Happy Turkey Day

We started our Turkey Day off as we usually do in this family......with a Turkey Strut 5K. It was a bit hilly for mine and the baby's liking but we survived and it was super nice to get out and get moving (especially since this particular race has calorie counts of popular Thanksgiving food items posted at each turn on the course - so wrong!). Here's our group photo:

When we left for the race, this is how the little girls looked. We like to call this "Cousin Lovin'".

While we were away running, my Mom (aka Honey) threw the little girls a pinkalicious pancake party fit will all things pink. Mom says Kennedy was a fan of the strawberry syrup. Clearly - note her finger dipping in it. It was quite a big hit with them so we've heard.

Dinner last night was so yummy. We had all the traditional foods followed by a dessert buffet. It was all so good but clearly left us all soooo full. Kennedy couldn't even finish her plate after having a pinkalicious breakfast and a normal lunch. Looks good though - doesn't it?

Mostly we've just done lots of relaxing which is the best part about holidays with family. This afternoon we are going to see Tangled (the new Disney movie) and the girls are super excited. Should be fun. How did you all spend your Turkey Day this year? Hope it was a good one!



Weekend Review

This past Friday we got more "baby lovin' time" with little Miss Adalyn. We took Abby and Jonathan supper which could also be known as "an excuse to love on the baby". Ha ha! Just kidding.....I've been wanting to call Abby like twice a day to say "so..how's she eating, how are you feeling, how do you like being a new mommy, etc. etc. etc. but I am proud to say I've resisted the urge and allowed them their time alone with their super precious little bundle. It's been hard though...I CANNOT TELL A LIE. So...I was super excited to be there and get to ask them face to face. They are doing wonderfully as parents and seriously - she's like the most perfect little baby ever. She slept the ENTIRE time we were there. Except for a few dreaming eye flutters...she literally never opened her eyes. I'm excited to take them another meal after the holiday and get some more time with her. I'm happy to say Kennedy was more interested in her this time and even wanted to hug her bye bye when we left.

I wanted everyone to see how she sucks her little bottom lip in - it's so cute!

I did as much of this as possible while I was there:

Our boys and our girls. =)

On Saturday I had to work at the clinic but Tim was busy at work because we had an open house on Sunday. Looks like he recruited some help:

A 3 year old + leaf blower = a GRAND OLE TIME!

Not to worry - this hard workin' little girl got to enjoy the fruits of her labor:

On Sunday evening we were invited to attend Adora's third birthday party at Gymboree. It was so fun. We've never been there before but Kennedy and the other kids had a blast!

There was the maraca Congo line. Oh yeah!

The raft swinging - I swore she was going to break this thing she was swinging so hard. *she didn't by the way...break it*

Last but certainly not least was the dress up dance party during which she frustratingly exclaimed the following: "Momma....why none of these boys won't dance with me?" I said "well, sometimes boys don't want to dance". They were too busy growling and flexing in front of mirrors around the gym...some things never change. Ha! She then looked up at me and said "Momma...will you dance with me?" And so...the three of us danced and I thought...there is so much of this to come in my future! =) Despite being a tad awkward with belly + toddler...we danced until the music was over.

Thursday of last week marked my 24th week of pregnancy.

Here I was at 24 weeks with Kennedy:

Despite my best efforts to be more careful with food and more diligent with exercise this pregnancy....as you can see - it hasn't done much because the belly is about the same size! Oh well. I do notice one difference though....boy I've aged in these past three years. Ha!

We left today en route to NC to spend Turkey Day with my family. We are in WV tonight with Tim's parents and we'll drive the remainder of the way tomorrow morning. I am so excited to see Kennedy with her cousins and I am equally excited to be with my sisters.  It's going to be so much fun! Happy Thanksgiving y'all!

Catchin' Up

It has been a busy last week! Here is what has been going on at the Taylor household.

Sunday after I returned from retreat we went to Abby and Jonathan's to celebrate Jonathan's birthday. More and more when special events and holidays roll around it's so clear to me that we are growing up. Now instead of literal "parties" it's social events where we oooh and aaaahhh over every one's babies. Ha! I got to see Eli walk for the first time at Jonathan's party. Boy was he proud!

