10 months of bliss

She's 10 months today!

That's right...our sweet little Raleigh is 2 months away from being a year old. Isn't that crazy? This time, 10 months ago, I was in a lot of pain, anticipating her arrival. It seems like yesterday.

She is doing great. She is talking, well, babbling a lot. She smiles and laughs all the time, which is so sweet. She is into EVERYTHING!!! Her new thing is to get under the Christmas tree and see how many bows she can rip off of the presents before I can get to her! She is taking some steps and crawling at the speed of light, it seems! And she loves to dance! It is so adorable. Her favorite song is the "Max and Ruby" theme song. Every time she hears it, she starts dancing...too cute! She still loves her big brother more than anything. She calls him "Bubba." She's been sick with a cold for about a week now, but she is slowly getting better. She is also getting me up a lot at night, which hasn't been so awesome :) , but I think it's because she's congested. But all-in-all, she's just perfect.

I thought I'd get past all of the emotions I have the older she and Cole got, but I seem to be even more emotional now than ever. I just love them so much; the thought of them brings tears to my eyes. I guess it's all part of being a mommy. I can't imagine life without them. They have brought so much joy to our lives and have made Eric and I stronger as a couple. With the birth of Raleigh, I really feel like our family is complete. For now. :) I am so insanely busy keeping up with them, I can't imagine having another baby right now, but I can't say that I NEVER want to have anymore. I just feel content right now in my life. Maybe in a few more years, we'll talk.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Not a fan of Santa

We took the kids to see Santa yesterday.
I was SOOOO excited. I had them dressed perfectly. Raleigh wore a beautiful black velvet dress with tulle around the bottom, a red ruffled shirt underneath, white tights with red bows on the back, and sweet little black mary janes.....ADORABLE! (Of course, there were no hair bows; still not there yet, but it's growing!) My darling Cole wore black slacks, a red and white checked collared shirt and red sweater over that. They matched perfectly; looked like little baby models! I was just thinking, "Oh yes, the best Santa pics ever!" Until we met Santa.....

I knew Cole would be great. He is aware this year that it is indeed Jesus' birthday we are celebrating, but also he understands Santa. So, he was thrilled to be meeting him to tell him he wanted a bow and arrow so he could "go hunting with daddy." (Eric was a proud daddy!) And Raleigh wants to do whatever Cole is doing, so I thought she'd have no problem sitting with a total stranger wearing a huge red suit and white hair galore. Yeah, so you get the picture.

*insert Santa Claus*

and the hysterics began. She freaked out...I mean, seriously panicked. Poor little thing couldn't control it...she was terrified! So we thought, "Well, it might be really cute to get a picture of her misery; you know, sweet puffy red eyes and screaming loudly." What the heck where we thinking???!! NOT GOOD. Every time we thought she was settling down, she'd turn around to look at Santa and start screaming all over again! So, needless to say, the pictures turned out less than perfect. It's really quite funny, though. Santa isn't looking at the camera, Raleigh is laid back with a red face and sporting 4 chins, thanks to the horrible angle, and Cole is smiling like an angel. I'm gonna love this picture for years to come. :)

Unfortunately, I didn't buy the CD to the tune of 15 ridiculous dollars, and I don't have a scanner, so I can't post it. But I'm sure you can imagine the cuteness. *sigh* :)

Happy Thanksgiving

Cole decorated Daddy!

I LOVE THANKSGIVING DAY!

There's just something about waking up that morning, knowing with everything in you that you plan on stuffing your face ALL day, and it's okay! For Eric and I, we get to enjoy this feast twice; once at his Mimi's and then at my mom and dad's....it's fantastic. Of course, you feel like crap at the end of the night from all the food you've eaten, but it's so worth it.

But it's not just the food that makes me excited. It's the fact that I know I am so incredibly blessed, and I am very thankful to God for everything He has given me. First of all, I am thankful for this life. God loves me, no matter what. Even when I fall off His path, He still loves me. I am saved through His mercy, and that is what I am most thankful for. Secondly, my husband Eric. We have been together 8 1/2 years, 5 of those we've been married. I don't even remember myself without him, and I think that's because I never really knew who I was until I started dating Eric. He makes me so happy, takes care of me, and loves me unconditionally. We also have been blessed with 2 of the most precious gifts in the world; Cole and Raleigh. My children are everything to me. They are the sunshine in mine and Eric's lives. You can't even imagine what love is until you have children. It's so raw, so powerful, so emotional. I love them more than I could ever describe.

We also have two amazing families, and a lot of wonderful friends.

We truly have everything we need, and then some.

We are BLESSED!

