12 Days of Christmas...

That is what mine and Dennis' Christmas season feels like! With 4 sets of parents, it feels like it takes 12 days to get time in with everyone! Then, you throw grandparents in there as well, and all we do for 2 weeks is have Christmas with family over and over again. Whew!

We can't complain though. We have such great families, and we are extremely blessed to have so many people that care about us.

Our first stop was at Dennis' grandparents house. To sum it up??? Madness! Fun, but madness! Kids, kids, everywhere!It was so much fun though. The kids are still at the age where they aren't old enough to say "he just hit me!", or "she just stole my toy!" I'm sure those days are ahead, but it's fun just to sit back and watch them all run around. I don't think Sadie even knew what was happening, because there was so much going on around her. I even think she got a bit scared at times! We all gave Grandma and Grandad a huge picture of all of the grandkids and great-grandkids. They were so surprised, and it was such a special moment.

The next stop was Christmas w/ my dad at our house. It was very laid back. Chance and Emma played w/ Sadie. She loves them to pieces! There were tons of presents. Sadie didn't know what to do. It was a lot of fun.

Next was the trip to Tullahoma to visit Dennis' dad. It was a lot of fun, despite the fact that half of us were sick. PawPaw was sick w/ a cold; Rachel was sick w/ a cold; Sadie was sick w/ a cough and cold; I was sick w/ pregnancy nausea (more about that later). But, besides that, we had a great time. Sadie got lots of goodies!

I was so bummed because PawPaw and Gimmy have the best coffee in the world, and I didn't ever feel up to drinking any. But, Gimmy gave us a pound to bring home, so that when I do get that craving, it's there for the takin'! Both PawPaw and Gimmy AND Daren and Rachel have miniature wiener dogs, and Sadie laughed and laughed at them running around together. They are the cutest little doggies in the world.

The next stop was Christmas Eve at my mom's house. It was great. Memaw and Pepaw came too. We all ate a yummy dinner and opened presents. Once again, Sadie got lots of fun new toys. But, we had to get home so that Santa Claus could come. I got to bring home a few slices of my mom's famous chocolate pie. Yum!!!! What a great way to end Christmas Eve.

The next stop was our house! Yippee!!! Dennis was so precious. He stayed up late all by himself being "Santa Clause" (I felt like I was going to barf, so I had to bail and go to bed) and putting all of Sadie's new toys together. He fell asleep on the couch, so when I came downstairs to get him in the middle of the night, it literally took my breath away. He had moved furniture and set all of the toys up all over the den, and I promise, even I believed Santa Clause had been there! It was beautiful. The Christmas tree lights were the only lights on, and there were toys scattered everywhere. It was magical. Even though Sadie is only 9 months old, I can tell that Dennis will make sure that Christmas for her (and our other kids to come) is always so special. That means the world to me. Christmas morning was about as eventful as we could expect from a 9 month old. We set her on the stairs and wouldn't let her "come down" until we were ready to film/take pictures, etc. She was very patient.Then, we brought her down and let her see and play with all of her new toys. She seemed pretty interested and excited, despite the fact that she still felt horrible and had a bad runny nose, ear infection and cough. Merry Christmas!

Our final stop on our "12 Days of Christmas" adventure was Grammy's house. It was so much fun. We ate...again! Then, Grammy Clause and Captain Clause went upstairs and brought down handfuls of toys, toys, and more toys for McHaney and Sadie. It was awesome! They went way overboard. The girls had so much fun playing with everything.So, thanks to everyone for making Sadie's 1st Christmas so special and so memorable. It was another fun year of madness! And, next year, we'll have a 4 month old to bring along, so that should make the adventure even more fun!!!

Stay tuned for the "Pregnancy Blog" to begin!!!

Sadie's Dedication

What a weekend! I feel like my baby girl is growing up too fast! First, her dedication at church on Sunday...then, I will take her later this week for her 9 month pictures....then, on Monday, I take her for her 9 month check-up. I just want time to stand still. This has been the most fun time of Sadie's life thus far. I realize she's only 9 months old, but I have more fun with her now than I ever have before. She's my little buddy.

