Gracie is 81 days old today. She is very easily tunring from tummy to back which she started at 5 weeks. She pushes herself over onto her side more and more in attempt to go from back to tummy. She is smiling like crazy. Big ol' gummy baby grins. it is SO cute. She recognizes most everyone in the house now. She is still a little uncertain of Kollin and Amanda but over the last week become more aware since they were out of school and spendning more time holding and playing with her. She responds to the Peek-a-Boo game as well as "this little piggie"....she loves them both and grins and kicks her feet and squeals. She has settled into a nice routine of up at 6 eating...dozing for about an hour. Up for a couple of hours..eats between 10-11 and then back to sleep till about 2. Up again to eat and play for another 1-1/2 and short nap till her LONG awake period in the evening with her daddy. She turns in about 8-10 depending on how much she plays and how much she just sits and then she is sleeping for about 7-8 hours a night. She still naps where she wants whether it be me, Scott, playmat, couch..wherever but she is happiest in her bassinet playpen at night. She can stretch and have her own space. She is SO tall it is hard for her to get completely comfy unless she can stretch those long limbs of hers.

i was watching her play today and she was just so excited about grabbing onto toys on her playmat and holding them and trying to "eat" them to see what they feel like. She looks just like I dreamed and wanted...all dark hair and big blue eyes and long long LONG eyelashes...She has the longest eyelashes of any baby I have ever seen next to my nephew Thomas. And they curve back so prettily. People pay money for eyelashes like that. Mine have never curved like that so it is definately her daddy's side. I could just lay in the floor and play with her forever. I hate it when she needs her down time to play by herself and explore on her own. I know I knw...all babies need that time but I have so much fun talking to her and watching her expressions. I just want to memorize every second of every day and burn it to memory. Are you other momma's like that..or were you when you knew it was your last one?!?!?

Thanksgiving was ok. I was a little stressed. Scott and I haven't been getting long very well lately. So a long weekend together can be a little tense. Nothing big. We're not hating on each other but we're distant and not affectionate and it is creating a huge gap in me personally. I just miss my husband. We're not screaming and yelling we're just kind of co-habitating. I know a baby changes things and there are seasons to all relationships but I kinda feel like I lost my best friend right now and it hurts. I can't say much without him snapping my head off lately. It is a little frustrating. But in fairness to him I am extremely snappy and overly protective of the baby which annoys him to no end. Of course, he did have the decency to say that he has never seen a better momma in his life and if he had to choose between overly protective or the other end of the spectrum..well I win hands down. SO he has backed off my fierce protectiveness a little bit. It has just changed right now. I know he loves me and I love him and we're ok but it is just a little strained so prayers in that area would be appreicaited. For us to reconnect a little bit.

Kollin is doing well and is excited to go to Maryland with his daddy and Wendy to see his Nanny and Poopy and his dad's side of the family for Christmas. I am NOT looking forward to it however. I love Wendy and that side of his dad's family and I am excited for him but I HATE doing holiday's without him and Christmas being my favorite makes it 10X more difficult. I keep reminding myself he will be here for next year which will be the fun one for Gracie. She won't play much for this one but next year are the cool baby toys. That makes it somewhat better but I still don't like missing him.

Amanda is doing better very very slowly but I will take what I can get. Some days we still want to ring her neck but I stop and think where we were even a few months ago and there is improvement.

Again it is learning to find the little blessings.

I am wanting to take pictures of all the babies fdor this huge picture frame I got. I love thrift stores. It is one of those that has a space for all kinds of pictures in it.

So anyways~ that is what is going on in a nutshell. I plan on being on here a little more often now that Gracie is on a schedule doing updates for all of you.

Love and God Bless,

Misty

Blink by Plumb

I'd like to remember
I'd like to know all you are
I'd like to know everything you'll be
Where will you go? What will you do?
When the world's right in front of you

When I think of how slowly life passes by
Then I'll blink and you're growing
No longer a child
What I can do, to capture this moment in time
Is to sing you a lullaby 
I like to watch you dream
I like to touch your face
I like to hold you in a sweet embrace
When will you laugh? When will you cry?
When you need a special place to hide

When I think of how slowly life passes by
Then I'll blink and you're growing
No longer a child
What I can do, to capture this moment in time
Is to sing you a lullaby

When I think of how slowly life passes by
Then I'll blink and you're growing
No longer a child
What I can do, to capture this moment in time
Is to sing you a lullaby

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!

