Hey guys,

Sorry I know it's been a while 259 days since I posted a blog. I would love to post more but I'm having to look in to other options due to certain circumstances that I don't want to be exposed to the world and individuals who feel they are apart of our family.

Hope this finds you well. Email me or Facebook me if you need us.....I'll email out our new location when I get it together.

As you all know, we are Gator Fans. I have to say yesterday would rank up in one of my top 5 days EVER and maybe my best fan experience EVER!!!  All the years of my dad hanging me over the rail at football games (I once got a James Lofton wristband) and telling me go on get up there paid off.  We dropped of the kids at my in-laws around 10:30, we were a little behind schedule but arrived in our "GatorVan" at around 12:40. I had previously mapped out the pregame and post game traffic patterns and had found out where the Official Gator Tailgate would be.  We parked perfectly in the middle between the stadium and the tailgate. We parked in a parking lot that was literally half SC half FL. There was tailgating galore.  Big Gator Buses and Gator Chomps everywhere....We were afraid we missed the main activities at Seawell's but when we got there it was free food, drinks available, and Gators Galore!!  We got to see Albert, Alberta, the Gator band, and the cheerleaders.  After the band played, and a few good rounds of Go Gators and It's great to be a Florida Gator...we headed out.  At one of the booths we found earrings to match my bracelet! Mark got them for me.  I put them on. When we were heading towards the stadium we were walking behind the mascots in their 'people outfits' and the band.  We walked through the tailgating and ended up getting some snacks and drinks from a Gator Fan.  Mark and I still want to know what was in that pistachio candy thing it was sooo good!

When we arrived at the stadium we got our seats and the game was nerve wracking at first. The stadium was SOOOOOOOOOOO loud.  I have to say that was definately the loudest game I've ever been to.  At about the 2nd quarter I had a headache hit that  still have as I type this.  At half time, we took some time to stretch our legs and we went down to figure out our post game plan to get to the team.  I talked to the guard guy at about where I thought we needed to cross and told him where I needed to get.  He told me that we would have to go through the tunnel to get to the Endzone.  We stopped at the First Aid stand to get me some Tylenol, got some nachos and a pretzel to refuel and then headed back to our seats.

My dad called right as we got back to yell at me for not getting the Gators going.  Our luck began to change after that and despite my now migraine headache, Mark and I cheered two little blue dots in our sea of Garnet.  I can say I never felt so many daggers directed at me or Mark when we would yell Go Gators or Gator Bait.  The people around us though were a good group and we were mainly around families so it was nice. We missed our kids but knew there was no way they could have been wedged in like sardines and been as happy as we were.

We left our seats at about 4 minutes left in the game...most of the SC fans were heading towards the exit by the end of the 3rd....we made our way to the guard from earlier and he waived us right on through.  We made it to the End Zone (where we were 2 years ago) with 34 seconds left in the game.  The game ended and the team came over...we sang the Florida Song....I had a perfect spot on the hedge and was getting hand slaps from lots of the players...then there he was our hero Tim Tebow...2 feet from me and bam! Hand slap!  Ahhh yes! My mission was complete.  Then the boy next to me was trying to get things from the players and #14 gave him his wristband and a thing from his leg, so I said can I get something for my son and I got the leg thing!  The team left and Albert and Alberta came by and I got to pat them on the noses...they were nice gators as Jacob said when he saw the pictures. The guy standing next to me was so funny...he said "Ok that's it I can die now because I'd die happy" and walked away.

After that we headed towards the car after I of course called my dad like a teenager and told him I touched Tebow! I touched Tebow!  On our way to the car, we saw the team buses so we decided to see if we could see them coming out....the team did come out to the buses and I had a perfect spot again! Right on the aisle, I don't think there was a Gator we didn't see up close and for the most part I think I got to say good job to every player I would have wanted to.  When Spikes came by, Mark said watch your eye!  I gasped but it everyone thought it was funny.  Then for the 2nd time, there he was Tebow, walking down the aisle, he had to stop right at me because the line was stopped before him. I said "Good Game Tebow" He said "Thank you" and then I HUGGED HIM! Yep that's right I hugged him.  Shortly after Urban Meyer walked through and I told him Good Game Coach...he said thanks.  Mr Tebow walked through and then Mrs Tebow.  The line was really going fast at that point. I asked her for a picture but she got wisked through and she said "I have to go with my son but maybe next time". She was genuinely nice.

