HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY ELLA !!!!

Ella turned 3 on June 29th. The week before her birthday Stephen's Dad and Dorane came down. We all went to Robbie and Bob's lake house and spent the night. We got up on Saturday and went to the zoo. It was so much fun and Ella loved it especially the elephants. BUT, it was so HOT I thought we were all going to melt. We spent more time sitting in the shade, going to the gift shops, getting water and ice cream than we did seeing the animals. Ella didn't mind she loved it all. We had a cookout and a DORA party for Ella the next day at our house. We also had another party with my family. Ella got cute clothes, a shoe to learn to tie with, golf clubs, a vacuum, money, a birdhouse from Aunt Ricki and Uncle Ron and a lot of other fun things. It was a good time. The next week we made cup cakes to take for her party at day care and as you can see with the photos, it was messy and fun!!! Now she thinks that every day is her birthday! We finally finished her room by putting up the chair rail. I have to really give credit to Dad and Stephen for that. It looks like a little girls room now and she loves it. We are getting so excited about going to the beach in 2 weeks. Ella doesn't really understand the beach yet but is talking about it. She will have so much fun. We didn't take a vacation last year so Stephen and I are REALLY looking forward to it!! We are going with Mom and Dad. I am so thankful that they go every year and don't mind us tagging along.

**No news on the baby front. I finished 1 month on clomid and will start another round in a few days. We are still hopeful....

Holly

Hoping and Praying

Well I have a confession.....not many people read this blog, that I know of anyway so it's not a confession for the world but I want to let the close people around me know what is going on. Some may already know others may not. Stephen and I have been trying to have a baby since last November. I never thought we would have a problem since in 2003 we got pg the first month we tried (I miscarried) then with Ella we again got pg right away. It never crossed my mind that we would not get pg fast again. Each month I hope and pray that it is the month and each month I am disappointed. Well being 37, I don't have a lot of time to waste so I have been to the Dr and they are currently running tests and labs. I started Clomid today and will take it for 5 days to stimulate ovulation. If it does not work within 3 months we will look at other options. And those other options may or may not be an actual option for us as it can cost thousands of dollars, dollars that we don't have. I want a sibling for Ella and she is almost 3 and I don't want her to be so far apart from her sister or brother. I know it's all in God's hands and He is teaching me and Stephen lessons on faith and patience......but it is hard. We arem thankful for Ella and blessed to have her. If we are not given another child to raise we will be ok......but I am going to keep trying, hoping and praying!!

Holly

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

I am so very blessed to have a Father that I love so much and he loves me. Growing up he was always so much fun and made me laugh......he still does. I have such a high respect for my Dad and my Mom....they worked together to raise my brother and I. They did an amazing job, and they still do. They have an amazing marriage, it is complete love and respect for one another. You don't see that much anymore. I have to say now that I am grown and have my own family, I understand more the sacrifices they made but see the reward as well. Do they have as much as I would like for them to have, no, but they have each other, they have pretty decent children (if I do say so myself) and they have a grandchild that they adore beyond words and she adores them just the same. If I could, I would love to send them to the beach for the whole summer and it be my treat for a change.....and then I would send them out west. Just back and forth as much as they wanted. I would have Dad's music sung all over the country and world.....I would like to do so many other things for them to say just how much I love and appreciate them. Alas, I can't, for I have limited means. I guess I just have to settle for telling them that I love them. When it comes down to it that is the greatest reward anyway, to love and be loved unconditionally!

I love you both......Holly

Pink Princess Room

We FINALLY painted Ella's room. We painted it light pink on top and dark pink and green striped on the bottom part of the room. She loves it and told me that it was a princess room. I am glad that it is done and glad that we did it when she was old enough to notice and be excited about it. Everything else is going well at home and work.

Are You Kidding Me???

The other day I was talking to Stephen and Ella was trying to tell me something. She kept saying "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy" I told her that I was talking to Daddy and she could talk to me when I was done. She waited for about 15 seconds and said "Mommy, Mommy......Mom, Mom, Mom.......HOLLY" I stopped and just looked at her and she just looked up at me and said "That's your name, right?" Lord help me, she isn't even 3 years old yet.

