Conquering the Rings

Shelby & I bought Georgia the "old school" stackable rings for Christmas last year and up until about a week ago she has enjoyed eating them and taking them off. Just in the past few days she has started trying to put them on in order. Yesterday was the first time she "conquered the rings". I got it with my camera tonight. She sticks her little tongue out and really concentrates. At the end we always clap and say "yea" and she squeals and tries to clap and waves her arms. It's simple but sweet times like these that mean so much to Shelby & me. Our sweet little "puddin" as Shelby calls her and "punkin" as I call her is almost a year old and is learning so much-we are so proud to be her parents. We continue to be so very thankful for her little life...which has made our life feel so very big. Last Saturday morning we were all three in our bed enjoying playing and being lazy and we talked about how many times we had dreamed of moments like that. Thank you, Lord, for the simple blessings in our life like lazy Saturday mornings and conquering the rings. "I will thank you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of the marvelous things you have done. I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High." -Psalm 9:1-2

I hope you enjoy the sequence of events that happened tonight!

Blue ring...

Green ring...
Yellow ring...
Orange ring...
Red ring...
"YEA!"

SO proud of herself...

She was SO proud she crawled over to Daddy to get his love...

Perfectly happy...

Facelift

I'm talking about the blog...NOT ME! =) I started playing around with the blog today and gave it a facelift. Don't be surprised if it changes again! It will definitely have to change when baby #2 arrives! I can't wait to see pictures of TWO baby girls together. It blows my mind to think that in about 3 months we will be a family of FOUR! The Lord is gracious...that's one thing that keeps ringing in our heads as we go through this pregnancy. I am reminded of what Hebrews 4:16 says, "So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it." We found God's grace to help us through our infertility struggles, through the adoption process, and now we continue to seek it as we raise Georgia Claire and get ready for her little sister's arrival.

I know it's crazy but there are times that I STILL cannot believe I am pregnant...even with my ever-growing tummy, cravings, and feeling the baby move. Speaking of cravings, I drove about 20 minutes today to get a good watermelon because I was craving watermelon. When we got home, Georgia & I sat down and ate and ate and ate! It tasted SO GOOD! I have been feeling well during the day, but in the evenings I start getting really tired. Shelby keeps reminding me that I am 6+ months pregnant and I spend the day chasing and entertaining an 11+ month old! I've been eating well, I'm trying to walk most mornings before it gets too hot (just picked this back up), and I TRY to rest while Georgia is resting. I've gotten pretty clumsy...I was not the most graceful to begin with but as my tummy grows so does my clumsiness!

Here's a pic of my watermelon-eating buddy today!

Eleven Years

On May 29, 1999, I became Mrs. Becky Braman. I will never forget that day...such a pretty ceremony, even though it only lasted about 15 minutes! We pulled away from the church, got about 1/2 a mile away and I burst into tears and said, "I miss my family!" Shelby and I laugh about it now...I think at the time he was thinking, "What have I done?!" I was fine after a few minutes. The ceremony and reception were such a whirlwind that I really didn't get to visit with everyone like I had hoped. We drove to Dallas the first night and then spent a week in Cloudcroft, NM. It was a great trip!

Shelby & I have had quite a ride the last 11 years, but I wouldn't trade a second of it for anything. We've moved 6 times, bought 2 beagles, given away 2 beagles, I got my teaching certification and taught public school for 8 years, Shelby graduated with a Masters in Biology, gone into debt, gotten out of debt, purchased two homes, Shelby became an ordained deacon of our church, said goodbye to our two remaining grandfathers, adopted Georgia Claire and are pregnant with our second daughter! WOW! Growing up all I ever wanted was to be a mom and a wife...I had a great example in my mom and wanted to be just like her. Now, thanks to Shelby and his great work ethic and overwhelming desire to provide for his family, I'm now staying home, enjoying our daughter and preparing our home for the birth of our second daughter! I love you, Shelby!

Since we were going to be in the car most of the day yesterday for our anniversary, Mom, Dad, & Kathy told us to at least go eat breakfast by ourselves and they would watch Georgia. We were only gone about an hour but it was nice to enjoy our breakfast together, just the two of us. In Fredericksburg, there is a bakery called "Rather Sweet". The owner is Rebecca Rather, cousin of Dan Rather, and pastry extraordinaire! They have scones and muffins and other yummy goodies, but their cinnamon rolls are something that Shelby and I MUST have every time we go down there! They are HUGE and I dare not think about how many calories are in them, but instead enjoy every single bite...YES, I eat the WHOLE THING!

Family pics...

Looking forward to the next 11 years and many more with Shelby, Georgia Claire, and her little sister! Thank you, Lord, for the many blessings in my life from cinnamon rolls to loving husbands to precious baby girls!

Hill Country Visit Part V

Part V of our trip consisted of playing in the creek and taking pictures behind the guest house of some dear church friends of Angie & Joe. They have a beautiful piece of property with more Cypress trees and a flowing creek right behind it. Next time we are going to spend a whole afternoon playing in the creek! It was so much fun but we didn't have a whole lot of time while we were there.

