In Memory of My Mom...

As most of you know I lost my mom 6 months after I got married, January 17th 2004. It was sudden, as she had a brain aneurysm. I decided recently I wanted a "button" on my blog in memory of my mom. Some of you might have noticed it on the right side of my page. A fellow blogger, http://tealesdigidesigns.blogspot.com/ & Faulkner University Alumni, Teale, does blog "facelifts". She created my cool button & it was ONLY $8!!! Check out her blog to see more of her work. The inspiration for my button goes a little something like this...

A couple months ago I was headed home from a work appointment & as I pulled into the driveway a song came on that I recognized. The voice sounded like my mom's and that intrigued me even more. I parked the car in the drive, sat & listened. Tears began to stream down my face as this voice sounded just like hers coming through my radio. As I sat listening trying to figure out who this womans voice is that sounds so much like my mom's singing voice, I realized what the words were saying & began to ball.

"Sitting with Mama alone in her bedroom

She opened her eyes, and then squeezed my hand

She said, I have to go now, my time here is over

And with her final word, she tried to help me understand

Mama whispered softly, Time will ease your pain

Life's about changing, nothing ever stays the same

And she said, How can I help you to say goodbye?

It's OK to hurt, and it's OK to cry

Come, let me hold you and I will try

How can I help you to say goodbye?"

WOW! It's like my mom was looking down from Heaven comforting me, letting me know it was OK to cry after 5 years of passing. At the end of the song the DJ made note that Patty Loveless was the singer! I then realized my mom had sang that song before. For years she sang at different church gatherings, whether it be the church Christmas party, someones funeral, or a duet with Corky Berry or Brent Missildine. I remember her rehearsing at home (sometimes w/ a Karaoke machine) :) and I would just sit there & listen OR harmonize along with her. The fact that I could so vividly remember her singing this song, "How Can I Help You to Say Goodbye," makes me think this was one of those rehearsed songs.

My favorite line out of the whole song is "Life's about changing, nothing ever stays the same." Ryan & I have had our hardships through our 6 years of marriage...me having a blood clot 4 months after marriage, then to learn that I will be medicated for life to be sure I don't have another blood clot... my mom passing 6 months after marriage, me having anxiety attacks after dealing with this, trying to start our family to learn I have endometriosis & then it takes us 3 1/2 to 4 years and In-Vitro to finally get pregnant(in the meantime I am depressed & avoid people with children or who are pregnant)... I have a 2nd blood clot, which then requires I wear a compression stocking on my left leg everyday for the rest of my life...we find out Ryan's mom has cancer (which she's currently being treated for)...through all this Ryan has been my best friend & Rock of a husband. I CANNOT imagine going through any of this without HIM. We didn't have a clue this was ahead of us when we tied the knot...but it doesn't matter, we would have still chosen one another to go through it together. I thank God for him daily!

I say all this to say, Life is about change...but it's your choice whether or not you stick with it or give up! The easy route is to give up...if we would have given up, I wouldn't be 7 months pregnant with a little boy right now! Whatever it is you might be going through...know that someone else out there has gone through that or worse. Know...there is a time for everything...it's just in God's time...Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

I am grateful I got that moment that day, in the car, radio on, hearing what sounded like my mom singing...

And there came the inspiration for my "blog button" in memory of my Mom.

Back from the Bahamas BABYMOON!!!

So...here is the blog post you have all been waiting for :) Pictures from Babymoon '09!!! I've received numerous request to hurry up & post these things...but it still took me a little longer than I wanted. So sorry. Let me begin by saying we had the BEST time. This was without a doubt a true vacation! I told Ryan I think for now on whether or not we have cell phone reception or internet access(cause we had neither in the Bahamas) while on vacation we should act like we don't have it! I honestly believe that is what made this trip the most relaxing. We both have cell phones that are our work/home/personal phone...so between texting, checking emails & talking...we can never get rid of them! Now...on to the good stuff! Pictures!!!

Our room was more than we expected. Winning a free trip you tend to expect to get a mediocre room. We had a King size bed (thankfully! since that's what we're used to at home), a big jacuzzi tub, somewhat of an ocean view, & a stocked fridge! It took us 3 days to figure out that we could drink anything in that fridge for FREE b/c it's an all inclusive resort! As much as pregnant Kelly wanted those little cans of orange juice late at night each night, I kept avoiding them b/c I figured they cost like $5 each! Once we talked with the folks across the hall from us they assured us that fridge was free for the taking. So..you better believe we drank up some bottled water & orange juice from then on out! Ryan enjoyed the balcony where he could read his Bible each morning as he waited for me to wake up. :)

This is the view from our room...the picture is a little foggy because my camera went from a cold a/c room to the balcony & the contrast in hot & cold fogged my lense. Didn't realize that until later.

Yes!...that is a VIRGIN Strawberry Daiquiri. All drinks, food, everything is included so we drank up those virgin drinks. Everytime I would ask for one the worker would then ask Ryan if he was sure he wanted his virgin too? They thought I just wasn't "drinking" b/c I was pregnant, but we soon informed them we just don't "drink" period. That was a little mind boggling for them! :)

Virgin, pina-colada, daiquri for Rino as he chills on the beach...

We quickly realized the place to be was Sandals Cay Island. You could stay at the resort & swim in the "party" pool or the relaxing quiet pool or walk a few feet to the shoreline OR take the boat 5 minutes straight out from the resort to Sandals Cay Island. We road the boat over the first day to check it out. OH MY WORD...talk about heaven on earth! There was a pool if you wanted that, a restaurant, hammocks, tiki huts, & a never ending view of the ocean! We literally went over everyday to this island. The boat left the resort dock every hour. We would get up about 9am, throw our bathing suits on & head to our favorite, a breakfast buffet. Then we would be out to the pier by 10 or 11 to catch the boat over. We would stay on the island until the last boat returned at 4:45 each day. The island was so quiet & breezy....you could lay out & not even sweat! That's a big deal! (that's also how you get fried!) :) But we wore sunscreen so we didn't. Below is a view of the island if you are just laying out in a chair.

