And.....here comes Emily.

Enough already! Please God send this one somewhere else!!!!! Angie, you coming? I'm going back to San Diego!!! LOL This is ridiculous!!

We made it thru!

Thank God! At the last second, Dennis decided to make a sharp turn North, and luckily (well for us anyway) went on shore between Gulf Breeze and Navarre. Which put the eye wall going straight thru downtown, and we are in the BOONIES of Pensacola, basically right on the AL/FL border, so we only got 60-70+ mph winds. Nothing too serious. We did take some damage to our chimney tho, as there is a pretty big wet (well, now dry) spot in the corner of the girls' playroom, which is where the corner of the chimney meets the roof. We never lost power, but the back end of our neighborhood did, including Venus, but Jeremy has that house "hurricane rigged" using their generator so they pretty much had power, except a/c.

Falyn in all of her "adorableness", still wanted to sleep in the closet, so we let her take her nap in there, even tho it wasn't really that necessary. Faith and I took a nap in my bed and Justin hung out on the couch all day watching TV. Just like a man on a lazy rainy day! ;)

Over all, the theme of this storm seems to be "could have been worse"...which when they thought he was gonna be worse than Ivan, we got lucky!!

Stupid Hurricanes!!

Are you kidding me??? Ok, let's count...FOUR! TS Arlene (hit us), TS Bret (mexico), TS Cindy (hit LA, but of course, we got the EAST side!), HURRICANE DENNIS!! has a big freakin' bulls eye on Pensacola!! UGH!! Honestly, we can't handle another storm here, Ivan TORE UP Pensacola, and there are still TONS of people living in FEMA trailers. Ugh! What to do, what to do?

ANGIE!! Where are you?? I'm gonna come camp out on your front porch!! LOL I was fine until Justin started frekain me out about being pregnant and the air pressure. Anyway...say a prayer for us.

We found Nemo!

We took the girls to Nemo on Ice last night, and they had a BLAST! Ok, mommy and daddy did too. I was highly impressed with the presentation and effort that went into this show. I have pictures to get developed, but as soon as I do, I'll put them up.

I got to sleep in today, and it was NICE! Justin brought me breakfast in bed, and his present to me today is to do all the "honey do's" I've been asking him to do for months! Isn't he awesome?!? :)

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TOO ALL MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!! I LOVE YOU!! HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY!!

Such a BRAVE girl!!

Whoever said that boys are more tough than girls was WAY wrong today! Falyn had to get her last set of shots before Kindergarten and boy was she ever nervous. She wasn't sure what to expect, but she had an idea that it wasn't going to be all peaches and cream. We had to wait our turn behind a family of 3 (2 boys and a girl) who were also updating theirs and their oldest boy was also going to K. So, as we're sitting there, she hears him SCREAMING and crying, LOUD and VERY intensly. Oh boy...she was NOT ready for this. She looked at me, and said, "Mommy, maybe I can wait to go to Kindergarten." LOL So sweet. I just kept reassuring her how brave she was, and how it would only hurt for a second, and then she would get a lolipop. Yea...she didn't believe me much I could tell, but she was trying.

So, then it was our turn, after we listened to the 2 yr old and 8 mo old get their shots. Oy. She climbed up on that table, nervous, and clinging to the bunny for dear life. I pulled her jeans down, and she laid back on the table. Faith sat right behind her head watching very intently. 3 shots here we go. The first two weren't too bad. They use those air guns now, so it's a *little* less painfull, but still stings. She just kept looking into my eyes, and I told her "Good Job! You're such a BIG girl!" A little "ow" on those two. Do you know that my baby, didn't even CRY?!?!? How brave is she? She got a little teary-eyed on the last one, but that one stung a little according to the nurse, it was the Polio shot.

Did you hear me? SHE DIDN'T EVEN CRY!!!!!!!! And that wussy little boy was screaming like the death of him! LOL YAY FALYN!! Such a big girl!! I'm SOOOO proud of you!!! xoxoxox

Unbelieveable!!!

