mother's day

We spent Mother's Day visiting with both of our moms. We got up early before church and took Linda to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Then we went to Sunday School and church and then headed to my parents house for the afternoon. It was very relaxing, which was exactly what this momma wanted!

 Bear started walking a few weeks ago and it is SO cute!

 He also loves climbing all over his Poppa.

 My whole reason for getting to celebrate this day! Makinley wasn't really in a picture taking mode, but that's okay because this pretty much sums her up! :-)

 GiGi and her grandbabies! So hard to believe that next year, she'll be holding Addie Grey too!!

I am blessed beyond measure in my family. I really and truly am. I love these two (ahem, three) children that God has entrusted to me more than my own life. Every day that I get to watch them learn, grow and become more and more independent is a gift. I pray I don't ever take a second of being their momma for granted.

pinewood derby

This year, because the kids are participating in Awana's at our new church, they were able to build cars for the annual Pinewood Derby race. I can remember my dad and my brother building cars for Trey when he was in Boy Scouts. In fact, we still have the cars and now Tripp plays with them. So, it was exciting for Tripp to be able to build his own car with his Poppa and Daddy. Joey couldn't take Tripp to the work day at church in order to actually cut the car shape out of the wood, so my dad came and took him. Then Tripp and Joey painted the car. Finally, Tom helped Joey to get the weights in the car so that it would go faster. It was definitely a group effort! Unfortunately, my camera went MIA for a second, and I didn't get any pictures of the final product with my real camera. When I upload my pictures from my phone, I'll update it then. I was able to get pictures at the race with my phone.

After my dad drew out the shape on the block of wood, we had it cut.

 Mak observed.

 Poppa and Tripp watching the cutting process.

 Poppa sanding.

 Still sanding.

 And sanding.

 And sanding! :-)

 Mak even got in on the sanding action.

 All sanded up and ready for paint.

 Joey spray painted it first. And taped it off to put stripes where Tripp wanted them.

 Tripp just stood back and took it all in.

And that's all I got with my actual camera! :-( The night of the race was so much fun. We planned on just letting Makinley watch and then she could participate next year. When we got there, our neighbor's little girl was sick (and had already built her car), so Mak got to race Lily's car. Funny part? She won first place and got to bring home a trophy! Ha! Tripp won 3rd place with his...which Joey was proud of since it was the first time he had ever done anything like this. He said next year he will  know what to do to make Tripp's faster! I'll get up pictures from the actual race soon!

nights at the ball-field

Baseball season started back up for Tripp, and we are having the best time. Joey is coaching him again, which both he and Tripp love, and Makinley and I enjoy cheering on from the sidelines. Well, actually, Makinley goes and plays on the playground, but I enjoy cheering him on. He continues to blow us away with his skills in sports. Most games, he has hit a home run and he has caught several balls in the air without having to ground them first. I know I have years and years ahead of me spending nights at the ball-field, and I wouldn't have it any other way!

track and field

This year, Tripp was able to participate in the primary school's track day. He was SO excited! They practiced for several weeks during the school day before the big day arrived. Luckily, mom and dad were in town the day of the meet, so daddy came with us to watch Tripp compete. Mom stayed home with Makinley because she was still asleep. (Although, it needs to be noted that when she woke up, and we were gone, she was NOT happy. At all.) Tripp competed in four different events. 100 meter run, 50 meter run, farthest jump, and farthest throw. He got 3 first place ribbons and 1 second place ribbon! He got second place in the farthest jump event, but in everything else, he won! We were SO proud of our naturally athletic boy!

 In the picture below, he is watching his shadow while he runs instead of looking straight ahead. He actually ended up touching the finish line at the exact same time as the little boy in the UA shirt, so they both got a first place ribbon. But, on the next race, he looked straight ahead the whole time and he ran so much faster!

 Now he's looking straight ahead!!! And running much faster!

 Super proud Poppa! Made it even better that when Tripp finished first in his last event, he went running and threw himself in my daddy's arms! Made daddy's whole day!

