What Wonderful News!!!

I got a phone call last night around 10:30 from my best friend Abbey who is currently in Florida. She's the assistant coach for the PRP girls softball team and they are down there for a spring break tournament. I was in the shower when she called so I got out and saw I had a missed call from her and a new picture message. I open the picture message and see her left ring finger with the most gorgeous diamond ring on it! I called her back immediately and before she could say, "hi", I screamed are you engaged! And she is! I was so happy I cried.

Her boyfriend Bruce got down on one knee and proposed to her on the beach. How romantic. I could not be happier for them and I am so excited to help her plan the wedding. She asked me to be her matron of honor and I am so thrilled to do it. We've been best friends since the third grade and I am so blessed to have her. All the best things and hardest things in life, Abbey and I have faced together so I'm just over joyed to be there for her on one of the most important and special days of her life. I just can't quit smiling. When someone you love finds someone that loves them so much and makes them so happy it makes one of your dreams come true too. Bruce is such a great guy and I know he'll take such good care of Abbey. And, not only does Abbey get a wonderful husband, but she also gets Chase and Bella. They are such good kids and she loves them more than anything. Bella is a spunky little 4 year old, who is gorgeous and hilarious and Chase is finishing up 8th grade and is a really good athlete. He has already played a year of football at PRP as an 8th grader so by the time he's a Junior or Senior look out. Above there is a picture of their little family this past Christmas and one of me and Abbey at my wedding. Congratulations Abbey and Bruce!

One Chapter Closes. . .

Well today I officially quit my job at Randstad, and I must admit I am a little sad. I met with my boss, Dana this morning to let her know I wouldn't be returning from maternity leave. This couldn't happen without tears of course, but I let her know how thankful I am for the opportunity to work at such a great company and for everything she has done for me. Being a staffing agent at Randstad was my first "grown up" job after graduating college. I remember how excited I was to work for a world wide, professional company. I was in awe of how professional things ran and how much the company respected me as part of this team. I got to be out in the field and meet with clients, go to meetings and lunches, and had my own corporate expense account. I learned so much about business and about life in general from working there. It was such a good feeling to interview someone I really liked and then place them at the perfect job for them.

Above the work, I'm definitely going to miss our team the most. Dana, Lori, Robin, and I have been through so much together and I have enjoyed working with them so much. We have so many funny stories about our talent or the hoops our customers have made us jump through. I've spent many a late night filling orders with that wonderful group of women and I respect them more than words can say. I'll never forget the crazy lady who told me she was getting a million dollars back on her taxes or the time a car wrecked in front of out window while the bleachers were out for the derby parade, two more feet and the bleachers would have gone through our window! Downtown is full of it's characters but that is what made the days interesting and always gave us something to laugh about.

With the tough economy things are continually changing at Randstad as they try to come up with new innovative ways to sell more business and get more people working. I'm not going to miss the added stress or pressure to perform in a down market, but I am going to miss my job as a whole. The heart of my job was putting people to work and getting to know my customers well enough to meet their needs and help their business run more smoothly; That is what I loved.

However, the thing I love above all else is my little Camy. Raising her is my ministry in life and such a blessing. I am so fortunate to be able to stay home with her and be the kind of mom I always wanted to be. I don't want to miss any part of her life and now I don't have to. There will be a time when I will pick my career back up and start over, but now is the time to be with her. She's only going to be little once and I have my entire life to work to the choice is simple.

Our Saturday Project

Since we have had such beautiful weather this weekened Josh and I (maily Josh) decided to take on a little project. I'll start by saying Josh loves the grass. He mows every week, wants it to be greener than any of the neighbor's yards, etc. His dad's yard is like soft green carpet so I guess that is where he gets it. Anyway, when the dogs go out they jump off the little stone landing and turn to run so they have slowly but surely pounded the grass to a pulp in one spot. Our solution; landscape around the deck, to not only save the grass but to make the backyard a little more appealing.

Josh worked so hard digging up all the old grass/sod and then hauled all of it out to the field. Next we went to Lowe's and got out plants. We got some boxwoods, dwarf burning bushes and, pink heather. We get them all layed out and I restacked our firewood under the deck and Josh starts to dig. He's digging and then all of a sudden, "Clink". He hits the biggest boulder ever. We needed the plants spaced evenly and he kept trying to dig it out but we could not find the end of that huge thing. The geniuses that backfilled our house after that basement was poured were too lazy to take the boulder out of the dirt so now we're in a pickle. We head back to Lowe's, returned our extra shrubs and got the coolest little fountain to got there instead. I LOVE it! It's so nice to sit out there now and hear the water trickle. So I guess all in all the boulder was a good thing (keeping in mind it doesn't shift one day and the back in of our house caves in!)