Me chillin' in a hammock on the Sandals Cay island. Our resort is straight behind me across the water. So you can see the island is not far from the actual resort.

This is one of the wooden hut thingy's you could lie under. If we were getting too much sun for one day we would relocate to one of these & play yahtzee or cards. :) Oh...or sleep..as Ryan is doing below. :)

The view from our "hut" thingy. :)

Then, each day we would clean up for supper & dress a little snazzy. After supper we would wander around...go to the pier to watch the sunset or chill out in these cool couch things overlooking the ocean.


My Ryan is SO FINE! :) He is just so handsome here!

Me in my "Pea In a Pod" shirt my husband so sweetly surprised me with prior to our trip! :)

I love him! So precious!

One of the many sunsets we saw...beautiful! Thank you God for that beautiful picture is what I always say.

A couple of nights they had a saxophone player. He would be out by the shore where those cool couch things were. So we would sit out there & listen to him play. It was so nice.

Reading!!!! My favorite! :) I decided to move my chair real close to the water so I could get wet a little while I read. Ryan thought it was a crazy idea until other people started doing the same thing! :)

Ryan & I LOVE to snorkel. We heard if you took the snorkel excursion that there were jellyfish:(

So, we decided to buy some snorkel gear at the giftshop (which cost us a small fortune) & see if there was any good snorkeling off our island. We found an awesome reef with some incredible fish. At first we had only bought 1 snorkel set b/c they were so expensive. So we were taking turns skoping out the reef. For those of you who think I am a daredevil (Butchly-my father-in-law) we found something other than crickets & grasshoppers that I am afraid of. :) I DON'T like to snorkel by myself. Ryan kept making fun of me b/c I wouldn't go look at certain parts of the reef b/c I was by myself. So...we opted to buy another set of snorkel gear so we could swim around together. :) I just felt 4 eyes would be better than 2 in case there was a shark or something that wanted to eat me.

The Snorkel Queen :-)

This picture is after dinner one evening as the sun was setting. One cool feature this resort had were "photoshop" photographers walking around ready to take every couples picture. They would take the picture for free & give you a waterproof bracelet thing to hold on to. You would at the end of the day go by the "photoshope" to look at your pictures. You would then tell them your likes & dislikes. They would save a file of your photos & at the end of the trip you decide which ones you want to buy. So, $90 later, we got a CD of 8 pictures & the rights to print them. It was nice, because otherwise your holding out your camera (see pic above) trying to get a good picture. Or...you had to ask people constantly to take your pic.

One day I got a little too much sun on my back so we decided the next day would be a good day to take a journey to Atlantis. You could pay $19 one way via a taxi or take the #10 bus. There was a #10 bus pulled up every 7 minutes in front of our resort. So...we took the cheaper option of course. The bus had a/c & basically stopped along at each resort as it headed to downtown Nassau. So eventually we had a bus full of tourist all headed to the Straw Market or Atlantis. It took us about 30 minutes to get to downtown Nassua where you get off at the Straw Market. You walk through the Straw Market which we didn't really care about...it had knock off purses, t-shirts, bahamas souvenirs the locals had made et etc. So we just walked directly through it to get to the water where our ferry boat was. We paid about $12 for a roundtrip ticket for two on the ferry boat. The boat was run by locals who weren't on ANY kind of schedule! They were bound & determined to fit as many people on that boat before they left ($$$$$). SO..we sat on the boat sweltering until it was full. As we sit there I was dying of thirst & I look across the street & there was a STARBUCKS! I couldn't believe it! I didn't know the Bahamas had Starbucks! But...we were on the boat & couldn't get off...so my mouth just had to water. :( Once the ferry dropped us off down the water a ways..about a 15 minute ride, we got off & had to walk a couple blocks to actually get to Atlantis. I decided at this point we should have just taken the stinkin' taxi & paid $40 round trip! :) I wore my 100% cotton dress & flip flops on purpose since it was the coolest thing I owned. I later decided I should have just worn my bathing suit! Once we got closer to the hotel you have to stroll through a cute shopping village to get to the Atlantis. Well lo' & behold there was ANOTHER Starbucks! I high tailed it in there where I immediately plopped myself down to cool off. Ryan stood in line to buy me a water which I guzzled down! THEN the UNKNOWN happened!!! I heard a noise...I thought I recognize that sound...what IS THAT?! OH! It was a CELL PHONE! It had been only like 2 days with no phone service & it hit me then how wonderful that was! That cell phone ring made me cringe. You don't realize at home how everywhere you go you hear a phone ringing or someone is texting or checking FB or their email etc etc.... until you are away from it all. That's when the realization of technology sinks in...it has perks but it has it's downfalls too.

The below picture is a cool piece of art in the Atlantis lobby. That hotel is just neat in & of itself.

We really like snorkeling & I really like aquariums/water life in general I guess. I really wanted to go to the aquarium but it was outrageously priced of course...and then as we walked through the Atlantis we noticed it had it's own aquarium as decoration which was FREE! :) That suited us just fine! People were actually snorkeling in this tank...they had some really cool stuff in there.

