Monday, December 5, 2011

RACK...Dec. 5


Unfortunately, I forgot to get pictures today.  It was PORING rain outside and was all flustered.  :(

Sunday, December 4, 2011

RACK...Dec. 4


P.S.  We couldn't find any that day....guess they have the day off.  ;)  We'll be completing it on the 5th. 
P.S.S No bell ringer again today....try again tomorrow.  I'm starting to think they only do it on the weekend.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

A Conversation Between Geniuses



RACK Advent Calendar

So this year, I decided to make our advent calendar.  I found several versions of this RACK (Random Act of Christmas Kindness) calendars scattered around the internet.  I loved the idea of it and every year we try to remind Madison about the real meaning of Christmas and about giving to others.  So this fit perfectly within our tradition.  I didn't find any that I visually loved though.  So I made my own.  You can read all about the template here.



I'm going to try and post a daily update on what our Random Act is.  (Like always...no promises.)  :)

Monday, November 28, 2011

Weekend Update

 
things that made the weekend great
  • Thanksgiving
  • Eating mounds and mounds of delish food
  • having beautiful weather on Friday
  • My dad and brother visiting the girls and I
  • Enjoying a night out at the Office Lounge for Kim's 50th bday
  • Saturday morning breakfast at Mom Polley's
  • Getting to see our friends Jason and Kelly.....it's been too long


things that made the weekend not so great
  •  being sober at the Office Lounge...there's only so much karaoke sober ears can handle

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

We're gonna Celebrate and Dedicate the Lightweight

As shown in the title of this post, I've got mad rapping skills!  Word!  Ok, not so much....but a few weeks ago, we did celebrate Layla (aka "Lightweight") at a Baby Dedication Ceremony at our church.  It was WONDERFUL that Great Mom Polley, Momma Lo, Grand Bear (Johnny Bear's grandpa name as of right now), Mimi and Papaw were able to come down and celebrate with us!  Layla doesn't know it yet, but she has some pretty amazing and dedicated grandparents.

 The night started off with some mingling and gawking at all the other babies.  And of course comparing Layla's cuteness to the other babies.  She obviously beat the all out, though there were a few that gave her a run for her money.  They hired someone to take family pictures, so we all posed for a few of those.  Little did they know, that we came supplied with our own photographer, Madison.  Since being in photography club, her interest in photography has really blossomed!  She's starting to get good too.

We then got to mow down on some super yummy Claudia Sanders' catered dinner.  If you didn't know, Claudia Sanders is the wife of Colonel Sanders, founder of KFC.  Our food was KFC style, but waaayyy better!  After we ate, one of the ministers said a short little something, something and then we shared a letter that they asked us to write.  I made Casey read it, because I would have cried in the middle of reading it.  I even started getting teary-eyed while he read it, as did most of the table.  Here's our letter to Layla...

Dear Layla,

In life you will continuously have ups and down, but remember we love you and we only want the best for you always.  We will always be there for you and will give you every opportunity to experience the things you are interested in.  We want you to be determined and confident in yourself and will do our best to instill these values in you.
We will always be your number one cheerleader while you pursue your dreams and will always lend an ear and guidance when you hit an obstacle in your life. When in doubt, pray to God, he will answer your prayers.  He will lead you in the right direction.

As you grow, we hope that you will come to know the love that God and your family has for you.  They will be a constant in your life. You have an amazing family that will always love and support you....don’t ever forget or take that for granted.  We will do everything in our power for you to learn to love and appreciate your family and friends.  You will always have a powerful bond with your family and they are the ones that will stick with you through the tough times and celebrate the goods times with you.

Being healthy and happy is something you should never take for granted.  Be thankful for the family, friends and blessings God has given you. Be humble. As you grow, we will teach you that being kind and considerate of others will not only get you further in life, but will also gain you many friends that you will most likely have for a life time.  Always put yourself in someone else’s shoes and act accordingly. 