Well...I did it. I registered Falyn for Kindergarten today. :( Seriously? I can't believe that she is almost 5 and even ready to GO to school! I mean, yea, I am used to her being gone all day at preschool, but KINDERGARTEN? BUS? HOMEWORK? I just can't believe it. We have to go tomorrow to get her a physical. Remember those? Man...time flies. I am just speechless about this. She is determined that when she's 5 she's ridign the bus, and we have told her that's ok. BUT...the first week or so, I'll take her, just till she's used to what to do & where to go, but you can be sure that I'll be at the school regularly. I'll be signed up for PTA and all the other things that go on with her class! I'm excited for her, but still in disbelief! :) I'm signing her up for a reading program at PJC this summer...just to get her a little more advanced in her reading before school starts. Anything to help keep her "up to speed". They work on phonics, comprehension, fluency & jut plain love of reading...which that part won't be hard, she loves books and "reading" to Faith. :)

Anyway...that was my eventful day. Off to finish cleaning up the playroom before I just start throwing crap away!

Some new photos of the girls

I was just trying to get a good image of them together... they had other plans. LOL

Time for an update!

Where to begin? It's been a great year thus far. I went on a cruise in January with my cousin Stephanie to Cozumel and Playa del Carmen. FUN, FUN! It was her graduation present! We had a blast! I had never been on a cruise before, and it was great! Justin and I are hoping to take one sometime next year, but we'll see.

Hmm...Falyn and Faith are growing like WEEDS! Ok, my almost 2 year old can wear all the same clothes AND shoes that my almost 5 year old wears! LOL It's insane!! Faith is talking more and more. Putting little sentences together, still signing a few things, but for the most part, she can get her point across and let you know what she wants. It's great, but sad at the same time. I just can't beleive that my baby is growing up so fast. She's also showing more and more interest in the potty. Oy! I think if I was more active about it, she'd be close to being trained, but I guess I'm just not accepting the fact, so she's not. Maybe next week huh? ;)

I'll be registering Falyn for Kindergarten next week! AMAZING! I just still can't beleive that she is old enough to actually GO to school. I mean, preschool is one thing, but KINDERGARTEN?? There are mean ol' 5th graders there that will pick on my little peanut. :( Hope not, but what can you do? She is INSISTING on riding the bus. God help me! But bless her heart, she is distraught at the fact that Bunny can't go to school with her. So grow up, yet still my baby! I'll probably take her to school the first week and then let her ride the bus after that. I just want to make sure that she knows where to go, who to talk to, etc. OMG!!!! REALLY?!?!? WAAA!!!!

Work is going great! Business is booming and I have built quite a good client base. I am trying to refocus from mainly weddings to mainly maternity/birth/newborn photography. I've always had a passion for babies...and being there from the start before they're born, during and after has really captured my heart! Of course, I still like weddings, but they can be pretty stressful, so 1 or 2 a month is better than every weekend like I am doing now. Having the opportunity to be there from the beginning is also building me a good list of clients into babies and young children, as well as families. It's been great! I'm gonna hate leaving here, but the BEST part is that the business can move with me. :) If you want to see my mat/birth/newborn stuff, you can see it on my website. Gina's Photography

Justin has put in a package for a detailer position in Millington, TN (Memphis) and he is really hoping that he gets it. It will be good for his Navy career, and that's what he's most focused on at the moment. He was hand selected to apply for this position, so that says a lot about his character and reputation in the Navy. Only 6 CTM's in the entire Navy (about 500-ish) were selected to apply. Not too bad huh?

That's about all there is to report at this given moment. I'm sure there is more to come soon tho! I'm SO glad I got my un/pw!!! LOL

WHOO HOO!!!

Ok, I finally figured out what my username and pw was! LOL Sorry, sorry, sorry for the LONG time no type! LOL I had forgotten that little bit of important info! Now that I have it, I will give you guys an update...but later...it's almost 5 am. ;)

Boo boo...

It's been a while since we've had anything "drastic" happen, but leave it to Falyn to send us treking to the ER last night.

The day started out nice. Falyn went to school, Faithy and I played, she napped, I worked, picked up Falyn and waited for daddy to get home. We decided that last night was the night to finally get a tree. So first we went to the tree farm...you know the place where you chop the tree down yourself. Well, those just aren't the "right" kind of trees...they are too "bush-like". So, we ventured to Wal-Mart and found a noble fir. This thing is a SHRIMPY tree compared to last year!! LOL Heck I thik it's the smallest tree I've ever had! Justin swore that we couldn't fit an 8' tree in the living room, and I was pretty positive that's what we got last year. But, I let him have his way and we got the little 6.5'...and do I EVER mean LITTLE!! LOL Our poor Angel...she's HUGE on this thing! It's ok, Faith is already tearing down the decorations, so it's just there for Falyn's sake. Not for mommy's "decor". Just no one come over and see it...it's decorated half up with the breakable stuff and all the unbreakables are Faith level. ;)