Anyways, her dedication on Sunday was so special. It was a long time coming. It was something that I have looked forward to my whole life. To have my own precious little baby to dedicate to the Lord. Wow. What a feeling! I felt "weepy" (I hate that word, but I don't know how else to put it) all morning. I never did cry, but I felt like just bursting into tears everytime I thought about the event that was about to take place. So many of our friends and family came to support us. We took up about 4 rows at church! What a blessing! Although, we joked that everyone in church probably thought we were the "circus family", because so much was going on, and we were sitting in the very front of the church! Coffee was spilt, which caused some of the family to move seats, which made others have to scoot down and make room; the loud music scared little baby Coleton, so Travis had to take him out immediately; Coleton then proceeded to pee on Travis, so Travis had to come back into the service, explain to Anita what happened, and then they all left. I had to take Sadie out, b/c she was being too loud, and I almost tripped while trying to inconspicuously walk out of the room...and so on. It's all pretty humorous if you think about it. Then, most everyone went to Deb's (Grammy's) to have lunch. There were about 25 people there! She had gone out of her way to make everything extra special, as usual. She had a fire going, tons of food, pictures of Sadie everywhere, etc. It was wonderful! I have the greatest Mother-in-law in the world. A few weeks ago, I was stressed about the dedication, because Dennis and I knew we wanted to get the family together afterwards for lunch, but we just knew we couldn't do it over here, b/c we're trying to sell our house, and we have baby stuff everywhere, which cuts down on room, etc. It's almost like Deb sensed my stress, because when she came to pick me up for a wedding shower a few weeks ago, she just marched in here and said "I've got a plan. We're going to have lunch at my house, and we're going to do soups and sandwiches, and that's that!". What a relief! For a woman who raised 2 boys, she surely knows how to pick up on a girl's intuition.
We also had the opportunity to take a few "4 generation" pictures, which was very special. It's not very often that you get all 4 generations together on both sides of the family, so that was really neat.
Anyways, lunch was wonderful! Everyone had a great time, and laughed and seemed to enjoy just being together and celebrating little Sadie. I felt like such a proud mommy! It's the first time since Sadie was born that it's been "all about her", and I was so proud. People even brought gifts for her, which was completely unexpected! We appreciated it all so much. Dennis said that he even got a little choked up while saying the prayer to bless the food, which I didn't notice, but it blessed my heart to hear that. What a sweet daddy. I think we just both felt so blessed to have been surrounded with people that support us and Sadie so much. You could just look around the kitchen and see the love that people have for her.

So, thanks to everyone who made this day so special for Sadie, and for Dennis and I. It means the world to us to have so many people that love her so much!!

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas!

The Top 5 Reasons that you Know Christmas is Just Around the Corner:
5. The temperature in Tennessee is consistently starting to fall below 80 degrees!
4. Christmas Village was held last week. Yippee!!
3. All of the cute boutiques/stores are having their "Christmas Open Houses".
2. Sadie has already had her picture made with Santa.
...and the #1 reason that you know Christmas is just around the corner....
1. Starbucks is using their Christmas cups!!!!

Oh, how I love Christmas. If it wasn't for Dennis, I would already have Christmas music blaring on all of the radios. But, he has always had this rule that I can't listen to it until Thanksgiving. Bah Humbug!

I have actually already started my Christmas shopping, which is rare. I usually don't even think about it until after Thanksgiving. It's not that I'm a procrastinator...it's usually just that I can't seem to get into the Christmas mood until then. But, for some reason, I've started early this year. I think a lot of it has to do with the excitement of this being Sadie's first Christmas. We had her picture made w/ Santa at Christmas Village last Friday when we went with Dennis' mom (Grammy) and his Grandma. Oh, what an adventure! It was the 1st time I've been shopping with the 2 of them, and oh, how much fun! If they picked something up and Sadie smiled or laughed at it, it was hers! We had a stroller full of stuff by the end of the day. I'm not even sure what all they bought. My head never stopped spinning. But, it definitely helped me to get into the Christmas spirit early this year. Okay, back to Sadie getting her picture made with Santa. I was determined that she was going to freak out! I mean, she doesn't even know what "Santa" is or what it means, not to mention, she doesn't know anyone that has a long, white curly beard that says "Ho Ho Ho" all of the time. But, we sat her in his lap, and she was mesmerized. It was so precious! She looked up at him and played with his beard. It was the most precious thing in the world. I figured she's scream and want out of this "stranger's" lap. But, no way! She knew right away who this sweet man was that will bring her lots of toys for years to come. I guess every innocent child knows the first time they look into Santa's eyes. I could almost see the magic begin. Oh, to be a kid again!

I remember growing up that Christmas was the most special time in the world. I know that it is for most kids, but I guess I just feel that mine was more special than anyone's, because it was my own experience. We didn't get tons and tons of "presents" throughout the year. It's not that we were ever deprived of anything, but my parents were good about not spoiling us to death. So, that meant that Christmas was that much more special. My parents always went "all out". It was wonderful. I cannot wait to do that for Sadie.

