Brody's 1st Day of School

We now have 2 in school….Brody started kindergarden this year and he started off like a pro. Our school had an open house a few days before school started to give the kids and parents an opportunity to see where there class was and to meet the teacher. His teacher’s name is Mrs. Smith and she has been teaching kindergarden for 20+ years….she seemed really nice with only one major flaw, she’s a HUGE UGA Bulldog fan. Her ENTIRE room is decorated with UGA logos and colors.

On Brody’s first day, Draven and I walked him down the hall and the whole time he told me he knew where it was because all he has to do is look for the Bulldog on the door. When we get to the class, he said hello to Mrs. Smith and gave me a hug like it’s no big deal and gets in line with the other kids waiting on class to start. It was much harder on me and Jennifer than it was for him. He told Jennifer that he wanted me to take him the first day because, "he didn't want to walk down the hall holding a girl's hand!" We are so very proud of how confident he can be at times and he is so excited about being in school and learning new things every day.

We are writing this blog a few months into the school year, and even now, Brody is still doing great and although I have never seen them do it, Draven tells me they give each other a hug at the split where they go their separate ways to class. I really wish I could get a picture of this because it would be a wonderful thing to keep and show them later. They also wave to their Daddy (especially Draven) nearly all the way before they get to the door to go into school or by the time my car is gone, whichever comes first. I’m really going to miss these days when they pass me by.

Draven's Baptism

November 6, 2010 our little boy, Draven, was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In preparation for this day, Draven took the discussions from the missionaries. He really seemed to listen, and think hard about what he was doing, which I was really happy about, because this is a big step. Baptism is the first covenant we make with Heavenly Father in this life and it was important to Pierce and me that he understand and feel good about what he was doing. Draven received some gifts at his baptism-new scriptures (a quad), a journal, a picture and journal from his Primary President, LeAnn Lunsford, and some scripture accessories. He gave me the opportunity to read his journal after he wrote about his baptism, and it was beautiful! I'm so glad I have the chance to see glimpses of my Amazing Draven in amongst the 8 year old Sassy Draven :). He said he felt like Heavenly Father was right beside him and that the Spirit engulfed his body. Pierce was able to Baptize him and confirm him into The Church (give him the gift of the Holy Ghost), I gave a talk on Baptism, and our friend Clark Ensminger talked about the Holy Ghost. While Pierce and Draven were drying off we did something a little different...we had everyone there write a note or testimony to Draven and then I put them in a little photo book-later I'll do something cool in his scrapbook, but for now I wanted him to be able to see them whenever he needed to. They were all wonderful, but one I especially liked said "you are now one of Heavenly Father's soldiers." How awesome to be lined up next to Him!

I am so proud of Draven and his decision to become a member of Heavenly Father's church. I am especially proud of his desire to do good. This seems to be a hard age right now, but he is such a good boy and wants to Choose the Right. He's a thinker by nature, and I've seen him contemplate the right and wrong and tell me that he doesn't feel good about that-whatever it is. He prays often and chooses to read his scriptures on his own. How can we ask for more?!

Crash!!

