Wedding Bells

 I've been waiting to tell the story of the wedding until I had all the pics to upload....but I'm tired of waiting so pics will follow eventually. Let's get this story on paper while I'm still traumatized before I forget.

Small things went wrong all day long. To be expected in a wedding. Especially an outside wedding in the scorching heat of June, when rain is in the forecast.

LUCKILY, when it started pouring, my daughter and her friends are so loud that most of them had no clue it was even raining. so the bride didn't freak out about that. She also had no idea that there was a miscommunication and there were ZERO chairs set up about an hour before the wedding.

Well, she knew. but we tried to keep all the drama from her.

The actual ceremony was BEAUTIFUL. 

I found out beforehand that A was saving a seat for Baby Harper. If you have followed me for long, you know that this is her brother who passed away. The wedding planner let it slip when she was listing out who sat where, and I lost it. This is something I would have never thought of. Our family will forever have a baby sized hole in it because of losing him, but he was not on my mind at the time. what a sweet, thoughtful thing to do.

But that wasn't it. FH walked me down the aisle, and while I expected a seat to be saved for BH, I didn't expect it to be marked. It was, with the sweetest sign. and I lost it again. (these pics are just going to be grrrrrreeeat of me sweating and crying) AND THEN, here comes E, walking down the aisle like a big girl (yes, she's old enough to walk down all alone and be fine, but she DESPISES attention so this was a big deal for her) and she's holding a framed picture of BH. So very sweet and I will never forget this.

A was walked down the aisle by both her dad and FH. This was special to me because FH has been in her life since she was 6 and he has raised her as his own. He is a dad to her in every way possible, so I'm glad that he was not excluded from walking her down the aisle.

Prior to her walking down the aisle, you could hear her voice over the loud speaker, talking to her husband-to-be. This was so unique and she has such a way with words, that it was beautiful.

They wrote their own vows, and did so great. My nephew married them, which is so sweet to me.

Then, the reception.

It started off great, although I'm pretty sure there weren't enough seats for everyone. 

The wedding party entrance was fun and then they went straight into the first dance. This was different, but when you find out what happened about an hour later, you'll know why I was glad that she did this first.

The first dance with FH was the sweetest. Both of them in tears and just such a special moment.

Then they announced the mother of the bride dance. EXCUSE ME, WHAT?

Side note: I've always felt like the mother of the bride and the dad of the groom get the short end of the stick on this, like we need love too! I've never voiced that....but A wanted a dance with me. I couldn't tell you what song was playing, I can only tell you I cried the entire time. 

People started to eat, and drink, and be merry....it was pouring, but hey, we survived the outside wedding so who actually cares if it's raining now?!

And then BOOM. loudest noise ever. Lights out. Bulbs popping. Music stopped.

It appeared that lightning had struck the building. Then we saw fire through the window. so everyone FREAKED. especially yours truly because I could not find E right at that moment.

We were evacuated. Lots of people went home-not that I blame them. The rest of us stood on the porch, just waiting. Lightning had struck a power line, which fell and landed on the poor DJs car. His tires blew out because they were in a puddle of water. The concrete exploded and created an actual hole from the lightning. And a bush was on fire. For hours.

Sweet E has clearly been paying attention at church because she said "you mean, we had an actual burning bush?" I love that kid. A quote that I will remember the rest of my life. :)

We finally got back into the building, fired up some generators, found an iphone and a speaker (the poor DJ had to shut down because the lightning fried his board), turned on some fans and spotlights, and we partied all night.

I'm so proud of how A handled it all. Many brides would have been in tears. Not her. She took scissors to her dress because it was so hot in there, then told everyone to party on. Because life throws lightning at you sometimes, God sends rain to your parade, but how you handle it is a true sign to your character. And that child showed me that she has the best character. #proudmom

Oh, and the caterers decided to leave at the lightning strike, cleaned up nothing, and 50% of the guests got food poisoning, but other than that, it was a pretty uneventful day. 

One daughter down, two to go. Hopefully it's a long time before we have another wedding. Let's celebrate another graduation before we do that, ok K?

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Guess who's Back? Back Again.

