20 Weeks

Relief

WOW!!!

I can hardly put into words what all we have been through within the past few weeks. I wanted to spend this time thanking everyone for their thoughts and prayers for this baby. This baby already has a wonderful story to share. So many of our family and friends have brought this baby before the creator of life and for that we are eternally grateful.

I can finally breathe. As I was waiting in the parking lot of the doctor's office, I reflected back on all of the thoughts and prayers that were being offered up. Those prayers carried us through this hardship. Thank you all so much for carrying us through with your love, thoughts and prayers.

PRAISE BE TO GOD!

Waiting Anxiously for Monday

Unfortunately, we are not going to get our results back from the amnio until sometime Monday afternoon. The doctor's office had to get the contents off a day later than we expected. Of course, we are devasted. These past 3 days have been filled with nervousness, fear, anxiety and hopefulness. Please continue to remember this baby in your prayers through the weekend.

Heavy Heart

The past few days and weeks have been challenging. Many of you know (check out Jason's blog if you don't) what we are going through. For the past two weeks I have not really "gone" there. Yesterday made it all too real. Right now I am so nervous and anxious to hear our news on Friday. The kids distract my thoughts during the day, but its during the quiet times that I find it the most dificult. I know that many of you are praying for this baby and I ask you to please continue lifting up those prayers. I am so thankful for the relationships that we have in Christ. May God hear our prayers!

Our 1st Trip To The Dentist

Abby Kate and Joshua had their first trip to the dentist this past week. They both really enjoyed their "happy" visit to see Dr. Kimbrough.

Abby Kate went on Wednesday while Dad and Joshua met for lunch at McDonalds (The highlight of their time together was that Joshua got to ride back to Dad's work in his big truck). Ms. Amber counted 20 teeth in Abby Kate's mouth and gave her a pink toothbrush. Before she left she was allowed to pick from a basket of toys and after much deliberation decided on a pink Barbie paddleball set. When Dr. Kimbrough came in to check on Abby Kate she hid and was very shy. After we left, Abby Kate and I had lunch together at McAlister's Deli where Abby Kate ate all of her toasted cheese, cheetos and teddy grahams. We had a great time together!








Joshua visited the dentist office on Thursday morning. Joshua and I left the house together in the van and Abby Kate rode to work with Daddy in his truck. Joshua was very excited about going to the dentist office. When we pulled up to Dr. Kimbrough's office, he told me that he wanted a RED toothbrush. He was so excited to be at "our dentist's office, mommy". He flirted with all of the ladies in the office while we waited for our turn. Ms. Scarlet counted 20 teeth and gave Joshua a red toothbrush. Joshua brushed the dinosaur's big teeth and picked out a red race car from the toy basket. Dr. Kimbrough came in and Joshua talked with him about his red toothbrush and race car. Joshua and I left the dentist's office and headed up to church to pick up Abby Kate. Joshua really enjoyed his time at the dentist.

Abby Kate's Prayer Before Bed

Dear God,
Thank you for Mommy, Daddy, Bubba, Baby, Andy, Nannie and PawPaw, Our House, My Bed, And Toys, And My Stroller, My Baby Dolls, And Chapstick, Lipstick, Comb
AMEN

I Placed An Ad

Full breed Cocker Spaniel, 6 yrs., male, buff, good family dog, Free to a good home.

Jason and I have been thinking about getting rid of Andy for some time now. We absolutely LOVE our Andy and don't want to see him go. With the upcoming addition of another Bybee baby and two year old twins, we have decided that we have enough mouths to feed. I feel so torn about giving Andy away. I called a few shelters and found out that they were either full or could not guarantee an adoption. I cannot bring myself to do that to our dog. This past week I called the local newspaper and decided to place an ad. Today I received two phone calls about the dog. Jason just spoke with one lady and she is coming over tomorrow night. She sounded really nice and wants an inside dog to stay with her aunt. This sounds perfect for Andy and hopefully it will work out. It makes me SO sad to think about not having Andy anymore. Realistically, we cannot give him the same amount of attention that we once could before we had the kids. I'm sure there will be tears, but I will be happy knowing that he is going to a great home and will receive the kind of care, attention and love that only a dog like him deserves.

Am I The Only One...

Have you recently noticed how rude people are? I am not talking about your every day person that you pass, but the people that work in the restaurant business or in the stores that you frequent. Here lately I have been treated very rudely by serveral employees at restaurants or grocery stores.

