The Michelin Family

Learning from my children

2011-03-31T11:37:00.000-04:00

James 1:19-21 "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's
                          anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all
                          moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you,
                          which can save you."

Powerful words. Words that I need to be reminded of on a regular basis. Let's be honest here. I am so quick to get caught up in the daily grind of my mommy duties. A normal day consists of Eric leaving for work (if he's on day shift) before the sun comes up and coming home at 8pm. Night shift...ugh...that's another story. (Don't get me wrong; his job is an amazing blessing to our family and I wouldn't be able to stay home and care for our children without it!) So, the kids and I wake up early and the craziness begins. They need their juice, decide what they want for breakfast, dogs need to be let out and fed (and pray that our chocolate lab puppy will be some what calm and not chewing on everything in sight, which is where I need to be reminded to hold my tongue and have patience), make coffee or else I might not function, get kids dressed, teeth and hair brushed, and somewhere in the midst of it all, I have to get myself ready. Let's face it; these days, I'm lucky if my hair is dry and I have on makeup. Most days, I'm unlucky. Should be REAL interesting to see my appearance when baby #3 is added in the mix! And then, with a mad rush, we are out the door to take Cole to preschool. It takes us a good 20-25 minutes to get there, and he is supposed to be there around 9am. Right...that's not usually what time we arrive. (Once again, being brutally honest here; the truth hurts!) If we are there by 9:15, it's been a good morning. Thank goodness his teacher is a friend of ours and is really patient and laid back with us. And it helps that I'm not the only mom there who isn't the most punctual person in the world. Thank goodness for our laid back church preschool!!! And that's just the early morning. The day doesn't end, nor does the craziness. It's so easy for me to be a little snappy with my kids when they don't listen and I'm stressed because we have a million things to get accomplished that day. For example, a normal response from the kids when they are asked to do something they really don't want to do is, "Why???" And a normal response they will get from Eric and I is, "Because I said so!" Ok, so maybe not the best answer, but when you hear "why" 50 times a day, you lose a little patience and have to remind them you are the parent and they just need to do it, well, because you said so. Ah, but be careful what you say...little ears actually do listen when you think they aren't, and words will be repeated! Case in point: The other day Raleigh and I were playing at home while Cole was in school. My sweet daughter looks at me and says, "Ok, bye Mommy, I gotta go!" I say, "Where are you going?" and she replies, "Starbucks!" (Yeah, that's my girl!) And I say, "But why?" Her response, of course?! "Because, I said so!" Did I sense a slight bit of attitude in that response? Yes. Was it funny? Absolutely. But the point is this...she did exactly what I do. When asked why, she responded quickly and maybe a little "attitude-y." It hit me...she's listening to everything I say, even when I think she's not. So am I saying the right things? Am I telling her about the love of Jesus enough? And what are my actions telling her, because those to will be passed on as well. Am I reading my Bible enough in front of her? Am I showing her how to have a servants heart and not just telling her and Cole to have one? Am I overflowing with the love and patience that Christ calls us to have at all times? Makes you stop and think. I am so far from perfect, it's not even funny. BUT, I do have a God that loves me and is patient with me always. And he wants me to show my kids the same kind of love. So I need the reminders, the words from the Bible such as those in James to keep me focused. Because without Him and His guidance, I'm doomed.

Mark 10:14-15 "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it."

Another powerful one. Here, we are called to have a "child-like" faith; one that doesn't question, but one that just faithfully believes. Cole gave me a gut wrenching reminder of this a couple of weeks ago. It was a Saturday night, and Eric was working night shift. That afternoon, Cole began to run a fever. It was a little over 102, so high enough he wasn't feeling good, but not high enough to become really worried. Well, things quickly changed. That evening, even after Tylenol, I noticed he was getting worse. His fever was rising steadily and he was acting much worse. He began to have chills and moaning from the pain. An hour before it was time to give him more medicine, his fever was 104.3...half an hour later, we hit a temperature of 105. To say that I was panicking would be a sad understatement. My child could barely get out of bed so that I could get him into a cool bath, and I'm thinking he could start convulsing at any point. I called Eric at work and told him I was taking him to the ER. He, of course, rushed home very worried as well. Waiting for Eric, I drew a cool bath for Cole to lay in, desperate, praying, and crying in fear for my child's wellbeing. And all of the sudden, Cole looks at me, such an innocent 4 year old child, and through his misery says, "Mom, do not worry; God WILL make me feel better." I lost it. He was SO right. Here I am, the parent, and although I know God can make him better, I didn't trust He would at that moment. All I saw was an extremely sick boy with a scary high fever, and nothing else. But my child didn't worry. He knew (child-like faith) that all would be well, because God was there with him. What a reminder God gave me, and through His grace, we were able to break his fever and take him to the doctor the next morning. He was feeling much better a few days later. But that is a moment that I will never forget. Phillipians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about ANYTHING, but in everything, by prayer and peition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for giving me such precious children. And thank You for using them to teach me about the kind of mom and person that You desire for me to be. I am so blessed that You have entrusted me with their lives, and I will always strive to be for them what you called me to be. I love you. Amen.

Pregnancy update

2011-02-01T19:48:00.000-05:00

RELIEF!!!

I am very happy to say that I have moved past the first trimester of this pregnancy and into the second! This means that I am feeling so much better! Thank you, Lord! I am 18 weeks pregnant today and feel wonderful. I am no longer experiencing any nausea and my energy level has increased. My belly is growing by the day...I feel so much bigger at this point than I did with Cole or Raleigh! But, I guess that's just baby #3 for you! Cole is so cute! He loves to rub my belly and talk to the baby. He walks past me often and says, "Mom! Look at your belly...it's SO big!!!" To which I have to remind him, "You think this is big, you just wait!" I am feeling the baby move everyday and both Eric and Cole have been able to feel the baby move as well! It's always nice to be able to share that with my husband, and this time with my son. He was only 2 1/2 when Raleigh was born, and even though he felt his sister move when I was pregnant with her, he has a much better idea now of what is happening. A few weeks ago, I had my surgery for the cerclage and everything went perfectly. I didn't think I would be as nervous this time since I had this procedure with Raleigh, but I was! I found myself repeating Scripture in my head while in the operating room! It was comforting, and I am so thankful that everything is okay. My doctor is amazing...he prayed with me before the surgery, and when Eric and I saw him in the office that morning, he handed us a picture and said, "This is my partner." It was a picture of a doctor in the operating room and Jesus was standing over him guiding the doctor's hand. Very moving. We are so blessed to have such an wonderful Christian doctor.

We will find out in 2 weeks (February 15th) what we are having. I have no clue or feeling about what this baby will be, and it honestly doesn't matter. We are just thankful to be having another baby. Now Cole, on the other hand, is hoping for a boy. He even went so far as to tell some people at his preschool that he was having a brother! He told Eric and I a few weeks ago that he would be disappointed if the doctor told us it was a girl. We explained to him that it was not for us to decide; that God already knew what would be best for our family, so it was His decision. Then last night during story time, Cole looked up at me and said, "Mommy, if the doctor says it's a girl, I'm still gonna love her anyways!" Haha, so cute!

Raleigh will be turning two on the 17th. I cannot believe it! She is so funny, so beautiful, and so full of life. And very dramatic! What can I say; she's a girl, and she is my child! It's so fun to watch how she reacts to certain situations and she says the funniest things. She still copies everything Cole does. When asked what we should name the baby the other day, she said, "Bear." This apparently goes for a boy or a girl. Sorry, Raleigh, but we won't be naming the baby Bear! So, yes, I am about to have a two year old. Crazy.

Christmas and another little Michelin!

2010-12-21T11:11:00.000-05:00

I am amazed every year by all of the craziness that surrounds Christmas. Traffic, people frantically grabbing gifts, impatience, stressing out about every little detail, etc. Now, don't get me wrong; Eric and I waited much too long this year to buy our gifts, so we were out "amongst them" yesterday! But it seems every year our culture seems to forget why we even have a Christmas holiday. It isn't about a man dressed in a red suit from the North Pole delivering gifts on his "reindeer guided sleigh." It isn't about buying the biggest and best gifts for your family and friends. It isn't about buying more toys for your children than they will ever be able to play with, and then realizing after it's all done you've spent way too much money and will have trouble paying for your bills. It's about SO much more than that. It's about Bethlehem. It's about Mary and Joseph. It's about a baby. It's about a MIRACLE from GOD. It's about our Savior's birth. Can you imagine what it would have been like to be there on that most amazing night in Bethlehem? Just picture the excitement the people must have felt knowing that finally, this baby who was given the name Jesus, was here. Here to save us all. To teach us. To live a life of example for us. To die a most brutal death, taking all our sin upon Himself. To save us. Because He loves us. That is Christmas. Christmas day is wonderful! It is fun to open gifts and watch our loved ones open up gifts we've picked for them, spend time with our families, eat wonderful home cooked meals and share lots of laughter. But just remember the truth as to why we have Christmas. Remember Jesus.

The Michelin family is so blessed. We owe everything we have to God. He never ceases to amaze us by all He has done in and around our lives. We are thankful for His calling for this family and the season of life He has us in. When I look at my children, so precious and amazing, I am humbled. God entrusted us with their little lives, and it's up to us to show them the path to Christ; to live lives of examples, praying that one day they will choose to follow Him. It is a big task, much too big to handle without His guidance. And yet, He has humbled us yet again! On October 26th, Eric and I found out that we are expecting our third child! I cannot explain the emotion we felt! I woke up early that morning and took a pregnancy test. We were trying, but it is still surprising every time you see a positive! I just laughed and cried, and praised God for this amazing blessing. I placed the test on the counter and woke my husband up. I had the video camera on so I could capture his reaction. He totally walked right past the test! So, I had to redirect him, and when he saw it, he said with so much excitement, "Are you serious??!! Baby, that is awesome!!" We are just so filled with joy about having another baby. A little nervous about 3, but way more excited! I am due on July 5th. I have been so sick with this pregnancy! I was sick with both Cole and Raleigh, but this pregnancy has far passed what I felt with them! If I'm being completely honest, it's been really difficult to be sick all day long without a break. But I am so thankful because for a little over a week now, I have been getting breaks! I am not out of the woods yet, but I'm not feeling sick all day, just mostly at night now. So thankful for this! I am now 12 weeks and so I know I will be done with the nausea very soon!

Eric and I will keep everyone posted with the progress of this pregnancy and the wonderful things God is doing in our lives. We pray that everyone has a safe and blessed holiday. Merry Christmas, and happy birthday, Jesus!

Update!

2010-10-11T14:48:00.001-04:00

Busy, busy days for the Michelin family lately! But, aren't we all?! However, we are never too busy to praise God for what He has blessed us with and the great things He is doing in our lives.

On August 24th, our "baby" boy, Cole, turned 4. This is really crazy to me. F-O-U-R!!! Where did the time go? I can still remember the evening perfectly when Eric and I got a positive pregnancy test that we were not expecting! I had no idea I was pregnant; we weren't trying, so how would I? But, how awesome is our God! He knows why. We were shocked, but so excited for this tremendous blessing we were given. And four years later, I am still just as humbled and grateful God gave Cole to us. He is truly a blessing to our family and everyone that meets him. He has a charm that is hard to miss and says some of the most hilarious, off the wall things! But that's all a part of what makes him the sweet person he is.