No...this is not in reference to your favorite Dave Matthews song of the same name. On the day before Halloween (Oct 30, 2009), I decided to come home from work to have lunch with the family and my world got literally rocked in the blink of an eye. I was turning left on to Western Avenue at the intersection of Copper Kettle and Western. I was first in line at the red light and when it turned green, being the cautious driver that I am, and remembering what my dad taught me years and years ago...always look to make sure everyone is stopped or at least coming to a stop. Seeing that they were, I proceeded to go and turn left onto Western...when I'm in the middle of my turn, I look to my left and see a car coming down the center lane with no intention of stopping. My first thought was Oh my, he doesn't even see me and it was the most helpless feeling in the world...he literally does not stop until he is about 10 feet away from my car. I tried to turn away and speed up but then BAM!!! A sound that I believe will forever go through my head when I go through any intersection from now on. I was knocked clear across the intersection and my car died and rolled into the Taco Bell enterance way. The impact knocked the glasses off my face and my phone came free from my belt and flew across the car. After taking a moment to gather my senses, I found my phone and called 911 and no one answered....thinking I may have dialed the wrong number, I tried again, and still no answer. So, I call Jennifer and try to calmly tell her that I have been in a pretty serious accident and ask her to call 911 for me and right at that time, the ambulance arrived...no seriously...that fast. They were there minutes after the wreck...they were only a couple of blocks away eating lunch. I told Jenn they were there and that I needed to talk to them. I could feel my extremeties but pain was really starting to set in bad on my lower back. The firemen arrived and they had to cut me out of the car which took a little while...they had me strapped in with a jacket to keep me from moving too much and I was getting extremely claustrophobic. They finally got me out and put me on the straight board and loaded me in an ambulance. Long story short, I got to the hospital and they thought I had broken my pelvis but the x-rays came back negative. I was extremely blessed...all I kept thinking of was not being able to play with my kids, work, play ball, etc...thinking the worst.

That night, my home teacher from our church came over and gave me a blessing. The blessing stated that I would recover with minimal soreness and be able to return to work and my normal activities. The Doctors told me I would be extremely sore the following day and very sore for a few weeks up to about 6 weeks. The following 2 days I was pretty sore but nothing like I expected and was able to go to church and to work the following week (my wreck was on friday). Needless to say, I'm extremely thankful our Father in Heaven was looking out for me that day and also thankful for the blessing I received for a quick recovery. It was an eye opening experience that things can happen beyond your control that can change your life forever...I'm very blessed.

Back on Track...

We have severely fallen behind on our blog and need to get back on track! We have been so incredibly busy these past 5 or 6 months they seem like a blur, however we do have a lot to show for it. So...over the next few weeks, we will try to bring our blog up to speed with all the things we've been doing over the fall and winter and bring you into the spring with our new baby, Eleanor Grace. Posts to come...stay tuned!

Cute VT/HT Idea

My friend Deb, from Utah, has a cute idea for October Visiting Teaching/Home Teaching on her blog. Check it out!

My Brody

I have two, cute and short, stories to share about Brody! A little background to these stories...Brody has a teddy bear, named Teddy, who he loves very much. Teddy has a family of his own, his own "voice," and is Brody's best friend. A few weeks ago Brody told me that Teddy needs a friend and that he (Teddy) is going to ask Santa to bring him a stuffed Elephant friend for Christmas. Also, Brody loves umbrellas! He loves them so much that he'll use them even when it's not raining-along with the rain boots that he wears every day. Sometimes we call him Mary Poppins because the umbrella he has been using has a floral painting on it.

Today Brody & I went on a little date while Draven and PJ (it's fall break so D is out of school) were with Aunt Carol at Chuck E Cheese. So, today we decided that we would go to the store and buy Brody his very own umbrella! He found a "CARS" umbrella that he LOVES! He has told me thank you and that he loves me about a dozen times in the 4 hours since we got it. After the store, we went to CiCi's Pizza for lunch. While there Brody played the claw game and won a brown bear dressed as a pumpkin. He has gotten really impatient waiting for Santa to bring Teddy a friend-so "Pumpkin Doggy" is Teddy's new friend. They hugged and played together for an hour after we got home. "Pumpkin" has a very deep voice and had lots of fun riding in the car for the first time.


Brody's such a cutie!!

It's A Girl!

Pierce and I are happy to announce that we are expecting a GIRL baby on March 5th! After three boys it almost doesn't seem real, but that's what the pictures show, so we're going with it. We are having another ultra-sound next month because she was turned so that her ribs were in the way, and we couldn't see her heart completely. I'm excited to have the chance to see her again!

So far the only name we have come up with is Eleanor Grace-after our grandmothers. We would call her "Ellie." If you have any favorite suggestions please tell us!