House of Rock

TWO THOUSAND ELEVEN...in a few (or more) paragraphs.

2012-01-15T11:31:00.000-08:00

Has it literally been 1 1/2 years since my last post??...Seriously???...Well, as I read my last post, I had to laugh at how much has changed in the daily lives of the Rock Family...So no beating around the bush here...Let's go...

ME: Stopped working at NGPG in March of 2011 due to pregnancy with our second...I'll get to that in a minute...and school. School, HA! Well, I DID get into nursing school at Brenau, but that too I had to put on hold due to the pregnancy with my second. Work and school, and a 3 year old combined with a semi-high risk pregnancy were all just too demanding, so some things were put on the back burner for a while. I am still no longer working, though I decided that Brenau wasn't for me and with lots of thought, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to try my old Alma Mater's nursing school, so thus far I have been accepted back into North GA College & State University, but am waiting to see if I get accepted into their Nursing Program. I should find out in March. I mentioned in my last post that I thought I would like to try to become a Nurse Anesthetist, well, that has now changed to Mid Wifery...who knows where my decision will fall next month.

HOUSE IN CLEVELAND, GA: Seeeeee ya later house!!! We FINALLY sold that thing in Feb of last year. It literally happened over night. We got the offer and we were out within a week...aaaaaand we moved in with my parents in Gainesville. We decided that since I was preggers, that we would wait until after the baby to find and move into a new house. So, we lived with my parents for about 11 month, and went to the in-laws house in Roswell on the weekends, and a week here and there when Campbell wasn't in school. Love all of them for putting up with us for that long, and appreciate the hospitality, but Lord have mercy, we are so glad that is over!

ROCK: I will go ahead and boast and say that I have the world's BEST husband...HANDS DOWN!!! He holds our crazy little family together. He is our backbone. He has put up with a crazy, hormonal, pregnant wife; a WILD AS A MARCH HARE 3 year old blonde headed drama queen with a smile that warm's the coldest of hearts; and a colicy newborn (now 7 months), who STILL doesn't sleep through the night...and I have to mention that HE has taken mostly ALL of the night shifts with her without complaining ONCE (atleast not to me)...Yeah, my husband is a SAINT! Anyway, He too had a job change in this past year inbetween, my pregnancy, living with the in-laws and parents, and searching for a new home. He is still in the same profession, just a different company, and he seems to be very happy with them. You know you have a good one when he puts his "loves" aside, i.e: hunting, working out/races, X-Box, buddies etc, to take care of his family, and look out for their best interest. Now, that's what I call a man of God.

CAMPBELL: Lord has this child come into her own. She is no longer a toddler, but a full fledged 3 going on 4 going on 15 year old. She is so full of imagination & personality: giggles, belly laughs, made up words, whines, alligator tear cries, "whys", made up songs, not made up songs, "Mom, Mom, Mom, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mama, Mama, Mamas", "NOs", and dreaded arguements...we thought that happened when you were a teenager, not 3 year old! She keeps us on our toes, in stiches, with headaches, and you just honestly never know what this child will do from one minute to the next. Right now she is in preschool at Grace Episcopal three days a week, and next year will be starting Pre-K!! She loves school and seems eager to learn. She is also enrolled in a cheerleading/tumbling/dance class at a local cheer gym, and that seems to be right up her ally. She did become a BIG Sister this past June...but again, I'll get to that in a minute...She took the moving transition in stride, and settled in perfectly at both my parent's and his. She loved having her grandparents to play with while I was all full of baby.

Campbell on her 3rd Bday in March

Playing at Grandpa's, Summer 2011

Nurse Campbell, Halloween 2011

November 2011

AND THEN THERE WERE FOUR!: Yup, we are now a family of four. We found out we were preggers in October of 2010. It was a surprise on out part, but we were thrilled. My pregnancy was eventful being that she measured small from the get go and I pretty much had to be monitored twice a week starting at 20 wks into the pregnancy. I was induced at 37 weeks due to her small size and slow growth (same thing happened with Campbell), and little Hallie Marie Rock came into the world at 1:39 pm on the sunny, hot day of June 6th, weighing in at 5 lbs and 2 oz. (just one more ounce than her big sister was). Our OB, who is also a wonderful friend of ours, let Marcus actually deliver Hallie, which was such an amazing gift.
34 weeks pregnant with Hallie

Pregnancy Cravings

Happy BIRTHday Hallie!!

HALLIE: Hallie didn't get off the the best of starts. Almost automatically she was diagnosed with extreme reflux and colic...NO FUN ON ANYONE'S PART...especially when not living in a home of your own. It took us a few months to finally get her diet down pat, along with medications, feeding patterns,and not to mention her sleep pattern, which is still very off kilter, even with her being 7 months old. We weren't used to this with Campbell being such an easy baby. Hallie was also admitted into Scottish Rite Children's Hospital when she was only 6 weeks old due to a high fever and UTI. We were there for three days. While we were there she was also diagnosed with having a small hole in her heart and a heart murmur. Thankfully the hole has grown up, but she will be left with the murmur for most likely the rest of her life, which isn't anything to be concerned about. Health issues aside, she is a very happy baby, except when she is hungry..and lord help us when that happens because she will bring the house down with her screech of a cry that could probably shatter glass. She'll go from laughing to screaming a 1/2 a second. Rock calls it her "Angry Bird" personality. I call it her Jekyll and Hyde impression. She is a joy though. Has blonde hair that sticks straight up, big blue eyes, and pink pouty lips. She lights up when Campbell walks into the room, and she is "Campbell's baby".

New big sister!! Campbell and Hallie at the hospital!

Just a couple weeks old!

Hallie's First Christmas!

NEW HOME IN GAINESVILLE: FINALLY, we bought and moved into our new home. This happened just last month, right before Christmas. We love our new neighborhood in Gainesville, which is located on Lake Lanier...though our house is not on the lake. It is a charming, older, house that is large enough for our family plus some. It is two stories with a full finished basement. 4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, hardwood throughout other than the master bedroom, and basement, LOADS of ceiling to floor windows, 2 fireplaces, wrap around porches, a breezeway to the garage, and a huge flat front yard with an enormous oak tree with old branches fit for a swing! I foresee us living here for a good while, and am soooo excited about adding our own personal touches to the inside, starting with renovating the huge master bath followed by our kitchen. We love it here. We love the location, and love the friendliness of our neighbors. Everyone has been so welcoming. Settling into the house has been a breeze for all of us, including the cats. and unpacking wasn't all that bad, though I will say, I don't want to do it again for a loooooooong time. More pics in a later post.

Our NEW home!!

Bridgewater Drive!

OTHER 2011 HAPPENINGS:
-Our beloved Duke passed away in May of 2011. It was very unexpected and in a way we are still healing.
-My best friend, Natalie, had her first baby, also a girl, in Sept of 2011. I got the amazing priveledge of being with her while she delivered.
-My other best friend, Claudia, got engaged, and I couldn't be more thrilled for her and her wonderful fiance, Michael. I CAN'T WAIT until her wedding this April or May.
-We are back involved with Young Life, and love it more than ever!

Now, with all of this being said...it HAS been a HARD year, probably the hardest I/we have gone through yet, and I am extremely glad it's over. Yes, we are blessed beyond words, but no one has ever said that blessings don't come without stress. There has been buckets of tears, though loads of laughter, and God had truly tested our strength and patience. But I will say, He has stood beside us the entire time, even though I may have been blinded by the fact.

More to come...I promise...and the other's won't be this long...

Wiping off the cobwebs...

2010-07-15T16:59:00.000-07:00

Well hello friends!! I would think an update is in order, don't y'all? So, lets just dust off the 'ole blog and cut to the chase.

So since my last post, a little over a century ago, I mentioned that I was going back to work. Well, I have been working for Northeast GA Physicians Group, which is at part of Northeast GA Health System & Hospital, for almost a year now. Hands down, it is the BEST job I have EVER had. I actually don't mind getting up in the mornings to go, though I do walk into the office like a zombie 3 out of the 5 days of the week. I adore my boss, my co-workers are like family, and all 10 of the practice's providers (we also house neurologists, and urologists), are AMAZING. Anyway, I started as a registrar in the front office and was quickly promoted to being the surgical coordinator for 2 of our office's neurosurgeons. When not scheduling Deep Brain Stimulations, and Lumbar Fusions, I have been fortunate enough to learn nurses duties and assist the surgeons and physician assistants. All four of the nsurg providers love to teach, and I love to learn. It is all so fascinating, and having a degree in psychology has enabled me to understand many of the cases that we face.

So, about 6 months into working for NGPG, I was biten by the medical bug, and decided to take the plunge back into school. Since I can't really do much with a bachelors in psychology, other than hang it in a pretty frame on the wall, I convinced myself, along with the help of several people, that nursing is where I belong. My entire life I have told myself that I would never follow in my parent's footsteps, and become an RN. I thought it was gross. Well, here I am, waiting on my acceptance letter to the Brenau School of Nursing, where both of my parents got their RNs. I should find out by Aug. 1st. In the mean time, I have already been attending classes at Brenau, getting a few pre-reqs out of the way that I didn't have under my belt from the first go-round in school. Thank God there wasn't but a hand full that I had to take. I am proud to say that I am doing well. Actually, better than I have ever done in a scholarly setting. And the science classes I am taking aren't just a walk in the park. I passed the nursing entrance exam on the first shot, and almost have a 4.0 with the classes I have just taken. Yes, I am tooting my own horn b/c if you know me at all, school and I have never gotten along. I have always "just gotten by" if you know what I mean. I honestly believe it has to do with heart. My heart is in this 100%, unlike my first undergrad. I had changed majors too many times to count, and finally settled on psych b/c I had already been in school for an eternity. I was getting old! I just wanted OUT! It was one of those "eenie, meenie, mynie, mo" situtations. So, here I am, a student once more, but this time a very eager student. An excited one at that. I have even thought about, once completing my bachelors of science in nursing, to keep going a few more years and become a nurse anesthetist. $CHA CHING$ Thats all I have to say about that. ;)

I can't go without saying that there are many downfalls to going back to school. Yes, I am exhausted 97% of the time. Yes, I am irritable. Yes, I miss the hubs, and Cbell like a fat kid misses cake! Yes, I miss having a social life. Yes, I miss working out. Yes, I miss vacations. Yes, my day glo white skin has barely seen the sun all summer. Yes, the hubs is going on the young life sailing trip in the Bahamas in a couple weeks WITHOUT me! Who freaking misses a trip like that!!?? Yeah, that would be me. Actually I would have gone if my do or die Human A&P II professor wouldn't have told me to either drop the class, and have fun, or to take the class and stay home and pout. Well, I have been pouting ever since, and this was last semester that he told me. My friends think I am crazy. Hell, I think I am crazy. I don't think I have ever been so dedicated to anything in my life. So weird. Poor Rock has turned into Mr.Mom, bless his sweet heart! He has been so supportive, and patient with me. He lets me study when I need to, which is a lot, and has to pry Campbell off of me when I need my rest, which utterly breaks my heart. He has turned into our supper maker, and bath giver, and story time teller several nights of the week. Again, breaks my heart missing out on things like that. Though he still seems to squeeze in training for and participating in triathlons, looking all of 23 with muscles ripping through his skin, while my butt sits on the couch getting flabbier by the minute, as I run though 200 homemade flashcards of the body system of the week, as I stressfully stuff my face with the first carbohydrate that I can reach, all while complaining of all of the things above. ::take a breath Josie:: Thank Jesus for Adderall and Lexapro! Listen, I am not ashamed! If popping a couple of pills helps me get from 6am 'till midnight or later without ripping my hair out, then bring 'em on!