Eric and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary on August 28th. We enjoyed a beautiful weekend trip to one of my most favorite places in the world; Boone, NC. We stayed in an incredible cabin with a breathtaking view, and enjoyed ourselves immensely. We both agreed that was by far the best trip we've ever taken together. We left feeling very relaxed, refreshed, and very ready to see our sweet babies. It's always nice to take a time out and focus all of your attention on the person in your life that matters the most. We reflected on the last 6 years, and dreamed of the possibilities to come. It truly was amazing and I am so glad God gave me Eric. I love him.

In September, my parents celebrated their 30th anniversary! So, to celebrate with them, Jarid, Wesley, Anita, Jessie, Eric and I threw them a surprise anniversary party. It was so much fun and they were very surprised and honored we did that for them. We were so happy to be able to do that in honor of our parents and had so much fun watching them enjoy themselves and reflect back on the last 30 years of their lives. It was a great evening.

We enrolled Cole in soccer this fall! He is having a blast! Although he loves playing baseball, soccer has been better because he is able to run the entire time! Baseball is fun to a four year old if you get to bat the entire time. Otherwise, not so much! He will be able to begin flag football next fall, so I have a feeling that once that starts, all other sports will be uninteresting to him. :) He also started 4 year old preschool at our church this year. He goes everyday from 9-12 and is loving every minute of it. I am amazed at how much he has learned so far, and look forward to him growing even more.

Raleigh is busy as ever. She is 19 months old and can climb on anything! This is new to me; Cole was never a climber. But Raleigh is totally different. She is very prissy, very dramatic, but can be tough too. It is amazing how different she is from her brother. But, at the end of the day, she is all girl. And I am loving every minute of it! She is talking a lot and putting words together. She is independent and loves to eat! To be so tiny, she eats constantly! She loves to feed herself. She calls me "mommy" which gets me every time and has her daddy wrapped around her finger. All she has to do is look at him, and she gets it. It is really a special relationship and I am so thankful Eric is such a wonderful dad to both of them.

I finished my training at the pregnancy crisis center and am now counseling on my own. It has been a very rewarding experience. I can truly say that I care about each and every one of the women that comes through the door. I am so honored that God would call me to serve in such an amazing ministry. He is using me to reach these girls who are in some very desperate situations, and He gets all the glory for it. There is no way I could do this without Him leading me. I am excited to see what He has in store for the ministry and am also excited to implement some of the ideas that God is presenting to Dana to help even further.

Lastly, God has laid it on Eric's heart to pursue a discipleship program. He will have to blog about that once he gets the ball rolling because he knows way more about it than I do. We are just really excited to pursue another ministry and I'm grateful God placed it in front of Eric and that Eric is getting a lot of support from our Sunday school group. Each and every one of them are a blessing to us.

We are still amazed at where we started, and where we are today. What a difference! God is so good and he will forever lead us in our lives. Our goal is to set a good example for our children by living our lives as servers and followers of Christ in hopes that they one day will choose to follow Him as well. We are very blessed and hope to lead others to Christ as well, just as we are called to do.

God's work

2010-08-11T10:16:00.000-04:00

It is no secret that God is at work in our lives. I have never felt His presence more in my life than I do now and it is amazing. We are learning to not live for what we want, but what He wants; not our will, but His will. That could mean moving to a foreign country to minister to others; it could be having 6 children because that's what He wants (just for the record, I am in NO way planning for that many! Just saying we will be submissive to His calling!) I know that God has called me to do things before, but if I'm being totally honest, I've not always listened. It's easier to pretend that you don't hear than to get completely out of your comfort zone. But part of my journey is realizing I have ignored Him, not always followed Him, and even hurt Him. But I am living proof that our God is amazing, merciful, and forgiving. I find great comfort in this verse: "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8 That is so powerful! Even if I was the only sinner in all of the world, God would still have sent Jesus to die for me. For me. It's a love that is above all. We cannot even fully grasp this love. But nevertheless, I am forever greatful for His love, and for this, I give Him back my life. I will serve Him as He has called me to.

In the last few months, I have felt very led to serve at a pregnancy crisis center. It's really cool how it all worked out, but to make a very long story short, I finally listened when He spoke, and it was through this that I heard His calling to serve here. I am in the application process with a good friend of mine, and I too am grateful that I get to serve with her by my side! Also, some really awesome women in our church are starting up a women's ministry team, and I am blessed to be a part of this. We will be reaching out to women not just in our church, but from all over the city, all ages, and from all walks of life. I am really excited to see where God takes this group and I'm looking forward to the fellowship and support that will make up this group.

And lastly, did you really think I could blog without mentioning at least one of my kids?! Of course not! We just returned from a wonderful week of vacation at the beach with Eric's family. It's awesome...his entire family still goes together on the same week every year and stays really close to each other so that we can have beach time and dinner together. There were 30 of us this year, but it was so much fun! One night, Eric's cousin Megan sang "Amazing Grace, My Chains Are Gone" for us. She will be singing this at Mandi's upcoming wedding. It was beautiful. After she finished, my precious baby Cole decided it was his turn. He is so not shy at all, which is completely opposite from his mommy! So, there my sweet boy stood in front of the entire family, and sang "Jesus Loves Me." We've all heard this before; I hear it from him everyday because he loves to sing. But when you get that many people together, something magical happens; they really listen to the words. There stood Cole, innocently singing the song and giggling, and we were all in tears. I, because I was so proud that he is mine and proud that he loves singing God's songs, and everyone else because of the words and Cole's faith at such a young age. He doesn't question whether God really loves him or not. He just knows, "for the Bible" tells him so. It was a great moment. I wish everyone could have the mind of a child when it came to God.

Thankful

2010-07-08T21:58:00.000-04:00

First of all, I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe 4th of July! We certainly did. This holiday is so special to all Americans, but I think it really hits home to anyone who has ever had a loved one serve in the military or know of someone who has. I always think of my dad who served in Vietnam, and of course, Eric. I'll never forget what it felt like to be away from him when he was in Iraq. When he went overseas in 2003, they did not have much access to computers and certainly not much access to phones. Even letters were getting lost in the mail. So, everyday was torture. I missed him more than I could ever describe and worried like I've never worried before. His mom and I talked several times a day and really leaned on each other to get through it. And finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he came home. I was so excited to see him after all that time, and so nervous! Eric's grandparents, mom and myself all drove to Kentucky to see him while he was being debriefed. We drove on the fort and were told not to get out of the car; he would find us. Do you think we listened? Absolutely not! There was NO WAY we were waiting any longer. I remember frantically looking around at all the soldiers, not seeing mine. Finally, I heard a familiar voice. I stopped in my tracks, looked up, and there on the third floor was my man. There really aren't words to describe what I was feeling in that very moment. He ran down the stairs and I ran to him. Almost like a movie, but so real. We just grabbed each other, and I cried. He was home. He was safe. Thank goodness.

July 16th marks 7 years to the day that he flew home from Iraq. I always think of that time during this holiday, and it makes me so appreciative of everything I've been given. And we are so grateful to those who have served and are currently serving our country, being away from their families and friends, and sometimes making the ultimate sacrifice for us and our country. I can't help but think of our friends, Mark and Shannon DeSouza. Mark is serving his second tour overseas, and Shannon is home working and taking care of their precious one year old son, Ethan. My heart hurts for them and we are diligently praying for them daily.

We had my family over on Sunday. I stood in my kitchen for a minute and just took in the sight. Everyone was fixing their plates, laughing and smiling. It's moments like these that I just want to soak in. It was a beautiful sight, and it was a reminder of how blessed we really are. We have incredible families on both sides.

Here are the two pictures of our reunion 7 years ago. I will treasure these forever, and just wanted to share them. I love you, Eric Michelin. You are my soldier, my soulmate, my best friend. I couldn't be more proud of the Godly man you are, the husband you are, and the father that you are.

Update

2010-06-18T16:37:00.002-04:00

I can hardly find time to keep up with the laundry, much less find time to blog!

Life is crazy, as usual. Eric is staying busy with work and I am staying busy with the kids. Raleigh just turned 16 months yesterday (crazy) and Cole is very close to four (even crazier). I've been trying to plan his birthday party so that it doesn't creep up on me like Raleigh's did. He, of course, wants a camo themed party with a deer head cake. Seriously, would you expect anything else??!! I mean, he is Eric Michelin's son! So, everyone will have to come decked out in their finest camouflage clothing....in late August! Sorry, guys, it's for Cole. :)

We are still enjoying our minivan. It's grown on me quicker than I thought...I really can't imagine driving anything else. So practical, so convenient, so comfy, and so quiet. (By quiet I mean there is peace in the backseat once again!) Even Eric is loving it. Now, he did just get mud tires put on his truck, which I think helps him a little knowing that's his baby! So funny; I told him we need to go "muddin" like we used to in high school. Oh, the memories. :)

Raleigh is becoming very independant these days. She tries to feed herself with a fork and spoon and DOES NOT want any help. She runs everywhere, has several words, including her new favorite....NO!!! It's lovely. She smiles all the time and laughs, and still loves everything about Cole. Except when he doesn't share; then she screams and yells, "No, share!" to him. Let the sibling rivalry begin.

Last week, Eric and I helped out at Vacation Bible School at our church. We were there Wednesday through Friday. Eric did recreation outside and I was inside with the babies and toddlers, which worked out great because Raleigh refuses to let me leave her without crying most of the time! Seeing all of the children worshiping and praising Christ was so awesome and really inspiring. They are so young, but yet so many of them still "get it." It was an honor to be a part of it, and cannot wait until next year to do it all again.

I am still so overwhelmed by what God has given me in my life. My kids are just simply wonderful to me; they keep me on my toes, are always entertaining and so full of life, and make my heart melt everytime I look at them. I love being their mommy. I have an amazing husband in Eric who spoils me and loves me unconditionally. We are really a team, but he is my rock, my inspiration, my everything. I'm so lucky he chose me. We have two amazing families, both of which are close by. The kids get to see both sets of grandparents weekly. And above all of this, I have a God who is so loving, so forgiving, so wonderful. And I am ever so thankful for Him and all of His many blessings.

Eric and I will be celebrating our 6th anniversary this year!!! WOOHOO!!! We are so excited because this year I am not pregnant or nursing, like I have been just about every year now, so we are going away for the weekend! I am really excited, although, I will miss the kids. But, we are going to have so much fun! Come on August....:)

The Minivan Club Welcomes The Michelins!

2010-05-11T06:34:00.005-04:00

Wow. I never thought I'd see the day. Neither did Eric.

I remember as a young girl, especially in high school, watching these moms drive these awful looking things called, "minivans." They were hideous. The doors would slide open and out came the kids, all 12 of them, running to their soccer game. Yes, the infamous "soccer mom." I promised myself I would NEVER become that. And why? My parents always owned a conversion van. You know, the BIG, HUGE vans that seemed just a step away from an RV. And we loved it as kids. We could get up and walk to the front if we needed anything, watch movies on the VCR (just typing VCR makes me feel kinda old) and swivel the middle row chairs towards the bench seat, set up the table and play games or have a snack. For a family that took a lot of vacations, it was perfect. I just never had any intentions of driving anything even remotely close to it.