One night awhile back Jason and I took the kids to Backyard Burgers and after everyone was seated at the table, I proceeded to the cashier to place my order. I stood there staring at the girl behind the counter as she stared back blankly. I was patiently waiting for her to welcome me to her restaurant and ask to take my order. Neither thing happened and I placed my order and waited for our food. RUDE

The other night I was on my way home and decided to pull into Wendy's for a frosty. I placed my order at the drive thru and when I pulled up to the window a hand was thrust out of the window and a frosty placed in my hand. No "how are you, here you go, thank you very much"! RUDE

Someone at the grocery store asks you how you are and you kindly reply, "Fine and how are you?". NOTHING but silence! RUDE

Whatever happened to people being freindly and employees valuing their customers?

MOM and JASON

Abby Kate has changed our names from Momma and Daddy to MOM and JASON!

The Bugs

Well the past few days have been anything but pleasant! I have not been able to check my email or blog because my computer has been acting up. I really do not know what is wrong with it. We have had it looked at several times and it still freezes up within 2 seconds of opening an application. This is the very reason why I can not stand computers!

On Friday, Jason and I were able to go out for a few hours while some friends watched Joshua and Abby Kate for us. We enjoyed our time away and lunch together. That afternoon, I made the first of MANY trips to the bathroom. At first I thought that I had a stomach bug, but by Sunday it was not going away. I ended up calling my OB this morning and they had me come in around 2. My doc took one look at me and told me that I was dehydrated and ordered 2 Liters of fluids. I left his office around 5:30 and was actually hungry for the first time in 4 days. I have lost 4 pounds from this "bug" or what they are now thinking is my Crohn's Disease. I have to call my GI and see if he can figure out why I am still having this problem. Anyways, that's the latest.

Baby update - Thursday's appointment - heartbeat was 167; Today's appointment - heartbeat was 159. We have an active one in there!

Pictures

15 weeks, 4 days
















How the belly grows!
















Apparently Abby Kate does not like her new bed. She fell asleep on the floor in her room earlier today.

My New Year

Resolution - A firm decision to do or not to do something.

At the end of 2005, I decided to make my New Year's Resolutions for 2006. I decided to...

1. Lose 40 pounds.

2. To cut out all coke products.

3. Walk one mile every day.

4. Watch my portions by eating off of a salad plate.

5. Snack on non-fat foods.

I must confess, I was very pleased with my commitment to my goals. By April, I had lost 20 pounds. I made it to week 30 before I quit walking. (I am still proud of the 202 miles that I walked in 2006). I have still not had a coke and don't plan on having one anytime soon. The only goal that I did not really keep was snacking on non-fat foods. I love chocolate and having it around the house did not help. I had fun with my Resolutions for 2006.

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Today on our way home from Nashville, I got to thinking about this new year. I had not decided to make any resolutions for 2007, but I thought of a couple.

My 2007 New Year's Resolutions

1. To go out on 2 dates a month with my husband.

2. To camp (in a tent) for one night with my family.

I am sure that these sound silly, but here's what I was thinking when I made them.

On Saturday, Jason and I had the privelege of going out while my parents kept Joshua and Abby Kate. We left their house around noon and headed out to Opry Mills. We ate lunch at Chili's Too, shopped for clothes and exchanged a few things, saw the movie "Pursuit of Happyness", went to Books-A-Million and finished up the evening sharing a steak at Logans. We had so much fun! Thank you so much mommy and daddy!

I really don't know why I want to camp with the whole family. We passed by the exit for the Davy Crockett Campgrounds and I thought it would be fun. Who knows when this will happen. I debated on if we should do this before baby or after. I don't think that either will be better, but I think that I will try to go before the baby. Hopefully we will have a warm day sometime in March and it will be a lot of fun. HA HA! I just want to see if I can do it.

What are your New Year's Resolutions?

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Here's a picture of our family at Christmas. I hope that you all had a great one. We really enjoyed our time together. I think that the picture speaks for itself.


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We converted Abby Kate's crib to a toddler bed tonight. Its been a little rough, but there's no turning back now.

Next week, potty training!

This Is For You Tracy (Belly Pictures)

I don't have any before pregnancy pictures, but here are a couple of my 9th and 12th weeks (yes, I am wearing the same pants in both pictures)...

9 weeks












12 weeks












(I can't really tell much difference between the two).

My due date is Friday, June 22, 2007.

I am currently 13 weeks and 5 days pregnant!

It's only ONE!

We've heard the heartbeat two different times.

I officially outgrew my pants at 10 weeks and 1 day!

I could eat pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

I could care less for chocolate (which is totally not me)!

I finally have my energy back after the first trimester.

No, I did not have morning sickness this time either!