The Birthday Boy

 Kennedy belted out a stunning solo rendition of "Happy Birthday" to Jonathan before we cut the cake. I wish I would have been quick enough to video it because it was precious. She does love her Uncle Jonathan!

 I know y'all remember this sweet peach! She was at Abby's baby shower. Izzy is her name and I was super excited that we got to spend some more time together because she's an absolute doll. She knows how to accessorize with the best of em' too.

 Big Boy Eli. I can't believe he's one. Crazy! Would you just look at this little mug? He gets cuter and cuter with each week I swear! I wish I would have gotten him on video too - he was grinning a mile wide while walking.

On Tuesday Jonathan and Abby welcome their sweet little girl Adalyn Crystal into the world. She arrived at 4:38 PM weighing 7lbs. 7 ozs. and 19 3/4 inches. Although it sounds like labor was incredibly fast and not without some minor complications - Abby has handled it with grace and Adalyn doesn't have one little imperfection on her sweet face. See for yourself:

 Isn't she precious?

She sucks her little bottom lip in almost to the point where it disappears - too cute!

Holding her and feeling Abby and Jonathan's joy at welcoming her into their lives just made me anticipate even more that we will be doing this again soon too. It's just such a special and amazing thing. Kennedy was very excited to go meet Adalyn but she was more interested once we got there in trying to ensure all eyes were on her. We will have our work cut out for us for us in the "green monster" department. It will all be well worth it though and she'll be a great big sister in the end - I'm sure!

Thursday night some of my fellow MUMS members and I went to Mad Potter for a girls night out and it was so fun. They have lots of little seasonal ornaments and serving dishes out right now that you can paint before Christmas. One of the girls in my group did a cookie plate for Santa that her grandson could use and I think it will turn out super cute. I painted something for the baby's nursery. It is a circular dish with a place for a mirror in the middle and two holes where it can be hung with ribbon or wire. I was really excited to do it because I really haven't gotten to do anything in the way of preparing because we don't know if it's a boy or girl. *I realize this is my decision* =) So...I painted it green with yellow and white polka dots and then after it's fired and the baby is born I can write his/her name on it with a porcelain pen and then put it in the oven to heat fix it. Between the 6 of us that were there, there were some really neat and creative pieces. I am anxious to get them back to see the final products.

When I got home Thursday evening after pottery painting I felt kind of icky but nothing major. Well....let me just tell you that about 2:00 in the morning on Friday I got a stomach bug that came with an intense fury and knocked me on my rear BIG TIME. Let's just say that after my body had nothing to "rid" itself of anymore and I couldn't hold anything down I cried uncle and had Tim take me to the urgent treatment facility close to our house at about 9 AM Friday. The nurse was concerned about my vitals and about me being pregnant so she called my midwife who recommended they send me to labor and delivery for monitoring and treatment for dehydration. Although it felt a little silly to be going to labor and delivery, I quickly realized my need to be there - blood pressure so low they had a hard time locating a vein to start fluids, contractions that I wasn't even aware I was having, an elevating fever despite hydration and stomach cramps from where the devil resides. The midwife wanted to take every precaution and so they hospitalized me overnight. Thanks to Billie and Derek Kennedy was in good hands while Tim ran home to get me some essentials and then something bland to try to hold down after two anti-nausea medications had been administered. He ended up coming home and I got a good nights rest in the hospital and was released yesterday morning. Yesterday I pretty much focused on recuperation and today I was feeling back to normal so I cleaned the house up and prepared for this week. Although I'd rather do just about anything than have that stomach bug return - it was good that it forced me to rest because it's just something I'm not naturally inclined to do but it's been good for me. Kennedy stayed in with me today while Tim went to church and the grocery. We made some pumpkin bread. I am convinced the only reason she likes to "help" in the kitchen is because this usually follows the helping (excuse the nudity - I couldn't find her bib:)

Mmmmm......pumkin. I totally get it.

Now another week is upon us. Can y'all believe it's almost Thanksgiving?