I had decided we had too many "posed" smiling pictures...we needed something more light hearted...so here ya' go! :)

After we took ourselves on a tour of the hotel we left & were ready to eat lunch. We had intended to eat at The Atlantis until we asked at the desk & only people staying there are allowed. :( So..our only options were the places in the shopping village on our way out. So..Johnny Rockets it is! Honestly we were excited to eat at a chain restaurant, completely American. :) While eating our hamburger & fries the oldies music gets turned up real loud all of a sudden! It was R-E-S-P-E-C-T & the WHOLE STAFF, cooks & all, started a dancing routine! It was SO FUN! Some kids who were there stood up & started dancing in line with the workers..it was so cute! We were SO impressed with that! We asked the manager on the way out when they would do another one & he said, "oh! you want another? we'll do it right now!" SO...there they went again to a different oldies song & had a totally different routine! We couldn't believe it! They had to practice to all be n' sync how they were! We gave him props & told him we didn't think they did that in Alabama. But that they should if they don't!

After riding back over on the ferry this time we did go to that Starbucks to get a cool beverage... I was awfully sweaty at this point!

Ryan didn't know when he married me that I was a pool shark. :) We randomly decided to play one evening after dinner & I wooped him! We ended up playing a lot after that..we're both slightly competitive. So we had an ongoing competition. It started out with me in the lead 5 - 2! Ryan would scratch on the 8 ball & lose etc etc. :) THEN...as we continue to battle throughout the week he ends up winning overall, 7 -5! Yes, I ended up scratching on the 8 ball at one point too!

We also played ping-pong a lot...which we were neck in neck with that too..Ryan accredits my success to my long arms snagging the most random shots! :) In the end...he beat me overall AGAIN! When the pool tables or ping-pong tables were occupied we would play checkers...which I upfront admitted I was awful at!

Those lovely photographers practically did a whole maternity shoot this particular evening. We ended up buying a lot of these shots.

LIMBO KING! Ryan got called up to help the Limbo King in his show. Each night they had different entertainment you could go watch if you wanted...we thought this one was fun.

Do you see Limbo King on his stomach going under that pole with fire! Crazy!

Ryan reading his book Point Man, which is a great book he LOVES & has already read once about the man being the leader of his household. He's getting ready for being a Daddy. :)

This day the water was a little rough. We eventually got in to cool off but not for long!

Since the last boat came back from the island each day at 4:45 we weren't ready to go in since the sun was still shining. So..we would pick a pool to lay out at.

Waiting to get on the boat to head back to the resort...

One of the restaurants you could choose from was a Japanese Steakhouse...it was fun! We sat with 3 other couples who were all on their honeymoon. :) We were the 6 year veterans!

Reading in this comfy chair thing out on the island. The grayish spots on the side of my belly are from where I give my Lovenox(blood thinner) shots twice a day. Didn't want ya'll to think Colton is kicking me that hard! :-)

If you are standing our Sandals Cay Island & looked straight out then you would see these 2 itty bitty islands. That first one had 1 lonely tiki hut on it...we decided to swim over there one day. About half way there you could walk it was so shallow!

Another "photoshop" photography picture...

Look at that preggers belly!!!

Just a shot of one of the pool areas at night...really neat looking.

The "wet bar" literally! All the pools had these in them..you could swim right up & ask for a Virgin Strawberry Daiquiri..how convenient!

Another view of a pool...

We were taking pictures of one another while at the island :)

Pregnant Mama...

AHHHHH! Wasn't expecting that water to crash up on me like that! Thing is...Ryan saw it coming & was obviously awaiting this moment with the camera in hand! :)

Then, a sweet woman who I had seen lying out topless earlier in the day, yes topless, came over & offered to take our picture together. Thankfully...she had her top on! :)

The view of the Atlantis hotel from our island.

There was a pizzeria where you could just walk up from the pool & order your personal pizza, come back in 15 minutes & it would be ready. You are probably thinking all 3 of those are for Ryan...but NO 2 of the 3 were for ME! Since I can't eat wheat (get migraines) I can't eat that crust. SO...I ordered 2 pizzas since all I would be eating was the cheese & toppings! They were SOOOOO good too!

Surprise, surprise...I am reading again! This time, The 5 Love Languages! The BEST book EVER for your marriage or any struggling relationship! Ryan & I were sharing this book but he ended up with it most of the time. SO..I finally got my hands on it! That book is my new gift to all newlyweds now...and has already made a huge difference in our marriage! It's the simplest concept, but makes all the difference in the world when applied. Okay..enough on my commercial for that book. :)

Another cool fountain at the resort & statue thingy's...

This is what happens when you ask Ryan to do something silly with the lion statue...

A view of part of the resort from the 4th floor lobby where are room was.

Our last night at the resort...a little tanner than when we arrived I think :)

AND a Message from Colton... :)

Colton Loves the Bahamas (in case you can't read it)

Acceptance speech :)
THANK YOU TO TAMMY, THE PRESIDENT OF PERFECT WEDDING GUIDE, WHO GOT THE SALES CONTEST GOING TO REWARD US SALES FOLKS AND MADE SURE THIS TRIP HAPPENDED! WE APPRECIATE IT SO MUCH! MY BOSS STEPHANIE KEITH-WHITAKER FOR #1 HIRING ME & #2 BEING AN AWESOME ENCOURAGER TO HELP ME WIN THAT CONTEST! MY CO-WORKER KATIE BURKS-CALHAN WHO IS A GREAT TEAMMATE & MAKES MY JOB EASIER BECAUSE OF HER HARD WORK! AMY WITH TRAVEL BY HORIZON WHO DID AN EXCELLENT JOB OF HANDLING ALL OUR TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS WHICH MADE IT THAT MUCH MORE RELAXING! BROOKE WILLIAMS FOR TAKING US TO THE AIRPORT THAT EARLY!!! MORNING, THEN GOING HOME THINKING SHE CAN GO BACK TO BED...BUT NO, SHE JUST HAD TO GO BACK TO OUR HOUSE TO GET MY PASSPORT THAT WAS NOT EXPIRED & THEN HEADED BACK UP TO THE AIRPORT TO BRING IT TO ME! WHAT A FRIEND! AND LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST...MY HUSBAND, RYAN. YOU CAN'T DO YOUR JOB WELL WITHOUT THE SUPPORT & ENCOURAGEMENT OF YOUR MATE. HE ALWAYS HAD POSITIVE WORDS TO GIVE! ONE OF THE MANY REASONS I LOVE HIM!

