Axelson Adventures

Deep in the Heart of Texas!

2011-04-20T21:51:00.013-04:00

So, long story short, Josh and I flew to Dallas on the Thursday before the Super Bowl, after a much-shorter-than-we-thought-possible application and phone interview process for an Admin Manager position with Sonoco, the company he has been an accountant at the home office for over the last four years (Whoa! LONG run-on sentence!)...Here we are, getting ready to leave the Columbia SC Airport...

...and in Dallas, with unexpectedly COLD temperatures and a LOTS of snow and ice! Notice those icicles...

...we got our snazzy, fun rental car...

...and after a hour of driving (we only drove about 10 miles!) on a sheet of ice, we made it to "Love and War in Texas", a Texas-sized Tex-Mex steakhouse, with Texas-sized portions...

...we ate as much as we could, but WOW that was a lot of food! Our hotel was in Plano...there were no hotel rooms in Dallas because of the Super Bowl...and after the fire alarm went off when the pipes burst in the ceiling over the indoor pool area, producing a waterfall in the area, we awoke the next morning to 6 more inches of snow...this was our hour and 15 min, 9 mile drive to Carrollton, where we had to drive for Josh's interview...

...The interview obviously went well, but it was a crazy morning, because I drove with him and dropped him off at the Plant, thus having who knows how many hours to occupy myself in a town I didn't know, driving on a sheet of ice up and down hills, with snow continuously falling (It was like I was back in Utah!) But because I lived in Utah for 4 years, I knew how to drive in it. I can't really say the same for some others who were on the road...We spent the rest of the day exploring Plano and over the next 2 days, put over 400 miles on that car with all our exploring! This pic shows you how proud the people here are to be from Texas. I asked Josh to get me a waffle from the complimentary breakfast at the hotel and he returned with this...

...We drove north on Friday and explored Frisco, Little Elm and The Colony, etc and then Sunday morning, decided to find the Dallas Temple before heading back to the airport...

...SO beautiful! We were on the airplane during the Super Bowl with several unhappy people, who were having to miss it!!! Bummer! But we made it home safely to our sweeties!, who knew where we had been but not why we had been there...(Thank goodness for Grandma and Grandpa who kept them for us!)

...It wasn't long before Josh was offered the job...4 days after we returned to be exact! This is a few days after we told the girls we were moving to Texas! A friend at church had given Josh this hat and he was so excited until he tried it on and realized it was too small for his head!!! HaHa! (I'll admit it didn't fit mine either!0)It did fit the girls though, so they tried it on....

...Just after Josh left for Texas, we drove to Charleston with Mom and Dad, Sarah and Ava for my niece, Calla's 2nd birthday party! The theme was "Choo-choos and tutus" (Calla LOVES Thomas the Tank Engine!) Even the men got in on the fun! This pic cracks me up! Layne is such a hoot! When he grills, he wears a mask because the smoke kicks up his allergies--you should see him when he mows the lawn! Do you love the Tinkerbell shirt and tutu? He is so fun!

Abby, Phoebe, Ava and Calla--tutu-ed out!

Pop-Pop with 2 of his 9 granddaughters...

...and grandma, too!

...Abby pretending to be Prince Charming from Shrek 3...don't ask...I have no idea why she was so into it at the time...

...Little princess...

...Phoebe saying goodbye to Miss Shannon, her physical therapist. Shannon has seen Phoebe every week since she was three months old and we love her to pieces! We miss her so much already, along with Miss Joyce, her occupational therapist! Lots of tears were shed on this day and a few days later when we said goodbye to Joyce!

...Playtime with the Hardway kids! Haley and Parker are so much fun!!!!

Josh flew in from Dallas on March 25, and after saying farewell to my parents and grandparents....too many tears shed to talk about...we hopped in the packed-full van and drove to Asheville, where Nana and Poppy met us! Nana had made cute cloth fun books for the girls for the road trip and gave them easter bunnies to go with the cute chipmunks that Grandma Harvey had given them! Grandma and Nana are both so fun!

The girls slept in one of the queen beds in the hotel room and I had to document what they sleep with every night! No less than 3 blankies a piece and probably 4-5 animals...Aye aye aye! And it has only gotten worse since we got here!

...Heidi and Aarron drove up from Greenville to see us at our Asheville hotel before we headed out! We had so much fun with them! Thank you all for coming!

The next day, we traveled the 8-9 hours to the Memphis area, where my cousin, Shea and her family live. We had a blast eating barbecue with them and checking out the home they will be purchasing soon (SO NICE!). I think this was outside Chili's at lunchtime on the way there...

...we stayed at their house that night and got up the next morning to hop in the car and finish the last leg of our trip... I was so anxious to get here! This was how I found the girls the next morning, all cuddled together...

...getting into the car to take Abby to school on her first day at Rasor Elementary (Go Rockets!) Not sure why she had the goggles on, but she looked adorable!

First time at Play Group! I met like 8 of the women in our church congregation (Plano 6th Ward) before I even went to church because they called and invited me to Play Group! Everyone is so nice here!

First time Josh took the girls swimming in the apartment complex pool. Water was COLD, but they didn't care! They went from hot tub to pool...back and forth...so crazy, but they loved it!

That first Saturday, we went exploring and drove up to Little Elm, where most of the homes are that we like. We found this neat restaurant, The Prairie House! Delicious southern cooking...Josh and I both had chicken fried chicken and mashed potatoes with country gravy...the building was so neat and they had so many old signs and recycled items from old houses, etc! There was a whole huge wall made out of old doors, pieced together like a puzzle! So cool!

For Family Home Evening that Monday, we decided to take the girls to see the Dallas Temple. It was a beautiful, windy day, and it was so peaceful! It took us about 20 minutes to get there...WITH TRAFFIC...so wonderful to be so close!

We loved to see the temple, even when Abby was a grump! There are so many parks here too! Beautiful! Phoebe and I have been to about 6 or 7 different ones so far and we have plenty left to visit! I love the pride that people here take in their towns!

One morning before school, Phoebe found one of her lost binkies and put both in her mouth a the same time...she is so silly sometimes!

Sweet Abby! So happy!

The next Saturday, we drove up to the next town, Frisco, for their Annual Easter Egg Hunt, and met up with Michelle, my friend who grew up with me in Goose Creek, SC! We loved meeting her family as well and sharing a fantastic dinner at their beautiful home in Frisco!

...And we're finally coming to the end of this post with our biggest even so far! Abby's haircut! Her hair is SO THICK and we have always had problems getting her to let us brush it or keep it up out of her eyes! So, after feeling how hot it has already started to get here and knowing she would not keep her hair up in a ponytail, we took her to the Pro-Cuts down the street and let the fun Rahile chop it off and layer it! It was actually Abby's idea to do it, which shocked me and she LOVES it! And so do I!

That's all for now, but we went to the zoo Friday and of course Easter, so I will need to be doing some more updating in the next couple of days...It's going to take me a bit to get back into posting on this blog as often as I should, but it has to be done! Love all y'all!

PS-"The stars at night...are big and bright...clapclapclapclap...Deep in the heart of Texas!" should be tweaked to say "The wind all day...blows me away..." etc....the wind is INSANE here! And the weather has been kooky here like everywhere else! But we REALLY like it here! More to come...

Our Christmas Card and Letter

2011-01-10T21:21:00.003-05:00

Hopefully most of you received our Christmas card and letter (late) this year. I'm sorry if you didn't, but I figured I should post it on here too. It pretty much covers our year...we are excited for 2011! This picture was taken at my baby sister's wedding. Yep, Anna is married and it was a lovely wedding! This should cover the rest....

Axelson’s 12 Days of Christmas in 2010

12 thousand dollars—the approximate value of our almost new 2009 Dodge Grand Caravan—FINALLY!

11-the number of days between Erin and Josh’s 34^th birthdays in June

10 x3= 30 lbs lost by Erin, so far…

9 -the number of times per day that Abby and Phoebe ask to watch Barbie, Barney, or Eloise-sometimes this is a x2 thing

8 x3=24-the number of times Erin was at hospital or doctor’s office for her or the girls from mid-September thru November—YIKES! None of these were for Josh, but he took his turn at being sick the past few days with the achy, headachey flu , accompanied by sinus infection and coughing…

7 days at Outer Banks with the Harveys (29 people at the time) and 7 days at Edisto Island with the Axelsons (22 people at the time)—Hooray for large family gatherings!!

6 days of fun with the Johansen cousins filling our home to capacity while their parents picked up their new baby sister, Sadie, who had to stay longer in the hospital than planned. Also the number of weeks that Phoebe had two big purple casts on her legs (up to her hips and connected by a bar) after her surgery.

5-Abby started 5k the day she turned 5 in August

4 hours of fun on Abby’s first field trip to Ovis Hill Farm, where she made butter, fed the baby cows, took a hay ride and visited the chickens and sheep.

3 successful surgeries. Phoebe had the tendons in her foot reconstructed at Shriner’s Hospital of Greenville in August. Erin had her gall bladder removed in September and another minor surgery in November. It’s been a crazy end of the year for us!!!

2-Phoebe became a 2-year-old in October…also the number of years that Josh has been Bishop here in Florence…

1 happy family of four, wishing you all a wonderful 2011! May your new year be filled with love and blessings from the One who gives us everything!

Love to you all!

Josh, Erin, Abby & Phoebe (and Abby insists I add Lolly, our pink beta fish)

Update

2010-12-09T10:31:00.003-05:00

Just a little update about us! I have lost 13 more lbs-28 total and am feeling MUCH better after not only gallbladder removal surgery on Sept 30, but just 6 weeks later, ANOTHER surgery, not quite as major, but still requiring anesthesia (medical bills out the wazoo in the Axelson household!). Not to mention Abby's 3 bouts with strep throat and double ear infections in the past 8 weeks as well. It has been quite a 4th quarter this year!!!!!!

I'm going to do some posts where I tell a little about our lives during each of the past few months for those of you who want more details! And Christmas cards might not make it out until New Year's this year, so SORRY!!!

Love all y'all!

Abby's School Picture-5K

2010-11-10T20:55:00.002-05:00

This was 4K...

This is 5K...

Much better smile, don't ya think? (Isn't she adorable, by the way? She was so patient with me as I made her practice her smile this year!!!)

Here we go again...

2010-10-24T20:38:00.003-04:00

Okay, so I know I've been a slack about this blog--curse Facebook and gall bladder attacks! But I just want to share the good news that I have lost 15 pounds in the past month! True, I also had two gallbladder attacks, that resulted in the removal of said gallbladder, so I've kind of been FORCED to eat differently, but I am STILL PROUD of myself. I haven't been this weight in 2 years--yea! So i want to share before and after photos, so you can see that each of those 15 pounds came off of my neck and face and NO WHERE ELSE! I refuse to complain though, because I was getting tired of looking at that big round face in the mirror! (And okay, yes, I chose a before photo where I looked especially bad--we were at the Ward Campout--so the after looked even better)

Here's to 15+ more lbs, and let's pray it will drop from some more profound areas...

Days of Summer

2010-08-25T19:26:00.009-04:00

This summer has been SO busy for us here in the Axelson household! We've spent a lot of time at the Splash Pad with cousins galore...

...including the 4 Johansen cousins who stayed with us for a week while Heidi and Aarron were in Columbia with their new baby girl, Sadie Ella, who was born at the beginning of July. She had to stay in the hospital a little longer than normal, so Josh went and picked up the rest of the kids and brought them here! We had a BLAST! And they were so good and happy and helpful...Thank you, Madi, Zoie, Silvia and Jacobi for making sure Aunt E stayed sane, even with 6 children in her house! Just a few weeks later, we all met again at Edisto Island for our annual Axelson beach trip, which will be the next post...

Sisters...sisters...

2010-06-27T21:32:00.005-04:00

Just a few updated pics of the girls! It has been a crazy summer, but tons of fun!

There is nothing like a tent fort made out of the kitchen table and some blankets!

A day at the beach with Dad...Mom got to stay home and take a well-deserved break...

Precious fairy princesses...

A Few Pics I Left Out...

2010-06-08T19:30:00.002-04:00

Our gorgeous house...I wish it really was ours.....

The best pic of the whole family...there's always a few, though (Mina's 'I'm bored'grumpy face and Talor's hair)

LUAU!!!

The ladies...why Mom and Sarah didn't want flower hula tops I do NOT know...oh, I think there just weren't enough!

The men...

There could be more, but I'm done for now! I need to move forward!

FINALLY-Outer Banks Trip- April 2010

2010-06-01T16:40:00.014-04:00

Okay, so I'm FINALLY getting to this trip! It may not be very interesting to my "readers", but this post is mostly for me! We decided to head north a day before the rest of the family and go the longer, scenic route to Avon, NC for our Harvey Family Vacation. We drove through Wilmington and the "Emerald Isle" to Cedar Island where we caught the ferry to Ocracoke Island...

Gas/bathroom stop and rest...I had purchased one of those sunglass attachments for my glasses and they matched the shape pretty well, but weren't really wide enough for my face...ugh...

Sleeping Phoebe with the wind blowing through her hair...

Entrance to the ferry...

waiting in the car line to get onto the ferry...

we had packed a lunch of tuna fish sandwiches and bbq chips...

On the ferry ride...

The ferry "terrace" on the very top...Abby told Phoebe to look at the bubbles in the water and since then, all water is "bub-ble" to Phoebe...

Abby had so much fun on the 2 hour ferry ride!

We made it to Ocracoke Island, found a camp site at the local campground and headed to

the Creekside Cafe for dinner--my blackened chicken wrap was great!

Then we headed to the Slushy Stand for yummy ice cream cones and drove over to the Ocracoke Lighthouse. It was so pretty and the sun was just beginning to set...

