18 weeks and 22 to go!

Well I cannot believe it has been 18 weeks and I'm just getting around to posting a pic. Maybe that is because until now I have just felt fat and not pregnant........you know the stage when you can't fit into your pants, but your maternity clothes are too big? But I wouldn't trade it for anything! In case you were wondering.........yes, we are expecting a little one to arrive in May! We found out recently that IT'S A BOY!!!!!!! I think I am still in shock. In my family, we RARELY have boys. I won't even know what to do with him! During the ultrasound, he would NOT uncross his legs for us to find out anything. He was playing shy........very unlike his dad, LOL Matt was pacing back and forth getting up as close as he could to the screen looking for a glimpse of that little something, if ya know what I mean. When we finally got a little glimpse and the technician said "there it is!" Matt did a fist pump and a "YES" like he was watching the national championship or something. I, of course, started crying (and laughing) at the same time. I honestly still didn't believe it until they confirmed it at the next ultrasound. We had our boy and girl name picked out forever ago, so he is our little "Mattox"........middle name yet to be determined. Madeline was wishing for a girl, but hopefully she will give him a chance, LOL. I think she is most worried about giving up her playroom. These days, I am more concerned with planning the nursery than decorating for Christmas, so I have barely done anything this year. We got wild and decided to get a real tree, which turned out to be a nightmare to put in the stand and keep it straight. After a whole night of adjusting and the next night decorating, we awoke to a loud crash at about 3AM in the morning. What did my eyes see as I walked into the living room? The tree of course with all the ornaments strung out across the living room floor. FUN!! Nothing like decorating a tree for the second time!! I am thinking next year will be back to the fake tree. :) Merry Christmas!!

a CHEERful weekend

2008 Cheerleader Day at GSU
2007 Cheerleader Day at GSU

Tomorrow is the yearly Cheerleader for a day at GSU! Our girls love participating in this tradition. Jessica has always made it so fun and special for them! Thank goodness this year she is the graduate assistant for the cheerleaders now that she has graduated, so we will still get to have her there. GO EAGLES!

Matt and Missi Plus 8

Friday night we created our own version of Jon and Kate Plus 8..........I was the blonde overobsessed with the details, and Matt was the Asian dude running around helping out! LOL I was terrified at the thought of that many kids spending the night, but all turned out better than expected! The girls were so well behaved and had a blast. I decided that our Wii paid for itself ten times over by the end of the party. The Disney Sing It game is a blessing from above. I strongly recommend it for all sleepovers! These superstar divas can sing and dance, let me tell you! After one good Hannah Montana movie, they were down for the count.

Things to survive a sleepover.........Wii, awesome cake, lots of Clyde's pizza, TONS of drinks, EARPLUGS, super organizational skills for the piles of stuff, and a space for the stack of lost and found underwear, LOL

Cute sign by Etsy's Painted with Heart, thanks Mary!

Cute standup Minnie table decoration, stickers, and invitations by Etsy's A Paper Lane........and the super talented MaryAnn!

Adorable Minnie cookie treat bags, cutest Minnie cake ever, and delicious cupcakes all by my awesomely talented friend Lacy at http://www.downontheshumanfarm.blogspot.com

Hello from Miss Minnie!

The Birthday Girl............my how 8 years can fly by! If you have little ones or plan to, cherish every moment............isn't it funny how when you were younger you never realized what older people meant when they said "Time flies"? Man they weren't kidding! Have a child and everything goes on fast forward. I cannot say how much God blessed me with this little miss. She is the joy of my days!

One more sidenote.............as a Georgia fan, I shocked my own self last year by becoming a huge Tim Tebow fan. For those of you who somehow don't know, he is the quarterback for the Florida Gators. I had a student last year who is probably without a doubt one of the biggest Tebow fans alive, and he proved me wrong by convincing me what a good Christian guy Tebow is. Without going into a great deal of detail about all the good things Tebow does as a missionary, I just wanted to share one of my favorite things to do now is notice what verse Tebow has written on his face each game. Yesterday his verse was Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and yet loses his own soul?" I thought that spoke volumes! Way to go that we have an athlete worthwhile to look up to these days! Go Gators......mmmmm.....I meant DAWGS! Did I say that? LOL

