Sore FEET!

All this training is starting to get to me! It is way to early in this commitment for my feet to hurt like this!!! I walked 4 miles Sat, 6 miles Sun, and 3 miles today...to stay on course with my training, Saturday calls for 10 miles...TEN MILES!! WOW! I am going to have to start WAY early, and will miss Beth, who I have been training with. (she is at the beach relaxing this week!) Her conversation helps to keep my mind off of the time and distance we are walking. It is nice to have a friend to train with! I'll let you know how far I get. It's funny now, I do enjoy walking around town, and I am noticing things that I haven't noticed before. As long as it's early, and not too hot out yet, it is a beautiful thing to walk outside!

Na Na Na Na Boo Boo...

Drew's new saying..." Na, Na, Na, Na, Boo, Boo!!!" He thinks he's so funny!! Where do you think he learned this from? Not sure, but probably #2. I have to refer to my children by number sometimes. Is that weird? Especially, when I am talking about them in front of them. At least they don't always pick up on things. It's hard now that Jackson is reading and spelling so well. No more spelling out words! Just last week, my sister in law was spelling out "i-c-e-c-r-e-a-m" and guess who yelled "ice cream?!?!?" JACKSON...We will have to resort to Pig Latin! Oodg Uckl ithw hatt! I'm not sure I can think that fast anymore!!!! It sure is getting harder to out-smart my kids!

Walking...

I just returned from my walk this evening. It's so hot here, I had to wait until 8:00 pm to leave! When I returned, 500 miles by The Proclaimers was playing on my iPod...so fitting, seeing as I'll probably walk close to 500 miles during the course of this training!

I was also excited to get a start on my fundraising. I have to raise $1800...a lot of money! However, I received 2 donations today (thank you Holly, Jeff, and Lisa!!!) so I feel good. I also have spent some time speaking with others who have either fought Breast Cancer or have a relative who has. Their stories are all so inspiring to me. When I hear about their battle, I am motivated to get my butt out there and walk...walk for them!

Ashley's Surgery

When I got home from work this afternoon, Davis greeted me in the garage saying "daddy went to have his nose cut off today." It's funny to realize how kids interpret things! He then told me not to worry, because they give him medicine that will make him sleep so he won't remember...actually, a pretty good description of what happened!

What really happened is that Ashley recently went to his ENT and found out that he has a deviated septum. He's had breathing and sinus problems as well. The doctor did a surgery to repair the septum, and put some stents in to open up his nasal airways. He's a friend of ours, and I'm sure did a great job! I am hoping Ashley feels better soon! He is sleeping now, probably best, because he likes to talk on the phone and make calls, but then he doesn't remember a thing about the conversations...so I had to take his phone away.

Let's hope he feels better soon...for now, I have 4 kids!

Happy Birth Day Addison!!

Yesterday, my newest baby niece was born: Addison Lane Jernigan. Ashley and Jay were kind enough to let me be a part of the experience and be in the OR during the C-Section. What an incredible experience! Ashley's OBGYN allowed me to photograph the entire experience...you all know how great that was for me! That is why I am so passionate about photography. What an incredible chance to capture something, a memory, a miracle, a new life, through the lens and to be able to see the feeling and emotion in the photographs.

It was absolutely amazing to be a part of a delivery where I wasn't the one delivering! I could truly take it all in and experience the miracle of God's glory in his creation of this perfect little being who was grown from love in the perfect environment inside her mom's uterus, being brought into this world by a talented OBGYN, and taking her first breath and cry, even before she was fully delivered. WOW! It was so cool, and one of the best experiences of my life. I will always remember the special day when baby Addison was born, and I was there to see it all. Thanks Jay and Ashley! I'm so proud of you guys and so happy for your family!!

Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday to Jackson! I can't believe that he is 7 years old today! He seems so grown up, and I have to remind myself that he is just a kid. He had a great birthday, and got some really cool gifts. He got some golf clubs, a bike, a baseball glove, nerf guns, sports gear and some gift cards. His birthday party will be at a golf course next week, and he can't wait! I'm a little nervous...8 seven year old boys swinging golf clubs....??? I know that the pro has done this before, so he'll have things under control!

Date Night

About 2 weeks ago, Ashley took Jackson golfing, and Drew was sick and in bed very early. Davis and I decided to have a "date night." He was SO excited when he figured out that date night meant "just 1 kid and mommy or daddy? No other kids around?? Just me??" So sweet. We played some board games, read some books, and snuggled on the couch. This is my child who is like a bull in a china shop, but every now and then settles down and just wants to cuddle! He picked the Nature Show on PBS, and we watched and learned all about giant squids! His choice, but it was actually pretty cool to learn about. I am learning to like all those yucky boy things! :) Had to share a picture of him eating his chocolate ice cream bar, in heaven covered in chocolate! I am so blessed to have these boys in my life!

Every now and then, even rarer with an almost 7 year old, I get an incredibly natural happy peaceful photograph of my children. I just was reviewing some of my recent shots and found one. I LOVE this picture of Jack. So cute and natural, no cheezy smile or fake compliant grin, just my sweet almost 7 year old!!! He jumped in during a recent photoshoot, and thought he was being sly...little did he know, I captured the perfect portrait! Oh, and I like that he's wearing the shirt that he found with HIS name on it! Love my Jack!