My sister Kathy and her girls, Mary Katherine & Caroline...

The boys...Gabe, Luke & Will...
Luke...I still call him my little Lukie Pookie. Even though he's almost 7, he was our first nephew and holds a VERY special place in our hearts...he is such a sweet boy!The boys again...looking a little mischievous!
Paw Paw, Georgia & Will...precious picture!
Grandma with the granddaughters...Mary Katherine, Georgia & Caroline...
All of the grandkids with Grandma & Paw Paw...we were thinking this MIGHT be their Christmas card picture for 2010, but then realized our baby girl #2 will be here! (Gabe-6, Caroline-3, Will-4, Georgia-11 months, Luke-6, Mary Katherine-4)

Dad wanted a picture of "all of his girls"...

My sisters and me...I love them both so much!
Shortly after this picture we started our trek home. It's such a long drive, but with 4 kiddos it made it even longer! Thirty minutes down the road Georgia had a "blow out" and we had to pull over and change her diaper and her clothes...and clean the car seat--YUCK! Another 30 minutes down the road and we stopped for Happy Meals for the kids and lunch for us. After another bathroom break and a quick visit with my Granny, we finally made it home. It was a long trip for us, but it must have felt like an eternity to the kids. We pulled up at a red light beside my parents and Kathy & her kids about 30 minutes down the road. Mary Katherine was sitting by the window and when they rolled down her window she asked, "Are we in Texas?" to which I replied, "Yes!" Then, in a relieved but exhausted little voice she said, "Yea!" and put her head back on her car seat. It was a fun but hard trip on all of us. When we got home Georgia crawled all over the place and enjoyed playing with her toys that we had left at home. She went to sleep last night at 9:00 and slept until 8:15 this morning! Poor baby but lucky us! We slept TEN hours!

HIll Country Visit Part IV

Part IV of our trip consisted of all 6 cousins playing together...and wearing each other out! Gabe got a small pool for his birthday and all became fish for a day (all but Caroline & Georgia).

Gabe, Will & Mary Katherine enjoying each other...

Will is so sweet with Georgia...he LOVES giving her lots of attention and she loves it, too!
Will LOVES cuddling and reading books...Aunt Kathy got some great one-on-one time with him here...
Shelby filled water balloons for the kids...Mary Katherine gathered her ammo for the boys...
Grandma & PawPaw brought fresh green beans, new potatoes, peppers, and squash from their garden. They snapped the green beans while the kids played and we enjoyed a DELICIOUS meal that night, thanks to them!

Paw Paw might be a retired entomologist, but his skills still come in handy with the grandkids! Gabe was given an ant farm so after they found some ants, all of the kids watched (and squealed and yelled some, too) while Paw Paw put the ants in the gel.

Here is Will being silly...looking through the ant farm...

Caroline & Georgia took a bath together that night and she wanted to help feed "Georgie"...such a big helper!

Hill Country Visit Part III

Part III of our trip consisted of attending Gabe's 6th birthday. Mom & Dad, and Kathy, Luke, Mary Katherine, & Caroline all came, too! Andy had to stay at home and work...a good principal's work is never done! Gabe's party was a hit for children of ALL ages! Angie got a musician from Austin to perform for the kids (and adults). He was a HUGE HIT! The kids loved him!

Georgia even got excited with her daddy while the musician sang...
She was mesmerized by the pelican puppet that the musician used...she stared at it the entire time!
Here she is dancing and waving her arms to the music...
SO much fun!
Angie made homemade cupcakes & peach and peppermint ice cream...YUM!!!! Here is Gabe and a few of his friends after a water gun fight and lots of singing and dancing...
Georgia was asleep as soon as the car was moving and slept the entire way back to the Meyer...
BUT, she woke up for her bath!
Happy Birthday, Gabe! So glad we could all be a part of your celebration!

Hill Country Visit Part II

Part II of our trip consisted of Georgia, Shelby & me heading to Comfort, TX to a B&B where my family stayed two summers ago. It has become one of our favorite places! The Meyer Bed & Breakfast is a wonderful and relaxing getaway...right on the Cypress Creek, beautiful scenery, incredible breakfast, lots of deer, and located within walking distance of the antique & gift shops in downtown. We enjoyed relaxing and Shelby enjoyed getting some fly fishing in while Georgia took a nap. He had an audience...an older gentleman sat in one of the Adirondack chairs and watched him as he fished. I love watching him cast his fly line, too. There is something so relaxing about it.

This is our view from our room...Cypress Creek is just at the bottom of the hill...

Georgia by the creek and the BEAUTIFUL, LARGE Cypress trees...Georgia and her daddy...she looks at him and starts to giggle...so sweet!
Mean momma put her toes in the cold creek...she's not too sure about cold water yet!
We went into San Antonio the following morning. I had a maternity dress to exchange and Shelby "needed" to go to Bass Pro Shops...Georgia LOVED the stuffed animals.
Sweet Georgia while we waited for Daddy in the fly shop...
That afternoon we went to meet up with the rest of my family to celebrate Gabe's 6th birthday!