Santa's Village

Today we all visited Santa's Village with Joshua and Abby Kate's preschool. We all had so much fun looking at all of the Chrismas stuff and visiting all of the stations that they had set up for us. Joshua and Abby Kate loved the reindeer most of all! Santa was working so we plan on visiting him tonight at the mall. Hopefully we will get a couple of good pictures with Santa and I will post them as soon as I can. Joshua and Abby Kate are getting excited about Christmas. They love to look at the lights on all of the houses (we plan on also visiting the Botanical Garden's Galaxy of Lights tonight), the snowmen, all of Santa's helpers and the reindeer. We really enjoyed our time at Santa's Village today! It was so much fun!

Sick Baby

Have I mentioned that everyone in our house has been sick?

Unfortunately, Joshua had a sinus infection for 4 weeks. That was quickly followed by the stomach bug (that we all ended up getting) and now we have a really bad cold. I feel like we have been to the doctor more in these last few weeks than we have all year. I captured this picture of Joshua the other day around 11:00. The last time that he fell asleep around that time was probably a year ago! Our doctor called in an antibotic the other day and it has made a huge difference. He is back to his normal self. Abby Kate and I are now dealing with all of the cold, congestion and cough. Being pregnant, I am pretty limited on what I can take, so I am not getting much relief. Hopefully this will pass and we will all be feeling wonderful come Christmas Day. I am ready to have my sense of smell back and taste of food!

What Happened?

I created my blog as a way to keep in contact with my friends and family. I have really enjoyed keeping the blog as a journal of all of my thoughts. In case you have not noticed, I am crazy about pictures. Here lately, a lot of friends have gone private and I started to consider it as well. I realized that I have posted about all that is important in my life. Unfortunately, we live in a fallen world with lots of people that can bring about harm. I have always been careful about not mentioning when we were going out of town or when I would be home alone while Jason was out of town. What I have not watched closely is my name, husband's name, children's names, the city and state where I live, etc. It would not be that difficult for the wrong person to get a hold of that information and do something about it. (Call it the pregnancy hormones if you wish).

So, what brought about the private blog? Today, I was checking out my hits, and I noticed this "new" visitor. This person only clicked on the baby's ultrasound picture. I looked to see the amount of time this person spent looking at my blog and was shocked to find out that they had spent 20 hours!!!!!! As anyone could imagine, I did not feel good about this. I am a very drastic person and immediately searched blogger to find out how I could go private. It was much easier than I thought and I was allowed to choose who I would like to have access to my blog. I have talked with a few friends about this "visitor" and realize that maybe this person left the page pulled up and that's why it registered so many hours. Who knows? I feel much more comfortable about being in control of who gets to view my blog. I hope that you guys will continue to check in with us as I share about our lives.

If you know of anyone that likes to view my blog and did not get an invite, just leave me a comment and I will add them to the list.

Smile For the Camera

Joshua's Favorite Commercial

As I was walking through the den the other night, this commercial came on tv. Joshua laughed so hard! I think that it is one of his favorites!

Beta Blogger

Well, I finally decided to take the plunge into the new Beta Blogger. When I have the time, I will probably change up a few things.

My Christmas Wish List

In light of Jason's most recent post, here's my Christmas Wish List....

Bath and Body Works Moonlight Path Body Cream and Creamy Body Wash

Pedicure

Cookbooks - I've had my eye on these two cookbooks for the past few years. Paula Deen is one of my favorite food network cooks and I would love to add these cookbooks to my collection. The Lady and Sons Just Desserts & The Lady & Sons, Too!

Porcelain Grease Keeper - I know, this one is weird! I have always been envious of my mother's grease keeper. I have yet to find one to store all of my bacon drippings (they help to make the best green beans). Well, I finally found one and would love to have it.

Personal Organizer (Medium Lilac) - My travel bag has seen better days! Time for a new and improved one.

A Romantic Getaway with Jason - I'm stretching it here! I've always wanted to go to Savannah, Georgia and eat at The Lady and Sons.

So, what's on your Christmas Wish List?

We All Got It!!!

Abby Kate's stomach bug that is!

Jason woke up around 4:00 yesterday morning and was at it until noon.

It hit me around 5:00 yesterday evening.

Joshua got it around 6:30 last night.

Hopefully we are finished!!!

It's A Baby!

Not For The Weakened Stomach

Today was a crazy day!!!