PINK

Well I am liking the PINK on the blog! I don't have enough pink in my life, and this is in honor of the breast cancer walk that I am doing with Beth, but I must say that I do like it! Get used to it...it will be up until the end of October, when we walk!

I finally have had a few quiet moments to upload pix from the last few weeks. Here are some from July 4th. We had a great time with the kids and my mom and stepdad shooting off fireworks in the cul de sac. The fireworks were from Georgia, so they weren't as "big" as the South Carolina ones, but even though none left the ground, the kids thought that they were in heaven!

Catching Up

It has been an incredibly busy last few weeks for our family. Nothing too out of the ordinary, but very busy! We have both individually traveled to Las Vegas, AJ for fun, me for work, gone on a beach vacation with the Berry clan, I caught a terrible upper respiratory bug, and later a GI bug, and Drew also caught a GI bug...his much worse. There is nothing fun about little children throwing up, and nothing more pittiful than a two year old who knows it's about to happen, and saddly, pleadingly, looks into my eyes and wimpers "my tummy hurt." Throw into that the daily demands of keeping the family going, laundry, cleaning house, taking care of the kids, oh, and not to mention work (because everything that goes on at home really doesn't count as "work", right?) Oh, and did I mention that while AJ was traveling this week, the kids decided to have a "parmasean cheese" fight! It looked like it had snowed in the kitchen, and 3 days later, I am still cleaning it up! They took an entire bottle of grated parm cheese, and poured it out. They then decided it would be fun to rub it into Drew's hair and all over Marley!!! Great idea, right?

Here are some pix from our beach trip...the boys being silly while putting up with ANOTHER photoshoot from mom. I can't help it, I love beach pix. Also, some good blackmail for when Jackson grows up...Jack in a Hannah Montana wig!! One day, this photo might be worth something! :)

Davis has been his usual hysterical self. He just makes me laugh! He talks so emphatically, and uses his hands a lot. I feel he will be a public speaker or a sales person of sorts when he grows up, but no matter what, definately persuasive. He also will suprise us by being very thoughtful every now and then. The other day, Jackson was telling a story about when he was born, and Davis wasn't. Davis said " well fine, but when that happened, I was with God." I responded with "really? when was that?" Davis replied "well, you know, before kids are in their mommy's tummies, they grow in their heart, and God lives in everyone's heart, so I was with God. I liked hanging out with God." So sweet. I guess he was right! I asked him who taught him that, and he said no one, it was just one of those things he knew. I know that there are more silly and sweet things that they have said, but I can't remember now, so more on that later.

Lastly, I have just taken on a big undertaking. A dear friend of mine's mother was just diagnosed with Breast Cancer. It is stage III, and she has already undergone a masectomy. She is taking it like a champ and is in great spirits. I on the other hand have always wanted to participate in the AVON Breast Cancer walk. This walk is a LONG walk! It is a 2 day, 39 mile walk around Charlotte. It will take place in October, so I have some time to train. There are many reasons why I am doing the walk (which commits me to raising $1800 for Breast Cancer treatments and research). My mom participated in the walk a few years ago, when it was 60 miles, and shared what an amazing experience it was. Before I heard about my friend's mom, I had been thinking about registering. Now I realize that I need to do it, it is her mother who is going through chemo and surgery, but it could just as easily be my mother, or sister, or grandmother. I have learned that every 3 minutes, another person is diagnosed with Breast Cancer. I can't do a lot to help her, but I can walk for the cause. It's a long walk, but I will suck it up and walk, because it's for a cause that I believe in, and it's something that may one day impact me or my family directly.

No Bite Update

For those of you who were wondering, it was suprisingly easy for Davis to stop sucking his thumb! We are about 5 weeks out, and he still shows no signs of thumb sucking! YEAH!! Every once in a while, when he gets hurt, he does say " I miss my thumb " but still doesn't go back! That light sabor was worth every penny!!

Back to reality

We are officially back into the swing of things after 3 weeks of sickness, work, and vacations! It seems like forever since I have slept in my own bed! The last 2 nights have been great sleeping with my tempurpedic mattress topper that the kids have named "The Marshmallow Bed." I can definately sink right into my bed and drift off to sleep!

The beach was nice, and the kids had a ball with their cousins. Pictures to come soon, but I am so far behind on email, bills, work, photography clients, that I haven't had time to think about my 0wn photos! I can't wait though. I got a new camera for my birthday, and looking at the LCD screen doesn't do much justice, but I can tell that there are some great ones in there. It will take 8 pix/second. Ashley just doesn't get it, but I love it! So cool!!!

Davis started VBS today, and I took Jackson and Drew to the library this morning. We are trying to keep up with summer reading and not loose track over vacation breaks. It's hard to stay focused!

I am incredibly proud of all of my children, and it was a blessing to have last week to spend with them and share in their joy of life. Kids are amazing, and I love every minute with them, well, not quite every, but most of them!

