Cousins

We had a wonderfully crazy weekend!! We got to have family in town from Indiana and Florida. It was Milla's first time of meeting some of her cousins! Mom and Cappie came up from College Park-- then Aunt Connie (my mom's sister) and Uncle Bob came from Indiana-- and their 2 sons Kyle and Ben came from Florida with their families--- (Kyle and Staci have KJ and Reagan Grace in St. Pete) and (Ben and Ragan have Gatlin and Eme in Land O' Lakes)

This is Milla with Reagan Grace and Emersyn. They are so sweet-- they wanted to help with everything...they would say "can I hold my baby cousin", "can I feed my baby cousin",...etc! I loved it and so did Milla!
The guys went sailing on Saturday. Here is Gatlin and KJ peeking through.

Brandon helping put up the sail.
Cappie sailing his boat!!! (that is how he got his nickname..."Cappie" short for Captain!)
The next generation!!!

Cousin Ben with his wife Ragan, Cousin Kyle with his wife Staci, and Brandon & me

Easter Egg Hunt with the cousins and our neighbors Ashlee & Evan

Family Group Shot
(Cappie&Mom, Ben&Ragan, Aunt Connie&Uncle Bob, Staci&Kyle, Me&Brandon, Gatlin, KJ, Reagan Grace, Eme, and Milla)

HILARIOUS!!!
This picture cracks me up!!!

Wedding Bells Will Be Ringing

CONGRATS to Kelli & Brian!!!!
Brandon's sister and her boyfriend got engaged this weekend!! YAY!!

Oh Happy Day

Milla got Dedicated on Sunday at our church-
Browns Bridge Community Church

Before your baby gets dedicated they have the parents come to an orientation and listen to 3 parenting talks on the computer-- they are really good--if you have an extra few minutes you should listen:
http://www.brownsbridge.org/babyD/page/process_step1

As part of the "homework" they ask you to sit down as parents and discuss the top 5 things you want for your child...and then talk about ways to make those happen. Of course there are many, many things you want for your children--but these are 5 of the things we are hoping for Milla:
1. That she asks Jesus into her heart and continues to grow in a relationship with Him
2. That she has a heart for serving others
3. That she learns the truths of the Bible so she can experience peace and have the knowledge to make wise decisions
4. That she will be able to see, experience, and appreciate God's creations (develop of love of nature, be adventurous, and take advantage of opportunities)
5. That she will be content in each stage of her life

Family Picture (Milla was sleeping)
*Cappie, Mom, Mrs. Crim, Mr. Crim, Kelli, Brian, B's Grandmother, B's Grandaddy, my Grandma, my Dad, me, Brandon, and Hank up front *

Will got Dedicated Sunday too!!!
Here is Elizabeth with Will and Me with Milla at the service.

Brandon with his little girl!

The Spiva family was so sweet to come support Milla!!
*Jonathan, Jill, and little Hudson*

The weather lately has been unpredictable--back and forth--but when it is a nice day--it feels so good!! We headed to the park with Audrey and Asher to soak up some sunshine!!!

Audrey taking Asher on his first trip down a slide!!

Something Different

We got to celebrate Blakeley's little baby girl that is on the way in April. The shower was so neat-- it was at "Dream Dinners" on Mansell road--( www.dreamdinners.com )-- it is a place that you go prepare meals for your week and freeze them-- they have already done the grocery shopping and all the chopping and prep--you just combine the ingredients and you have got a meal. I have heard of these kind of places--but didn't know what to expect-- it was even better than I expected! They have a great menu--they offer 14 meals that change monthly. We all got to make a meal for Blakeley and Will to save time when the baby comes-- AND as our party gift--they sent us all home with a meal too! WOW! It was FUN!

Here is a picture of Blakeley with the 2 proud Grandmas!! (Mrs. Waters kissing the baby & Mrs. Clark on the right)

Here are the mother/daughter hostesses that had the great idea for the shower-- Sue&Brittany, Blakeley, and Laura&Quida

This is a picture of how "Dream Dinners" is set up

Later Saturday night we got to have a shower to celebrate the upcoming wedding of Liz and Grant!!! The shower was at the Inman's house-- they have a neighborhood lake in the back of their house--so, the plan was to have a "fishing tournament" at the shower--but the day brought on and off showers--so the fishing had to wait! Liz and Grant are getting married in June in the North Georgia Mountains.