I was scheduled to host Bonco at my house tonight. Of course that meant that I spent all day yesterday cleaning my house, going to the store and getting a head start on all of the cooking that needed to get done. Unfortunately, Abby Kate woke up around 3:30 (Jason got up with her - isn't he such a sweet hubby!) and she slept on and off for the next couple of hours. (She has done really well without her pacies, but she usually ends up in bed with us in the wee hours of the morning). Around 5:00 Abby Kate began throwing up. Bless her little heart! She was such a trooper and we all finally got out of bed around 8:40. Abby Kate was sick for the whole morning. I called the doctor's office and they told us to use the Phenergan that we had from her last episode of being sick. She ended up throwing up around 10 times! She went down for a really good nap and I thought that maybe the bug was gone. I decided to cancel Bonco due to the circumstances. Jason headed on up to Nashville for his grad class while I remained behind to man the fort. After a few minutes of waking up from her nap, Abby Kate was back at it again. Over the course of the evening she threw up 3 more times. Hopefully the bug is gone and no one else in our house will get it!

What a day!!!

Just the Two of Us

This past Friday, Jason and I dropped the kids off at PawPaw and Nana's house to spend the night. We traveled out to the downtown area in Nashville and decided to eat dinner at one of our favorite pizza places - DaVinci's. We use to eat there all the time in college and enjoy any chance that we get to go back. We ate every single piece of our medium pizza. (Pizza has been my BIGGEST craving so far). When we finished our dinner we realized that we had about 2 hours before our concert. We had been warned that the Nashville Gas Company was having their Christmas Parade on Broadway (which is where the GEC is) and that the traffic would be bad. That was an understatement! It took us an hour to cruise 5 blocks!!!

Once inside the GEC we had a little less time to kill before seeing the Dixie Chicks. We walked around, got a few snacks and made it to our seats in time to see Pete Yorn, the opening act. He was good, but I was there to see the Chicks! Let me tell you, I was so excited when the Dixie Chicks opened. They truly are talented artists who love to sing. The concert was amazing! They sang over 20 songs and kept it so exciting and entertaining! These girls are not only singers, they are musicians as well. I am so happy that I got to see the Dixie Chicks live! (Thank you Jason!)

Jason and I stayed out in Nashville that night. It was nice being able to sleep in! We finished up our outing with a late breakfast at Cracker Barrel. We were excited to get back to the kids, but really enjoyed our time just as the two of us!

New Life

Speaking of Jesus, Paul wrote:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through him and for him. Colossians 1:15-16

In these days, we honor the creative work of Jesus in our lives. We shared with our families over Thanksgiving our wonderful news: we're expecting another little Bybee baby in 2007! We found out we were expecting about a month ago and it's been so difficult keeping the news to ourselves for so long! But we wanted to share this news with our families first and we felt that Thanksgiving was the perfect time. Now we share this news with all our friends. We solicit your prayers over these next few months. And we thank God for the wonderful gift of life He's blessed us with. Praise God, the Creator of life!

Jason & Sunny

Where Is It Momma?

Thought I would share...

Tonight while getting dinner ready, Joshua and Abby Kate were keeping themselves entertained playing together. Abby Kate was lifting up her shirt showing Joshua were her belly was. Joshua was wearing a onesie and kept on pulling at his shirt to find his belly. He became very frustrated with his shirt and started asking me "where is it momma?". I asked him what he was looking for and he said, "Where is my belly, where did it go?".

Thanksgiving 2006

The past few days have been a whirlwind of activity around our house. On Wednesday, Jason and I decided to try and take the kids to see a movie at the theater. We were hoping to be at the one that started at 11:30, but Andy changed our plans. While cleaning up after breakfast, Andy jumped up to the table to look for any scraps. I don't really know what happened to him, but he started yelping and running around the kitchen. We checked him out and everything seemed okay, but he kept on crying and would not put any weight on his back paws. Andy spent most of the morning resting and crying. I called the vet and they told us to come in at 11:30. I took Andy to see the vet and was very scared at what expenses might be incurred. Our vet did a very thorough exam and came back with the conclusion that he either pulled a ligament or had a muscle spasm. Andy received a steroid shot and a 10-day antibiotic treatment. Poor Andy!

I got back home around noon and we decided that we would be able to make it to the 12:30 showing of Flushed Away. We talked to the kids the whole way to the theater telling them that we were going to see a movie. They were so excited! Our theater was giving away a free bag of popcorn with every ticket purchased, so Jason and I both got a bag of popcorn to share with Joshua and Abby Kate. They loved the movie and popcorn! They were so intrigued by the movie and eating the popcorn. Fortunately there were only about 3 other families (with small children) in the theater. Abby Kate made a stinky diaper in the middle of the movie and I quickly found out that our movie theater does not have a changing station. I think that Jason and I had just as much fun as they did in taking them to see their first movie.