I'm going to try my best to not get lost in the stressful things of Christmas this year. I don't want to get caught up in the "financial burdens", or the "when are we visiting whom", or the "we didn't spend enough on him/her", etc. I want to enjoy every moment. I want to sit back and watch Sadie as she marvels at the small things. I want to see her eyes light up when she looks at the Christmas tree, and I want to see her get so excited when she gets to play with the wrapping paper on Christmas morning. I almost can't contain myself! I guess this is what it's all about...

Welcome to the World of Motherhood...

...Those were the exact words from my mom today as I called to tell her what the doctor said about Sadie at her follow up doctor's appt. today. My response was "no kidding!"

She has her first ear infection, which I have always been told that breastfed babies aren't supposed to get...??? And, she has bronchiolitis, which is similar to bronchitis in adults. Basically, it's an infection that causes the small airways in the lungs to swell, therefore making it hard for her to breathe. I have to give her 3 breathing treatments a day for the next several weeks, maybe months, depending on how quickly she heals. It's so pitiful. That's all I can say. I know that this is more common than we think though. I even have a few friends/family whose children have been through the same thing, but as usual, when it's your own child, it seems like the end of the world. But, we are trying to look at the positive side and thank God for how fortunate we have been thus far with Sadie's health. She's been such a healthy baby! This is her first real sickness and she's almost 8 months old. We know it could be so much worse! And, to this day, she still has never had a fever. Thank you Lord!

Anyways, after her rough day today, we gave her a little present after her treatment tonight. As you can see, she quickly forgot how miserable she had just been and was having the time of her life!Going back to my mom's comment though...motherhood, as everyone says, truly has to be the most rewarding job in the world. At times, it's so hard, but the rewards that I reap from being a mom are priceless. Even the not-so-fun days like today bring me so much joy, because I get to be the one person in the world who can make her feel all better. One of my mom's friends at her work asked me one day, "Anna, what in the world did you do before her (Sadie)?". Honestly, I have no idea! I certainly didn't laugh as much. I certainly didn't sing as much. I certainly DID get a lot more sleep though...maybe that's what I spent all of my time doing! But, I do know that my life is now complete. I love, love, love having my own family now. There's nothing like it in the world.

What a Man, What a Man, What a Man, What a Mighty Good Man!

I just wanted to pay tribute to a great man whose 80th birthday we all celebrated this past Sunday. He won't actually turn 80 until December, but in order for it to be a surprise, they went ahead and had his party on Sunday. I think there were about 150 people invited! I am referring to Dennis' grandfather, better known to all of us as "Grandad". Dennis made a comment the other day that "none of us would be where we are without him". I have to say that I agree.

The legacy that he and Grandma started will be alive for the rest of our lives, and hopefully for years after that. What a wonderful family they are and I am incredibly blessed to have married in to. They are the most generous people in the world, willing to help out whenever is needed, and willing to just give and give and give. I truly feel that they have been so blessed because of their own generosity. Dennis and I always say that we hope and pray that we will be in the position one day to give to our own grandchildren like they have given to us. I am so, so thankful that Sadie has the opportunity to get to know these 2 wonderful people.

So many of Dennis' stories from his childhood involve his Grandad. I love hearing stories of their hunting trips that they took all over the world, literally. Grandad took Dennis to Africa when he was just a little boy!! Grandad has been through so much and he continues to push on. The man still gets up and goes to work every single day!! He is just such a special man that means the world to us. He loves Sadie to pieces too. Everytime she comes around, his eyes fill up with tears. He has always said that Sadie Jane is his most favorite name. I'll always remember that.

So, here's to you, Grandad...thank you for being who you are and for heading up a family that has shown nothing but love to me! We love you!

Thanking God Every Day

Have you ever had one of those Sundays in church when the Pastor says something that just hits you like a ton of bricks? I had one of those today. It even got to the point where I was so overcome with emotion, I almost felt like I was either going to scream out crying or just fall over in the aisle. I held back though. It was probably best. At the end of the sermon during the invitation, Bro. David was inviting people to come down and pray at the alter before they took the Lord's supper, etc. He was giving people the opportunity to pray with some of the deacons/pastors of the church if they felt that they needed someone to "believe on their behalf". Sometimes, it's just easy to give up, and sometimes you just need someone to pray for you and "believe" when you feel as though all hope is gone. He welcomed anyone who might need prayers for their own salvation, financial burdens, loved ones to be saved, etc...

He then mentioned, ever so quickly, that if there were any couples who have been trying to conceive for a long time, and they needed to come and have someone pray with them, they were more than welcome. Well, of course that hit me like a ton of bricks. We began singing a song, and I saw a number of couples going down to pray at the alter. I'll never know if those particular couples were down there praying for a child that they haven't been able to have, but I do know that the Lord laid a heavy, heavy burden on my heart to begin praying for them immediately, and so I did. My heart just began to break for those who are still out there trying so hard to have a child of their own.

