For Uncle John and Uncle Paul

Let me just say that Sadie was the cutest tomato I have ever seen!! Thank you so much for the costume Nancy! I have a wonderful crafty Grandma who always made stuff for me when I was growing up. I'm so glad that Sadie will have Nonnie to make her costumes, dresses, and coats!

Here are a couple of pictures from the various festivities!

Sadie obviously can't eat candy yet - so Nonnie and Grandpa gave her a book to chew on - they gave me candy!

The farmers and their crop - this was taken and Derek and Tara's Halloween party.

I love this one!

It's been Awhile...

It's been awhile, and it will have to be a little longer. Things are busy at work this week, but everything will settle down by the weekend. Today is James' birthday! Unfortunately, we're not going to have dinner together tonight, but James and Sadie came to Atlanta to have lunch with me! We ate at The Flying Biscuit and then I gave the office tour. Everybody loved Sadie and she was so good - no fussin' at all!

Happy Birthday James - I love you so much! I hope you enjoy your day!

Here's a semi recent picture for you - courtesy of Melissa Pepin Photography! She's amazing!

Life is So Good

We actually stayed home tonight and it was so wonderful and relaxing. James and I love to go and do, but sometimes its nice to have a quiet night at home. We had a pretty busy weekend and didn't get to spend much time in Madison. I feel like we're constantly on 441 traveling from Athens to Madison.

When I got home I fed Sadie while James ran to the store to get salad and bread - I love living 3 minutes from the grocery store! It was great to have my little girl in my arms after working a full day.



Sadie is just getting to the point where she can hold up her head good enough to sit in her Bumbo. She sat in it and played with her keys while we ate dinner (we did have her next to us - not on the counter during dinner). She is also putting everything in her mouth now!

After dinner I fed Sadie again and we went to the nursery for some stories. Sadie and I layed in the floor and read a couple of Bible stories. She liked looking at the pictures and would respond to the changes in my tone of voice. It was such a sweet time.

We also took a bath tonight. She loves to get in the big tub and float around in the bubbles. Overall, tonight was perfect. I love being a mom and I am so in love with my little girl. I love getting to spend time with her and watch her learn. Time to go - she's calling me!

Pony

"Yes, baby, I will buy you a real one one day." (Just for the record, your Great-granddaddy bought your Nonni one!) - James

Quick Catch Up Blog

I can't believe two more weeks have passed by already! Here are a couple of pictures from the last couple of weeks.



This one is from our dcf Advance. We had a great time with our church family and Sadie did great! We all stayed together in a house on what used to be Lake Lanier. We had a great time of discussion, prayer, teaching, and worship. The house had a huge deck, so we had all of our sessions outside. It was great to worship God outdoors! The weather was perfect!

We helped the Brockmanns moved - I guess technically James helped the Brockmanns move. Sadie and I weren't much help. Violet and Sadie are going to be such great friends! Violet was pretty intrigued by Sadie.

Uncle James had his first football game of the season and we enjoyed watching him play. It was sort of bright so we pulled out Sadie's glasses so she could see. It cracks me up that she likes them! James didn't win, but it was close - hopefully they'll win this week!

Sadie and James working away. He's finally learning to multi-task!

Georgia v. Georgia Southern

We watched the game at Mama's house on Saturday. She kept Sadie, while Lyn and I worked at the dcf Charity Cookout. Lyn and I had a lot of fun cooking and serving burgers, but we came home smelling like smoke, sweat and grilled meat (okay maybe the sweat and meat thing was just me). Either way, we both remembered enough from last year to bring a change of clothes. I had so much fun watching the game with Sadie. Mom kept us fed with plenty of snacks and drinks.

Everybody knows that Georgia girls are the prettiest!