We decided to drive up to Nashville after church on Wednesday night for Thanksgiving. We all had so much fun celebrating Thanksgiving with my parents, grandparents and brother. My dad fried the best turkey and my mom and grandmother outdid themselves with all of our favorite vegetables, salads and desserts. Abby Kate and Joshua loved telling everyone what a turkey says. That evening we went over to Jason's grandmothers and had another wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. We saw my sister-in-law and her family, Jason's grandmother, and lots of aunts, uncles and cousins. Joshua and Abby Kate made quite a scene once all of the chocolate settled into their system. Later on that evening, Jason and I dropped the kids off with my parents and we went to see The Santa Clause 3 with Jason's sister and all of her family.

My mom and I decided to venture out for the second year on Black Friday. We left the house at 4:15 and finished up shopping around 11:00. Once again, we got some great deals!

Last night, Jason and I went to Guntersville to visit our friends, Lane and Kristen. We ate dinner together at Top O' The River and went over to their house afterwards. Unfortunately, Abby Kate turned the knob of a door that led down 10 wooden steps. She fell down all 10 steps and has the bruises, scrapes and knots to prove it. We ended up taking her to the ER just to make sure that everything was okay. The doctor examined her thoroughly and did not see anything that concerned him. We made it home about 11:30 and she has been fine since.

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Dixie Chicks

I just bought my concert tickets to see the Dixie Chicks in Nashville!!!! I am so excited about getting to see them perform.

The Case of the Runny Noses

Joshua and Abby Kate have each had a runny nose for the past two weeks. We have gone through two boxes of tissues. They are both constantly asking to "peez - bow". I have tried Tylenol and Benadryl. I've actually had to use their bulb syringe from when they were babies!

Anyone have any suggestions as to what I can do to get rid of the runny noses?

Bye Bye Pacies; Hello Andy

Tonight Jason and I made it official. Our house is finally rid of all pacies! We got rid of Joshua's pacies a few months ago. One afternoon when I went to lay Joshua down for his nap, I noticed that he had chewed quite a few bits and pieces out of his treasured pacy. I quickly pulled on what was left and off it popped. Joshua tried taking his pacy, but no longer liked it because it did not work. We ended up throwing it in the trash and Joshua talked about his pacy for weeks. "My pacy broken. It's in the trash. Pacy bye bye." Needless to say, Joshua has not missed his pacy and seems to be doing fine without one.

Abby Kate, on the other hand, would be a different story. We have dreaded taking away her pacy, but knew that the time was quickly approaching. Jason and I talked on the way home from church this morning about doing it after Thanksgiving, since we would be traveling and the pacy might actually bring a sense of security. For some reason, I decided just a few minutes ago that tonight would be the night. I hid all of her other pacies and took one to the kitchen to cut. I brought it back to Abby Kate and she did not like her new pacy. It took a little longer to get her calmed down, but she eventually went to sleep. Without her pacy! I know that the next few days and possibly weeks will be a little more challenging, but the pacies are gone!

On another note, we have decided to keep our cocker spaniel of 6 years, Andy! There had been much talk and deliberation about getting rid of Andy. I could not let him go to the pound and finding someone just right would have been exhausting. For now, we are keeping him. Andy is very excited to be back in the house and playing with the kids. He really is a good dog and he is great with the kids!

Look Momma! I Found Your Mascara!

My Crazy Last Three Weeks

The last three weeks have been full of adventure and challenges. Jason has been in Nashville for two of the last three weeks. Yes, he is working on his graduate degree and will be for the next five years! (Baby, I'm REALLY looking forward to my trip to Europe!) On the weekends, we have had two fall youth retreats. We took the kids to the Senior High retreat, but I let Jason brave the cold weather of the Junior High retreat without us. I am so happy to have Jason home! It's really hard when you are outnumbered on the homefront by two - two year olds! (And to think of all the grief that I got for his Mommy MIA posts when I went to the beach!) They have really missed their daddy and will not let him out of their sight now that he is home.

Jason turned 30 at the beginning of the month! Wow! I am married to a man in his 30's!!! I had a lot of fun surprising him for this birthday. I had been working on getting him 30 gifts for the big day. I pulled it off in the end and he was very surprised. (Now I don't have anything left to get him for Christmas.) I also worked on a Surprise Party. I was able to pull this one off and he was totally shocked. We all had so much fun celebrating Jason turning the big 3 - 0!

On the way to church tonight, I got really tickled with the kids. They started arguing over seeing a helicopter or an airplane. Joshua kept on telling Abby Kate that it was an airplane and she would yell back "no, bubba, helicopter!" They went back and forth for a few minutes and then Abby Kate said it was an airplane and Joshua got mad at her because it was now a helicopter. Now that they are really talking, they like to debate!