Dennis and I were in their position such a short time ago. Not a day goes by that I don't look at Sadie and thank God for her. Not a day goes by that I don't remember those feelings of sadness that I felt every month for almost 2 years when we couldn't get pregnant. And, not a day goes by that I don't remember that feeling of loss when I miscarried. Sadie is so, so, so special to me. I just want God to know every single day how thankful I am for her. I don't ever want Him to think that I am taking her for granted. It's not something that I talk about a lot, because I don't believe it's healthy to dwell on past hurts like that, but I also think God allows me to remember those hurts, so that I will love and appreciate Sadie that much more. Maybe that's why I hold her a little bit more. Maybe that's why I don't like to let her cry. Maybe that's why I long to be with her so often.

I just know that I'm so blessed to have her in my life. And, I know that I came to the point many times where I needed God to help me in my unbelief. I needed people to believe for me when I just couldn't believe anymore. There are so many people out there who are going through the same thing, and I just think it's so important to remember.

Sorry, I just felt that I needed to share my heart a bit.

Back from the Mountains

I love, love, love going to East Tennessee to visit my dad. It has to be my most favorite place, and if most of our family didn't live here in Nashville, we'd move to East TN in a heartbeat. My heart belongs there for some reason. I don't know if it's because I went to school there, or because the mountains are so beautiful, or maybe I just love the outlets that much (ha, ha), but everytime we go, the closer we get to Knoxville, the warmer my heart gets. Call me crazy. I can't explain it.

The weather is just a little cooler, the people are just a little friendlier, and the pace seems to be just a little bit slower. Do I sound like a commercial????

We had a great time. Everytime we go to my dad's, I feel like I'm on vacation. We get waited on hand and foot, we get fed until we're about to puke, and it literally just feels like a mini-vacation. Dennis and I haven't been on a "vacation" since our cruise in March of 2006. Ouch! So, these little mini-vacations that I've been taking to my dad's the past few months have been so appreciated. We just stay up late talking, get up and have big breakfasts and just enjoy all spending time together. That's what it's all about. Sadie loves it there. We spend a lot of time outside on the screened-in porch, and she just loves it. And, this time, she got to ride the horse tire swing. She was beside herself.

On our way home, Sadie's stuffy nose got the best of her again. We had stopped to grab a bite to eat, and I was trying to nurse her in the car, but she couldn't eat well, because she couldn't breathe through her nose, so she got frustrated and it was absolutely pitiful. She would eat for a second, come off, take a deep breath through her mouth...eat a little more, come off, take another deep breath, etc. For the first time that I can remember since she was born (notice I said "remember", b/c I'm sure this happened during her 1st few weeks at home, but that's all a blur) I cried with her. I just cried. I felt helpless, and I felt so sorry for her, and all I could do was cry. Gosh, have you ever just felt such an outpouring of love for someone that you just cry when they are the ones in pain? What an overwhelming feeling! And, for the first time since she was born, her daddy was the one to calm her down. Go daddy! I think she sensed my tension, sadness, weakness, anxiety, whatever it was...Once we were back on the road, she was fine again, as you can see...eating her piggies!

It's always so hard to come home from the mountains. It's like, I'm ready to get back to my regular routine, but I feel like I'm leaving something behind. Such a strange feeling, because I have Dennis and Sadie with me...

It's like I can't wait to get back into my own bed, but I miss the mountain air. Okay, enough about that. I feel like I'm starting to sound like a country song. I promise my blogs won't always be this long. Okay, now I'm starting to rhyme...I need to go to bed.

Sniffles

Sadie is experiencing her first time being a little "sick". Well, actually, I would say that I am the one experiencing it more than she is. I don't think she really even notices, but every time she sniffs, I want to fall apart. It's so pitiful! I think it's just her allergies, because she hasn't run a fever, but it's still pitiful to hear her little sniffles and sneezes all day long. We've made it 7 months without so much as a cough, so I know that I need to be thankful, but it still breaks my heart. When Dennis and I see her rubbing her eyes, we just look at each other with looks like she's on her deathbed or something. I guess we're being a little overdramatic, but when it's your baby, you just want to take every bit of discomfort away from them and take it on as your own. I never understood it when my parents used to say that they would "take my place" when I was sick, but now, I understand it completely. I literally just want to sit on the couch with her all day long and just hold her in hopes that it'll make her all better.