I told Lyndie that one of the first things that I thought about once we became pregnant was how fun it was going to be to be able to sit in my chair with Sadie and watch the Dawgs play. As expected, UGA took care of GA Southern in what Lyndie would call a "boring" game. At the end of the day, I told her that any day that GA wins, Michigan loses and an SEC team embarasses Clemson is a good day (Robbie...buddy...that is just for you.) - James

My Day

I had a wonderful day today. I am not naturally disciplined or inclined to live by a schedule, but it was really nice to start our family's new routine today. I did not sleep much last night at all. I tend to be somewhat of a night owl, and Lyndie and I have been playing for the past two weeks, so my body wasn't quite aware of its new wakeup time yet. Unfortunately, I didn't get to sleep until almost 3. I got kind of used to functioning on little sleep while I was working third shift this past year, so getting up this morning was not as difficult as it could have been. I got up and kissed Lyn goodbye and sat in the living room and starting checking email. I realized that I had just jumped into my day without spending time with God yet, so I stopped and read in Numbers. I started a plan to read through the Bible in 90 days and stopped for no good reason a while ago and decided to pick up where I left off. (For the record, I have read the Bible since then, just not on this plan)

I was so thankful for the opportunity to just sit on the couch and eat some oatmeal and drink coffee and read my Bible and for life to feel a little more sane. Sadie started getting restless and was losing her pacifier every five minutes after a while, so I got in bed with her (our bed not her crib) and finished my reading and spent some time praying. I am so excited about teaching her about Jesus and teaching all of the cool stories in the Bible. I prayed for the Schills, the Brockmanns, and the Hodges that God would draw their children to Himself and that He would use them to teach their kids about His love.

I never would have thought that I would feel so passionate about children (I know for a fact that I said on numerous occasions that I would work with any age group except children), but I have enjoyed so much the opportunity to pray for and plan for those kids' futures at dcf. I am currently working on a handbook of policies for dcf to use in training volunteers who work with kids and it has been a daunting task to say the least. There are so many things to consider. The other day I had to take a break from working because I was starting to feel overwhelmed with the responsibility. I was really thankful for Lyndie when she was quick to remind me that we don't have to do things as big or as fancy as other churches do, and that it is my job to figure out what it looks like at dcf and not feel pressured to copy what other churches are doing.

God has been so good to me and constantly reminds me of His love for me. I was reminded today of stupid it is to question and distrust a God that has already done so much for us. I had a blast today playing with Sadie, working and cooking. I got our elders' meeting, lunch plans with someone from dcf and coffee with two folks who visited dcf, so tomorrow is another full day but I am already looking forward to all that God has in store.

Back to Reality

Today was my first day back to work after giving birth to Sadie. I actually started a new job, too! I'm now working at Premiere Global, a telecom company in Buckhead, as a tax analyst. My first day back went as well as possible. The hardest part was getting up at 5 am! Sadie and I have been sleeping until 10 all summer. Sadie wasn't too interested in getting up early with her dad and I - she slept until her customary 10 o'clock.

Leaving Sadie behind was hard, but it was good to be back at work. I really love what I do - I guess I'm a bit of a dork! Ok, I know I'm a dork - I got kind of excited about getting new office supplies today. God's provision has been amazing over the past couple of months. When I found out I was pregnant we weren't quite sure how everything was going to work, but God had an awesome plan. I ended up getting a raise with my job change that allows James to work for dcf full-time. Thankfully, he can work with Sadie by his side and I'll be working at home two days a week if he has duties that require him to be stroller free. We thought it would be years before James would be able to work in the ministry full time. God is so good! James is such an amazing pastor and I am so glad he is now getting to use the gifts God has given him to love people and share the gospel. I'm also getting to use the gifts that God's given me in the business world.

James ended up finishing up at the hospital two weeks ago, so we got to spend two weeks together and home with Sadie. It was wonderful! James spoiled the fool out of me Friday since it was my last day. He took me to lunch at Marti's - my favorite! We ran into Rachel, Kim, Erika, Melissa, Abby, and my fifth grade teacher, Dr. Ward there. After lunch he humored me and we rode around town and looked at houses. Then we dropped Sadie off at the Miller's and went on a date! We had dinner at Carrabba's where we sat at their "pizza bar." We had a great time watching the chef's cook - it was like the Food Network up close. James was in heaven! It was a great way to close out my 12 weeks of maternity leave.

