Packing up

I've spent the last 2 weeks or so organizing and packing and today just started to dismantle Hayes' room. Really a very sad thing to do! She has an almost blank room to sleep in for the next few nights until she gets to her new room this weekend!! She doesn't notice it though thankfully. Anyway I took some things off the walls that I had to share. They are super sweet and meaningful!!



At my old school our art teacher was SOOOOOOO incredibly talented and creative. She is so good at personalized gifts because of this!! She made these letters of Hayes' name for a baby gift and put sweet verses on the back. I had forgotten about each verse until I took them off the wall today. I hope she'll always want them in her room, even when she's big!!






Also, this is one of my favorite things in her room too!! My mom gave this to her for her baby dedication. It's from a place called

Simply Written Designs

in Florence. This girl is so talented and can do all kinds of pencil sketchings in any shape with any Bible verse. My friend Margaret is the one who told me about this b/c she had one for her little boy in a turtle shape. Check out her website it you're interested. She was also at the JL holiday market this year and had lots of new stuff. She's so easy and quick to work with!



Lastly, we took our car to get serviced today and ended up staying a VERY long time!! We got in to a fender bender last week on that awful 280 in Bham. We were both fine, it was just scary!! I have never been so thankful in my life for a bigger vehicle and a SAFE carseat for Hayes. I wouldn't take anything for her safety!!
She was so happy while we waited a whole 45 minutes at the Express Oil Change. The men gave her a bucket of candy and she had a ball dumping it out and packing it back up, about 40 times over and over. She gets so zoned out on little tasks, it's hilarious and sometimes very strange to watch!!

The Weekend and the Move!

It is Sunday afternoon and my husband and baby are taking their naps, so I figured this was a good time to update the blog. We all used to take really long Sunday naps around here, but lately my naps have been about 5 minutes and then I'm up. I always feel like I have a million loose ends and I better get something done while Hayes is asleep (like every mom I'm sure:) or I'll be sorry later. So I had my quick power nap and now I'm racing to see how much I get done before I hear that first cough/cry and then she's up for the day!! This past Friday night we had dinner w/some good friends at DoDiYo's-new place in Homewood-it was delicious and a really neat place. I recommend it if you are in B'ham-not a place for kids though, not a high chair in sight. Thankfully, Hayes went to Parent's Night Out at church for the 1st time, and it will definitely not be her last. She enjoyed herself, playing in the nursery and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, being able to eat at a fun restaurant without wrestling w/a toddler in a highchair, trying to make her sit, eat and color-haha-a lost cause now. If you are a Dawson girl reading this and who does not have grandparents in town to keep your child, take advantage of the PNO. It was great!!

Summer has started!! No more school until September! So we are busy playing around here and sometimes the little one gets bored w/her toys, actually she would rather have no toys and just play with my stuff, purse, bathroom cabinets, pantry, etc. She found this crepe paper in the closet last week and it made for some good playtime. She tore and tore the paper and had a ball!





Also our cute baby doll stroller that Nana got us that I mentioned in another post, it tore up the next day from Hayes sitting/standing in it. Sorry Nana! It's still usable you just can't put a baby in there to stroll. Also silly girl was standing on it and fell forwards and busted her lip last week. There was some blood but it didn't last long. I should have taken a picture of her 1st busted lip-will not be the last I know for my fearless child. Mouth/face injuries are scary!



We had sweet Caroline Draney's 1st birthday party yesterday. Such a cute little party! It was at Lindsay's parents BEAUTIFUL home who have way more toys there for their grandchild than we will ever have. The playhouse outside was a hit. Lots of sweet little ones and good food. We had a great time Linds! Happy B'day Caroline!!



Caroline, Catherine Ellis, and Hayes


On the way to church this morning with a massive shining red mosquito bite!!


Lastly, something I have failed to mention on here for some time now is that we are MOVING!! It's been a long time coming, we've prayed over this move for several years, knowing that the time would come for us to move on from this house for several reasons and this spring just happened to be the right time. It happened pretty fast, so it hasn't even seemed like it was really "for sale." I just started packing last week and it's a huge task, but I'm actually enjoying it b/c I'm a tad OCD and type A thanks to my kindergarten teaching years. Organizing and tossing out has been AWESOME and very freeing. 3 HUGE loads have been taken to Goodwill and I have another huge pile in the making! We have no idea where we are going, haven't found the right house yet, just praying that the Lord will lead our family where He wants us to be. I'm pretty indecisive so it's been hard to even narrow down the area where we want to be, much less the neighborhood and right street. God has a plan so we're not worried, just going to enjoy the next little transition phase as we move into a temporary apt right up the street. We're only packing basic things we'll need for a short time, which also makes me happy! 90% is going to storage!! So while I'm sad to leave our first home of 5 years, where we started when we first married, Hayes' 1st home, etc. we know we're making the right decision. Everything happens for a reason. We're excited about the next chapter, wherever and whenever we land somewhere!!