We  headed to the car me floating on a cloud...yeah!  My Gator Day was complete.  I posted my pics on Facebook so take a look when you can!  I also wanted to give a big shout out to Mark, we had such a great day and he was with me every step.  It one point in the game in the 3rd quarter he yelled at the team and seriously let out a growl that would have made Madision proud. It scared me for a second becuase I thought I was sitting next to the hulk...a Blue and Orange Hulk. Thank you baby Love you!

Our cup runneth over. It seems like we are going 100 miles a minute all the time but we are happy and healthy and that's all you can really ask for.  

Madison:
Madison is growing like a weed. She will be 9 months this week.  I can't believe how time flies.  At her 6 month check up on 8/12, she was 16lbs 6oz and 28 1/4 inches.  Her 9 month check up is this Friday and I can't wait to see how she is grown. She has struggled with a couple ear infections and a cough. She also has at least 5 teeth just under the gum line that have yet to come up.  She is doing well with her eating and  is crawling all over the place.  Her 1st time standing unassisted was on 10/8 her daddy's birthday.  Since then she's done it a couple times but hasn't really commited.  She loves her big brother and loves his toys. We have to be careful and watch what she gets a hold of.  Mark did put up the baby gate to the kitchen today.  She finally decided it was funnier to hear No No then it was to actually stop.  She is such a blessing to our family I can't image what life would have been without her.

Jacob:
Jacob is amazing. The things he is learning and saying just cracks us up. We have to be careful more than ever what we say.  He's been doing the Little Ninjas Karate at school and today he earned his White Belt. He is so proud.  He is really in to Legos and  Puzzles right now.  He has a crush on a little girl at school. It breaks my heart to hear him say he is going to MARRY HER! Where does he come up with this stuff?  He is really in to Disney's Phineas and Ferb right now.  He is even starting to watch Survivor and Amazing Race with us and of course FOOTBALL!  He says Yucky Bulldogs to anyone wearing Georgia stuff and says    "I Like Gators" and "Tebow is My Hero".  We are still working on his eye and go back in December for an update. It seems as though January might be surgery time. However, we need to make sure it doesn't interfere with his birthday as EVERYDAY he reminds us "It's my birthday next"  He wants a Monkey Joe's birthday party and I'm sure we will oblige.

Jessica:
As for me, I've been working some strange hours.  I changed positions this month leaving my department of 8+ years and going over to Business Customer Care.  It's like having a new job but with all the people you already know.  The kids have been really tolerant of the changes as there are many days when I don't get off work on time. Mark has also been extremely patient with me.  I'm really enjoying this football season and am keeping my fingers crossed that I have secured Mark and I tickets for the SC vs Fl game in Columbia next month.  Mark and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary on 10/5. I can't believe it's been 7 years. It seems like just yesterday we were seating on the beach in Jamaica on our honeymoon.  I am trying to learn how to relax more at home and let the small things slide.  It just seems like there isn't enough time in the day sometimes you know?  

Mark:
Mark has been a big help to me and I am lucky to have such a great husband. He is a great daddy and I love the way Madison lights up when she lays eyes on him.  He has been working with Jacob and his going to bed in his OWN bed and has worked with me in putting Madison down to sleep bottle free!  The great thing about having a 2nd baby is you know where you messed up the 1st time. Not that we messed up at all with Jacob but we definately have 'lessons learned' under our belt.  Mark celebrated his 38th birthday this month.  He is slowly becoming a bigger Florida fan.  I love it.  I love sharing football games with the family. I know it sounds strange to have the roles 'reversed' in our house.  I just want to watch football and Mark wants to go out and work in the yard.  Slowly but surely we are starting to share this together! We went to see Couples Retreat last weekend and I have to say that movie was hilarious!  It was nice to get out of the house for a while and relax even though we decided to go to the grocery store afterwards.

