Can't Believe it has Been 10 Years!

Go Eagles!!

Last night was my 10 Year Highschool Reunion! It was not a huge turn out, but it was so fun to catch up with the people that did make it. The majority of people looked just the same to me. Which is kind of funny because I feel like I have changed a good bit as far as the way I look. Maybe not.

It is funny how when I get together with old friends it takes me back to those days. We all had a good time reminiscing about middle school slumber parties, classes we endured together, dances, getting caught climbing out on the roof of our highschool...Ok, so that was only me and one other classmate. It was so fun talking about the days at EHS.

It was even more fun finding out what people are up to now. Most are married, some have one or two kids, some pregnant, some have made it to the top of their businesses and are living a very financially comfortable life at the ripe old age of 28/29. It was so nice to celebrate with everyone all of their successes. I was so happy for all of my friends and also whispering prayers of thanksgiving the whole night. How blessed Matt and I are in so many ways. Some of these blessings are the dear friends I have from my days in High School.

Thank you, Lord, for my time at Eastside and for the many dear friends I made while I was there. Let us grow in our friendships and encourage eachother in our walks with You!

Self Portrait before we left
Sugar makes every special event even sweeter.
Erin, Me, Lauren, and Ginny....a few of my favorite people.
Matt and Joseph testing out the camera. Pretty sure the guys were getting bored by this point.
Mark and Joseph

Me, Sara, and Elizabeth. Sara and Elizabeth are living in Baltimore and DC so it was extra fun to spend some time with them.

She's a Dancin' Machine!

Your gonna want to pause the playlist at the bottom so that you don't have music overload. Matt decided to have a little dance party with Maggie one night when it was just the two of them hanging out. Enjoy!

Towels = Toys

Because I have the most considerate and giving husband, Matt gets up with Maggie every other morning...I know, he is too good to be true! In order for the other person to rest a little bit more and to drown out the squeals of delight, we take Maggie up to our bonus room to play for 45 minutes or so every morning...I am getting to the point of this rambling very soon. Anyway, Maggie LOVES to play in the upstairs bathroom. Despite the fact that we have way too many toys available to her, she most often chooses the towels for endless entertainment. Isn't that ironic that most kids choose household objects (and usually ones that moms have to put back again and again) to play with after you have spent money on toys that are age-appropriate and educational. So, right now on Maggie's Christmas list, we have towels, wash clothes, clean clothes that are folded in the hamper, mom's shoes in her closet, and so on. I think that Santa and Mrs. Claus are going to be thrilled at the price tags on these items!

The Discovery of the Cupcake....Magnificent!

Before watching this, you are gonna want to pause the music on the playlist at the bottom. Then, you will be able to hear all of Maggie's adoring fans (also known as our family)!

Maggie's New Found Love....Feeding Herself!

From viewing the pictures, you can't fully appreciate all of the grits and eggs mess or the applesauce everywhere. Let's just say that Maggie is not a pro at using her spoon, but she does not want Mommy to help her. Have I mentioned that she has a bit of an independent streak?






Other New Things:

Maggie is becoming a little girl in so many ways. She is walking (and falling) a good bit now. She still prefers a hand to hold while she is walking, but she is letting go more and more these days. In fact, today while we were visiting our friends, Abby and Meg, she walked probably 10 feet. I was so proud! The main problem is that she gets excited and goes too fast. So, I am trying to get her to slow down some and get her balance. We'll see.

Maggie loves her dolls. Many times throughout the day, she pulls them out of her chair and hands them to me... she is a great sharer, too. I make them cry, and give them back to her. She proceeds to hug her baby and pat her on the back. Too cute!

She babbles a lot, but usually only with people who are familiar to her. Not much of it makes sense to me, but I think it is particularly entertaining when she is fussing at me and says very sternly, "Ma, ma, ma, ma, ba, ba, ma, ma, ma." She doesn't say "ma ma" or "da da" a whole lot. But, my mom pointed out that Matt and I usually go to her before she has to summons us for anything. She has a very strong point there. =) She does make doggy noises frequently. She LOVES dogs. So, those of my friends who are animal lovers and know that I love animals from a far, far distance may find that pretty amusing. In the last few days, she says her own version of "Hi" when she is waving. She waves at everyone and everything. I am so glad that she is friendly.