I have class 2 nights a week from 6p-10p at Brenau's main campus in Gainesville, and I usually don't get home until a little before 11. Other nights of the week are either spent studying or catching up on house work. Speaking of houses....NO, we STILL haven't sold this FREAKING place! We are going on what, 4 years on the market? Don't EVEN get me started! We did have a contract this past December, but the (can't say "nice" names) backed out on the last day of their contract. Actually that has happened twice! We want out SOOOOO bad that it isn't even funny. Living 30-45 minutes away from where we spend the majority of our lives can really take a toll on a person. Especially after 4 years. We are sick of the drive, and sick of getting home when it is time to go to bed. UGH! We both work in Gainesville. Brenau is in Gainesville. My parents, who keep C are in Gainesville, as well as the pre-school she is about to start going to a few times a week. There is NOTHING up here that is conducive to our lives, other than our beds, and a roof over our heads (which with all selfishness aside I am very grateful to have considering where we could be). We have severly outgrown the place. There is NO room for anything anymore. Half of the things we recieved as wedding gifts (5 years ago) are even still in freaking storage. ::can you tell I am a teensy bit bitter?:: Rock and I have even talked about wanting to try for another baby towards the end of the year. I mean where are we going to put the poor thing!? In the laundry room? Anyway, another child is a completely different subject for a completely different blog entry that isn't going to happen for a while. And yes, I will be in nursing school when and if I get preggo. Am I crazy for doing that? Probably. But I don't want my children to be a million years apart.

So, with all of this complaining and griping, am I happy? YES MA'AM I AM!! Just like one of my favorite co-workers told me. "Josie, considering all of the time we have in life, this is just a tiny blip on the spectrum. It will be over and done with before you know it." Very true, but I can still gripe. Makes me feel better. Though, I have put on my big girl panties, and I am dealing. I am just keeping my eye on the prize, and if I turn out anything like Big Fred & Kay, I will make one hell of a nurse.

Ok, so there is me right now in a nutshell. I need to go to bed and my stomach hurts, as always. I'll write about the two most important people in my life tomorrow, but don't hold it against me if it is next year. ;)

(taken last fall, but one of my favs)

Hey yall! Remember us??

2009-07-28T15:44:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this summer heat has obviously made me lazy as far as my blogging goes. It seems like all we do is go, go, go. Anyway, I have found a moment in my day to sit down without anyone (I won't mention any names), pulling on my leg/arms/hair/ears/clothes, knocking something over, pulling stuff off of the shelves, falling down, squealing at the top of her lungs, sitting on the cats & dog, falling down again, or pressing the bright neon blue power button on the computer......yeah...a small moment to breathe...her Daddy is rocking her into a peaceful slumber as we speak... (hopefully).....Anyway, so what's been going on with The Rock Family you ask? Other than the ever welcomed craziness I mentioned above, we have all been quite lovely.

Marcus is working away as usual, and in about 3 weeks or so, yours truely will be joining him. Yup (said with a HUGE sigh), I am heading back to work for a while. It was a hard decision on my part, but I have to do whats best for the family. I am not even going to talk about having to leave my little monkey behind after having a fun filled 16 months with her at home. All I have to say is that it hurts, but again, I am doing this for the family. I am going to be working for Northeast GA Neurology Group as a registrar. Nothing too complicated. Since doing this I have even thought about going back to school. Maybe Nursing School this go round, and becoming an RN. Everyone else in my fam has theirs. Why not me, huh? I dunno. We'll see how I like being with the hospital, and how fast we get pregnant again. I am not limiting myself to anything these days. Lord only knows what the next day is going to bring.

My parents have so graciously offered to keep Campbell while I work. I couldn't have asked for a better daycare than them. It takes a huge weight off of my shoulders her not being in a public daycare. Not that I have anything against them. I just wanted to wait until she was two before I put her in preschool.

She is doing AMAZING, by the way! She is now 16 months old. I know! I can't believe it either! On her last check up a couple weeks ago she weighed 20 lbs. 12 1/2 oz. (only the 15th percentile), but she is making up for that in her height. She is 32 inches tall, which puts her in the 90th percentile!! The doctor wasn't concerned with her weight at all, but since she had only gained a half an ounce since her last appt., Dr. H said that if she doesn't gain by her next then we will probably have to start her on ensure or something fatty like that. I swear the child does eat, just not a whole lot. I did the same thing when I was little, hence the nickname "Airfern" that was given to me growing up. (I wish I still HAD that nickname...HA!!) Anyway, Campbell is a ball of energy. She loves playing, RUNNING (then falling), chatting (in Chinese we think..HA!), and just exploring this huge new world. She is very smart, and seems to learn very quickly. She is a little sponge!! She LOVES music, and dancing when she hears it. The child keeps us laughing and amazed with the new things she does everyday. We are SO blessed. Did I mention she goes to bed at 7:30 pm and gets up around 8:30am!! THEN, takes a 2-3 hr nap in the afternoon! We couldn't have asked for a better child, granted she DOES have her moments, as does all of us!

So what else is going on? Lets see....I FINALLY sold my Audi to a sweet couple from Asheville, NC. They are expecting their first child in January, and I told them they couldn't have found a better car than mine. They love it just as much as I did, and I have to say that I was very sad to see my little turbo go, but...we are moving on to BIGGER and better things. Its just time to upgrade. We are thinking of a Tahoe, but again, who knows what is going to happen. Our house STILL hasn't sold, and it is such a sore subject in our family. We are desperate to get rid of it & get closer to Gainesville. I think we are going to try to put it up for RENT for a while and see what happens there. I just hope something does soon, because I am literally going to go insane if I have to drive back and forth to Gainesville everyday too much longer. It just sure would make our lives SOOOOO much easier!! I think we would FINALLY be able to breathe and relax.

Rock is still training for the Marine Core Marathon coming up in October. I am so proud of him sticking to his training schedule and looking "Oh So Handsome For His Little Wifey!" in the midst of all of this madness. Me, not so much. I said a while back that I was going to train for a half marathon, yeah, well, that just hasn't happened. First off when I went to sign up for it, it was already full, and second, I just haven't been able to find the time to train anyway. And NO, I am not making excuses! I still workout, just not on a everyday basis, which is what you have to do when you train for those things.

So folks, thats us in a nutshell. Nothing too grand I suppose, but I will give you something to look forward to. On the next chance I get I am going to post pics from all of the adventures we have had this summer. We have been to Ohio to visit family, to Florida to visit more family, to the Zoo, etc, etc. So be looking out for that post.

Until next time!!

Summertime, Summertime, Sum, Sum, Summertime!!

2009-06-15T08:40:00.000-07:00

I have seriously been slacking in the blog department, so it's time for a BIG 'OLE ROCK FAMILY UPDATE! So grab a snack and settle in b/c this might take a bit...

First and most important:

CAMPBELL, AKA: Monkey, Monkey Moo, Booga, Dooda or Moo:

-Training for her first Marathon with her Daddy!! No, really, she is walking and running all over the place!

-She is simply fearless, and so adventureous for a 14 month old. My blood pressure has gone up to extremes! I think she thinks she is 5 years old! She thinks she can just do anything, like go down steps by herself (not quite!), & dive into water (negative!). She definitly has her Daddy's "I can do anything dangerous" genes.

-She LOVES the dog's beds and rolling around on them (then is covered in Chocolate Lab fur!)

-Getting more teeth (the big ones on the side), therefore drooling like a St. Bernard.

-Gives HUGS!! I can't get enough of them!! She'll hug her stuffed animals and dolls and rock them side to side. So stinking CUTE!

-Mocks sounds on TV and ones that she hears around her....watch your mouths people!!

-She loves the water! I think she has a radar for it. If there is a puddle, she'll find it & sit in it..yup, clothes and all. If there is water dripping off a roof (for example), she'll stand under it! She likes playing in the rain, her baby pool, sprinklers, the bath etc! I hope she stays this way and doesn't regress like many toddlers do.

-She braved her first 13 hour road trip up to Ohio like a CHAMP!! We were so impressed with her! Thanks to my Dad saving the day with a mini DVD player. We had an amazing time visiting family that we hadn't seen in several years, and we can't wait to do it again.

-We are trying to teach her that throwing her sippy "anywhere" when she is done drinking just isn't acceptable...mark the beginning of disciplining a 15 month old!!! This is a new adventure by itself, which is also bringing on little temper tantrums from the little princess herself (NO, not me!)

-Loves swinging in swings, hates being in her stroller when she can be using her newfound running skills, loves cantaloupe & watermelon (pretty much any fruit right now), LOVES Sesame Street & old school Mickey Mouse cartoons, IS an AMAZING sleeper (takes one 2-3 hour nap everyday, is in bed b/w 7 & 8 pm and sleeps till 8am or so!!) .....GO US!!!