*Enter Cole and Raleigh*

And my life changes forever. For the better. I now could care less about what anyone thinks! I'm all about convenience, practicality and what my kids will enjoy. Cole has become very spoiled by my mom's pimped out GMC Yukon, which has every option known to man on it, including of course a DVD player. So, naturally, with every car we looked at, Cole would say, "Does it have a DBD in it?" (Yes, he pronounces it "DBD" which you almost have to hear to appreciate it's cuteness) If it did not, he'd say, "Okay, don't want that one!"

The funniest part to me out of all of this is I am the one who wanted the van. Even against my husband's wishes. You see, he is worried about being seen driving a minivan. He understands why, he's just not completely on board yet. However, he did test drive our new van yesterday and was most impressed with it's smoothness, how quiet it was, and all the bells and whistles it has on it. He is excited about a new family car and reassures me he knows it's what we need, especially since we plan on having a 3rd child in the next 2-3 years. But I still wanted a van?! This is what having children does to you. It completely changes everything you've ever thought you knew.

And so, the minivan won. It's really wonderful, as our sweet son puts it! A 2009 Chrystler Town and Country (I'm giggling just writing this, still in disbelief we actually did it!) Touring Edition. It's really loaded; dual DVDs, satellite radio, hands free phone capability, backup camera, power everything, upgraded sound system (in case you wanted to look cool jamming to your favorite song in a minivan :) ) middle swivel seats, table, and a radio that will hold 8 pictures and up to 500 songs downloaded from your IPOD or MP3 player. It's nice, and I feel completely lost by all the technical stuff on it. So, yes, the Michelin family has officially joined the club of the soccer moms. I got my wish, and I could not be more excited about it.

I just can't wait for our anniversary trip this August. Rollin' in a minivan, minus the kids. That will be cute. :)

Update!

2010-04-19T22:25:00.003-04:00

It's been awhile since my last update on the kids!

We had an awesome Easter. Eric was off work this year, so that was a nice change! Cole and Raleigh loved hunting Easter eggs. Raleigh was surprisingly good at it! She caught on quickly and it was a race between her and Cole! She just turned 14 months...repeat....14 MONTHS on Saturday!!!! Insane. Not sure where the time is going. She still seems like a little baby to me, when in fact she is growing up right in front of me. She is so full of life. She loves to laugh, play with Cole, give hugs and kisses, play with dolls (she got her first Barbie the other day and loves it; she calls is "Ba Ba!") climb stairs, babble and watch me get ready in the mornings. She is so girly and I love it. It's a nice change from Cole and Eric always talking about hunting and fishing! She seriously loves to watch me get ready. She pretends to brush her hair with me, and I have to pretend like I'm putting makeup on her! She just smiles and I say, "Oh, Raleigh, you look beautiful!" Hopefully one day she will know there is no makeup in the world that could make her any more beautiful than she already is. She amazes us with how much humor, personality and sense she already has. Our daughter is wonderful!

Cole is doing great! He started T-Ball this month. It's been interesting, to say the least! He loves it. However, not sure how much his coach loves him playing in the dirt! Okay, in his defense, he gets really bored in the outfield. And, I believe, rightfully so. He's 3 1/2 and very active. But, this experience has been good for him. He's so outgoing, so he's making friends and is learning what it's like to be in a structured environment. He's at home with me all day everyday, so this is a nice change of pace for him. And he's actually really good at batting! He will start preschool this year, and that's all I'll say for now...I'm getting choked up just thinking about it! We are going to put him in either our church program or another church a little closer to our house. Regardless, I'm really excited for him. Cole is very smart, loves his sister, LOVES his daddy, loves to fish and hunt, and loves to be outside. He is so sweet, very funny and talks constantly! If he thinks it, he says it! I am very proud of Cole and the strides he is taking in his early walk with God. He is really curious about everything. He prays for us before every meal, and that touches my heart to hear my son praying and thanking God for what He has so richly blessed us with. It touches me even more when Cole, on his own, prays for other people. He will not touch his food or snack without praying. He often asks about Jesus and what He did here. He knows what Heaven is, and also knows the meanings of Christmas and Easter. He made a small bank at Sunday School (they had a lesson on tithing) and whenever he gets money from us or his grandparents, he immediately asks to put it in the bank so he can "give it to Jesus." I cannot describe to you what that feels like as a parent to watch your very young child willing give up his money to give back to church, and understanding the importance of prayer. I'm always praying for my kids, asking God to help me guide them on the path towards Him. I doubt myself often, but something is getting through to Cole. I feel an overwhelming since of pride for my son when he does things like that. Our son is wonderful!

In other exciting news, my oldest brother and sister-in-law welcomed their second child into the world last Wednesday! Lylian Nicole Brown is our precious new niece! My nephew is so wonderful with her! He will be 3 next month, and he is such a proud big brother. It was awesome to watch Jarid and Anita with their new baby girl. They too are a family of 4 now. How great is our God. We have, however, conceded to the fact that we will most likely not be getting together for dinner at a restaurant ever again, but rather at each others houses! 4 adults and 4 kids....whew!!!

Couponing away!

2010-03-20T16:16:00.007-04:00

Have you ever been behind someone in a grocery store checkout line, and the cashier rings up all their items, and the customer pulls out a huge wad of coupons???? If you are like I used to be, then you'd silently be wishing you'd picked a different line that would move much faster, probably sighing and thinking, "Who has time for that?" That was completely me. Until a few weeks ago.....

At the beginning of February, my cousin and I attended this couponing class. I've heard of these women who faithfully clip coupons and save an insane amount of money doing so. My sister-in-law first introduced me to the idea, but I never really attempted it. So, Jamie and I went to the "Extreme Couponing 101" class hosted by southernsavers.com. I listened intently and left feeling very overwhelmed and a little uncertain that I could actually make this "work." Most of you reading this know me very well, so you know that I am usually very shy, a bit nervous at times and do not like confrontations. I think deep down, I didn't coupon because I was afraid the cashier would get aggravated with me or worse, tell me that I couldn't use them for some reason. So even after this class, I let about 3 more weeks slip by, doing my regular grocery shopping which consisted of going to Wal-Mart or Food Lion, spending anywhere from $90-$150 and having NOTHING to show for it. So frustrating! So finally, I told Eric, "Ok that's it. I am going to give this couponing thing a try." That next week, we picked up the state newspaper for the coupon inserts, I made out my grocery list, printed my coupons I needed to go with items I didn't have them for, and off we went to Publix. (I made Eric go with me that first time for support!) No joke, we spent an HOUR AND A HALF in the grocery store!!! I was so nervous and wanted to make sure I was buying the right things and had the right coupons for it. So by the end, the kids were getting very tired of being in the store, and rightfully so. So, we went to the checkout line, he scanned our items, and I nervously handed him my coupons, waiting for rejection. To my surprise, he was very courteous and willingly accepted my coupon wad. The final total should have been around $120 dollars. Then, he started scanning my coupons, and the price just kept falling, and my smile just kept getting bigger. Once he was done, he said, "Okay, that will be $60!" WHAT???? I just cut my bill in half?! I look over at Eric whose smile is probably bigger than mine, and he says, "Wow, I am a believer now! Great job; I love you!" We haven't looked back since.

I am getting better each trip I make out and learning more and more about it. It's been such a blessing to our family; already we've saved about $400 in a month! I am happily helping my mom and mother-in-law with it; they are so excited! Just the other day, my mom made a quick trip out, saved a ton, and called me so overjoyed! It was so fun to hear the excitement in her voice. Anyway we can save money for our families is a true blessing.

I wanted to post some of my recent trips:

Publix:

4 boxes of Kellogg's cereal (Normally $3.98 each)
2 jars of Ragu sauce (Normally $3.19 each)
2 International Delight coffee creamers (Normally $2 each)

1 loaf Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Swirl Raisin Bread (Normally around $3)

1 3 pack Publix Paper Towels (Normally around $3.50)

My bill should have been over $30. So what did I out of pocket? $5.60!!!!

The trick is to knowing what stores will "stack" coupons, meaning they will accept a store coupon AND a manufacturer's coupon on the same item. You also should wait, if you can, until the items are on sale. For example, the Kellogg's cereal I bought was Buy 1 Get 1 Free that week, and I used coupons on top of that for extra savings. I have since then been able to get 1 pack of diapers for FREE, and 3 more packs for a few dollars each. Today, I bought 2 jumbo packs of Huggies diapers (normally 12 dollars each), 1 loaf of raisin bread, 3 boxes of Hamburger Helper, and 2 things of Right Guard deodorant. My totally out of pocket should have been around $36, and I only spent $8! And I used to think I didn't have time for this....

It's so funny to me. I never thought I'd see the day when I was clipping coupons and wishing for a minivan. HaHa, I guess it's called motherhood.

WHY?????

2010-03-07T18:55:00.004-05:00

Okay, so I had a baby shower today at our house for my beautiful sister-in-law, Anita. Everything was so nice; pink and green decor, candles, flowers...very girly. It was wonderful. She got some wonderful things for baby Lylian who will be here in about a month!

So, is it so much to ask that everything go as planned? Apparently so. We were standing around the dining room talking, and all of the sudden Cole rounds the corner, saying "Hey, wha ya think bout dis??" And there my sweet son stands, holding a pair of clippers, missing a HUGE chunk of hair in the front of his head!!!! AAAAHHHHH!!!!! At first, I covered my mouth in disbelief, and was laughing hysterically. Then, I realized Easter is right around the corner, and I started balling! Then, I laughed some more once I realized it's just hair and there's absolutely nothing I can do about it now. And in all seriousness, it is VERY funny. He looks like an old man. Check out the pictures of Cole's, um, hairdo, and the quick video. My camera died or else the video would have been longer.

So, tomorrow, I will be in the store buying up every hat I can find to try to cover up this mess. I refuse to shave his entire head! Hopefully, the "patch" will grow back in a few weeks and we can even his hair up then. Oh, memories! You just wait until he brings home a girlfriend!!!! :)

Happy 1st Birthday, Raleigh!!

2010-02-22T20:23:00.005-05:00

Okay, okay, so I'm a little late on this post, I know. But I did get the pictures up on Facebook within a day!!!

So it's official; my sweet little baby girl is one. O-N-E. Where did the last year go?
I spent the week up until her birthday trying to help mom out with work (we are slammed right now, thank you Lord) and recounting my pregnancy, labor and delivery, and her first year. So much came to mind.

I still remember like it was yesterday taking the pregnancy test. Eric and I had been trying to get pregnant, and were unsuccessful the first month. It was a Friday, and Cole (22 1/2 months at the time) and I went to Wal-Mart to grocery shop. I picked up the test and a few other items and headed back home. I immediately went to the bathroom when we returned home and took the test. For some reason, I glanced at the test as soon as I put it on the counter, and an overwhelming since of disappointment came over me as it appeared it would be negative again. I went into the living room with Cole for a few minutes and decided to check it one more time just to be sure. To my surprise, it was positive! I literally fell to my knees, crying and praising God. Cole ran into the bathroom saying, "Mommy what wrong?!" Bless his little sweet heart. I, through my tears said, "We're going to have another baby." I pointed to my belly, and he placed his hand on my belly, smiled, and said, "Baby." Eric was on night shift so he was sleeping, but that weekend was Father's Day, and although I could have waited 2 more days to tell him, I couldn't contain my excitement. I went into the bedroom, crawled next to him on the bed, and handed him the pregnancy test, smiled and said, "Happy Father's Day!" He was so excited; he grabbed me, hugged me and kissed me, and couldn't stop smiling. Needless to say, he couldn't go back to sleep.