Maggie seems to understand most of what we are saying to her. She can point to her head and her nose. She can also point to the doggy in the book, and, of course, follows it with a "woof."

At her one year check up, the doctor said that she was doing just great physically and developmentally. She is in the 96% for height and the 74% for weight. So, it looks like she is going to have my strong will and my very model-like long, slender build.=)

Ok, I guess now that you guys are going to throw up from all of my bragging and detailed outline of Maggie's accomplishments, I will bring this entry to a close. Hope all of you out there in blog world are having a good one. Talk to you soon!

Big...No, Huge Weekend!

This weekend was very eventful, special, and extremely exciting! It started Friday night down in Pelzer at Matt's parent's house. We celebrated Grandma T's 80th birthday! We are so thankful for Grandma T's life and what a great Christian heritage she and Papa started. It was a wonderful evening of enjoying great food and time with family.

Make a wish!

The Birthday Girl

Then, on Saturday at 4:00, we had a dedication service for Maggie and two other babies/toddlers in our small group. Our church does not have dedications during our regular church service due to the size of our church. So, we asked Joey Espinosa, our children's pastor, to lead the ceremony for our kids. He did such a wonderful job. It was a very sweet, special time for all of the families.

Someone is excited about being dedicated to the Lord!

Immediately after the dedication, we came back to our house and had Maggie's birthday party. On Sunday, Maggie turned a year old! I can't believe it. She had a great time with all of her family around. Campbell, Maggie's best friend, even came! She loved her birthday cupcake, and didn't seem to mind that everyone was staring at her while she ate. Elizabeth helped her open her gifts, and boy did she get some fun gifts! Maggie and Mommy were both very excited!

Happy First Birthday to Me!

You would think that would be the end of our weekend...it's not. On Sunday, my brother, Bradley, proposed to his girlfriend, Taylor. And, she said yes! He drove her to Charleston (where they both spent part of their childhood), and popped the question before he took her to a very nice restaurant for lunch. Then, they spent a little bit of time in Charleston, and came back to G'ville to have a family dinner with us and Taylor's parents. We are so excited that Bradley snagged such a wonderful Godly woman, and we so glad that Taylor is going to be a member of our family! Yea!


The gorgeous ring with a beautiful Charleston background

The happy, newly engaged couple!

We had a wonderful weekend filled with all kinds of God's richest blessings! Praise Him from whom all blessings flow!

Slideshow of Dedication and Birthday Party:

Free Chic-fil-a!

Yesterday, if you wore a college or professional football t-shirt, you could get free chicken strips at chic-fil-a (Thanks for the heads-up, Carri!). So, Mommy, Daddy, Mimi, Papa, and, of course, Maggie, sported our Samford and Davidson shirts (since we only support the well-known, higher ranked teams =)), and we ate a wonderfully cheap meal at Chic-fil-a last night. I love having fun and saving money!

Maggie's dinner was sponsered by Dr. and Mrs. Gresham since they gave her the cute Samford shirt a while ago. So, thank you, Greshams! It was fun to see the difference in how Maggie looked in her Samford shirt from the first time I put it on her (when she was five months old) compared to now. My how time flies!

Go Samford Bulldogs!

Almost 12 month old Maggie in her Samford t-shirt

5 month old Maggie in her Samford t-shirt

Playdate with Aiden and Tracy

Yesterday, Maggie and I hung out with Aiden and his mom, Tracy. Since we usually only playdate with girls, it was fun to see how Maggie and Aiden interacted. Aiden is such a boy. He would pick up huge baskets and walk with them and make grunting noises. Meanwhile, Maggie was comfortable pulling up and walking holding onto me all the while making sweet sighing sounds and gibber gabbering. So funny.

Aiden and Maggie actually played together a lot! They shared, took toys away from eachother, pulled eachother's hair. It was like they had been friends forever. Too cute! What a fun afternoon playing and visiting with Aiden and Tracy!

Aiden and Maggie were playing together almost immediately
Maggie thinks Aiden is so funny!