Gracie started smiling and playing in response to Peek-A-Boo and the "this little piggie game" yesterday......she doesn't do it with everybody just yet but you can sit on the sidelines and see a HUGE gummy grin and lots of babytalk if mommy plays these games. She also likes lullabies now....actually calms down and listens rather then me singing over the fussing until she calms down. Now she settles her little bobble head on my shoulder and shoves her fist in her mouth and listens. I am falling more into baby love daily. She is so precious. I am trying to resize pics to put in the photo album. I've resized already but baby crowd is picky

Hope everyone has a great turkey day with loved ones. I am off to make my big Turkey day breakfast.

Love In Christ

Good morning babycrowders...

ha that is funny..

All pregnant women feel "crowded" so .....anyways...before I sound like the true sleep deprived idiot I feel like. Gracie is sleeping fine. My internal clock has decided I need to be up at 3:30 just about every day now. Which is ok. I get some quiet time for bible study and email and journal entries and stuff. So it works. Of course I am normally so wound on coffee by the time the rest of the known world joins me that I am only tolerated in small doses but whatever..lol.

I am going to get Santa Claus 3 today! YAY! I pulled out all my Christmas movies yesterday and umm WOW I have alot. But I have been waiting for this one. I love these movies and we are having a Santa Claus-a-thon after we decorate on Friday. I am so looking forward to today being over with. I just want to spend the holidays with my family (immediate and extended) and start sharing traditions with Gracie poo. Kids are out as of today and I am so glad. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it when they are home. Insanity or not....Thursday morning my kids will get up while I am cooking and watch Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. And a boy from our church is in it this year. So watch for Prattville Lions Marching Band from Prattville, AL . We're very excited to be supporting this band. These kids worked really hard and held several fund raisers to be able to make this trip. So show our little Southern community some love on Thursday.

Then after all is said and done and food is eaten and we're all stuffed I will drag out the Christmas stuff and we will decorate. My kids are pretty good about setting up the tree and helping with most everything. I was so excited to find their ornaments for this year. Kollin gets peace because he is very at peace and content this year. (we had a rough couple of years because of an ex-girlfriend of the ex husband...his daddy)..Amanda's is Hope because even through all of the trials there is ALWAYS hope...and we have hope for her...even when we want to ring her pretty little neck...and then Gracie poo has Joy....because of the joy she has added to so many lives. These are the 3 they will "collect" so they have their own starter set of ornaments to take with them when they move out. We add to them each year and I think from this year on I will pick one for them and they will pick one. Gracie of course also has her Baby's First Christmas ornament and thanks to Aunt Kelly finding one again for me she has a 2007 ornament that I had seen, then couldn't find. So she is off to a good start for ornament collecting for only being almost 12 weeks old. *sigh*....has it been 12 weeks already?!?!?!?! Boy am I glad I keep my camera on me.

Only 23 days till her baby cousin is here and I am so excited. Then we have 2 more on the way to keep looking forward too. I am just so excited about the holidays this year I could just scream. I love this time of year anyway because even people who don't get the reason for the season tend to be nicer. Yes I will admit I have issue with the fact that millions of people claim there is no God but yet they celebrate His son's birth. I am going to step on my soap box for just a second. If you do not believe in Christ...then why do "you" get to celebrate His birth?!?!?!? Because THAT is what the gift giving is about. To celebrate the wise men bringing Him gifts....

*steps down off of box*....

This normally makes me pretty angry but I am having a fairly peaceful morning today. I am slightly irritated by it but I will deal and pray for those who don't get it. It makes me very sad...much more so then angry.

I was also irritated by some minor drama in our family. It seems to me that every time we have a holiday roll around there has to be some form of drama. There is one sister on here who knows exactly what I mean. We go through it every single year. *shakes head*...last year we were all arguing over who was bringing what and I think all of us ended up buying a little of everything...which means once all was said and done we ate really well but we were trying not to kill each other in the process. lol....this year we're going to ...well NOT going to argue over the location...ROTFL.... ..

My father in love, whom we all LOVE dearly can really complicate things at times with his stubbornness. First it was going to be at their house...then when he was "worried about people in and out cause of the dogs" I offered my house. We could show it to everyone and there is tons of room and a huge yard plus swing set for kids. not to mention the basketball goal PLUS we live on a circle so no through traffic..(did I use the right through there?!?!?!)...it was merely a suggestion and when I left that day nothing was said yes or no. Then I find out the night before last that yes we are having it here...and then last night that has created drama...lol. So now Scott and I have decided to avoid the drama and remove ourselves from it we are just going to do something small with what we have here. One couple is going to a Grandmothers and the other is going to the brother in love's parents....so that leaves my stubborn Father in love who has stated he is going to work with his wife because they are cooking there and "he never cared anyways because it is just another day"!