MARCUS: AKA: Dada, Babe, Marc, Rock:

-Training for the Marine Core Marathon coming up in October in Washington DC. He's starting to get all "hunky" on me again!

-Working his butt off at work, and doing a great job at it.

-And being an AMAZING Daddy to Cbell & Hubby to me.

ME: AKA: Mama (sometimes), Josie, or Jo:

-Staying busy with Campbell!!...Duh

-Getting ready to go back to school doing something I told myself I would NEVER do! Yup, I am going to be getting some clinical experience (Medical Office Assistant, which is similar to a plain old nurse) so I can run a doctor's office one of these days. (No, not med school)

-Going to start working in some doctor's offices here pretty soon. I am torn about this b/c I am not going to get to spend time with my Monkey everyday, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do I guess.

-Working out a lot more, so I can keep up with my good lookin muscle man of a husband and our 15 month old energizer bunny.

-Addicted to Trueblood on HBO

**I know this isn't the best of blog postings, but it was all I could squeeze in for the moment. I promise to do better once the summer settles back down.

Here comes our Lil Frankenstein!!!

2009-05-07T08:03:00.000-07:00

LOOK OUT WORLD, WE HAVE ANOTHER WALKER!!! Yup, last Saturday monkey (who is 13 months now) decided to take her lil chunker legs for a test drive! I was getting ready for the day while husband was playing with Campbell upstairs in her room. Next thing I know he comes running in the room with her saying "Look what Monkey can do!!", and lo and behold, here she comes, waddling into my arms!! He said he had held her little toy grocery cart about three feet in front of her, and she took her first steps to grab a hold of it!! We are soooo proud of her!

Now she thinks these new found skillz are simply hilarious. She'll walk back and forth between me and whatever & whomever and each time she does it, she just cackles away. She is SO proud!! I love the fact that she walks like Frankenstein right now too. Its very entertaining!

Now she is trying to figure out how to stand up from a sitting position without holding onto anything for support, so until she masters that skill, crawling is still her method of mobility for now. But Lord held me when she does figure it out!!

My monkey is growing WAY too fast people! What happened to my little 5 lbs ball of squeaks??!!

OH!! And I forgot to mention, she ALSO knows where her Belly Button AKA: "Bee Bo" is now! Little smarty pants!! You ask her where it is, and by God, she'll lift her shirt up and show you! Ha!

Here are some pics we took last night at my parents.

Fun time, Me time, Girl time, Training time!

2009-05-01T06:28:00.000-07:00

Fun Time: So Wednesday night embarked yet another, long awaited, night under the stars listening to one of my favorite bands of all time, live, at the brand spankin new Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Alpharetta. Yes Ma'am (and Sir), the Dave Matthews Band, put on one helluva show, but what else is to be expected from such a talented song writer??!!! I didn't want them to stop playing, but I guess its not all about me. The hubs and I met up with some friends, Angela, Chad, & a few others, at Killer Creek for dinner and drinks, then rode on over to the amphitheater where parking and getting into the venue was a breeze. We couldn't have asked for as perfect of weather, nor view of the concert itself. There really isn't a bad seat in the house. Dave played a few songs off of his new album "Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King" coming out on June 2nd, which sounded great, but he mainly played his much beloved classics, which really made the night! I also had the pleasure of running into an old high school friend and her husband who were sitting right in front of us, so we got to reminisce a little as we watched the billion of high school kids who were there living the times as we used too. Those were the days!

Me Time: So Thursday morning, the hubs and I got up bright and early b/c we had to go get his truck in Gainesville, which we had left the night before at my parents house (along with Cbell), and I had to get on the road to go and hang out with my preggo love, Alison, in Monroe. I soooo decided to take advantage of this lil hour and a half car trip too! I was ALONE for the first time in a while...no hubs, no baby, not a care in the world other than to reach my destination in good 'ole Monroe GA. The morning weather was AM-MAY-ZING, so I rolled down the windows, opened my sunroof, turned up the radio, stopped by Starbucks, and off I went on the back roads of who knows where (the gps was leading the way...sort of...I ended up about 5 miles away from where I was supposed to be...stupid technology), but anyway, I loved the fact that I had no clue where I was going (other than to Alison's). It was just me, my music, and my dirty lil Audi. I know I am making it sound like I took a trek across the US, but when you have a thirteen month old, you'll appreciate lil hour and a half car rides like this one.

Girl Time: So I finally reach Alison and Phil's house (no thanks to the GPS), and let me tell you...she is the cutest pregnant person I have ever seen. Nothing but belly, with a lil splash of Flintstone feet thanks to the weight of the "man child" she is about to have on the 9th of this month (scheduled C-section). I can't wait to meet the little/big fella, and if he is anything like his mommy, he is going to be a lady killer. Anyway, after "ohhing", and "ahhhing" over everything in her little man's nursery she and I settled down on the couch to watch a chick flick, since our husbands are more of the "shoot 'em up, bang, bang" kind of movie guys. Let me tell you, "Bride Wars" was so stinkin cute!! I definitely recommend it to all you girly girls out there.

SO THANK YOU ALISON FOR LIVING IN EAST BUMBLE SO I COULD HAVE A LITTLE ALONE TIME TOPPED WITH SOME MUCH NEEDED GIRL TIME...AND THANK YOU MAMA AND DADDY FOR KEEPING MY LIL MONKEY GIRL WHILE I ENJOYED MY TIME. I KNOW SHE WORE YALL OUT, BUT I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE ALL YALL DO FOR US!!!

Training Time: So if you remember, I mentioned a while back that I want to try and train for a half marathon. Yes, it is still very much on my mind, and yesterday marked day one of my training...if you call walking at a fast pace on the treadmill for 30 min. training, but I am just following what the training manual says. Its going to be a long road, but its going to pay off in the end!! So yay for me!

WHAT CAMPBELL'S UP TO:
-Not walking yet, but is very close. She "cruises" along every piece of furniture, and pulls up on everything. She also pushes her grocery cart around which is hilarous.
-She has learned to immitate my parent's Coo-Coo Clock! I can barely get her to say Mama, but she'll immitate a freaking bird!! I have to say, it IS the cutest thing I have ever seen. My daughter say's "Coo Coo"!
-She has learned to blow kisses, which again, is the cutest thing I have ever seen.
-And she says "Mail". Yeah, no clue where that one came from. Along with "Doddie" for "Doggie" and "Kitty" or "tee" for Cat.

A lil bit of good 'ole family time

2009-04-28T07:45:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was so much fun! Nothing fancy, or expensive, just some good 'old fashion family time in the North GA mountains.

As many of you know, Rock and I are deeply involved with Hall Co. Young Life, which is a national organization that has grown near and dear to our hearts. Young Life has about 20 camps scattered throughout North and Central America, which aren't set in your typical backyard "Summer Camp" settings,. They have more resort like qualities for which Young Life camping is known for.

Anyway, Rock and I have been to many of these camp's with our highschool friends, but this time we got the chance to go as a family instead. Young Life not only caters to highschool student's, but to the families in the Young Life community as well. So, this past weekend, YL's Sharp Top Cove in Jasper, GA played host to a family weekend, and Rock and I jumped aboard. It was a much needed break after pretty much being quarantined to the house for three weeks from having the stomach flu (first husband, then Campbell, then me), and right after I started getting over that I contract a nasty chest and head cold! UGH! So we thought the mountain air and warm spring sunshine would do our family some good.

One of the reason's why I love YL! Just look at the beauty of this camp!

I would say it payed off well. We did a whole lot of nothing. The weekend was chock full of rest, fellowship, playing, Sunshine & 80 degree weather, and just kicking back with great friends and enjoying each other's company.

Here are some pics from our weekend...

Cbell, walking in the creek with her Daddy!

She LOVES to swing!!

Let Me Entertain You...

2009-04-17T08:26:00.000-07:00

In my boredom last night, I decided to do another one of these thingies on facebook, and in all actuality it became quite entertaining and somewhat ironic, so I decided to post it to my blog just for giggles. It sure gave me some! I would love to see how y'alls (yes, y'alls is a word...in the south atleast) turns out!

Here we go:

THE RULES
1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
4. Tag 15 friends.
5. Everyone tagged has to do the same thing.
6. Have Fun!

IF SOMEONE SAYS 'ARE YOU OKAY' YOU SAY?
"Crazy She Calls Me" Rod Stewart.....HAHAHAHA!..Probably!

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
"Effortlessly" Sister Hazel....I don't know it "some" people would agree with this, but I like it!

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
"Lovin, Touchin', Squeezin'" Journey... AWESOME!.....I swear I didn't rig this!!!

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
"Work In Progress" Sister Hazel....thats the truth

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
"Old Devil Moon" Frank Sinatra.....uhhhh...kind of makes me nervous!

WHAT'S YOUR MOTTO?
"Animal" Def Leppard.....BAAAHAHAHA!

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
"Shameless" Billy Joel.....probably

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
"Boys of Summer" Don Henley....You got that right baby!! HAHAHAHA!

WHAT IS 2 + 2?
"Flightless Bird, American Mouth" Iron & Wine...yup, thats my A.D.D answer!

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIENDS?
"Until it Sleeps" Metallica...Hmmm, I don't know which way to take this one.

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
"Say Goodbye" Dave Matthews Band...well, thats no fun! (But it IS one of my FAV. songs!)

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
"Runaway Train" Soul Asylum....well then, that explains it!

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Live High" Jason Mraz....HAHAHAHA! I guess you could think of Love as a "high".

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
"Gimme Three Steps" Lynyrd Skynyrd......HAHAHA! Probably should have! I mean my Alabama cousin DID bring some beer that was bought in gallon jugs (thats how they sell it in Good Ole Tallasee Alabama!!) that somehow got passed around everyone, and yes, they were all drinking from the same one!!!! YEEE-HAWWW! Good Times for all! I love living in the south!

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
"I'll Be Around" The Mills Brothers....now thats just creepy! I feel bad for my kids!

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST
"The Way You Look Tonight" Frank Sinatra....hmmmmm?

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
"Baby's Gone Home to Mama" Josh Turner

WHAT DO YOU WANT RIGHT NOW?
"Under Pressure" Queen & David Bowie...Ummm, Not really.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS
"Curse Me" Zac Brown....HAHAHAHAHA! God love 'em!