We're goin' 2 the Bahamas! & Our NEW Shower!!!

We're going on a BABYMOON!!!!

In one week, YES we will be laying out by THAT pool!!! We are going for an 8 day, 7 night, stay to the all-inclusive, Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort! Even better...IT'S FREE!!! Last November I won the Superstar Sales contest for my work, Perfect Wedding Guide. PWG is in 60 cities across the U.S. therefore the contest was divided into different categories. Bigger market category sales people competed against one another, medium market against one another & so on. You basically had like 4 months to get the most sales "contracts" in your category. So...I found out in November that I had one in my category!!! The original reward was take $1000 or a 4-night, 3-day Caribbean Cruise. Well...I LOVE To travel so I decided I wanted the cruise. I also knew that if we got that money it would go towards bills :) & we NEEDED a vacation. Our vacation the past 2 years has been bible camp counselors. Fun...but not relaxing. Since it took a while for them to get the winner voucher to me they decided to extend it to an 8-day, 7-night Caribbean cruise! Wow..it got even better...just for being patient. :) Well...it then took a long time to get this trip redeemed. So...literally, 2 weeks ago it all fell into place! Well...you cannot take a cruise 24 weeks pregnant or after. I am 24 weeks pregnant today! So...the travel agent said they had an even better option for me. That's when they offerred the 8-day, 7-night stay at Sandals Royal Bahamian All-Inclusive Resort! I of course jumped on that offer! Originally we were supposed to have to pay for our flight to the port if we were going on a cruise. But, since it was out of my control & they didn't get that lined up in time the president of PWG decided to put a chunk of change towards our airline tickets! Yay! So...all in all we made out pretty sweet! We fly out next Wednesday & return the following Wednesday. When we arrive in the Bahamas a car will be waiting for us to take us to the resort. Once we are there we don't tip a single person, or pay for a single thing! Even most excursions are included! We are thrilled to just get-a-way one last time before our little Colton arrives in November/December. Everyone has said this is such a blessing to be able to do this...because after you have the kiddo planning a get-a-way, especially this long, just get's more complicated. I knew that & was adamant this trip would happen one way or another prior to Colton coming. :) Good thing I am stubborn! :) (see Ryan..it's a good thing sometimes) ;) Not a honeymoon...but a Babymoon....here we come!!!

SENOR ANDY :) finishes remodeling our master bathroom!!!

His last week to work at our house he showed up with this sombrero on. Ryan walks out of the bathroom & there's my dad sitting on the couch in this hat! LOL!!! Since my Aunt Janet is an avid "garage seller" he had her hunting for one for a while for this occasion. We had been calling him Senor Andy for his manual labor. I would write on my magnetic magnadoodle on the fridge, "Welcome Senor Andy!" :)

So...my AWESOME DAD, Handy Andy, can do ANYTHING he puts his mind to. He LOVES to stay busy & since he retired not too long ago he offered to remodel our half bath into a master bathroom for us. We were saving up to pay a company to do it but that was going to take forever to save that much. SO...Andy saves the day!!! He did the plumbing (his 1st time) which meant lot's of time under our house in the crawl space. (but I hear we have very clean crawl space thanks to whoever lived here before us!) He did the wiring for lights, venilation fans etc. He did the painting, framing, tiling, install of toilet, installed a new window...should I stop now? :) HE DID IT ALL HIMSELF! He started in February of this year & finished in July. He lives in Pensacola, FL so he would come work for a week then go home for a week. Sometimes he stayed away even longer, such as to go to bible camp in SC to be SWAT crew or to take a trip out to Utah to see my sister...etc, etc. (I wonder where I get my love for traveling from?) :)

The below photo is as you walk from our master bedroom straight into the mstr bathroom.

This is the floor of our shower. The tile on the floor, ceiling, trimming out the door opening, & window is all slate. I had found the wall tile & was trying to pick out an accent tile & my dad pointed to the slate at Don's Carpet & Tile & I said, "oh...yeah...I like that. That's what I want!" My dad could NOT believe I liked something he liked. :) (He thinks my taste is wild & crazy most of the time). He really, really, agrees now that the slate was the best choice b/c it just makes everything pop! Didn't he do an awesome tiling job! This was his first time to tile a shower. He has tiled plenty of floors...but no showers. He's a perfectionist...so I trusted him completely. :)

This is the ceiling of the shower. That recessed light is actually our venilation fan also! Instead of having a seperate fan you can buy these (not cheap) lights with fans in them. It's the quietest fan I have ever heard, but still does the job! Would highly recommend one! We have another one in the little room with the toilet.

This view is if you were stepping out of the shower into the vanity part of the bathroom. (I showed the vanity in a past post..so I didn't put those pic's on here). Right now, we don't have a shower door because we just haven't ordered it yet. BUT...we still use the shower with no problems! It's so big the water just barely splatters out onto the rug outside the shower door! Who knows..we might stay "doorless" :)

Shower head :)..in case you couldn't tell. :) And my little corner shelves. That one is Ryan's & I have my own too.

Frosted window my dad installed (previous window was old & clear w/ blinds because remember...this whole shower was a half bath all of it's own. It had a sink & toilet in it. That WAS our master bath. Not so "master" huh?

Just another view of window where you can see slate around door opening.