 I'm coming out of blogging retirement for two specific reasons.

I. E was reading my old blog books that tell all about Raising Steppe Sisters and she looked at me with the saddest, most serious face you have ever seen and said "well, where is my book?"

and I'm the baby of the family so I know what it feels like to not have a a baby book.

II. A got married and I just can't possibly tell all of you (the 3 people who will read this) about how the wedding went down. Not to mention, I never want to forget the details. I'm not sure that I possibly could, since we are all going to deal with PTSD for awhile now.

So here we are.

When I last left you, I'm not sure how old the girls were but it's been YEARS so let's do an update.

K: 22 and living her best single life. She's having a yes-summer and basically just doing whatever she feels like it.....she's hoping to start PA school in Jan, so she's at home for the summer and enjoying being a kid while it lasts. She graduated from UT Martin this year and is fully aware that she will have no life once she starts back to school.

A: 22 and living her honeymoon phase. freshly married, I can't believe it. and brand new to the NICU world. Those 12 hour shifts are long but she is loving it. I'm just hoping that she is too busy to make me a grandma within the year....there's plenty of time for that later.

E: 9 going on 85 year old grumpy grandma. she enjoys soccer, basketball, Fortnite, swimming, and wearing nothing but clothes from the boy's section. I'm quite positive that she is the BIGGEST tomboy that I've ever met. She may or may not grow out of it...time will tell. Until then, she fills our days with laughter and has taken over the role of providing the QOTDs that K&A were once well known for. Oh and she is the most anti-social person you will encounter.

Example: "mom, do people in Mexico speak another language?" yes. "well, if we went there on vacation, at least I wouldn't have to talk to anyone" (serious face)

FH: still the love of my life. 

me: I play pickleball now. It's pretty serious. and I lift weights. and I try really hard not to eat junk, but it most definitely happens more than it doesn't. and I still work full time at the same place I always have, except I had a nice little 5 year break where I got to live my best life and work from home. That break is over now. and I'm saddened by it EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. 

That's us. We are all busy, but also not that busy because we spend a lot of time at home. Especially FH and E. it takes a lot to get them out of the house. the rest of us don't mind leaving the house if there's a good reason. 

Soccer. and church. and being outside. and walking the dog. and sitting in the backyard doing absolutely nothing. and watching reality TV, specifically Survivor, Big Brother, and Amazing Race. and listening to E scream at her game. 

These are the best days of our lives. And I hope to write about them again more. (really really gonna try!!)

Wedding blog coming soon. Even if FH is the only one reading and he was there. it's still coming. :)

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The End of an Era

The time has come for me to shut down this blog.

Sad.

I've been blogging for years now,

but K&A are getting too old for me to be documenting their

lives all over the world wide web.

 

I'm sure they don't appreciate the fact that they can be googled and

tons of pics come up.

 

The stories that I find hilarious, sometimes embarass them.

 

Thank you for following along on all of our adventures!

 

Maybe one day I will be back.

To tell you all about our life with a new baby.

But for now, this is goodbye.

{Insert dramatic theme music}

 

Thanks for reading!!

 

 

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Tummy Tuesday #8

How far along? 21 weeks.

And every week I am shocked by how huge I am.

Bonus is that I wear this shirt at least 2 to 3 times a week so you will probably see it a

lot in my bump pics, makes it easier to compare each week.

 

Sleep? Not horrible, not great. I'm getting to the point where I can't lay on my back much anymore

so my only options are sleeping on one side or the other. Which is slightly awful.

 

Best moment this week? Every day when I get off work and get to lay on my bed. Oh the relief my back gets after sitting at a desk all day!!

 

Oh, and also, I've been having such bad back pain that I got a doctor's note so I can use our pump room at work during my lunch break. There's a couch in there, a very hard not comfty couch, but to me, it's a tiny slice of heaven right now. I'm so glad that I made this happen even though I did not want work to think I was asking for special treatment!

 

Miss anything? Feeling normal. I feel like a busted can of biscuits today. But other than today, I've been feeling okay so I guess I shouldn't complain too much.

 

Movement? Yes, finally! I love getting those little kicks. And this baby is a ninja kicking me all the time!

