are all great. I’m excited to give it a try. I still have the Biggest Loser DVDs that I enjoyed so much before also! Hopefully I can do some work-outs at home and start running too. A more slim more fit me is going to happen. WOO HOO!!

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Workin’ it out…

Marshalls’ website seems to be down right now, so I can’t even try to find what I got there. Boo. I got a couple of CUTE things including a long sundress that has funky patterns of pink and brown. Love it! Also got some madras plaid shorts that I adore because I just love madras!

I have been wanting a “maxi dress” for quite awhile now. Today, I finally got one! I got this Knot Front Maxi Dress in the “gypsy rust” color. I just love it!! I have discovered that I can wear it tied like they have in the photo OR I can take the straps and loop them around in the front and tie it back for a strapless look.

I also got this cute denim skort at Kohl’s:

I also got some CUTE khaki capris, a pink tee, a swimsuit for Mariana and some really cool clearance jewelry. And, guess what?! Per my receipt, I “saved” more than I spent. Sweet!!

My dollars went a long way today and gave my wardrobe a nice little lift. Yay!

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New Clothes!!

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Seeking Motivation

In all honesty, I have every good intention of writing more here, but the days are so busy lately. Life is good, in fact I’d say its mostly GREAT, but also very busy.

I have some praises to report since my last update.

• Macey had a wonderful week of dance camp at our church last week. Two of her friends from school attended also and they all got to be in the same group. They just loved it! Friday was their recital and it was entirely too cute for words.
• We got to spend all day Saturday with some great friends and we absolutely had a ball. We were as tired as could be on Saturday night, but it was the good kind of tired that comes from having FUN FUN FUN all day long!
• On Sunday evening we got a house full of company. My best friend Terri came up from South GA with her two daughters. Also, our friend Hannah came to visit us from Missouri with her three daughters. So, we had a house brimming full and it was just incredible!! The girls ranged in age from almost-six (Macey) down to seven months old (Hannah’s baby girl) and they had so much fun playing together. Terri and I get together several times a year when I am in South Georgia, but neither of us have seen Hannah in several years. So much has changed in our lives, but the friendship has remained. God sure blessed us with a wonderful time together over Sunday evening and Monday morning.
• This week Macey is attending the afternoon VBS sessions at our church. They are doing “Camp E.D.G.E.” this term and she is having a blast! In her crew, she has four friends from school so that is also exciting. She comes home each day telling us about what they did, what she learned, etc. It’s such a blessing! And, from what I have heard, over 900 (!!!) kids are in attendance. All those seeds of faith getting planted just makes my heart sing!
• I have joined a Wednesday morning Bible study at our church. I have been wanting to do this for quite some time and it finally worked out. I am LOVING it! Our group is so sweet and we have all ranges from moms of young ones to grand-mothers and maybe even some great-grands. It’s absolutely blessing me more than words to be there!
• We have a great babysitter that is watching the girls this summer so I can do things like go to Bible study. Her name is Kayla and Mickey and I have known her since we were Youth volunteers at the church several years ago. Kayla is fantastic with the girls. She is so much fun and so creative. Today she did tie-dying with them. How cool is that?!
• The weather has been beautiful and summer is officially upon us. That is always a praise in my book as I just love summer. We’re getting a bit of rain today, but that’s always needed around here.
• We have also planned a mini-vacation for our family. We are going to Nashville, TN for a couple of days and then back down to Chattanooga, TN for a couple of days before heading home. We are SO excited about this trip! I have used some online sources like Hotwire and Expedia to score some really great hotel prices as well. Can’t wait!!
• This coming weekend is the Father/Daughter dance at our church. That will be Saturday evening and Mickey is taking both girls. This year it’s going to be a sock hop and the girls both have their cute poodle skirts, tees and scarves ready to go. I have been asked to take candid photos, so I can’t wait to see it all!

Those are just some of the many things I have to be thankful for in my life. I just had to share.

And, if you’re reading along, please  hold me accountable to posting. I need to and want to, so I should make time for it.

Blessings,
Kelly

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Praise Reports…