My towel bar :)...I got this actually to use as my "rag" bar. The tile folks were making fun of me & how I called it a "rag" instead of a wash cloth. :) I guess AL has worn off on me more than I thought after 6 years!

Other corner of the shower with my corner shelf.

My dad just did an incredible job! We are SO THANKFUL to him for all his hard work! Talk about manual labor! Don't you see why we called him Senor Andy! :)

Now onto my preggers self! The picture below was taken, Monday, August 3rd after I got my hair highlighted. She decided to straighten it as she does periodically. This time after straightening it she curled the ends a little. It was fun! I didn't wash my hair for 3 days so I could keep it like this. :) I was 22 1/2 weeks pregnant here.

Here's the front view of preggers! (no..I don't have a bad tan on my left leg..that's my "ho" aka: ted hose. The one that keeps my circulation going so I don't have another blood clot) :)

Saturday, August 1st, some of my family came to stay the night. They arrived to Bham about 5:30 so we met them at Cracker Barrel for dinner. (if you know my dad & grandparents at all...you know they LOVE CB!) After CB we headed to our house to chill out. This is Grandpa Hinote "chillin' out" :). He is my Dad's, dad. My dad lives a mile and a quarter down the road from them. So..we grew up at there house ALOT! Still go over there ALOT. :)

Grandpa Hinote, my 1st cousin Ashlyn Rhodes & my dad.

As I like to call her, "My Fun Aunt". :) This is Aunt Janet. She is one of my dad's sisters. She is actually going to be moving in with my dad once she sells her house. They are traveling buddies. She & I went to NYC a few weeks before my wedding in 2003 to see my sister up there. She'll do anything & will travel anywhere...yet again...I wonder why I love to travel? :) Apparently most of my family does! :)

Me, my "will do anything for you Aunt, Becky Rhodes" & best cook ever Grandma Hinote. Becky is my dad's youngest sister. (he is one of 5) They all just stayed one night because they were passing through to Huntsville for my Aunt Zelma's 100th birthday party! I couldn't go with them the next day b/c my work had it's annual bridal show.

My Aunt Janet needed to go to the mall to get a gift for the 100th bday the next day. So we did take a little adventure trip to the mall about 8:00pm! Me, Aunt Janet, Aunt Becky & Ashlyn. While in the mall Janet decided she needed something sweet...like a cinnamon roll. I was craving something sweet too! So..first we went to Starbucks b/c Ashlyn wanted that, so her & Becky got Starbucks. Then, we headed over to Krispy Creme in place of a cinnamon roll (because what cinnamon roll place is open at 9:15 at night?) :) Well...the "hot donuts" sign was on & that means you get a free glazed donut! That also means there is a long long line inside! So..we decide to go through the drive-thru! Well..what we didn't know was that the drive-thru line was wrapped around the building! So..we waited in line for like oh...20 minutes! But ended up with 1 dozen glazed donuts & 1 dozen chocolate covered donuts! We ended up getting home at 10pm with Dad, Grandpa, Grandma & Ryan waiting up for donuts. :) I can't have wheat so no donuts for me...my "donuts" were peanut butter m&m's. :) Colton liked those.
It was great to have them! So glad it worked out for them to stay a night with us!

Just wanted you to see our funny dog. The only time he is allowed in the house now is when it storms. He is honestly fine when it storms, he doesn't bark or anything we just like to bring him on for those random times. :) So...the below picture is of Ryan's desk. My desk is off to the right. Heisman will just lie in the middle of the floor while we work. Just as long as he is near us he is content. Well..it stops storming & so Ryan tells Heisman to get up & come outside. :) ha!ha! it's not that easy. So...as Ryan tries to coerce him outside Heisman finds that he can lay under Daddy's chair & we can't really "get" him. :) Lab's are so smart!

Please look at our 90lb., 20 month old dog under this chair! He looks like Goliath! Hularious!

This past weekend we went home to Pensacola, FL for my home church's annual youth rally Conquerors. I have been teaching the teenage girls class there for years. It was a fun but busy weekend. Some exciting news is that my Best Friend Lori Beth Presley-Walker just so happened to be in town that weekend too! :) We haven't seen one another in probably over 6 months. So we were able to spend all of Friday evening together & a little time Saturday evening. This picture was taken at McDonald's :)...it was McFlurry time for Kelly & cone time for Lori! I hated to have to leave her but hopefully I'll see her at Christmas since we'll be in FL for that.

Well...that's my updates for now. My brother & his family are coming in town tonight. Jeremy is a youth minister at Central church of Christ in August, GA. He is bringing his youth group down to Gardendale, AL for a youth rally. So, they'll stay with us tonight & we'll keep my almost 2yr old nephew, Mason, :) tomorrow. My dad will be getting here in the morning so he can visit with his Grandson too! They all head back on Sunday. So..we'll begin packing for the Bahamas!!!! I'll try to post our weekend with fam' before the Bahamas!

See ya' soon...Kel

Our past 2 weekends at Da' Farm

The past two weekends have been spent relaxing at Da' Farm. Ryan's Grandma Key's parents had a house on 100 acres in Moulton/Cullman area of AL. When they passed the land was passed on to Grandma/pa Key. Granddaddy Key used to raise cattle there himself but hasn't in awhile. The original house was torn down & a mobile home was the replacement. There are a few ponds on the property, some cow's (because they lease the property to cow owners) & lot's of Dove's which the Keys fella's used to go & Dove hunt. Two weekends ago August 18th wkend all 10 of us were up there, plus 3 dogs. We had a blast! Below are lot's of photos of our weekend together.

