Happy Birthday my "Mini-me"

Okay, so I can't call her my baby anymore. Lydia has corrected me several times, "Mom I'm not a baby or a little girl, I'm a big girl." It's hard to remember how life was without her. It's seems like she has always been there, my little buddy
I guess I've been feeling a little nostalgic lately. It seems like only yesterday that we were in the small, cramped delivery room in Williamsburg, VA. Like many of you moms out there, I remember that day crystal clear. To summarize it, screaming like hell after pushing for two hours, but quickly forgetting about the pain once I finally held her in my arms.
We wanted to make her 5th Birthday extra special so we braved going to Chuck E Cheese on a Saturday night and invited 10 of her best friends. (We started with a list of 20) I'm thankful for her little friends who love her so much- by the way, most of them still call her "Wydia", which I think is hilarious. A few of mom's friends came too, which I am very grateful for. They have been so positive and supportive through the up's and downs.
Lydia woke up to a blueberry pancake breakfast, made by Grandma. We are very glad grandma and grandpa could visit too! She felt very special this weekend. To my sweet family in Texas and Utah, thank you for all your calls and emails.

Fall Is Here

Fall is definitely my favorite season. What do I love about Fall: the changing leaves, scarecrows, pumpkins, hay rides, candy, costumes, Halloween, and of course, Lydia's birthday. It's been nice to enjoy ALL the seasons in this beautiful part of the country.
Last week we went to Patterson Farms with Lydia's Preschool class. Despite a rainy day, we were still able to go on a tractor ride, pick pumpkins and visit their petting zoo.

Soccer Girl

Miss Lydia started soccer a couple of weeks ago! She is doing great and loving it and, of course, always looking super-stylish. She's on the Team Syndey Sharks. She gets soooo excited for practice and looks so cute running around out there. Her first game is September 12, and her and Dad practice in the backyard every chance they get.

Mama's Going Back to School

Lynchburg, Virginia.



I'm going to graduate school!!!! I got the news last week that I have been accepted into Liberty University's Masters Program in Professional Counseling. It will be 60 hours total. I will be doing the distance program option, meaning I will have to go to campus for 3 separate weeks during the program, and I will do the rest online. The nice thing is that the school is only 4 hrs away, in Lynchburg, Va (close to Charlottesville). I'm so excited to be able to do this and still stay home with Lydia. My first purchase will be a new laptop. ;) First class: unfortunately, Statistics. Then I'll get into the good stuff, like, Counselor Professional Identity and Ethics.

Thank you, Josh and Lydia for being very supportive of me!

Attention Ladies!

I feel superficial doing this post... but I really want to do something different with my hair. So I'll take any suggestions. About every 6 months I get ansy. Okay ladies: Bangs..no bangs..highlights... Should I just let the thing grow out???

Random Summer Pics

Here we have my new best friend, the Margaritaville Frozen Concoction maker. It makes the best daiquiris, smoothies, snow cones....etc The best kitchen appliance I ever purchased. Mmmm, couple that with Beach shrimp (below)-makes for a great party.

Fresh Squeezed Lemonade

What do you do on a hot Summer day? Of course, sell lemonade! Yup, our little business woman. She said, "Mom, I want to have a lemonade stand and make lots of dollars!" She wanted to charge five dollars a cup, but we convinced her that one dollar a cup was plenty.