I entered the kids into a Halloween Costume Contest and I am happy to announce that my kids tied for first place. They won a gift certificate to Toys'RUs. Jason and I are really excited about that.

I had to snap a couple of pictures of my macaroni disaster. I always buy my macaroni noodles from Sam's Club (the big 8 pounder). The other morning, I reached into the pantry to get Abby Kate some cereal. For some reason, my big bag of noodles began to spill all over the place. It made such a mess. Abby Kate stood frozen in her tracks and could only say "Uh, Oh Momma!" I lost about a 1/3 of the bag. It took quite awhile to clean up my mess, but I could only laugh.

Am I Not Worthy?

So, Jason called me last night to let me know that he saw Nicholas Sparks at Davis Kidd Bookstore in Nashville. That's right - Nicholas Sparks in person! He was there signing autographs for his newest book. Jason told me that he was going to get me an autographed copy, but chose not to.

The reasons...

1. He would have had to buy me another copy of the book (I still have my receipt from Books-A-Million).

2. The line was really long. He said that he would have been in group number 13. Each group had 25 people in it already.

3. He was hungry.

I must say, I was a bit disappointed! Nicholas Sparks is only my favorite author of all time! What are the chances of me ever getting the guy's autograph?

Watch Her Carefully

That's right! My Abby Kate is known as the "one to watch". Apparently Abby Kate loves to put everything in her mouth. Tonight, she ate the red playdough in Bible Class. Her teacher had to pick it out of her teeth. At dinner, Abby Kate put the whole peanut (shell and all) from Logan's in her mouth. I actually had to floss her teeth to remove a shell husk! She has also been known to try the glue, eat buttons, crayons, colored pencils, paper, rocks and lipstick!

Musicals, New Books and Christmas Music

This weekend Jason attended the Junior High Fall Retreat. I stayed home and kept the kids. A good friend of mine had invited me to see the musical Hairspray on Saturday night. I was thrilled and asked my parents to come down to keep the kids. I met my friend for dinner and then we headed over to the VBC for Hairspray. I had so much fun! I always love going to the theater. When Jason and I lived in Kingsport, we bought a season pass to the Barter Theater in Abingdon, Virginia. We really enjoyed getting all dressed up and going to dinner and to see a play.

For those of you that do not know, I not only enjoy going to see the plays, but I enjoy being in them! In high school, I was in about 9 plays. When Jason and I lived in Kingsport, I decided to try out for a role in The Wizard of Oz at the Bristol Theater. I received the part of Glenda, The Good Witch. I performed in front of over 9,000 people (not all at the same time). Since we moved to Huntsville, I have performed in one play, My Fair Lady. My role was very small, but it was fun!

My favorite author is Nicholas Sparks. I have read all of his books and am always anxiously awaiting his next. Jason bought his latest, Dear John for me this week. I plan on curling up and reading my book this week. I have found that I have to pace myself in his books. If not, I will read the entire book in one sitting and then find myself waiting for another 6 months for one more book.


Many of you know that my favorite time of the year is Christmas. I usually pull out the Christmas music in October, but I ended up waiting until November this year. So far, I have played Amy Grant's Christmas album. I have plenty of time to cycle through all of my Christmas tunes.

Happy 30th Birthday Jason!

Happy Birthday Baby! We all love you so much! 30 Years! May God continue His many blessings! Baby, you're the GREATEST!

Happy Halloween

Joshua and Abby Kate enjoyed their Halloween! Abby Kate was a ladybug and Joshua was Dash from The Incredibles. This morning they enjoyed a Harvest Party at preschool. They were so excited to eat pizza and cheetos for their lunch! Tonight we went to Mayfair Towers to Trick or Treat. They LOVED getting candy from all of the nice little ladies at the Towers! Joshua and Abby Kate's pumpkins are full of candy! We all had so much fun Trick or Treating! Hope that you all had a Happy Halloween!

Our Latest News

Check out Jason's lastest post A New Season!

Time To Weigh In

A few months ago I took our Cocker Spaniel to the vet for an update on his shots. While there, the vet informed me that our dog was seriously overweight. An average Cocker Spaniel should only weigh 28 pounds. Andy tipped the scales at 50 pounds. We were urged to put Andy on a diet - a $20 per 10 pound bag diet. We quickly put Andy on his new dog food and cut out all scraps from the table. The diet is working and the pictures prove it!

Andy at a hefty 50 pounds!

Andy at 35 pounds!

What's Going On

Abby Kate and Joshua seem to be changing more and more each day! Here's where we are now...