The pregnancy progressed well. I started showing way early, I guess with it being my second baby, and the doctor thought I was having twins. Since both of our fathers are twins and they are everywhere in my family, Eric and I just knew that was going to happen! We had an ultrasound and confirmed it indeed was just one baby in there. Whew! A few weeks after that, I had a cervical cerclage to help insure that she wouldn't come early, since my cervix tore giving birth to Cole. Then, a few weeks after that, we found out we were having a girl. I remember saying to the tech, "Are you sure, are you sure???" The, I burst into tears. I didn't know how much I wanted a girl until I found out I was having one. Eric beamed with joy, and confessed his life was over. :)

Around 32 weeks, the contractions I had been feeling for weeks began to intensify. I was put on bed rest at around 33 1/2 weeks. I was showing some signs of premature labor, which I cannot tell you how scary that was. I didn't want to have a premature baby...I knew the risks with that. I prayed she would stay put. And she did. In fact, she decided to get so comfortable, that I was finally induced at 39 1/2 weeks. After 8 hours of a most painful labor :) (thank goodness it was shorter than my LONG labor with Cole) Raleigh Jean Michelin was born at 5:59pm on Tuesday, February 17th, 2009. She was the most beautiful baby girl we'd ever laid our eyes on. It was the most beautiful moment along with Cole's birth. There is nothing else like it. It's just beautiful, miraculous, indescribable, breath taking, amazing....priceless.

She has filled our hearts with love and joy over her first year with us. She has grown from a helpless infant to a walking, babbling, witty, friendly, smart little girl. She has the most beautiful deep blue eyes I've ever seen, flawless skin, rosy cheeks, and a little bit of blonde hair. (We're getting there!) I thank God everyday for my baby girl and look forward to what the future holds for her.

Raleigh,

Happy 1st birthday, baby! I am so proud that you are one, and I thank God everyday that He made me your mommy. I'm not sure what I did to deserve the honor, but nevertheless am truly grateful. I love you more than I could ever express. You are so beautiful, so full of life, and you make me want to be a better person. I look forward to all the years and memories we will have together. I pray that God will help me lead you on your path towards Him, and that one day you will choose Him to be your personal Lord and Savior. I love you and hope you had the best first birthday.

All my love,

Mommy

Family photo shoot

2010-02-17T21:55:00.002-05:00

In November, Eric and I met with Lucas Brown of Kickstand Studios. Lucas is an amazing photographer here in Columbia, and he is friends with my brother Jarid. We had him take some family pictures for us since we've never done that before. We also surprised our moms with a picture of the shoot as part of their Christmas gifts. Click on the link below to view our favorites from the session. We could not be anymore pleased with the way he captured our family. Thanks, Lucas!!
http://port77.com/kickstandstudio.com/michelin/

A prayer for all

2010-01-22T22:04:00.002-05:00

This has been a crazy week.

Cole is going through a growth spurt, if that's even possible. The child is huge; he's 42 pounds, and very, very tall. And he's 3. T-H-R-E-E. He's been eating everything in sight this week. This is most unusual for my little, well, big boy. He normally could care less about eating because he's way too busy playing, running around wrecking shop, talking non-stop...you get the picture. He never wakes up hungry. Why eat when you can drink juice and milk and go wild?! But when Cole wakes up and the first words out of his mouth are, "I'm hungry!" then you better get ready. He's really eaten more than I thought possible. Of course, I love it because I've never seen him like this before. But, what's the end result? A six foot 3 year old??? Maybe!

And as if he doesn't talk about hunting enough, Eric took him on his first hunt Monday. He went wild! They sat in a ground blind and had a blast. Cole enjoyed walking through mud puddles with his rubber boots and throwing rocks, sneaking around the woods and watching a bunch of baby pigs eat corn off the ground. The best part of it all? It's all on video! Eric took the video camera and documented the whole thing. PRICELESS!!! (By the way, he ate 4 mini bagels while in the ground blind, then left and ate an entire pork chop and green beans for dinner. Yeah, growth spurt!)

Raleigh is great. She's walking like she's been doing it forever, and she's getting fast!!! I forgot how quickly they go from walking to running....she's getting around! I've starting planning her 1st birthday party. Ok, who am I kidding; I've been planning for months now! I have so many ideas; I'm really excited. I still can't believe our baby girl is about to turn one. My, time flies when you're having fun!

Last, but certainly not least, I want to praise God. He has been so good to us, and I could never thank Him enough. He's blessed us with so many things; our families, friends, jobs, a beautiful house, two amazing, healthy children, each other, and His grace and mercy. He is an amazing God, and He can do amazing things. He has been really working in our marriage and on us as individuals, inspiring us in so many ways. This week alone, by His grace, He has brought us closer as a couple than we thought possible. He is teaching us, guiding us, leading us. I can't even describe what it feels like to let go and let God take control of your life. It's incredible.

It's my prayer today that if you are reading this blog, no matter how you ended up here, that you know God and He is your personal Lord and Savior. I promise, choosing Him is the best decision you will ever make. I'm not trying to preach, but I'm just so amazed at what He has done with Eric and I, and I'm so thankful.

New beginnings

2010-01-11T14:31:00.002-05:00

Well, I guess that's what everyone says about a new year; with a new year brings new beginnings. That is ringing true for Eric and I this year. I'm just going to be honest, completely honest in this blog and lay it out there.

Eric and I have been married for 5 1/2 years now. It's been wonderful. We have made more memories than I could ever count; we've been through everything as a couple. We've brought 2 amazing children into this world, bought 2 houses and sold one, faced death in our family, had our share of good times and bad; basically you name it, we've been through it. But one thing remained true; no matter how we committed ourselves to better our relationship with the Lord, we always seemed to fall short. It's not that we weren't seeking Him or trying to do better, we just seemed to fall by the waist side and go our own way. We haven't been to church every Sunday. And we said we would join a Sunday school group when we got married. Well, 5 1/2 years later, we'd failed to do so. Don't get me wrong. I love our God; He is at the center of this marriage. I was baptized in August for the second time in my life to recommit my life to Him. And things have been going great. But for the last month, it seemed like everywhere I turned, something was telling me to go to this class our church has for young married couples. They all have children in this class; the men love to hunt and fish and go on trips together to do so. They pray together; do things together; reach out to others sharing God's word and love. It's just what Eric and I have been seeking and missing in our lives.
So finally, after all of this time of just simply not going, we took that step. And it was great.
We loved the class. And the people. Everyone has at least 2 children. Yay for other moms! They are planning some amazing things to do as a class for this year. We left there feeling like we'd found our niche. Cole had a blast playing with the other children. Raleigh, well, not so much! Completely my fault; she's always with me and only been left with my mom or Eric's mom, except for one other time which also didn't go so well! She's just at that age where she has bad separation anxiety and on top of it all is teething. But I know she'll get used to it.
We've volunteered to help with food for next Sunday. We are so excited to be taking a step closer to better our lives as individuals and as a couple, as well as parents to Raleigh and Cole. I'll keep posting on how it's going, but for now, we couldn't be in a better place.

Her first tooth!

2010-01-05T20:42:00.003-05:00

Yay for Raleigh!!!

After months of wondering if baby dentures were in her future (haha), Raleigh has finally gotten her first tooth! I found it this morning. Eric and I were celebrating. Cole got his first tooth at 3 1/2 months, so we thought she'd be the same way. But oh no, she's a little person all of her own and decided to wait until she was 10 months! She's been handling it pretty well. She has a cold right now, but other than a little fussy here and there, she's been great! I am really excited. Well I say that now; once she bites me, it's time for a bottle....:)

Just thought I'd share my excitement about my baby girls new tooth. It's a big thing to us mommy's.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2010-01-03T19:46:00.003-05:00

Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We had a wonderful Christmas. It was so fun to share it with our two beautiful children, especially that it was Raleigh's first Christmas. They got way too many toys, but they loved it; well, Cole loved it. Raleigh just ate the boxes and ripped the tissue paper! Cole got his first bike with training wheels. You should have seen his sweet face! Priceless.

We got to spend Christmas with both of our families, but most importantly, we got to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. I was so proud Cole knew we were celebrating His birth this year. He sang happy birthday to Jesus for Eric's family. Call me a dork, but it brought tears to my eyes. He has that effect on his mommy. :)

Here are a few pictures from the day. Check out our facebook page for more. I'm so upset with my camera; for some reason, it won't let me view all the pictures or edit them. So, sorry about the lack of and all the red eye. Oh well.

10 months of bliss

2009-12-17T14:50:00.002-05:00

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.

2009-12-08T22:35:00.001-05:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Not a fan of Santa

2009-12-08T21:30:00.004-05:00

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

2009-11-28T19:48:00.005-05:00

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!

2009-11-23T20:49:00.007-05:00

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!

2009-11-01T22:07:00.006-05:00

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

2009-10-27T08:47:00.008-04:00

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

2009-10-22T19:16:00.003-04:00

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!

2009-10-20T09:35:00.002-04:00

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

2009-10-14T21:22:00.004-04:00

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

2009-10-12T22:52:00.004-04:00

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.

We have moved!!!

2009-09-30T18:11:00.004-04:00

Yesssss!!!!
The move is over! It was quite stressful to say the least! I am so relieved it's all over and done with, and we're all settling in nicely.
I can honestly say I have been more stressed out this last month than I've ever been it my entire life. Seriously. I've experienced a lot of high stress situations; planning a HUGE wedding while working full-time, birthing 2 children (one pregnancy was high-risk), dealing with some crazy people while in real estate, having my man go overseas and fight a war; the list goes on. But never have I felt stress like this. I have probably given myself an ulcer from all of it! Eric worked almost everyday the last month, and I packed the house. We began the move on Sunday. Thank goodness we have the most amazing family, and they all are always so willing to help us. Eric and his brother Kyle, along with my dad and father-in-law moved things all day Sunday while my mom, mother-in-law and myself unpacked. Then we did it all over again Monday with the help of my brothers and Eric's dad. I really don't know how we'd have done it without them. Oh yeah, I do; I'd still be unpacking everything today! But, everything is done!!! What a great feeling. My brothers came over today to start painting the house for us. They got the kids rooms done, and a few other rooms. I am really happy with the way that is turning out. Now, we are waiting for our kitchen table to be delivered, and we have to order a dining room table and sectional for the bonus room. But all in all, we are settling in. I have been really worried about how Cole would adjust, but he has surprised me so much! He loves the new house; anytime we need to go back to the old house for anything, he pitches a fit and says, "NO!" Eric and I are so thankful he has taken it so well. He is probably more excited than we are!
So, we are scheduled to close on both houses tomorrow. We were supposed to close today, but there was a minor hiccup on the purchasers side for our old house. Luckily, it's nothing major and we are good to go for tomorrow. I can't wait until it's official. And, I'm ever so grateful we were able to move into our new house early. It made life so much easier.
And, I am taking it all really well myself. I'm not nearly as sad as I thought I'd be. I went back there yesterday to do a final cleaning, and I wasn't really sad at all. I think I'm just so excited about our new house.
Of course, we'll see how I do at the closing when it's official. :)
I'll post some pictures as soon as I can!