Let's begin with our Lab Heisman...he of course is a natural born swimmer. He swims & swims & swims in that pond until he is just completely worn out! This trip my father-in-law brought the 4 wheeler up & Heisman likes to run after it. He had two trips all over the property running after the 4 wheeler. Each trip he came back with cow manuer on him. He likes to rub himself in other animals "stuff". YUK! As you see below...

We were able to do LOT'S of fishing which I LOVED! My favorite part of going up there. Jared caught the bass on the left. I caught the one on the right. (you can't see me b/c I was getting my preggo belly tanned as I fished & you don't want to see my cool outfit I was wearing!) :)

Jared & Ryan & some of the fishies we caught!!!

Look at our sweet boy! Isn't he precious! (notice no manuer...all it took was a little dip in the pond) :)

A view across the pond over to a cow pasture...

The mobile home where we crash & the pier onto the pond. Mama Key, Butchly & Heisman were chillin' under the umbrella while Ryan & I were out in the boat fishing.

We are in the boat & Heisman wanted to be too! SO...he swims out to us! Crazy dog!

Me, Ryan & Heisman out in the boat just a fishin'!

Sunday after church we had a little photo shoot. :) Chad & Christi look so cute here!

Wow...I can't say the same about Ryan & I! What is he doing..dragon boy!

Much better... :)

These boys...still silly even though they're in their 30's!

Don't ask me what's going on here :)

Da' Ladies...

Mama Key, Me, Aunt Carol, Christi & Grandma Key

Da' Boyz...

Jared, Grandaddy Key, Butchly, Ryan & Chad(these 2 being silly again!)

What handsome fella's!

The Key fam' has learned to love my spontaneity. :) ha!ha! This particular weekend was when the humidity was low & it felt so cool all weekend. So...having a bonfire came to mind! :) There was already a spot where they burn all we needed was some firewood. I went on the hunt & found lot's of twigs & then went on the hunt for a saw. No saw...so we Ryan got the 4 wheeler & we picked up branches etc lying around to form our fire. Luckily a tree had fallen in a storm & we were able to get some good sized logs. This idea hit me as it was getting dark so we had to hurry to get our "goods" together. But we managed & had a great time! We ended up singing church hymms & devo songs out under the stars...just like bible camp! :) (I really wanted smores but I didn't plan in advance)

Ryan was "practicing" his song leading. :)

Heisman was just slightly exhausted! So he slept through the singing.

Our sunburned selves at the bonfire.

The fam' at the fire..

Thank you God for that beautiful picture! I just love a good sunset!

Heisman visiting his cow friends. :) The calfs where funny...they would actually approach him when the biggin' cows could care less what Heisman was doing.

Jared, Ryan & I went out on the John boat to fish. Well..after I missed about 10 fish, Jared decided he needed to remind me to "set the hook" :). I would get so excited I would just let that sucker nibble & take off! I finally got it down pat though..I was just a little rusty!

Butchly & Grandaddy taking the tractor out.

Christi fishing...

Then...her lil' buddy, Heisman comes to visit.

This is typical Heisman on our way back from the farm...he sleeps the whole hour & half home then get's home & stays asleep for the next day!

The next photos are from our 2nd trip to the farm. This was last weekend (July 26th weekend, mine & Ryan's 6th anniversary!) This trip wasn't everyone, it was Mama Key, Butchly, Ryan, Me, Heisman & my Dad. We always talk about the farm but he has never been. We decided since he's worked so hard remodeling our mstr bath..he deserved a relaxing trip away.

I just love this sunset picture of Ryan! He's so HOTTT! :)

Then...there's us...taking a picture of ourselves while on the boat!

Dad & his baby fish he caught. :)

So I have a funny story behind this bass. There's an automatic fish feeder on the pier which goes off at 6:30pm everyday. I wanted to see it go off so I went down there after supper & waited (with my line in the middle of the water where the fish were going to come up for food) :) So sneaky... then the rest of the fam' starts coming down to the pier. I start talking to Butchly telling him I am cheating b/c I am hoping to catch a big bass who comes up to eat the fish food. Well..right as I say that my line starts getting carried out! And I reeled in this big daddy bass!...not really but it's bigger than most the others I caught. THEN the fish feeder goes off! So..really I didn't cheat to get this one! :)

Apparently I didn't get any pictures of any big fish my dad caught. :) Do you think Heisman wants this one? :)

Guess what???? Another bonfire!!! :) This time I came prepared! I brought a bag of marshmallows AND so did Mama Key! So we had plenty! I unwound some coat hangers & we were ready to go! I love a good fire roasted marshmallow!

Yet again...Heisman sleeps through it all.. :)

Visiting the cows again...

Lot's of fishing!!!!

My dad fishing...

Heisman swimming...again... :)

Then..it was dress up Andy time! Since he missed our last photo shoot with the wig...we had to catch him up this time! :) He was a great sport!

Nothing like a wig on a man with a pink scarf! And Butchly's broken reading glasses! :)

Then...with Ryan's Oakleys!

Well..we got back home Sunday night & Heisman went straight to the shed where his Loveseat couch is...and as you can see didn't budge!

These last 2 photos are random from our recent VBS... This is Jake Williams, Ashley & Nolans lil' fella. His lil' smile was just so cute!

Then our most recent lil' fella' at church, Cooper Southern. He was so precious & calm.

Well...our bathroom is officially remodeled & we just set our "free" vacation plans in stone! I'll be posting about that next! Also had my 22 week dr's visit yesterday which went great. No ultrasounds this time. But I measured exactly 22 weeks on exactly my 22 week day. They were happy! Got 6 family members staying with us Saturday night, my works annual bridal show Sunday, & next weekend we head to Pcola so I can teach the teen girls class at their annual Conquerors youth rally. Then, the next weekend my brother & his family come to stay & then we leave for vacation! WOW! Busy times..but fun times!