Fall, Football, and Fun

Heidi's recent post on fall got me feeling the fall mood! Our first tailgate at GSU this past Saturday was much fun with two of my favorite things, food and friends. Football is one of my favorite things because it involves tailgating and good food. The pic above is all of us decked out in our Georgia Southern colors at the UGA/Georgia Southern game last year. Great fun........only comes every four years! It was very strange to wear those colors in Sanford Stadium though. :) I do love a Georgia Bulldogs game anytime I can get a chance.........nothing like the Athens experience. Most Saturdays we are in the Boro if their is a Southern home game cheering on our Eagles. When they are away, you can find me at home watching the Dawgs on television. It is fun planning what appetizers we will chow on. This past Saturday I made Mexican layer dip and redneck caviar. Maybe in a later post I will add those recipes, although I know most around here probably have them! I got my redneck caviar recipe from Mrs. Donna Tarver years ago after she made it for a shower at the coast. YUM! It is always a hit! I have heard it called other things, but redneck caviar just has a ring to it, doesn't it? I also love fall decorations......pumpkins and mums.....and a little polka dots on the pumkins never hurts. The pic above is of some pumpkins Madeline and I painted last year. Pray for me tomorrow night, as I will have about 9 girls at my house! My baby turned 8 so it is party time! Pics to come........

YEE HAW!!

As of today, I am DONE with my gifted endorsement classes! Now I can do fun things again like blog or chat! Had a great time at Lake Oconee this past weekend with Cristan, Marc, Braden, and Ella so I'll get to blog about it soon! Madeline enjoyed her time at Splash with Lacy and Ash while I was at class!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIL SIS!!

Yes, this post is a little past due.......I have decided that all of you who blog faithfully every day do not have an annoying, slow computer like I do! One day you will ride by my house and see mine come flying out of the upstairs window and know I finally had all I could stand!

So as some of my oldest friends know, when I was little I was one of the only "only children" in my class. All of my friends had siblings, and I prayed every single night for God to please give me a sister or brother. On July 7th, 1984 along came this little chick............

Little Miss Candice was like my new doll! I was so happy......I cried and laughed hysterically at the same time when mama told me! She is the spitting image of my daddy in personality.....a fireball! To her dismay, some people say we look alike..........lucky me, poor her! On both of the picture days below, I did her hair as always...........there is one infamous picture somewhere of the time I was away at college and couldn't do her hair.........mama did her best, but that one will remain hidden, LOL. This one is kindergarten..........
And this was sixth grade.........loved her with her bangs grown out! This is one of my favorites!

On her birthday, we went to eat at the Millhouse in Statesboro..........YUM! DELICIOUS! She turned the big two-five this year, a whole quarter!!! And she thinks she is old! OH MY! Trust me sister, you just get smarter and better with age! Here she is with the MOMS! Mom-in-law Nancy on the left and our mom Elaine on the right. Poor Tom was out of town working........BOO......but we ate enough for him too!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SISTER! I LOVE YOU!

Random Food and Salon Fun

Okay, so anyone who knows me or has ever seen my from the backside knows that I love to eat out!! The past couple days were just what the doctor ordered, as I got to eat at two of my favorite places in Statesboro. Last night we went to eat at Mellow Mushroom with Candice and Tom. It was AWESOME....make ya slap somebody AWESOME! I had the greek salad, and Candice and I shared a pizza that had all kinds of cheese, sundried tomatoes, onions, sliced tomatoes, and the best sauce ever. Can I just say that Mellow Mushroom is my new favorite place??? Madeline said "Mama, this is the best pizza in the history of pizzas!" Now I don't know where she gets her flair for the dramatic side from.......Candice and Tom also ordered Hummus with Pita bread for an appetizer, and it was to die for! Yes, you heard me.......HUMMUS!!! Who woulda thunk it? Not me, that is for sure! Never had it in my life, and if I'm not mistaken it is supposed to be healthy.........now that is just wrong! Nothing healthy tastes that good. So here is Candice enjoying her pizza........

Today Madeline and I headed back over to the Boro to have some Shane's for lunch. I guess that is my second favorite place in the Boro. Their "buffa-q" chicken fingers are the bomb......and the Statesboro Sweet Tea.......hush your mouth!

Little Miss enjoying her chicken.........child loves some chicken and honey mustard! As you can see, this pic is a little blury which is what happens to about 80% of my pictures and is why I want a new camera..........SANTA BABY do ya hear me??

After Shane's it was off to Aunt Candice's Salon.......67 Styles. She was busy as usual so we just hung out, and Madeline decided to help. Aunt Candice loves me taking pictures of her all the time..........NOT!! She even told her client, "see my sister just started this blogging thing......."

Madeline thinks sweeping is the coolest........now why isn't this cool at home??? She even helped Haley to fold towels! I tried to take her shopping at Deal's Antiques and she said, "Hurry, I have to get back to the salon and help Haley." Oh my...........

It has been a great couple of days! Thank you God for your many blessings!

Cutest Cake Ever!