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
"Mrs J. (Demo Sessions)" Ozzy Osbourne...LOVE IT! (What I reposted it as on facebook)

Freak Show Weather & S-H-O-T-S!!

2009-04-08T10:28:00.000-07:00

I mean, how "gorgeous" was yesterday's weather? (For those of you who live in NE GA)...I ALWAYS want it to be 30 degrees, windy & SNOWING in Spring!!...please tell me you sense my heavy sarcasm!! GOOD GAWD folks! When are we going to have "Normal" weather again in Georgia?? This state has turned into a Freak Show!! I am getting some serious cabin fever up here in Cleve-middle of nowhere-land! I am pasty white and need a good dose of Vitamin D!! Bring on the warmth Mother Nature! A girl needs her sun!!

...Anyway, had to get that out of my system. So in the midst of our freakish weather yesterday, I had the pleasure of taking Lil Miss Sassy Pants to her one year well check doctors appointment, and this time I braved it alone ,sans Mom or Husband. Though, I did take my other/other/other half,my Nikon D80,so I could document such a momentous milestone of her childhood. Yup, she's gonna kill me when she reaches those ungodly teen years. So she and I dug out our winter wear (we had it put away in the hopes that spring would come earlier), and made our way to Dr. Hulsey's office in Gainesville.

So, all in all, Campbell is very healthy and truckin along just fine. She is now weighing a hefty 20 lbs. 12. oz, which puts her in the 40th percentile, which Dr. Hulsey said is just fine. She is towering in at 30 inches high, which puts her in the 75th percentile! Yup, she's more than likely gonna be taller than her gnome like parents! Oh, and her noggin fell in the 70th percentile. Bring on the brains baby!!

Though this go round my little crib midget had to get her wittle finger pricked for the first time. Well, I'll be danged if the child didn't flinch one bit! She was more interested in looking at "Red Bird" in her "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see" book. Though, she couldn't figure out what the sticky thing was that the nurse wrapped around her finger. She kept trying to sling it off!

"What? There is a sharp object in my finger? Who cares! Look at this cool bird!"

"Why-won't-this-sticky-thing-come-off??!"

Then Dr. H came in to give Campbell the usual once over. C got to play with the doctor's "toys' this time, which she so casually chucked against the wall. Yup, that's my girl...already breaking expensive equipment! No, she really didn't break Dr. H's Ear/Nose/Mouth lookie inner flashlight thing, but she very well could have the way she was "playing" with it.

Before C threw the light against the wall

Soooooo, then came the... ::cue dread music::... S-H-O-T-S! (We try not to say that word around our house too much). She only had to have 2 this time, which was better than the 5 or so Mom and I thought they were going to give her, which I wasn't' going to let them anyway! And the two they did give her didn't include the chicken pox vaccine or the pneumoccocal vaccine, which we are opting out on for now. Think what you want folks, but I am very opposed to putting all of those un-needed chemicals in my daughters tiny body. Especially when she is not in an environment conducive to such diseases.

ANYWAY, needless to say, I am sure y'all know what happened next...

I hated, hated, HATED "torturing" her like this. I would have gladly taken her place! I mean, look at the nurses hand! She's "stabbing" that thing in Cam's squishy little thigh! I had to take the picture though. It's priceless.

So she was out for the rest of the day. She turned into Lil Miss Grump Pot, but I guess I can't blame her. Bless her heart! So our next visit will be in 3 months when we have to do it all over again. Boo!!

To run or not to run...

2009-04-03T09:20:00.001-07:00

So I've been thinking. Yes, I actually do that from time to time. Crazy huh?

Anyway, I have NEVER been a good runner, or atleast never really given it a good shot. In fact, in the past, once my legs and lungs started burning, I would just give up. I locked all thoughts of it up and threw away the key . Funny thing is, deep down I would be so mad at myself for giving up. I have actually always wanted to be a runner. I have even had several dreams where I would just be running to run, and I remember feeling soooo dang good in those dreams. I guess its that runners high, that experienced runners talk about. I remember feeling so light on my feet, almost as if I were floating through the air, and I was "floating" so fast! It felt AMAZING!

Rock is a runner. He has completed a half marathon (13.1 miles), a full marathon (26.2 miles), and even has a few triathlons under his belt. He's also got the sexy legs to prove it too. Just recently some friends of ours, Wendy Crawford and Frank Lake, completed the ING Marathon in Atlanta, and have asked Rock to do the Marine Core Marathon in Washington D.C. this coming October. While I was babysitting Wendy's kids yesterday, she mentioned to me that I really should give it a shot. She and I have talked about it in the past, and I would just come up with excuses, but this time something in me just clicked. I told her there is nooo way that I would be ready to run a full marathon in October...hell, I can't even run half a mile right now!...so she mentioned that I should to the Disney Half Marathon in January of 2010, while she, Frank and Rock (maybe) did the full.

Well for some crazy reason, I think she may have talked me into doing it. Deep down, I know I really want to give it a go, its just that I have to get my self fully motivated to actually committing myself to it this time for good. I talked to Rock about it, and he is pumped, and said he will start training with me as soon as we get our new membership to the "Y" in place. Wendy has let me borrow Frank's "Marathon, You can do it!" book by Jeff Galloway, and Rock also has a couple other books that might help me along.

Another ironic scene to this story is that Rock's subscription to Runner's World came in the mail yesterday and in this issue there is a "Special Beginner's Guide" and an 8 page article targeting non-runners like myself called "YES YOU CAN!". I love how it starts out by saying...

"If you can walk from the couch to the refrigerator, you are not too fat or too old or too slow to run."

If thats not simple motivation, then I don't know what is! The article, as well as the books, really break down getting started all the way up to the BIG DAY. Its all about pacing myself, and includes a ton of walking! YESSSS! I can do that! The article states that if I get winded or sore etc. right off, then I am working too hard, and to slow my roll! I can do that too!

Another way to get motivated is the fact that I will get my early 20s body back!! Now, who wouldn't want that!!?? 'CAUSE I DO, I DO!!!

I KNOW I can do this y'all! It isn't going to be easy at first, and I am sure I am going to want to give up the first day, but I CAN'T this time. I am making this a goal for myself. I want to be a part of the runner's world. I always have. I want to be able to tell Campbell and any future kids that "Mommy has ran a Half Marathon, and if she can do that, then you can do ANYTHING!"

Sooo, with that being said, the books and magazines suggest making a running diary, and what a better place to do so, than in front of the entire world. So as soon as Rock and I get our membership to the gym (waiting on tax returns) I am going to let yall in on my new adventure.

YUP, I AM GOING TO RUN A HALF MARATHON NEXT JANUARY!!.....Lord help me!!

By the way, training partners are another plus. There is nooo way I would be able to keep up with Wendy, Rock or Frank, so if any of yall have become inspired by my craziness, by all means, come and join me! You just can't be in any kind of shape or faster than a snail right now. ;) But by God we will be soon! Hello Hot Mama in a bikini!

Rain, rain, you can stay. You're not going to ruin my 1st Birthday!

2009-03-31T08:01:00.001-07:00

Well, it official, she's worn the outfit, worn the hat (and hated it), and dug into her first mound of chocolate and vanilla sugar! Yup, Campbell has been christened as a ONE YEAR OLD!!

We had originally planned to have her first birthday party outside at Laurel Park in Gainesville, but after watching the weather for two weeks and still not seeing ANY change to the forecast, which called for strong storms, we had to nix that plan (last minute) and call in the back-ups. Thank GOD for my amazing father-in-law and is "party" friendly house in Roswell. Yes, we had to move it to Roswell, but that didn't stop Campbell's family & friends from joining the fun. Thank y'all, by the way, for being so understanding. We feel so loved that everyone went along with our plans without one complaint. Y'all really are TRUE friends! (Alison, you are excused due to your ever bulging baby belly!)

So with that said, the party really was a success. There were a few bumps on my end (her smash cupcake was NOT what I ordered...it looked like a bird pooped all over it, and was upset that a few important people decided to bail b/c of the weather!??..not you Ali), but I reminded myself that there were much bigger fish to fry and this day was all about my sweet baby. She did AMAZING y'all! I thought at some point she would have been overwhelmed with all of the excitement, but the ONLY time that sweet smile left her face was when I put her party hat on her. She HATED that thing!

She got to play with some new friends, which she really hasn't done before, and she was so personable with them. Her and Lainey Smithson, a good friend of our's baby who is just 2 months younger than Cbell, just sat right down and played with each other like they have known each other for forever. It was precious!! Oh, and Campbell LOVED the little boys! She is already such a flirt! At one point she was trying to find out what was under the shirt of one of them. I am not too sure what to make of that one! Ha!

So, now I can just sit back and relax (sort of), knowing that Rock and I have our very first year as parents under our belts. I have to say that it really wasn't as hard or dramatic as some moms make it out to be (knock-on-wood...now watch the next 18 years be absolute hell), but I think it is honestly what you make of it yourself. I am a firm believer that if the parent stays calm and layed back then the child picks up on the same behavior. (There's the psych major coming out in me). I can just see all the other mom's reading this snickering under their breath thinking that "she really has it in for it", but Campbell really was/is a good baby. The Lord really blessed us with that. I am not saying she has a golden halo hovering above her bald little noggin. She is still "human". But there hasn't been a situation than Rock and I couldn't handle. Ya know, we just learn as we go, and think we have done AND are doing a pretty good job at it. We have an amazing, amazing support group (God, our parent's, our Young Life family, and amazing friends), who we know will hold us up along the way. Rock and I look forward to adding to our "team" in the near future, but right now we are just taking it just one day at a time, and enjoying our up and coming toddler!

PS: A big thanks to everyone who donated towards Lainey Smithson's Cystic Fibrosis fund! I have known Lainey's Mom since Kindergarten and have watched her raise 2 little boys and now her little clone Lainey. DeAnn is an AH-MAY-ZING Mother, teacher, and daughter, and I am inspired by her strength everyday. I am blown away by her mothering skills, and am so proud of her. We are so excited about how Lainey is thriving so well, and it all comes down to her, again, amazing parents, and people like you who care enough to find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis. Please read Lainey bug's story here .

Lainey Smithson playing with some blocks!

A year ago today...