20 Week Ultrasound Pics & 4th of July Beach Trip!

Our 20 week appt was this past Thursday, July 16th, & I was literally 20 weeks that day. (yes I am a lil' late getting these on here...sorry Mrs. Brenda..hopefully you're seeing these before your trip to Europe!!!) Our lil' Colton was very cooperative this go around. The nurse immediately confirmed he was still a boy. :) As you can see in the below photo. The angle is as if he were sitting on a piece of glass & the picture is taken from below the glass (for those of you who have a hard time interpreting these pictures). :)

The below picture is his little profile.. & that random circle thing above his nose is not attached :) The nurse said it's just the embilical cord floating around. Thankfully...I thought we were going to have a Rudolph for a second! :)

This picture is pretty cool because you can actually see the lense of his eye! (our friend Dr. Ricky Willams liked this one..since he's an opthomologist) I especially like how his little hand is up on his face.

This is a shot of his lil' hand...

This is pretty wild...if you take both your hands & cup them around your nose & chin like you are about to yell through them...the view you see below is of that view of Colton's face. His nose then above his lip, then the black section is his mouth, then chin area.

A kinda freaky view of our lil' man...there's that eye lense again! He must have some big eyes..I keep seeing that lense! :)

Oh..so precious...a lil' foot. I am seeing some long, french fry toes :) that could be from Mommy or Uncle Jeremy :)

Overall it was a great appointment! They took a look at the 4 chambers of his heart b/c they couldn't get a good view before. Everything was wonderful though! He weighs 12 oz. as much as a can of Coke..but he is as long as a can of Red Bull. :) I go back in another 2 weeks, July 3oth, when I am 22 weeks along. Don't know when to expect another ultrasound...have to wait & see.

Just a quick run through our July 4th festivities! It started July 1st, Wednesday, when we went to Prattville church of Christ for services b/c my brother Jeremy was speaking for their summer series. (granted...thru traffic we didn't make it until the closing prayer) :( But we still got to visit with him & Lauren & some other friends. Below is my bro & his wifey, Jeremy & Lauren Hinote, and Me & my hubby Ryan.

Brent Missildine is the preacher at Prattville & I grew up to his preaching at Scenic Hills church of Christ in Pensacola, FL. So we had a great visit with them also. His wife Lisa & daughters Sarah & Laura are below.

Then we headed to Gulf Shores to stay at the In-Laws timeshare with the fam'. We had a blast! Ate some dinner at Cobalt...Mama Key & Butchly waiting to eat at Cobalt.

The "Key Boys"...Jared, Ryan & Chad. (single girls...Jared's the last "Key" boy available...BUT his sister-in-laws Christi & Kelly have to pass you through a gruesome initiation first) :)

Kelly Key & my wonderful sister-in-law, Christi Stephens Key. She & I spent lot's of time in the pool, along the side with our books on the edge. Although..we never read our books :) we just talked & talked. :) It was great to catch up! 

Don't ask me what my hubby is doing here! So silly! :) Gotta' love 'em! 

Can I just say..I love to see her laugh like this! Somebody was really funny..I have a feeling it was Butchly.

SO...then..something snapped! ;) She'll probably kill me for putting this on here...but I couldn't pass up the 1 extreme to the other! :) She looks like she is letting someone have it..but we all know that's not true!

Sunset off the deck of the condo...thank you God for that beautiful picture! (of the sunset of course...don't want that to be taken the wrong way...not talking about Ryan & I :-)

Apparently I'm the only one that got the memo to be silly in this shot!

King Mackeral (sp) Ryan caught! I couldn't go on this fishing trip :( they were taking the boat out too far & were afraid it would shake Colton up too much. I thought it would just get him ready early for deep sea fishing? :) I DID get to go out one night with the boys fishing. Jared, Chad, Ryan & I all went out but didn't have much luck. :( Our 3 pounds of shrimp mostly died because we had too much crammed in one container...so our bait shriveled up fast! 

Sunset ride in the boat...could ride out there all day & night! Kissy hubby :)

Chad & Christi...so cute!

Kissy Key boys ;)

We take "Key family" photos anytime we're together..this one's cute I think.

Jared, Me (& Colton in my belly), Ryan, Mama Key, Butchly, Christi & Chad

Again..Thank you God for that Beautiful picture!!! Nothin' like watching this as you ride toward it in a boat!

Butch (the captain of our boat) & Bev (our baconator! best bacon cooker ever!) :) 

Ryan being silly as always! :) What I love most about him!

Me...being normal :)

Me...being normal.. :) My "other" face shot. :) (yes..Allison Farmer that's your maternity skirt..just the back view) :)

Our Key Fella's

This is the deck of the condo where a bird decided to perch...Christi decides to get her camera & take a picture. Instead of standing back away from the sliding glass door so he won't fly away:) she goes up to the glass to get her photo & he immediately heads off... :) so funny...She at least got this shot!

Mama Key & her two daughters

hmmm..don't ask! :) Butchly decided for some reason :) to try on Christi's bathing suit cover up! Nice huh? (now ya'll know where Ryan get's it from!)

Wow...awesome shot (christi) can't have 4th of July w/o our flag!

Prior to the beach trip we had a 4th of July dinner w/ Grandma/pa Key & Aunt Carol Key. They boys decided to be just that..boys...& pass around Mama Key's wig she has through her chemo treatment. Couldn't pass up showing you these!

Ryan...a little to0 girly for me here....

The glasses are Aunt Carols..which look SO cute on her...not so much on Rino :)

Chad..wow! WE had to add the headband for him...this is too funny! He was fighting us for this shot!

And does Butchly not look like one of the singers in the country group, Alabama? :) Can't remember that guys name..but he looks just like him here!