Will, Brandon, Grant, Ben, Christian, Ed

Laura, Megan, Becky, Sarah, Kim

Lana and Ben got to come from Chattanooga-- but little Samuel had to stay with his Grandmother because he had RSV...no fun little guy!!

HAPPY (early) BIRTHDAY Kelli!!
We got to celebrate Brandon's sister Kelli's bday a week early on Sunday! Her birthday is March 21st-- that is a popular bday!!! It is also the bday of Anne Adams, Elizabeth Fischer, and Wade Benich!!! HAPPY HAPPY BDAY EVERYONE!!

I love a quote that my Aunt Connie sent-- it says "A baby's smile can make you forget whatever it was you planned to do...and when you remember...it didn't matter anyway"!!!

First Week of March

Had a FUN lunch with Allison and Elizabeth Grace-- We were quite a sight trying to visit, eat, and keep two little ones entertained--but, I loved every minute!!! Elizabeth Grace is amazing-- she isn't even 1 yet and she is already walking SO GOOD!!!
(Allison holding Milla, and Elizabeth Grace in her highchair)

Kara, although she has two precious little girls of her own (Lindsey(almost 4yr) & Lauren (2yr)), is our kind friend that watches and takes such good care of Milla one day a week while we are at work. (My sweet Mom watchs her the other day). Milla has such a good time at their house-- It warms my heart when I ring the door bell in the morning and I hear their soft little voices say "yay! It's Milla!!"! That makes it not as hard to drop her off. I know she has FUN there!
(Kara, Lindsey, and Milla)

Kara & Dan hosted a 2nd Birthday party for Lauren on Saturday. It was a "ladybug" theme!
(*Lindsey, Milla, Lauren*)
While we were at the party, we met a neat family--the Mom was there with her 3 kids. They left the party about 10 minutes before us... then, when we left we were driving down the road and the family had gotten in a wreck! A 16 year old new driver pulled out and hit her -which sent their van spinning and through a fence! SCARY! Thank Goodness they are all doing fine and okay--just shaken up! They think it was just the fence that kept them from flipping!
It just shows you how quickly things can change!

Mr. and Mrs. Crim came up to visit on Saturday night.
We took a stroll around the neighborhood.

Yesterday we finally got to go on a hike we have been wanting to try at a little park not to far from our house. It is called Sawnee Mountain Park. It had a great view for being so close. I am glad Brandon was willing to wear the Baby Bjorn because it took 1:45 min to make the treak up, down, and around. Here is a view from the top.
(Milla and Brandon)

Milla and Me

Road Trip

Last weekend Brandon, Milla, Hank, and I loaded up and headed up 75 to Chattanooga to visit the Peppers and the Larsons!! On the way there we got to stop in Cartersville to eat breakfast with my Dad and Grandma Dunnington. It was Milla's first trip to Cracker Barrel!!
*Milla & her Grandad*
We all got to stay at Mr. and Mrs. Larson's beautiful house.
It was so much fun cathcing up and watching the babies! Samuel was born 18 days after Milla. The last time we were together was when the babies were just about 2 months old and now they are over 6 months old. They have grown so much! Samuel is so sweet, peaceful, and laid back!! We wish we lived closer!!! The Grandma's LOVED being together with the grandbabies!!!
(Mr. Larson, Mrs. Larson, Mom, Cappie,
Lana holding Samuel, Ben, Brandon holding Milla, and me.)


It just happened to be my birthday weekend that weekend--so everyone was so sweet to celebrate with me. We ate so many delicious things! Mrs. Larson made Taco Soup for lunch-- then- Ben grilled a beef tenderloin (on his Big Green Egg) for dinner and Mrs. Larson made her incredible Caesar salad that I love (she makes homemade dressing that is delicious!). My mom made one of my favorite kinds of cakes-- Coco Lopez Cake!!
Milla & Samuel loved watching the candles!

Birthday Lunch with my work friends!!
So Strang- we went out to eat last Monday and got to eat outside on the porch
and then it snowed on Tuesday!!! The weather has been so back and forth!!!
(Donna, me, April, Elizabeth, Amanda, Susan, Christina, Dixie, Tiffany, Jessyca, Maressa, Dawn, Elizabeth, and Bri)

Hank wants to be part of everything!! He wants to lay on Milla's blankets and play with her toys!! He makes sure that they both get equal attention!!!