It brings me so much joy to watch Tripp in sports. I love that he is taking after his daddy (and his Poppa and Uncle Trey) and does it so well and so naturally. I keep waiting to see what his sport of choice is going to be. For now, I really think it will be baseball, but we'll see. He could surprise me!

month five

How far along: 20 weeks (5 months)- Well, technically I'm 20 weeks 5 days in this picture- but who's counting?!?

Size of baby: a banana! 

Total weight gain/loss: Based on my Dr's records, I'm up one pound. But, I know where I started my pregnancy at weight wise, and I didn't get weighed at the Dr until I was a little farther along. I'm still anywhere between 10-12 pounds under my starting weight depending on the time of day! :-)

Maternity Clothes: Yes! But, now that the weather is warm, I'm wearing lots of dresses. So much more comfortable.

Gender: Girl!!!!

Baby Name: Addison Grey ("Addie Grey") Joey's grandma's name was Addie and my grandma's middle name was Grey. So, we are putting the two names together to honor both grandmas.

Movement: This is SO much stronger and more consistent. She has even gotten strong enough that I can feel her on the outside. Now, I'm just waiting on that moment when she kicks hard enough when Joey or the kids are actually near so that they can feel it too.

Sleep: I'm beginning to think that sleep is not in God's plan for my life.

What I miss: I'm okay right now. I guess if I'm missing anything, it's still sleeping well throughout the night.

Cravings: Still struggling in the appetite department. Some moments, I am STARVING. Some moments, I feel awful. I never really know how I'm going to feel at any given moment/meal.

Symptoms: The only one is still being tired, but I do have much more energy than I had during the first trimester. Obviously, I look pregnant at this point, so I have lots of people asking me questions!

Best moment this month: Several best moments this month! One- finding out that it's a girl! Two- Makinley hearing her heartbeat for the first time with our doppler at home. Three- her movements getting so strong! Four- having our "big" ultrasound and everything looks good! She is healthy and developing on track. Praise the Lord!

the things she says

My daughter kills me. I don't know what is going to come out of her mouth at any given moment. I really need to start writing them down because by the time I sit down to blog about them, I've forgotten half of what she said that week. For instance, this week, she has said the following:

While holding herself, "Momma, my nuts hurt."
Me: "Um, I'm sorry, WHAT did you just say?"
Her: "I said, my nuts hurt. Nuts are your privates."
Me: "Well, baby, they aren't YOUR privates."
Her: "Boys have nuts."
Me: "You aren't a boy, and we don't say that or call them that." - Holy Cow-

And then her new thing is when she gets a spanking (and yes, she gets them) she starts crying and screaming telling me I'm putting bruises all over her body. Please, keep in mind, that when she does get spankings, it's ONE swat. Rarely does it even leave a mark. But, I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of DFCS at my door because she has told her teachers that we put bruises on her body. This child of mine. NEVER a dull moment. NEVER.

bring the rain

Man, it has been a tough, tough, tough 4 days. I'm just now beginning to feel like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm not going to blog all the details. Honestly, it just hurts too much to dwell on it. Instead of thinking constantly about my circumstances, I have focused on Scripture and praise music. I've tried to fill my mind with God's truths for my life instead of Satan's whispers. Believe me, I've done my share of crying. Actually, it's about all I did from Friday to Sunday. But, something amazing happened on Monday morning. I felt peace. I know it's because not only did I soak myself in God's word and fall asleep to praise music, I had some wonderfully Godly people lifting me up to my Father's throne. And I felt it. I really, really felt it. I was able to feel peace instead of stress. Calmness instead of fear. Joy instead of sorrow. God's Word and prayer are a powerful, powerful combination. Without those two things, I would still be drowning. But, today, instead of drowning, I'm thanking Jesus for refining. Man, y'all, it hurts. It is NOT fun. However, at the end of the day, if my pain and sorrow...turned into thanksgiving...brings glory to God....then like the song says, "Jesus, bring the rain."