So anyway, we get home last night and I was making up my big bowl of salad that I keep in the fridge (yay diet!) and all of the sudden Falyn falls (had my back to her, so not really sure what happened), but blood was gushing out of her mouth. EWW! I made her rinse and spit about a dozen times, not really sure at first where it was coming from. She said that she fell off the stool and hit the floor with her mouth. Ow! All I know is that I learned a new word yesterday! Did you know that the little piece of skin connecting your lip and gums up top is called a flangellum?? (sp?) Ha! I had no idea, but she ripped that sucker clean apart! So...thankfully they saw us pretty quick at the ER (45 mins...in and out, has to be a new world record!). Dr came in, said there is no dental damage and it should heal in 24-48 hrs. What the heck? Who'd have known? Only my kid can fall on the ground and TEACH me something! LOL Dr's orders were ice cream and popcicles...go figure. She was happy about that! She's got a fat lip, but other than that, she said it doesn't hurt much anymore. Poor thing!

So, that was our eventful day yesterday. We spent the day being lazy today, and decorated the tree when Justin got home from work. Poor pitiful looking thing! LOL I'll have to post a pic.

Nite!

Shame on me!

It has been SO hectic around here lately, that I just haven't had the chance to write. Everyone rushing to get their holiday portrait orders in has made me super busy these last few weeks. I still have 3 or 4 more families left to order and then I should be done for the year! YAY!! A vacation! LOL Love having my own biz! Control!

We had a great Thanksgiving. Brandi, Kevin, Liric and Ariyan came and ate with us, and spent the evening with us. I made Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole and rolladen. Brandi brought a ham and rolls. We ate so much and just had a really nice evening. I also made pumpkin and apple crumb pie for dessert. YUM! Love this one day a year that we get to pig out and not feel bad about it. LOL

Faith didn't seem all that interested in the meal as all of her food ended up on the floor, but Falyn "gobbled" up her sweet potatoes and green beans, some ham and a roll. Picky eater, but at least she likes her veggies. LOL

There is more to add, but Faith would like some mommy time. xoxox

Two peas in a pod

Angie, Delaney and Madelyn came to visit yesterday. It was SO great to spend the day with them. I'll post more later, but I wanted to get this pic up of Falyn and Laney. They are so good together!

Mommy sandwhich!!!

And you're thinking "what??" Justin leaves very early for work these days (4am), and this morning I heard Faith whinning about that time. I got up, but he had gotten to her already, kissed me and then left. About an hour later she was whinning again, so I brought her to bed with me. She's a good snuggler. Around 7, Falyn crawled in on the other side, and mind you, she's a GREAT snuggler (read: bedhog!!!)....but I got this awesome feeling...sandwhiched between my babies we all went back to sleep for another hour. Have I mentioned lately how much I love these girls?

Angie and the girls are supposed to come and visit today!! Falyn has asked me about 100x already when Laney will be here! Angie, you better not flake on my baby...I'll have to come kick your butt!! ;-)

She speaks!!

Up until this point Faith hasn't said much. She speaks "Japanese" we say b/c it comes out hilariously like it!

She said mom, da da, ba ba, nu nu, bat (bath), doo (dog) and a few other things that you can associate...but yesterday this child knocked me over with 3 new words! I was SHOCKED!! She has a habit of walking you to the fridge when she's hungry or thirsty. Today on one of our many trips (yes, she's a piggy!) she pointed to the drawer, and I asked her if she wanted some cheese...and just as plain as day she said "cheese". My jaw dropped and I said, "yea cheese!" Later she repeated juice and nap. She brings me her "nu nu" and her blankie when she's ready to take a nap, such a good girl, and I asked her if she was ready for a nap. "nap" she says.

WHAT HAPPENED TO MY BABY?? They grow up so dang fast it's almost depressing.

Party till the suns goes down....