 

Size of the baby? a pomegranate, 12.7 ounces

 

Food cravings? chocolate milk.

 

Gender? team green!! standing strong.

 

Limitations? tying my shoes, painting my toenails, breathing.

 

Pregnancy Symptoms? I have been having big time problems with my sciatic nerve. Like in tears with pain. It's not fun. But luckily it doesn't last 24/7 and it's pretty common.

 

Wedding rings? sadly, off. I have been walking a ton lately, which I'm really proud of. I average at least 2 miles a day while at work and then 3 or 4 nights a week, I walk 1 or 2 more miles. All that walking causes my hands to swell so I went ahead and took the rings off. I hate not having them on, but I hate feeling real claustraphobic too.

 

Looking forward to? my next ultrasound on Monday, 4th of July weekend, my birthday!, a 4 day weekend coming up. I'm really excited that time is going by and I'm approaching 26 weeks. Can't wait til I see it and pass it up. Also, I'm super swollen today so I'm interested to see if that will continue. I made it about 2 or 3 weeks longer this time without swelling.

 

Happy Tummy Tuesday!!!

 

 



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Tummy Tuesday #7

How far along? 20 weeks! yay! I'm not real sure why but this has been a goal. Next up, 30 weeks. :)

Sleep? could be worse, could be better

Maternity clothes? consider this the last week this question is included.

Best moment this week? seeing K&A Sunday night. I sure have missed them this summer!

Miss anything? not having back problems. painting my toenails. bending over.

Size of the baby? a banana. (excuse me, what??)  10.2 ounces. this baby has been growing!!

Food cravings? nothing new

Morning sickness? no

Gender? no comment

Bed rest? no

Limitations? it's getting difficult to do anything that requires bending over.

Pregnancy Symptoms? nothing new

Wedding Rings? currently still on. but I have to switch them to my pinkie finger when I'm out in the
heat or if I walk a lot.

Looking forward to? every single friday when I hit the next week mark, I feel relief. I'm so
over being 900 lbs and feeling huge, but I appreciate every single second that this baby stays
in the oven. :) Pin It Now!

Summertime

The girls spent the last week with my Dad and Stepmom in the mountains.
They had a blast riding horses and four wheelers, swimming in the creek,
and discovering their inner country girl.

 

**bad picture quality due to the fact that I had to screen shot some of the pics from fb**

They even got to visit the new Bass Pro on their ride back into town.

And when they got home, they found out that we got a pool!!!
A perfect pool for this pregnant lady to lay in and relax. :)

And they were able to enjoy it too....until the rain came.
That water was COLD!

New haircuts before they leave for camp next week.

And an underwater shot, just for fun. :)

When I grow up, I hope I can have a summer just like them!!

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Wilderness Camp 2015

K&A always have the best summer.
I try to keep them busy all summer so they don't get bored and
don't just spend every day sitting at home while I'm at work.
Besides, summertime is for making memories.

Last year I sent them to my favorite childhood camp, Lakeshore, in Eva, TN.
They loved it. But they heard all about the wilderness camp and were dying to go this year.
So, I made it happen. :)

When I say wilderness camp, I mean really in the woods.
They stay in treehouses and have no electricity. There's even an outhouse.

I was very nervous to send them....especially since they normally have an
ipad in one hand and a phone in the other.
But they were up for the adventure and I knew it would be great blogging material.

FH and I took them on a Sunday night.
It takes a little over 2 hours to get there and in case you were wondering, an almost
5 hour road trip is not what you want to do when you are huge and pregnant.
Or when it's raining, because rain + the interstate stresses me out.

The girls were beyond hyper the whole way there. And drove me just a little bit crazy.
I would have been pretty excited too though!

When we got there, we had no clue where we were going.
We had to drive down this really long MUDDY gravel one lane road.
I was wishing we had a big truck at the time, and praying that we didn't pass anyone.

And then when we got there, all the people looked better prepared than us.
They had on their backpacks and just looked like they knew what they were doing.
Meanwhile, we had a rolling suitcase......
I was really worried at that point! What was I dropping my kids off to?!

