I am a Bad Blogger..

I am a horrible blogger.. yes, thats right.. I spend plenty of time online reading other people's blogs, but I fail to take the time to write my own.. but I am going to try and get better and keep people more informed about whats going in my little family's lives! Let's see.. We all just got back from vacation to Orange Beach/Destin.. my Mom and Step-Dad retired and are living in Orange Beach, so we loaded up and dropped off Hallie Kate with them for a short getaway for Mommy and Daddy in Destin.. Mommy somehow contracted a cold (go figure), but I toughed it through and had a great couple days w. the Hubs. Then on Sunday (Mother's Day) , we went back to Mom's to take her to lunch and to pick up our precious cargo! HK had a large time at the beach, riding a pirate ship for a birthday party and playing with her Cappy and Granny.. from the pics, I believe our daughter partied more than Mommy and Daddy! ha..

In other news.. I am already planning HK's 2nd Bday party.. its not until September, but I have been gathering up Elmo related gear for months! ha I cant believe my little angel is already about to be 2!!!! It goes by way too fast.. just the other day, I was praying God would help you grow so we could leave the hospital and now I just want it to slow down! Everyone keeps asking when we are having another one and as much as seeing new babies give me the "fever", you are such a complete and perfect gift and I'm not completely sure if there will be a another, but I do know if/when it does happen, we will know its the right time for us all and now you are just too much fun to share right now! ha

I am going to start being better and posting pics etc.. i promise!!! Pics of our beach trip to follow soon..

Gone Too Long..

Well the title of this blog says it all.. I have been gone way toooo long. I get online and check other sites and blogs and I find them more interesting than writing my own! ha But, I will fill in my few readers on whats been going on at our house... LOTS of WALKING, and running and into everything.. our sweet Hallie Kate is busy! She is so much fun and such a joy! She keeps us laughing and smiling constantly! I know I say this constantly on facebook and to everyone that knows me, but I truly mean it... Hallie Kate is the BEST thing that ever happened to us!!! What a blessing she is!!! Michael is still busy working hard to provide for his girls and Mommy is tending to home and baby girl.. her and I have a walk coming up on April 2nd for the March of Dimes which is a cause dear to us since Hallie Kate was a preemie. I set my goal at $200 since I was late signing up, but would love to raise more if possible. Thanks so much to those who donated already.

In other exciting news, my best friend Brittany got married on the 19th of February at the coast and it was a GORGEOUS event! I was so honored to get to share in her big day and had the most fun on the trip! This Thursday, we find out the sex of her baby and I am thrilled to be an "Aunt" again to her baby boy or girl as I am to Grayson! I know he or she will be beautiful like Gray is and I can't wait to buy it some precious little clothes!!! :)

I also while updating would like to ask you to pray for a few people who I stumbled upon on the blog world who I know would greatly appreciate it...

1.) There is a little girl in TN named Lucy who is battling cancer.. She is 5 years old and celebrated her birthday in the hospital!!! I cannot imagine what this little girl and her family are going through, but their faith is nothing short of AMAZING!!!!! You can read on her Mom's blog for updates on her condition.. http://erikandkatekrull.blogspot.com

2.) A family lost their baby girl to SIDS recently (I have found many families who this has happened to and know of one family in Laurel).. a very scary thing that happens to infants for no explainable reason! http://kandjstaats.blogspot.com

3.) Continued prayers for my cousin, Kyle as he is now recovering from injuries sustained in his fight for our freedom in Afghanistan... he has a long road ahead, but is doing good. There are links to his page on Facebook to follow his progress.

4.) As always.. Prayers for my husband as he travels back and forth to work in Louisiana and for his continued success as such a wonderful hard worker and supporter of our family.

So thankful for my precious little family and their health.. and am praying for the above-mentioned and those not mentioned.. hoping this message can reach others who will pray for all those in need. Hope everyone has a good week and I promise to blog more often! :)

Take a Moment...