2009-03-25T07:42:00.000-07:00

...life as we know it was about to take a drastic change. A year ago today, I was completely blind of what Rock and I were going to experience the coming year . A year ago today, I was experiencing a whole new level of emotions. A year ago today, I was scared to death. A year ago today, my water had just been broken at 12:30 pm, and I was one centimeter dilated after being induced at 7am. A year ago today, I was about to be given the best gift God could ever offer a living soul.

On the afternoon of March 24th, 2008, Rock and I went to our weekly appointment at our OB's office just thinking it would be just another routine visit. After all, I still had 3 weeks until our baby was due. There had been a few worries due to the fact that the baby and I had stopped gaining weight a couple weeks back, but surely I had gained since the last visit with all of the food my mother and husband had been shoving down my throat. So we go through all of the routine motions during the visit except this go round they wanted to do an ultrasound to measure the baby. Ok, I thought, no worries, she's fine. So the tech does the U/S to find out that pnut was only estimating around 4 lbs 11 oz., which raised a few eyebrows. The technician then goes out of the room to let the doctor review the U/S, who then came into tell me that he had called a specialist's office across town who wanted to check to make sure her heart had grown properly, an action they couldn't perform in the OB's office, and they wanted to see my right then. For a brief moment, time stood still and all I could think about was the tiny body growing inside of me. What had gone wrong? Was it something I did? What was going to happen next? What if, what if, what if? All I could do was sit there, frozen, with tears streaming down my cheeks. I told Marcus that he was going to have to call my mother to let her in on what we were about to do. There was no way I was going to be able to speak of this or I would utterly lose it.

We made our way over to the perinatologist's office, which is right next to the hospital. The wait was absolutely agonizing for me. It was a little after 4 in the afternoon, and I was completely unprepared for what was about to happen. They took me back to yet another ultrasound room and the doctor started a thorough examination of my baby. In fact, he did it twice just to be certain of the measurements he was taking. The weight he estimated (or his fancy schmancy machines did), said that our baby was almost 6 lbs! Everything else, including her tiny heart, checked out fine as well. Hearing that, a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders, but then they wanted to get one last measurement of her, which was the breathing motion babies make in utero. 10 minutes passed, nothing. 15 minutes passed, still nothing. The tech said that some babies can go 30 minutes without making the movement at all. OK? Well, about 45 minutes passed and there was still no breathing motion. By then, I was in a daze, and thoroughly exhausted from emotion. They then wanted to set me up on the fetal monitor to get a reading on her heart rate for a while. Well by God, not 5 minutes after hooking me up, I had a contraction. Five minutes after that, here came another, then another. They were extremely mild, but unusually close together. It might have been the stress that brought them on, or God sending a sign that we had to get this baby out. So after about half an hour of being strapped to the fetal monitor, the doctor came back in to examine the stats, and noticed that the baby had a couple decels in her heart rate. He told me not to be alarmed that it is probably nothing and that he was going to call my OB to get his opinion. Well, a few minutes later he came back in and said we are going to go have this baby! "HOLY CRAP!!" Was all I could think. My anxiety hit me like a ton of bricks and my mind started racing in a thousand different directions. I was soooo unprepared for this. I was barely packed for the hospital, not "cute" at all (you other Mom's know what I am talking about) I was in yoga pants and a Tshirt with air-dried hair (ewww) and my makeup had washed off from all of my crying. Anyway, the doctors had come to the conclusion that the baby would better thrive outside of me, and since I was 37 weeks to the day, that it would be "safe" to take her out. They wanted to monitor me in the hospital that night since I was having contractions 5 minutes apart, and if she came that night, they wouldn't stop it. Otherwise, I was to be induced the next morning. So here I am shaking, laughing, crying, not really knowing what to think, while Rock and I walked right on over to Labor and Delivery to be admitted. He made all the phone calls to deliver our unexpected news.

That evening I contracted until about midnight, and drifted in and out of my ambien induced slumber. At 6 am I was woken up by the nurse, who told me to take a shower, so we could get this show on the road. Loooong story short, At 7 am, my pitocin drip was started. At 8 am, I was examined and only 1 cm dilated, and Dr. Cox unsuccessfully tried to break my water...OWWW, OWWW, OWWW!! Contractions started to become stronger and stronger by the hour, but nothing that I couldn't handle with my new found breathing techniques. 12:30 pm, still 1 cm, and Dr. Cox somehow broke my water after a couple screams from me. Yes, it hurt worse than the labor b/c I was only 1 cm! Think about it. 2:38pm, I was moved across the hall b/c I couldn't focus on my breathing and couldn't relax anymore due to the jackhammers and banging going on directly behind my wall (New L & D unit being built). Contraction pain was getting worse, but I was being a champ and "Hoo Hoo Hee Hee-ed" my way through the pain. 4:00pm, it was time for something to take the edge off those suckers, and was 3 cm dilated. By 4:30pm I HAAAAD to have my epidural. I couldn't take it anymore. Rock called the anesthesiologist (good friend of ours), and he was over there by 5pm (in his bluejeans and tshirt...yee-haw!) and by 5:30pm I was in absolute heaven. I was "High-High-High",and it time for a much needed nap, but I was still only 3 cm dilated. 7:00 pm I was woken up due to a lot of pressure and the nurse barging into the room b/c the baby's heart beat was fluctuating. Amazingly, I had gone from 3 cm to 10 cm in only an hour and a half!!! We were about to have this baby!! About 7:30 or so I began the "PUSH, PUSH, PUSH, PUSH, PUSH, Breeeathe" stuff, and at 8;14pm on Tuesday, March 25th, 2008 (my parent's 42nd Wedding Anniversary by the way) our BEAUTIFUL baby girl, Campbell Gaines Rock, was brought into this world weighing a tiny 5 lbs. 1 oz. (the specialist was way off), and was 19 1/4 inches long. Time again stopped and all I could focus on was this beautiful wide eyed baby girl. My daughter! I cried harder than I have ever cried before. I felt emotions that a woman won't ever be able to experience unless she gives birth to another human. I was completely and irrevocably in love with this little girl.

So here I am, exactly one year later, mother to an amazing one year old miracle. If someone could please tell me where the time has gone, I would greatly appreciate it. This year has been chock full of adventure, sleepless nights, tears, lots and lots of laughter, tons of milestones, one black eye (I swear I don't beat my child), a few episodes of pulling out hair...Hey, its gonna happen, but more than anything, love. The love I have for this little girl grows uncontrollably every single minute, and will last throughout eternity. I thank God for her everyday, and wonder how in the world I ever deserved such a precious, perfect gift. I am extremely excited to watch her blossom into a toddler, into a child, into a teenager (even though I am scared out of my wits about that stage), and even more into a woman of her own, though at the same time, I am sad to see my baby grow up, and out of arms. Guess its time for more (wink wink), OK, not now-now, but maybe soon. I just want to enjoy her as much as I can right now because in the blink of an eye she'll be off to college.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MONKEY MOO!! Mommy and Daddy love you more than you'll ever know! You are absolutely one AMAZING child!

Campbell "cookin" in My tummy"

Three days before Campbell was born.

Just minutes old

One Day Old!!

One year Old. Barely any hair (very blonde!), a little messy, and overflowing with personality

Crazy Baby, Surprise Party's & Baby Showers.

2009-03-23T09:25:00.000-07:00

So, let me sit down and catch my breath for a second before I start up all over again. Needless to say, team Rock has been busy, busy, busy, to a point that I don't even know where to start. I guess I'll make it simple by starting off with the most important subject, which of course would be Campbell...Let's see, first off we are only 2 days away from her BIG 0-1!! Can you believe it!!? I have nooo clue where the year went, as it certainly lost me along the way. So, we are in the midst of planning her a little party this weekend. Pray for NO RAIN!!! I swear this child has turned into a toddler over night. Seriously. She went from chilling and watching Sesame Street and Baby Einstein while tinkering with a toy or two, to opening every drawer and cabinet in the house (and pulling out everything she can get her sticky little paws on and throwing it over her shoulder) , pulling up on everything she can pull up on, including the dog (who, by the way, is a giant), and out of nowhere decided the other day that she was going to crawl up the steps!!! Talk about my heart jumping out of my chest. I turn around for a split second and the next thing I know she is already up 3 steps with the most mischievous grin on her face. Lord help me, cause here we go!! She also has acquired a set of 6 1/2 sharp little chompers that she has discovered that she can get my attention by sinking them into my skin!!! Its an attention getter alright! Yup, she left marks this morning! Stinkin lil vampire baby! She is so chock full of personality these days...she's definitely a Brewer. Her latest is making a "bulldawg" (Yes, d-a-w-g for us GA Bulldog fans) face. She'll scrunch her lips and face up and breathe in and out of her nose as hard as she can. She'll even mock you if you do it to her. She loves to "dance" (more like bopping around on all fours), LOOOVES Elmo (who wouldn't), and is starting to eat pretty much whatever we put in front of her, though not a lot of it. She just finished her 3rd week of swimming lessons (has about 5 more to go), and seems to be progressing more and more every week. She's a little kicker! We are also down to just one nap a day, and she sleeps for a good 3 hours, which gives me time to get things done around the house. No, she still hasn't grown much hair, but she's sprouting new ones everyday. I love my little toe head!

Here is our beloved "BullDAWG" face! This time covered in carrots and who knows what else.

Here's my HAPPY (though a little messy) girl!

Marching into the pool with her Daddy.

Already pointing her toes oh so gracefully. Ha!

So next on my list, was our fun filled weekend of surprise party's and baby showers! Saturday night we went to a good friend of ours 40th Bday party, and Sunday I went to my college friend's baby shower, which I also helped organize along the side of 3 other lovelys. It was a beautiful Sunday, and the shower was very succesful! Not to mention that pregnancy looks amazing on Alison. She could easily make other preggo's jealous with her perfectly round baby bump (though not much of a bump anymore...she's due in May), and skinny everything else! Not to mention her gorgeous strawberry hair. Maybe I'll just let her carry my next child, and spare myself the agony of looking like a splotchy beached whale with a butt bigger than the belly itself. HA! (kidding) Anyway, it was great seeing her as usual, and I also got to see another one of my college cheerleading squad teammates, Tess, who also helped out with the shower. I got the chance to take a few pictures of Alison's cute self at the shower, and I am also going to get to take a few maternity shots of her and her sweet husband here in a couple weeks or so. If you haven't already noticed, I am LOVING taking pictures of anything and everthing.