A Nice Little Getaway

This past weekend was the annual MUMS fall retreat to Gatlinburg, TN. MUMS is a group of women that I am a part of who are mothers - "Moms Understanding Moms". It is similar to the national program MOPS but it's not a national organization like that - it's just a group that was born and has grown out of Southland Christian Church (our old church home). When I joined before giving birth to Kennedy it was about 50 or so women strong and now it is @ 90 I think. It's AWESOME! I seriously don't think I could have gotten through my first year of parenting without it. It is community, it is support, it is LOVE in action, I just adore it. Anyhow - they plan two annual trips each year. One in the spring and one in the fall. After attending the retreat last year I was determined to go again because it was so much fun. It's just a weekend away from children and the associated responsibilities where you can fellowship, laugh, cry, have quiet time with the Lord, shop, eat without worrying about feeding anyone else and just relax! It's restorative and wonderful.

Our Cabin

 The views from our back balcony.

 I rode up with these three ladies plus a couple who aren't pictured. These three though - they are a riot and I laughed more in the car with them on the way there than I have laughed over the last couple of months combined. Seriously! I love nothing more than a good ole' belly laugh. Thanks girls! Pictured are Annie, Ada and Julie. Love you girls.

 Since Tim and I are on a pretty tight budget, I chose to do the hike rather than shop or go to the spa. I figure if I can run 3-4 times a week, I could hike. Here is the hiking group.

 We did the Rainbow Falls Trail. I survived but it was a challenge to say the least. That 2.7 miles posted on this sign is a straight up 2.7 mile climb. I was a smidge out of breath. Ha!

 The base of the trail was mostly fallen fall leaves. It was soooo pretty.

 The higher we hiked, the snowier it got. So beautiful!

 This was the first little waterfall we came to. Angie and Brittany are in my small group. Clearly I was workin' up a sweat cause I already stripped my fleece by this point.

           This is what we hiked 2.7 miles up to see - a 60 foot waterfall. It was really pretty - though you can't tell by this picture because it was POURING snow - I'm not kidding. It was like we'd entered a different universe. It was crazy. We had NO snow at our cabin yet look at all the snow in these pictures! Crazy!

 Almost the entire group made it to the top!

This was one of the views coming down the trail - gorgeous!

This is just about our entire group before we departed on Sunday. Some girls got back on the road early but this is most everyone.

I got back to the grind at home with a nice reality check - a broken water heater. I had to shower at the clinic yesterday morning before work because baby and I didn't feel like turning into a human popsicle before 8 AM. God is good though - it just so happens that my boss had an extra water heater which HE GAVE US!  We are so very thankful for his generosity as well as my step dad Jim's patience because he walked Tim through removing and installing the old and new water heaters and as of last night we were back in working order.

Guess What?

We're moving! I can hardly believe that as I type it. We've only been in this house a little over a year and we're already planning to leave it: crazy!

Here's the listing: http://search.lbar.com/mls/details/residential/1022339.html

Please be in prayer that it sells quickly because the best thing about it selling and us moving is that for the first time in 10 years I will be less than 7 + driving hours away from my family members ~  It makes me want to cry just thinking about it. Tim is being transferred to a Stantec in Charlotte, North Carolina....the same city where one of my sisters lives!

Tim and I knew when we got married that we didn't want to raise our children this far from any  family members and after years of praying that God would open that door if it was in his will - the door has opened and we are overjoyed.

Currently the biggest obstacle to getting there is selling the house. I am hoping and praying the house will be sold and we can be in Charlotte before the baby arrives in March but only time will tell.

There are lots of changes ahead and there are lots of anxieties that have come with knowing that change is before us. Where will Kennedy go to preschool? Will we be able to afford preschool on a single salary? Will we find a home church quickly and readily? Etc. Etc. the list goes on and on.  I am daily in prayer that God will calm my heart...that I can rest in knowing that he's working these things out as we speak and I just don't know what that is going to look like until he reveals it to us.

The joy in knowing we'll have family around the corner and more within a day's driving distance FAR outweighs the worries. Not to mention I'll have college girlfriends near by and high school girlfriends too.

Stay tuned for more details. We had three showings over the weekend and one scheduled for tomorrow. Regardless - we are NC bound and boy does that make my heart happy!