My kindergartners made this banner for us hanging on the front porch when we got home from the hospital-lots of sweet memories here. I still have it rolled up in the closet!!


Sorry this was soooooo long and all rolled into one. It's the only kind of post I know how to do!!

Special Birthdays and a Graduation

April and May are busy birthday months for our big cousins in Dothan. Our oldest niece, Holley, turned EIGHT years old last week!! I cannot believe you are that old Holley!! I remember the day she was born, I was driving back to Birmingham after being home for Mother's Day weekend. I had just left after lunch and knew she was going to have the baby any day. My dad called right after I left and said Alyssa was at the hospital and the baby was on her way!! Ahhhh! I had to go back to B'ham for work and I was so sad it was happening right when I left. Holley was born the next morning. It was a long week until I could get back on Friday to see her!! Holley you are so precious to us, my first niece, such a sweet and smart girl and growing up so fast. We love you so much. Thank you for being a little angel and for setting a good, godly example for Hayes. I hope she can learn to play the violin like you one day! She loves and adores you and we do too!!


Hayes loves Holley!


I can barely remember Hayes being this small. Wow, how a baby changes over just a few months.


And then there is little brother Carson who just turned FOUR yesterday!! What a funny little boy! He's the baby, all boy, wild and such a monkey!! Hayes just loves to watch and play with him. Carson, Hayes cannot wait to come spend the night w/you and go to your birthday party. We love you, little buddy!! Hope your day was super special!!








And tonight is a big night for Mary Hannah-she is graduating from kindergarten at First Pres! I think a kindergarten graduation is so cute. We are so happy for you, MH. So smart and ready for 1st grade in the fall, big 6 year old! We can't wait to hang out with all of you this summer and PLAY!!



Also an update on Michael: Thank you so much for all who have prayed for and asked about Michael!! I know most of you probably know from FB that he is doing much better. He is out of ICU and in a regular room. I'm not sure when he will be going home but hopefully in the next couple of weeks!! I have only talked to Sue through texts this week but it seems that he is on the up and up!! Praise God for protecting him from what could have been so much worse and for the healing of his body so quickly. Please pray for continued strength and a quick recovery so they can all be back home together again in Dothan. Thanks for the prayers for their family-they are beyond grateful!!

Prayer Request!!

Update on Michael:
Ana and I went to Huntsville on Saturday to see Sue for a while. SOOOO happy we got to see her and spend time w/her!! Michael is making big improvements in the last day or two. So thankful for God's protection and healing in his scary situation. Please continue to keep their family in your prayers. I know they just want to all go home and be together!
Latest post from Suzanne:
GOD is good! They took Michael off the ventilator today at 12:30 and he has been doing great! He is sitting up in a chair and talking up a storm! God has just been healing him one step at a time! I CANNOT tell you all how thankful we are for your prayers, he wouldn't be doing this had it not been for all of your prayer...s! they sure are working! Thank you all so much! Will keep you all updated with any changes!


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I know my Dothan friends are already aware of this! Please pray for our good friends, Michael and Suzanne Barfield. Michael was in a terrible car wreck Tuesday night and is in ICU in Huntsville. He has made a little progress, but has a very long way to go. He had a collapsed lung so he has been on oxygen. But last night they bumped it down to 45% so that was really good news that he is breathing some on his own. He needs ALOT of healing!! Suzanne is only able to go in to see him a few times a day for 20 minutes at a time. Pray specifically for sweet Sue too as she is dealing with getting new information on his condition and leaving her 2 little girls with grandparents in Dothan. On top of that I know she is extremely exhausted. Addison is 2 and Emily is 1 and I know she is missing them desperately during this scary time. Thank you for praying! God is GOOD and ALWAYS IN CONTROL!