Thank you, Lord, for everything you've given me. I am so thankful on this Thanksgiving Day, and everyday.

We're still here!

Wow, has it really been that long since my last post?

Not that you have been missing us that bad, right?!

So much has gone on in the last month.

We went to Pigeon Forge, TN for a few days. It was so nice to get away and just be in the mountains, my FAVORITE place in the world. My brother Jarid and sister-in-law Anita couldn't go with us, but they let us take John-Michael, which was so great, especially for Cole. The kids were great and mom and I did some shopping. It took us forever to get there thanks to the rock slide on I-40, but all in all, it was worth the extra drive. I've posted some pictures from the trip.

My mom had a birthday on the 4th. We were in the mountains for her birthday, so when we came home, we all took her out to dinner and then came back to our house for cake and ice cream. I made her a cookie cake per her request. I was so nervous, but it turned out okay. Happy Birthday, Mommy! I love you!

To top it all off, my girl turned 9 months last week! If I've said it once, I'll say it a hundred times, but the time really is flying by. I cannot believe her growth lately and the milestones she's hit. She started crawling on November 3rd. Crazy. I forgot how much things change when they start crawling...she's into EVERYTHING!!! But, of course, she couldn't be satisfied with her new skill, so guess what she's doing? Um, how about trying to walk. I'm not kidding, either. She took her first steps right before she turned 9 months. It's insane. I know some babies are early walkers, I've just never seen one before. We thought Cole walked early at 10 1/2 months! She's not got her balance perfected quite yet, but I think she'll be walking like a pro by Christmas. I think I'm busy now with the two of them, but it is about to get even crazier when she starts walking . It's exciting! She had her 9 month check up on Friday; she's 20 pounds and almost 29 inches long. She's in the 70% for weight and 60% for height. She got an A+ from her doctor. He jokingly made a comment about her rather round thighs. They are, well, a little thick! I love it; it's so cute and adorable just like she is. I love that baby.

As for my other love, he is wonderful as well. He's really been doing a lot better lately as far as listening to his mommy. :) When they are 3 and as strong willed as Cole is, they seem to think that discipline doesn't apply to them. At least, that's been Cole's case! Don't get me wrong; he's by no means bad, just a little on the stubborn side. But, he's coming around on his own. He is still amazing with Raleigh. All he has to do is look at her and she just cracks up. He is the best big brother I could ever hope he'd be. He's been dancing a lot lately as well, which is hilarious. And I don't mean just dancing; he is breaking it down! I'll have to get a video of it and post later.

Eric is off this week, and this weekend was amazing. We spent every moment together with the kids. I can't even tell you how wonderful it was to have him around all the time. I love him more than life, and I was reminded of that once again this weekend. It gets hard sometimes with schedules and 2 children to find time for one another, but God has been working overtime in our marriage lately, and for that, I am truly grateful. He was so attentive to me and my needs, and that made me even more attentive to his. He even willingly went shopping with me and to the Craftsman's Christmas Classic at the fairgrounds. Who's husband does that? Mine does! It's totally out of character for him to WANT to do those things, but for whatever reason, he's wanted to. I just had to gush over how incredibly happy I am and lucky to have Eric Michelin as my husband. Sorry, girls, he's all mine.

I'll try to be better about updating this thing. Eric and I are about to, get this, join Facebook! I'm pretty sure we are the last people in the world to do this, but we've been hesitant about it because of the whole "friend" thing, so we've decided to create a page together. Not that either one of us doesn't trust the other, but we try to do everything we can to protect our marriage. I'll post when we do.

Happy Halloween, Y'all!

Okay, the sugar got to me too!!!

Hope your Halloween was as fun as ours! My kids were adorable, as you can see, in their Gamecock uniforms. I wanted them to have a theme, and that's what we came up with. Eric didn't like my idea of Mickey and Minnie Mouse (how cute would that have been?!) because, you know, it's not "manly" enough for Cole. So a football player he was! He didn't like the shoulder pads very much, but he wore them anyways. Raleigh was a trooper. First of all, she has a cold and is teething, so she wasn't feeling her best. And she normally hates head wraps, but she kept it on for hours! Of course, she has very little hair, so bows are still not an option yet!

Eric's parents and mine came over along with our brothers and sisters. We had a great time! The precious giraffe above is my sweet nephew! He and Cole are best buddies, and Raleigh absolutely loves John-Michael like he's her brother! It was almost impossible to take their picture together because Cole wanted to go trick-or-treating, not take pictures, John-Michael didn't want to keep the head part of his costume on, and Raleigh was laughing trying to get JM or Cole's helmet the entire time! It was too funny.