It was time to get back to our camp site, where we had already set up camp, but we hadn't really seen the ocean yet, so we tromped over the huge dunes and finally made it there, where we played for about 5 minutes, just enough time to catch our breath from the hike only to turn right back around and head back! The camp site was nice, except for the grass, which was nice and plush, but full of stickers! Those things were a trial for me, especially trying to keep them out of the tent. Any of you who know me really well, know that I enjoy camping, but I hate the sleeping in a tent part. (I have NEVER been able to sleep through the night camping. I always have to go to the bathroom a million times, can never get comfortable even on an air mattress, and worry myself constantly over crying children and snoring husband waking the entire campground in the middle of the night! AND I'm either ROASTING or FREEZING! I know it's something I need to get over, but at least it hasn't kept me from camping even at 8.5 months pregnant.) This night was no different, unfortunately, but on a positive note, I was awake at 5:30 am and decided to trudge over the dunes again to the deserted beach and watch the sun rise. DEFINITELY WORTH IT! There is nothing like witnessing something so magnificent, surrounded only by sand, water, the cold breeze and the sound of the ocean waves. It was a first for me and I will definitely do that again (even if I have to spend a sleepless night camping first!)

We packed up pretty quickly, so we could get some breakfast and make an early ferry to Hatteras Island. Phoebe had no shoes on so she had to sit in the van to eat her fruit snacks. We didn't want to take any grass stickers with us!

Some nice girls gave Abby some hot dog buns, so she could feed the sea gulls on the ferry ride! It was so funny to see them diving and swooping around...hence the look on Abby's face!

Phoebe and Josh joined in the fun too...

We made it to Hatteras after a 45 minute ferry ride and went straight to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. It wasn't open to go inside, but it was a beautiful day and it was a magnificent sight!

After a quick trip to the gift shop for some post cards and other fun things, we called the realty. The house still wasn't ready, but we drove by it anyway just to see and ended up seeing and talking to the owner of "Le Taha". If the outside was any indication of how awesome the house was, we were in for a fun and fantastic week! We drove over to one of the many roadside beach access areas and decided on the sound side, rather than the ocean side (less wind and mess!)

The house did not disappoint! This was the view from the balcony outside the living room toward the sound...Josh was doing a last bit of phone business before the whole family got there!

Phoebe's hair was finally long enough to put up in a pony tail and this window seat was a cute area to take a pic!

Easter Sunday, we had a photo shoot! I personally do not have the majority of the photos from the shoot, but here is one of Anna and her baby girl, Ava. (I could go and get some more of those pics, but if I add more pics to this post, it will mess up my spacing, so I'll add a post after!)

We had a huge egg hunt too, which the kids LOVED, of course!

A family pic in front of the palm trees--this house and yard were AMAZING!

Here are all the "outlaws" (said VERY affectionately, of course) I'm not quite sure what Josh was doing exactly, but they were having fun...

...then you have the Harvey kids (minus stubborn Sarah) trying to be funny (Some of us succeeded more than others...)

How many Harvey's can you fit in a hot tub.....

View from the balcony outside our bedroom!

Monday night luau! Yummy shish kabobs for din-din! (This is another one I need to get a group pic posted for.) It took awhile for Abby to get into it, but she finally put on a hat and smiled...

A walk on the boardwalk out to our private deck on the sound...

And the Axelson family went back again that evening to see the sunset...SO WINDY!

Mina and Abby are 4.5 months apart and they had a blast together!

Josh walked back to the house and came back down the boardwalk on his bike with cart, so he could bring the girls back...that boardwalk was LONG...and it was getting COLD...

Oddly enough, this was the one and only time I went to the ocean...and I didn't go back...it was EXTREMELY WINDY and the sand was pelting us and making my kids cry...

This picture just struck my funny bone...just look closely at the girls...

We decided to leave a day early and take the "northern" route this time. We couldn't go north without stopping at Kitty Hawk, and it just so happened that there was a Children's Festival there that day, where local businesses came and set up booths for the kids. There was music, dancing, food, etc and it was a BLAST! Abby even got her hair spray painted purple (it took DAYS for that stuff to come out!!!)

I can't even describe how much fun we had on our trip and how relaxing it was for me personally. I always tell Josh that my idea of a vacation is to go to a beautiful place with nice weather and water nearby--and do whatever I want, mostly relax... I enjoy the vacations where we go a "do" and "see" things too, but relaxing feels more like "vacation" to me and this was a true vacation...Thanks, Mom and Dad, for paying for the house, and to everyone else for working together to plan, relax and have an awesome time as a family!! (And kids, thanks for being good, even when you get stuck in the elevator!) Love y'all so much!!!!

Back to the grind....

2010-04-10T23:00:00.004-04:00

It seems like every few months, I have to apologize to my "readers" (Pretty sure there aren't many...) for waiting so long between posts. I'll get all "gung-ho" for a few days and catch up, but then get busy (or lazy...or both) and before I know it "BLAM-O", two months have passed and I have no blogness to show for it!

So here I go, getting a little "gung-ho" again and doing a little in-between post to tide you all over until I can get my backside in gear after a FABULOSO vacay (Do I sound 15 again?) to Outer Banks, NC (HIGHLY recommend, by the way) and possibly get a better grasp on my sanity, which has gone a little south lately. (Can anyone recommend any surefire stress relief techniques? I know tons, but have no willpower to do them..so, can anyone recommend any surefire ways to give me motivation and willpower...I look forward to hearing from you all...) (Geez! I'm using a lot of parentheses in this post!)()()()()(I just like em, I guess)

Okay, so on to the real reason for this post...I really need to go to bed--it's like almost 11:30, getting close to the Sabbath, which I REALLY need to focus on this week--gotta surround myself with all things spiritual--and I NEED REST after this last week of rest!!!

Love all y'all, but you're gonna have to wait a little longer to hear about my vacation. Just look at the pictures and it will give you a good idea! GOOD NIGHT!!!!

Christmas and New Year's 2009

2010-01-14T11:59:00.010-05:00

Hello, all! Just a few pics from our holidays! We stayed home for most of it this year! We put up a tiny, pre-lit, almost Phoebe-proof tree this year! We had sold our 7-foot, pre-lit, Home Depot after-Christmas special at a yard sale in 2008. After 4 years of having to put extra lights on it due to a whole section of lights being burnt out, I had had enough!!!! And last Christmas, we got a real one, which was ideal for a newborn and 3-year-old, but not so this year! As you can see, we opted for the 4 ft on a table! These "in front of the tree" photos crack me up! We couldn't get a good one of the girls together, because Phoebe would scream every time Abby came near enough to touch her chair, which she wanted to rock in constantly. I guess she thought Abby would interfere with the rocking!

Here was the best one...

Here's what most of them looked like...

Notice she's perfectly happy by herself!

The best one of all of us--timers are a wonderful thing!

Phoebe is all about the sunglasses!

Our mantle with Phoebe's new Nana-made stocking to match the rest! The Santa in the middle was carved by Josh's dad and given to us as a gift a few years ago!

Christmas Eve at Ben and Marleina's! We had appetizers for dinner! Spinach dip, sausage balls, cheese dip, white chocolate chex mix, snickerdoodles, magic cookie bars and a homemade cheese ball with crackers!! YUMMM! New Christmas jammies and a CRAZY Kendal face!!!

Christmas Morning! Phoebe on her new turtle toy. Her legs are too short to reach the floor at the same time, so this is how she sits on it for the time being...

Abby loved her new baby with car seat, stroller and baby hospital bed with doctor set. She was feeding "Sam" here. Doesn't she look so grown up?

The "spread"...Candy cane face...
...this time blueberry...
Abby's first ride on her big girl bike--unfortunately, even with training wheels, she fell within 2 minutes--aye aye aye...
New Year's was spent with Nana and Poppy in Travelers Rest...we had more appetizers and pretty much had to wake ourselves up to watch the ball drop...Dick Clark's Rockin New Year's Eve just could not keep our attention this year!!! I didn't take many pictures, but Phoebe had climbed up into the rocking chair and this reminded me of that skit on Sesame Street? with Lily Tomlin playing a little girl (Edith Ann) in a HUGE rocking chair...all she needs is to dangle her legs off the front and grow a bob with straight bangs...(here's a link if you want to see what I'm talking about http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocBO0fr1Ui4 ) In fact, I can see Phoebe making a similar sandwich in a few years...
Poor Phoebe promptly joined us in sickness just before we went home. Abby and I started the congestion the Saturday before Christmas and Josh joined us a few days later. By the time New Year's came around, Abby was over the worst, but Josh and I had sinus infections and Phoebe ended up with the croup...You can see in her eyes that she was a sicky, but she can still pull out a smile like this anytime...
So I'll send you off with that smile and say HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! How about let's actually fulfill some of our New Year's goals this year? I want to run a 5k--I know it sounds a little lame, but that would be a MIRACLE for me and hopefully I will get some of this weight off in the process. And I also want to record a CD--will I actually do it this year? Tune in for updates!!!!

2010-01-09T09:17:00.004-05:00

I saw this on my friend, Katie's Facebook page and needed it GREATLY! Just wanted to share...

"The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache."

-Marjorie Pay Hinckley (she was AWESOME!)

I need to have this figuratively tattooed on my brain! I know I don't laugh enough and boy, my life would be a LOT less stressful if I would! So join me in promising that 2010 will be a year filled with more laughter and joy and less grumpiness and "bah-humbug"-ness!!!!

Christmas Card 2009

2010-01-09T09:16:00.002-05:00

I LOVE my "in-laws"...Thanksgiving, continued...

2009-12-19T15:48:00.011-05:00

The word "in-law" has a negative connotation with most people, but certainly not with me! I LOVE my in-laws like I was born into their family! This Thanksgiving was spent with tons of Axelson in-laws, not only for Turkey Day, but for Nanny and Da Axelson's 60th Anniversary celebration! We spent Thanksgiving morning baking and cooking at Heidi and Aarron's house (The men actually contributed GREATLY! Thanks hubbies!), before joining the whole crowd for a late Turkey Dinner at the Axelson homestead!

Alison, making her famous banana cream pies...YUM...

Heidi and Josh makin' the rolls...

I don't have any pics of the actual dinner, but we stayed in the local Hampton Inn that night and got ready the next morning to take family pictures...always a blast! I had made matching shirts for the girls and me, so we were the "maroon" part of the family...

Here's one of them getting ready! As you can see, Phoebe was pleased as punch to be held tightly around the neck by her big sis, but she sure looked cute with her miniature pig tails!!!

Pictures were made at Furman University. Such a beautiful campus and a lovely lake area!!! Abby looked so grown up posing for me!

And Sweet Phoebe is definitely a daddy's girl!

I took this one! It's obviously not the best, but I couldn't resist Will's pose (all the way to the right!)

This picture just cracks me up! I have no idea what Josh was laughing at, but I love Dad's expression, Mom's squinty smile and the tilt of Alison's head!!! So cute! Just such a happy picture!

I wanted to put one of the whole gang on, but I think the file is way too large! Maybe I'll try again when I'm patient enough to wait. Aren't families great?

And one of those pics became our Christmas card!!!! Merry Belated Christmas everyone!!! More to come...

Grove Park Inn Gingerbread Competition

2009-12-15T08:59:00.011-05:00

Thanksgiving was so fantastic this year!!! We started out the fun with a trip to Asheville, where we visited the annual Gingerbread House Competition at the Grove Park Inn. Our nieces, Madilyn and Zoie, decided to enter a gingerbread house in the youth category this year and their theme was "Goldilocks and the Three Bears...Share Christmas". They were so creative and ended up getting in the Top Ten! Their house was also first on display in their category, and we laughed when we saw how every viewer of their house held up the long line trying to catch every little detail they put into it! It was so fun and the inn was BEAUTIFUL!

Award-Winning gingerbread house!!!

...The beautiful grounds

The whole gang

Old-fashioned phone "booths"

Abby LOVED the phones!

All tuckered out!

Sweet Phoebe

Cool tree bench!

It was a long, but very fun day in a gorgeous place!! Congrats, Madi and Zoie!

Just to compare...

2009-11-11T20:05:00.002-05:00

Beautiful Fall?...Summer end?...Fall?...Whatever!

2009-11-10T12:18:00.006-05:00

This past week and a half, we have had some absolutely beautiful weather in Flo-town! One day, it was just too beautiful to stay inside...I said to Abby, "Let's go outside and enjoy this weather!" She looked at me like, "Mom are you for real?", probably because my normal reaction to going outside is that I have too much to do and don't feel like it! (Sarcastically speaking, I am SUCH a good mom, huh?)

Here's our little monkey, swinging on the tree!

Abby's picture of me reading on a blanket with Phoebe attached at my hip...literally!

My view looking straight up...

And here's sweet sweet Phoebe Jane...

Sweet, cute girls...

We were outside for the better part of two hours! One step into the backyard for many moms...one LEAP for Erin! If we had more days like THAT, I'd be out there WAY more often!

Tutus, tutus everywhere!!!!

2009-11-10T11:53:00.004-05:00

Josh's sister, Alison, has been busy making tutus for the little girls (hers and mine!) Phoebe got a pink one for her birthday, Abby got a Halloween one the same day and her daughter Emma has a few as well. I decided to make some for our nieces on the Harvey side for Christmas, so Abby was able to wear my first completed one at Nana and Poppy's Ward "Trick or Trunk" (Okay, trunk-or-treat--inside joke with the Axelsons...)

Then Abby wore her Halloween one to school on the 30th...It was technically "Favorite Sports Team" Day at her school...Halloween was never mentioned...but thankfully, Clemson colors and Halloween colors are the same--on her cheek is my weak attempt at a Clemson paw, so it wouln't technically be a "Halloween costume"...

The next day, she wore her actual costume, which of course consisted of a tutu of sorts...

Phoebe had hers too...

And just a treat for you all...a pic of Baby Emma in all her tutu glory...

On to a more positive post...

