August 2009

You may be wondering why you're looking at pictures from August when it's now November and you would probably rather see Mary Laine in her Halloween costumes (yes, there were two) than on the beach. Well, first of all, there are grandparents in North Carolina who would be upset if they didn't get to see all that's been going on with us over the past few months. But secondly, my friend Laura introduced me to Blurb. It is a website that gives you access to software that will "slurp" your blog posts into a book that you will have to treasure forever (and yes, slurp is the actual terminology that they use - you're intrigued now, aren't you?). It is very reasonably priced and they give you alot of freedom in the design and format of the book. So, since I am definitely not a scrapbooker, I want to be sure to include everything on the blog so that we will have it in our book. (And in case you're wondering, there isn't anything in it for me if you choose to slurp a book for your own blog. Just thought that others may be as interested in this as I was.)

Now, onto the good stuff. August was a very busy month. Since it was before the start of the Great Flood of Aught Nine, Gary was home working hard in the fields while Mary Laine and I were making tracks all along the southeast. But before the travels, we were actually home on her 7-month "birthday". It is becoming very difficult to get her to sit still and look at the camera without hiding the baby. I am very thankful for digital cameras. There's no telling how many rolls of film I would have gone through trying to get a decent shot. This is the best I could do:


As I have mentioned before, my Uncle Will and Aunt Susan have moved back to Mississippi from Nebraska. Along with the benefit of getting to see more of them, we also get to see more of my cousins. Here is Mary Laine meeting her cousin Will for the first time.


Also in August, Gary's parents were in the process of moving from Atlanta to Raleigh. Just before the move, though, Gary's dad had one final business trip to Mississippi. He made the drive up to Greenwood for dinner one night to see us (ok, he was really here to see his granddaughter). Here is Mary Laine with her two granddads.

Mary Laine got to go to her friends' birthday party. Mamie and Ann Grace were born about 12 weeks early, so their first birthday was a big celebration. It was a swim party - all of the babies were so cute in their swimsuits.

My cousin Gaines got married in the middle of the month, so Mary Laine and I packed up and headed to the Georgia coast. Gaines and Cassie got married in St. Simons Island, where Gary and I got married 7 years ago. It is always so much fun to go back to St. Simons for a wedding, but a little sad when Gary can't be there with me. On the way there, we stopped in Atlanta to see our good friends, the Galbreaths. It will be so much fun to be able to watch our kids grow up together.

Mary Laine and Aunt Shannon

Kelsey and Carter are loving this. Mary Laine looks a little unsure...

It was so great getting to spend some time with family before Gaines and Cassie's wedding. Mary Laine was loving the attention that she was getting from my cousin Micajah at dinner on Thursday night.

Mary Laine and cousin Carson (Carson is the same age now that I was when she was born)

Cassie and some of her bridesmaids at the Bridesmaids Luncheon

Me with my Aunt Cindy at the Bridesmaids Luncheon

Me with the handsome groom after the Rehearsal Dinner

Mr. and Mrs. Gaines Peacock Sturdivant II

Mary Laine and Carson getting in some pool time

Mary Laine loved the beach!

The next weekend, Mary Laine and I headed back to Atlanta to get together with my closest friends from college. We try to all get together at least once a year. Sadly, Sarah Catherine couldn't make it this year. She was definitely missed! Since I was back in Atlanta, I got together with some of my friends from when we lived there. It was great seeing Tommie Ann, Mary Holley, April, and Jeanne. I ran out of time, but am planning on making another trip in January over a weekend so that I can get together with more people.

Mary Laine with Tommie Ann on Friday morning

Mary Laine hard at work. She really doesn't have time to be bothered with pictures.

Aunt Jennifer showing her how it's really done.

We went to see a new building that Jennifer is leasing - still under construction.

Partying with Aunt Sarah Catherine

Dinner on Saturday night. We were home and in our PJs by 7:00.
Oh, how things change after you have kids! :-)

Aunt Rachel and Aunt Jennifer

With Mary Holley and Mary Helen

Mary Helen and Mary Laine are already big buds

Out to lunch with Jeanne

And I just couldn't resist adding some of my favorite cute pictures from the month. Enjoy!