Nevertheless, we went on a playdate today with Sadie's friend, Olivia. I asked my friend Katie beforehand if she cared if I still brought Sadie over since she's had the sniffles, and she insisted, so I went ahead and took her. I'm so glad I did, because they had so much fun together. It's probably the first time that I felt like Sadie was actually "playing" with a friend! They took each other's toys away from one another, they stuck their fingers in each others' mouths...you know, all of that disgusting stuff that you never thought in a million years that you would ever let your child do!












I will save this for another blog, but I have learned that almost every single thing that I said I would NEVER do when I had a child, I've done it! I've done it all! It's funny how our words come back to haunt us!

Why Is It????

I feel that I will start most of my blogs with this title..."why is it"? because I ask myself that quite often.

Today, my question is:

Why is it that when you have specific plans, when you have to be somewhere at a certain time, your child always seems to pick that particular day to not take a nap???? Is it Murphy's Law? I used to be so confused by Murphy's Law. I used to never understand it when people would say "oh, that happened because of Murphy's Law", or "Murphy's Law this..." or Murphy's Law that"... I mean, who in the world is Murphy anyways?

I said all of that to say...Sadie has finally been sleeping good. The past few days, she's been napping great and sleeping good at night. This morning, she woke up fairly early, but took a great morning nap. Our day was going so great. I kept holding my breath all day because I knew we had to be at Ella Claire Fontenot's birthday party at 4:00. But, the day started out so perfectly. I was actually thanking God silently all day for letting Sadie wake up this morning when she did, even if it was a little earlier than I would've liked. I thanked Him for letting her take such a great morning nap. I thanked Him that she was such a good girl when we ran some errands. I thanked Him right after I put her down for her afternoon nap. She went down so good! Then, I should've known...after about an hour she woke up crying. Which, is fairly normal, I suppose. I usually can go up there and get her, rock her for about 5 minutes, and she'll go back to sleep for another hour, sometimes longer. This has gone on for weeks. She's been taking 2 and 1/2 to 3 hour naps in the afternoons. Praise Jesus! But, of course, today, she decided she didn't want to go back to sleep. I rocked, and I rocked, and I rocked, and I rocked...well, you get the point. Then, she went from sweetly staring at me while I rocked her to absolutely screaming her lungs out at me, because I guess she thought (knew) I was trying to make her sleep.

So, inside, I start to panic...I'm thinking...why today, Lord? You know we have to leave in a little while to go to this party! So, after about 40 minutes, I gave up.

She won the battle.

Sadie = one point
Mommy = zero

So, we go to the party, and although she was attached to my hip as usual, she seemed to have a good time watching everyone and swinging on the dolphin swing. She was doing great until I put her in the zip-line swing and knocked her head on it. Go mom!

Doesn't it always happen that way? It's always on a day that you have something you have to do. If we had nothing to do today, she probably would've slept for hours! So, THANKS A LOT Murphy...whoever you are!

I said all of that to say that in the grand scheme of things, does it really matter? When I held her in my arms tonight, and my heart was filled with joy, I completely forgot the happenings of earlier this afternoon during "naptime". I am learning to not let myself get so upset over the small things. It's hard, because I'm a huge planner-type A-freak. But, I'm learning everyday.

Giving In to the "Wonderful World of Blogging"

Well, I am finally "giving in". Giving in to the wonderful world of "blogging". I learned of this word (blog) about 3 years ago when Dennis and I were working with the Youth Group at Brentwood Baptist. All of the youth were "blogging", and I had no idea what it was. Now, it seems as though blogging is the new "email". My friends are blogging, our church pastor is blogging, family members are blogging. etc. I sure don't want to be left out!

To be honest, for the past few years, I thought blogging was a little ridiculous. I mean, honestly, who really wants to read my thoughts every day? Who wants to know what my crazy mind is thinking on a daily basis? Do I really want to put my deepest thoughts on a computer for everyone to see? Even more so, who has the time to blog? Who has the time to read my blog?
Then, I realized...I'm not doing it for everyone else. I'm doing it for myself. I've always been one to "journal". I started a serious journal from the day that Dennis and I started trying to have a baby, and continued it all the way up until the day before Sadie was born. Then, I just quit...
So, I feel as though I need a way to put my thoughts on paper, or put them on a computer. I am hoping it will be somewhat therapeutic and I hope that I can get some of my friends to join in!

So, feel free to read if/when you have time. I am hoping to use this as well to keep everyone up to date on how Sadie is doing as well. I will love to go back and read these as she continues to grow, and this seems to be the easiest way to jot all of these things down.

Here goes nothin!!!!! Let the journey begin!