2009-11-05T12:21:00.004-05:00

Just thinking today about how blessed I am to be a mom to 2 beautiful little girls! I get so frustrated sometimes, when Abby talks back hatefully or when Phoebe slaps the spoon full of smashed green "booger peas" out of my hand. (My sister-in-law, Amber, uses that phrase regularly and I laugh to the point of crying when she actually says it in normal conversation...Anyway---I digress!) I get down on myself a lot, worrying about the future and wondering if my girls are going to turn out to be completely disrespectful and moody. And asking myself why I have two of the most STUBBORN children on this earth! But recently I've been thinking about the time that we live in, where there is so much around us that could lead us away from the things that are right--those things that can make us truly happy. And I've realized that ALL the children coming to this earth right now HAVE to be stubborn---if they aren't, they can't stand up for themselves and what is right--OUR privilege, as parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers and leaders is to guide that stubborness and strength in the right direction, so our kids can be strong forces for GOOD, instead of going the other way! And especially in Phoebe's case, she's gonna NEED that stubborn attitude to get through the physical limitations that she will have for awhile!

So bring on the strong-willed kids! I can take it if it means they will be good, honest, hard-working members of a society that they will actually contribute to...I can take it if they will have the guts to stand up for themselves and what is right...I can take it if it means they will live happy lives because they know how to push through tribulation and be successful...HEY! I guess that means I'm stubborn enough to get through these tough and joyous times raising children! Go figure! You learn something new everyday...

What gives?!!

2009-11-05T12:02:00.003-05:00

I am SOOO annoyed right now! Abby just brought me her school picture order form and instead of an awesome, full color picture on real photo paper with the word "PROOF" across the bottom in big white letters--a photo that I can fully steal and scan into the computer and make perfectly good, beautiful copies of for FREE, I get this grainy thing printed straight onto the order form-- something almost completely unusable!!! (How dare they? You'd think they actually wanted me to BUY a package so they could actually MAKE MONEY? (What do you think?)

It's okay, though, because in true 4-yr-old fashion, instead of this smile...

...or even THIS smile....

...Abby gave THIS smile...

Seriously, Josh will not even know it's a school picture without the "PROOF"!!!;0(

Our little "ray of sunshine" turns 1!

2009-10-25T23:06:00.007-04:00

Here's Phoebe the morning of her birthday! She went with me that morning to my weight loss group--TOPS (Taking Off Pounds Sensibly). I actually joined the group in Oct 2007 so I could lose the ten lbs required by my doctor to be able to start treatments to get pregnant again. I lost the weight in 10 weeks, started the medication and found out I was pregnant with Phoebe in February 2008. She was born 1 year and two days after I joined TOPS, so I would definitely say that she is our TOPS club mascot! Okay, I digress! Back to her birthday! She came to TOPS with me and all the ladies fawned over her and even sang Happy Birthday, quietly of course, because every time she comes to TOPS, she screams because we are too loud! So she looked cute, huh?

We had her birthday party the next day and I decided the oh-so-clever theme of "You Are My Sunshine"! Got some ideas off of the internet, thought up some of my own and VOILA! Here you go! Sunshine cake (orange supreme cake mix with yummy orange frosting)...

...orange yellow and red homemade deco...

...and of course, all our favorite yellow and orange finger foods...cheese and crackers, peppers and carrots with ranch, fruit salad with pineapple, oranges and apples, reeses pieces, orange slices and Velveeta cheese dip with tortilla chips!

Happy with Dad!

Blowing out the candles...well, I guess I did that!

She liked the cones better than the cake!!!

But she loved the cake too!

She loves to sit in her little rocking chair!

Me and my girls!

The next day, we headed to Greenville to see the Axelson side ;0) and to attend Cousin Ben's baptism...we had to take a family picture...

She was not a happy camper that day, but we were exctied to see her gift from Nana and Poppy...a beautiful quilt, handmade by Nana and Aunt Sue (Thank you!!!)...

...and her tutu and bedazzled t-shirts, handmade by Aunt Ali...

I know she was really happy inside!

Aunt Heidi got her a beautiful pink corduroy dress with embroidered flowers, which she wore to church the next day (I didn't get a pic!) The Johansen kids were in their Primary program and they did beautifully! It was Madi's last year in the Primary program and she had a solo! She was so excited and her solo was LOVELY!

We begrudgingly went home that evening, excited for another Greenville trip 4 days later, but that's another post!!! Here's Phoebe with her new blanket! She wouldn't let us take it off anf has slept every night since then, surrounded by its warmth!

So she's now a one-year-old! Weird! And she's got her two top front teeth about to bust through to prove it (and to explain her grumpiness!!!)

More to come later...

Phoebe's MRI

2009-10-25T22:22:00.006-04:00

On September 22, we took Phoebe to Columbia to have an MRI of her brain and spine as previously discussed a few posts ago. We actually had to check her in to the Children's Hospital, so she could have general anesthesia for the procedure. Here she is when we first got there in various states of dress (or undress;0)...

As you can see, she was pretty happy and unaware of what was about to happen...And I was okay too, even when all the nurses had to wear face masks because of the stupid swine flu...(I don't mean to make light of it--I know a lot of people have died, but frankly I'm SICK of hearing about it!) I wasn't even really perturbed when the nurses reminded me that the medication they would be giving her was the same as the one that Michael Jackson died from (WHY would you say that to the mother of an 11-month-old baby that was about to be "put out"? Was I not nervous enough?) Then came the kicker...the dreaded IV...Two nurses came in the room once we had put that tiny gown on her and said, "It's usually better if the parents step out while we do this." I thought, 'Okay. They don't want us to feel bad that our child is SCREAMING bloody murder and we are completely unable to help comfort her.' So we stepped just outside the door and as we closed it, they asked, "Is there any song that she likes?" I told tham that she generally responds positively when I sing "You Are My Sunshine." So for the next 15 minutes, all we heard was screaming that got progressively louder and nurses singing "You Are My Sunshine", which got progressively more frustrated. One even tried changing the song to the ABC's and was brutally rebuffed with a loud "AGGHH!" from Phoebe. I think they really just wanted us to "step out" so we wouldn't see what they were about to have to do to our child to get her still enough for that IV to go in....A third nurse finally had to go in and help and we heard them say, after 20 minutes of all that screaming,"I've only stuck her ONCE!" Yikes! Apparently, her veins roll like mine, so she ended up being stuck in her foot and arm, before they finally go it in her hand!

Poor Phoebe! Josh had to carry her around until it was time to take her back! I'd be tired too after all that fuss!!!That look just breaks my heart!

So, we took her back and talked to the anesthesiologist. Then the moment of truth...the administering of the medication. Seriously, one second, they pushed it into the IV, the next second, her head drooped and the next second, she was OUT!!! Kind of scary how strong that medicine must be to do that so quickly! We left the room and waited just over an hour and she came back, sleeping so peacefully!! 30 minutes later, she was up eating a bottle and 30 minutes after that, we were on our way home!!!

What a day it was!

Oh and just so you know, the next week, we took her back to the neurologist and guess what the MRI showed?! NOTHING WRONG!!! No perinatal stroke...no nerve damage in the brain or on the spine...that's a good thing, but the doctor used the word "perplexed" several times! So we are now just going to focus on therapy and doing all we can to help her use her arm to its best capacity and call it a day!!! NO MORE TESTS!

And as for her foot, we went back to Shriner's last Friday--she was wiggling out of her special braced shoes--and she is now back in a hot pink cast. Her tendon was still too tight. It needed more stretching, and it's possible she may have to have surgery on it again. We'll see.....

Up to that point she was pulling herself up on everything, in spite of not having a full range of motion with her arm, and she was even letting go and balancing on both her feet before plopping down on her bottom. So now that she has the cast, guess what has happened? She's STILL doing those things like that darn cast is not even there!!! Amazing to me!

We'll keep y'all up-to-date and if nobody's reading this, at least I'LL be able to remember!

Abby's Adventures...mishaps and funnies!

2009-09-25T15:32:00.010-04:00

I thought I would throw this post in just for fun! Abby has been so much fun lately and as I went through some old pics, I wanted to share!

This next one needs explanation...she came running to me yelling, "Mom! Help!" and this is what I saw! That's a dime stuck in between her teeth! Naturally, being the wonderful mom that I am, I grabbed the camera to document this occasion before actually prying the darn thing out! It was really lodged in there!!!

As you can see by the date on the next 3, they happened on the same day...pretty self-explanatory...

The pack WAS brand new and every piece of that gum was in her tummy!!!

Then...nail polish...

Just so you know, SHE locked HERSELF in this doggie kennel cage and was fully supervised the entire time! She was obviously okay with it, becasue you can see that she is saying, "CHEEESE!!"

Her infamous Easter picture...

I don't remember why she was so glum, but what a cute pic!

Fun with cousin Kendal....

Doing your own makeup is always a sign that a girl is growing up...

Yogurt painting-"Mom! Look!"

Another of those moments when you just want to scream, but can't help but laugh...and snap some pictures...

Oh the joys of cheap princess makeup...she had to go to church with pink stained cheeks because it wouldn't come off!

The screaming swimmer...

Fun in a mud puddle...
Trampoline fun!

So, an update on her should come now...

Abby is doing great! Besides a whole lot of independence and some 4-year-old sassiness, she is so much fun to be around!!! She LOVES her 4K class and loves to listen to all things Veggie Tale in the van on the way to school. ("I Love My Lips" is her favorite!) She has graduated to a backless booster seat and is now able to get herself out of it when needed--she still needs help buckling in, though. She's very vocal, and has become quite a singer, but mostly to herself. She can now write her name and make her bed, both things of which she is VERY proud of and you BETTER notice or you get in trouble!!!

That's it for now, but more updates to come...

Catching up...

2009-09-17T21:14:00.009-04:00

Our lives have been crazy lately, with Abby starting school and stuff, but I felt like I should record a few things for posterity and for my sanity! It's been a while since I have posted anything about Phoebe's arm and foot, so I'll start there. After 2.5 months of wearing her special shoes, the doctors at Shriner's said, "She's graduating from 23 hours a day to nights and naps!" Hooray!!!!!So now she basically wears her shoes at night while she sleeps and has total freedom all day..except when she has a therapist visit (which is basically 3 times a week) or when I torture her by making her stand at the couch or kneel to play, or make her use her right hand for anything she doesn't want to use it for! She is army crawling in her own way, by using her left arm and the top of her right wrist. She does NOT like to stretch that wrist out and it is almost impossible to get her to put any kind of pressure on it by pushing down on the palm of her hand. She is definitely feisty and has figured out how to do things in her own way. She has been to a neurologist about that arm and they will be doing an MRI of both her brain and her spine tomorrow, which should help us see what could have caused these things and what we can possibly do surgically...or not do surgically! This MRI will be the second time she's been under anesthesia, which is not something we want to put her (or ourselves)through if we can avoid it, so we'll see. There are two main possibilities according to the neurologist--either her nerves were damaged somehow in the womb or she had a perinatal stroke. The doctor really doesn't think it's either one, though, so we'll just have to wait. I guess to me, it doesn't really matter how it happened. I just want to know how we can get best use of her arm and foot and help her be able to use them as normally as possible! We'll keep you all up-to-date!

If I want to get this post done before next year, I better just leave it at that for now! New subject next time! Here are some recent photos of the girls!

Josh's friend, Tiffany, from work, invited us to her wedding and asked Josh to be the videographer! It was in a beautiful little country church, followed by a reception in the fellowship hall.

Yikes! I can't remember why she was smiling so big. Cute, but almost creepy!

Phoebe always smile like this when Abby plays with her! She LOVES her big sis!

We headed up to Anderson to camp with Josh's family! It was a welcome getaway from some of the Florence craziness!

Phoebe was so cute in her little bed inside the tent! This was what I saw when I woke up that morning!

I forgot how much I disliked the red dirt in the Upstate! Everything was covered in it when we got home! But the kids had a ball getting all messy--they also went fishing, on boat rides and swam a TON!

OREOS!!!!!!

Phoebe's flexible hips! She does the splits all the time! In fact, to get from her tummy to sitting or vice versa, she just brings her legs to the front or back like she has no hips at all!

A modest bath shot--they are VERY into bubble baths!! Bring on the luxury...already princesses!

Abby-4th Birthday (Aug 16) and First Day of 4K (Aug 17)

2009-09-03T20:51:00.005-04:00

Abby hit 2 milestones in 2 days this year! (As you can see by the title!) The weekend before her birthday, we were in Greenville, so Abby was able to have a small party with some of the Axelsons...

Sleeping Beauty dress-up from her Johansen cousins!

And by her birthday morning, she was ready to wear her new lady bug dress from Nana and Poppy!

I made her cake on Saturday...I had always planned on making the BArbie cake for her 4th birthday, because that's what I had on MY 4th birthday!

She was so excited to help and she looked especially adorable! Do you think we look alike?

This was her year for some sports gifts! Two bats, two balls, purple baseball glove, tee and purple soccer ball...she is a great hitter and a FABULOUS kicker!!

(See post for Aug 19, 2008 to see a little montage of our four year old's first three years!!!)

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! She was so excited to wear her new clothes and her backpack!

She is loving school! (I hope the excitement lasts!!!!!)

Fireworks!

2009-08-12T19:26:00.010-04:00

I never finished this post from a while back, so here goes...We went to a fun festival in Hartsville for the 4th of July this year--yummy food, fun games, redneck music and fireworks to boot! SO FUN! We went with Boo and Amber and our friends', Kit and Randee Thames. We walked around for awhile and stood in line for hot dogs and snow cones!

Then we found an out-of-the-way place and put down our blankets to watch fireworks! Amber's entire family showed up as well so we added about 15 more to our group--the more the merrier!

Thames, Axelson and Harvey kids eating oreos!

Abby licking the "white stuff" (powdered sugar) off of Mommy's funnel cake plate! SHe ouldn't let ANYTHING sweet go to waste!

How Phoebe was during the entire fireworks show...(notice Abby screaming in the background--NOT a fan of big fireworks--Phoebe could not have cared less!)

...and how Myah was the entire fireworks show!

The Thames family...our buds! Mikyn and Carsen obviously just thought the fireworks were too loud!

The next night, we hung out at the Thames' house and went swimming!

Phoebe loves to sit straight on the grass!