September Photos

I wanted to share some of the photos that are on our shutterfly page. I can't post them all but here are some of my favorites from the month of September. Enjoy :)

New Photos on the Shutterfly Page

I have uploaded some more photos onto our shutterfly page if you are interested. I am caught up through July of this year. I will be adding August and September in the very near future.

http://dhouse.shutterfly.com/

Kissy Face

Here is a quote from an AP article that ran in the Greenwood Commonwealth yesterday about the spread of swine flu on college campuses:
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention even went as far as to recommend sick students wear surgical masks when they kiss."

HUH?!?

July

In July, we had alot of fun in the sun. Of course, we had Mary Laine's half-birthday party, that was mentioned in a previous post. Later that night,we got to go to a party for Louis Coleman, the closing pitcher for LSU when they won the 2009 College World Series championship game. Congratulations Louis!!

On the 4th, we got to visit with my (Kathryn's) Uncle Will, who is moving back to Mississippi to be the founding Dean of the new Ole Miss School of Journalism. We are so excited that he and Aunt Susan will only be a short drive away! Later that night, we celebrated with some friends. We swam and enjoyed a cookout. Mary Laine is a party-girl and stayed up late for the occasion. This was also her first official swim - she had been to a pool before, but had never actually ventured into the water. She loved it!

Later in the month, Kathryn had some Jr. High girls from church over for dinner at our house. We had spaghetti and they were worried about spilling it on their shirts, so they decided that it would be fun if they wore Mary Laine's bibs. Ah - to be in Jr. High.

We hosted our supper club at our house this month. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes were out in full force, so our outdoor cookout moved inside pretty quickly.

On the 19th, Mary Laine was baptized. We had lots of friends and family come to celebrate with us. While the guys went golfing on Saturday, the girls (and Deacon) went blueberry picking, then we all went swimming afterwards. We were so thankful to have so many people here to celebrate with us. Mary Laine is very blessed to be surrounded by friends and family who are willing to come along beside her parents to bring her up in the "nurture and admonition of the Lord" (Eph. 6:4). Our laid-back baby who never cries decided that this was the time that she was going to let all of us know how strong her lungs really are. Thankfully, we had gone over beforehand everything that Brad, our pastor, would be saying, because the screaming/crying was so loud that we couldn't hear any of it. The gown that she wore was one that belongs to Kathryn's grandmother and was worn by all of the grandchildren. The initials of everyone who has worn it are monogrammed inside the slip. It is very special that it can now be passed along to the next generation.

Poppop, Gabby, Ainsley, and Mary Laine

Cousin Gabby and Mary Laine were so sweet together. They are only 4 months apart.

Emma and Ainsley picking blueberries

After the diving mishap. He survived and is even still smiling!

After all of the crying, she is worn out and slept through most of the pictures.

I love this picture of Mary Laine and Uncle Phillip!

After the baptism, Mary Laine and Kathryn hit the road. Our first stop was Atlanta. We got to see the Galbreaths. Carter and Kelsey are both getting so big! And Carter (3 1/2 years) is SO sweet with Mary Laine. He loves to hold her and give her kisses.

Kelsey and Mary Laine

Our next stop was Camp Greystone. I grew up going to camp here, along with most of my cousins and one of my aunts. My sister Susanne was also a Greystone camper for years and was a counselor this summer. I have such great memories at Greystone and it was so special for me to be able to take Mary Laine there for a visit.