Alison, and all of her cuteness!

Tess, Alison, and I. GO SAINTS!!

Alison's shadow. I thought it was cool.

Splish Splash!!

2009-03-09T08:29:00.001-07:00

First off, for those of you who live in NE GA...wasn't this weekend GORGEOUS!!?? All I wanted to do was be outside in flip flops and a sundress (even though that didn't happen with my pale, pale skin and non-pedicured toes)...but I'll try and take care of that soon enough. Anyway, Or biggest event of this past weekend was...drum roll please....CAMPBELL'S FIRST SWIMMING LESSON!!! They started yesterday (Sunday),and she'll go every Sunday through March and April for 30 min. a lesson. We enrolled through Gainesville Parks & Recreaction and her lessons take place at the New Frances Meadows Aquatic & Communtiy Center, and let me just say, that place is soooo nice. From what I saw, they have two indoor pools, one which is warm. That is where Campbell and the 6 other chunksters, all who are around her age (plus or minus a few months) got to swim. Now Marcus, who is the water hog of the family, wanted to take on this adventure with Campbell. I had to laugh when he was the only male in the water, but also fell in love with him all over again. He really did hold his own, but skipped on the singing, i.e "The Hokey Pokey" and "Ring Around The Rosey, though he DID do the motions with her. He also vetoed the high pitched "Weeeees", "Wooooos" and "Ahhhhhs" that were coming from his fellow swim Mommies. Campbell also held her own! She kicked and kicked, reached for toys, bounced in the water, and tried to blow bubbles, which ended up with her inhaling some water followed by a burp that would put Homer Simpson to shame. It echoed and had everyone laughing. Yup, thats my girl! We are so excited to be getting her in the water, and all in all, she really seemed to enjoy it. Here are some pics from yesterday's lesson (thanks to my Dad!!)

Check out my sweet hubby amongst all of the other Mommys!!

Kicky Kick Kicks!!

Attempting to blow bubbles

One happy baby, all done until next week!!

"Mama said knock you out!"

2009-03-03T09:32:00.000-08:00

So, I may not get the Mom-Of-The-Year Award after all. Rock and I were getting ready to leave my parent's house last night to head over to Young Life, and we had gotten everything all packed back up, including Campbell who was snug as a bug in her car seat right beneath where I was standing. So Marcus hands me my clunky, switchblade of a car key (Audi has those heavy, flip out ones), and then I go to stick it in my purse. Well, it didn't make it to my purse. The stupid key slips out of my hand as I was reaching, and all I hear is a crack and then the loudest scream!! Yup, the darn thing landed right below Campbell's left eye, right on her orbital bone!! Thank God I didn't have the key open! In her 11 months, I have never heard her cry/scream like she did! Talk about pulling my heart right out of my chest. So, Mom runs to get ice to put on her eye, which of course Campbell refuses, Dad runs to get the Infant's Tylenol, and Rock...goes to Dairy Queen. Ha! I, on the other hand, sat down and rocked her to try and calm her (and myself) down, which she did after a while, and when her Nani (My Mom) came back into the room, everything automatically got better. She loves...let me rephrase that...ADORES her Nani! Anyway, for the rest of the night, I was on pins & needles. Of course I had to call a couple of my friends to assure me that DFACS wasn't going to be on my doorstep when I got home. Thanks Ali & Linz.

So, here are some pics of my little boxer...If you haven't noticed, I am one of those Mom's who documents everything!!

This was after we got her calmed down. Its mostly red & swollen.

And this is her eye this morning!!...I just keep telling myself that it could be worse. Poor little thing, she can have anything she wants!

Good Lawd Have Mercy!

2009-02-25T10:18:00.000-08:00

My daughter is just ONE month away from being a YEAR old!!! Where has this year gotten off to?? It is sooo true when people tell you that the times will fly by, and to enjoy every waking moment, which I am proud to say that we have, and still are.

So, whats new in the Rock House you ask? Well, I think we are finally over all of our colds...knock-on-wood, and getting back to normal on that end! No more sucking the boogies out of Cam's little button nose. She is thanking Jesus as we speak! She also has another bottom tooth growing in, which let me just tell you that she KNOWS they are there, and KNOWS they can cut things! She went all "vampire" on my boob the other day just out of nowhere!! And if you aren't careful, her sweet little open mouth kisses that she likes to give on our cheeks, sometimes turn into a snack! Her crawling skills have greatly improved and she looks like a little bug scurrying all over the house. She'll have little bursts of energy and will just take off. She is pulling up to standing, and has discovered drawers, and doors, and that there are things in them and behind them..Lord help me! She LOVES to dance (bob her head side to side & bounce up and down) and clap along to whatever music is on, but she especially loves it when people sing to her. She cracks us up doing it. We let her "finger paint" with her green beans last night, which she loved. She rubbed them all over her belly, and splashed her hands in them all over her tray. The floor and fridge were covered in green streaks. OH, I signed her up for her first swimming lessons today!! Rock and I are so excited about getting her in the water. She loves taking baths and even tries to crawl in the tub when its not even bath time, so I am praying that she'll love the pool. We go every Sunday, starting March 8th, and "swim" for 30 minutes. Rock is SOOO excited about this. He is the fish in the family.

Campbell's Green Bean Bath!! Good Times!

She is a Dancing Queen!

Anyway, as far as "Me", well, I saw three amazing movies this past weekend while Rock was away on business. Mom and I watched "The Changeling" w/ Angelina Jolie (AMAZING!), then I took the Pirkle girls (who I babysit for) to see "Confessions of a Shopaholic" (TOO CUTE!), and then my friend Claudia and I watched "The Secret Life of Bees" (SO,SO,SO GOOD & has a great soundtrack too...Love me some Queen Latifa!), while stuffing our faces with El Sombrero and Reese's Pnut Butter Eggs! Yum!

I have started planning Campbell's first Bday party, which is going to be March 28th. Her actual Bday is the 25th, but who has a party on Wednesdays? We are all super excited about this and can't wait to share more details later.

My "Psycho Sister" (we share the same crazy quirks), Alison, came to hang out with Campbell and I on Monday. Let me tell you, she is the cutest preggo ever! She is expecting her first munchkin on May 18th, and I am thrilled that she is going to allow me to document his arrival using my new found, but by no means professional, photog skills. I am also helping plan a kickass baby shower for her too!! She and I got to catch up, though this time it was all baby talk. She and I watched the birth of Campbell (after looking for it for an hour), and I think it helped to ease some of her anxieties about labor and birth. Alison and I met back when we cheered at NGCSU and had hit it off immediately. If I had a sister, she would probably be it. It is CRAZY how much she and I have in common, and no, not like we both like the color blue, but more on the lines of the way we think and feel and view things. She and I sadly lost touch over some dumb adolescent issues for about 4 years, but I think it was God's way of maturing our minds, and allowing us to find "ourselves" before he brought us back into each others lives. And now that we are back in each other's lives, out friendship has taken off yet again. I hate that she lives 10 bajillion miles away in Monroe though!

A VERY old skewl picture of Ali & I cheering at NGCSU.

Anchyway, more on that later. I think I have worn out these keyboard keys enough, and have probably put you all to sleep. :)

"Valentimes" Day..

2009-02-16T09:47:00.000-08:00

Sooo, we started the weekend with an oh-so-romantic rendezvous with our beloved tax accountant. All I have to say, is thank you Uncle Sam...as long as the govt. doesn't give us an I.O.U, like they have some others!! But would it really surprise you with our amazing economy?

On Saturday, the hubs made me breakfast, and we just vegged around the house for the rest of the day. No roses (they die), No hallmark cards (Rocko made me a homemade one with crayons which I seriously want to frame...so stinkin cute), No fancy, overpriced, pea sized dinner, and No cheesy commercial hoopla... though I will admit we did surrender to a couple boxes of chocolate (nothing new to me since its a part of my diet...and yes, I am the one who pinches the chocolates just to see whats inside), a heart shaped pizza thanks to Papa Johns (they told us they wouldn't slice it so it would keep its integrity... that was a first...HA HA HA!!), and a mushy romance movie (Nights in Rodanthe) that ended up being pretty darn depressing if you ask me, but what else would you expect from Nicholas Sparks. Anyway, we had fun. It was fun spending time with just my husband and our sweet Monkey. Oh, and let me just tell you, Monkey is the perfect description on Miss Campbell these days. She had Rock and I in tears, we were laughing so hard at her. She has become so unpredictable, and her personality is really starting to shine. I would say she is sweet and sassy!! Saturday night, she caught the case of the sillys and was mimicking Rock's facial expressions, which was a first for her. She was making fish faces, sticking her itty tongue out at him, and smiling as big as she could just cause. It was PRECIOUS watching them interact with each other. I would have to say that was the best Valentines Day gift I have ever gotten. Seeing my husband play with his daughter really pulled at my heartstrings, and seeing the unique bond form between them is priceless.

On Sunday, I made my AH-MAY-ZING, loving parents a Valentines dinner of Lasagna soup, which was YUMMALICIOUS in its cheesy entirety (Let me know if ya want the recipe and I'll gladly share it). Then after dinner Campbell decided to show off another new skill. She out of left field started to "dance". She has always clapped to music, but this time she decided to add a little bit of boogie. She was bobbing her head side to side and rocking back and forth on all fours (she's a crawler remember) each time a song on one of her toys came on. The more we encouraged and giggled with her, the more the boogied down! God I love that baby!

After our little dance party died down, Rock and I went to play Canasta (AKA: Canasty) with our friends, The Crawfords, and The Lakes. The girls, Wendy, Lisa and I, usually dominate this game, but for some reason Rock, Rich and Frank pulled one out from under the table this go round. I still think they cheated. We'll get 'em next time.

Stupid mechanics, and goldfish vomit!

2009-02-09T06:24:00.000-08:00

All I have to say is what a BEEEAUTIFUL weekend!! If this weather doesn't give a person spring fever, then I think you have something wrong with you! But on top of this sunny, warm-ish weather, I do have some Drama to share...