Abby Kate loves playing with her baby dolls, reading lots of books and drawing/coloring with her crayons, pens and colored pencils. Abby Kate loves to talk on her toy phones. She loves going through my makeup drawer and wearing lots of jewelry. She loves to pick out her clothes and cannot stand not having any on. She loves to make the sounds of all the animals. She knows all of her colors and some of her shapes. She can count to five (she's really LOUD when she does it). She can also point out the letters A and B. She loves to sing The Wheels on the Bus and The Itsy Bitsy Spider. She will repeat the letters of the alphabet when you say them for her. Abby Kate loves for me to put chapstick on her lips.

Joshua loves playing with any kind of ball, reading lots of books and talking. He loves to shoot the basketball into the goal. He loves swinging his baseball bat. Joshua always wears his baseball (Cardinals) or football (UT) hat. He wants to be just like his Daddy. Joshua knows the sounds that each animal makes. He knows all of his colors and most of his shapes. He can count to ten. Joshua can point out the letters A and B. He loves to sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and The Turtle Song. Joshua will repeat the letters of the alphabet when you say them to him. He especially loves the letter R. Joshua amazes us with his speech! He talks non-stop and it is so clear. He speaks in 4 or more word sentences! Joshua loves to wear his Daddy's baseball glove.

No Tears!

I have always hated cutting Abby Kate and Joshua's fingernails. When Abby Kate and Joshua were tiny babies, I would always try and cut their fingernails when they were asleep. Unfortunately, I did miss a time or two and feared that I would do the same each time I cut a fingernail. One night after Jason and I got in from church, I tried cutting Abby Kate's fingernail and missed. I started crying and told Jason that the job was now officially his. Well...that lasted two fingernails! He also missed and got a tiny piece of Abby Kate's thumb. That night was the first and last time that Jason cut the kids' fingernails.

To this day, I do not like to cut my kids' fingernails. I still break out into a sweat and get really worried about missing the nail. I usually try to keep the kids' fingernails (20 nails per trim) trimmed once every week. We go a little longer for the toenails (they don't seem to grow as quickly, but when they do, its like - boom - long toenails). Joshua is usually a bit more patient with me when I cut his fingernails. He will occassionally cry and rattle my nerves. Abby Kate is a totally different story. She always pitches the biggest fit. I have tried everything to keep her calm and quiet. Nothing ever works (the cut while they are sleeping doesn't work nowadays). When Abby Kate starts screaming she gets really mad at me and does not want me to finish. She has cried each and every time that I have gone in to tackle her fingernails. That is...until today!!!!

Abby Kate did not scream, kick, claw, get mad or cry when I cut her fingernails today! Not one tear!!!

46 Questions Answered

I received this in an email tonight from Jamey. I thought that it was fun, so I wanted to post it here. Hope that you enjoy getting to know a little bit more about me. I'd love to hear your answers to some of these too!

1. FIRST NAME? Sunny

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My grandfather (mom's side)

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? This afternoon when I bent my fingernail back while changing Joshua's crib sheet

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yes

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Turkey

6. KIDS? 2 year old twins (Joshua and Abby Kate)

7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Why yes!

8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? No - I was later informed that my blog is my journal!

9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Not really

10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes

11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No way!

12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Fruit Loops

13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No

14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Yes

15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM ? Mint Chocolate Chip

16. SHOE SIZE? 7 1/2 or 8 wide

17. RED OR PINK? Pink

18. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I tend to worry too much

19. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My family

20. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Green and white checked capri pjs; no shoes

21. LAST THING YOU ATE? Reese's peanut butter cup

22. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Scott Speizo talking about the Cardinals win! GO CARDINALS!!!

23. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Periwinkle

24. FAVORITE SMELL? Pot Roast on Sunday after church

25. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Jason

26. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO: Their personality

27. FAVORITE DRINK? Sweet Tea

28. FAVORITE SPORT? Baseball

29. EYE COLOR? Blue

30. HAT SIZE? I don't know

31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No

32. FAVORITE FOOD? Chicken Parmigana from The Olive Garden

33. HAPPY OR SAD ENDING? Happy

34. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED AT THE MOVIES? Pirates of the Caribbean II

35. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Green

36. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer

37. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs from friends/Kisses from Jason

38. FAVORITE DESSERT? Strawberry Pretzel Salad

39. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? The Strong Willed Child

40. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? I have a laptop

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? Cardinals/Mets game; Survivor; Grey's Anatomy

42. FAVORITE SOUND? The kids singing

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?Beatles

44. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Jamaica

45. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? Acting (I starred as Glenda, the Good Witch, in The Wizard of Oz)