or you get too cold! LOL Last night was Kevin's b-day party at Sam's Fun City. (Pictures to follow soon of course!) The girls had a BLAST! After some dancing with Bulwinkle, eating pizza and cake...the group (ok mob) of kids all headed outside, where first stop was the ferris wheel. Falyn rode with Whitney and "grandma" (Venus' mom) and of course loved it. After that they were off to these cars that went round and round and up and down (slowly of course), and Faith got the chance to ride those (much to my aprehension). Next was the "Truck Train"...Faith and Shawn were ALL about driving those cars. LOL They rode them 2x in a row! Matter of fact Shawn was MAD, MAD that he had to get out. After that, I kind of lost Falyn to the group, so I can't say what else she did, but I am sure there are pictures out there somewhere among Venus' family. Faith and I rode the Merry-go-Round with Shawn/Amber, Bridgette and her baby, and Braden and his daddy. She seemed pretty cool with that one too. Next was the "roller coaster"....oh boy! Not so much. This is where we caught up with Falyn and Holly. Faith was going to ride in between them. HA! So we thought. It took off with a HUGE jolt, and right at that time I see this screw sticking up out of the back, behind her head. "Stop it!!" I'm screaming at the chick....once around it goes (just in a circle) and Faith is SCREAMING! Whiplash, screw hitting her in the back of the head. "STOP IT NOW!" Check her head, no blood, nothing bad, we're all good. Oy! Mommy was NOT happy. But, I didn't want Faith to be freaked out, so I got in with her and round and round we went...yes...pics of this too. :/ She did ok, kinda whined the first lap and was fine for the next few.

She was pretty much done after that. We went back inside to warm up for a few. The rest of the night was spent racing go-karts, and Falyn winning tickets from the skiball and other games inside. Justin, Jeremy and myself all got one last race around the "slick track", and I am happy to report that I spun them BOTH out and kicked their butts!! HA! Don't listen to them when they say they "let" me win...they're just mad they were beat by a girl! :)

They both passed out on the way home, but of course were rearing to go when we got here at 9pm. It was a long fun-filled evening, and it's Monday morning and back to the same routine. Justin is off work today, so he took Falyn to school, and he's going to finish fixing out fence today. We got the "street side" put back up, and today he's building the gate and replacing the posts that we share with our neighbor.

Time to go, I hear Faith in there waking up, so she's probably ready to eat.

Lazy Days

Not much going ont his weekend. The girls and I watched Lord of the Rings, Return of the King yesterday. Yes, Falyn LOVES to watch it. She gets all engrossed in it, and will even ask questions about it. Not sure how much she REALLY understands about the movie, but she'll stay put with me the entire time. Faith on the other hand...5 mins here, 5 mins there. She'd rather run around and play. She's does this new thing where she'll repeat an action over and over again to get a "response" from you. For example, she was climbing up and down in my lap yesterday, I was sitting next to the arm of the couch. She'd climb up, put her pacifier on the arm, look at me, I'd gasp, she'd pick it up with her mouth, turn and look and me, squish her face and "sniff" really fast in and out thru her nose. CRACKED me up! So, she kept doing it over and over, after dropping the paci over the couch, climbing down to get it, then back up again. LOL SUCH a nutcase I swear! But so dorn loveable & huggable...I just want to bite her. She's such a sweetie.

I had a shoot last night of the most adorable little family. They had a 3.5 yr old that is TALLER than my 4.5 yr old! I guess that's no surprise, but MAN! Just a shocker. You can see her on my website later this week. But I do have to mention that Falyn is hitting a growth spurt. I swear, I JUST bought this child a couple pairs of pants (jeans, joggers, etc from Old Navy) and I am SO used to her wearing clothes for MONTHS....do you think any of these pants are even remotely close to fitting just a few WEEKS later? NO! They are already looking like high-waters! What's up with that?? Guess I have to resort to Wal-Mart and Target now if she's gonna grow this fast. :-( So, and don't laugh, but I guess she's now out of a 2T, and moving on to 3T's. LOL Ok, you can laugh...Faith's not far behind her, in an 18-24mos and a 4-5 shoe! ACK! Kinda ready for them to share clothes, kinda not.

Anyway, if you've read my idle babble this far, I'm impressed. We have a b-day party to go to this evening, and a BBQ here in a few hours. Still need to go shopping.

xoxoxo

My Sweet Girls

Here's a pic I took just a few weeks ago of the girls. Was trying to get a good one for the Christmas cards. ;-)

Ok Ang...

Are you happy now? Can't really say that I'll have anyting interesting to say, but I like this idea, so I'm making it a go. (at 6:42 am on a SATURDAY!) Ugh! Can't sleep this morning. Justin is on ASF, and is working the air show. He left around 3am and I'm not sure what time he'll be home, so I'm lonely today. Hard to sleep in that big empty bed.

There is a Mom2Mom sale going on at the fairgrounds today, and I may venture over there and see what they have.

But, I think I am going to try and get some more sleep before the girls get up and then the day begins. Think I can stay in bed all day??? ;)

And wouldn't you know it...I go to set up my background and it's the one you're using. :P LOL Off to find another interesting one....see now you have me wide awke still! Yes, it's your fault. LOL