So the night ended with a TERRIBLE loss for our team, (so much for the costumes bringing us luck!) Cole and JM running around like crazy boys because they had WAY too much candy, and, get this, only a handful of trick-or-treaters coming to my doorstep. Literally, the doorbell only rang 3 times! At least we had a lot of entertainment from the kids and my crazy brother, Jarid, who managed to get two sticky fake eyeballs stuck on my ceiling! (Thanks, J!)

I would like to share a brief encounter we had with one of the mom's who came to our door last night with her kids. Allow me to paint this picture. (Keep in mind, we live in Elgin....a tiny town with only one traffic light...so you can imagine the very country people who live here!)

Jarid opens the door to hand out candy. She is smoking a cigarette and the smoke is coming right into my house! She talks "Lyke theeesse!" Oh yeah! She then begins to pick out the Hershey bars and put them in her bag, all while telling my brother she's getting them for her....wait, get this....4 MONTH OLD! She tells Jarid, "he lykes to suck on 'em, and he lykes suckers too!" Jarid says, "Wow, that's not good!" too which she replies, "That ain't nothin'! He dranks Pepsi and Mountin' Deeewww outta his bottle! Welcome to Elgin, folks! One of a kind!

We are heading to Tennessee tomorrow for a brief getaway with my parents! I can't wait! We'll be back on Thursday. Until then, I leave you with this video of Cole. It's funny to me because it was after 11pm and he was still wired from all the sugar.

Signin' out from ELGIN!

The Pumpkin Patch

Oh, the pumpkin patch!

Such a great family tradition. And I wanted in on it. So, this year, I loaded up the babes in the car and off we went. Unfortunately, Eric was working. I took them to a church that sells pumpkins every year around Halloween to raise money for the youth group. So, it's a very worthy cause and they have a tremendous amount of pumpkins to choose from. This year, they even had cute little tents set up for picture taking stations; hence, all the pictures below!

When we got there, some of the youth greeted us with a wagon for Cole to pull around. He was so excited. I even bravely put Raleigh in it at one point and let him pull her around. They both thought it was great!

So, to sum up our "experience," Cole tried to put every tiny pumpkin in our wagon for me to buy, and I was steady in behind him putting them back. Raleigh tried to eat hay and pine straw the entire time, as well as a small pumpkin Cole gave her. Cole decided he needed to pee in the midst of choosing a pumpkin and tried to drop his pants in the middle of the place! Thank goodness I know my child and was able to stop him! How embarrassing would that have been?! And you can tell from several of his expressions below he was all done with me taking his picture!

All in all, we had a great time and Cole picked out the best pumpkin there. I am so excited to have begun this tradition with my kids this year. Next year, it will be really crazy with two of them running around!

The Greatest Invention

So simple, yet so amazing! Why have I gone all these years without an apple corer/slicer??? I mean, I have two children; Cole LOVES apples. I cannot tell you how much time I have wasted slicing apples and removing the core all with a knife. Crazy! I finally invested in one of these fabulous gadgets. The best thing I have ever bought. (Besides my Bible, of course!)

I'm not sure who invented this, but I hope they are filthy rich. Pure genius.

8 months old...Wow!

I come here once again to give an update on my little darlings.
Raleigh has official turned 8 months as of Saturday. 8 months?! Good grief, this year has just flown by. Doesn't it feel like the older you get, the faster the time goes? Scary.
Anyways, Raleigh doing great! She is happier and chunkier than ever. Not sure how much she is breaking the scale at these days...she doesn't go back to the doctor until she's 9 months. She has been sitting up on her own for a few months now, and she is trying desperately to crawl! Ugh, she's growing up. :( I forgot how funny it is to watch them try to figure the task of crawling out. She gets up on all fours, rocks back and forth, even straightens her legs out so she's standing with her hands on the ground (too cute), and then she falls and freaks out! So entertaining. Cole has even joined in the fun. He will get in front of her and say, "okay, rawl rawl, (yes, he calls her rawl rawl) this is how you do it." Then he proceeds to crawl like a mad man around the room. She just watches him and laughs, because Cole can do no wrong in her book and is insanely funny.
She is trying to pull up on things as well. This turns into major fun when I am bathing both of them at night and she is trying to stand up on the side of the tub and I'm trying to get Cole to keep at least some of the water in the tub, and.....yeh, you get the picture! But she can stand by herself holding onto the couch.
And lastly, she is babbling a few words. The day of my Grandmother's visitation, she said, "MaMa!" Not that she knew what she was saying, but hey, she said it! I was thrilled; she showered me with much happiness on a very sad day. And she is also saying dada. That is her most favorite word. They say there is something about little girls and their daddy's. I should know, I'm the biggest daddy's girl out there! So she just babbles all day; "Dada, baba, gaga, lala, mama." So simple, but so wonderful.
She is growing some hair, but I am being generous with the word, "Some." Poor thing! The hair she does have is so light. I can manage sometimes, somehow to get a bow in her hair for a very short time, but it struggles holding on to 3 strands of hair as you can imagine, and eventually gives up and lets go. Thank goodness for headbands. If one more person calls her a him, I'll scream. (Do they really think I'd dress a boy in pink?!)
Cole is fabulous. He is such a cutie. He has a head full of curly blond hair and a knock-out smile that can get him out of trouble sometimes when it shouldn't. He is very stubborn, very strong willed, and yet so very gentle at the same time. He's got a heart of gold. He still talks hunting everyday. Thank you, Eric. He is really athletic and loves to be outdoors. A real boy. I love every minute with him. Even those minutes where he is having a "3 year old moment" and I'm having to discipline him. I wouldn't trade him for the world.
I am going to take them to a pumpkin patch either today or tomorrow, so I'll post those pictures in the next few days. Sorry about all the babbling, but I'm just a proud mama.