First up, I mentioned in an earlier post that Rock had a face-off on the road with a deer. Well, the deer lost, but she left her mark on his truck, which Marcus had to get towed to Gainesville to get repaired. So this was what, about a month ago? Well, he STILL hasn't gotten his truck back...well he did for maybe 30 minutes before it had to get towed BACK to the repair shop!!! Yup, the STUPID mechanics DIDN'T put but maybe a teaspoon of transmission fluid back in its tank, and now Rock had to get his transmission RE-BUILT b/c he drove it not knowing the condition the mechanics left his transmission in!!! Needless to say, he was pretty irate. Just a little advice...DO NOT get your cars fixed at Carriage Nissan's repair shop in Gainesville. Going off of my Dad's advice, Rock picked them only b/c that is where our hum-drum insurance company gave him the option to. Lesson learned I guess. But on top of that, we had to get him a rental car from enterprise, which insurance is covering, but not two days into having his nice little Chrysler Sebring, he locked the keys in the car!!! Thank God for my dent-repair man cousin, Blue, and his breaking into car skills...NO, he is not a car thief. He just happened to have the tools to do so b/c of his car dent-repair business. So we got the keys back yesterday after them being locked in his rental for 3 days. Who knows how long it will be now before he gets his beloved Man truck back, but I'll keep ya posted.

So anyway, Saturday night Marcus and I experience another first with our sweet Campbell. She is old enough now to start experimenting with small finger foods, so she can work on her self feeding skills. Well, Saturday night we decided to try the baby goldfish crackers. She looooved them, and I think she loved them a little to much because the few that we sprinkled on her highchair disappeared fast! The next thing we know Campbell is gagging and her face turns bright red. I freak automatically and my BP shoots up sky high! I yell at Marcus to pull her out of her highchair so we can lean her over, and lightly "beat" her on her back. She is still gagging as he does so, and the next thing we know Marcus is covered in goldfish orange vomit, as well as the apples and chicken she has just eaten for dinner (sorry for the visual), then as she gets that up, she gags again and this time has some serious projectile action going on. Now if you know me, you know how I deal with vomiting...I absolutely freak...let me remind you that I myself have NEVER thrown up, and I am not lying about this...knock-on-wood. I am proud of myself for not picking up and running out the front door to hide outside, and thank the Lord my nose was stuffed up so I couldn't smell it, but it all happened sooo fast, and my Mom genes kicked in to help my baby. It scared us all half to death and I think my BP didn't go down until a few hours later. I had to sit down, take a few deep breaths, and text a good friend of mine who is in the same boat as me as far as my weird barfing quirks. She said my text stopped her dead in her tracks, which made me laugh. So thanks, Ali, for being my therapy for the evening. Anyway, Campbell was happy and smiling as soon as I got her soiled clothes off. She was ready for more goldfish, but no way! I am going to walking on eggshells now when she eats. Its just so scary when a child chokes! It is going to be one cheerio at a time for a while, and I'll probably end up starving the poor child....OK, not really, but you know what I mean. I am just going to have to some how break her of her habit of stuffing her cheeks full of snacks, like she is saving them for next winter or something. Sneaky little booger. She is already hiding things from me at 10 1/2 months!

Oh the joys of being a new Mom...I know I am in for more, but I can handle it. Before she was even born Marc and I made an agreement that I would deal with the poop and he would deal with the puke. HA!

So here we go into another week. We are all still battling head and chest colds. Marc is walking around sounding like a sick Sasquatch, Campbell is producing more mucus than I ever thought was possible coming from a baby, and I have a little bit of both. Yay! I wonder whats next for us? HA HA HA! We are supposed to have more amazing weather, so we are going to try and take full advantage of it and be outside as much as possible! I am also going to start preparing for Lil Miss Priss' first Bday party coming up next month. Fun times!! Talk to y'all soon!

So long to my "lazy" days!

2009-01-30T07:11:00.000-08:00

Ladies and gentlemen, Campbell has finally reached a huge milestone! As amazing as it is to see my daughter evolve into a "big baby", life as we know it will never be the same. Yep, my sweet little "sitter" has turned into my curious little crawler. She just up and decided three days ago that she was done with this baby stuff of sitting and playing with whatever was in front of her and that she had bigger and better things that she wanted to explore. So I was sitting here in the office, which is outside of her room, where she was playing quietly, and all of a sudden I hear this "tap, tap, tap, tap" getting closer and closer to me. I lean my body to the right which allowed me to see into her room, and here she came, plowing her way towards me! We have been working with her for months trying to get her to crawl, but she would have rather walked around with us holding on to our fingers which she has been doing for about a month now. I honestly just thought she was going to skip crawling all together, which kind of left me concerned, but she surprised us all as she has from day one. I have decided that she is just going to do things on her own time, and at her own pace, which sounds very familiar to me. Just ask my parents. She has definitely inherited the infamous Brewer Stubborn Gene!

Cam has also grown in 4 new teeth! Two on the bottom and two on the top, and her smile could seriously make a grown man cry. So far, the pain that comes with teething really hasn't gotten to her (she's tough like her Daddy I guess, b/c I cry when I get a paper cut). She has gotten a little bit of a runny nose, and sometimes just doesn't want to eat, but as long as she has something to chew on, she's golden. (Knock-on-wood...she still has a whole mouth full to go)

So here are a few pics of our growing little monkey...

"Seeeee my teeth?"

Here she goes....

Some babies have a blanket, a doll, or a shirt for a lovey, but Campbell, she has a 115 lb. Chocolate Lab. Ah, why not?

Pay it Forward

2009-01-28T04:53:00.000-08:00

So its time to play a little catch up...This may be a little long, so if you care enough go ahead and grab the popcorn and settle in...

As many of you know, Marc and I have been Young Life leaders in Gainesville for about 3-4 years now, but for those who didn't know that, let me explain to you what it is.

"Young Life brings the good news of Jesus Christ into the lives of adolescents with an approach that is respectful of who kids are and hopeful about who they can be. Young Life doesn't start with a program. It starts with adults who are concerned enough about high school kids to go to them, on their turf and in their culture, building bridges of authentic friendship. These relationships don't happen overnight — they take time, patience, trust and consistency. So Young Life leaders log many hours with kids — where they are, as they are. We listen to their stories and learn what's important to them because we genuinely care about their joys, triumphs, heartaches and setbacks. We believe in the power of presence. Kids' lives are dramatically impacted when caring adults come alongside them, sharing God's love with them. Because their Young Life leader believes in them, they begin to see that their lives have great worth, meaning and purpose. This is the first step of a lifelong journey; the choices they make today, based upon God's love for them, will impact future decisions … careers chosen, marriages formed and families raised. All ripples from the time when a Young Life leader took time to reach out and enter their world."

So with that said, every year we gather up our high school kids and take a weekend trip to Sharptop Cove in Jasper GA. Young Life has many AMAZING camps scattered all throughout the United States and even beyond, but it just so happens that Sharptop is here in our backyard. Before it was built we used to take our weekend trips to Windy Gap in North Carolina, which is where I went when I was involved in Young Life back in high school.

Anyway, I have been to camp several times as a camper and for the past few years God has sent me there as a leader, and it just so happens that this year He decided to present me with some new challenges, which were extremely hard, but ended up in some ways amazing. As a female leader it is my duty to call on the female high school girls. Not that I can't reach out to the guys, it is just easier and more appropriate to hang with the girls. Anyway, for the past few years I have had a group of girls that I have become fairly close to. We have been through a lot including the loss of a fellow classmate of theirs which is what essentially brought us together. Over half of these girls had graduated last year, which left me with a smaller group of girls to hang out with. So this past Friday afternoon we all (31 guys, 6 girls, 4 guy leaders, and 3 girl leaders) load the huge chartered bus and head up to Jasper. OK, now you know teens, they ALL squish into the back of the bus, and us "adults" stake out our typical places in the front. This is nothing new to any of us. This is only about an hour ride, so we walk back there every now and then to say hey, and when motion sickness hits us from standing we make our way back up front.

We get to camp after dark, unload, and begin making our way to our cabins, which this year they put the girls in the work crew and camp staff dorms because there were only a few of us, and these dorms are no where near the common area of the camp. So we moan and groan and start making our way UP the mountain, freezing or butts off...OK, I am not going to go into detail of what happened between there and the cabin just to protect the integrity of one of my young friends, but I'll just say that I was put in a tough situation that I haven't had to face as an adult before, which left me feeling very broken and I knew that I had to let God take over. Through a lot of tears, prayers, and the help of our amazing area director, we got the situation handled, and by midnight Friday night we settled back into the crazy routine of camp. Yes, we are still going strong at midnight. We are talking about high school students here people. They never sleep, therefore us old folks don't either. Anyway, as I tried to catch my breath and clean myself up, I realized that I was going to have to face this certain person's close friends for the rest of the weekend. What were they going to think about me? What were they going to say about me? Was this going to ruin the relationships I had worked so hard on making? And yes, I do care. They are my friends just like my 'adult' friends. Anyway, the area director and I make our way back to club around midnight (which in Young Life we like to call it organized chaos, AKA, crazy games, top 40 songs (we have to stay cool...no koom by ya here), and an amazing talk about the Lord). How ironic that we were to sing 'Shattered' by O.A.R. that night too. It was like God was giving me a theme song to go along with the events that had unfolded. So as the evening events wound down at around 1 am and we were directed back to our cabins (or our Days Inn room as we called it), I realized that I still hadn't really had the opportunity to talk to the rest of the girls. The only thing I got from them was questioning glances, which when eye contact was made, it was quickly broken. When we got back to our room 'ten miles away' from camp (all up hill), the girls were cautious, but in good spirits. They were also exhausted, so we didn't spend much time talking about the evening, but rather getting ready for bed.

Morning came way too early, and the next thing we knew we were eating an "amazing" camp breakfast, but we were all scattered out at different tables. We all had to go to club again afterwards, which woke us all up, not just physically, but mentally as well. Again, we had another encounter with irony. We had an unbelievable speaker that weekend, and at this certain club we were talking about "Sin". He did an outstanding interpretation of Sin, the different kinds of Sin, and how God views Sin, and it was presented in a way that the teens could relate exactly. Our speaker spoke about how we as sinners are broken and only God can heal our brokenness. Lord, did this hit home! Not only with me, but with my girls. Again, how ironic.

