3 Years and Counting

Hal has put up with me 3 years and counting! I wanted to put up more pics, but the ole computer isn't cooperating!

I am so incredibly blessed with an amazing Godly husband and father. Love you buddy. ;)

5 Months Old + One Day :)

I can't believe Drew was 5 months old yesterday! Unbelievable! We have both been sick again, so I didn't manage to get a picture much less get it uploaded yesterday, but I think we are doing better today.

He is changing so much! He is rolling over, smiling like crazy, noticing when Hal and I enter or leave a room, and just start to fuss when we take something away he wants!

I struggled to get a picture because he was more interested in his feet than anything!

Easter Weekend

Drew was quite the road warrior this weekend! We left on Thursday for Laurel and ended up driving straight through. It was great to spend time with Hal's family. Hal's parents spoiled us and made Thanksgiving dinner for us since we weren't there for Thanksgiving this year! It did feel kind of odd to be eating dressing in April, but I got over that quickly. Little man Enjoy pics from the weekend.


Ready for the road in my new car seat!

Playing with Maw Maw

I think we have started teething. Poor guy has an awful rash around his mouth and on his cheeks and EVERYTHING is going in his mouth!

Talking to Paw Paw

First Easter BAsket

Hal and Drew in front of Hal's parents house.

Madison and Drew

Jess and Drew

Drew with his cousins. :)

Feeling Better

We are feeling better! I was able to get some extra rest this weekend thanks to my wonderful husband. He got up with Drew a few times Friday night and then woke up early with him on Saturday. We didn't do much at all on Saturday, but we were able to go to church on Sunday. Drew stayed with us just in case. I would hope that other moms are as cautious. :) He was great through the entire service. I hope that he is that good next Sunday! We are going to church with a good friend of Hal's in Laurel.

Have a good week!

Random Friday

1) As you can see in the video above, Drew is really trying to roll over. He just doesn't have it quite figured out yet.

2) We are still sick around here....but hopefully on the mend soon. Other than the rough days on Tuesday and Wednesday, Drew is a happy guy even though he is sick.

3) My friend Christi is amazing. She brought me dinner last night since I wasn't feeling great. I really don't think Hal and I would have made it through the first 48 hours we had Drew home if it wasn't for her. She brought us dinner the first night we were home and sat with me while Hal ran errands. She is a wonderful mother and a constant encouragement to me.

4) Hal is home...woo hoo! Drew and I picked him up in Tampa this morning. He is at work, but we are just glad to have him in Florida!

5) We are looking forward to our trip to Laurel for Easter weekend. We are leaving Thursday and coming back Monday....can't wait.

6) Drew is sleeping....I am going to take a nap! Have a great weekend!

Travel, Sickness, and Lessons

It has been a long week! Drew woke up with a cold on Saturday morning, so we spent our weekend here at the house. Monday I took him back to the doctor...poor guy has had awful congestion. He was so congested on Tuesday and Wednesday that he didn't even eat much and that is rare for him! He seems to be a bit better today. Hal left on Tuesday for a trip to New Jersey. Drew and I pick him up in the morning....woo hoo!!!! That covers travel and sickness, now for the lesson.

Why is it that I have to be backed into a corner before I am truly desperate for the Lord? It seems I have an ongoing battle with pride. I have blogged before about how God keeps chipping away at my pride. This week, I am sore from all the work He has been doing! I don't know why I constantly find myself doing things in my own strength and not relying on the Lord's help. I think secretly I am pretty proud of myself for being able to handle things (at least I think I am handling things on my own.) For me, there has been nothing like motherhood to show me that I am absolutely dependent on God. This week, I found myself desperate for Him. When I say desperate, I mean that I really didn't think I could go another second without him strengthening me. Please don't think Drew is an awful baby....this lesson was about me not about him. Poor guy was just plain sick this week. I hated being in the position where I couldn't fix it for him. He couldn't tell me what was wrong or how to make it better. He didn't want to sleep or eat which resulted in a lot of crying. I found myself in a place where my only option was to cry out to the Lord for His help. Hal was out of town. My mom couldn't just run over and help. It was me and God. Just the way He wanted it. I was truly humbled....crying out to Him for His grace and His help to get us through this place. Of course, God was gracious and came through. Not that things got easier(Drew is doing better, but I woke up with a cold this morning), but when I stopped relying on my own strength and let God help, the load wasn't quite so heavy. I want to live in that state of desperation every day. I want to live everyday with an awareness that nothing I do is in my own strength.

