a little bit of everything...

I’ve been kind of MIA this week...There’s a very good reason. I simply have not been motivated to do anything! My “normal” schedule if you will has been changed due to me not scheduling any weddings after November 5-the end of February. I did this intentionally to have some time with my family and some free weekends, BUT my daily scheduled has changed drastically and I just haven’t been able to figure out how to use my time the last few days! I have so many things I want or need to do, BUT I just haven’t! In some ways it’s good, other ways I can’t do nothing for the next 3 months! BUT I’m also being a little hard on myself because I’ve worked non-stop even after getting Annie Rice so a few days to do nothing except watching VeggieTales and Nemo, read books, and play with toys is ok right?

I mentioned in my last post Annie Rice has been sick. She got her flu shot on Tuesday...

She is learning so much. She is getting close to standing on her own...She has learned to tell me NO, which isn’t a good thing. She has learned to say what the monkey and sheep say...She’s growing up too fast:( I got out of my car the other day and looked at her and thought, wow is this really true. Sometimes life doesn’t seem real, but I am so thankful for this sweet little girl who brings more joy to our lives than I could have ever imagined! Her and Miley have become best buddies! Kaz and I were cooking in the kitchen last night and heard Annie Rice just a giggling away..Kaz looked and her and Miley were playing a game with Annie’s toy balls! It was the cutest thing! Every morning Miley goes in her room when I get her out of bed, and Annie Rice always says Hey pup pup!:)

I have been a cooking machine lately....I have a love/hate relationship with cooking. I LIKE to cook, BUT hate knowing I have to do it everyday. So I decided to do something I haven’t done in awhile. Make freezer meals! For me, it’s the best thing because I can still cook when I want BUT if I don’t want to or life gets busy, we have something to fall back on instead of eating out! Freezer meals are great, easy, and ends up being a littler cheaper because I make so many of the same thing at a time:) Yesterday I made 4 bags of crock pot taco soup, 4 Broccoli and cheddar casseroles, 4 bags of sloppy joes for Kaz, and 4 containers of chicken enchiladas! I still have 8 other meals to make and we will be good to go:) That should last us all of December:)

Tomorrow we are going up to Columbia to spend the weekend with Todd and Liz. We are going to the Citadel/Carolina game on Saturday! There’s not a doubt in my mind that Carolina will win BUT I promised Kaz I would wear Citadel instead of Carolina...Let’s just hope I don’t change my mind:) I’m really looking forward to the game AND THEN my family is having a little party on Sunday for Annie Rice! We are so blessed!

I’ll be back next week!

best buddies...

Miley and Annie Rice are becoming best buddies! I have gotten "brave" and have been taking both of them on a walk together in the mornings! Annie Rice just looks at Miley the whole time and laughs! I love it! 

I had to document this moment the other day through pictures[even though they are horrible camera phone pictures]! Annie was on the bed and Miley jumped up there. Normally, I try to keep Miley away because she just wants to lick Annie's face all the time, but Miley just laid down instead! The first thing Annie Rice does most days is stick her finger up her nose! This time, she stuck it straight up Miley's nose and Miley didn't even flinch! I was really surprised because Annie sure pulled her nose back, but it was super cute and I just couldn't resist! 

 Miley sits at Annie's feet while she eats, HOPING she will drop just a few crumbs:)

i can breath a little...