Mother's Day Weekend

Our Mother's Day weekend revolved around 2 of my favorite things-FOOD and PEOPLE!! It really was a perfect weekend b/c I got a good dose of both!! Friday night we ate Mexican, which is always a great start to our weekend- My all time favorite food (one of them:) and I know I could eat it at least 6 days a week. Hayes did not want to cooperate-would not sit down in the restaurant high chair for anything and had zero interest in coloring- so that was a super fast food meal, but delicious anyway.
Then Nana and Papa came in town (my mom and stepdad) and we had great visit with them!! They brought Hayes the best surprise, a new baby doll stroller!! Thanks Nana for always being so thoughtful!! (And for reading the blog and knowing that I have been wanting to get her one since our trip to ATL.) That thing has been strolled so fast and furiously around this house already, I don't know how long it will last. We may need a new one next month. She is CRAZY about pushing her baby dolls around and just recently figured out this morning that she could sit/stand in it. She's a mess. I just hope it makes it to the end of the week at least!





Saturday morning we went to Rossbridge to eat breakfast with Nana and Papa. YUMMY! If you live in B'ham and haven't been out there for breakfast you are missing out!! It is such a treat and we love doing that. We have to save that for special occasions though. Then afterwards, we had our first pool time of the year! It was a little windy outside so we took Hayes to the indoor pool and she was so excited. She loved floating around in the pool and having her daddy pull her around. Now we're really ready for summer around here and I'm so glad to know she will love the water!!













Sunday for Mother's Day we had Baker Boy's dedication in Tuscaloosa. It was special and very sweet and we were so happy to be a part of that meaningful day with Lindsey and Brent. Baker did so well and didn't make a peep, much better than some of the other babies (haha!) We ate lunch at Lindsey's with the rest of Nathan's family. Thanks for having us Lindsey!! You can see more pictures on Lindsey's blog.







Cousins (sadly this is the best one I got with my camera) 15 months and 6 months


It was a nice weekend and we're so glad we got to see both of our moms and Nathan's grandmother. We are going to visit my sweet Grandmama today. We are so thankful for them all. And I'm especially thankful this year to get to be a mommy to my sweet little girl who made me the sweetest little footprint picture frame at school! Thanks Nathan and Hayes for making this Mother's Day so sweet for me. Y'all are the best!!

Our little Monkey

I just uploaded a lot of new pictures and this one really stood out to me because it sums up what a monkey Hayes is. Every day her bed is pushed so far out from the wall (her bed has rollers and we have hardwoods in her room.) This is what she was doing when we walked in to get her one morning last week. Such a wild thing! I'm so afraid of the day when she gets just a tad more leverage and can get her leg over the top and fall right out. It's not even a question of 'if' but 'when' she'll be able to get out/fall out on her own and it doesn't seem too far away at the rate she's going!!



Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day!! We had a wonderful weekend and I'm sad it's over. I mean really it was the best weekend ever, lots of time together and lots of memories being made. Being a mom is by far the biggest blessing I've ever received-she's way more than I could ever describe in words. So thankful for every day the Lord gives me that I get to be her Mommy! I will be back later to share pictures!!

Crayons, Swings, Pigtails, Peas, and Peek a boo

This is what we've been doing the last week or so. Hayes has discovered CRAYONS and absolutely loves to color. We've been doing it every day for a couple of weeks and she loves to play with the crayons and color/stab at the paper. She's working her way through a new coloring book that comes in extremely handy at restaurants these days!! Really it has been the biggest lifesaver since it's the difference in us eating out vs. never eating out. 15 months has become an explosive age for her. She's learning soooo much all of a sudden, understanding words, questions, following simple directions, but truly is QUITE a handful when we're out and about as are most babies her age! But I'd much rather take the challenge of taking her to restaurants, even if it ends up crazy and I can't carry on conversation or take more than 1 bite at a time. It's really worth it to have some girl/adult time during the day! Therefore, crayons are our new best friends. And we especially love any restaurant that gives us crayons while we're there!!



Playing peek a boo. If you ask where is Hayes? she will immediately slap her hands over her face!


We love swinging at the park. I think she could do this all day and then take a nap in the swing!!


Sweet Chris! Having baby #2 at the end of this month. Can't wait to meet little Chambers!!


Pigtails. I CANNOT WAIT until her hair is long enough for these!! We had some beauty shop time Sunday afternoon playing with hair. Not quite long enough yet but maybe by the summer!!


At 15 months she keeps me guessing with foods she will eat. Here she loves peas. It's so surprising all the time. Foods I would think that she would love she will not touch!! But the girl loves green peas, black eyed peas, butterbeans, most fruits and mainly cheese-but she gets this honestly. She had wayyyy to much cheese dip in my tummy!! Her drink of choice is milk by the gallon. She drinks a ton of it at a time.



Lastly, her new favorite hiding spot. She will get under this chair and just sit until you say Where is Hayes? Then she pops out. It's so easy to entertain her!! She will go back and forth through this chair like a tunnel. Oh to be 15 months old, such a fun little age!! I love it!