Also, the last pic. is of Camy this morning before church. I thought she looked so cute in her little Gymboree outfit and shoes. This was the first day that she actually wore shoes out of the house that fit her! What a mile stone in a girls life :) My dad, and Chris and Katie came over and went to church with us today too so it was great to spend some time with them. And then my dad treated us to lunch at Olive Garden, which is one of my favorite places! Needless to say it was a great day with the fam.

Little Stuffed Turkey

I thought this picture was too funny so I had to share it. Whenever Cameryn eats to much she just lays back with her eyes half open, as if to say, "Good thing I have on my stretchy pants!" We call her our little stuffed turkey whenever she does this so I thought a picture of the turkey was in order.

We had a bit of a challenging day today, but good overall. My first mistake was not letting Camy finish her nap so we could go eat lunch with Daddy. Josh had to go to Bardstown today so I thought it would be nice for him to stop in town on his way so we could have lunch. We met at Hometown Pizza the best, and only place to eat here in Mt. Washington. We got to hang out a little and Camy was really hamming it up for all the waitresses in there. She would grin so big every time they came to our table. I thought since she was in such a great mood we could go to Bed Bath and Beyond and Hobby Lobby to browse the aisles. Bad idea! She did not want to ride in her stroller so I pushed the stroller with my purse in it and held her, all the while a massive puddle of drool was forming on my shirt. I'm sure people thought that all of that could not have possible come out of such a small baby and that I must have contributed in some way, but I assure you she is a drooly monster lately. Anyway, my arms are tired, I'm crashing the stroller into shelves and wobbly displays so we decide to head home. At this point my daughter decides to wail the entire 30 minutes it takes us to get home. I'm shaking her toy, putting her binky in, turning up the radio but nothing worked. If you have ever been in the car with a screaming baby you know that 5 minutes feels like 20, so by the end of the 30 minute car ride my nerves were shot and Camy looked pitiful. She was all red and had real tears! As soon as I picked her up she was fine and instantly stopped crying. I even got a smile out of her once I let the dogs out. Go figure. I hate hearing her cry more than anything but I just didn't know what to do. She wasn't hungry, I changed her at BB&B, car seat wasn't too tight, nothing. It almost makes you understand how Brittney got caught driving while holding her child! Which I would NEVER do, but you can kind of see her thought process having experienced it.

Anyway, my little angel is now sould asleep in her precious little pink pj's so I better get off of here and try to pry my husband away from the NCAA tourney! One more side note, the NIT? What is the world coming to when UK is playing in the NIT, oh the shame.

So Many Good Things

Here are some pics of Camy in her St. Patty's shirt. We're not really Irish, but the shirt was too cute to resist! St. Patrick's Day isn't really too big of a deal once you're out of college and no longer amazed at green beer, but everyday is something to be celebrated right?

Aside from it being St. Patty's Day yesterday, it was absolutely gorgeous outside! Camy and I went to the grocery and for a walk in the construction zone that is out neighborhood. Warm weather always makes me so happy and energized. As if the weather was not blessing enough, I got the biggest blessing the evening before. I have been looking for a part time job to start once my maternity leave was up, since Cameryn was born. I've thought I had something a time or two but nothing has really worked out. Needless to say I was getting pretty nervous and stressed about the whole thing. It was getting to the point where I was not sleeping well and contemplating the night shift at McDonald's! I just want to make sure Camy is safe and we don't miss out on any of her mile stones. Anyway, after much thought, prayer, and calculating Josh and I decided it would be best for everyone if I stayed home with Cameryn full time instead of working a regular job! It has always been a dream of mine to be a stay at home mom, and I'm so happy and thankful we can do it. I have an amazing husband who loves me enough to do whatever he needs to, to make my dreams come true. I love him and our daughter more than anything and I know God has given me gifts that are a million times better than anything I could have ever thought of on my own. HE is Love.

Congrats Chuck!

We had dinner at my mom and Rod's last night to celebrate my brother's one year anniversary for being home. I am so proud of him, words cannot describe. He's grown up so much and is one of the hardest working people I know. I the past year he's gone from having nothing but his family and freedom to a two bedroom apartment, car, furniture, his own business plus another job, girl friend, friends, pets, and a great outlook on life. If he could do all of this in one year I can't wait to see what God has in store for him in the years to come. Chucky is true living proof that people can change if they want to and there is no excuse for not making your life the best it can be. I love my brother so much!

While at my mom's I got to meet his roommate Wes, and the famous Jalynn, who is adorable. Camy also got to hang out with her uncle Chuck too! It was a great night to eat (a lot!) and celebrate all Chucky has accomplished.

Made me laugh out loud

I found this new website called stumbleupon.com. You select topics you like and click stumble and neat websites come up. This is from one of the sites I "stumbled upon" and it made me laugh, and hey who doesn't need to laugh!