I have recently started actually "blogging" and keeping up with my friends blogs,etc and upon this "journey" I came upon a lady's blog about her unborn child who she found out was sick with a disease called Trisomy 18. I read her blogs up to date, researched the disease, and also joined her Caringbridge webpage so that I could keep up with baby and send prayers to her and their family. I had never heard of the disease but after finding out more about it, I was just pure sick on my stomach. As a mother, I can't imagine my child being sick with anything that I can't fix or not being able take her to the doctor, get some medicine and be over it in a few days.. much less something so life-threatening. Basically, this disease is so horrible that most babies that have it have to be born early because they cant even take the stress of childbirth and sometimes they are born stillborn..if they do survive, their days are immediately numbered!! Can you even imagine knowing that the precious baby you have grown to love will be taken from you at any given moment??!! Not to mention the struggles to deliver that baby, the health problems they go through when they are alive and then you fullknowingly have to prepare to let this baby go at any given time... it is just plain horrific! I cried and cried over hearing this woman's story and I promise you, I have held my baby girl just a little tighter since I found out about it. This morning upon arriving to work and checking my emails,etc.. I decided to check in on the baby and see how she was doing... and to find out after only 36 days here on this Earth... she passed away!!!! I truly can't even wrap my mind around it and yet on their blog and website all this family could do was praise God for 36 days with their baby and how wonderful those days were!!!!!! I have been so truly touched and amazed by this family's story and decided to share it with my fellow bloggers.. I think we could all use a little reminding sometimes of how blessed we are that God does not give us what we deserve and that we have our precious, healthy babies with us still!!!!! If you would like to read their story or leave prayers you can go to : www.caringbridge.org/visit/laynegracegaston And I also would like to take this moment to ask that prayers be with my cousin and his family.. he was severely wounded in Afghanistan and we are unsure of his condition as of now! Thanks and Bless You All!

Christmas Cards, Anyone??

I, along with many other people, have become much more aware of the economy and how much we all overspend. I had decided not to Fall Pictures this year since we had just celebrated my child's 1st birthday and had tons of pictures from that. I figured we could use some of those pictures for our annual Brand Family Christmas card, so I went straight to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards to find what card I wanted to use. I had already used them for her birth announcements last year which were also our Christmas Card and they were absolutely precious and I used Shutterfly to create a very special birthday photo book to display all her 1st birthday pictures without the added expense of printing out all the pictures. Shutterfly has so many things to offer and at great prices. They are always offering a deal on the shipping or a percentage off of your order and when you recieve your order in the mail, there is always an added coupon for your next order. So, basically when wanting to save money and get the best quality photos and cards.. go to Shutterfly.com. This year, they are offering a special for bloggers and when you follow the directions they give you, you will receive 50 free holiday cards!!!! I am so excited and cant wait to place my order. You, too, can receive this great special by going to http://bit.ly/sfly2010 Happy Hunting!

Thankful for.....

I saw alot of my fellow bloggers mentioning things they are thankful for so I decided with the season fast approaching, it was time I listed what I was thankful for:

First and foremost, I am thankful for my family that God gave me... I have a loving and supportive husband who sacrifices being with us everyday to give us a better life and without him, we would truly be lost... he also helped to give me my daughter who is by far the best thing that has ever happened to us! Hallie Kate is the kind of baby people dream about.. beautiful, sweet, and just pure precious! I truly cannot even say her name or look at her picture without a smile on my face and a happy tear in my eye. I know I have not done many things right in my life, but whatever I did to deserve her.. well for that I am forever grateful! :)

My parents.. My Daddy is my heart, always has been and always will be! He and my step-mom, are always available to help me with the baby when my husband is gone or when he finally is home and we need a date night or just when I need to run an errand, they babysit free of charge anytime I need them, check on us daily, do things around my house, etc. etc... they definitely help me out when I am "husband-less" and that is truly something that is priceless.

My friends.. as you get older and get married and have kids, etc.. you do tend to lose touch with old friends, make new, whatever the case but i do have a few, close friends who I know I can count on when I need them and thats what truly matters... I include my sister in this because she is one of my best friends and I can always go to her with anything! (I love you Sunny!)