Photos From the Funeral

Here are some photos from the funeral includig some with Stephen's brother David who had not been back to Spartanburg for 17 years. It was nice to have the family back toghter, Kay would have been so happy to see all of her children reunited!

Goodbye GranKay

Stephen's mother passed away this past Wednesday April 4th. She was put on Hopsice care on Friday and it was decided on Monday that she would only be treated for pain. We all knew that she was suffering and ready to go. There was nothing more that could be done for her. We were all present when she passed and it was very peaceful. We will miss her very much but know that she no longer suffers and she is with the Lord.

This was the last photo taken of her the week before she passed.


Holly

Brag on Ella Day

Well I can't help to just be a proud Momma today. I was just thinking how much Ella is growing up so fast and she is so smart. I can't believe that she will be 3 in June! She has known her ABC's,her colors, and numbers to 20 for over a year now, an she knows all of her shapes including an octagon. She can sing every song imangineable. Sometimes she is too smart for her own good and she tests us. Like whenever she asks for milk and we bring it to her in her sippy she checks to make sure its milk before she drinks it. The sippy is colored so you can't tell what is inside so she looks at the bottom to see what is in it before she will drink it. She is such a joy and I just love her so much I can't even explain it.

Until...........

Holly

Potty Trained!!!!!!!!!

Well I am seriously lacking in the blogging department. All is going pretty well. Ella is great and fully potty trained! We are all happy about that. She only wears a diaper at night and pull ups if we are going to be out and about for the day. Other than that she is in big girl pants. She is doing really really well and no accidents. Stephen is doing well and enjoying the weather getting warmer which means more time on his bike. I am fine and gearing up for traveling season for work. I won't travel too much about 1-2 times a month through July. But I like to travel and meet people. I will enjoying meeting people from our churches, and those I talk to on the phone all the time. Stephen's mother, Kay has been in a nursing home but was taken to the hospital the other day for an infection. We hope that she has a quick recovery and can go back to the nursing home soon. Stephen had a birthday on the 7th. And bless his heart, when I made the cake I made the number of his age, but when he looked at it he said what is that? I told him it was his age, and he said well that doesn't look like a 33......I put 37 which is how old I will be next month................:)

Until next time,
Holly

New Year!!!!!

Ok so the New Year rang in well over a month ago but for some reason, I lag behind once again. So what is new.....Ella is just growing up so much. It's incredible to see how much she changes week by week. She is doing really well. She stays pretty healthy. Although she has had a couple colds recently but nothing serious. Stephen and I are fine. I am busy at work but absolutly love it. It amazes me that I work for Upward. I have always had a yearning to do something, to have a job, that was more than a job or a way to make money. Something that would really mean something in the long run, that what I did mattered. For the first time since returning from Australia I know that what I am doing matters. And it's not an ego thing, it really is not about how I feel at all. It's about having the opportunity and resources available to make a difference for someone else without them ever knowing who I am. I am so very thankful that God saw fit to use me at Upward. Stephen is great. His job is going well and he really likes it. I think that he plans to stay there maybe for the long-haul. It would be good to retire with the state and he likes what he does. That makes all the difference. Well, we have gone on a budget, a strict budget. We sould be debt free by April (other than the house and car of course). I read the book The Financial Peace Planner by Dave Ramsey. It has really changed the way we look at money and finances. I actually like working the budget now and we took a HUGE step. We cut up all of our credit cards except for 1 each and we use cash for everything. We don't even use debit cards anymore. It has been YEARS since I used cash, but it has made a world of difference in how we use our money and what we spend it on. It has been the best thing we ever did. Well one thing that is new in our budget is that we will begin saving for a big trip in 2010. We will be married 10 years and want to take a vacation. Right now we are saying that we will go to France during the Tour de France. I am still pushing for Tasmania though! We still have plenty of time to decide!

Just a side note, Stephen's Mother, Kay, is now in a nursing home and doing much better. She can talk more and eat. It's amazing that she is doing as well as she is! We are all so happy that she pulled through!

Until next time!

Christmas Photos 2006

Happy and You Know It

The other day I told Ella that I loved her and she sweetly said "I lub you tooooo" and I said "Oh, you make me so happy." Ella replied, "If you Happy, know it, cap a hand!"

