Tennessee, Sounds Good To Me

This past week we headed down to spend our week of vacation with Brad's folks. Brad's Mom's side of the family has a big to-do every year on the 4th, so we went for that, but decided to make a week of it and fit in as many friends and family as we possibly could. It was a jam packed week and we were all - especially the kids - worn out by the time we made it home. Brad played golf almost every day, and I enjoyed my built in babysitters (Granpa & Gramma). Maggie didn't do so hot on the car ride there. At least until we figured out that our singing put her under some kind of a spell. Needless to say, by the time we made it back to Indy the following Saturday night, our voices were totally shot and we were fighting back and forth about whose turn it was to sing "Hallelujah" at Kate's request.

Hang in there... this might be my longest picture post ever...

Getting ready to leave... Olivia babysat while I packed =)

Friday night we made it to Louisville and stayed with my good friend Kylie and her husband Justin. Just to make sure our vacation started off on the right foot, Brad and Justin hit the golf course first thing Saturday morning. I also should mention that later on in the week, Brad made his best score ever - a 79. Look out, Tiger! As soon as we made it to Granpa and Gramma's, the girls wanted Gramma to play and sing with them...
...then read them a bedtime story. Kate told me last night, "You'll tell me we can read one story, then I'll say, 'Mom, can we read two?' and you'll say YES. Otay?"
All ready for worship!
Dad working on his balancing act...
I barely saw the big girls the whole time we were there. Gramma got them up in the mornings, fed them breakfast, took them outside to water the flowers, play in the pool, walk to Aunt Norma's, play in the creek - you name it! They had a blast, and were absolutely worn out by bedtime.
We celebrated Kate's 3rd birthday while we were there. She was pretty stuck on having Cinderella on her cake. She's actually pretty stuck on having Cinderella on everything these days.Rosemary called her brothers and sister and they came up for a hamburger then cake and ice cream. It was the perfect little party, and Kathryn was just beside herself (as seen below =).
Livie eating ice cream with Aunt Charlotte
Then came the big surprise...
Lookout, folks! Kate just got a license to drive!!!

On Tuesday night we left the big girls with Granpa and Gramma and met some more old buddies for dinner in Nashville. I'm pretty sure we didn't stop laughing the entire 3 hours we were together.
Well, okay, I guess Brad and Mike stopped laughing long enough for me to shoot this picture. What nerds.
On Wednesday we all went paddle-boating (an experience that I thought was very enjoyable, but Brad says was way too much work) then headed out to Adam & Rosie's to spend the night in the 'boro. We worshipped at our old congregation in Murfreesboro and visited with so many friends that evening.

Maggie and Michael had alot of catching up to do... These girls were a hoot. I wish I could have had the video camera on them all day so you could have heard their conversations.
Uncle Adam put together this amazing swingset for Claire's 2nd birthday. The girls just loved it.
Then it was swimming time. The second before the girls drove Rosie crazy asking "are you done yet?" I had them come back up on the driveway to wait for her to finish. They decided they all wanted to hold hands while the waited.
Then they decided to share secrets.
Michael sucked on his thumb in the garage

while the girls swam.

Then it was time to get ready to go back to Gramma and Granpa's

to celebrate the 4th, and my birthday (yeah, right. My Mom even forgot to call this year - I must be getting old). Jeremy and Jessica came all the way from Chattanooga to be with us. Well, Jessica came to be with us - Jeremy came to play sports. We got to meet Baby Sadie for the first time. She is so precious.

This was our view for the week...

Then it was time to load everything back up and give Granpa and Gramma their house back. Rosemary would never admit it, but she had to be absolutely worn to a frazzle after we left. I hope Carl took her out to eat that evening =)

So far the only thing we've noticed we left behind is my cell phone :-/. How did our parents ever live without those things?

3 Bugs in a rug... Olivia A. with Olivia P. and Kate =)

Kathryn, 9 months and ready to "pop"

Little Maggie looking very much like her biggest sister

This is where we spend the majority of our day... picking up and playing with rocks

Kathryn: "Mom, can I push Maggie in my stroller?"
Me: "Oh, Kathryn, I don't know."
Kathryn: "Oh please, Mom? She'll LOVE it!"
(I put Maggie in the stroller)
Kathryn: "See, Mom? She loves it! Don't you love it, Maggie?"
(Maggie starts crying)
Kathryn: "She's okay, Mom." (looks at Maggie) "You're okay, Maggie."
(Maggie screams)
Kathryn: "Mom, I don't think she likes it. Can you get her out?"

