Just Some Random Thoughts

Hmmm....blogging....I'm not even sure I remember how to blog because I do it so seldom these days. Let's see if I can figure it out. Ok, have I ever introduced you all to one of my fave people ever, McKenzie???? If not, meet her now.

Hey McKenzie!

McKenzie was little E's first real babysitter. The Lord introduced her to us right after we moved to Durham a little over a year ago and it was love at first sight. E was only 3 and half months old but they became instant friends. Not only was McKenzie the best babysitter ever, she quickly became an amazing friend to me. The picture above was taken the day before we moved. McKenzie, WE MISS YOU SO MUCH and we think of you and pray for you constantly. It should also be noted that McKenzie has a super awesome boyfriend that we love too....Emmy wants to be their flower girl one day. :)

Wow, it was good for me to reflect on McKenzie and the time when our little family was all living under one roof because lately, E and I have been feeling a little like this.....

The first week or so without Garrett made my heart hurt bad.....seriously I cried a lot. Morning, afternoon, night, I was probably crying. Emerson dealt with missing G by doing this,

wearing a 4th of july hat sideways and carrying a dust pan....

and sorting and moving around pine straw...this is her new favorite activity. In fact that is how she busted her chin...by throwing pine straw into the pond and tripping into the side of it in the process.

Luckily, Garrett sensed my overwhelming depression (or maybe all the crying gave it away), and he surprised us by driving 8 hours at night for a one day visit. Oh man it did my heart good. I think the move happened so fast that I wasn't able to process it all until after it was a done deal so it was so nice to spend some quality with him, processing things together.

We took advantage of every second of our one day together as a family. We spent lots of time downtown and although we hadn't really planned on it, we let Em get into the water park thing down by the river (i have no idea what the thing is actually called). Hence all of the other children pictured are in their bathing suits while E is not.

Oh man he is the best looking man I have ever seen...for real.

The baby standing behind Em in this picture fell and busted her head on the ground seconds after I took this picture....I hate to say that I saw it coming, but "I saw it coming." Parents please don't let your 8 month old run around on wet concrete unattended.

Em sitting down and protesting "No, no, no, no, no" as G told her it was time to go.

In the short time Garrett was home, he managed to take this picture and leave it on my camera. Seriously he has the grossest feet ever. There were actually 2 pictures of his feet, this is the less gross one. Warning, it could make you vomit a little.

So, after Garrett left, I said to myself, "Allison, you have got to pull it together ASAP." So, I enrolled Em in a Mothers Morning Out program from 9-1, two days a week, and conned K.Lo into watching her from 9-1 one other day a week. Then I got myself a job. That's right, 5 weeks before my scheduled c-section, I have started a new job.

It may sound totally nuts but after a year and half of not working consistently and living outside of community, I needed to do something. So, my sister hooked me up with a little 10 hour a week job at the design firm where she works. Basically, I sort, fold, price, and organize fabric samples and I LOVE IT! Plus, I get to work with my sister which is even better than I could have ever imagined. Thanks for hooking me up Amanda, you rock. The only negative thing about the job is that I get to play with beautiful fabric that I could never afford (I priced on that was almost $400/yard today....not a joke).

Did, I mention that Em and little Bryson are in the same preschool class??? Well they are! Along with my friend Jenn's little boy, Keegan....it makes my heart happy.

E and B on their first day (we could not get them to look at the camera to save our lives).

They both started screaming the second we dropped them off. It was sad but cute all at the same time. By the time we picked them up they were happy as can be. In other news, E and I went to Spartanburg this past weekend b/c my sweet mother-in-laws friends threw us a baby shower. It was so sweet and beautiful and Emerson loved every second of it. I have never seen anyone enjoy attention as much as my little lady. She stole the show for sure (even though I told her that morning that the day was about her brother and not her)!

Emerson showing her Great Aunt June the new blanket her brother received.

She literally stood in the middle of the room the whole time. And she opened most of the presents before I could get a chance to.

E enjoying herself a little more.

Anyway, we are still missing Garrett and I might still tear up when I see him on Skype every night but I would say I'm doing better. I'm staying busy which is definitely a good thing for me right now. If you are in Greenville and we haven't seen you yet please holler at us! We want to see everyone while we are here and have the chance. Plus you can marvel at how large I am. I seriously need to stop eating so often and such awful things. I'm sure I will be blogging about my weight loss plan after #2 arrives. But until then....well let's just say I made plans just a little while ago to eat breakfast at Broadway Bagels with some friends from high school on Friday!

Holy Smoke....

Our life has taken a turn for the crazy....shocking I know. Well when I got back from California 2 weeks ago, Garrett told me that he had gotten a phone call saying they were moving him to an assignment in Northern Virginia and that he would need to be there by the end of the month. They said it would be a short assignment so we decided there was no way little E and I could go. You know since I'm scheduled to have a baby in 7 weeks. So, I got that news on Wednesday the 11th and on Wednesday the 18th the moving truck was packed and Garrett was driving E and I to my parents house in SC.

The memorial service for Amber's dad was that same Wednesday in Gastonia, so we drove the moving truck there. Really classy. The service was really beautiful and it was so good to just get to wrap my arms around Amber....she is such an amazing person and I am so blessed to have her as a sister-in-law. And I am beyond thankful that she and Cullen are finally back in the states and living so close to us know!

We got the Penske truck (we have permanently boycotted U-Haul...i can't believe i even just drew attention to them by mentioning their name) unpacked on Thursday and Friday and then on Saturday, G and I went to stay at the new Marriott in Greenville to celebrate 5 years of marriage! I think we would both agree that the 5th year has by far been the most challenging. Having our first child, being separated a lot for work reasons, and being in an extremely difficult position career wise has definitely presented us with challenges that we never could have imagined. I definitely think we both dream of living a "normal" life....whatever that means. All that to say, I love him more than ever and as we deal with all of these challenges together, we are both reaffirmed that the Lord ordained our marriage and that we were meant to walk through these challenges together.

So, our 6th year of marriage began with Em turning 15 months old, us being exactly 2 months away from having baby #2, and Garrett leaving for Northern VA for a few months, while E and I stay with my parents. Emerson is pretty amazing these days. She is walking and talking up a storm....in fact I think she probably had 10 or 15 words in her vocabulary before she ever took her first step (which happened on July 22nd). Her favorite thing to say is "No M'am." It's starting to drive me crazy. I working on "Yes M'am" but she doesn't seem interested.

Our little man is scheduled to be born at 9:30am on October 19th....hopefully we will have come up with a name by then. I'm thinking we will have to decide on something at the hospital b/c G and I really wont' be together to discuss it until then. Speaking of, G will have to fly home for the birth so please pray that our little guy doesn't come early...otherwise my sweet sister will be going into the operating room with me.

Ahhhh.....I'm too tired to update the world on much else. If I ever seem like I handle the chaos in our life gracefully, I assure that's all a big facade...not an intentional one but one none the less. I am tired and I miss my husband, bad. I miss having a home where my little family can all dwell together (G is living in a motel in Northern, VA...it drives him crazy when I call it a motel...he, he. I'm sure the Candlewood Inn is very nice). I would post pics of my precious little daughter but my parents will only give me guest access on their computer so I can't (this is not a joke). Nothing says "make yourself at home" like denying you full computer access. I love you mom and dad.

I am confident the Lord is doing something big in our lives amidst all this craziness and I am clinging to His promises but darn it if I'm not ready for a little relief. Selfish I know, but that's where I am.