We got them checked in, loaded all their stuff in a truck that would deliver it to the treehouse.
They would be walking to get there......and of course, they made friends immediately.
Not even wanting to take a pic before I left.

I was really dissappointed that we didn't get to see the treehouses.
I even looked online to try to find a picture, but couldn't.
When we picked them up, we were going to walk up the hill so I could see it,
but one of the counselors told me it was a pretty rough walk.
And looked at my pregnant belly and probably laughed inside.
FH offered to walk it and take pics for me, but that just wouldn't have been fair.
But next year, I'm making that walk and taking some pics!

I was nervous the entire week.
Not really because they were away from home. They go to camp all the time and are fine.
But they didn't have electricity!
And I was so afraid that it was going to be rougher than they expected.
And there was a canoe trip down the Buffalo River and a high ropes course....
and of course, they didn't send me any mail.

Finally on Saturday morning, it was time to go get them!
I was so anxious to get there and to hear all about it.
Do you know that when we got there, K was hugging her friends and standing in a group with them......I kept thinking she didn't see me, but she did. She just wasn't running to me like she missed me like I expected. Side note: K is the child who is never embarassed to love on me. NEVER.
A is totally too cool for me, but K could care less what people think.
And she wasn't running to hug me.
I think my heart broke a little.
And then we see Alex, same thing. Way too busy for us.

And this is how they looked after a full week of camp.

Did I mention that they didn't take one single shower?
And they played in a mud pit?
I could literally smell all the campers. It wasn't pretty.
A even bought a hat because she has short hair and it gets a hot mess if you don't wash it.

Side note: when they were leaving, everyone was telling them bye and calling them the right name.
This never happens, especially not with new friends.
I asked if they all could just tell them apart because of their hair and A said:
"Well, I have had this hat on for the last few days......"

They did brush their teeth twice a day, just for the record.
So there's that.
Even if A couldn't find her toothbrush the first two days and thought she forgot it so she had to
use K's......see, it's good to have a twin! But she found it on the 3rd day so they didn't have to keep sharing.

They said that one kid took a shower last year and everyone made fun of him.
#Iwouldhavebeenthatkid
Apparently if you want to take a shower, you have to make the 10 minute walk down the hill
to the showers, it's freezing cold, and then walk up the hill. Only to turn around and walk down
the hill again to start the day. So it wasn't worth it. It would have been to me though!
Oh and the first night, they wrote ALL OVER THEMSELVES with sharpies.
Lovely.

Also, there were bathrooms at the bottom of the hill, but just in case you needed to go to
the bathroom in the middle of the night, there was an outhouse.
Like a real outhouse.
And the girls said it was disgusting.
Their counselor actually got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, and there were
2 raccoons right beside her when she walked outside, and she accidentally didn't need the outhouse anymore. They scared it right out of her. Oops.

Oh and also, there were 2 mice in their treehouse.
This is when I would have called my mom to come get me.

They walked everywhere.
The actual camp, where the non-wilderness people stay and most activites were, was like at least a 20 minute walk. Both of them swore they lost 10 lbs from walking so much.

K had a letter for me in her bag that she kept forgetting to mail.
And A mailed me a letter that I got the next Monday. Fail.
They were both hilarious though so worth the wait.

The ride home was interesting.
These girls were EXHAUSTED.

 

A passed out almost immediately.

 

K was just confused and fighting sleep until she finally crashed hard.

 

I asked them if they wanted to do wilderness camp again next year or regular camp, and they both immediately said wilderness camp.

 

They made tons of friends and lots of memories.

Mud volleyball (which they played without the vollyeball, which I guess is just playing in the mud), ropes course, kiyaking, canoeing, swimming....all-in-all, I'd say it was a success.

 

Surprisingly, they came home with everything they took with them except for one sheet and one pair of shorts. Of course, that was the most expensive pair of shorts they own, but what can you do?

 

Home for 3 days and now they are already gone for their next adventure.

 

One week in the mountains with my dad and stepmom at a horse camp.

Surely they will shower this time.

 

**Please note, they swam every day and still smelled. I can't imagine what it would have been like if there was no swimming.**

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