Hard shoes to fill

I know everyone who has kids has pictures of them in their daddy's shoes... so it's not original, but when it's your own little girls, it's still pretty sweet. And it's true! This Daddy's shoes would be very hard to fill - and not just because he has big feet =). He's a pretty special DAD!!!

Dad 'n Maggie - hangin' out

The pouty lip...

Livie: "Hey, Mommy, watch dis." And this is what we got... She's such a little ham.

Thank you, Magic Eraser

Last post for the day

Finally, here are some shots of our sweet little Maggie. She'll be 7 weeks on Wednesday.

Before and After...

I haven't taken any shots of the house because it's not completely decorated yet... will it ever be?!? Here is one that I took this morning, though and I realized I had taken one from the same spot a couple of months ago. Kind of a fun comparison...

Our month in a collage

Here's a very short summary of the pictures. They are in chronological order, so just follow along...

Brad's parents came to see baby Maggie for the first time! Brad's Mom stayed the week and helped me get packed up and moved out of the Babcock's basement. The night before she left she took the girls "shopping" and Kate got a baby doll car seat just like Mom's. Livie got a puppy dog carrier just like Paris Hilton's =).
Maggie looked so sweet all dressed up for her first wedding at three weeks old.
Then our big girls got sick.... that was no fun.
Then they got better and started acting like sweet sisters again.
Maggie loves her bath - it makes her sleepy =)
We closed on our house!!! We had SO MUCH help, and everything went so smoothly. Brad Berthold came and painted for us. Several guys from church pitched it to help him out. Adam and Rosie came up to help out on their "vacation". Adam hung all kinds of lights and fans for us. The wives and kids just hung out and bragged on their work =).
After the busiest month of our lives, it was just "us" again. Kathryn kept asking "where Nana and PawPaw were" and "would Chelsea be here at our new house" and "could Corbin come live with us". It was quite an adjustment to just be "us" again, and it took a lot of explaining to remind the girls just exactly who "us" was =).
Maggie is starting to really enjoy her Bumbo seat (when the big girls aren't sitting in it :-O)
And last but not least, Livie misses being "the baby", so she just pretends every once in a while =).

The only reason we are where we are is because of all the help we have had getting here. We pray every day that we will use our house to be as much of a blessing to others as others have been to us. Thank you all, so much, for your hard work, love, support, and prayers over the past 8 months. We are so thankful for every one of you.

(you can click on the picture to make it big)

Menu Plan Monday

I know, I know, my first post in a month and the last thing you wanted to see was my menu plan, but I'm trying to get back in the swing of things. Finally. The past two weeks have shown me how important a plan is. I feel totally lost and discouraged when 4:30 rolls around.

We have a lot of staples that we need to pick up, so we're not going to even try to hit our $40/week budget this week, but next week hopefully, we'll be back on schedule.

I'm going to do like Alaina and post my menus but not assign a day to them. That works better for us...

-Tacos, Bean Dip, Veggies and dip

-Grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, Garlic Oven Fries, corn on the cob, fresh fruit (this will be for Tuesday night. We have a big crowd coming over)

-Hot sandwiches, chips, fresh fruit (most likely Wednesday night since we need something fast to get to Bible class on time)

-Steak, parmesean potatoes, steamed broccoli

-Italian meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans (this is one of the freezer meals that the ladies at church made for us when Maggie was born)

I've also started having some kind of a plan for breakfasts and lunches. I've found that if I don't, I end up running out of supplies =). I've also noticed that my girls prefer big breakfasts and hardly any lunch. That suits me fine too, so we have eggs with something else almost every morning, then snack around at lunch.

Breakfasts: omelets, french toast, pancakes, baked oatmeal, cinnamon rolls

Lunches: PB&J, fruit, sandwiches, granola bars, left-overs

I promise to post some pictures soon. Maggie is growing like a little weed. I can't believe she is already 6 weeks old! We are loving our new house. It is just perfect for us!

Be sure to check out Organizing Junkie for more great menus!