46. WHEN AND WHERE WERE YOU BORN? May 22, 1978; Donelson, Tennessee

Beach Getaway for Momma = Pleurisy for Daddy

A couple of weeks ago, I headed down to the sandy beaches of Seagrove, Florida. About 16 girls from our Sunday School class retreated to the beach. We all had so much fun together. The weather was perfect, the food was delicious and there were lots of laughs. One of the best things about getting away for the long weekend was that I left the kids at home with daddy! Jason kept the kids for all 4 days (by himself)! The only other time that I have left the kids over night with Jason is for our Ladies Retreat each year. He is such an amazing father and encouraged me to go and have a great time. Jason, Joshua and Abby Kate had so much fun together. Many of you kept up with his Mommy MIA blogs. The blogs and comments have made me laugh so hard! Jason really sacrificed so that I could get away for a little while. I did not realize that I needed a break so badly!

A few days before I left, our air conditioning unit died! I had several companies out to give their estimates all week long. We needed to get a unit in quickly, but that would require a great deal of money (which we don't have just laying around - its not really in our budget). One night while I was at the beach, the temperature outside dropped down to the 40's. Jason woke up the next morning with all kinds of cold symptoms. We treated his symptoms with a lot of OTC drugs. His cold went away after a few days of my return.

Yesterday, Jason called me on my way back from the zoo to let me know that his chest was hurting him. He was up in Nashville at Lipscomb for his grad class that evening. This was really alarming to me given Jason's heart condition. I suggested (after several opinions) that Jason take some antacids. The antacids did not help, so we were able to rule out heartburn. When Jason got home around 9pm, he was really hurting. We ended up going to the ER and he was released after 3 hours and a battery of tests.

This afternoon, Jason and I followed up with his cardiologist. After 3 hours and more tests, the diagnosis is in. Jason has pleurisy!!! We have traced it all the way back to his cold from my trip to the beach.

Mommy MIA led to a very sick Daddy!

Our Day at the Zoo

Today we went to the zoo with my good friend Stacy and her children. Joshua and Abby Kate love to play with Lawson and baby Jordan. We saw so many birds! The kids loved seeing Triton, the sea lion, eating his breakfast. We enjoyed watching the monkeys swing from their ropes. The flamingos were so pretty in their pink! We only saw the eyes of the alligators because they were resting in the water.Abby Kate, Joshua and Lawson watched the bison play with his ball. The cheetahs looked like really big kitty cats. Everyone really enjoyed seeing the elephant, rhino and hippo. We all loved seeing Rowan, the giraffe. Rowan is a two month old baby giraffe that is already six feet tall! The white tiger prowled around as we got a really good look at it. The zoo also had an area for its barnyard animals. The chickens, cow, sheep and goats are always fun to see. We all had so much fun today at the zoo!

You Wanna Fight?

Abby Kate and Joshua have been up since 8:30 this morning. We have already had a very stressful morning!

So, you wanna fight?
*Where is daddy???
*I don't want to wear that shirt.
*I don't want you to change my diaper.
*I want my milk! NOW!
*We want more cereal!
*I only want yellow fruit loops!
*I'm not done with my breakfast (even though I am feeding the dog).
*I don't want to have my face washed.
*That's my baby!
*That's my baseball bat!
*Don't shut the toliet lid on my finger!
*Time to steal the remote control.
*I like to empty out the batteries and put them in my mouth.
*I keep hitting the wall with my baseball bat.
*I have now hit mommy with my baseball bat.
*The baseball bat is now in time-out.
*That's my book.
*MINE!!!!!!!
*Don't look at me that way!
*I am just trying to help you sort through all of the clothes.
*I just took away a toy from my sister.
*I just screamed at my brother.
*We have pushed each other.
*Lots of screaming.
*Torturing the dog!
*I don't want you to put up my shoes!
*My baby!
*I want my football.
*My book!
*Let's take the nightlight apart and throw it at the wall.
*I want to put on my sandals.
*My baby!!!!
*I like to throw books.
*Please stop taking things away from each other.
*We want more milk.

When is daddy coming home?????

Prayer Time

Abby Kate and Joshua praying before bed tonight.















Do you think that we are going to bed anytime soon?

Our First Field Trip

Today, Joshua and Abby Kate had their first field trip. Jason and I took the kids out to Tate Farms in Merdianville. It was a lot of fun! We rode out into a pumpkin patch and picked out a couple of pumpkins. The kids enjoyed getting to see the goats, rabbits, tractors, cotton and pumpkins. They were really interested in walking away from their class on several occasions. Here are some pictures from our adventures at Tate Farms.

I Guess That It's Time To Do The Laundry!