Next was Grandaddy Key :)...Grandma Key had to get his hearing aid back in as the wig knocked it out. :)

I am sure you got some laughter out of those! I know we had a great time as we always do with his family. This past Saturday & Sunday we spent the weekend all 10 of us (gparents & all) at the Farm in Moulton, AL. Fished tons! It was awesome! And we are going back this weekend... & taking my dad with us this time! I'll post some pics from this past weekend soon! Also...fun note...have an interior decorator/florist, Mandy with Hot House Design Studio coming to the house Tuesday to check out the empty nursery to help me get inspired with my theme/color scheme. Since I work with Perfect Wedding Guide magazine here in Bham, I work with lot's of florist etc. Mandy just so happens to be an interior decorator also & once you see her work www.hothousedesignstudio.com you'll see why I like her style. Those of you who know me will not be surprised I love her work when you see her website. So check it out! You CANNOT live in Birmingham, AL & NOT go to her shop! She has the most interesting, creative gift ideas & decor for your home...on top of being a floral designer!  Since this baby has sucked my creative juices out I need her help! :) Once she helps me get my concept down...I'll be rollin' on my own to make it happen! At least I'll be rollin' & not stand still with ideas as I am now! (maybe if I wasn't so picky this wouldn't be a problem. ) :) I'll keep you posted!

19 week Belly photo!!!!

19 week Belly photo!!!

Yay..I finally took a belly photo! I am going to try to do one each week on Thursday for now on b/c that is my turnover day. This picture was taken last Thursday, July 9th, which was when I was exactly 19 weeks.

This is not a very informative post, I know I still have to post about our July 4th beach trip. Been a little crazy with VBS at church which is tomorrow night through Wednesday night. Also, I know last post I mentioned my next 2 week appt was this Tuesday, July 14th, but I had to change it. So, now it's this Thursday, July 16th, the day I will be 20 weeks. So I'll let you know how that goes. Feeling great in preggo world! I just love this being pregnant stuff!!! Fantabulous!!! :)

The Gender Is...

It's a BOY!!!

That object the arrow is pointing to are...the goods ;)

Current name idea (NOT set in stone)
Colton Christopher Key
Ryan came up with Colton about a week ago. I really do like it...I just want to keep my options open since we are just finding out what it is. :)

Today I went in for my 17 weeks & 5 day visit. :) 2 weeks ago when I went in they didn't do an ultrasound so I was bummed. But they did enlighten me by telling me they would do one at the next visit. So we have been anxiously awaiting the past 2 weeks. This is my 3rd visit to the Maternal Fetal Specialist at UAB & each visit I have seen a different dr. They are apparently passing me around so that whoever is on call to deliver will be familiar with my case. I am glad because I would like to be familiar with them too! What's crazy is the dr. today was Dr. Davis. 4 years ago when we first decided to start trying I had to go see the specialist at UAB to determine if they thought it was safe for me to have a baby after having a blood clot & having to be on blood thinners for life. Well...I saw Dr. Davis & he took my case before the board of Dr's there at UAB & they collectively decided it was safe! So..that began our journey to this little boy in my belly today. Dr. Davis is now a head dude over the specialist at UAB so I was extra glad to have him see me. He walked in & said..."I was asking why in the world this girl was on so much Lovenox (blood thinner)...BUT then I looked in your file & saw 3 blood clotting factors & previously had 2 blood clots!" He decided it was great news I was on so much blood thinner! :) He was really impressed that everything with my pregnancy is going so smoothly. I am finally gaining weight due to not throwing up so much. So we are on the right track! Our lil' man was very stubborn today & we almost didn't find out he was a "he". :) But Dr. Davis was persistent & jabbed that probe in my stomach right on that boys legs to get them moved..it finally worked! They were already discussing me coming back in 2 weeks & to drink a coke in the waiting room next time so they can get him moving everywhere to see the anatomy. Thankfully...we don't have to wait 2 more weeks! They are going to do another ultrasound then to get all the measurements etc b/c he wasn't cooperating with that either. (sounds like his daddy already!) They said everything looked really good but they will do some of it again next time. That's fine with me I'll take all the ultrasounds I can get!!! :)

Here's his hand...fist clenched

Skull & two hands curled up

I am predicting he has my long legs that take up all of his body like his mommy! That's the reason we couldn't see the anatomy those legs looked all cramped up in there! :) I like this shot of his leg though...so cute!

Ryan & I went to a little shop in Downtown Homewood this afternoon to snag a lil' boy something...just b/c we could! We thought this onesie was perfect! I especially thought so...b/c if I might say so myself...if this boy looks anything like his Daddy or any of the other "Key" boys for that matter, then Chicks will definitely be diggin' him! :)

I got all the boy "stuff" out of the closet & seperated it from the few girl things I have collected over the years...Here's the beginning of his collection. Lastnight Ryan came into our bedroom showing me the Cubs Onsie (I bought like a year ago!) saying, "Awww...look at this..I totally forgot we had this!" I looked at the size & it's 18 months! So it will be a while but he'll eventually get to support daddy's team! That AU outfit...hmmm..I can't tell you how long I have had that! We'll have to get a smaller one for when he comes out of the womb! He is supposed to be here Iron Bowl weekend...

Well...I am thrilled to have a lil' boy to go mud puddling with me & Heisman. I can't wait for him to get here. I am fully convinced now that I am having a baby! :)

We are headed to Gulf Shores on Thursday to the In-Laws timeshare. We CANNOT wait! I am ready to hit up the Juicy Couture outlet to find a Juicy De Baby diaper bag! :) And we are going out on the boat fishing...which I am SO pumped about! I havn't been salt water fishing on a boat ummm...since high school! The rest of the siblings & fam are already there we are the stragglers...I'll have photo's to post when I return!!!!