The pictures are back!! YAY!

We got our pictures back from Bree's first big photo shoot! :) I think they turned out really great! He got some beautiful shots of Bree! Let us know what you think. He did a slide show with music...... here is the link: http://www.poeticexposure.com/aubrey/

These are the moments........

These are the moments........

You know how when you try to hold on to a moment,

a look, a feeling so tightly..... it just slips through your hands?

It’s like trying to grasp at air.

Trying to grab & hold the wind in your hand is fleeting,

and in trying to do so...... you loose most of what you were trying to capture.

I feel this way tonight.

I want to breathe in and out so deeply that these moments sink into my bones.

I want these moments of pure love & happiness to resonate in my pours.

I want to be able to capture these moments in my heart.

I want them permanently implanted in a mind,

so that I may call upon them on days that aren’t as bright

& nights that are not so warm.

These moments... these nights of pure routine,

and nights that most consider ordinary..... I have found spectacular.

A night with my family, my husband, my silly dogs,

a warm moon & stars, a cozy home,

a slight breeze on a scorching summers night,

and a daughter that I prayed for my whole life softly sleeping through it all.....

These are the moments I wish would last forever.

Bliss has found me & I wish I could capture it in a jar & keep it with me always.

I will try not to fight & resist & capture the moment as is passes through us.

I will try instead to breath in & out .... and enjoy & savor every moment.

I will thank you Lord!

I thank you for a kind of happiness & purpose I never could have found on my own.

Through You,

Your plans,

and in Your time..........

You have given me so much more than I deserve..... And I thank you!

Nanny's 80th Birthday

Today was my grandmother's 80th birthday! My mom, Bree, my brother & his girlfriend, Charla, and myself all headed up to the nursing home to help ring in my Nanny's big 8-0! Charla cut & styled my grandma's hair, my mom brought presents, and I brought my little Aubrey & my camera! I hoped that my grandma might be a little more alert today & able to really meet her great-grand baby.... and there were a couple fleeting moments during the day that I think my grandma understood that we were there. I think she even understood that Bree was here, because she followed her around with her eyes several times! I only hope that my nanny felt the love we all have for her!

I remember my grandmother's 70th birthday really well. It was the summer before my senior year in high school. My best friend, Jessie & I went over to my grandma's apartment & had cake & opened presents with her. Not only can I not believe that it as already been 10 years, but I look at what a really hard last 10 years my grandmother has gone through and I just ache for her. I wish so deeply that the Nanny I remember my whole life was still here with us. I wish she could just sit up & have a conversation with us. I wish I could hear my Nanny's laugh...... her contagious laugh.... just one more time.

Anyway, Happy 80th birthday Nanny!! I love you so very very much!!

Bree's first play date! :-)

On Thursday, Aubrey & I got to meet Mr. Grant Hawkins Eastin! Grant is the son of one of my closest girlfriends, Jenni, and he was born on July 18th! It was our first our first playdate, and we had a blast! They are just 29 days apart in age, and I think they are going to be great friends as they grow up together. As I held sweet baby Grant, I was amazed to see how much my little Bree has already grown! He seemed so itty bitty! Here are some pictures of our precious babies.....

1 Month Old!!

My sweet baby girl is officially 1 month old today! I can't believe it! She is definately much more alert these days. She is able to focus on my face & toys. She smiles at me some (and it just melts me)!! She also had her 1 month check up yesterday, and she did wonderful! She weighted in at 8 Lbs. 15 ounces, and she is now 21 inches long.

Baby Shower & Meeting Great-Grandma!

Today was not only Bree's 1 month birthday, but it was also my cousin Meridith's baby shower. My mom & I (mainly my mom) threw my cousin a baby shower at a tea room in Richardson, called the Chocolate Angel. It was Bree's 1st big outing (with lots of people around), and her first big girly luncheon! Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures, because I was just trying to juggle feeding her & myself.... & still trying to talk with family & friends. Meridith is also having a girl, and is due at the end of August. I think it will be so much fun for Bree to have a cousin so close to her age! I hope they get to be great friends!



The location of Meridith's shower is really close to the nursing home my grandmother is in. So, my mom & I ran over there right after the shower. I have missed visiting with my grandma. I always went to see my grandmother at least once a week before Bree was born. Then when Bree came, I was really hesitant to bring her there for a little while because of all of the germs. (I've turned into a bit of a germ-a-phobe)! Anyway, I figured that Bree was 1 month old..... and it was about time she got to meet her great-grandmother! Unfortunately, my grandmother is not doing very well. She has been progressively going down for quite some time, but it seems as though she has slipped away even more since the last time I saw her. I have always been very close to here, and I had hoped & prayed that she would hang on long enough to meet my precious little girl. I have such wonderful memories with my great-grandmother, and although I knew Bree would never get to know my "Nanny" the way I knew my great-grandmother..... I had hoped that my Nanny would get to know Bree. Unfortunately, I don't know if that will really get to happen either. I pulled Aubrey out of her stroller & brought her close to my grandmother's bed (she is bed ridden at this point), but my Nanny never even really looked at her. It was as if she really didn't see her. It made me so sad, not just for me & Bree..... But for my grandmother. It is just the hardest thing to watch someone you love so much deteriorate before your eyes. I miss her so much already..... I miss the old "Nanny" I grew up with. To all of you who still have grandparents left..... cherish them! They are leave us too quickly!

Here is Bree's first picture with her Great-grandma: