The Peppers Came to Town!!!

We were so happy to have Ben, Lana, and Samuel come spend the weekend!

Milla and Samuel playing at a nearby park

BUSTED LIP!
Milla is an active little lady! Her lip typically looks like this every few weeks from running and taking a tumble! It breaks your heart when they get any kind of scratch on that sweet, soft baby skin---but thank goodness they are so resilient and heal very quickly!

Milla and Samuel playing with Hank!

I love this one of Samuel!!!!

Some friends came up for dinner to visit with the Peppers while they were here.
Here are the guys grilling out on the deck:
Ben, Brandon, Andrew, Christian, Grant, and Ed

Liz, Me, Sarah, Lana, Becky, Brooke

The Peppers

The Bells

The Inmans

The Nobles

The Huffakers

The Crims

Will You Be Mine?

We had FUN celebrating Valentine's Day this year!

We started off with an early Valentine's celebration at the Dasher's house! Got to see my high school friends, their moms, and their babies!
Carrie&Houston, Brittany&Max, Blakeley&Mia, Me&Milla, Becky, Allison&Elizabeth Grace

Milla gives her Dad a Valentine's Day smootch!

*Milla*
this picture makes me want to order one of those profile cut outs....there is something so sweet about a little one's profile... I looked on http://www.etsy.com/ and found a neat site to order from:
"Pretty Faces" portrait silhouettes by jackie

Happy Valentine Smile!

February Hearts

We had some exciting news to tell....these are the Valentine's we gave to our parents this year...

"How Appropriate For February"

"We got to hear a brand new heartbeat"

"Milla is going to be a BIG SISTER in August 2011"

Milla is really growing up! She just had her 18 month Check Up on Friday....
Weighing in at 25# 8oz and Stands 34 3/4 inches tall.
We've been telling her that she is going to be a big sister...and she doesn't really get it...but she loves hugging her baby dolls and teddy bears and saying "baby"!!! She is going to do great in her up coming roll!

Meeting Baby Philip

We got to take a trip to Birmingham this week to meet Anne & Michael's sweet new baby boy
"Philip Andrew"
he was born November 22
8# 9 oz
(he is now 8 weeks old)

Big sister Elizabeth holding her new brother Philip and Milla sitting close by so she can touch his toes!

I got my turn to hold Philip!!!! He was so peaceful and easy going!
My mom and Philip

Milla and Elizabeth were go-go-go. They got out every single toy in the house and their favorite game was "ring around the rosy". They would laugh and laugh when they tumbled to the ground! Elizabeth was nice to share all of her things with Milla!

two little ladies busy in the kitchen!!!

I love this picture!
My Mom was actually on an 18 hour layover in B'ham (she is a flight attendant)--so, we got to stay with her in hotel downtown. Milla thought it was fun to change the scenery from her nursery and have a "girl's night out" at the hotel!!!

Beau's 2nd Annual Birthday Cornhole Tournament

The Benichs know how to throw a party...they go all out...and it is always so much fun!
Here is a picture of BEAU...the man of honor for the evening!!

The temps were in the 30's--but we stayed warm with the multiple bonfires and heaters that lined the cornhole tournament area!

There were 6 cornhole playing stations.
Here is the trophy table....this is serious business!!! They draw names at random--boy/girl teams....and who did I get placed with....the reigning CHAMPION...!!! Lucky me!!

There were at least 40 or 50 people there...and we played a bunch of games....but our team WON!!! We got the 1st place trophy!!! (all because of Stephen's Cornhole Skills!!). Unfortunately we had to bump out the Birthday boy in the final round!!! Sorry Beau & Brooke!!

The trophy ceremony!! Ha Ha!

Tell me that this picture doesn't make your mouth water!!!! YUM!! A Krispy Kreme donut tower! Kriya did an AWESOME job thinking up great food for a chilly winter night. The menu included: lots of good appetizers, chili, chili dogs, chicken noodle soup, hot chocolate, cider, and the delicious donuts to top it all off!!!