I needed a smile

I've obviously been a little down in the dumps lately.
I'm missing my Grandma and having to answer Cole's questions about where she is, because even though he'll tell you Grandma is in Heaven with Jesus and the angels, he still asks me everyday if we are going to see her. It's much to much for a 3 year old to process. I just keep reassuring him she's so much happier now that she's in Heaven. Or, maybe I'm just reassuring myself.
Anyways, I've been trying to focus on happy things around me. And what better to think about than my family. I have a great husband and 2 of the most amazing, beautiful children a mom could ask for. The last 2 nights during bath time, Cole has made Raleigh belly laugh, and I mean, BELLY LAUGH! She has just been so hysterical when Cole splashes in the water; not sure why it's so funny to her, but anything Cole does anymore is hilarious and fabulous to her. She loves him! I have a video of it, but of course they are in the tub and you catch a glimpse of a baby butt, so I couldn't post it. (How sad is it that I can't post it because of the crazy people in this world, not to mention that I could get in trouble myself?! So sad.) But, it has really been a "lifter-upper." I went back through my camera and found some pictures I took about a week before we moved. It was obviously game day here in Columbia! And you know we get all decked out for the games. Yes, yes, even my kids have their game day attire! So take a look below, and tell me what's not to smile about and be thankful for?

Check out the hams on my daughter! Too cute!

So, I'm thankful for my Grandma's life, and I'm thankful for my children's lives. Even though she's not here anymore, she can still live on in my heart. And, indeed, she will.

On a side note, I like to ask for everyone to pray for my other grandmother. She was admitted to the hospital last Thursday and is still there. She's really sick; they've diagnosed her with a lung disease that will have her on oxygen for the rest of her life. Still in the process of figuring out why she is so sick right now. I'll keep y'all posted.

I've been thinking a lot about motherhood. My dad just lost his mom; I can't even think about losing mine or Eric's mom. My mom's mom is sick.

Mom's have such an amazing impact on our lives. We look up to them; they raise us and make us who we are. And now, I have the responsibility of raising two young ones of my own. I am their mother. I often second guess myself on my decisions, judge myself, and just get down right angry with myself sometimes. I desperately desire to be the BEST mom I can possibly be. I don't want to miss a moment with their precious souls because I know if I blink, they'll be grown up with families of their own.

I hope they grow up and know how much I love them. I hope they can feel the raw emotion that I feel for them. And I hope that one day, they'll have kids of their own and are able to give them the same love that I give and will always give to them.

Here is a sweet tribute to all the mom's out there. It's a music video by Taylor Swift; a tribute to her mom. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1lTWXa0oyA