December Updates

Well a lot has gone on since the last post. We had a great Thanksgiving. I had Mom, Dad, Aunt Ricki and Uncle Ron here on Thanksgiving day. We all had a wonderful time and too much food as always. Then on Sunday Stepen's Sisters and their husbands came over for dinner. We had a great time with them as well. A week later was the Holiday Fair at the Greenville Expo center. This is something that I really enjoy every year. It's a huge arts, crafts etc expo. Mom wasn't feeling up to going and so she kept Ella for me and Dad said he would go. I would have never thought that Dad and I would share such a wonderful time together at a craft fair but it was a perfect day. We talked a lot and laughed more and looked at all the diffenet things for sale. Not many people can say that they spent the day with their Dad at a craft fair! Anyway, we have been getting shopping done and spending time with Ella. She and I have battled being sick off an on the past few weeks. But other than that we are all fine. Ella helped us decorate the tree she enjoyed it, and to my suprise, she really hasn't touched the tree much. We have only had 2 ornament casualities. I think she is getting excited, but she really doens't understand what is going on yet. She know who santa is and says HO HO HO, but I don't think she quite gets it that next week she will have presents to open etc. I think next year she will definitly get it and we will probably miss this time that she doesn't. We can still have presents for her in our spare room just covered up in a corner. It will be the last year for that certainly!!! Well some sad news: Stephen's Mother Kay is a diabetic and has other health issues. She is in and out of the hospital several times a year. On December 7th she had a severe stroke. For about a week she was in ICU and not given much hope but she has taken a turn for the better and is in her own room. She has a long long way to go but she is improving and we are just so thankful. I will update again after Christmas.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!
Holly, Stephen and Ella

Uncle Joe and Aunt Jane

Joe and Jane were here this weekend. It was so good to see them again. Ella had a great time playing with both of them. Joe would always pump his arms and make a funny noise at Ella and she would just laugh. Now everyday she says to me "What Joe doin"? and then copy him. It's really funny and sweet. Anyway, we all had a great time visiting with them. Joe has been in NC for several weeks and I know he was glad to get back home to LA!

I not see him Mommy

Today I was taking Ella to day care and the sky was so pretty. I told Ella to look at the sky and that it was pretty. She said "pretty sky Mommy". I told her that God made the sky and didn't he do a good job, she said "good job in the sky", I like a da sky". I told her that Jesus loved her and for her to tell Jesus she loved him. She said "lub (love)you Jesus. She said "look at sky Mommy". I told her Jesus lives way up in the sky.........she looked up out the window and said "I not see him Mommy". Doesn't get much sweeter than that!

Autumn, I love it!!!

You would think that it wouldn't be so hard to enter a blog, attach a photo and update about our life but for some reason, I just don't seem to get around to it much. And the next thing I know it's almost November. I love October though, it's my favorite time of year. The leaves are beautiful and right at their peak. A couple of weeks ago we all went to KY to visit Stephen's Dad. Stephen's sister Robbie drove her new Honda Accord. All was well until we got up around the Waynesville area, Ella then puked all over herself, and Robbie's beautiful leather seats, which makes for easy cleaning, but still not good. And don't get me started about the aroma for the next 200 miles. It wasn't really that bad, thankfully I knew where the Wal-Mart in Waynesville was and it wasn't out of our way at all. So we stopped got Ella cleaned up, bought some Febreeze and about a dozen towels (just in case). She was fine the rest of the trip. We had a good time in KY. We went to the Explorium in Lexington which is a science center for kids. Ella had a blast. She enjoyed seeing the horses and of course playing with her Pa Pa Howard and Dorane. We were glad to get home though. It takes a lot out of you to travel with a child even though she could not have behaved any better, it was exhausting for all of us. Let's see what else is new? Not really that much, I am still enjoying my new job. Well not really new I have been here 6 months now. I got a promotion a couple of months ago so that was good. We are finishing up our Football and Soccer season and the Basketball season is about to hit. We will be really busy in a couple of weeks as most leagues start their evaluations and practices in November and December and then games start in Jan. So it will be full on soon. I really love what I do, I could not ask for a better organization to work for. For those of you who want to know more about Upward, go to www.upward.org. Well I will sign off for now. I hope it won't be so long next time. Until then keep the Faith!!!