Let the packing begin!

2009-09-13T21:44:00.004-04:00

Ok, it's official. We are definitely moving!
All inspections have been made on our current house (whoa, that sounds weird) and everything looks good. So now, I have the amazing job of packing up this entire house! With 2 small children; one who runs around like a mad man and the other who still likes to nurse about every 2-3 hours! Should be VERY interesting!!! Eric is working everyday up until a few days before closing, of course. Not that I'm complaining; it is his job that is allowing us to get this new, beautiful house! But it sure would be nice to have him around to help. Lucky for me, my mother-in-law is great and has offered to help me this week. Thank you, Nana!! I will certainly be taking her up on that. Plus, Cole and Raleigh love her company.
I don't even know where to begin! It's all so overwhelming. I thought maybe I could pack up my china first and just go from there. Wherever THERE is!!! My philosophy for this move? If we haven't touched it in years, then we've more than likely forgotten it was there, so to the trash it goes! Ugh, I am not looking forward to this part!
But, I try to keep my eye on the prize. A brand new, beautiful house with the Michelin name all over it. It's my little boy's cute blue room with his sailboats everywhere (yes, he has requested a blue room!). It's my baby girl's soft pink room with her pink and brown color scheme and white flowers. A FORMAL DINING ROOM THAT I'VE ALWAYS WANTED! A big, eat-in kitchen. A gorgeous family room. A master bedroom with a bathroom fit for a king! (Seriously, I will be able to teach my kids how to swim in the bathtub; it's huge.) A very large bonus room waiting on us to create memories in. It also has a 2nd bonus room that will serve as the playroom! That means I get my living room back!! YES!! No more stepping over trucks and trains! Can you tell I'm just a little excited?!
I still have my moments about leaving our current house. Talk about memories; this house holds them all. Eric and I closed on this house one month before our wedding. He moved in first, and I moved in after the wedding. It was so exciting! Our first house! And we were so young; I was 21 and he was 23. We welcomed both of our beautiful children into this world living here. This house is all Cole and Raleigh know. It's all we know as a married couple. We have laughed, cried, shared our most intimate moments as a family here. All of Cole's milestones took place right here. I seriously remember them all. And Raleigh's too. It's been an amazing 5 years. And now, it's someone else's home. Ok, now I'm in tears.
I will probably cry packing up this house, and more than likely cry at the closing table. (Just warning you now, Eric!) But as they say, all good things must come to and end. However, when one chapter ends, another begins. Yes, we have had some amazing moments in this house, but we will certainly continue those good times onto the next house. My son will start his first day of school there; Raleigh will take her first steps there. Eric and I will grow together as a married couple. It is destined to be wonderful.
Just have to get through this part of letting go.

Good news and family time

2009-09-04T19:32:00.008-04:00

This last week has been insane. Eric's entire long break was spent looking for houses and trying to decide what we were going to do; literally. So we decided one afternoon we needed a break. We went up to Sandhills and let Cole run around the grassy area. It was a beautiful afternoon and it was so nice to just sit outside and be together. For a short time, it didn't matter where we were moving. All that mattered was that we were happy and together. Those are the best moments.

Raleigh was not a fan of the grass. I'm not sure why; maybe it was because she had just waken from a nap, and maybe she was a little hungry. Wait, who am I kidding; Raleigh is always hungry!!! It was so funny; she kept fussing and whining. And then you have Cole, who was running around like a wild man. He decided to take a spin around the concrete area, and that didn't turn out so well. 3 scrapes later and a few tears, though, he was back to running. That evening we went to meet with our friend Shannon and met her and Mark's new baby boy, Ethan. Let me tell you, he is so cute! And what a bruiser; he is the same size as Raleigh. He is 2 months, she is 6. I'll never think she's big again! They were cute together, checking each other out. There's an arranged marriage in the works! Eric got his first taste of boys with his girl...he's already nervous!

Eric had to go back to work tonight. :( This week has seriously been one of (if not the most) stressful weeks of our lives. We just wanted to make the right decision for our family. To make a long story short, we made an offer on a new house on Tuesday. The negotiations were disappointing and frustrating. We decided Wed. evening we were done and moving on to a different house. This new house was bigger, but it was going to take 6 months to build and that meant us in an apartment. But also, with a bigger house comes a much bigger mortgage, power bills, not a lot of money left over each month; you get the picture. So, after a lot of praying and discussion, we have decided our best option is to go with the original house we made an offer on Tuesday. We are so excited and were able to work out a very good deal with the builder. We could not be any more thrilled about our decision and our new house. God has really blessed us. The house is beautiful and very budget friendly which makes us love it even more! With all the extra money we'll be saving, we will be able to do the upgrades we wanted; hardwood floors, granite countertops, finishing the 2nd bonus room (yes, it has 2 bonus rooms!)...I can't wait. It's actually a bigger house than we originally thought we'd be able to get. It is also on a cul-de-sac, which is very kid friendly. All in all, we are just beside ourselves. We will still be able to close on our new house the same day we close our current one on the 30th of this month. I will definitely post pictures of the new house as well as the transformations we are going to make.

I am so relieved everything is done and I don't have to think or stress about where we are going. For the first time in a week, I'll be able to go to sleep easily!

*big sigh of relief* :)

Happy Anniversary- 5 years!!!

2009-09-01T15:41:00.004-04:00

Eric and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary on Friday. WOO HOO! We had a great day. We just hung out during the day with our kids, and then Eric's parents came over to watch Cole and Raleigh while we went to dinner. Eric made reservations for us at the Melting Pot; one of our favorites! If you've never been there before, you really must go. It's a very intimate setting, and what is more romantic than fondue?! We were taken back to our table, and there was a beautiful pink rose waiting on me! Eric paid the restaurant to have them set that up for me. The part that made it so funny, though, was that they didn't tell him how much they charged to do that! When we got our bill, they charged him $14.95 for a single rose! I was dying laughing. What a sweet gesture, but he didn't think to ask about the cost. Of course, he tried to make it smooth by saying I was worth it and he'd have done it no matter what, but I knew he was like, "You've got to be kidding me!" I mean, that's ridiculous to charge that, but obviously, people do it! The food was wonderful, and it was so nice to be able to spend some adult time with my sweet husband. I love him. :) Especially when he gets me a really great anniversary gift like he did this year. He is so cute; he cannot stand to hold on to a gift he has gotten me. You should be around our house at Christmas time; he is constantly trying to get me to open up my gifts way before Christmas morning because he gets so excited! So the entire day, he kept saying, "Do you want your gift, do you want it?" I was like, "Didn't you say you wanted to give it to me at dinner?" It was funny. So as you can imagine, we didn't even get seated good until he slips me a tiny little box across the table and says, "I can't take it anymore, open it!" It was a beautiful diamond anniversary band! I was so excited, and impressed because he picked it out all on his own! I'm a lucky girl! Check out my ring and my hot husband below!

So, just as we were finishing up our dinner and thinking the night couldn't get much better, it did! My phone rang; it was my mom. Our house was shown right before we left for dinner, and we drove by our house a couple of times; the people were in there for awhile, so we thought, "Good they must like it!" So, we left it at that. But my mom called, and I thought to myself, "Please let this be something about the house!" We have been stressing out so much trying to get it sold. So my mom tried to play it cool for awhile and I finally was like, "OK, have you heard anything about the showing?" And she said, "Oh yeah, they made an offer!" I started screaming in the middle of the restaurant. Eric and I were so excited! We picked up our things and ran out to our car. To make a long story short, we accepted their offer. The only thing was they want to close on Sept. 30th!!!! Yeah, we have 1 month to find a house, pack and move. With two kids. And Eric's outage starts next week, meaning he is working like 26 days in a row. Awesome timing; but hey, the house is sold!
We have been looking at houses for days now, stressing again because we couldn't find anything that we thought was us. It was looking like we were going to have to build, which meant we'd be renting an apartment for 6 months. Once again, with 2 kids. Yeah, feel our pain?! So last night before we went to bed, we did the only thing we knew to do; we prayed. We asked God for direction and wisdom as to where he wanted our family to go. I went to bed aching with stress, and we woke up this morning with peace. We knew everything was going to be ok, and we had total faith He would lead us there today. And you know what? HE did! We decided on a new house that is complete, and we made an offer this afternoon. Hopefully, we can make this work and we'll be in our new house at the end of the month. We are so excited and feel completely blessed to have options like these for our family, especially during this time. Thank you, God.
And last, but no way least, I had a big day on Sunday. In front of all our family and church, I was baptized. It really was one of the greatest moments of my life. Especially because my son got to see the whole thing. He's so young, so he doesn't really understand, but I still was so excited. I was baptized when I was a child, but had no idea what I was doing or even what it meant to be baptized, so I felt like I needed to do this for myself. To show the world and my Savior that I love Jesus. I tried to explain as best as I could to Cole what I was doing. I especially didn't want him to get upset when he saw our Pastor dunk me under the water, so I wanted him to be prepared! I thought for sure he would yell, "Hey, Mommy!" when he saw me in the baptismal pool, but he didn't. Eric did say he recognized me and said, "Look, Daddy, it's Mommy; she's getting bafftized!" Bafftized; how darn cute is that?! And before we even left our house that morning, Cole looked at me and said, "Mommy, I'm so proud of you!" It doesn't get any better than that.
So needless to say, it's been a crazy few days, but we are getting through. I know the stress is only going to heighten, but it'll be over soon and it will all be worth it when we get our new, beautiful house. We are so excited!!

3 year check-up

2009-08-25T21:56:00.004-04:00

I took Cole to the doctor today for his 3 year well check-up.

It hit me all at once, again, that he is no longer a baby. We walked in the back and they got his weight and height. He was 35 1/2 pounds and 39 inches tall. That puts him in the 80%. Then, they sat him down, checked his blood pressure, pricked his finger to check his iron level and cholesterol, and made him pee in a cup!! Whew, I was like, he's not an adult!!! This is what they do to me when I go to the doctor! Cole, of course, thought it was major fun to pee in a cup (boys!) and did great when he got his finger pricked. He wasn't too sure what the nurse was doing with the blood pressure cup, but he took it like a champ! I just kind of sat back and took it all in. He was such a big boy. I felt like he was all grown up, especially when they said they wanted to check his cholesterol. This just cracked me up. I mean, I guess young kids can have problems with their cholesterol, but this is the kind of stuff my parents talk about when they have doctors appointments!! (No offensive, Mom and Dad! Love you guys!)

So, he also received an A+ along with his sister last week. The pediatrician said Cole was a big boy and he thinks that will continue. Whenever we go out, people always think Cole is at least 4 because of his height. So, maybe he'll play basketball or something. But he does love football, so who knows?!

Cole really loves to be outside, and with all the toys he got for his birthday, he wants to be out there even more. I really needed to feed Raleigh and cook dinner this evening, so I let go and let him be a 3 year old. He went in the backyard, by himself, and played with his soccer goal, rocket launcher and golf set. He was a little confused at first because I always fuss at him if he tries to sneak out the back door alone, but I reassured him it was okay. I, of course, watched him out the kitchen window the entire time, but at least I let go a little and let him be a boy. He kept coming to the back door to say hey and tell me he loved me, and then off again he'd go. I made pancakes for dinner (Carrie, you'd be proud, they were made from scratch!!!). He was thrilled because that is one of his favorite foods. He and I were eating them hot off the griddle; I forgot how much I too loved pancakes; they were great! He kept saying, "MMM, Mommy, these are good! Thanks for making me pancakes, I love you!" How precious is that?! I love that boy!