That last statement got up under my skin initially because it is just a DAY FOR THE FAMILY TO BE TOGETHER AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Which is kind of what the whole point is ....to give Thanks..and we should ALL be thankful ( and I do believe we all are) for the awesomely huge family we have as well as how GOd has worked miracles in our family this past year. 4 pregnancies i major surgery after a near death several baptisms....i could go on and on. But that is ok. I am so with my sister in love on this one...she has said in the past that she was not going to help plan anything. She was just going to wait to hear what is going on and show up. It seems like she and I end up co-coordinating everything and lose our minds in the process. SO this year I am handing the drama back to the people that have the issue...and I am going to keep it simple right here in my own kitchen. I was irritated at first because I was excited about Gracie's first Thanksgiving with her whole great big family. And yes my feelings are a little hurt because I only offered to try and keep the peace because he was irritated to begin with..but I will live and we will have a good time anyway. My bible....well Kollin's really (his is so cool) helped me figure out my emotions on this one this morning....so I can deal the way I should and NOT the way I want to...

Psalm 103:8-10 (New International Version)

8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
       slow to anger, abounding in love.

 9 He will not always accuse,
       nor will he harbor his anger forever;

 10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
       or repay us according to our iniquities.

Now, if I am supposed to try and live according to the word...and that pretty clearly is the word...then I can be angry and upset about this but I don't need to hold it and carry it over till today. AND I will not treat anybody any differently because of this. Everyone is entitled to feel how they feel and miscommunications can quickly create mixed emotions. I was way more upset about this last night and it even cause an argument between Scott and I because I was trying to not create or add to drama and he was worried that his parents were going to be mad at us because I chose to leave out WHY we changed our plans. So he snapped at me and I snapped back and went to bed angry. A BIG no-no in this house. However, that is probably why I was prompted to read this verse this morning. I just asked for God's guidance so that this week with our family wasn't ruined. So that is where I am ....

I love my family. I will not be angry or upset. I will carry on the traditions I have started with my immeditae family and when we pray I will still give thanks for all those things listed above and I will continue to just roll with whatever the day hands me. I will say an extra prayer for my very nearly due sister in love that the stresses of the holidays do not take away from her exciting time. And this morning I will take the time to apologize for yelling at my husband who was just as justifiable in his emotions over the situation as we all are.

Bring on Christmas!!!!!

Love you all and God Bless!

"The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of Christian,
but the fact that I am a Christian does make me a different kind of woman.
For I have accepted God's idea of me, and my whole life is an offering back
to Him of all that I am and all that He wants me to be. " Elisabeth Elliot

So today we had Crystal's bday party. She officially has the pregnant woman walk. It is so cute. I know I know...having been there I should know how painful it is how awful she feels and I do but i am so excited. She is being induced the 13th if she doesn't have our little baby Jessica by then. I say our because we've all staked clams on each others babies. Gracie is her Gracie poo too...lol...It was fun. Her sister Mary (who is also pregnant) got all the over the hill stuff to welcome her to being old with me. And she made her an AWESOME scrapbook. Crystalis HUGE on photo's for memories so she couldn't have done better.And then our other sister Tracy got there who is also pregnant (yes it is in the water). So it was fun.

Gracie poo is getting SO big. She had learned if she "talks' we talk back....of course we talk anyway but she is getting this whole give and take of conversation. It is adorable. Especially when she gets all excited legs and arms just a going and she works out a squeal...ADORABLE.

I love her..I am 100% prime time in love with that baby girl. And that Plumb CD...I am not lying..if you are expecting look up the lyrics...to all the songs on the Blink CD. My favorite is My Child and ME and In My Arms and all of them...but here is ME....I LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS SONG...it is so how I feel lately. But this is THE best CD to sit and listen to with your baby or dance to slowly with your baby. I want to buy everyone I know who has had or is having a baby this CD. It rules...*big grin*

Love y'all. Hope everyone is well.

I haven't had
A chance to sleep
And when I wake
I wake with your dreams
I guess my pillow
Holds some kind of key
To your peace
Your peace

Me
I wouldn't trade your love for all the candy
In this great big world
Me
I feel so crazy blessed and oh so lucky
To be the place you go
When you need to feel safe
When you need a kiss
It's me

I haven't showered
And I tried to eat
But all your tears
Oh they needed me
I need some time, some time to think
But then I hear you
And what you need is...

Me
I wouldn't trade your love for all the candy
In this great big world
Me
I feel so crazy blessed and oh so lucky
To be the place you go
When you need to feel safe
When you need a kiss
It's me

I wash your face
To make room for
All the kisses
Of tomorrow   (love that part)
And every day
That I get to
Be here with you
Is sweet

Me
I wouldn't trade your love for all the candy
In this great big world
Me
I feel so crazy blessed and oh so lucky
To be the place you go
When you need to feel safe
When you need a kiss
It's me

Oh don't be afraid
Cause what you'll have is....
Me