The girls waiting in anticipation (and on the screen porch with no mosquitoes!) for the fireworks to begin...

Kiddos watching the fireworks from the porch...

We had so much fun and were glad that we got off our duffs and went and did something for a change! We are SUCH homebodies, but we're trying to branch out!!! It was so fun!

Birthday flowers...

2009-08-08T17:59:00.004-04:00

My 33rd birthday was on June 9th and I haven't had such a fun birthday in a long time! From the previous post, you saw that I went swimming with my girls that morning, but then we came home and made a pizza for lunch. Josh did so well this year! A sweet friend of mine who works in the church library with me does beautiful, intricate origami flowers (and animals as well). He noticed her book of patterns one Sunday and "commissioned" a bouquet for my birthday. I hear it took her many hours and she stayed up well into the early morning hours to finish them on time, but they were well worth her effort! (Thanks, Sara!)

We capped off the evening with a yummy steak dinner-steaks on the grill, baked potatoes...mmmm...and my "cake" was an oreo pie...just my style!

Thank you, honey, for knowing what I would want and following through with it! You definitely got it right! You're the best!

The coolest grandparents EVER...

2009-08-07T18:08:00.003-04:00

This summer has been so crazy, but so fun! Many of you know that when we moved to Florence, we stayed with my parents for a few months and then my grandparents decided they needed a change and offered to sell us their home as they wanted to move to an apartment. The complex they moved to was literally a short walk from the house. We have spent so much time with them and I am so grateful for all that they do for us and bring to our lives! They kept Abby for over a year every Wednesday morning for me to attend TOPS (Taking Off Pounds Sensibly) and then when Phoebe was born, they offered to come over to OUR house and keep both girls. It has been and still is such a wonderful thing for our girls! My grandpa walks over randomly and trims our bushes and works in our garden...He comes over regularly to use his barber skills to cut Josh's hair...Da always saves things for me (coupons she thinks I might use or articles from the paper she thinks I would want to read)..they are such wonderful people! Several times this summer, they have invited the girls and me to swim in the pool at their apt building. Since you have to be a resident or with a resident, one or both of them will meet us there, always with a basket of goodies and cooler of cold water. We have had such fun with them as they sit in the shade under an umbrella, sometimes in 100 degree weather, and watch us play, then take care of Phoebe so I can focus on just Abby. Here are some pics of one such time...It was actually my birthday and they made it so fun! I wish there was a way I could show how much I love and appreciate them! But I'll just say that we are fulfilling one of the reasons we moved here in the first place...so our kids could know and love their great-grandparents...

I couldn't believe when she offered to take soaking wet Phoebe-I know it HAD to have driven her crazy to get her shirt all wet!!

Seriously! Almost every picture I take of Da, she's either looking anywhere but the camera, talking or closing her eyes!!! Gotta love it!

80's Party!

2009-06-18T19:52:00.011-04:00

We celebrated my brother, Ben's 30th birthday on May 15, and his wife, Marleina, had spent WEEKS planning to surprise him by celebrating the good times 80's style. I had to post some fab pics of everyone, because pretty much everyone went ALL OUT!!!!

The TOTALLY RAD birthday cake!

The birthday boy and his hot 80's chick sweetie

Da and Papa-our AWESOME grandparents!

Mom and Abby, matching hot pink shirts and leggings!!

Josh and Phoebe, lookin' fine!

All the original Harvey kids! (Lovin' the rattail and Top Gun sunglasses, Scott!!!)

The rockin' chicks-Love Kathy's acid-washed, pleat front jeans!

Ben and Brent-Yikes!

The Harvey girls-Mar, Amber, Me and Anna (Amber and I actually found our outfits at TARGET!!)

Cousin Tammy (aka Cyndi Lauper) and Aunt Lyn

Ben and Anna-they were HAHD! (And Anna's hair actually matched that wig, so they look even more alike than normal!)

Boo playing Tristan (with his baby leg warmers) as a guitar! Nice fanny pack, Boo!
Aw...brothers...

This pics cracks me up!

As HAHD as he tried to look the whole night to fit the part, I loved this pic that shows Ben's REAL personality-sweet, fun and sometimes a little crazy! And I have always loved those dimples!!! Happy 30th, brother-a little late of course...

I Love to See the Temple!

2009-06-06T08:45:00.006-04:00

Okay, I 'm going out of order here, but this is my blog and I'll do what I want, right? A couple of weeks ago, we took off for Greenville to get Phoebe's final cast off and get her new shoe-brace thingy (I don't even know what the real name for the thing is!) It was fabulous and we headed straight to the Atlanta area to visit Alison and Ryan. The next morning, we were able to go to the Atlanta Temple and see baby Emma sealed to her parents! It was so neat! All the Axelson grandkids were there (Thanks, Jake and Nadia for keeping them occupied!) and they all looked adorable, as you can see! It was such a beautiful experience, and Sweet Emma was a darling! I love to see the temple!0)

Eternal family;)

Proud parents!!!

Everyone said that Phoebe will be a great skateboarder, but I guess the temple would not be the best place to skate on the rails!!

Good friends are so fun!

2009-05-06T07:39:00.008-04:00

I started this post a long time ago, but I'm finally getting to it!

In April, I got a call one morning and was surprised to hear a voice I had not heard in over 10 years! A sweet French accent which came from one of my companions on my mission to California--Elodie (Sister David)! She and her husband, Mark, and their two boys were in Myrtle Beach for a vacation and since she knew that we were pretty close by (Just over an hour, for anybody who might want to know;o), she decided to call and see if we could somehow get together and have dinner! Well, I was just so excited and in the mood to do something spontaneous, which is not common for a planned out woman like myself, so I called Josh, who was able to get off early that day and we packed up the girls and headed to their condo on the beach! It was such a fun night--pizza and salad for dinner--and a fun time watching the "kids" (including Mark and Josh) play in the sand and the water! Her son, Adam, is just older than Abby and Antoine is a little older than Phoebe. I don't think we ever would have thought when we were missionary companions that 11 years later, we would be taking pictures together on the beach with our husbands and kids, but there we were! It was really a lot of fun!

PS-Here are a few pics of us from the mission just for fun-haven't changed much, have we? Well, I guess I've gained a few pounds, to say the least!! (Elodie, I hope these pics are good enough for you! She complained to me that evening at the beach that people were putting ugly pictures of her from the mission on Facebook!)

A baby's laugh...PRECIOUS!

2009-05-04T19:01:00.003-04:00

This is so hilarious to me, not just Phoebe's laughing, but the whole scene...

"Massive Head-Wound Harry"-I mean Josh!

2009-05-04T18:19:00.006-04:00

Awhile back, Josh noticed that he had a bump on the back of his head. He talked to our ENT friend and Dan told him not to worry about it unless it was bothering him. Well a few months ago, it started to bug him and then it started to hurt. He decided (with a little help from is oh so subtle wife-that's ME;0) that it was time to get it looked at, and was told that he should get it removed even though it didn't appear to be problematic. So last Friday, Josh had a little "surgery" to remove his 50-cent piece-sized lump. I took him and sat in the wating area of the general surgeon's office for a grand total of 20 minutes while they numbed his head and removed the cyst right in the office. We weren't worried, but he was nervous, so I was glad to see a smile on his face when he was done! I couldn't help but laugh, though, when I saw this...

...especially knowing that two days later, he was planning to be at church conducting the meeting! (He didn't go, by the way, but opted to stay home and rest a little more in preparation for his long week at work!)

I've been calling him "Massive Head Wound Harry" from that SNL skit about a guy who walks around with this nasty uncovered head wound, not understanding why everyone who sees him is grossing out! But don't you see a little bit of an Burt and Ernie combination there too? Yeah, I was laughing, but as you will read, not for long...

The day after the "Great Removal", the dressing had to be changed. And the doctor had decided not to do stitches to allow it to "heal from the inside out, so there would be less chance of it coming back", so he "packed" it with gauze. Use your imaginations, friends, but don't think about it too hard or you might hit the floor before you can finish reading the story!

Anyway, so I decided to make the attempt at changing the dressing. Josh was all gung ho and wanted to watch until we removed the outer wrapping and he saw what was on it. Now many of you know that Josh has a weak stomach in certain "situations" (poor guy) and at that sight, he had to "take a moment" (or 10, maybe 15) and regain his bearings;0) I didn't laugh much, but expressed full concern for him;0) I was fine at that point, feeling secure that I could handle it. So he laid down on the bed listening to the ipod and reading a magazine...anything to distract himself, and I took off the rest of the outer bandaging and made the attempt...well...it didn't take me long to realize this was NOT going to happen, because within one minute of pulling, I had to stop, put MY head between MY knees and lay down on the other side of the bed myself, moving the hurricane fan toward me and taking it off of Josh! He chuckled a little, but to give him full credit, he was concerned about me as well! It only took me 2 or 3 minutes of deep breathing to be okay, but we had to laugh at the situation! And as soon as I was okay, we put the outer dressing back on and decided to go another direction....

We finally had to get our neighbor, who is a nurse, to come over and change it and she was GREAT! I don't know how she does it! Then yesterday, my brother, Boo did it, with my mom as his "nurse"!

We've realized that we are way too much alike in a lot of areas! I guess we really are perfect for each other...even though being alike didn't really HELP this situation!

By the way, Josh is fine and except for the fact that he will probably still be wearing bandages on his head next Sunday at church, all is well with him! It's been a crazy couple of weeks, but we can handle it! So Massive Head Wound Harry lives on for a little while longer...and so does the teasing..."Did you forget to wear your helmet?" (NOT funny)..."It's John McEnroe! Where are your arm sweat bands?"..."Hey! Flashdance! or Solid Gold dancer!"...and my favorite..."Man! Did your WIFE do that to you?!"

Hangin' Out With Grandpa!

2009-05-04T18:03:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, my brother, Layne and his family came to visit for the day. Some of the adults were hangin' out inside when Mom's cell phone rang. She didn't even make a move to get it, because she sometimes doesn't want to when we're all around! But then the house phone rang, so she figured it might be important! "Hello?" Then she started laughing and told us all to look outside. This is what we saw...

...they were "cloud-shaping" from the trampoline...and even funnier, the call was to request "curbside service". "We would like 4 cups with crushed ice, water in 3 of them and Sprite in the other, please."

Grandpa is so fun...and funny!

Babies, Babies, Everywhere!

2009-05-04T09:36:00.005-04:00

Okay, this is crazy! (But very fun too!) Josh and I have had 3 babies born in our immediate families in the past 3 months! And one of our close friends just found out they are having TWINS! So many babies and not enough arms to hold them all! Just wanted to show you our beautiful nieces and nephew!

Tristan Lee (Ben (my bro) and Marleina's)-February

Calla Helene (Layne (my bro) and Anna's)-March

Emma Jane (Alison(Josh's sister) and Ryan)-April

Phoebe's Surgery-We HEART Shriners Hospital!

2009-04-27T16:32:00.014-04:00

Phoebe had to have surgery on her foot last Thursday, earlier than planned by the way;o), and we were blessed to be able to have it done at the Shriners Hospital of Greenville, SC! Yes, there was no cost to us, but what I was most impressed with was the wonderful way we were treated and the friendliness of EVERYONE, from the greeters to the surgeons to the occupational therapists to the cafeteria workers to the nurses to the anesthesiologist--we felt like family from the first moment we walked in! We had decided to take Abby with us the first day, one because we wanted her to be with us as much as possible and two, because there were so many fun things there at the hospital for her to do! Almost as soon as we arrived, and after getting her height weight and BP, we were taken to a room to drop off our stuff and went straight to get her cast cut off. She screamed like a banshee, poor thing, just like every other time she's had a cast cut off, but the nurses were very gentle and she calmed down pretty quickly. I do think she could sense that something was different this time, but was a trooper as usual...

We went back to our temporary room to sign some paperwork and were surprised to hear music down the hall. We opened the door and were pleased to see that barber shop quartet was serenading us! It was neat to see all the children and their parents standing in the open doorways, peeking out to catcha glimpse! It was four sweet older men and they all had crinkly smiles and fun personalities as well!

Abby climbed up on the hospital bed with her sister and informed us that she wanted to have a surgery like Phoebe and so did her bear!

We were amazed at the difference the casting has made in her foot, but it still was pointing downward, thus the surgery...

Abby loved the play area, which took up almost half of the second floor of the hospital. Here she is on a loveseat, covered with HUGE dolls, which she LOVED!

Toddler bikes and trikes galore and lots of space to ride like the wind!Herb took us to the rooftop playground where Abby was on the swings for quite a while...

...And then we were joined by Phoebe...

...and Poppy, who had shown up a bit earlier...

...and Daddy too...(Josh says he and his dad were testing the weight limit in this one (It passed, by the way! Didn't move and inch!))

...while Mommy took a rest on the gorgeous green grass...didn't sleep a wink the night before!

It looks like Phoebe was resting too, but it was really the sun in her eyes! She only laid there for a minute before letting us know that this was NOT what she wanted to be doing!

So we had previously decided that Josh would be the one to stay overnight at the hospital, which I guess was not the norm, because the nurses talked directly to me all day whenever they talked about anything that would happen overnight! But he wanted to do it and I certainly didn't mind having a greater possibility of a comfortable night's sleep! I stayed at Josh's parents' house after a difficult time leaving Abby at Heidi and Aarron's-she wouldn't have it and it made me sad to leave her too. (Thanks Heidi for your patience with her and for being so sweet to her at such a crazy time for all of us!) I returned to the hospital at 6 am after SOME sleep and Josh was already up, talking to the dad of Phoebe's cute roommate, Eric, Jr., who was to have foot surgery immediately after her. The nurse came in and handed us her little yellow hospital gown, which fit her personality perfectly, but I must say I was a little flustered to see such a tiny hospital gown!