Wow - this is a really long post!! James is going to post about his first day with Sadie later - but I just want y'all to know that he blew me away! He got up with me this morning and made my coffee and kissed me before I left. He tried to take a picture, despite my protests, but the camera didn't work. He kept me updated throughout the day and sent the following pictures to my e-mail account at work. He also wrote a couple of rap songs with Sadie. He wouldn't video their performance, though. He went to the grocery, worked on material for the Advance, fed Sadie, changed diapers, made the bed, made phone calls, and cooked an amazing dinner. I definitely think he worked harder than I did today!

One more thing - as soon as I picked Sadie up when I got home, she pooped all over me! I'm serious - all over me. I had poop on my shirt, in the chair, on the floor, and up Sadie's back. It was pretty gross. I'm not sure what she meant by that - but James thought it was pretty funny and then dressed her in her "I love my Daddy" onesie.

Now its time to iron my clothes, feed Sadie, go to bed and do it all again tomorrow!

Lunch at Marti's

Sadie working the phone for Daddy

Date Night

James and I left Sadie with Olan, Nancy, and Elizabeth Friday night so we could attend Melissa Pepin's studio grand opening without a diaper bag! I kind of wanted to take her with us, but James said he wanted me to himself, which made me feel special. Being a mom is time consuming and I haven't had as much available attention to go to James. It was fun to to spend time together without being interrupted to feed Sadie or change her diaper.

Before the opening we had dinner at the Last Resort with Jessica and her sister and brother-in-law - Jacqueline and Ray C. We probably see them about once every two years, but we always have fun catching up with them. They are a fun couple and great parents - we have a lot to learn from them.

The party at Melissa's studio was a lot of fun - the space is definitely her style. I love the new backdrops she has and can't wait to get some pictures of Sadie there. Melissa's business has grown so much and I am so excited for her. God has given her so many talents and she isn't selfish with them. As a matter of fact, she's already loaned her space to dcf to hold a service in. Tasty World is remodeling and we were homeless Sunday night until Melissa opened up her space.


It was fun to get dressed up - too! James looked so great!

This is Melissa - she's so photogenic!

Sadie's Ready for a Tricycle!

This is too cute - and I think Papa's right - Nana's a little bit crazy! I can't believe Sadie was actually responding to her. We are enjoying her so much.

All About Me

My friend Lydia tagged me on her blog. This was kind of fun - feel free to send me your answers. Sorry it took me so long Lydia!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Kind of - my aunt had a friend named Lindy and my mom liked the name.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? I boo hooed through "PS I love you" a week after Sadie was born. It was embarrassing!
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Not really - its kind of messy - sometimes I can't even read it!
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? I'm with you Lydia - Pimento Cheese - Marti's recipe
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? One - Sadie - she's 8 weeks old now
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I think so
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? No - people normally don't get it when I try
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? No
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No way!
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Frosted Flakes with fresh peaches
11. Do YOU WONDER WHAT HAPPENED TO QUESTION 11? Nope
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Yes, but not physically (I had to clarify because James looked at me like I was crazy when I typed yes)
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? A new favorite - Mayfield's Blueberry Cream Pie (It totally beats Chet & Robbie's Blue Bell homemade vanilla with strawberries)
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Hair
15. RED OR PINK? Red with everything except clothes, then its pink (I have a red mixer!)
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOU? I can be judgemental
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? John - my brother in Japan
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Yes
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? khaki shorts and no shoes
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Cookie dough ice cream
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? This is embarrassing - Tori & Dean Home Sweet Hollywood is on the tv.
22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? red
23. FAVORITE SMELL? a clean baby
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My sister
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Yep - I miss you too Lydia and can't wait to see you when you get back home
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Definitely football - I can' wait for football season to start
27. HAIR COLOR? brown
28. EYE COLOR? brown
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No
30. FAVORITE FOOD? This is hard - I love calzones, pasta, and chocolate
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings.
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Juno
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? white, yellow, & brown
34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer
35. HUGS OR KISSES? hugs
36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Chocolate stuff from Barbara Jeans
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Nancy
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? my mom
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? The Innocent Man by John Grisham
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? no mouse pad - laptop.
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? Army Wives
42. FAVORITE SOUND? Laughs
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? I don't really care
44. WHAT IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Russia
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? nope
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Athens
47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOkNG FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? Everybody's.
Consider Yourself Tagged:
Nancy
Melanie
Kelley
Jessica

The Guest Blogger: Uncle Paul

For a single blog in possession of a good space must be in want of a visit from the uncle. Uncle Paul. Pardon me for navel-gazing but the phrase has not wholly taken root in my psyche. I keep repeating it to myself, under my breathe, and sometimes out loud to others. It has meaning in the sense that I am "Uncle Paul". Yet, I do not believe it will truly be so until I hear little Sadie grace me with the joy of hearing it spoken.