Mary Laine with Aunt Susanne on the Pageant Court at Camp Greystone

Mary Laine and I spent the weekend in Sunset, SC (just down the road from Greystone), with my Uncle Jim and Aunt Pat. My cousin, Claire, was also there. As always, it was so great getting to spend some time with them. Mary Laine got to meet her 2nd cousins over i-chat - very neat! We also loved going out on the lake, swimming in the pool, and cooking out. We had so much fun that it was hard to leave.

i-chatting

The lifejacket didn't really fit, but she was enjoyed the boat ride so much that she didn't complain

Playing in the pool with Aunt Susanne

At lunch with Claire

While we were gone, we missed Gary and Deacon. Gary was busy at work on the farm and Deacon got to play with his best friend, Jax Litton. They are so excited to see each other whenever they get together that it is hard to get them to sit still long enough to take a picture.

In case you can't tell, Deacon's the one on the right

Deacon is so good to let Mary Laine crawl all over him.

Mary Laine got together to play with some of her friends that she'd been missing in all of our summer travels. Thanks for having us over, Sarah Nell!

Mary Laine, Annie, Sarah Douglas, and Charlie

Gary had been hard at work in the fields and knew that he wouldn't be able to get away for a beach trip this summer. So, when it rained over the weekend of my birthday at the end of the month, we decided at the last minute to pack up and head to the coast. We almost always go to the east coast whenever we go to the beach, so we enjoyed doing something different by visiting the Gulf Coast. Mary Laine was so good and really loved splashing in the pool and the ocean and playing in the sand.

Professional Divers

I have been meaning to post this for a while. Many people do not realize this, but my junior year at Wake Forest I won the intramurals diving championship, and have the tshirt somewhere to prove it. Before you get images of Greg Luganis in his skeenie bikini, understand that I was fully clothed, and just happened to best the competition with a myriad of skillful and impressive dives.

Here is a video of my brother in law (Chris Foca) and myself performing two perfect double flips earlier this year while he and his family were visiting us for Mary Laine's baptism. You be the judge on who performs the more technical and impressive double flip. For what it is worth, these diving boards are clearly not Olympic regulation springability which for mere mortals would effect the result of the attempt.

Some notes for the viewers. The cameraman is none other than the reknowned Phillip Galbreath, and at one point I let a sound very similar to Top Gun's very own Goose, minus the "Jester's dead".... All Top Gun Fans out there will recognize it immediately. But without further ado, please enjoy, and make sure your volume is up loud enough to hear the crowd cheering these two works of art.

June

Outside of Walker's wreck, we did have some fun in the month of June. Gary and I took a trip to Las Vegas, we celebrated Father's Day with extended family, and I taught the second graders in VBS at our church.

Gary surprised me with the Vegas trip to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary. It was our first time to leave town without Mary Laine. We missed her, but also really enjoyed the chance to get away. A BIG thank you to Mom, Dad, and Walker for taking care of the bambino while we were gone. Even though Gary got motion sickness on the flight there causing us to have to cancel some of our plans, we had a blast! Some of the highlights of the trip: Cirque del Soleil's "O" and "Love", the play Jersey Boys, relaxing by the pool, staying at the Bellagio, watching the Bellagio fountains from our room, fabulous food, and sightseeing.

"O" at the Bellagio

Lion exhibit at MGM Grand

Relaxing day at the Bellagio pools

Jersey Boys at the Venetian

Dinner at Le Cirque - Our view was of Paris and the Bellagio watershow

Bellagio indoor gardens

Waiting for the Bellagio watershow to begin

We saw Rod Blagojevich in the Chicago airport on the way home


We were happy to get back home to our babies

While Mom, Dad, and Walker were in Birmingham at the hospital, their dog, Brently, came to stay with us. Before this time, Brently was not a big fan of Deacon. He would get tense and growl at him whenever they were around each other. After his stay at the K&G, however, they are now fast friends. I think that the picture below is so cute. I was holding a bone and they each had either end - kind of like Lady and the Tramp.

We went to Birmingham for a couple of days to see Walker in the hospital. My aunt Pat was there helping out, so she got to see Mary Laine again.

Buddies

Our theme for Vacation Bible School this year was "Live Like a King". The kids learned all about the armor of God and got to wear their crafts on the last day. I taught the 2nd grade class:

Mary Laine loved her first year of Vacation Bible School