Most importantly do your best.  In everything.  If you set out to do something put your all into it.  Remember, it’s better to try and fail than to never try at all.

Finally, we hope that you are successful in all that you do.  Successful in your dreams.  Successful in your marriage.  Successful in motherhood.  And successful in life.  But remember, you won’t succeed all of the time.  Make sure you learn the lessons in your failures and also your successes.  Take that knowledge and apply it to your future.

Love,
Mom and Dad













Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Basketball Season has begun!

This past Saturday was Madison's first AAU basketball game of the year.  There was actually 3 games in one day.  BIG day for us!  I was so busy yelling and cheering on the girls, that I forgot to take pictures.  I got a few...mostly of Layla (in between games and during time outs).  She of course was intently watching the girls and was her usual expressive self.

By the end of the day the girls were 1 - 2.  The first game was a very ugly loss of 6-31.  After the game we found out the entire team was 5th graders (we are 4th and 3rd graders).  The girls were really nervous going into this game and were still trying to figure out the plays they had been practicing as well.  A very bad combo!

The second game we only lost by 6 points.  Madison looked better this game, but you could tell she was still really nervous.  Every time she got the ball, she would look for someone open to pass it to.  No dribbling.  No shooting.  But her hustling during this game was awesome!

By the last game you could really tell that she was much more relaxed.  She took a couple shots...never made any, but at least she tried this game.  She was really aggressive this game too!  In the end the girls won this one.  27 - 18.











Monday, October 31, 2011

Weekend Update


things that made the weekend great
  • Madison's first basketball game
  • Olive Garden's Soup, Salad and Breadsticks.....I've been craving them for a long time!
  • making our homemade Halloween Costumes
  • Chili on Sunday
  • Having a lazy day with Madison


things that made the weekend not so great
  •  waiting till the last minute to make our Halloween costumes

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

The introduction of cereal

For (what seems like) the past week Layla has been sleeping like a newborn....waking up every 2-3 hours.  And that sleep cycle is wearing on this momma!  I thought maybe she was just not getting full at night and thought the introduction of cereal was a good idea.  Here's what Layla thought.



Okay, so the introduction didn't go so well.  Honestly, she was really tired, that was the main reason she was crying.  So we tried again the next day.  She wasn't thrilled with it, but it went much better than the first time.










Thursday, October 13, 2011

And that's the end of softball season...

This softball season Madison started off really strong, slowly deteriorated and then busted it out of the water at the end.  Her coaches were amazing!  I was really impressed with their coaching and making sure the girls actually learned something. While the girls didn't have a winning season, the last few games they looked like a well oiled machine with few errors and lots of great hits.

Here's a few pictures of Madison's last two games.


Madison got to play 1st base this game.  She did pretty well, but with this base being new to her, there was a bit of a learning curve that she had to overcome.


Layla was really excited to watch the girls play this game!  She was cooing and was intently watching the girls' every move.  All that and drooling all over dad at the same time.


Then the sleepiness took over.  We had a mad baby for a few minutes and then once she was too tired to fight it...out she went!  I was scared to set her down, knowing for sure, once I did she would wake up.  So no more pictures were taken of this game.





This next game is when Madison started to come out of her slump - in a big way!  They moved her to a new base again.  This time she was playing third.  I believe that she fielded about 80% of the balls this games which meant she was responsible for a large majority of the outs as well.  I think the confidence that she gained in this game helped her out in her hitting - which had been less than stellar at this point.








Time out on the field!  A team mate had two untied shoes.  Of course, Madison ran over to help!


In between plays one of Madison's coaches came over to give her a bit of advice on stance.





And then of course we had the ever-famous chant.  "Two down, one to go.  Two down, one to go."  Then a clap......


...then a stomp!











We ended the game with a win.  And of course and hand shake and a good game to each opponent.



A quick post game pep talk and then.....


...group photo!  Bunch of crazy girls!  :)