Well I hope this blog finds you and  your family well.  I tend to update my Facebook a whole lot more than the blog as you can probably tell.  If you are on facebook add me and Mark as a friend!

Just wanted to send a quick note that we are doing ok. I'm hoping things will settle down soon so I can begin bloging more again. Happy last weekend of summer!

Good afternoon,

I know I have been such a bad blogger. I know every post is about how busy we are and what we are doing that makes us busy but I wanted to just sit down and relax and get everyone up to speed on things. I guess I'm such a bad blogger because most of the people that probably read this are my friends on facebook and see our daily posts but I know there are some of you that just can't get on board with the facebook thing!

Well to catch up on our precious baby girl, Madison.  Her 4month check up was on June 12th. She is fabulous and is 26 1/2 inches in height (off the chart) and 14lbs 9oz (70th percentile) for weight.  She is such a good and happy baby and brings our family so much joy each and every day.  She does great at daycare and her teachers are wonderful!  She is now 5 months and growing like a little weed. If her teeth would just poke through!  She has been teething so much lately but as with anything that Madison does, she finds it funny or she just watches Jacob to pass the time.  She is definately 'parachuting' and I look for any day now she will just take off and start crawling. How do I explain baby gates to Jacob?  Maybe it will keep him from getting his 'snacks' when I can't get the food on the table fast enough.  I stopped breastfeeding around Father's Day.  Madison did well with the transition although as her mommy I wish she would have made some kind of attempt at being sad for even just a moment.  Breastfeeding is a very challenging thing to do.  It's what's best for your baby but working full time and trying to pump 4 times a day and make sure things are in order to go back to work the next day was exhausting.She has done great on formula and now with her dinners at night she is a little piggy! 

Jacob has been doing well with his eye patch but even with the eye patch I notice the crossing and fear our next visit in September with Dr. Goei will be the one with the "surgery" green light.  I love that kid so much and can't stand to think about him having to go under surgery but if it will help him and prevent future damage down the road then I know it's needed. I just wish I could do it for him. We went through some crazy things with a new teacher in his classroom but that has been resolved and we are just waiting for him to move up to the Older 3s.  He is quite the chatter box these days.  It seems as though it's non-stop. I didn't really realize it so much until a man at a restaurant we stopped at on vacation in Troy, Alabama commented on it.  Now I pick up on it a lot.

My work is going ok.  Lots of changes recently.  My Manager, Shannon, moved back to West Point and took one of my friends, his wife Kelli, with him.  Although we didn't get a lot of chances to meet for lunch and chit chat, I did enjoy the time I spent with her and enjoyed watching their twins grow.  Madison got to meet them when I was on maternity leave though I think all 3 babies slept the entire lunch so I don't know if you would call it that.  Thank goodness for email and facebook and blogs.  I learned a lot from Shannon from a leadership perspective and am thankful for the year he was at the Call Center.  I have a new manager now that I worked with for a while, Mary.  I can't wait to learn from her too!  She used to work in the field so it will be good to learn from that perspective too!

We just returned from vacation from July 3-9 to Tallassee, Al and DeFuniak Springs, Fl (Destin, FL).  It was so good to be 'home'.  Although Fort Walton Beach hasn't changed much, the area in general is so different.  I seem to relax when I'm there and nothing makes me happier than to see my babies playing in the water that I loved so much as a kid.  Jacob really took to the beach.  I wish we could go there every day just to hear his laughter when the waves hit him.  Madison put her princess toes in the water but didn't really give us any impression either way as to what her opinion was. She sat on the beach with me and played with the sand. I just had to be careful she didn't put any in her mouth...with her teething not an easy task.  We were disappointed in our old 'local' hangout Gilligan's it's definately gone down hill. We did find a new fave...Bayou Bill's now that it's remodeled and all shiney and new it was wonderful!  We had chargrilled oysters that were the best ever!  Jacob even got his fair share of them.  I miss Florida already but know now that I need to speak up and tell Mark when I want to go. We don't have to stay at a fancy hotel every time and even though we stayed at hotel 30 miles away from the beach at least we were there.  We got to see my dad and stepmom every day and that was a blessing too! 