They even had a hot dog machine!!!!

Snow Covered

January Snow!!!

Hank was a HAPPY DOG all week long! He had his whole family home and fresh powder snow to roll around in for an entire week!!

Thank goodness Brandon and Hank went to cut up a bunch of wood the day before the snow came...we enjoyed a lot of fires!

Brandon and Hank headed down the driveway. Brandon also went down on water skis!!! (...didn't turn out too well---almost broke his ankle!!)

Grand Mum and Milla bundled up!

Me and Milla at the top of the hill about to sled down!

Despite the freezing temps...Brandon was determined to do something outside--so, later in the week he headed to a river to do some fly-fishing!! COLD!!!

Perfect Timing! After a week of being snowed in---Milla had Emily TenKate's Birthday party to go to at Monkey Joe's (her first time there) ...where she could run wild and free!!

Riding the pony

Milla and I got to take a few trips down the slide together!

December to the New Year

We had a FUN office Christmas party this year. One of our Dr.'s- Dr. Hempel planned the whole thing. For those that wanted to meet early to do some Christmas shopping--he had us meet at a cute shop in Brookhaven called "Davonshire Home & Garden"...then gave everyone a gift card for a nearby shop. I got $50 for Pottery Barn! YAY!!!

some of my coworkers--
Andy(Tiffany's husband), Tiffany, Tina, Dr. Hempel, Bri,
Cheryl, Sherrie, & Hilary
***Neat Christmas Idea*** Dr. Hempel and his neighbors all go together to the local Waffle House on Christmas morning and fill the whole restaurant-- then, each family leaves at least a $20 tip--so, the staff ends up with a big pocket of cash by the end!!! Makes having to work on Christmas Day not seem so bad!

Sherrie, Me, and Elizabeth
The Powell Family--- the sweet family that takes care of Milla on Tuesdays when I am at work.... Dan, Kara, Lindsey, & Lauren
After shopping, Dr. Hempel and his family hosted the party at their house. They had it catered by Maggiano's..yum...one of my favorite things was the Rigatoni D!!!! Delicious!
(Tiffany-Dixie-Me-Ashley)

Look how HAPPY Milla looks in her Dad's arms as we waited in line for our 2nd annual trip to "Bass Pro Shops" for our free picture with Santa!!!

Didn't feel quite as comfortable in Santa's arms as she did in her Dad's!! This picture is a little hard to see---but she SCREAMED and SCREAMED!!! She was in his lap for a total of 5 seconds!

after the traumatic experience of sitting on Santa's lap-- Milla wanted to take a look at the awesome fish tank they have at Bass Pro. She is doing her "fish face"!

Got to go to our small group Christmas Dinner at Chase & Tiffany's house...
here are the guys....back: Brad, Duran, Brandon, Austin front: Jake, Chase, Ben & Asher

The girls....Jessica, Anna, Lindsey, Audrey, Me, Elizabeth, and Tiffany. Tiffany made a wonderful ham....she said it was from Trader Joe's...it was already seasoned and cooked--you just warm and serve...and was 1/2 the price of Honey Baked Ham. I am going to try that next year!

The Benich's hosted a great Christmas party!!! It was definitely the fanciest that we got to attend...with valet parking and a wait staff!!! FUN!! Beau was a hit when he made his Santa appearance! (Mandy,Kriya, Santa, Me, Becky,& Liz)

One of Milla's many EXCITED faces as she opened her Christmas gifts!!! The hits were...we lucked out and 2 different people that I work with passed down really neat play houses....(one is an outdoor one that looks like a log cabin-and the other is for inside--a "Rose Petal Cottage") and she got a Radio Flyer Wagon that she LOVES to ride in. My mom got her a big stuffed Hippopotamus...from the song..."I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas--only a Hippopotamus will do!"
***Sometimes it Pays to Wait***One week before Christmas we STILL did not have our tree!! We went to Lowe's to just get a little tree--but, when we got there we saw a sign that said "CLEARANCE, all trees $10"... awesome!! We got a 9 ft tree that normally was $70!!! and, a wreath for $2.50!!!! What a deal!!!