I am currently at the domicile of the new parent-al units. James is asleep in the recliner with Sadie who is lying on his chest asleep also. She takes after her father, apparently, and James takes after ours. (A friend of ours, a blond one in high school mind you, once asked if our dad ever moved out of his recliner. She swore she had never seen him any place else.) Lyn is folding laundry and packing to get ready to the beach. Rather cheerfully, she is packing and sorting all things James and baby to get off at the crack of 9 in the morning. I think the warm CC cookies we consumed are the source of her cheerfulness. Mine is cheap PBR.

She let a slight complaint slip about the entire laundry basket being filled with Sadie's clothes. Sadie is barely 2 months old and she is already a clothes horse (I have no idea where that phrase comes from). A Nonnie who has been buying clothes since her youngest left for college and a stylish Nana who manages at the Polo outlet will keep her outfitted till at least her 5th birthday. Who knows what the teenage years will bring.

I think I am supposed to be blogging about the baby but my baby tonight, aside from my cute niece, was a fine mostly homemade pizza. Thanks to Parade magazine for the recipe. Not just a rag for reader's digest regurgitations and celeb news, we were gifted the recipe of a fine pizza of fresh tomatoes, basil, Mozz, and feta. I would recommend it but I would also recommend not trying to find phyllo dough at the Ingles in Madison. James kicked in his Pistachio and Lime Salad Dressing for our side salad.

I have used up the allotted space and time that Lyndie has allowed me. My parting thoughts were going to be on the development of the intellect and consciousness in babies and whether the capacities and power of our brains increase or just take form as we mature. But I apparently have to go. No pics this time. Just the hiccups of my muse.

Ciao:

Fourth of July

We went to Nana's lake house for the 4th of July. Olan had the whole week off and he and Nancy had a couple of days of quiet before we joined them and stirred things up a bit! I love spending time at Nana's lake house - it is always so relaxing, and this time was no exception. Nana, Nancy, and Olan always out due themselves when it comes to food! I think I gain 5 pounds every time we go up there. This time they fixed the best homeade ice cream I have ever had. The consistency was perfect! I think I'm going to have to buy a new ice cream maker! We went to see the fireworks in Washington, GA Friday night. We were pleasantly surprised - the fireworks were really good. Sadie didn't mind the noise at all. She slept through most of them. We took plenty of pictures! This weekend was also nice because there were plenty of folks willing to help me with Sadie. I think I only held her when she needed to eat. I actually read a whole book and took a nap. I needed the rest. Here are some pictures from the weekend!

dcf Swim Party

We had a cookout/swim party last Wednesday for house fellowship. All of the groups met together and it was good to have time to talk to people we normally don't get to hang out with. I had fun watching Violet Brockmann crawl around - I know it won't be long before Sadie's crawling around trying to get to Lexie! Lexie is my sister's dog and she is such a chicken - so far she's been scared of every small child that can move. She's not scared of Sadie yet because she doesn't move a whole lot.

It was a great night to be outside and enjoy the yard and pool. It was also Sadie's first opportunity to wear her swim suit. Unfortunately, they don't make swim diapers small enough for her so we've just put her feet in so far. She likes her baths, so I'm guessing she'll enjoy the pool once we figure out how to protect the water from her poop!

I was reminded Wednesday night how wonderful our church family is. We're such a diverse group and I love every person there. Our church family has been such an encouragement to us over the last couple of years. They've been there to help us as we've moved, painted houses, reeled from a serious back injury, and had a baby. We couldn't have done it without their love and support. We are so blessed to have them in our lives. I'm so glad that Sadie is going to grow up around such wonderful people!