Whew, what a month! I feel like I haven't slowed down...I'm happy to say things are beginning to get back to normal and I couldn't be happier! It seems like we have been traveling so much lately, and I have definitely been very tired! This past weekend was jammed packed full of things including my last wedding for a whole month! I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself...and then round 2 of busy season starts back up! BUT for now, I will enjoy this time:)

Tomorrow will be a whole month that we have had Annie Rice! I can't believe it! This morning in church Kaz leaned over and said, "It's hard to imagine what life was like without her!" He's so true! She's doing so good and really progressing a lot! We hope to start her therapy very soon, just waiting on the final paperwork to be complete! In the last 2 weeks she has started holding her own bottle, which according to the therapist is really big! She is army crawling now, so I'm confident she will be crawling in no time! BUT she has stopped all eating! We have tried EVERYTHING! She refuses to eat anything EXCEPT cheerios, prunes, and sometimes yogurt. We have mixed veggies/fruits in her yogurt and she just spits it out! We even tried going back to baby food and she wouldn't have it! So, I guess she will have to get hungry before she eats, ALTHOUGH that doesn't look promising...She even turned down chocolate! I'm hopeful her eating will get better and am going to try putting cinnamon on her foods tomorrow because she does love cinnamon...so maybe that will help! 

 Miley still wants to get her bath toys everyday! She now even wants to join her in the bath tub at night!

I'm looking forward to a quiet, normal week:) Well, let's at least hope so!

pup pup, a rubber ducky, and baby...

Well, Miley hasn’t been kicked to the curb BUT she definitely doesn’t get as much attention and she sure lets us know it! I think her favorite time is at night after I put Annie Rice down for bedtime because then she’s the main star again! Overall, she has done really well with Annie Rice. She wants to lick her face all the time...Most mornings she’s scared of Annie Rice and won’t come within 10 feet of her while I’m changing her morning diaper but then after that she’s fine! 

The one thing that Miley does EVERY DAY is go in the bathroom and get Annie Rice’s rubber ducky...I always try to close the door but sometimes I forget and then minutes later I will see Miley walking around with a tiny little yellow beak hanging out of her mouth! It’s actually quite funny though and I think Miley keeps doing it because she knows she will get a little bit of attention:)

A few of my favorite pictures of Annie Rice and Miley...

2 beggars...while I’m eating...

eli young band & father's day...

We went to see the Eli Young Band last week with our friends Amber and Chris! We had a blast...not to mention that I love country music and concerts, so it was perfect:)

 As usual, I had to think of a creative picture for my dad on father's day...So this is what I came up with! I think I did pretty good:) 

 We had a friend's wedding on Saturday. I was photographing it but Kaz attended it so we had a little fun in the photo booth:) After the wedding, we went to my parents house to spend Father's Day with them! It was a great weekend!

Friends from college

Me and Dad

getting back in the swing of things...

I feel like I’m dragging lately...With being so sick last week, having a full weekend with weddings, and right in the middle of my 2 busiest weeks, I can’t help but feel very overwhelmed and not wanting to do one thing!

I still have a lot of cold...My ears are both still completely clogged up and I’m just plain tired! I have been editing SO MUCH this week and still have a ton more to do before Friday! Saturday is a new wedding, so I’m trying to get as much done as possible before then!

I haven’t exercised since last Monday:( My appetite has come and gone! The only thing I wanted to eat last week was chicken noodle soup from Panera Bread. After that came up, my taste changed to cinnamon rolls and orange juice! So for 2 days straight all I ate was cinnamon rolls for breakfast/dinner and orange juice! Healthy huh?

I’ve been eating more this week but I’m just not hungry. Today, I was so hungry by lunch time..I had a lean cuisine meal and 2 100 calorie packs and my stomach was still growling! I’m slowly, but surely getting back to normal!

Kaz and I did celebrate his birthday on Monday night a little more. We walked around the Citadel[his college] and then ate at Kicken Chicken and 32 toppings for dessert! It was a fun little night!

AND it wouldn’t be a birthday without having a silly picture of Miley...SO this was Kaz’s birthday card:) HaHa! I think I have officially lost it:)

he's home, he's home!

My handsome husband is home from Colorado! Just in time...It has been a rough couple days in our house! I have been sick all week! Last night, me and Miley were both sick throwing up[I have no idea why she was]! I went to the doctor this morning to find out I have strep throat and a really REALLY bad ear infection! I was told not to be surprised if my ear drum didn't burst it was that bad! AND I have 2 weddings this weekend WITH NO VOICE! So Kaz came home just in time! He is so sweet and has offered to help me at both weddings....He will be my voice:) He's the best! Me and Miley are SO GLAD he's home!

a great weekend...