Eric and I will be celebrating our 5th anniversary on Friday! Can you believe that? I am so excited. We can't really go away this year since I am nursing Raleigh, so he has dinner plans made for us. I can't wait. He works so much, so it will be nice to spend some time with my man and just relax. Maybe even make us another little Michelin.

Just kidding, Mom. :)

More birthday pics!

2009-08-24T11:41:00.008-04:00

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY, COLE!!!

2009-08-24T10:22:00.004-04:00

It's official!

My little boy is 3 years old today. The last 3 years have gone by way too fast, but they by far have been the best of my life.

We threw Cole a luau themed party at our home yesterday afternoon. It was a blast! He had so much fun and received some amazing gifts! He got a soccer goal and ball, golf set, books, DVDs, an easel and paint/paper to go with it, a tray with his name on it, clothes, USC football jersey and sunglasses, educational computer, baseball glove, money, toy camera, cars, trucks; the list goes on! We had the house decorated and everyone wore leis and Hawaiian outfits. Of course, big days are always going to have their hiccups.....

I ordered Cole's cake from Publix. For months now, all Cole has asked for is a Thomas the Train cake. So I was going to make sure he got it. They had a precious Thomas cake that literally was a 3D version of a Thomas the Train. It was awesome, and Cole wanted it. They also had a Thomas sheet cake that was a carnival scene. I made sure that the lady who took the order new that I did not want the sheet cake, I wanted the signature cake. Besides, we were having a luau; a carnival scene would not go with his party! She said she understood and if there was a problem, one of the decorators would call me. Well, I never received a phone call and so I assumed everything was ok. BIG MISTAKE!!! When I got there to pick up the cake, low and behold there was the stupid carnival scene sheet cake. I was devastated! I told the lady that I was sorry, but that was the wrong cake. I showed her in the book which cake was the correct one, and she wanted to get an attitude with me! She was rude and I didn't appreciate it, nor did I need it; I was stressed out enough. She told me to come back in half an hour and she would have the correct cake. I walked out to my car where Eric was sitting with the kids, and I just started crying. I wanted Eric to go back in and tell her to keep her cakes! He calmed me down and said let's just go with it. I'm glad we did. The cake turned out perfect, and Cole was absolutely thrilled! That was all that mattered to me.

2 more hiccups occurred. For some reason, our video camera decided to stop recording right as we were all singing Happy Birthday to Cole. We had no idea until I went back last night to watch the cake. And last, Eric broke our dining room table! To his defense, it is old. He pressed down on it trying to close the cake up, and all I heard was a loud snap! The table is very unstable and leans. He and my dad are going to try and glue it back together this weekend when he is off. Great!

All in all, it was a wonderful day. A day full of love and laughter and excitement for my little boy. Yes, boy. Not baby anymore. He doesn't even resemble a baby. :( I guess they have to grow up eventually.

Here are some of the pictures from Cole's birthday party.

Happy Birthday, Cole. You make me very happy; you brighten my world more than I could ever tell you. I am so proud to be your mommy, and I thank God everyday for choosing me for the job. You are so very precious, and I am so thrilled you have become who you are in your three years. You are the best little boy anyone could ask for. I love you more than life itself.

Mommy

Matching flowers! Fun in the bounce house. (Thanks, Mann family!)

Cole and his great-grandfather

switching hats! Isn't he cute?

6 months old!!

2009-08-18T09:34:00.003-04:00

Yes, yes, I know I say this everytime, but I seriously cannot believe my little baby girl is 6 months old! Where did all those months go?
Raleigh had her 6 month check-up yesterday and she got an A+. I have to admit, over the last several weeks, random people have been coming up to us and saying, "Oh she's so chunky!" or others that really don't care say, "Wow, she's fat!" Ok, I'm a mom and therefore am very protective of my children. Eric and I can say she's fat or our family can as well because we say it in a loving way, but when people I've never met start saying it, I get a little upset. I think, are they saying that because they think a fat baby is cute, or are they trying to tell me I'm feeding her too often??? I personally love a fat baby, and I love every roll and crease Raleigh has. Cole was a very chunky baby as well, and I remember just adoring every ounce he had too. I feel very proud she's that way because I nurse her, so I made her that way. So I just needed reassurance from her pediatrician that she wasn't "too big." He just laughed and said absolutely not. He said she was perfect and healthy and to not worry because once she starts becoming more mobile, the weight will quickly come off. I do remember that with Cole. He was so chunky, but once he started walking, he quickly thinned out. Our Dr. jokingly called her "juicy." We thought that was hilarious!
She weighs 17 pounds 5 ounces and was 26 3/4 inches long. So that puts her in the 80% for height and 75% for weight. She is right where she needs to be developmentally; she is rolling over both ways, sitting up very well without assistance, and standing up alone for a few seconds at a time. She laughs and smiles constantly, and is saying "hey" (she has no idea she's saying that, of course!) and making the "m" sound. Could she possibly be preparing herself to say "Mama?!" Cole's first word was "MaMa" and I remember Eric being disappointed, especially because that was his boy! So if Raleigh says it before DaDa, he will be upset! She still doesn't have any teeth yet, but I'm certainly not complaining! :) She loves to eat solids now; she likes bananas, squash and sweet potatoes. She also still loves to nurse! But I will begin to increase her solids over the next few weeks. I will start her on juices soon too. Not sure if she'll like it or not, but we'll try!
I am just so amazed by her. She is so beautiful and full of life at 6 months old. She has the best little personality and is a joy to be around. Raleigh always smiles and is so happy all the time. I couldn't ask for a better baby, truly.
As for my little man, Cole will be THREE next Monday. I try not to talk about it too much; it makes me soooo sad!!! It's bittersweet. His birthday party is Sunday. We are throwing him a luau birthday party. He is so excited, he can hardly stand it. Everyday he's waking up asking, "Is it my birthday?!" I will certainly have many pictures to post of his big day along with some funny stories, I'm sure. He is so funny.

One more....

2009-08-13T15:33:00.004-04:00

Okay, here is one more picture of Raleigh in a pink and camo hat. Yes, Eric was happy! He tried to buy her a camo dress with white lace around the bottom....yeah, hideous!!! I had to intervene for my girl.

Also, check out this quick video of Raleigh's "ocean experience." This was the not so fun time...watch at the end, she gets so upset that she makes herself choke. Too funny!

More beach pictures

2009-08-13T15:26:00.004-04:00

Not so happy here!

Can you see her legs?!

Fun at the Bass Pro Shop!

Our beach trip

2009-08-13T15:03:00.004-04:00

Okay, so one of these days maybe I'll find some time to update this blog regularly! Anyways, we went to the beach with Eric's family about 2 weeks ago and stayed for almost a week. We had a blast! Not many families do this, but Eric's entire family goes to the beach for a week; I mean aunts, uncles, cousins, everyone. It is so much fun and so nice to be able to visit with family we don't see very often. And, of course, I'd be lying if I didn't admit Eric and I wanted to show off our precious children. Cole had the best time. He loves the beach; playing in the sand, jumping the waves, chasing seagulls, you get the picture. And Raleigh? Well, she just loves to nurse! You can tell by the rolls hanging out of her bathing suit. The tankini we bought for her was basically a bikini, because it would not stay down over her tummy! Too cute.

Being at the beach reminded Eric and I of how much we would love to move to the coast. If a job ever presented itself to Eric anywhere on the coastline, we would be there in a heartbeat.

My sweet husband took me for a nice walk on the beach one night, just the two of us. It was really nice, but the whole time we talked about the kids! We had to laugh. That's what parenting does to you. But I love him and we had the best time. He even took me shopping one afternoon. I felt his head to make sure he wasn't running a temperature. He HATES shopping! The trade-off? We went to the Bass Pro Shop! But, I didn't mind a bit. It was worth it to be able to walk around the outlets, have Starbucks, and shop for who else, but our kids!

I'll post some more pictures and a funny video of Raleigh. She liked the water at first, but then something changed and she was done!

Sibling love

2009-07-23T19:04:00.004-04:00

As I have said before, Raleigh LOVES Cole. Everything he does or says is just funny to her. Case in point....I was at my Mom's house for awhile visiting today, and I had Raleigh in her exersaucer. Cole was jumping in front of her to make her laugh, and it worked, of course!! She was laughing at him and jumping along with him. This video is really cute, hope y'all enjoy!

I just love it when babies laugh. You can't help but laugh with them.

He did it!

2009-07-18T08:58:00.007-04:00

Obviously I'm not very good at updating this blog! I know everyone says this, but we have truly been very busy lately. But boy do I have some big news to share with y'all!

After venting my frustrations to everyone I know, and after endless times of praying for patience and understanding why Cole was refusing to potty train, he has finally done it. And, on his on will, of course, because after all, he is almost 3 going on 30!!! Yesterday, I made up my mind that he was going to wear "big boy" underwear all day. NO PULL-UPS...just underwear. That way, everytime he had an accident, he could really feel it. (Note: I have tried this before, but after a huge mess, Eric and I said never again until he was trained!!) Well, he did pretty well. He did pee all over my couch once, but I made him help clean it up. He was not a fan of this! So anyways, after lunch I nursed Raleigh and laid her down for her nap. As I rounded the corner to Cole's room, I noticed he had, "The Look." (Mom's understand what I mean by this) So I simply asked him, "Cole, do you need to go poo-poo?" To my amazement he responded, "Yea." So off to the potty we ran! I was cheering him on and telling him he could do it. Y'all, as soon as he sat on the potty, he went!!! I was seriously in shock. For those of you who don't know, I have been trying to potty train him since he was 18 months. So, needless to say, it's been a long time coming! I have never yelled and cheered for something so hard in my life! I'm sure my neighbors heard me, but I didn't care. It was just me, Cole, and the poop!! (Yes, most of you think I'm just plain gross at this point, but if you are a mom who has ever tried to potty train a most difficult toddler, then you can totally relate to me.) We celebrated and laughed and clapped and just had a party. Cole was so proud of himself, as he should be. We called all the grandmas and even the great-grandmas to tell them of his success. My mom even came to our house to bring him cookies and his favorite milk from Starbucks; yes, I have my son hooked on Starbucks as well! She also bought him 2 books. After the festivities ended here, I took him to Target and bought him a new toy as promised. Well, make that 2. He got a new train and a small truck. (hey, it was only $.69!) After Target, we stopped by Nana's house to celebrate with her. She gave Cole $1 and told him he will get another when he goes again! We then came home and baked cupcakes. I am aware that I may have gone a little overboard with the celebrations and rewards, but I wanted to make sure he knew just how proud of him we all were.

Here are some pictures from Nana's house yesterday. Look at Raleigh sitting up!!! She has not mastered the art yet, but she is doing really well. She just turned 5 months yesterday. I'm happy and sad all at the same time. Especially with her trying to sit up alone, I know that means soon she'll be crawling. She looks nothing like an infant anymore. I mean, look at the rolls on this child! She is still nursing every 2-3 hours during the day, and has decided she doesn't want to sleep through the night anymore, but I still love every moment I get with her. And now that Cole is almost fully potty trained, I am one happy girl!