They came to get us a little before 7 am and took her up to pre-op, where they promptly laid her on a bed with Strawberry Shortcake sheets (Abby would have LOVED it!), walked in with the largest wagon I have ever seen, filled to overflowing with toys and let us pick one for her. Then the nurse gave her tylenol mixed with some "forgetfulness" medicine that starts with an "m" and within 10 minutes, her eyes and head started to droop. It was sad to have to see her that way, but kind of funny too. Josh picked her up and held her and she just stared up at both of us as if to say "Who are you and where am I?" She could barely move her mouth and kept saying her normal "Guh...Guh", but veeerrrryyy sloooooowly....

The nurses kep telling me that there were tissues nearby, but I was surprisingly okay, as long as I didn't think too much...then her doctor came in, made sure he had the right leg by initialing it and we kissed her just before the anesthesiologist whisked her away. It was kind of torturous, but we knew all would be well...

They told us to wait to hear from the doctor and then it would be about 20 more minutes, so we headed to the cafeteria with Josh's dad to get some breakfast while we waited. We no sooner sat down to take the first bite and there was Dr. Westberry, telling us that all had gone perfectly and her foot was in its last cast! The procedure had taken all of 5 minutes! By the time we finished breakfast, walked back to the room and sat for about 10 minutes, we heard the uncharacteristic cries of sweet Phoebe coming down the hall towards us. She was MAD! She had been unable to eat anything after midnight and had slept through the clear liquids allowance time, so she was HUNGRY, and they had given her only 2 oz of Pedialyte in the recovery room--When they took that bottle out of her mouth, she was not about to take it lying down! I've NEVER heard her scream like that!

So we fed her some more Pedialyte and a little formula, pulled her around in a pillow-filled wagon and gave her some gas medicine and she finally fell asleep! We thought the sign in the hall was appropriate!

"Quiet, please. Healing in progress."

She finally did get that blood pressure monitor cord off of her finger! (They would just plug it in instead of having to use the one that "gave her leg a hug")

After a long nap, we hung out in the waiting area and...waited! The doctors and nurses all came to us there and checked on her.

And by noon, we were out of there! Now-cast for 3 more weeks, fitting for special shoes connected by a bracing bar, worn 23 hours a day for 3 months, then worn nights and naps for about 2 years...that's what's in store for Miss Phoebe..and us as well!) We'll try to be troopers and little rays of sunshine just like she is, but I can't make any promises!

All in all, I was very pleased with our experience at the Shriner's Hospital! Thank heaven they are there! Such a blessing to so many children and families!

Thank everyone for all your love, prayers and support!

***Shameless Plug: Many of you know that they may be closing that hospital if the board votes to do so in July! Please help us keep Shriner's Greenville open by donating or writing letters! Find out how at http://saveshrinersgvl.com/ !***

Make sure if you donate that you designate that you want the money to go to Shriner's Hospital GREENVILLE!

What a crazy fun easter we had!

2009-04-13T07:40:00.009-04:00

We had a great Easter weekend, filled with family, friends, fun, easter eggs, Cadbury mini-eggs, hand and foot, reminiscing, tornadoes, hail and blue skies! Interesting combination, you might say! We started the weekend on Thursday night with a trip up to Greenville, carrying two extra passengers-our 12-year-old niece Ta'lor (who had spent her Spring Break here in Florence) and our 7-year-old nephew, Kendal, who was dying to see his cousins! The whole trip up was actually pretty funny! They, along with Abby and Josh, sang "Sing, Sweet Nightingale" from Cinderella and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star as high as they could possibly go and made tooting noises on their arms-I heard more than I'd ever need to hear in my life on that one car ride!

We stayed in TR with Josh's parents and were joined by Alison and Ryan and their boys. They had been waiting all week for the call that their new baby girl had been born, so they could drive to the midwest and pick her up --their birth mother was due April 6--and they were all stir crazy, so they drove the few hours to hang out with the fam! (They ended up getting a call at 11:00 the next night that she was in labor, so they left at 6 am on Saturday morning to drive the long trip to Arkansas!) Emma Jane is beautiful by the way...I'll post a pic soon..Congrats, guys! We can't wait til you get home, so we can meet her!

Anyway, Friday morning, we trekked to the Shriner's Hospital in G'ville for Phoebe to get Shriner's cast #4 of 6! Hopefully only 2 more and then she'll be able to get her heel cord surgery and we can get movin' on getting this club foot totally on the mend! It's going to be a long road, but Phoebe's a trooper and I'm learning to be;0)

We then headed to Pendleton to stay with Scott (my brother) and Cristy and the fam! We had a fabulous dinner of almost all starches--Cristy just decided to pick all her faves;0)--muffins, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob--oh, and chicken on the grill! It was all delicious and then we taught Scott how to play Hand and Foot--our card game of choice--and he and Josh proceeded to KILL Cristy and me 3 games in a row! Through all this, there were tornado warnings all around us, crazy, windy weather and even some nickel-sized hail! It was a BLAST!

The next morning, we went to Pendleton Town Square for their Easter Parade, small but very cute and we took some fun pics! Town Square is where Josh and I sat the first night we met and talked until 3 in the morning-we even had our special bench there, so we took our picture there with the girls! It was fun to think about how much our lives have changed and our family has grown in almost 9 years!

The park was next, and then we hunted for Easter eggs with Scott's family... AND then we hunted for Easter eggs again and ate with Kevin and Susan (Josh's cousin and our very close friends)'s family before driving home that night to be home in time for Easter Sunday!

Sunday was so fun! I bought the girls matching Easter dresses and even bought myself a new dress as well. We took pictures after church and all was going well until we asked Abby to sit on

the grass and hold her sister, so we could take pictures of the two of them! Talk about meltdown! And the meltdown was just about as cute as a perfectly calm picture! Take a look!

And Easter dinner was at our house, with my grandparents, parents, sister, and Ben and Marleina with their two youngest! Another Easter egg hunt as well! Fun was had by all! And I'm glad for a little REST today...

But let me just say that it was wonderful to be so busy and with so many people we love on this special holiday! I am so grateful for my Savior and all that he has done for me! What a beautiful day Easter Sunday was...and even in the scary weather Friday night, it was actually wonderful to know that our Father in Heaven really is in charge! Life is great!

Daddy/Mommy/Daughter Date-The Music Man!

2009-03-30T09:31:00.008-04:00

Abby LOVES The Music Man! We listen to it in the car constantly and her favorite song is "Rock Island"-the one on the train in the beginning-"But he doesn't know the TERRITORY!" In fact, she always asks for it by saying, "Mom! I want the TERRITORY!" (LOVE it!)
So we recently found out that several members of our ward were involved in a production of The Music Man in a nearby town, so we got tickets and took Abby on a date last Friday, March 20th!

We started the night rushing to clean our house, because our sassy, perfectionist, 70-yr-old babysitter (Miriam Dew, the YW President in our ward) surprised us by showing up at our messy house as we were walking out the door to take Phoebe to HER (I'm sure perfectly clean)house! Anyway...we headed to Schoolhouse BBQ for dinner...

We had a lot of this...

...and some more of this...

...and I had a little of this...

...definitely NOT on my normal diet plan, but sooooo good!

Then it was off to the theater...

I don't have pics of the actual show, but here are some from other places to give you an idea...

It was a GRAND night! We were a little worried that Abby would get bored, since her favorite song is the first one, but she was GLUED and except for a few too many requests to go to the bathroom or get water, she did great!

I hope to make Abby as much of a musical lover as I am...and I guess as her dad is too, because though he would tell you he's not-he knows every word to The Music Man and is suspiciously familiar with other faves of mine as well...SO FUN!

Similarities...

2009-03-24T10:36:00.001-04:00

This recent pic of Phoebe...

Reminded me of this one of Abby......

Definitely sisters...ya think?

My girls...

2009-03-24T09:27:00.005-04:00

Okay, so as fun as it has been catching up with old friends and posting embarrassing pictures from the past on Facebook (I'm not done with the embarrassing pics, so watch out college and mission friends...), I think it's time I get back to this blog...I'm starting slowly...easing my way back into it! So here are some recent pics of the girls for your enjoyment...

Headband falling down...

SECOND snow of the winter...a surprise this time!

The lip...

Sweet, Sweet Phoebe Jane...

I couldn't resist taking this pic...

EARLY morning with my girls...

A little thumb-sucker at bed time...

Oh the joy of ice cream in a cone!

Glittery cupcake dresses made by Nana!

Full body shot!

Phoebe doing tricks with Dad...just like her sister did! She can even do this with her cast on!

Blast from the Past!

2009-02-16T09:56:00.004-05:00

Facebook is a wonderful thing! Well, most of the time....It has definitely kept me from updating my blog like I really should, but it is so fun to reconnect with old friends! Just recently, I managed to run into my friend, Simon! He was an exchange student at Goose Creek High School when I was a junior. I honestly don't remember our first meeting, but we became great friends! He thought I was "brilliant" and "radiant" (words I had never heard to describe me before!) That year, the drama club put on "The Importance of Being Earnest", and I played Lady Bracknell, the overbearing, ridiculous mother. Simon was in the play too and coached me a little on my accent. I even recently put that performance on DVD, so if any of you want it, let me know!

Anyway, Simon asked me to go to the prom with him that year, which was unbelievable to me, he being "really cool" and all, while I was kind of a smart nerdy sort of girl. It was an interesting night, to say the least, but I love him for TRYING as hard as he could to make it fun!

I just wanted to post a few pics I got from him so you can see how awesome I looked that night in my teal prom dress and orange lipstick! I actually did look quite classy, though my new white pumps were a grave mistake on the cobblestones streets of Downtown Charleston! And didn't Simon look dapper?!

We went to Johnny Rockets after with some friends...this is actually my cousin, Candice, who managed to score a date with Pecos Downey, who she had met at my church in one of her many summer visits to my house! She was wearing my aunt's sparkly dress, which actually was beautiful and she looked gorgeous! Somehow, she and I ended up riding home witha friend and without our dates! Someone will have to remind me exactly why if they can, because I can't really remember!

So, regardless of how the night ended, and the fact that the entire prom we spent in line, waiting to get our pics taken...I think we danced twice...I have nothing but fond memories...Thanks, Simon, for the blast from the past...

Erin needs...

2009-02-04T18:00:00.003-05:00

My friend did this on her blog and I thought it was funny! You just google "(Your First Name) needs" and check out the first ten links that come up! It can be pretty funny and sometimes true, as you can see! Here's mine...

1-Auntie Erin needs a drink

2-Erin needs another miracle!

3-Erin needs the looney bin!

4-Erin needs to wear shirts

5-Erin needs what most white chicks crave

6-Erin needs liver transplant

7-Erin needs a visit to the library soon

8-Erin needs a servant

9-Erin needs a nap

10-Erin needs advice

Gatlinburg with the Harvey's!

2009-02-04T17:19:00.014-05:00

We just got back from a week in Gatlinburg, TN (Jan 21-27) with the entire Harvey Family (minus one)! That's 13 adults and 10 kids ranging from 3 months (Phoebe) to 12 years old (Talor). Our cabin was just big enough to fit us all almost totally comfortably and the indoor heated pool was a lifesaver!!!! It had just snowed when we got there, so we were able to enjoy it by tubing down the driveway of our neighbor cabin, which had no one staying there, so it had not been cleared!

My brother Layne pulling a karate kid pose on a nearby cut-off stump!

Dad ACTING LIKE he's going to pound MOM with a snowball! I don't think he actually did it!

Mom totally got Sarah right in the behind!

Abby and Grandpa had a blast!

Sunrise from the hot tub on the deck...nice!

3 of my bros...Ben looked like Grizzly Adams!

Our attempt at some family pics...some came out pretty good!

Our sweet girls...

Another attempt...

Aren't we cute?

Creative photography at its best...

Our family Day#1 in Downtown Gatlinburg. This waterfall was almost totally ice!

I have the best husband! He carried Phoebe the whole time! Even on the sky lift ride with Abby! (Don't ask! I don't know how I let it happen either! Let's just say I trust him...ALOT!)

You can hardly tell, but Abby and i were screaming!

Three girls winding down as we watched The Suite Life of Zach and Cody...

Sunday, Grandma helped the older kids put together a Family Tree and Dad sat us all down (literally together) and gave us a "talking-to".

Abby and Mina in their Tinkerbell shirts that Grandma gave them!

Me and Abbs on Day #2 in Downtown Gatlinburg...

Abby's Sky Lift Ride #2 (with Mom and Aunt Anna this time)...

Dad with both girls...
My handsome hubby and Marshmallow-puff covered daughter watching Anna bungee jump! Abby still hasn't stopped talking about the "bungee jumping" and how she "didn't like the cars"

The pool we could not have lived without!

Off to the outlets after Breakfast with the girls...

The tubers at Ober Gatlinburg on our last night there!

We were able to take Phoebe's cast off a little early and let her get in the pool with us!

She LOVED it!

It was so fun! We can't wait for the next trip! Thanks, Mom and Dad for the cabin!!!

Surprise! It has snowed TWICE in Florence, SC this year! Unheard of...

2009-02-04T16:43:00.007-05:00

I'm sure you all know that it hardly EVER snows in SC, so we are VERY excited when it does! The day before, the stores are overrun with customers buying gallons of milk and loaves of bread, and as soon as the first flake falls, the schools close and people either hole up in their houses with hot chocolate or run out with makeshift snow attire and make tiny snowmen! (We are included in most of that!) Everyone is so funny, especially because I lived in Utah for 4 years and in northern California for 18 months, so I've driven and played in many blizzards! Imagine our surprise to hear that it would be snowing Jan 20-We woke right up and played! I taught Abby how to make snowballs...

...and we made 2 tiny snowmen (of course). This one even had a piece of carrot for his nose and raisins for his eyes...

...then Abby pelted me with a few snowballs... ...and Phoebe stayed toasty warm and cute in the house the whole time......and we thought that was the end of our snow experience for this year!

Well, we were wrong! This morning we woke up and were shocked to see that it had snowed AGAIN-we didn't even know about it thise time--what a fun thing to wake up in the early morning and see everything covered in a blanket of white--beautiful!I just heard the schools are on a 2-hour delay tomorrow--the snow was gone about 6 hours ago...I guess there must be ice on the roads! I wouldn't know-I've been inside all day (after the initial playing out in the 25 degree/8 degree windchill this morning for awhile), toasting my feet and drinking hot chocolate with my girls-well, Phoebe's having formula-fridge is stocked with bread and milk...