My job.. it is definitely an easy-going and relaxed atmosphere and is just enough for a Mommy who spends the majority of her time at home.. I work for an awesome boss who lets me make my own schedule and understands that my baby comes first and the extra money helps for sure.

My house.. I <3 my cozy little house in Sharon, it doesnt have much growing room but for now it is perfect and is just enough for the 3 of us and makes it a lot easier to chase after a 14 month old (HK is 14 months old today.. slow down sister.. you are growing too fast! :( )

My Tahoe.. yes i know my list is dwindling down to the "material" things but its my other baby ha! I will never drive anything else but a Tahoe and it was a wpnderful surprise from my hard working hubby and it will probably be my birthday, anniversary, christmas, etc present for the next 10 years so I better enjoy it! :)

Warm Pajamas, Hot Chocolate, Good Books and On Demand... I love coming home from work and me and HK snuggling up in our pajamas and playing and then when she lays down its time for Mommy to read or I catch up on my shows on On Demand.. my favorite shows at the moment are Grey's, Dancing with the Stars, Blue Bloods, Jerseylicious, Snapped... the list could go on all day.. yes, i am a TV junkie and i love it!

Well, I am about to wind this down, but I would lastly and defintely most importantly like to thank God for everything He has blessed and continues to bless me and my family with, certainly health because that is something money certainly cannot buy!

Lots of changes...

Well, alot has changed since my last blog.. I decided it was due time for an update. I am now working 3 days a week versus 4 and Hallie Kate is now staying with her "Mimi".. we liked daycare but she stayed sick all the time so we opted to just give her some more time at the grandparents and try daycare again when she is a little older. I am still loving my lil job and especially the other 4 days I am home w. my baby girl. Michael transferred with his company to Louisiana so right now we dont see much of him, but hopefully it will pay off in the long run and we will get to see him more.

Fall is finally here, though Mississippi has weird weather and right now it is 85 degrees and almost November but it is my favorite time of the year with Halloween, football season, Thanksgiving and Christmas.. lots to do! And i love to decorate for the season. This is Hallie Kate's first trick or treating experience and she is going to be a pink Kitty Kat! I know she will look so cute. She is now 13 months old and into everything.. her lil personality is so cute and we have so much fun with her! I took her to the fair this week and she loved it.. lots of lights and music is right up her alley!

In my free time, I have been painting wine glasses and selling them.. they are cute and only $10 if anyone is interested in them.. makes great Christmas happies! :)

My 1st Blog

Well... This is my very 1st time ever to "blog" so it may not be very exciting but I promise to get better at it!! I have been meaning to start a blog since Michael and I got married to update our families, but as you all know.. we have been busy! ha We had a beautiful ceremony on October 11, 2008 at the home of my grandparents, Bo and Shirley Phillips and then honeymooned in Pigeon Forge. We enjoyed a quiet few first months of marriage and then got a wonderful surprise on February 21, 2009... I was expecting a BABY!!!! So, the next few months were filled w. nervousness, excitement, morning sickness.. you name it and that was just Michael! ha Our baby was not due until October 29, 2009..but she decided to grace of with her presence on September 15, 2009 and life has FOREVER changed!!!!
Hallie Kate Brand is by far the most beautifully precious gift from God that we could ever get!! She is such a joy to us and has taught us truly what life is alllll about. We cant imagine life without her and dont remember what we ever did without her. I stayed home w. her the 1st 8 months of her life and I can tell you, they were the best 8 months of mine! We had a blast!
I recently got offered a job and decided with the economy and everything I better take a job while i can get it, so I went back to work 2 weeks ago and HK started at daycare. She has really adjusted well and loves the other babies and ladies that care of her and I am enjoying work. I think it was a good decision for us both. I am off on Fridays..so I get to spend allll day with her and the weekend, plus I am off by 3 everyday to run errands and then pick her up and go home and play! :)
I am going to start posting pictures and blogging more often to update everyone on how Hallie Kate is doing and try to keep this as another "baby book" type thing to show her one day! I hope you enjoyed reading my first blog and I will sooon be back!! :)