Holly

I like a de monkeys!

We have been busy the past month going here and there but never seeming to get much done. Ella has gone to the zoo the past two weekends. Mom and Dad took her to the Greenville zoo 2 weeks ago and this past weekend the three of us went to Hollywild. She loved it! She kept saying "I like a da monkeys" "I like a da elpants" she had a great time and so did me Mom and Dad. It's just a joy to see the wonder in her eyes and that smile on her face. Stephen had a busy weekend too. He rode in a charity event for MS. He rode his bike from Columbia to North Myrtle Beach in two days. We are very proud of him. He did great, a little sore and tired but overall it was a fantastic experience. He raised a little over $200 for MS so it was all for a great cause. Not much else is going on right now. Work for both of us is going well. Upward just moved into our new building and it is really nice. It overlooks water and is in a wooded area. It's really nice. Well I will have to post later and try to post more photos soon.

Holly

Weekend Get-Away

Stephen and I went away for the weekend to Georgia. We have not done that for a very long time. Mom and Dad kept Ella for us. Friday we drove to Rome, GA to spend some time at Berry College where I graduated from. The above photo is from one of the dorms I lived in for awhile at Berry. Some has changed but it was still like going back home. I told Stephen all the memories I had and he did a great job pretending that it was so very interesting! We really did have a great time and Berry is so beautiful. Deer are always around the campus and we saw at least 50. Saturday afternoon we headed to Clayton, GA where Stephen's Aunt and Uncle live and spent the night with them. It was really nice and we enjoyed them. His Uncle keeps bees so we saw his hives and all his blueberry bushes which are more like trees at 10' tall! I couldn't help picking them and eating them off the vine, nothing better! Sunday we spent some time with them in the morning and left around noon. We got home around 4 and Mom was at the house with Ella. It was a wonderful weekend away but it's so nice to come home. I missed Ella, and I think she missed us. Maybe she was getting back at us for leaving because I noticed she was quiet in the kitchen and went in and she had colored on the kitchen floor. So she got a time out for that and she thought her life was coming to an end. Sitting in a chair for a few minutes was torture. She was sweet after time out though and told me she would be a good girl and she was sorry. So hard to dicipline when they look at you with huge round eyes filled with tears. Anyway, she learned her lesson, for now anyway......there's always tomorrow!!

Holly

August Already???

It's hard to believe that it's August. If it wasn't 100 degrees outside I would think it should still be June! We are all well and happy. Ella continues to grow and say new things all the time. She has learned to blow her nose which is great! She twirls her hair when she is drinking from her sippy and tired so that has lead to little hair knots to try to get out each morning. Usually I can pull most of it apart and what I can't I just have to cut it out. So far you can't tell. Nothing else is really going on right now. Stephen's job is going well and after 8 or 9 years, of steering clear of bees, Stephen has been stung close to 16 times this summer. Twelve of those were at one time but the others were freak stings, riding on his bike or mowing the lawn. He is allergic and has to be very careful but thankfully none of them were too bad other than the 12 stings at once. With those he was really hurting and swollen. I have had a good but uneventful summer so far. Work is going really well. It has only 3 1/2 months but it seems like much longer. I love what I do and know that God has put me there for a reason and it is amazing! We have had some friends move back to the area recently, Jason and Kimberly. Actually they knew Stephen first and Jason was in our wedding. They moved back from Charleston a few months ago and they have 3 daughers: Megan 5, Katie 3, and Lauren 1. We have had them over and vice versa. It is so nice to have friends with kids close. We really enjoy them so much and Ella just loves playing with them too. Well I will close for now until my next update. Hopefully something a little more exciting!

Holly

BIG GIRL BED!!

Ella has transitioned to her "Big Girl Bed" and she loves it. The first night she woke up several times but never asked for her crib. She has been in her bed for about 2 weeks and seems to love it. Here is a photo from her second night sleeping in her bed. Now, potty training........somehow I don't think that will happen in a day!