HOW TO TICK PEOPLE OFF
Leave the copy machine set to reduce 200%, extra dark, 17 inch paper, 99 copies.
In the memo field of all your checks, write "for sexual favors."
Specify that your drive-through order is "TO-GO."
If you have a glass eye, tap on it occasionally with your pen while talking to others.
Stomp on little plastic ketchup packets.
Insist on keeping your car windshield wipers running in all weather conditions "to keep them tuned up."
Reply to everything someone says with "that's what you think."
Practice making fax and modem noises.
Highlight irrelevant information in scientific papers and "cc" them to your boss.
Make beeping noises when a large person backs up.
Finish all your sentences with the words "in accordance with prophesy."
Signal that a conversation is over by clamping your hands over your ears and grimacing.
Disassemble your pen and "accidentally" flip the ink cartridge across the room.
Holler random numbers while someone is counting.
Adjust the tint on your TV so that all the people are green, and insist to others that you "like it that way."
Staple pages in the middle of the page.
Publicly investigate just how slowly you can make a croaking noise.
Honk and wave to strangers.
Decline to be seated at a restaurant, and simply eat their complimentary mints at the cash register.
TYPE IN UPPERCASE.
type only in lowercase.
dont use any punctuation either
Buy a large quantity of orange traffic cones and reroute whole streets.
Repeat the following conversation a dozen times."DO YOU HEAR THAT?""What?""Never mind, it's gone now."
As much as possible, skip rather than walk.
Try playing the William Tell Overture by tapping on the bottom of your chin. When nearly done, announce "No, wait, I messed it up," and repeat.
Ask people what gender they are.
While making presentations, occasionally bob your head like a parakeet.
Sit in your front yard pointing a hair dryer at passing cars to see if they slow down.
Sing along at the opera.
Go to a poetry recital and ask why each poem doesn't rhyme.
Ask your co-workers mysterious questions and then scribble their answers in a notebook. Mutter something about "psychological profiles."

Another Fun Weekend

Well another weekend has come and gone in the blink of an eye! The weekend started out a little rough since Camy had to get her shots on Friday afternoon. I don't know who was more traumatized by it, her or me. Luckily Grandma Deb was there with us to make things a little easier. She stayed through the weekend and got to enjoy the gorgeous weather we had. Cameryn didn't react too badly to the shots, she was just really sleepy and got a little fussy from time to time. She was a real trooper!

Friday night my mom and Rod came over for supper and brought the kids. We had fun talking and catching up. Mamaw also brought a present for Cameryn, she made her the cutes fleece blanket with all the characters from Winnie the Pooh sleeping on it. It's pretty big so I can see Cameryn and I both snuggling up underneath it.

On Saturday we went down to the water front to see Josh run in the Anthem 5K. We were so proud of him for running. If you know Josh, you know running has not always been his thing, but he's doing great. And on top of that it was a beautiful day. After the race we all went to Cracker Barrel and ate a late breakfast and then headed home. Later that day Grandma was sweet enough to watch Camy while Josh and I got new mulch for our front landscaping. It has been sooooo windy almost all of our mulch from last year had blown away. It was nice getting to work together in the yard on such a gorgeous day, and our yard looks ten times better!

Today my sweet husband got flowers for not only me, but for Cameryn too! The picture above is of him and his little girl with her first bouquet of flowers. You couldn't ask for a better man to get your first flowers from than your Daddy! They are so cute, too! Pink Gerber Daisy's in a sassy little pot; so girly.

Let's catch up

Gosh we have been so busy lately! Last weekend Cameryn got to make her first trip up to Logansport. I was a little nervous about the four hour car ride but she did great. We fed her right before we left and then only stopped one time on the way up to change and feed her again. She was a trooper. We got there late on Friday and stayed until Sunday afternoon. Camy got to meet her Great Grandma and Grandpa Buchanan and spend lots of time with Grandma and Grandpa. It was so nice to get away from home and relax.

Josh and I got to enjoy some of our favorite Logansport treats too, like custard from Sycamore and hot dogs from the rootbeer stand. We spent time on Saturday just hanging out, taking pictures and playing scrable. The one above is of Josh and Cameryn's feet since they are identical! It is truly amazing how your child forms and inherits your traits. She does have a little of me in her as well; like her dimple and her ears. . . I'll take what I can get!

Other than our weekend trip I'm continueing to look for part time work. The recruiting job is not working out, unfortunatley. I can't believe people will not attend a carreer briefing when the job market is so tight. Go figure. I know God has a plan for me though, so I'm just working on being patient. I can't bare the thought of putting Camy in day care full time but being a good mom means being financially secure so if it comes to that I'll do what I have to until we can find another solution. Say a prayer for me : )

Josh is doing great at work and with his daughter and me. I couldn't have asked God for a better husband. The way he loves me is exatactly how I need to be loved and how I always dreamed it would be. We compliment eachother so well, I know God made him as my other half. He is so good!