Because of Winn-Dixie

....such a sweet, sweet movie. I saw it for the first time the other day, and when Otis (Dave Matthews) sang to Opal, I cried.  So beautiful.   

Listen: 

Beautiful Night

So last night we had a storm blow through and though it wasn't bad directly here, the clouds were so beauiful   thatI had to take, of course, a zillion pictures of them. Here's a few... 

My Birthday

I had such an amazing birthday yesterday!!  First and best of all, my Mommy is here to celebrate with me and I am so glad that she is here.... she and I have been having a great time planning fun ideas and things for her upcoming wedding this summer  (so exciting!!)  and we got her dress and everything day before yesterday! Had lots of fun doing that. She gave me some lovely things for my birthday, and Troy gave me what I'd asked for this year- a metal detector!  We've already found some cool treasure from the back yard which was so much fun!  We live in Civil War/Pirate country so I am sure there are lots of cool stuff to be found! Looking forward to it!  Mommy will me here till Sunday, though I wish it could be longer.  :(  We're going to take Colten to Walmart and Mickie-D's tomorrow with his own little gift cards from his Nanna and let him get to buy some things all by himself, he will have a great time!  He loves my Mom so much!   She has been such a help with the boys.  I wish she lived here!   

Happy Valentine's Day!

Holy cow, it is Valentine's Day!!  2012!!!!  Man, I was thinking about it earlier today about how we all, I'm sure, used to think about it and really wonder what life would be like around now, many of us couldn't even picture it! Some thought we'd have floating cars and time machines, but in reality, we haven't don't too bad for ourselves scientifically if you think about it.... the Ipad? Who would have ever thought that could be possible? Skype? Seeing the person you are talking to on your cellphones and computers, it's  was science fiction- I remember when my Dad used to bring home computers to fix for work and it had the black screen with the neon-green type, the flashing cursor- playing games like "The Heist"and "Brick Out."   Watching movies on VHS and having that massive video recorder.... now I have a Flip camera and have literally hundreds of video clips at my finger tips. It really is amazing.....  :)

Now this has nothing to do whatsoever with Valentine's Day, I know.  But still, cool stuff to think about! :) 

And on the subject of V-Day- it was wonderful!  :)

Almost 5 Months

Well, once again despite all of my best intentions to be better about my blog, I plum forgot about it!  Now in my own defense, I got me a youngin' and therefor I've been pretty forgetful as of late, but I'm trying to be better about writing things down.... hopefully here in my blog!
Though over 4 months have passed I honestly can only say that I am madly in love with my sweet new baby, as I am of course with my oldest son and my wonderful hubby. And Webbie! :)    I just really can't believe that it is almost Christmas! Where has the time gone! 

My Baby Has Arrived!!!!

I can't believe it, but my beautiful baby is finally here!!  Jackson Charles! He is so adorable and sweet and he smells amazing and he is just so beautiful! He looks so much like Troy, it's awesome!  :)  Right now he is sleeping next to me on my bed, making sweet little sleeping noises and I am so madly in love!  :)  I can't believe he is here!
I went in to the hospital last Friday, the 22nd, and as they prepped me for surgery, I started laboring and having contractions. They got to between 5 and 6 minutes apart, so Jackson was coming that day no matter what!  The surgery went really well- the frightening part was that the umbilical cord was wrapped around Jack's neck so it was scary, but they got it off of him quickly and out he came. The staff at the hospital were wonderful that day, and the painful part was when the spinal epidural wore off- they took a half hour to give me my morphine so I was in literal agony during that time. But once they gave it to me, I was doing better.
My Mom came here to be with us and help takecare of Colten-she brought him to the hospital and he got to see his new baby brother right away! Troy's parents were there before the surgery and everyone was so excited once he was born and safely resting in the nursery! Troy's Grandmother came as well, and she got to hold her great grandson.  :)
The staff at the hospital were 95% wonderful- my 2nd and half of third day was awful. I was more than ready to get the heck out of there as soon as possible.  My doctor however, was fantastic across the board- Dr. Clark- he was awesome!  The nurses treated me like crap. I don't know what the difference was- the day of my surgery, everyone was as kind and thoughtful and sweet as could be! I was delighted to be there and my experience was fantastic. Then as soon as it was over, the following day they treated me like a lepor- either they avoided me completely, or were snotty and rude to me when they did show up. It was really bizarre and I was very dissapointed. 
So, coming home was wonderful!  Now here we are a few weeks later (I can't even believe he's 3 weeks old now!)- and I am still pretty sore, but getting more and more back to normal. I am ready to feel like myself again, get back to walking some and being able to play with Colten easier.  I'm excited to be recovered.  I hope it is soon.   :)  
I have to tell the world that my husband is the most amazing man on the face of the Earth!  He has held down the fort like you wouldn't believe- he's done everything for me and the boys, helped out my Mom while she was here and shuttled back and forth between the hospital and home, done all the chores as I was unable to, and just basically reminded me how very blessed and lucky I am to have him.  :)
Now, I'm going to go rest...... 

7 Weeks To Go!

Wow, inexcusable that I haven't been keeping up with this since March, but here I am.... I'm sitting in a comfy arm chair with my beautiful son, waiting for my 2nd beautiful son to arrive, though I have just over 7 weeks left of my pregnancy- honestly, I'm ready.  I'm very ready.   I do like being pregnant, just not as much at this late stage; I am sore, tired all the time, physically exhausted doing even the simplest of tasks and now I've entered the "what the heck is my problem" stage, where I am dropping everything I touch, forgetting things left and right, and on top of it all, I'm nesting. Yes, nesting. Like a mama bird, I'm out of control!  I am collecting things for my baby chick like you wouldn't believe!! I have been collecting packages of diapers and wipes, as well as going through our trailer and gathering Colten's baby clothes and toys and random baby necessities. The baby-bag is already packed and ready to go, and I believe I am mostly prepared.... I hope.
Now, emotionally.... that is a different question. I am nervous, I am not going to lie. We are used to being a family of 4 (including Webster), and now it will be 5 and I pray that I am up to the challenge. There are a few people who keep going out of their way to make sure they tell me how difficult and hard and frustrating it's going to be, now I have NO idea what I'm in for and to brace myself, blah, blah, blah.  And I'm over it, I really am. I don't appreciate people encouraging me to get freaked out and worried about this joyous occasion!  I am excited about having a second child and I'm looking forward to all the love and happiness it will bring to our family. I am praying that Colten will adjust well and fall in love with his new baby brother! 
All in all, I'm just ready to go. I got diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes this time (I didn't have it with Colten), so that has been a bit of a challenge, but we're pressing forward and trying to eat well and make healthful choices so that things go smoothly. I've only gained 14 lbs this whole pregnancy, which is a miracle since I gained quite ALOT last time.So I am proud of myself for that and trying to keep up the good work.
I'll keep you posted! Ok, I'll try, I promise!   :)