We had a REALLY FUN weekend! This was my first weekend in a while without a wedding[AT HOME] AND my only weekend free in May, so Kaz and I really tried to take advantage of it! Not to mention, he goes back to Colorado tomorrow:(

We met my parents for dinner Friday night for mother's day! Below are a couple of pictures! We ate at Chili's BUT due to the where the sun was our only option for a backdrop was HOOTERS! Ha-Ha! Kaz couldn't get his eyes right for some reason:)

 After dinner, we met Liz and Todd for Marble Slab! My favorite:) Cake batter + rainbow sprinkles + chocolate chips + chocolate waffle bowl = THE BEST!

Saturday morning, we slept in until 9! That's super late for Kaz! Normally he's up at the crack of dawn! We went to Mount Pleasant and ran the Cooper River Bridge, walked around downtown, and went to the dog show! For dinner, we had some friends over so we made hamburgers! Miley wanted one SO BAD! 

Such a fun weekend! Just sad to see Kaz leave tomorrow:(

a little bit of everything...

whew....the last few days have been BUSY BUSY BUSY! I'm so thankful for a little break and a free weekend AT HOME! So much has been going on lately...

We have started a couple new "nightly" routines...Every day when Kaz gets home from work we take Miley for a 2-3 mile walk in the neighborhood. She LOVES it and so do we:) It has become a great time for us to talk, catch up from the day, and just enjoy the beautiful weather for a little bit! It also helps that by the end, she's completely GIVE OUT and just mopes around all night! It's quite nice! We also started back in April really dedicating time each night to read the bible and pray together. We've always done devotionals together[not every night] and prayed together but it's been a lot different lately because we've started doing it every night AND we look forward to that time together. If this isn't something you do in your family, you should really try it out! I promise you won't be disappointed!

[how she looks when we are done walking!]

My dad's best buddy CPete is in critical condition in the hospital. He had a stroke and brain aneurysm. Please keep him in your prayers. My dad and CPete go to town mostly every Friday and Saturday morning together. He has always called himself my dad's son. Even though it's not by blood, he is apart of our family...Please keep him in your prayers...

I've started working out really hard again this week...March and April were really crazy with work and all the traveling I've been doing! I'm really determined to loose those few extra pounds and be able to run longer than 5 miles again! We recently joined the YMCA because I just can't run outside during the summer..the heat really gets to me, so I've been going to some classes! They are GREAT BUT I have been quite sore! 

Updates on the adoption...really none:( It's been kind of disappointing lately because we are coming up on our "year mark of waiting", which means we have to complete parts of the home study over. We have almost got all of those parts done, but it's been really hard to think about...BUT we are hanging in there and TRUSTING IN HIS PLAN...

moes, miley, and kaz...

my husband is the ABSOLUTE BEST! I had a really late wedding on Saturday that was in Spartanburg[about 3 hours from our house], and an early engagement session this morning. According to the timeline of the wedding, I shouldn’t get back to Charleston until around 3am Sunday morning and then have to get up around 6am to leave for the engagement shoot! My sweet, sweet husband decided to drive me to the wedding and hang out all day in a coffee shop/book store so that he could drive back and I wouldn’t be by myself! 

If that wasn’t already enough to show me HOW MUCH he loves me, he also brought miley and moes downtown today....I had a busy day full of sessions with about an hour break. He knew I wouldn’t have time to grab lunch so he came downtown, brought moes, and miley! He’s the absolute best! We had some extra time to go for a walk so we did:) [Please excuse the way I look-I was in a boat for about 3 hours this morning for an engagement session! I looked a little rough:)]

Kaz, YOU’RE THE BEST! 

 If you can't tell...Miley was GIVE OUT!