Yesterday we attended Ashton's birthday party......Madeline's BFF.......this was her birthday cake made by her "Nanaw" Ms. Maryanne.......don't you think this is the cutest cake ever? It was yummy too! Matt enjoyed eating the fondant leaves, after we teased him by telling him he could only have one fondant ladybug......we did give him some cake later. I am an icing girl myself, but he LOVES fondant. I hope I am spelling it right.........anyhoo........my wonderful friend Lacy enjoys bringing me bowls full of icing to school after she bakes cakes. Did you ever wonder why I can't lose weight without gaining it right back???? MMMMMM icing and a glass of milk.........nothing like it! Back to the party, the girls had a blast. Although Lacy didn't make the cake this time, she could have in a heartbeat, as well as sewing ten dresses, doing embroidery, baking rice krispy treats, and blogging about it all..........usually while also doing school work, church work, and having all kinds of kids over.........CAN I PLEASE GET AN OUNCE OF HER ENERGY???? Killing me girl, killing me! :)
Meanwhile........back in Missi's world, it is all I can do just to go to my gifted endorsement class for these next couple weeks. Of course it is the last thing I would like to do with my last free moments of summertime, but at least it will soon be over and I'll be done!!!!! Stick a fork in me.....DONE! I would love nothing more than to be spending these days lounging in the sun on some beach, hanging out with Madeline, sleeping late, watching soap operas (Young and the Restless is too good these days), cleaning out and organizing my house, you name it, I can think of other things to do! So think of me, as I am in Hazlehurst, capitol city of NOTHING but timber!

Fourth of July Fun

We had a great time on the fourth hanging out at the pool with Aunt Candice, Uncle Tom, Lacy, and Ashton. Madeline and Ash had not seen each other since our trip to Disney (coming up in a later post) so they were very excited to hang out together.

After Uncle Tom graciously blew up about ten floats (thank goodness it was with an electric pump) the girls had fun switching from float to float. Poor Tom and Matt were about exhausted from hoisting the girls up in the air and throwing them across the water for squeals of delight.

The girls had a blast riding on "Yurtle the Turtle" as Madeline named "her" and poor Yurtle was looking a little worse for wear by the end of the afternoon. We had some yummy sandwiches, chips, and of course watermelon to top off the day. After that, the girls were off to Reidsville to swim in Nanaw's pool for the rest of the afternoon before going to the fireworks. They watched from the RMS football field. You can check out Lacy's blog at http://www.downontheshumanfarm.blogspot.com/

While the girls went to the fireworks, we headed to a cookout at our Uncle David's near Lyons with Candice and Tom. We had an awesome time looking at old pictures and listening to Uncle David and Steve's hunting and fishing stories. All in all, it was a great 4th of July! God Bless the USA!

My Best Friend

I really don't know how I would have made it through these last days without Matt. He has been there every second of the way. He stayed at the hospital with me at night with daddy and has been running around doing anything he can to help my mama in the past few days. He has literally tucked her in at night. He has patience like no other. Just when I thought I couldn't love him more, he has been amazing through this whole thing. My daddy would be so proud to know how well Matt is taking care of us. The top picture is from a trip we took to the mountains in North Carolina in fall 2007. We actually got to see snow while we were there! The bottom picture is from our honeymoon in St. Lucia. We went on a fishing charter and of course didn't catch a thing, but we had fun!

My Daddy

On June 27th my daddy went home to be with the Lord. He was admitted to Candler in Savannah on June 16th, and a couple days later we were given the news that there was lymphoma in his bone marrow. God is so good in that daddy did not suffer, and he did not know ahead of time how sick he was or what lay ahead of us. My daddy was a wonderful dad to my sister and me. He always took care of us and did whatever it took to make sure we had what we needed. He loved his granddaughter like nothing else in the world, enjoyed fishing and football, and could be found spending time around the house, going fishing, or in his yard working on restoring his tractor about ninety-eight percent of the time. He was always ready for grilling out with his family or having a good fish-fry. He and my mama would have been married for thirty-six years in August. She has truly lost her best friend. We have suffered a great loss, and I thank everyone for their prayers and thoughts these past weeks.

Wally World and El Sombrero

We had a great girls day! My girl, my sis, and I headed to El Sombrero for a late lunch.......yum, chips, salsa, and cheese dip! Then it was off to Wally World for more fun. After TJ Maxx and Hobby Lobby, the day was complete. It was a fun afternoon of girl bonding with Aunt Candice. Tomorrow is Western Day at dance camp and library day at school for summer reading.

Welcome to my blog!

I am slowly beginning my attempt at blogging! Please be patient as I learn the tricks of this blog thing.......I hope you enjoy the adventures of Matt, Madeline, and me!