Christmas 2008-FINALLY!

2009-02-04T15:57:00.007-05:00

Christmas Eve began at Alison and Ryan's with Nana reading the Christmas Story and the kids acting it out. Phoebe was, of course, Baby Jesus this year and Abby was an angel (who, by the way, did not crack a smile the entire time!)

Us checking out Abby's loot from Nana and Poppy's Fishing Game

Abby reaching for "reindeer food" and throwing it out on the lawn!

We left out a plate of goodies for Santa and even a carrot for Rudolph!

On to Christmas morning! We were awakened by caroling coming from Al and Ry's bedroom. Most of the kids were in there singing at the top of their lungs trying to get us all to wake up--and it worked! Once we were all awake, the kids had to stay at the top of the stairs for a few grueling minutes before going downstairs to find their stockings on the fireplace--oh the nail-biting anticipation Abby felt! Notice the "I am awake way too early, but can't wait to see my presents" glazed look on her face!

Phoebe with her Minnie Mouse from her stocking (purchased in Myrtle Beach at the outlets on our trip!)

We always get matching jammies-check out those handsome, disheveled men!

And those crazy women-here's what we were thinking--E-"I love Christmas!", Mom-"What happened to my reindeer antler?", Heidi-"I love my family!", Alison-"It's been so crazy in my house, my eyes are crossing!" and Nadia-"I can't stop laughing at this crazy family I married into last year!"

It was a Dora Christmas for Abby this year-doll, backpack and slippers...

This is just a classic picture-Nana's true, sweet reaction to their gift with those antlers on!!

Sweet Phoebe...

Uncle A can always get the kids to smile!

Aunt Alison's fun hat craft!

Oh, the joys of a screaming child-it didn't even phase me!

Finally at home after a fun Christmas and a LONG drive! YOYOYO-Hats by Erin-Josh actually wanted his that tall!

Obviously, we had a blast! We always do! Happy belated holidays!

I'm out!

2009-01-21T18:22:00.003-05:00

Off to Gatlinburg with the WHOLE Harvey clan (except Ben's wife, Marleina, who should be delivering their 3rd son in the next 3 weeks or so! We'll miss you, Mar;0() Probably won't be posting until I get back on Tues! Peace out all y'all!!!

My Christmas Present--Pre-Christmas!

2009-01-20T11:03:00.006-05:00

Every year around Halloween or sometimes Thanksgiving, I provide Josh with a Christmas list-as detailed as possible. I tell him exactly where to get the item for the cheapest price and all the websites and passwords he'll need to find my favorite books and videos online. I know, it's ridiculous...most of you know that I've always been a movie nut and an avid reader so it is unheard of for there not to be a Jane Austen adaptation or old Gene Kelly movie that I want...Well, sometimes things change and this year was one of those times! I couldn't think of a single movie or book I wanted! When Josh had not received my list by Thanksgiving, I think he thought something was wrong. When he asked me what I wanted for Christmas, all I could think of was, "A break..." So I told him that I wanted an overnight trip with no kids and no worries about money."And I don't want to plan it..."

Well, sometimes you get just what you want and my coolest gift came in the form of a two night trip to Myrtle Beach, and I had to be ready to take the trip BEFORE CHRISTMAS! (Josh is very frugal and got a great deal-I love that about him!) We stayed at Dunes Resort, which has two indoor water parks with slides and lazy rivers and heated pools and hot tubs-plus, we were right on the beach! The first night we ate out and then headed to then indoor lazy river, hot tub and kid-size slides! It was sooooo fun! There was hardly anyone there and it was all open until 10 pm, so we stayed til it closed! We slept with the door to the balcony open, so we could hear the ocean all night! Perfect vacation for me!

The next day we went out to breakfast, and then shopped for 6 HOURS! All I'll say is that that is UNHEARD OF for us! We also walked around Broadway at the Beach for a while and visited a HUGE candy store! We were having so much fun, we wanted to share it, so we called my brother, Boo and invited him to bring his sweet wife, Amber, down for dinner with us for their anniversary! They met us at Outback and we talked them into coming back to our Resort and playing at the water park with us.

They hadn't brought bathing suits, but we made due! Amber wore my extra suit-she was "swimming" in it-and Boo wore Josh's exercise shorts! Now, I'm putting this picture on, but I'm sorry, I had to crop it for the sake of all of us, especially me! You get the idea, though!

We went to the BIG slides this time and as you can see by their faces, Josh, Boo and Amber were quite surprised when they went airborne on the dip in the middle of the slide! I wish I had the screams of surprise on video! And then they decided to be a bunch of crazies and jump in the OUTSIDE lazy river-it had to be in the 40s and windy outside!

We finally talked them into staying overnight on the couch bed in our room and even called my parents, who had Abby and Phoebe and convinced them to go and get Myah (Boo and Amber's 14-month old), who was at their house with Amber's mom, and keep her overnight too!

We went out for snacks and played cards late into the night! I don't think I've had a more relaxing and fun trip! Thank you, Josh for the best Christmas present EVER! And Amber and I have decided we're going to make it an annual thing!

I can't seem to catch up...

2009-01-19T17:24:00.010-05:00

But here's a funny one! Our little Phoebe Claus! Nice face, huh?

The weekend of Dec 14, the Harvey Family got together at Mom and Dad's and had a PARTY!

The kids enjoyed being together so much and in honor of Talor's almost 12th birthday, Aunt Cristy gave some of the girls "makeovers"!

Abby and Emma BEFORE...

....and AFTER! So sweet, huh?

Mom and Dad opening their Christmas gift from all the children and grandchildren...with space for the two more who are coming...

...some of great-grands with Da and Papa-Da was getting a kick out of the fact that we couldn't get all the kids to stop crying and look at the camera...it gets harder the more you get, ya know!

Phoebe was SCREAMING...

...but she happied up when Grandma got a hold of her later...

We had such a good time being together and now we're looking forward to the Harvey family gathering at the cabin in Gatlinburg! See ya'll there!

Phoebe's Blessing Day-Dec 7, 2008

2009-01-04T21:26:00.004-05:00

Phoebe was blessed on December 7, with lots of our family in attendance! Her Daddy blessed her to be righteous and do all the things the Lord would have her do, and also that she would be a "ray of sunshine" to those around her...and she has been that in our house!

Poppy, Nana, Grandma and Grandpa

Phoebe and Abby with parents, grandparents and 1 set of great-grandparents!

Sweet sleeping Phoebe-all tired out from the festivities!

Trip to Lynches River Park

2009-01-03T14:10:00.007-05:00

The day before Phoebe's blessing, we took a break from eating and decided to get some exercise and nature-walking at the park. Josh's parents and his sister Heidi's family came with us and we had a blast! Nature center, playground and riverside boardwalk were few of the many fun things...

We had a big dinner at our house that evening to celebrate and then headed to the hotel where most of Josh's family was staying and went swimming in the indoor heated pool! We celebrated Madi's 11th birthday (She's seriously 11?!!!) with the largest chocolate cake I've ever seen in person! (almost as big as that one that kid had to eat on Matilda!! Has anyone seen that movie? If not, it was HUGE!)

Look at that cake!

Blessing photos to come...

Miscellaneous pictures...

2009-01-03T09:45:00.004-05:00

Just before Thanksgiving, we headed up to TR to spend some time with Josh's family! Most of the extended family hadn't seen Phoebe yet, so off we went! Abby got her first real haircut! She was so still and a lot of fun!

We also took pictures for Nana and Poppy's Christmas card...the pictures say it all!

Thanksgiving was a blast at my parents' house, where Phoebe and I wore matching shirts...

And Abby had fun with her cousin, Kendal.

All in all, we had a great November, except for Abby's stomach flu all the way home from Greenville and all that night too! Yuck!

December was great too... more to come...

Long time no post!

2008-12-09T10:32:00.004-05:00

Okay, so it's about time I get back into this posting thing! It's been almost a month! Crazy!

Phoebe is now eight weeks old! WHAT??? She is doing great and we are loving every minute of having her around--even the minutes where she's screaming! She has slept through the night a few times, but usually wakes up between 4:30 and 5:30 am--SO CLOSE! Her foot is still in a cast, which gets changed every two weeks, but it's looking really good, so we hope it won't be too much longer. She's having physical therapy on her wrist and fingers, and will be getting two hand splints--one for the day and one for the night--by next week! She'll be in good company, though because I have carpal tunnel in my left hand and am wearing a splint myself! We'll be the hand splint twins!

Here are some recent pics--we've finally gotten a few smiles!

She was blessed this weekend, too, and I'll post about that soon!

Enjoy!

More Phoebe pics...3.5 weeks old now...

2008-11-06T16:20:00.006-05:00

Here are some random pics of Phoebe--camera date is not correct until the last 3 pics...

Giving Grandma Harvey kisses...

Sweet sisters...

A cute moment...

Abby took this pic...she takes most of the ones with me and Phoebe together!

BOO!

Phoebe with Uncle Jake and Aunt Nadia-they came down to see us on Oct 25!

Poppy loves the babies!

She just looked at Uncle Jake the whole time he held her...

A little jaunt outside in the backyard on a gorgeous day!

She's ready to go back inside for a nap!

Phoebe's first real bath! We got to cut her cast off ourselves on Sunday night and give her a bath! She went cast-less for 19 hours before getting a new one on Monday afternoon! The prognosis was good! As you can see, her foot already looks a lot straighter that when she was first born (see pic on previous post!)

We love having her around! And she's sleeping pretty well..usually only wakes up once during the night, though that is with a late bedtime and early wake-up time, but we have to be grateful for what we can get!

Love all y'all!

Our Halloween! What a treat!

2008-11-06T15:29:00.008-05:00

Halloween this year was more treat than trick...but there were a few tricks as you will soon find out...I've talked about Abby's love for "Woz" (The Wizard of Oz) before, and we thought this year, it would be cute for her to be Dorothy! (Incidentally, my brother Layne's daughter, Mina, was also Dorothy, though we weren't able to get together at Halloween to get pics of the girls. I included one at the end of the post that he sent.) Anyway, I spent the last month of pregnancy telling myself that I needed to finish making her costume before the baby was born, so I finally did a couple of weeks before. Her sweet Aunt Ali sent her the ruby red slippers the night before I had Phoebe and she has worn them every day since...

The day started out at the doctor's office, actually. I had to take Phoebe to the pediatrician for her 2-week check-up and decided to take Abby with me, because the office is half way to Josh's workplace. Since we went there on Halloween last year to "trick-or-treat" down the hallway of Josh's coworkers and have lunch with him, we decided to make it a tradition and do it again this year. So I had both girls with me in the doctor's office. We were there for 2 hours, and remember in my last post when I talked about potty mishaps? Well, we'll just say that one of them took place there in the packed waiting room...and though I WAS prepared with extra undergarments, I had left them in the car! Fortunately, Abby was standing when this all took place, so her Dorothy costume, which of course, she was wearing, did not suffer from the mishap, but her cute blue socks DID. You'll see in the first pics that she has no socks on....

Cookie Monster was the hit of the party for Abby! She talked about it for days after! Thank you, Sandy for being so great with her!

Sittin' on Dad, the biker's, lap!

Our Halloween family portrait. I was just glad to be "non-pregnant Erin" again...

Abby loved the big light-up pumpkin! Thanks, Nancy, for the great decorations at the office!

So we headed home for naps and a good washing of Abby's tinkle-covered Dorothy socks...

Then on to the Ward Fall Festival for hot dogs, games and trick-or-treat!

Mom, the "runner" (wishful thinking;o) with Phoebe in her Halloween get-up, given to her by Nancy from work. She had a Tigger costume on when we got there, but I never got a pic and it was too big anyway, so it didn't stay on long...

Uncle Boo, the 70's guy, Aunt Amber, the little baby, and Cousin Myah, the butterfly(she was sooo cute walking around in those orange tights with those butterfly wings on...)

Myah with Grandpa, the cowboy...

Bishop Josh and Uncle Boo had to participate in the "pie"-eating contest...

Great Grandma Da and Phoebe winning the cake walk...

Abby waiting in the line-up with cousin Kendal for the winner of the kids' costume contest to be announced...And the winner is....

Abby Axelson as Dorothy Gale from Kansas! She loved her bag of loot! Even more "num-nums" to add to her sugar-high for the day!

Going through her bag! Very soon after, there was another mishap as she sat right there on the floor just like this...ugh! This time the socks and shoes were dry, but the dress suffered a little...

And, my favorite! Dorothy the vampire! We had such a fun day!

Here's the pic of Mina!

Cutie-Patootie!

Abby is potty-trained...FINALLY!

2008-11-06T10:16:00.005-05:00

Well, I think Abby is just about there! We just have to get her to go at church! (She doesn't like the bathrooms at church, because the toilets are too loud!)

We tried a couple of times before Phoebe was born, but to no avail...Then we were in Walmart during one of my "I'm going to Walmart to walk around and try to get this labor thing going" times (My mom was with Abby and me), and Abby saw this Dora potty. She has had a separate potty for awhile, but when she saw this one that fits on the toilet seat, that was it!

We promised her that after her sister was born, she could get that Dora potty and even some Dora panties if she would use it, and she agreed! So, as you can see by the date, which is actually off-I don't know what is up with my camera (it should be 10/20/08)-she started only 6 days after Phoebe's birth and has been going strong ever since...

She finally went tinkle on the potty! 1 sticker on the chart!

Consistency is key!

She's done REALLY well, except for a few incidents that I will probably talk about in another post, because they were so CLASSIC, but I don't want to taint this feel-good, Abby-praising post with those silly negative but pretty hilarious mishaps...

Later, kids! More pics of the girl Phoebe to come...

Phoebe is one week old!