So after club we always have cabin time, when we go back to our cabins to talk in more of a private manner about what the speaker was talking about and to present questions to the girls and receive questions from them as well. Let me just say, that there wasn't a dry eye in the room. God did have a plan to reach these girls through the challenge He presented Friday night, and I have a feeling it might have paid off or even started to open some eyes. Again, I am not at liberty to go into detail, but I believe God "broke" us this weekend for a reason. I became close an amazing young girl who I have been trying to reach for a while, and closer to those who I had relationships with before. A couple told me that they gained more respect for me for the actions I had to act upon, which is huge to me. How amazing to hear that a 16 year olds respect me as a person. I even had one tell me that she realized she was broken and that the only people who could fill that void were ME and God!! WOW!! Again, the tears came flowing.

This is when all the trouble, logged time, sweat and tears of being a Young Life leader really pays off. We are volunteers. Meaning we don't get payed. We do this for the love of young people, and for the love of God. It is such in incredible feeling to know that I have in some way or another touched the life of a teenager who we all know have impenetrable walls around them.

The rest of the weekend was spent with these amazing girls who will remain in my heart forever. We laughed, cried, gossiped about boys, played like 12 year olds, pigged out on junk food, complained together about having to walk so far to our room in the middle of the pitch black woods and scared each other while doing so, and most importantly became closer to God.

People ask me why I do this. I even have asked myself why I do this, especially with a ten month old in tow. It ends up the kids LOVE for her to come to our weekly clubs. They take her off my hands, and I willingly let them. Anyway, that is besides the point. I am a Young Life leader simply because I love reaching out and spreading the word of God to teenagers. Is it hard people ask? Yes, at times, I won't lie. And at times very stressful and intimidating. But those factors are nothing compared to the relationships and friendships that are built after a teen lets down his or her guard. And if you know anything about teens these days, that can be very hard to do. All it takes is trust, understanding, and to love the kids where THEY are. No judgements are being passed, and no assumptions are being made, we just love 'em as they are, and what a reward it is to get that in return!

If you want to find out more about Young Life or maybe get involved yourselves (we can always use more leaders, and donations to make this organization possible), go to: http://www.younglife.org/

Here are some pics from this past weekend...

'What I Want for You--and Every Child in America'

2009-01-20T10:01:00.000-08:00

Today, history has been made. The 44th President of the United States who is also the 1st African American President in the history of the U.S., was sworn into office. I am glad to say that I got to watch this historical inauguration with my almost 10 month old daughter. Even though Campbell could have cared less about what was on TV, she would have rather been chewing on whatever she could get her hands on or pulling on the cat's fur, I felt that watching this with her was a part of her future. I have to say that I did get chills when he was first introduced as the President of the United States as he walked into the spotlight with the presidential march played in the background. Now I am by no means a political guru (I was the one passing notes, doodling, and thinking about the weekend plans in US History classes), but I am a mother, and now I have another human being's future to be concerned about. This is not a time for me to express my opinions of Barack Obama. He is who he is, and I will try to put my trust into him, but there is one thing that has kept my interest during his political campaign, and that is of his family values and the welfare of his own two young daughters as well as the rest of this nations youth. I admit that he has earned my repect in that department. I recently read the letter that he had written to his daughters, Malia and Sasha, which brought a glimmer of hope in my heart for my Campbell's future.

I read, "...And suddenly, all my big plans for myself didn't seem so important anymore. I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. And I realized that my own life wouldn't count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours. In the end, girls, that's why I ran for President: because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation.

I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential—schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill in them a sense of wonder about the world around them. I want them to have the chance to go to college—even if their parents aren't rich. And I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with their own kids and retire with dignity.

I want us to push the boundaries of discovery so that you'll live to see new technologies and inventions that improve our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer. And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach beyond the divides of race and region, gender and religion that keep us from seeing the best in each other..."

I wish the world for my daughter and my future children. I want her to have an even more challenging education than I was given, and want her to be exposed to even greater life opportunities. I wish for my own daughter the same things that I am sure that you wish for your sons and daughters, just like the President of the United States does for his as well.

I am starting believe it will be the American children who will most benefit from an Obama. Lets just pray that he acts on what he promises them.

http://www.parade.com/export/sites/default/news/2009/01/barack-obama-letter-to-my-daughters.html

Another Deer Bites the Dust

2009-01-15T06:09:00.000-08:00

So yesterday morning started off just like any other morning, other than Rock was going to take Campbell down to Mom and Dad's so I could go and get my hair cut. Well, no later than 5 minutes after Marc and Campbell had left, I get a phone call from Marc telling me that he was on his way back home, that he had HIT A DEER. He let me know that everyone was fine, other than the truck. "Ok", I thought, "What kind of damage could a little doe do to a huge Chevy Silverado? It couldn't be that bad " Well, obviously I thought wrong. He drove up not two minutes later with what looked like blood pouring out of his grill...no he didn't butcher the deer, but the deer did butcher the front end of his truck. His front bumper and both headlights were all but hanging off, and the "blood" was either transmission or powerstearing fluid. We'll find out exactly after it gets its damage estimate today. Thank Jesus we have auto insurance! With the economy like it is, this is the last thing we needed! So needless to say, even though the Doe Marc hit dropped like a sack of potatoes, he is now on a rampage to get even more revenge with the rest of it's family. Not that he really needs an excuse to kill the poor things anyway. Sooo his truck got towed this morning and we'll find out the $damage$ soon.

Here are some pics of the damage...it looks a lot worse in person...

I "borrowed" this from another Mom's blog

2009-01-13T10:44:00.003-08:00

WOW!!! If you have a daughter...take a moment to listen to this song! You'll have to pause the "Mood Music" at the bottom of my page, so the two don't interfere...

This song really made me think of the time that has already flown by with Campbell. Yes, she is just an itty 9 1/2 months old, but it really seems like yesterday when I was holding that tiny 5 lb. bundle of squeaks in my arms scared to death, yet so in love. It is so true when people tell you that you never experience true love until you hold your newborn for the first time. It is truly an amazing feeling, but for me it was also accompanied by sheer exhaustion, fear, and worry. Those first few weeks at home seemed at the time like they were never going to end, but here we are 9 1/2 months later with a perfect, sleeping through the night, giggly, 17 lb. bouncing baby girl. I am learning to cherish every waking moment with my daughter...Yes, even those moments when I want to pull my hair out...Because "It won't be like this for long".

Another Mindless Addiction! Yay!

2009-01-08T09:33:00.000-08:00

So I caved and decided to finally start a blog. I have been using babysites for all of our updates, but this is more fun. Yet another addiction to take up my time when I should be doing something else, but I think we are all guilty to some degree. I will be using this blog for family updates, random thoughts and feelings, and maybe even a vent session or two. Hey, its better than yelling at the dog!

Anyway, to start here where I finished off on babysites, the Rock family is quietly venturing into 2009 after leaving 2008 with a boom. Thank God things have slowed down though. We were all worn out after holiday hustle and bustle. Don't get me wrong, its my favorite time of the year, but I am more than happy to see it go so we can build ourselves up for yet another adventure. So as we speak, the decorations are long gone and the spring cleaning has begun. Gotta get this house organized just so we can get disorganized all over again. I'll admit, I am a little OCD when it comes to my house, and I like for things to be in perfect order. Not to say things are always like that..it doesn't help to have a 9 month old's toys strewn everywhere (which I wouldn't change for the world), to have a 115 lbs lab AKA: Labrahorse...God love him, running in and out, and then to have two ginormous cats, one of which who decided to use the fireplace as a litter box the other day. Yup. Damn Cat! Then to make matters worse, Rock decides he can just burn the pee and poop away...umm no, not the case...it just made our house smell like crap!! Soooo thats my latest project; cleaning out the fireplace.

Now, onto baby news. Mom and I took lil miss monkey to her 9 month check up yesterday. Yes, 9 months! I can't believe it either!! This time last year I had a nice round baby belly, was nauseated, had leg cramps, and we were beginning those oh-so-fun childbirth classes. I do miss having my little boo poking around inside of me, but God how I love having her in my arms now listening to her silly little babbles. She is progressing beautifully, other than the fact of being itty bitty, which is nothing to be worried about. Yesterday she weighed 17 lbs. 13 oz (30th percentile), was 27 in. long (30th percentile), and her head was measuring in the 60th percentile. Big brain, little body, big blue eyes, the blondest of hairs (yes, hairs), three teeth, chunky thighs, and buddah belly....fellas, eat your hearts out! As far as the three teeth mentioned, we thought she just has the two growing in on the bottom, but Dr. Hulsey pointed out one of the top incisors growing in as well. So far she has been a good teether. No bad side effects thus far. Campbell is also wanting to go mobile. No, no crawling for this little live wire. She wants to walk!! She holds onto whoever's fingers she can get a haold of and wobbles around the house like a drunken sailor, and if we put her down her pitches a fit! Which is also a new thing for her. As sweet and calm as this child is, she has now been known to snap when things don't quite go her way. Talk about a drama queen. She is so funny, and does have her grumpy moments. The majority of the time she is just as sweet as she can be though. She is very observant, and becoming very smart. Mom has taught her how to point out eyes and noses on anything that has eyes or a nose. She loves pulling the cat's fur out, not that we need any help with that, and she giggles when Duke sticks his huge wet nose in her face. She has learned voices, recognizes songs and faces, and this morning stopped everything she was doing when she heard the Elmo's World song come on, which put an adorable smile on her face. So far her favorite words are da-da-da-da-da, but she'll throw a ma-ma-ma or na-na-na in when she's feeling froggy. And to finish up this week's Campbell saga, she has now discovered the world of self feeding and finger foods. Yesterday we started her out with gerber banana puffs, then went to salteens, then mom threw in a spoonful of brunswick stew at Lawrence Pharmacy (leave it to grandparent's to feed the child anything), then I decided I would give her a pinch of a grilled cheese (she stuck her tongue out). Now its back to gerber finger foods which she loves. She is just growing up way too fast for our taste!

Anyway, Until next time, enjoy our little slide show of Christmas and New Years pics! I'll be back soon....I kinda like this...