Sadie's Frist Drink in a Bar

Lyndie and I went down to Athfest for a little while on Friday night. We didn't stay long because we wanted to go to James' game. Before we left for the game, we stopped by Trappeze Pub so we could all get a drink. (Just for the record, Lyndie had an americano and I had the Augustinerbrau Maximator which is virtually perfect.)

For those who may not know, Trappeze Pub just bought what used to be Hot Corner Coffee and expanded into that space. They are now serving food and coffee. It was nice to sit and look out the windows at the people passing by. We saw several families out, and it was fun to think about having Sadie at Athfest as she grows up. (As I am writing this post my 13, yeah that's right, 13 years of grammar is coming back to haunt me. I realized that I just ended my last two sentences with prepositions. My final word on that "rule" is that it is a habit up with which I will not put.)

Sadie's First Wedding

Sadie's first dance with her Dad. They looked pretty cute! I was so proud to belong to them!


Grandpa and Nonni with Sadie. Apparently, she didn't like the song. I think the band was playing the hokey-pokey.



This is Sadie with Jacqueline, who was my mom's next door neighbor and best friend growing up and has been apart of our family ever since. She is one of the most witty and funny people I know and is one of my favorite people in the world. We don't get to hang out that much, but every time we do; there is a story to tell. (Trudy, Toranado, and Bruce)

I might be a bad blogger!

When we started this blog I was scared that I would be bad about keeping it up, and I think I am!

Sadie and I had a pretty busy week. We had lunch with Jessica at Marti's, visited Cynthia at the bank, went to Grandpa's work, went to lunch with MeMe and visited Polo, shopped with Kelley, and went to House Fellowship. Friday was the only day we were at home during the day!

Friday night we went to AthFest for about an hour before we went to Sadie's first baseball game. My brother James is on the Allstar team for Jackson County. She was awake and alert for just about the whole game! My mom is usually pretty loud at ball games, but we told her she couldn't yell if she held Sadie. She decided she would hold Sadie and keep the cheering down a little! We had a good time and James won his game! They played again yesterday and lost, won this morning, and played again at 5 tonight. I haven't heard the results yet.

Little Miss Thing

We took Sadie outside for a little while Saturday afternoon to hang out by the pool. James enjoyed floating around in the pool while Sadie enjoyed being held in the shade. Unfortunately the sun was still bright in the shade and Sadie didn't want to open her eyes. She had just received these glasses as a gift from James' co-worker, Dan, so we decided to try them out. She actually liked them and opened her eyes when she had the glasses on.

Don't worry - we didn't keep Sadie out in the hot too long. Her uncle James took her inside while we stayed by the pool. Nonni and Grandpa came over later with some homeade ice cream. It was a wonderful summer day.

Daddy's Girl

I took this picture when we had been home about 30 minutes. They were both exhausted. James is such an awesome dad! He definitely knows how to soothe her when she's upset. He's a pretty good diaper changer, too! Sadie loves to be on her Daddy's chest.

Who Needs Big Brothers?

I used to say that I wanted to have a son first so my daughter could have a big brother to look out for her. Sadie doesn't have a big brother, but she doesn't really need one - she has Uncle James and Jeb. These guys are a little crazy about our little girl. They came over to our house to help James out in the yard some more. We had to pull over half way home so they could switch seats to get equal riding time next to Sadie.

We went over to my parents house to cook out Friday night and James didn't really like letting other people hold her. Sadie is a lucky girl to have such an adoring uncle.

James isn't her only adoring uncle, though. John and Paul haven't got to meet her yet, but we're letting her know that Uncle John and Uncle Paul are pretting amazing, too!

First Week Home

James stayed home with me this week and we had a great week despite some crazy sleep
patterns! We came home from the hospital for the second time last Saturday. Sunday, Grandpa and Nonni came over to help us with Sadie and some yard work. Our yard was starting to look like a jungle! After the work, Sadie spent some time with her grandparents outside - I think she already likes it outside!
Sadie also had her first bath this week. She didn't fuss as much as I expected. I remember watching my little brother get his first bath and he hollered a lot more than Sadie did. Here are a couple of pictures from that adventure!