2008-10-21T18:11:00.005-04:00

I guess it's time to post some more pics of the girl! She's officially one week old now and as I thought this morning about where we were last week at this time, I was overwhelmed with gratitude that it's THIS week!)

Josh's sister, Heidi and her family drove down from Greenville on Saturday for a short, but sweet visit with us! Heidi pulled out the camera and we took almost 250 pictures, so even though these are from Saturday, this is what we've got as the most recent!

MAD!

Sweet Phoebe in her cast-Seriously, with her, it's like it's not even there!

Her Nana bought her this dress the night before she was born!

You can't see it very well, but she has our wedding rings around her two fingers to show how small she is...

Her grandpa (my dad) bought her this shirt in the hospital...

All the Axelson granddaughters...Zoie, Abby, Madilyn and Silvia were saying, "Phoebe!" and Heidi says Phoebe was saying, "WAAAHHH!"-By the way, we can't wait to get ALL the grandSONS in the pic too!

The new and improved Axelsons...

Phoebe's aunt, uncle and cousins signed her cast while they were here...

Isn't life sweet? More to come soon...

The story...

2008-10-21T07:54:00.007-04:00

Okay, so here's the short version of the story...

Last Monday afternoon, Josh and I headed to the doctor, hoping for some good news;o) We got it! Dr. Browning did an ultrasound and said the baby looked to be about 9 lbs (1.5 lbs more than Abby was) and that he saw no reason to wait any longer, because she would just get bigger, so he scheduled me to be induced the next morning at 5:30. I was already 1 day overdue. We immediately called Josh's parents, who were ready to come at a moment's notice from 3 hours away, and they set out, arriving just in time for us to get home from a yummy steak dinner at my parent's house, where I had contractions 5 minutes apart for the entire time we were there! At that point I was like, "I will NOT go to the hospital and miss my 'last meal', to have them say I'm not ready and have to either come back home or stay there and not have the baby til the next day anyway!" (I was getting pretty tired of the "teasing" contractions I had been having over the past two weeks...) So after a last minute trip to Target with Josh's mom to get snacks and such (thanks mom!), we played some cards and I went to bed.

Just got to the hospital...my camera date was 12 hours off...

I guess i said this was the short version, but now I'm on a roll...We got there around 5:15 and headed straight our room. The nurse was someone to talk about! She was a large woman, with large squatty fingers which were not fun when she checked me to see how much I was dilated-OWWW is all I have to say! (TMI?;) I was at a 3 at that point. I wasn't sure after that how great an experience this would be, but it did get better! So, by 6:00 they had me on fluids, 6:15 on pitocin and by 8:00, I was a 4 and the doctor came in and broke my water. After that it went pretty fast for awhile-contractions got hard, but due to the fact that I was already a 5 and the anesthesiologist had to be in the OR for 2 c-sections in a row by 9:00, I got my epidural at 8:45! And it's a good thing too, because by the time she could have come back to give me one, it would have been way too late! We were joined by my mom at that point and I rested for awhile, and then the nurse came to check me-an 8 within a 2-hour period! By the way, my nurse during the entire labor and delivery was FABULOUS-Shannon Anderson! Both she and my doctor were of the mindset that I shouldn't start pushing too early for fear I'd get tired out, and the baby was still pretty high, so they sat me up and said, let's let Mother Nature do her thing for awhile, even after I was fully dilated. It was pretty quickly then that I started feeling the pressure to push and unfortunately, even with the epidural, it was starting to get painful. VERY painful! I eventually convinced them to get me more epidural meds and once that took effect, the baby finally dropped enough that it was time to push! It was about 1:00 when the pushing began! Hooray!

Our last moments alone as the parents of one child...

My popsicle;o)...

Pushing wasn't the most fun experience for me this time. Not that it was when I had Abby, but the epidural had worked differently and I had felt NO pain when I had her! They had to give me oxygen because I wasn't breathing deep enough and it took just over an hour-and-a-half, but Phoebe finally arrived at 2:39 pm! I guess I took the nurses by surprise at my progress near the end there, because her head was half way out before they paged the doctor to come in and deliver...it took him AT LEAST 5-8 minutes to get in the room, and that entire time, the nurses were saying, "DON'T PUSH!" as half told me to pant through the pain and the other half told me to breathe deeply-Make up your mind, women! So, I've never been very vocal about things during this whole process, but if that doctor had taken ONE MORE SECOND than he did to get in place, he would have gotten the worst tongue-lashing of his life-Seriously, I may have even hit him! But he had the benefit of being far enough away in a situation where I was VERY distracted with my baby's head being where it was, as well as my desire to get the baby out ASAP that I could only murmur with no energy "Where is he?"-and then things got really crazy once she was out and I was crying from relief and pain and everything else!

So she's here! And she's beautiful! They informed me pretty quickly of a few things that were of a little concern with her. She was born with a club foot on her right side and her right hand and fingers seemed to be a little underdeveloped and she held them up against her body in an angled position. We've seen the pediatric orthopedist since then and she already has a cast on her foot to help correct that and he thinks her hand and arm will fix themselves pretty quickly with a little bit of TLC! So, all is well so far!

Phoebe's sweet right arm...

And her sweet little feet!

We had many visitors in the hospital, which we loved, and we were able to go home just over 24 hours later! Things have been crazy since then, of course, but we are loving having two sweet girls! I know there is more to tell, but I will split it up into some other posts in the near future!Love to you all!

She's here-FINALLY!

2008-10-16T21:17:00.004-04:00

Okay, so I will be more detailed in the next post, but Phoebe Jane Axelson was born Tuesday, Oct 14 at 2:39 pm. 8 lbs 4 oz, 20 inches long and she's a beauty! Here are a few pics to tide you all over until I can think straighter-hopefully tomorrow, but who knows?!0)

The LIP!

Abby with "Baby stister Phoebe"-Her shirt says "I'm a McLeod Big Sister" (McLeod was the hospital)

More to come...with stories and other miscellaneous info...

Ugh...

2008-10-09T16:12:00.002-04:00

This will be short...still no baby. I know I should just chill and I'm trying-I'm not even due until Sunday, right?!
As of Monday, I'm pretty much fully effaced and the baby is way down, but I was only dilated to a 2. I've had some pretty intense contractions and some have been close together, but not close enough for long enough. I thought it could be happening last night when they were just over 5 minutes apart for over an hour, but they slowed down...Maybe this weekend...

Not yet!

2008-10-02T07:53:00.006-04:00

I figure if you're reading this then you're really interested to know whether we've had the baby yet and the answer is no. As of Monday, I was dilated to a 1-2, not effaced and the baby had dropped some. Lots of nice, uncomfortable contractions, but none really closer than 10 minutes, so the wait continues...I still have 10 days left til my due date, so I know I shouldn't complain, but I guess I was spoiled with Abby-my water broke 2 weeks early. I'll just keep pluggin' away, taking walks and pushing myself to do more than just sit and pout all day;0) We'll keep you updated-I'll send an email to check the blog when it happens...By the way, if you don't receive fairly regular emails from me to check the blog, I don't have you on my list, so let me know your email address in a comment or send it to erinluax@gmail.com, so I can put you on the list-I don't forward things, so no worries...

Am I crazy or what?

2008-09-23T09:59:00.006-04:00

So, this past Friday afternoon, Josh was off work and I asked him if Abby and I could go to the Stake Youth Volleyball Tournament in Myrtle Beach with him the next day. It's just over an hour away and I just did not want to stay home all day again, just Abby and me. Of course, he was thrilled, because I am so not a spur-of-the-moment gal, especially being 37 weeks pregnant!He didn't stop at being thrilled, though. He let me know that the tournament was to be at the State Park, which also had CAMPING! And that we should go and spend the night! Whoa! I wasn't too sure about that-sleeping in a tent? Right now? I told him he was crazy, but as I thought more about it and realized how nice the weather was and how SHORT the camping part would be and how I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway....I finally agreed! Besides, Abby LOVES camping and tents, so how could I say no? Can you believe it, girls?

Josh says I am the woman...he was soooo happy!

So we go there around 6:30 pm, after dinner on the way and some yummy ice cream, and set the tent up! We played cards until about 10-I was trying to stay up as late as possible, so the night of trying to sleep wouldn't seem so long, but I was exhausted, so we were on the air mattress in the tent by 10:30. (This next part especially for those of you have ever been pregnant!) I was surprisingly comfortable on the air mattress, but sleep did not come for me until around midnight and then at 12:30, of course, I awoke to the irresistable urge to go to the bathroom. I debated for 20 minutes whether I had to go bad enough to make the "trip" worth it at that particular moment, the "trip" consisting of ROLLING off of the air mattress onto my hands and knees, STANDING UP with nothing to hang on to, PULLING my pj pants on, SLIDING into my flip flops, unzipping the tent quietly and climbing out without tripping over anything, all with so much pressure on my bladder, I thought I'd wet myself-(Is this too personal?) Of course, then I had to actually get to the bathroom, which was only a short 3 or 4 campsite walk, but felt like a mile!

I'd like to say that I am NOT complaining! I KNEW it would be this way, but I did choose only to make the "trip" twice that night, though I could have gone 5 or 6 times. I actually did get rest, in spite of these things and the next morning, we packed up, went to a pancake house for breakfast and headed back to the park for Volleyball on the beach!

Abby and I sat and watched and played in the sand-she still has sand in her hair by the way, and just had an all around good time. It was overcast and cool, so WE didn't go in the water, but a lot of the youth did and of course, so did Josh. We had a blast, even when I realized my arms and face had gotten burnt to a crisp! 4 hours at the beach with no sunblock on a cloudy day with already sensitive skin, plus pregnant? BAD! Those things do NOT mix!

It was GREAT! I still can't believe I ever agreed to it, but there you go! I DID! CRAZY!

Here I am at the camp site with Abby-37 weeks that day!

Mommy and Abby!

2008-09-23T09:50:00.002-04:00

I guess I'm getting a little bit sentimental, because our family is about to change forever and it will never be just Abby again, but this picture is of my sweet Abby in my arms. She has been hugging and clinging a lot lately. This is the scene from the pew behind us in church every Sunday as well. She just wants to lay on me. I think she can sense that my lap will no longer be just hers and only hers! We laugh a lot because when she leans on my tummy this way, I lean over and tell her in her ear that her baby sister just kicked her. She really does kick every time-in fact, that's really the only way Abby has ever felt her kick, because whenever I try to let someone feel her with their hand, she won't move a muscle! Stubborn little thing!

So anyway..here's my Abby in her sweetest, most serene moment!

Love her so much!

Josh is such a good dad!

2008-09-23T07:58:00.004-04:00

Abby got makeup and dress-up stuff for her birthday and from some sweet ladies at my two baby showers, who didn't want Abby to feel left out! She chose to "frost " her dad with pretty pink blush and later a crown with feather boa-he's such a good sport, especially because I told him I was going to do this and he said, "Whatever!"

It's also their thing to "Spin, Flip and Dance" every day when he gets home from work and just before bed, too. It consists of spinning in a circle (Josh gets more dizzy than Abby does-this one doesn't last long!), Abby climbing up his front and flipping backwards and then a nice little dance with Josh humming or whistling. It's so sweet and I love to watch. Sometimes the flipping gets more daring than I would like, but Josh has always taught Abby "tricks" and she goes right along with it, so I just have to grit my teeth! (Here's a few pics of their "tricks" from when she was younger, so you can see...)

Abby and Josh have a special relationship! It's the best!

PS-Just a fun tidbit...Abby likes to spin round and round in office chairs, and she says, "Mom! Spin me! I want to get BUSY!" and "Slow down! I'm getting BUSY, Mommy!"

Me at 35 weeks-Sorry I'm behind!

2008-09-23T07:53:00.003-04:00

Just to show what I looked like at 35 weeks, which was 2 weeks ago! I've got more recent ones, but they will be included in posts about other things...BY the way, the doctor told me yesterday....NOTHING IS HAPPENING! UGH!

The Nursery!

2008-09-09T16:17:00.005-04:00

I thought you might all like to see the nursery! It's completed...almost. Josh has cut out letters to put her name up on the wall above the crib, but they aren't sanded and painted yet. I had a dream the other night again that she came out a boy, and if that is the case....well, I'll just say I'd be pretty DARN mad! By the way, her name will be Phoebe Jane (Sorry, Alicia!), but don't tell Josh I told-I should wait until it's "official", you know...
It's coming closer and I am sooooooo uncomfortable, but I'm just trying to keep myself busy. I got my hair cut today, tomorrow, my TOPS (Taking Off Pounds Sensibly) Group is "showering" me, Thursday is the doctor and a shower from the ward and Friday, my sister-in-law (Amber)and I are hopefully getting pedicures and renting "Baby Mama", so I'm good for at least the next 4 days, right?

Anybody have any ideas as to how to make the time seem like it's going faster?... You'd think with a 3-yr-old to take care of, the days would fly by, but no such luck...

Me at 33 weeks!

2008-08-28T16:45:00.004-04:00

Just thought you all might like a shot of me with 7 weeks to go! This was Sunday, so now it's almost 6 weeks to go! And yes, Alicia, I DID make this dress! Do I look ready yet?;0)

We've spent this week getting stuff from the attic, washing all the covers for everything (carseat, stroller, swing and bouncy seat), finishing up the nursery (I'll put a pic on when I finally get everything up on the wall-hopefully tomorrow!) and drinking more water than I thought possible (The doctor told me on Tuesday that I was partially dehydrated-hence the feeling like crud lately!)

So, we're looking forward to it! The excitement is about to begin....well, pretty soon anyway!

Abby's Strawberry Shortcake Bday Party!

2008-08-20T15:35:00.009-04:00

Abby has loved Strawberry Shortcake since she started paying attention to TV! What was once "Cake" is now "Strawbee Cake" and when I asked her what kind of birthday cake she wanted, that was it! So there was our theme! And we decided to invite friends from the nursery at church and their families for a Strawberry Shortcake Party and BBQ! Hot dogs on the grill, potato salad, cole slaw, chips, cake and HOMEMADE strawberry shortcake for the adults! Here's the party in pics...

