God is SO good! Never in a million years did I think I would be able to raise $460 for Relay for Life and I've still got 25 days to go! I had to take a picture of the Lowndes County Relay for Life website... I'm the 3rd highest fundraiser in the county! Callie's hot on my tail though... gotta get busy!
My sweet friend Leah brought Bes this precious t-shirt (and leggings to match) the other night! LOVE it! I always say... ANYTHING is cuter monogrammed! =)
Brad's sister had given Bes her first dress up outfit for Christmas (leg warmers and all) and since she enjoyed playing "dress up" with shoes so much I decided it was time for the real deal! I must give a shout out to Meg and Lily Barlow... the ballet shoes are hand me downs from them! Thanks girls! =)
All that playing will poop a girl out...
Dear friends and family,
We recently had a guest pastor at church and he spoke of Queen Esther and how courageous it was for her to stand up to the king in order to save her people. He went on to say that there are three types of people in this world. The first type are those that never recognize a need or problem, the second being those that see the need and then think, "Someone should do something!" and then last, there are those that actually get it done. I knew immediately that I was a card toting member of the second group. I feel that I am SO compassionate that I could easily get overwhelmed if I started thinking about all the disease, turmoil, and heartache out there so I repeatedly told myself that I couldn't make a difference. Well folks, not anymore! Lowndes County is having their annual Relay for Life fundraiser for the American Cancer Society on April 24 and I am part of a team from my church, Mt. Vernon Baptist. I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to put others first and do something a little (more like a lot) out of my comfort zone. Luke 1:37 says, "For NOTHING is IMPOSSIBLE with GOD." I am fully aware that none of this happened by "coincidence", it's all a total God thing!
One in three people will be diagnosed with some form of cancer during their life. One in three!! Wouldn't it be remarkable to find a cure in our lifetime? Most everyone's lives have been touched by someone that has been affected and I am definitely no exception! Though I know many that have fought various forms of cancer, including my own mother, I am relaying in support of my cousin, Joe Hodges. He was diagnosed last year with Glioblastoma (a malignant brain tumor) and is currently giving this cancer thing a run for its money! =) Joe is a precious husband, brother, dad, JoeJoe =)... and cousin... and he has been such an inspiration to so many as he has tackled his diagnosis with such a spirited heart. Doing this in support of him gives me enough spunk in my trunk to get out there and give it my best shot! Our family is so proud of him and I am so excited to raise money for such a wonderful cause on his behalf. If you would like to make a donation to the American Cancer Society in support of Joe or others that have been affected by this disease you can do so by going to this link http://main.acsevents.org/goto/allforjoe. From there you can just click on DONATE or my personal favorite is the LUMINARIA option. This option allows you to purchase a candle in support, in honor, or in memory of a special someone that has touched your heart while battling cancer. These candles will be used to light the walking track on April 24. I ask that if you know of anyone that might be interested in supporting the American Cancer Society to please forward this on to them. Also, if you know of anyone that would prefer the REAL mail option I will be more than excited to snail mail them a copy with a stamped and addressed envelope to get their contribution to the correct place! =)
Thanks so much! Amy
Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1
Wednesday evening while changing Bes's diaper Brad noticed that she had two swollen little lymph nodes in her pelvis area. He told me to just keep an eye on them for the next few days but the more I thought about it on Thursday the more worried I became so I called the dr. They said to bring her in for a CBC... we got there at 2 and at 5:30 (what a way to spend the afternoon, huh?) I had a diagnosis. Strep throat AND mono. I was SO not expecting that! In hindsight she had been runing a low grade fever off and on for the past couple of days and was a little puny but I had no idea I had such a sick (and contagious!) little girl on my hands! We left with an antibiotic prescription for the strep and directions to stay inside for at least two weeks for the mono! Just when the weather gets nice too... ugh! So to Shannon, Leslie, Leah, Erika, April, and Maribeth... the list goes on and on... I pray that Bes hasn't passed this bug on to your children!
On Tuesday we headed to Tuscaloosa with Shannon, Macy, Lucy, Leslie, Carson, and Cade to go to the Children's Hands On Museum. It was such a fun little day. Bes was a bit to young for most of it but she had no problem following around Macy, Lucy and Carson and acting like a big girl. Five kids and three adults packed into an Expedition from Columbus to Tuscaloosa and back again doesn't sound like fun to some but they all were so sweet and I even got to love on adorable baby Cade for a bit! =)
All excited and ready to go in!
Love this... Bes thought she was such a big girl!
This picture cracked me up... Bes was smooshing her face up against the door...
Weeeeee.... down the slide she goes!
A tea party for two!
Sweet Shannon and Bes... as you can tell Bes hasn't mastered the art of taking photos yet.
Macy and Bes
A sweet picture to end a sweet day!This weekend we, along with our friends Neil and Leah Mullins, headed to the Little Red River in Heber Springs, Arkansas for a little getaway. After a stop in Collierville to drop Bes off at DeeDee's house we were on our way! The boys spent their time trout fishing and the girls relaxed, read... and of course, had to find a Target! =) It was a much needed break and I think we all agreed that it is officially now an annual trip! I just love makin' memories.... the poor little kid in Pangburn... Stanky leg and Superman... getting "lost" even though Diane told us exactly where to go... oh me. ROR. We sure did enjoy a weekend to ourselves but how nice it was to see Bes's sweet face when we got back into town!