Cole vs. the potty

2009-07-02T10:25:00.004-04:00

OK, I'm well aware that I'm not the only mother who has ever struggled with potty training a child. It is a major issue that mom's are always talking about. But how do you train a very smart, strong-willed child?
Bless his heart, Cole is wonderful. He is everything to me. He is beautiful, smart, hilarious, full of life (and energy), and is just an absolute joy to be around. But, he is VERY strong-willed. I am happy about this, because I know he will grow up to be an independent, "can do" man one day. But, it makes for very difficult toddler years; for the both of us! I have been trying to train Cole since he was about 18 months old. I bought him this wonderful little potty that sings every time you use the bathroom. Brilliant, right?! Um, not so much. He hated the potty; told me it was "too yucky!" So, I backed off for awhile.
His second birthday came, and I was at this point about 3 months pregnant with Raleigh. I didn't want 2 in diapers, so I was determined to train him before her birth. I bought one of those small seats you put over the big potty thinking he would like this better, and indeed he did. He was showing all of the promising signs; staying dry during naps and bedtime, telling me after he "went," and hiding when he had to poop. I would sit him on the potty and every time he peed, I would celebrate and jump around and praise him for everything! He too, loved this! He would call Nana and GiGi and inform them of his good doings! But, this too quickly faded. Before I knew it, Raleigh was born and we were buying diapers for 2 children. Ok, y'all, this gets expensive! Newborn diapers are crazy enough; we would go through easily 15-20 diapers daily when she was first born. So, my determination came back in full force; I would have him trained by his 3rd birthday.
Cole will be 3 on August 24th. I can't wait! I'm planning a luau theme. He is really excited as well, and sees me buying all these decorations, and he knows they are all for him and his big day. But will he be fully potty trained by then? Maybe not. After he and I did "battle" for 3 hours yesterday, (yes, 3 hours!) I have come to the conclusion that he is smart enough to know what he is doing, and he is testing me. I desperately tried to get him to poop on the potty yesterday, trying everything from one extreme to the other. And after going back and forth to the bathroom for 3 hours, I finally gave up. Yes, he is testing me. He's good at it. He knows me very well. So, I have decided to try one final thing; pretend like it doesn't bother me. If he wants to go on the potty, great! If not, great! This may sound crazy, and it probably is, but I'm desperate and I don't know what else to do. Maybe if he sees that I'm not pressuring him to go, then he'll want to do it on his own.
Or maybe, Daddy will be off for seven days starting tomorrow and he can try............ :)

Jesus Loves Cole!!!

2009-06-25T11:10:00.004-04:00

Okay, so here is the video I promised. Sorry it took so long...life is a little busy right now trying to sell our house, find another, and taking care of two busy little ones!
This is the story behind this video....
Cole loves to sing. He loves "You are my Sunshine," "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider," "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star;" the list goes on. He especially loves to sing "Jesus Loves Me." He also loves to watch me use the video camera or take digital pictures, so he can see what's going on from the other side. The problem with that is, it's very hard to video anything he does because he is constantly trying to run to the other side. He doesn't understand that video is live and he cannot see himself! It's hilarious!
So this video is him holding his baby Bible, singing, "Jesus Loves Me." Sorry for all the camera shaking, but I was having to chase him around the whole time. Check out the look he gives me toward the end of the clip, before he finally gives up and says, "LET ME SEE!!!" This is just too cute, I hope y'all enjoy my precious little man!

4 months old!

2009-06-19T09:48:00.005-04:00

Raleigh had her four month check-up on Wednesday. I honestly don't know where the time has gone, but she is indeed four months old! She weighed 14 lbs. 6.5 ounces and was 24 1/2 inches long! She is growing! I thought she would weigh a little more than that considering how often she nurses, but that is still great! She is in the 70% for weight and 50% for height. Her pediatrician said she was beautiful and that she obviously doesn't miss any meals! He lovingly called her "chunky!" And she is! So, she got an A+. She is also sleeping much better at night. She goes to bed around 8:30 or 9, and for the last few nights has slept until 4 or 5! It has been wonderful! She had an off night last night, but hey, at least she's not nursing every 2 hrs. at night anymore!
Cole is finally beginning to feel better. Bless his heart, he's been so sick. He hasn't had a fever in a few days, but he has been coughing really bad. He is still so much better than he was this time last week. I hate to see my kids sick. :( It's been hard for him too because he is normally extremely active and he always wants to play with his sister. I've done everything I know how to do as far as keeping the germs at bay (if you can even do that) like washing my hands 5 million times a day, disinfecting things, etc. So far, Raleigh and I are still fine, but Eric has developed a really bad cough and isn't feeling great. So I told him he needs to stay away! Ha Ha
As far as the house goes, we have had 2 showings and an individual call for more information on the house, so that's really encouraging for us considering the house has only been on the market for 9 days today. We have found a few new construction homes that we like, so at least we have some direction of where we may go if and when the house sells.
I have a really cute video of Cole holding a baby Bible and singing "Jesus Loves Me." I will post that later to share. It is precious!

House for sale, sickness and milestones!

2009-06-12T19:27:00.008-04:00

Well, the house is officially FOR SALE!!! We listed it Wednesday morning, and it was shown Wednesday evening! We were so excited; that was a promising sign for us. My wonderful husband, my little brother Wes and myself laid sod that same day....6 pallets! Oh yeah, did I mention that was the hottest day this week?! I should probably take myself out of that equation because Eric and Wes did most of the work. Thank goodness Wes came over to help; Eric and I would have been working into the night! The yard looks better than it ever has in all 5 years we have been here. The house looks amazing too. Kinda makes me want to stay, and then I go into Cole's room and see how many toys he has, and the rest of our "stuff" hiding, and I come to my senses that indeed, it's time to move on to something bigger! If it doesn't work out, we will be fine here for awhile longer, but it would certainly be nice to have more space.

On a not so good note, my little boy is really sick. He came down with a high fever yesterday afternoon; it's staying between 101-102 degrees, and peaking at 103. It is the most helpless feeling when your kids are sick; I wish I could take it all away for him so he didn't have to go through it. I took him to the Dr. this morning; he said his throat is really red, but luckily the strep test came back negative. He thinks it's just viral, but we will continue to monitor him and take him back if his fever persists through Monday. Hopefully, Raleigh won't get whatever he has. It's hard to keep him away from her because he loves her so much. At the pediatrician's office this morning, I sat Raleigh down in her carseat to pay for the office visit, and Cole walked over to her and put his hand on the handle bar of the carseat and stood there, like he was guarding her. SO SWEET! He is so protective over her already. That will be so nice when she starts dating! Here are a few recent pictures of them. The puppy Cole is with is Lexi, Uncle "Bubba" (Wesley) and Jessie's new dog. Cole adores her. Also, check out the pic of Eric carrying Raleigh in the "papoose" as he calls it. Kind of an inside joke between us, but I finally got him to wear it.

As if all of that isn't enough, my little baby girl, and I do mean little (she is not quite 4 months yet) is rolling over on her own!!! I had her on her back playing on her play gym, and I walked into the other room to get something. When I came back, there she was on her tummy, just looking around! I was so excited, I started screaming and called Eric into the room for him to see. He was really excited as well, but nervous. He is so afraid she will suffocate or something. Sweet Daddy; he's so concerned. I had to assure him that she was fine. If she can roll over, she can turn her head to the side. Now, you can't lay her on her back without her rolling over. She has discovered she can do something else now, and it is fun for her!

She hit a milestone today. It's fun, but next she'll be sitting up, crawling, walking, and then getting married! The time is just flying by.

Sorry about all the shaking on the video...Cole was climbing on my back trying to see the camera!

Kids say the darndest things

2009-06-03T15:59:00.003-04:00

Okay, so this is a must share.
As most of you know, Eric is an avid hunter and has "corrupted" my son into loving hunting and fishing....ha ha, just kidding, Eric! Anyways, Cole is always talking about hunting hogs and deer, well, because that's what Eric talks about a lot. So, the kids and I had to make a quick trip to Target this morning to pick up a few things. On our way in the store, a woman who is in the Army comes walking out in her uniform. Immediately, Cole, who pays VERY close attention to detail notices that she is in camo and announces loudly, "Whoa, Mommy, look...she is going to shoot some hogs and deer!!!!" I did not even look back to see how she reacted, but I did crack up and told my sweet son, "No, baby, that's the wrong kind of camo. She is in the Army just like Daddy was." How funny is that?! He saw camo and made that connection. Can you imagine what else he'll say? I love that boy.
I will keep y'all posted on our house situation. We are getting the house ready to put on the market. I know as a Realtor this is one of the worst times to try to sell your home, but it's also one of the best times to buy a home because of very low interest rates and home prices. I am already SO stressed out because we have so much to do to get it ready and Eric is working all week, but hopefully by this weekend it will be ready to go. We've decided after being here for 5 years and 2 kids later (did I mention a ridiculous amount of toys, also!) that we have outgrown this wonderful home of ours and we would like something bigger. It will be bittersweet for us; we love this house, but it is time to move on, that is, if it is in God's plan for us. We'll see how it goes!

14 weeks of pure happiness

2009-05-26T18:51:00.006-04:00

Raleigh is 14 weeks old today. I cannot believe it. Honestly, as I've said before, it seems as though I was just pregnant with her yesterday. Now she is here, growing by leaps and bounds, and she is just a joy in our family. She is such a good baby. At night, after she is bathed and nursed, I lay her in her crib around 9, and she puts herself to sleep; I mean, she doesn't even cry!!! It's amazing to me....with Cole, Eric and I literally had to rock him to sleep every night and pray he would sleep for an hour without waking up. Bless his heart, he still struggles with sleep! He, after a lot of screaming and yelling that he needs to sleep in "Mamma's bed," will fall asleep in his bed. But low and behold, when we wake up in the morning, he has somehow managed to sneak into our bed, most of the time on top of the covers so he won't wake Eric up :) It's kinda cute, but I feel sure one day he will realize it is much more fun to sleep all night long in his OWN bed! But Raleigh does great! She is so easy going and doesn't require much. Just make sure she has a clean diaper and full belly, and she'll give you all the smiles and cooing you want! She has found her hands and feet, which is very cute. Her hands are always in her mouth, especially right now because she is teething (I'm sure of it!), so there's a lot of drool and an occasional bout of fussiness, but hey, she's only 3 months old and trying to cut a tooth, so she's allowed to fuss a bit! She loves her jumper, although she's not doing much jumping yet, of course. She is almost rolling over from her back to her belly; her shoulder still gets in the way, but as soon as she figures out how to push over that shoulder, she'll do it! It's just amazing; she is growing up SO fast and starting to hit a few milestones, so it's bittersweet for me.
As for Cole, he is finally showing some very promising signs of potty training. He still won't poop on the potty, but hey, you gotta start somewhere! He sometimes will tell me he has to go "pee pee," and then other times he just grabs himself signaling, "Okay, Mom, time to go!" We are getting there. I've tried to let him train at his own pace. All children are different, and while he has shown signs of being ready for quite some time now, we are making good progress. I know he'll be potty trained by the time he gets married, so all is well!! Ha Ha
Enjoy this video of Raleigh smiling and laughing. She was stretching her gown with her feet, but still very adorable!!