Abbs with her "Strawbee Cake" cake

Her presents, pre-opening...

Her silly Uncle Boo

Party Hats...nice face, Abb!

Blowing out the candles! "FFFFFFFF"

"My Dream Castle" from cousins Kendal and Tanner

Cinderella Dress-up from Myken and Carsen

Cinderella doll from Cami (and her bros, too!)

Strawberry Shortcake book from Aunt Anna and Will

Farm from Grandma, Grandpa and Sarah

Belle Barbie from Haley

Dora Playdo set from Parker (thanks a lot, Victoria!;0)

Makeup from cousins Madi, Zoie, Silvia and Jacobi

Strawberry purse and such from Aunt Lynn

Cinderella DVD from Mom and Dad

Playing with her loot after the party

Sunday morning "makeup" applied by Abby herself-I let her leave it on her face too long and she had to go to church with rose-tinted cheeks! I guess that was the point, huh? True "blush"!

She was so excited to dress up! There were plenty more gifts, and everyone was soooooooo generous! We really appreciate it!

We really had a blast and were so excited to spend time with friends and family! What a day it was!.....

Abby is 3!

2008-08-19T16:38:00.008-04:00

I can't believe it! Our Abby is 3! I've thought a lot about her birth lately, being so close to having another one, and it is just unbelievable how fast the time has gone! So here's a trip down memory lane-for me at least! Enjoy! Abby Louise Axelson

August 16, 2005

7 lbs, 8 oz.

Abby's First Christmas

Abby's First Easter

Abby's First Summer Edisto Trip

Abby's First Birthday

Christmas 2006 Picture

Easter 2007

Edisto Beach Trip 2007

Abby's 2nd Birthday

Christmas 2007 Picture

Easter 2008

Beach Trip 2008

Abby's 3rd Birthday

Blowing out the candles!

Abby's 3rd Bday Strawberry Shortcake cake-planned by me, executed by Abby's Nana!

I'll post more about her birthday party soon!, but there you go! We are so proud of Abby and we love her sooooooo much! Happy birthday, honey!

Breaking Dawn-WARNING! Contains SPOILERS!

2008-08-11T07:18:00.003-04:00

Okay, so I'm not usually one to get mixed up in the hype, but I was curious about why everyone loved the Twilight series so much, so I read the first book! Even though I liked it, the subject matter being what it was, it felt a little too violent for my taste in reads. I still wanted to read the rest, though, so I put my name on the list at the library for #2. It took almost 5 months, due to the fact that they only had one copy and SOMEBODY decided not to return it. Everyone in Florence should thank me, because I hounded the library to order another one and keep my name first on the list until it came in! So I got it, and finally got hooked! Once Meyer expounded upon Jacob's character, I was there! I also practically forced them to order Breaking Dawn, because they weren't scheduled to and I was NOT going to have to buy it, when I had gotten all the rest from the library! Plus, I had JUST finished Eclipse and, I mean, I couldn't just sit and wait when I KNEW it was coming out on the 2nd!
So I read my friend Ana's blog this morning and felt her post about said it all! I stole most of her post (Thanks, Ana!) for you all to see how I really feel about Breaking Dawn!

"Ok. I'm sorry, I liked this book. I actually really liked it. I have read a lot of reviews and most of the reasons why people DIDN'T like this book were the exact reasons why I liked this book. I wanted to get the wedding over with.. I wanted to get the the "change". The whole pregnancy threw me for a loop, but I accepted it. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the whole imprinting thing. I know that many people had a problem with it.. but I thought it was great. I read somewhere that many people thought that it was a total anti-abortion book, but I didn't even think about that, so it didn't bother me.
"I think that most people are reading way too much into these books. I mean, they are books... works of fiction people. It's not the end of the world if the book wasn't exactly what you wanted. I have heard that she's not done with the Cullens though. There will be more books. They won't focus on Bella and Edward, but they will be around. In all.. I'm happy. It was what it was. I still love the books. All of them. It's something to take my mind away.. so, I'm good."

So there you go! DONE!

I need to move on!

2008-08-11T07:09:00.002-04:00

I don't think I'm ever going to get around to the super-long post about Josh. Most of you know our story, though, so it's all good! I love Josh more than anything! He's the best!0)

I do need to move on, because I have some things I want to post about! First, I just want to say that I am sooooooo excited for my friend! I won't say her name, because I'm not sure she wants me to share her news with the world yet! She and her husband have been married for 7 years, and in that time we've talked on and off about infertility a lot. We both have PCOS, which is a big cause of infertility and we've both had a lot of problems with it! But she has FINALLY gotten pregnant! After many, many rounds of fertility drugs and several procedures, they tried IVF and it worked! She called me last night to tell me she's 14 weeks along with TWINS! I literally screamed into the phone! I AM SOOOOOO HAPPY FOR YOU, GIRL! She's unfortunately on bedrest right now, but the babies are fine and she says, "I'm okay with the bedrest-I'll do WHATEVER it takes!" She is the most positive person I have ever met!
Thank you for you great outlook on life and your constant encouragement to me, my friend, even when your problems far outweigh mine!
Yeaaa........

Our 8th Anniversary!

2008-08-04T18:40:00.002-04:00

This post is coming soon....Our phone line, and thus our internet, has been down off and on the past two days, so I'm doing this from my parent's house...and since all my pics are on OUR computer, this most elaborate tribute post will have to wait! It's okay, though. There has been nothing normal about our Anniversary this year. We actually celebrated it on Friday evening with a yummy dinner out with my brother, Boo and his wife, Amber (Gma and Gpa kept our girls) and a fun night of shopping at Target, Barnes and Noble (a few hours too early to get "Breaking Dawn"-I should have it at the library tomorrow) & Home Depot, without the kids...Then of course, ice cream on the way home! It was a blast!
Be back soon, I hope....

Fasting glucose test!

2008-08-02T20:32:00.003-04:00

A few posts ago, I wrote about failing my first glucose test during pregnancy, so the day after Abby and I got back from our trip, I had to be at the doctor's office for 4 hours and do the long fasting glucose test. Fortunately, I finally had Book #3 in the Twilight series and my way out of date journal to keep me busy! I caught up on several weeks of journal entries and made a huge dent in the book, in the midst of having my blood drawn 4 times, seeing the doctor for a normal check up and getting my Rhogham shot! Ugh! (By the way, I was definitely reading the perfect book to go along with my experiences that day!)

Good news! My test was normal! And that day, I bought PINK paint for the baby's room and with the help of my brother, Boo, his wife, Amber, and my mom, we got it done in one day! I'll post pics later of the new nursery!

Me at 28 weeks on July 5! And our July 4, too!

2008-08-02T20:22:00.006-04:00

Here I am on July 5 at 28 weeks-just thought you all might want to see how big I am!

Our Independence Day was calm and peaceful. We went to the new Burger King and Josh and Abby played on the big treehouse slide, then we went to see an elderly sister in the ward who had tons of toys for Abby to play with. Her favorites were the 3 "Billy the Bass" singing fish. Abby turned them all on at the same time, so we heard the joyful sounds of bluegrass music combined almost the whole time were were there!

We then had dinner with my parents and watched all the neighborhood fireworks! It was actually a nice, relaxing day!

My trip with Abby-GA/SC Family

2008-08-02T16:46:00.006-04:00

We started our trip saying goodbye to Josh in Greenville and going the back way to his sister, Alison's house in Cumming, GA. She has 4 boys and Abby had a blast having some rough and tumble boys to play with! And their big black golden doodle doggie named Buddy! We swam and went to Sonic for lunch and just had an all-around good time before heading to Stone Mountain on Saturday for Ryan's work party picnic! Most of these pics are from that HOTT (but not as hot as it COULD have been-it was overcast, thank goodness!) and very fun day!

Abby at the Backyard Circus, where the kids became the circus acts!

Noah being the lion and tiger tamer!

As soon as Larry the Cucumber and Bob the Tomato came out for their "Meet-n-Greet with the Veggie Tales", Abby ran up to Larry and hugged him! She LOVES Veggie Tales! Thanks to Alison, Ryan and the kids for waiting 15 minutes with us, even though they haven't seen Veggie Tales much!

On the train ride around Stone Mountain! Abby LOVES trains, but unfortunately, that famous smile did not reach her face during the train ride-she was hot , clingy and I think a little overwhelmed! So the whole train ride, I had the heat from outside, my "internal heater" (baby) and my "external heater" (Abby)-Notice my shiny face!

Us in front of Stone Mountain

Us on TOP of Stone Mountain

Abby thought at first that we were at the ocean. She said, "Mom! Don't fall in the water!" And was shocked when I told her it was the tops of the trees in the haze that we were seeing!

By 6 pm, I was ready to call it a day and was sure we would not last until the 9:30 pm laser show on the side of the mountain. I had seen it before, and even though I'm sure that Abby would have loved it in spite of her exhaustion, we left to head to Pendleton, SC to stay with my brother, Scott and his family and go to church in Seneca Ward, our old stomping grounds...

It was a lot of fun to see old friends and answer all the questions about the baby and Josh being Bishop, etc. Great fun! That Sunday afternoon, we headed down the road to visit Josh's cousin, Susan and her family...

Visiting Abby's second cousins, Trevor, Spencer and Vincent. This was when they were "being like a monkey--oohooheeheeh", according to Abby.

We stayed 1 more night with my bro and then visited my friends at the Clemson University Bookstore before heading to the Greenville area for a spaghetti dinner at Uncle Phil and Aunt Kathy's house...

Abby rode the pony with Zoie and the kids just played...they always have a blast at Uncle Phil's!

We were delayed going home with Poppy that night by a WICKED AWESOME storm! It was SWEET! Actually-that's what Josh would have said...I almost peed my pants I was so scared, but of course when Abby would say, "Mom, the ligh-ting scawe me! ", I had to say, "Naw! It's not scary!"

And just before we left, Abby donned a cowboy hat and played with hula-hoops! What a day!

We swam all day the next day with Heidi and the kids and had a yummy "Pizza House" dinner with Poppy! The next morning (Wednesday), we headed home...

We truly had a blast! Thank you to everyone who let us stay and eat your food and mess up your house! We love you all!

The riders have returned...

2008-07-29T08:31:00.004-04:00

They're back! Hooray! And they had a blast, of course! Josh told me I would have loved it, but it would have driven me crazy, because all the post-riding activities were so spur-of-the-moment and unplanned (I'm kind of a planner, which you probably know! I like to be "mentally preapred" for things!)! Every town they stopped in was closed down and selling everything under the sun! Thay had activities, concerts, food...you name it, they could buy it! I'll have him write in a little more detail when he has time and when he downloads all his pics, but for now, I'll just say that he and his uncle Steve rode a tandem bike-Josh in the rear-the ENTIRE 472 miles of the ride! They rocked it, getting done pretty early every day! And it was AWESOME! I'm so proud of everyone who went with their group!

Here's the two pics I have access to at this moment-I'll make him put some more on later!

5 of the 8 riders in their group with Clarence the Chicken-Josh's Mom, Janie, Josh, Josh's Uncle Steve, Josh's Aunt Brenda and their friend, Edie

A blurry cell phone pic of Josh and Steve about to take off in the early morning hours of 7/21/08!

Abby and I had a blast on our trip, too-very tiring for both of us but VERY fun-I'll write about that soon with pics...We're glad to have Josh back--soooooo glad!

Here we go!

2008-07-16T19:29:00.002-04:00

Just a quick post to let you all know that we leave tomorrow for Josh's bike ride across Iowa (RAGBRAI)! Abby and I will stay with Josh's sister, Alison and her family in Cumming, GA for a few days, then start the trip back home, stopping to visit other family members throughout the upstate area before heading home on Wednesday. I had planned to stay until they get back from Iowa on Sunday, but after my doctor's appt last week, where I failed my glucose test, they scheduled me for the fasting glucose test (the LOOOONG one where they practically take half of my blood in 3 hours!) Thursday morning. Rather than wait, I decided to shorten the trip-I'm sure we'll both be ready to come home by then anyway! No worries, people! I had to do the same thing when I was pregnant with Abby and all was well! It's just a PAIN!

I'm hoping to get the baby's room painted that weekend before Josh gets back too, with help from family of course! And this time, it's alllll PINK! With Abby, her room was decorated before I was even pregnant with her, because we were approved to adopt, so we had to go gender-neutral-yellow walls, denim and red bandana fabric, etc! This time I can go totally girly, and i'm going to! I'll post a pic when it's ready!

Anyway, I don't know when and where I will have access to the internet for the next 6 days, so I'll post when I get back!

Hope you all have a great week!

PS-If you're interested in Josh's whereabouts, you can see maps of where they will ride each day at www.ragbrai.com

Breakfast and Bubbles!

2008-06-27T07:25:00.004-04:00

Just wanted to post some pics of a fun morning Abby and I had last month. Abby was DYING to blow some bubbles and it was actually COOL that morning, so we went outside on the back patio with our "squares"(Cinnamon Toast Crunch) and a big thing of bubbles. My friend, Alicia, thinks I'm such a cool mom for breaking the morning routine sometimes, but it really only happens every once in a while! And it usually helps my sanity more than Abby's!Okay, so this pic is one of those I talked about in my last post. You know, those awful ones you take of yourself? And to tell the truth, I can't believe I'm actually posting it-no make-up and hair not done! But we were having so much fun!

Abby with her "Squares" Cereal and her famous smile!

And here's that smile again!

She actually does really well with the blowing of the bubbles too! She lets me do it for awhile, but pretty quickly, she says, "It's my turn, Mommy!"

Just threw this one in for fun! Notice the unmatching bed skirt! I had spent so much on the bedding and that rail (that incidentally, she hates! It only lasted a few weeks, and when she started sleeping on the floor next to the door, we figured out that it was making her feel trapped rather than secure! Go figure! It's under the bed now, and she has slept IN the bed since then!Hooray!)

We're lovin' life, almost every minute of it!