Brad fly fishing on the shoals.
Acting like Bear Grylls.
Catch of the day!
Um fellas, how did this happen when the limit is 5 each? =)
I love this picture. When looking in the river there was no reflection but if you took a picture the tree showed up. God is so cool.
Friday night Erika's husband Sam threw her a surprise party for her 30th birthday! 
Her adorable cake!
I'm on blog overload tonight but I had to get caught up... since this is Bes's baby book, you know. =)
Tonight Brad's grandmother came over to watch American Idol and as she was leaving Bes had a complete and total come apart! We played the going home with Nana game and waved bye and she would wave bye right back and every time I would take her from Nana she would start crying. So Nana said to get her stuff because she was going to go home with her. Reluctantly, I got a few things together for Bes's first night at Nana's... all the while thinking she would change her mind... and when I went outside I see Bes standing patiently by Nana's car while Brad put in her car seat. We get her all buckled in... and I'm waiting for it all to sink in and her to start wanting her mommy or daddy... and I give her a kiss and tell her night night and shut the door and what does she do? She waves bye! Just like that! Down the driveway she goes in a Lincoln Towncar. Oh me.
Lucy, Bes and our new friend Nash. Not the best picture ever but it was the best I could do! =)
Precious curls.
Miller and Bes... the best of pals.
This would be Bes flat out ignoring me!...
... and this is her "cheese" face.2 quick things.
1. Fiona and Fugly are still tadpoles.
2. Eating too many Sweetarts will take it's toil on the roof of your mouth and it hurts. Bad.
So I have finally accepted the sad, sad fact that this blog is Bes's baby book. I do have an adorable book that my grandmother (and Bes's namesake) gave me and it means more to me than you could possibly imagine... but it's blank. Poor Bes. I am the youngest of 4 AND my mother had cancer when I was a baby and my baby book is blank (don't mean to out you mama but you've got to admit there's not much to my baby book =) and I told myself no matter what I was going to record EVERY little thing... and I have failed miserably. Maybe one day I'll go back through my blog and fill in her book or MAYBE blogspot will come up with some sort of printing option that would allow you to make a book out of your blog... wouldn't THAT be fabulous!?! We went for her 15 month check up last week and he told is what we already knew... she's perfect! =) She weighed in in the 50th percentile at 22 pounds and 14 ounces and I don't remember her height but I know it was in the 75 % and her head was in the 90%!! Oh my, she takes after her mama... I wasn't called Bowling Ball in elementary for nothing, you know! She has the sweetest personality and is saying new words everyday. One of her first words was "giyup". You don't realize how much you talk to your pets... apparantly we tell Miller to "get up" a lot. =) She says the usual... mama, dada, bye bye, baby, etc but she has recently learned to say Bes, shoes, girl, and cheese. The "cheese" we have been working on for awhile now (since I do take quite a few pictures) and unfortunately this trick has backfired on me because she makes the most awful face when she says it! She also can tell you where Bes's, mama's, dada's, etc. eyes, ears, nose, teeth, tongue, mouth, hair, feet, and belly button are. Her obsession with daawwwgggssss (as Bes would say) is still going strong. She can spot a dog a mile away... billboards, the back of a passing truck, she never misses one! She's not the best eater... one day she loves carrots but not the next and she'd rather feed Miller than eat it herself. She'll eat like a little pig one day and then live off a couple of Goldfish for the next day or two and then the cycle repeats itself. Her current favs are Dora yogurt (and she points at Dora and says "gurl" over and over), Goldfish, corn, chicken, and hot dogs. A girl after my own heart she loves her a Wendy's hamburger, McDonald's french fries and Chick-fil-a! She loves doing anything that involves going outside and she is a total daddy's girl! She amazes me everyday with the things that she does and I just love every minute of being her mama!
... that all it took was some Sweetarts to get Bes through Walmart without a peep! :) SO worth it!
How did I happen upon this little "sweet" discovery... I have ALWAYS loved Easter for many reasons... 2 of which are listed below...
I'm not even a huge fan of Sweetarts but for some reason put them in the shape of Chicks, Ducks, and Bunnies and I'm sold! AND to make it sweeter... there's only blue, purple, and red ones in the Easter version. Red is my FAV... with purple coming in a close 2nd... from the color of Bes's tongue, face and fingers you can obviously tell I gave her all the blue ones!
And number 2...Now I'll be the first to tell you that it's hard for me to pass up a Reese's cup and when they started making white chocolate Reese's I thought I'd died and gone to heaven! But a Reese's EGG is just down right sinful! Yum-my!
Oh how I love me some snow! This morning when I woke up I was immediately bummed out that I wasn't on the farm at my parents getting in some serious sledding time with all the fam but I quickly fixed myself the biggest bowl of snow cream known to man to help drown my sorrow... and proceeded to eat all of it. Yum! Yum! Yum! And for those of you that know how much I heart me a coke icee... well, apparantly my husband shares the same affection because the first thing he said this morning was, "I'm going to make me a homemade coke icee!" and he did! We showed Bes the snow outside and she was fascinated and kept bringing us her coat and trying to put it on herself. We bundled up and headed outside and ALL that to discover that Bes doesn't like the snow. BUT I did manage to take a ton of pictures... all of which she has an awful look on her face... but all in all I'd say mission accomplished!