Due to all of the Christmas activities we didn't get any time to play in the snow on Christmas day--so, we were ready by Sunday to get out there! We drove up a little north to just outside Helen, Ga. Here is Brandon pulling Milla on the sled.

Sweet little Milla in the snow

Got to spend New Year's Eve Eve with my High School girlfriends!! It was wonderful! We met at a delicious Italian restaurant in Alpharetta called Luciano's. We were going to eat dinner and then go to a movie---but we were at the restaurant for over 3 hours and ran out of time to catch a movie!!! (Allison, Brittany, Blakeley, Becky---we missed Carrie in Nashville!)

We enjoyed fondue at Tiffany and Andy's house on New Year's Eve. Since we both have kids--we did an "early party" and got back home in time to get everyone in bed by their bedtimes...including me!!!...This year was the first year that I can remember that we were asleep at midnight! I was kind of sad about it--but then woke up fully rested and ready to start 2011 the next day!!! One of my many new year's resolutions for this year is to not procrastinate... hopefully I will be able to put that into action and start to blog more frequently. Here's to a FABULOUS 2011! Happy New Year!

A Christmas Miracle

This is the Taulbee family. Tiffany and I work together. Although Tiffany and her husband Andy already have 4 children of their own, they signed up to be short term foster parents!! As soon as they got all of the paper work and home visits completed-they got a phone call that they were needed. They asked if they would like a 2 year old girl or a 4 year old boy? As they found out more they learned that they were siblings that have been living in the homeless shelter since the summer!!! Of course they weren't going to split them up--so, Tiffany and Andy said they would make room for them both and welcomed them with open arms!!! They all of the sudden turned into a family of 8...with children ages... 1,2,3,4,5, and 8!!!!!!! WOW!!! Joshua and Geonna fit right in and LOVED the Taulbee family! They stayed with them for about a month until their mom was able to get her feet back on the ground. She was able to get a job and get government housing that is close to Marta. Tiffany went to take them back to their Mom last Friday and that is where the story got really interesting....


She found out that they were going back to a totally empty house....no beds, no furniture,...nothing! So, Tiffany sent out a message on Facebook asking friends if they had anything to donate to try to make their house live able. I talked to her Saturday morning on my way to work to see what she had accumulated. At that point her family was giving them a bed and things for the bathroom (shower curtain, rug,..etc..) and another friend was also taking a bed. I got to work and made a sign that asked for donations. When I got back in my car after work there was a message from Brandon (who was unaware of the situation). He said that his sister Kelli had called and she wanted to know if we needed a couch or kitchen table (Kelli and Brian just got married and combined 2 households..so, they had some extra things!!!). I called him back and said "YES!!!!---ask them if they would like to give them to this family?!"....they were more than happy to do so!! God's perfect timing---what a blessing!! So, we got to load up 2 trucks and take them some furniture!!! It was an incredible experience. Joshua and Geonna (along with their Mom and 18 year old sister) were SO EXCITED and grateful! They said "I can feel the love" and "it finally feels like Christmas"!!! When Brandon and Brian carried in the table Joshua squealed...a TAAABBBLE!!!!!! And when the couch came in they rolled all around in the pillows!! It was so much fun to get to be a part of and witness their JOY!!! The giving kept coming throughout the day....Tiffany was able to round up pots, pans, a dresser, and entertainment center, TV, DVD player, and even a fully decorated Christmas tree(which they have never had!). Within 24 hours the house felt a lot more like a home. The Taulbee family was such a blessing to Joshua and Geonna....and I know Joshua and Geonna were a blessing to them (actually to a lot of us!). God is Good and he was able to bring people together and help a family in need!! "Ask and it will be given to you: seek and you will find: knock and the door will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7
So, that was last Friday that the Taulbee's said goodbye to Joshua and Geonna and today they got placed to foster a little 3 week old baby named Sydney. Anxious to see what kind of miracles can come through that sweet baby girl!!