As for me, I turned 32 on Sunday and as I'm typing this I sit and wait for a shower....I am wearing a Holter Monitor.  I haven't felt that great since our return trip from Florida. I was getting ill on the way back and  noticed that even when I'm sitting down it feels like I just ran a sprint (at times).  Yesterday morning it was almost unbearable and I had the worst headache to go with it so I called my doctor and he saw me at 11:15 (I later found out that my MIL was scheduled at that time but cancelled so thanks June for the appointment hehe).  He heard a premature heartbeat and had me go over to Doctor's at 2pm to get this monitor. Had I known I wouldn't be able to hold the baby or Jacob that much or take a bath with it on, I think I would have waited until today or something to get it on.  I feel like a sweaty mess right now!  Only 1 hour to go and mama is taking a bath!  I'm kind of nervous about taking these things off myself because they are taped on pretty good. If you hear some yelling around 3pm, it's just me getting the tape off.  Please keep me in your prayers that whatever is going on is easily fixed and/or temporary and that I will be back to my old self in no time. 

I hope this blog entry finds everyone in good spirits and health. I have a lot of prayers going out this week for my stepbrothers and stepsister whose father passed away on Sunday and my friend Kim's mom who was in the hospital this weekend too.

Ok let me start out by saying I know I need to catch up on a couple things but I'm so exhausted I can't possibly find the energy right now. We (on a whim) went down Tallulah Gorge yesterday and my whole body hurts from all the stairs. 

Last night Jacob got to go fishing for the first time and it was a success he *cough mommy cough* caught his first fish!  We all had a great time and Mark was such a good dad with him fishing.

I just wanted to pop in and let every one know that Madison did great eating her first veggie tonight! She's tried cereal and bananas with not much excitement but tonight she got to try sweet potatoes and I really thought she was going to fall out of her bumbo as she was wiggling and jumping in between bites! I'm so glad because I have been a little worried about her eating. Of course Jacob is Madison's personal secret service agent as he samples her food before we give it to her....sweet brother!

Well I gotta finish up...I must say I don't like the new evening Weather Channel show changes. Bring back Abrams and Bettes!!! Good night!

For those of you that are my Facebook friends, I posted pics of the Zoo trip on my page.  I think I made it to where anyone can see it so I will try and figure out how to link ...try clicking here: Zoo pics

We've been going to the Riverbanks Zoo every year since 2007. Each year we take a picture of Jacob on a turtle there.  Here is the slide show of him through the years and with our newest addition.

Hi! We have been so busy it seems like that's all I can say these days. A year ago we were patiently waiting to find out just how many babies we would be blessed with and were trying to wrap our brain around how to take care of everyone. We have come a long way in a year. We can't imagine life without Madison now and each day the way Jacob and her interact really feels our hearts.

Madison's baptism last week was so beautiful. Father Micheal said some wonderful words and brought tears to my eyes when he spoke about Madison's future white dresses she will wear at the front of the church.

Our girl is 4 months old and 13lbs 13oz last week. We had to take her to the doctor because she had an ear infection. Her 4 month check up is Friday. It was delayed because of our ped vacation. We could have seen someone else in his practice but for checkups we like to see him. Madison is rolling over now quite a bit now.

Jacob is a mess! He is having a blast swimming at school every day and our trips to the y water park.

Well I gotta go we are on our way to the zoo as I type this. I hope the weather channel doesn't fail us!