To the beach

We are off to the beach for a week. A nice time to catch up after all of the traveling we've been doing! AJ was in Vegas for a week with friends, and then I went last week for work. We are happy to relax by the ocean for a week!!! Wish you were here! :)

Downpour

As I am writing this, I am looking out my front window waiting on a boat to float by! It is absolutely pouring right now!!! We have had quite a wet Spring, and I should be very thankful for that, but I am looking forward to some more consistant sunny weather, and the low 70's would be nice!
Ashley left for Vegas today. He is there with some friends that he grew up with and is there for a bachelor party. Meanwhile, I am here with the kids, and puppy (who is very much still a puppy, but more on that later) in the rain! I am sick and have been so exhausted today, so I thought a nice bubble bath for the boys would keep them busy for a while. I was wrong! I raced upstairs to the screaming of "NO NO Marley" to find the dog, covered in bubbles, trying to get into the bathtub. Two kids were out already, covered in bubbles themselves (no need for a towel when you have mom's clean carpet to run and drip on, right?) and headed to the shower (after a run around my room and hallway), and Drew was in the tub, up to his waist in bubbles, throwing them on Marley. The water had drained, there were bubbles everywhere, and in the middle of the bathroom, a chewed up roll of toilet paper (Marley's favorite chew toy!). At least she's not chewing our shoes...yet!!

Mommy's a princess

This morning, Drew stole my heart! He is so sweet, and talking all the time. I was working in my office, and he ran across a picture from our wedding on the bookshelf. He pointed to the picture and kept saying "mommy's a princess and daddy is big!" So FUNNY! We were kissing on a dock, and AJ is much taller than I am and from the angle of the photo, he looks even taller. All morning, he just kept repeating "my mommy's a princess!" I love it!

Fun Run

Thank you to all of your who made contributions for Jackson's school fundraiser, the Pirate Fun Run!!! It was very successful, and we raised about $13,000 that the school gets to keep for themselves. With all of the budget cuts, this money comes at a great time to help our children! It was great seeing how excited the children were about running also! Jack ran 34 laps, almost 2 miles!!

Muffins for Mom

About a week ago, Davis had "Muffins for Moms" at school. The teachers went all out and the children had a little performance, and sang three songs. They were ADORABLE!! "Tony Chestnut (Toe Knee Chest Neck)" was my favorite song. Davis is the tall kid with the green shirt!

He also made me a cute jewlery box, and it even has his photo on it! He was so proud of this, and it now has a special place on my vanity. There is something about a homemade gift from your children that truely melts your heart.

It worked!

It worked! The "No Bite" stuff worked for Davis. It has been 5 days, and he is thumb sucking free! The stuff tastes terrible, and I am pretty certain it would wake him up if he was trying to suck in his sleep. I do know for sure that he hasn't sucked his thumb during the day all week. This afternoon, I rewarded him with a cool Star Wars Light Saber. He was thrilled! We also had a long talk about the dentist, and what braces were, and how important it is that he try not to suck his thumb. When he found out braces were metal wires in your mouth, he said he never wants to get that, and if the No Bite starts to wear off, will I please put some more on! He is asking for more! Wow, that boy has determination!!!

No Bite!

The time has come to start working on Davis and his thumb sucking habit. He has sucked his thumb since birth, and it is a great source of comfort to him. However, we just took him to the dentist, and it is time to stop! Last night, I asked Davis if he was ready to stop sucking his thumb, and he amazingly said yes...probably before he thought about it. Either way, we took it and ran with it! I have a bottle of "No Bite" handy, and Davis got his thumb nails painted. Ashley decided to stop biting his finger nails as well, and he also got a coat. Davis has done good so far, and hasn't even complained. He was so proud of himself this morning when he woke up, he ran to me and said "Mommy, guess what you asked me to do and I did it!!! I didn't suck my thumb last night!" He says he didn't even try, which is probably true, because AJ has been complaining about the taste of that stuff all day! I told Davis if he really does stop, he can get a suprise. He chose a purple light up light saber from Star Wars. I figured it's a good incentive and a heck of a lot cheaper than more time in braces. He already has an open bite, and there's no telling what his adult teeth will look like. Now if we can just get the dog to stop biting!

It's already happening...

Somehow it happens right before our eyes, and we don't even realize it! As a mom of all boys, I know very soon that they will enjoy being with their daddy much more than hanging out with me. Jackson is starting to hit that age! Last Friday, all 3 boys were invited to a birthday party at the baseball field to watch a game. They had lots of fun, but with 2 younger children who hadn't napped well, if at all, that day, by the 4th inning, they were melting down and we needed to get out quick to avoid a total scene! Those of you with kids know what I mean! There is a fine line between whining and ready to go and the all out tantrum of crying, tears, louder whining, and yelling when things just don't go their way. Jackson was very disappointed that we couldn't stay for the whole game, so I asked him if he'd like for me to take him on a date night, just he and I, and we'd go out to dinner, and then come to the game. We'd stay for the whole thing, fireworks and all, and play the kids games and jump in the jumpy things and everything. He looked at me with a smile and said that would be great, but can daddy come instead of you? It's already happening...I'm loosing him! So sad, I need to remember this and cherish all those snuggles and hugs now!