Yummy Yummy Peas

Drew was doing so well with rice cereal (meaning he was swallowing more than he was spitting out) we decided to move on to sweet peas. The results are below.

He was not to happy with me or to sure what to think about peas!

After a few bites he decided it wasn't so bad.

He finished all of his peas!

Reading his book that Aunt K got him.

I have talked with several of you recently and you say something along the lines of "We love seeing pictures and hearing about Drew but we miss hearing about you."

*I have really been challenged by the current series on the GirlTalk blog(the link is in my blog favorites). I find that I am addicted to the internet and I spend WAY too much time on it. Whenever Drew goes down for a nap, the first thing I do is run for my computer. God has given me the incredible blessing of staying at home and I know that I can use my time much more wisely. This week I have worked hard on staying off the computer and spending more time in Bible study and working on things around the house. I feel so much more productive!

* We are in our second month on the envelope system and oh my is it teaching us a lot! It is kind of scary when you really see where your money goes and you take a look at whether you are really being a good steward of the money God has given you or if you are just paying lip service to that.

*I am still amazed at how totally clueless I am about being a mother and how absolutely gracious God is to guide me through this journey. I am in a place where I feel more dependent on God than I ever have before. I can say that I have a little bit of a "know it all" mentality to my personality (quit laughing Hal and mom) and I am sure not in that place when it comes to motherhood. God has me right where he wants me....on my knees! Don't misunderstand me, I have an amazing baby. He is happy and easy going most of the time, but that just drives me to my knees more.

That is enough about me for one post....

Monday Monday

Monday is a stay at home day for us! We need the rest after the weekend. Monday is also a long day for just the two of us when we are used to having Hal home with us over the weekend. We are always ready to hear the garage door open to let us know he is home!

Here are a few pictures from our morning.

4 Months Old and a visit from Grandma and Aunt K

Drew was 4 months old yesterday! I really tried to put his MSU outfit on him! Mom and Aunt Kathy were afraid we might have to cut it off if I continued. Here is our attempt.

We settled on this instead! 4 months old. 16 lbs. 6 oz. 26 1/2 inches long

Drew's new sunglasses. :)

We really had a great time with my mom and Aunt Kathy. I wasn't ready for them to leave today! Aunt Kathy totally spoiled me and stocked my freezer with all kinds of good stuff including the Gumbo she made for us Tuesday night. She was a huge blessing to us this week and we are so blessed to have her in our lives. She loves us, prays for us, and is a great example to me of a Godly mom! Love you Aunt K!

Rice Cereal

We started trying rice cereal this weekend. It wasn't quite as messy as I anticipated! He does better in the evening than he does in the morning. He acts like I am starving him to death when I take the bottle away to give him cereal in the morning!


He wasn't too sure what to think!

We had to lose the bib...he was more interested in eating the bib than the cereal!

Sunday morning breakfast.

Sunday night dinner.

4 Month Doctor's Appointment

We took Drew for his 4 month appointment today. We love that our pediatrician offers Saturday appointments. Hal is able to go with us without taking off work! He weighed 16 lbs. 6 oz.(80th percentile) and was 26 1/2 inches long (94th percentile). Dr. Keeley said he looked great and thought we could go ahead and start with solid foods to feed this growing boy! As she was leaving she commented that he was going to be a big boy....hmm...wonder where he gets that? He also took his 4 month shots like a champ.