Kittie Sue Hipp Price

February 2, 1922-October 7, 2009

I come to this blog tonight with a very heavy heart. My beloved Grandmother has passed away.
As most of you know, my Grandma has been battling lung cancer for almost 2 years now. It's been a long hard road for her. She tried to fight it; but sometimes, even when you try everything, it doesn't work. She did last a lot longer than the doctors thought she would. We were told back in April she only had about 2 weeks to live. She made it much longer than that. She was at a rehab facility for the last months of her life. But despite her odds, she always kept a smile on her face and NEVER complained. I complain when Cole gives me a hard time. I can't imagine knowing I was dying and in pain, but not letting anyone know. We went to see her often. Cole would run in the room and shout, "Hey, Grandma!" You could just see her sweet face light up. We really believe it was all her family, including all the great-grandkids she has coming to visit her that kept her alive for all these months.
Over the past few days, I've had some time to reflect on some of my most favorite memories of my Grandma. I remember Wes and I would go spend the day and sometimes night and Grandma and Granddaddy's house in Hopkins. They had a walnut tree in their backyard, and we would sit there in the garage and Granddaddy would crack open the walnuts and we'd just sit and eat and talk. The entire family would gather at their house for holidays and eat and talk and laugh; we had the best of times. When we got a little older, my parents, who were then in Amway, would go to meetings every Tuesday night, and my grandparents would come over to watch us. We would watch Wheel of Fortune and Rescue 911. Every night, we'd also sit at the kitchen table and play UNO. (Still my favorite card game.) Wes and I would ask her if she had a specific card, and if she didn't, she'd say, "Neigh, Bob!" We thought that was so funny.
Do you remember the stupid cartoon on MTV, "Bevis and Butthead?" Wes and I told our grandparents they were cartoons and we wanted to watch them, never thinking they'd pick up on the truth behind that! How dumb were we? They started slapping each other and said something crude, and my Grandma was like, "What kind of cartoon is this?" She immediately turned it, of course! Hilarious!
And to top of my favorite part of those Tuesday nights, my sweet Grandma would sit on the side of my bed and hold my hand until I fell asleep. Literally; even if it took and hour. Oh, the love of a grandmother.
I remember on a very sad day in September learning that my Granddaddy died. I was devestated, but not nearly as much as Grandma was. I was 12 at the time, so I didn't quite understand what it meant to loose a husband. Now, that is unthinkable to me. She'd spent over 50 years of her life with him. And just like that, he was gone.
But, she was a strong woman. She picked herself up and kept on living.
I'll never forget how she always came to Grandparents Day at school for me, how proud she was at my graduation, and how much she liked Eric. She looked beautiful at our wedding.
She was most excited about her great-grandbabies. She just wanted to hold them all the time. She was really in love with Cole. And when Raleigh was born, she and my aunt came to the hospital and passed around that little pink ball of love. My Grandma was so proud.
She was hospitalized very soon after that. I guess we all knew it would come, especially when the chemotherapy didn't work. It made her so sick, too. She finally quit with it and decided she wanted to live the last days of her life feeling like herself. It was hard, but I understood her decision.
I was with her often the last few days of her life. I literally watched the life in her fade away. I was so upset over the way she was on Wednesday, the day she died, that I prayed to God for Him to have mercy. She was in pain and barely hanging on to life. That was the hardest thing I've ever witnessed. But, I think what was harder than my own personal grief was watching my Daddy. That was his mom. My mom is my best friend; I seriously can't even think about that. And yet, my dad was face to face with it. I tried to be strong for him; I didn't want him to know how bad I was hurting in hopes it would be a little easier for him. The night she passed away, I sat in the room with her and my dad. She was sleeping at this point and looked tired. Like she had been through battle. And she had. I wanted to stay there with my dad, but he insisted I get back home to Eric and the kids. So, I went home. She died an hour and a half later.
I should have been there. My dad shouldn't have gone through that alone. Of course, he tells me I didn't need to be there, but I disagree. Maybe it would have been easier for Daddy to have someone by his side as well. I am having a terrible time with that.
My only regret is that Cole and Raleigh will never truly know her. Of course, her memory will be kept alive through my stories, but it's not the same. I wanted them to know her on a personal level.
I am trying to celebrate her life, and I am most thankful to God that she was my Grandma. But, I can't help be a little selfish and say I wish that she was here right now.
She's not hurting anymore.
She's in Heaven; what's better than that?
She's back with Granddaddy again, the love of her life. Enough said.
If you have some time, please visit www.MeM.com. Type in Kittie Price in the search box and check out my awesome Grandma. I recommend watching the video instead of the individual pictures. This was what was played at the funeral home.
We laid her to rest today. I'm hoping I'll sleep tonight, but probably not. I'm sad. Much sader than I let be known.
Below are a few of my favorite pics from the slide show. Check out my dad; what a stud! :)
Grandma-
I miss you and love you. Take the picture Cole and Raleigh drew for you and show Granddaddy. Tell him I said hey. I know you're in Heaven and pain free. You are face to face with Jesus, now. I love you so much, Grandma.

Grandma and Granddaddy with my dad and Uncle Jim

My dad is in the red sweater; how cute!

Always a Carolina fan...Go Gamecocks!

This is me with Grandaddy and Grandma.


My favorite. This is her with my little Cole.