Mother's Day/ Beach trip

2009-05-14T19:21:00.007-04:00

It's been awhile since I last posted anything, so I thought I needed to do so while I had a few minutes to spare.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day. I certainly did. All day long, I just stared at Cole and Raleigh, almost in disbelief. I just feel so blessed that I am their mommy; God chose ME to be their mommy, and that to me is just crazy. I'm not sure what I did to deserve them, but I thank God for my little angels everyday. They are precious. We went to church with my brother and sister-in-law, and Cole stayed in the play area with the other 2 year olds. All the children in the class traced their hands, and the teachers cut them out and made pins out of them. Mine said, "Cole's Mom." I wore it with pride all day long. Above are some of my favorite pictures of the day with my children, and of course, my mom where it all started.

Everyone knows that Eric has a fantastic job at International Paper. He makes great money, provides for all of our needs and has great benefits. I don't have to work, but I do just for extra "play money." But, every job has it's draw backs, and his is that his job is shift work. Twice a year he goes on an outage where they shut half of the mill down for maintenance, and he is required to work for several weeks in a row without a break. He just went through his spring outage where he worked for 19, 12 hour days in a row. Luckily, he was on day shift this time, but, needless to say, we all needed a break after that! The kids and I missed him terribly, especially Cole. He loves his daddy so much and didn't really understand where Eric was. So, Eric decided we all needed some relaxation, so we loaded up half our house (that's how it goes when you have 2 kids; you need to bring LOTS of stuff!) and headed to Myrtle Beach for a few days. The weather was crap and Raleigh and I didn't set foot on the beach because it was chilly and way too windy, but we still had a great time. The resort we stayed in was awesome, and it had an indoor lazy river and water park which the boys spent most of their time. Raleigh had a bikini to wear, but to our disappointment it was much too small and she disliked it very much! But goodness, did she look cute! She was a little fussy, so we only took her in the pool once; the rest of the time, we just watched as Cole and Eric played. It was so nice to get away for a few days and just be a family. I posted some pictures from the trip. And, I had to add a picture of Raleigh wearing her first hair bow. I'm not quite sure how it stuck to her hair because she hardly had any at all, but it looked precious. Enjoy!!

Cole and the "Sprinkle"

2009-04-29T18:00:00.006-04:00

I am quickly learning that life is much more, um, eventful with 2 children! Just the simple task of getting out of the house takes hours, and I'm not exaggerating! 2 baths to give, 2 outfits to put on, several diaper changes and feedings, oh yeah, and I have to get ready somewhere in the midst of it all...it's exhausting! But, always fun and adventurous. I really needed to go to Wal-Mart to pick up some things today, so we all got ready to go. As I'm walking out of the house carrying Raleigh in her car seat and diaper bag over my shoulder, I tell Cole, "Do NOT run to the side of the house!" You see, he has discovered the water hose is over there and boy is it fun to play in!! He calls it the "sprinkle;" it's his word for sprinkler. Well, of course he does not listen; he's 2 1/2 and doesn't listen to anything! :) Now, naive as I am, I think to myself there's no way he can turn the water hose on, right?! WRONG!!! I hear him yell as I am getting Raleigh in the car, and look over to my son who is soaking wet!!! He laughs and says, "Momma, I'm all wet!!" Yes, so I noticed! So, back in the house we all go to change Cole's outfit.

So, we did make it to Wal-Mart eventually. I needed to get him out of the house; he gets very stir crazy, especially now that I have to spend a lot of time taking care of Raleigh. So, we went outside this afternoon and let him and the "sprinkle" have at it. Very cute, I must say. Even though he tried several times to soak me and Forrest (poor dog, he was traumatized!) it was fun to watch him just be a 2 year old. Enjoy this video!

She's not happy to be outside!!!

She's 2 months!!!

2009-04-24T19:18:00.011-04:00

It seems as though yesterday I was pregnant with her, and now we have already reached 2 months! She was 9 weeks on Tuesday and went for her 2 month check-up. The doctor gave her an A+! She weighs 11 pounds 11.5 ounces and is 23 inches long. She is growing like a weed and is in the 75% for both height and weight. They gave her 3 shots, though, and an oral medication, all of which she hated very much. I cannot stand when they give Cole or Raleigh shots; it's horrible for us as parents to know that our kids are in pain and there's nothing we can do about it. It's especially hard when they are young like Raleigh. But, they are all necessary. She is smiling a lot now and making those precious baby noises. I swear it's like she is trying to tell me something! She is definitely "Daddy's Little Girl!" Everytime she hears Eric's voice or sees him, she starts grinning. And you know Eric is in Heaven. She already has him wrapped around her tiny little finger.
Cole is still fascinated with her. She is beginning to really pay attention to him, and he loves it. He will yell, "Momma, she's looking at me!" or "She just smiled at me, Momma, she's so cute!" They are adorable together. I still pinch myself everyday, because I can't believe how lucky I am to have these two beautiful children as my own. I feel very blessed.
My mom and I took the kids to Sesqui today and had a picnic. After we ate, Cole played on the playground. He is such a big boy! He was just climbing up the playset like it was nothing and going down the tallest slide there was. Of course, he made sure I was waiting at the bottom of the slide for him! I loved it; even though he is growing up, he still kinda needs me. Here are two of my favorite pictures of him at the park. How handsome is he?!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-13T10:24:00.010-04:00

Hope everyone had a Happy Easter. We really enjoyed ours with our families, and it was fun to have Raleigh here with us this year. Cole and Raleigh both looked adorable as usual. We bought Cole a dress shirt and matching tie to wear, but we just assumed that everything would be fine. Well, Easter morning we were getting them dressed for church, and to our surprise, the tie was made for possibly an infant!! The dumb thing stopped at about midway down Cole's chest! You would think a 4T shirt would have a tie to accommodate the length. It looked ridiculous, and of course, we went into panic mode because we had no idea what to do. Fortunately, we still have his tie he wore last year and it matched just fine, so he wore that. Raleigh had on a beautiful white dress with embrodiered pink roses on the sides, matching shoes, a sweater and a headwrap which she hated with a passion. But did she ever look so cute! Of course, she spit up on the front of her dress before we could even get out of the house!!! Luckily, it wasn't that bad, so we threw a bib on her and hoped she wouldn't poop up her back, especially with the dress being white! Oh, the joy of dressing up your kids!

Cole had so much fun on his multiple Easter egg hunts. He hunted eggs three times at PopPop and Nana's, and then again with John-Michael at GiGi and Grandaddy's house. He was so cute; everytime he saw one he would get really excited at shout, "Another Easter Egg!" It was so fun to watch he and John-Michael chase after them. Eric hid one on a tree branch they could not reach, and it was just histerical to watch them both jump up trying to get it. In the end, Eric picked Cole up to knock it down and John-Michael picked it up. It was a wonderful day with our families, especially being able to celebrate it's true meaning. I can't wait to teach Cole and Raleigh that Easter is not just about the Easter bunny and hunting Easter eggs; it's about celebrating the life of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and the fact that He is risen. Here are some of our favorite pictures of the day.

Cole's first fish

2009-04-06T08:46:00.009-04:00

Eric was upset that I did not post Cole's first fish on here, so here it is!!! Cole caught his first fish a few weeks ago; a catfish that weighed close to a pound. Eric said Cole was so excited...he was yelling the entire time they reeled it in! Cole still tells everyone he meets about his fish. It is really cute.

About a week later, Eric got brave and decided to go fishing in the boat with his dad and Cole. He had high hopes that Cole would enjoy this trip and sit still, because as you know, all 2 year olds are calm and can sit perfectly still. :) HaHa!!! Apparently, Cole was less than perfect and Eric says that will be his last fishing trip in a boat for awhile. My father-in-law is missing several things that were in his boat. I guess they took a dive over the side of the boat into the river thanks to Cole. You can tell by his face in the picture with "PopPop" that he was very tired and cranky at this point. And he insists on telling me that his second fish was scary because it was too big!

Cole and "Chunky Monkey"

2009-04-01T18:32:00.005-04:00

She is absolutely growing like a weed!! We took her to the doctor yesterday and she weighs 10 pounds 6 ounces!!! And she just turned 6 weeks yesterday! Do you think she is eating enough?! I love the picture where she is smiling and you can see her white tongue! You can see the rolls on her arms too. She is wonderful and we are all enjoying her, especially her big brother, Cole. He always wants to be with her. Precious!

Eric's "work of art"

2009-04-01T18:18:00.003-04:00

Look at what he did to my child's hair!!! This is how it started.

Eric has been begging for weeks to cut Cole's hair. I will admit; it was a bit long. California boy long as Eric says. But, super cute because Cole's hair is curly and it he had beautiful curls in the back. So finally, I gave in yesterday and tried to trim it myself. But those of you who know Cole know that is an impossible task because he is 2 1/2 and VERY active! So, when I got done, it looked terrible and all uneven. I had no choice but to resort to "hair stylist Daddy." He proceeded to take clippers to our son's beautiful hair, even though he assured me it wouldn't be "that short." Yeah right! His head is buzzed just Eric's. I don't plan on having it this short ever again as long as I have a say so, but I must admit, it is kinda cute. He looks like a four year old.

Here is Raleigh!

2009-03-31T19:44:00.005-04:00

Here are some of our favorite pictures of Raleigh over the last few weeks. This is her first bath; she was very unhappy, but now she loves to get a bath. I absolutely love the picture of her and Eric sleeping. They are both sleeping with their mouths open! So cute. And the other picture is her at the zoo in the new stroller. We bought a double stroller for the kids. Thank goodness for whoever invented those things! She can sit in the front and Cole and sit or stand up in the back. Makes life much easier! She is doing great! I will do another post later with more pictures of her and Cole.

Our life the last few weeks

2009-03-23T12:48:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I'm finally getting around to creating a blog. Eric and I both have family out of town, so we thought it would be a good idea to do this so we could update our family and friends on us, but most importantly, our kids. I wanted to start by showing some pictures of us on Valentine's Day. Look at that belly! I looked and felt like I was about to pop! And indeed I was; she was born 3 days later.

As most of you know, Eric, myself and big brother Cole welcomed the newest member of our family, Raleigh Jean Michelin, a few weeks ago. Raleigh was born on February 17 at 5:59 p.m. weighing 7 lbs. 2 oz. and was 19 3/4 inches long. She is absolutely beautiful and we are so blessed to have two amazing children. Cole is wonderful with her; we simply could not ask for him to be any better. He is always kissing her and trying to soothe her when she cries. It is precious to see him interact with his sister. A lot of people ask how we came up with the name, Raleigh. Honestly, we just like that name. There is no history behind that name, and no, as many people have asked, she was not conceived there. In fact, I'm not sure either one of us have ever been there. Jean, however, is a family name. It is Eric's grandmother's middle name, Mandi's middle name, (or as Cole calls her, Aunt Dee) and my grandmother and mother's middle names as well. So, we covered a lot of women on both sides of the family and made them happy.

We are so thrilled our baby girl is finally here. We feel so lucky to have a healthy boy and girl. It's nice to be able to say that we are a family of four. A little crazy, but nice! Who would have thought that when Eric and I got married, almost five years later we would have two children. Life is good.