Ready to leave for his appointment


All undressed and ready for Dr. Keeley to come in

Smiling during his exam

Laughing at his daddy after his shots

After the appointment, we tried a new restaurant for lunch called The Soup King. It was super yummy. We sat outside and Drew was mesmerized by the flags outside the restaurant.

Random Friday

1) It is a beautiful day in Florida...I need to take advantage of it and get outside with Drew.

2) We have been trying to eat a lot better lately. After almost 3 weeks....I am really wanting to fall off the wagon and eat an entire pizza by myself. I recently discovered there is a Little Ceasar's here. I LOVE Little Ceasar's. I haven't had it in a long time...that justifies it right?

3) We have finished a week of little man sleeping through the night. I am praying he keeps it up. Now we just need to work on the nap thing.

4) Although maybe I shouldn't admit it, I am watching American Idol this year. Don't really have a favorite yet. I also make Hal suffer through the Biggest Loser. I love to watch the transformations.

5) I just ordered a new light to go over our breakfast table. can't wait to get it up this weekend.

Bath time!

Dressed and ready for bed.

Out like a light as soon as he is done with his bottle.

Bad Blogger

Blogger has not let me upload pictures the last few days! I was able to finally put some up today. :) We had a very lazy weekend last weekend. We hung out here most of the weekend. Sunday night my friend Rachel and her two kids kept Drew while Hal and I had a date night. This week is business as usual. Saturday is Drew's 4 month appointment. My mom and Aunt Kathy come on Monday....yah!

And in even bigger news.....drum roll please..........little man has slept from 9ish-6ish the last 6 nights!!! We are praying he keeps it up! Last night was the first night I slept soundly. The first 5 nights I still got up to check on him every few hours.


He is working on rolling over. Of course I am praying he waits a few weeks. Right now, he pretty much stays where I put him. :) Notice that Hal needs to put up two pair of shoes. :)



I gave him this bear blanket this week. He has been cuddling with it, and of course, trying to stick it in his mouth!


Hanging out with Daddy. We have loved getting to hear Drew giggle and laugh. The only thing that really makes him laugh is his daddy. Apparently Hal has a Donald Duck voice I never knew about and Drew loves it. The other day we had Drew on the couch between us and Hal busted out his DD voice....and I thought I knew everything about him....guess not!

My little man sitting up like a big boy on the couch.

This isn't that great of a picture but it has huge significance to Hal and me! Bath time has previously been a screaming nightmare, but the last few times he hasn't cried a bit. This was after a bath this weekend and he is smiling!

Random Friday

1) We busted out the Excersaucer for Drew this week. He is loving it!

2) I think I might be addicted to Dunkin Donuts coffee. They put the cream and sugar (splenda) in the coffee for you. I am not sure why theirs tastes so much better than what I make at home!

3) Just got off the phone with my niece Jessica....love that girl.

4) Mom got me a gift certificate for a pedicure for

Christmas. I finally went and got a pedicure on Saturday. What a treat....I am pretty sure I could have fallen asleep in the chair if I let myself.

5) We have no plans for the weekend....my favorite kind of weekend!

6) My mom and Aunt Kathy will be here in a little over a week....yipppeeee!

7) Hal and I have started the envelope system for budgeting (Sarah C calls it the paper clip system b/c I use paper clips instead of envelopes) I need to write a full post on the budget in the near future....it has been rough! It is hard to cut back when you are used to spending whenever you want, but God is teaching us a lot as we work on how we spend our money!

Have a great weekend!

4 Generations

To finish up my Fayetteville posts, I thought I would share 3 of my very favorite pictures. I am so blessed to still have 3 grandparents living. We loved getting to introduce Drew to them.

We have had a great week visiting with Sarah Cook...and don't want her to go back to Utah!!! Drew and I take her to the airport this afternoon.

Grandmother Parnell, Dad, Drew, and Me

Paw Paw Caughman, Mom, Drew, and Me

Maw Maw Caughman, Mom, Me, and Drew