Chivalry is not dead!

Kyndall and I spent our morning running around town doing some last minute errands before we leave for our trip home this Friday.  One of the things on my to-do list was to get my tires rotated and balanced.  I love taking my car to Gerald's to get it serviced because they are always so nice and QUICK!  Also, this is what they leave on my front seat every single time......

How thoughtful is that?!  They do this for all of their lady customers and I just think it's the nicest thing ever!  A simple, inexpensive way for them to say thank you.

And because I just CAN'T resist, here are a few pictures of Miss Priss all dressed up and ready for a day of errands.  Thanks for the outfit, Aunt Kelly and Uncle Kenny!

"....When the dog bites, when the bee stings......"

".......I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don't feel so bad!"  (~The Sound of Music)

Most of the time I try to keep my blog posts positive, happy, light-hearted and fun, since that's what most people enjoy reading about.  But life isn't always positive, happy, light-hearted and fun.  Every now and then I feel the need to share my thoughts, my fears and my questions.  Last night I laid awake for most of the night as my mind wondered to places I never wanted it to.  I desperately wanted to fall asleep, but my thoughts were racing and my mind refused to shut down for the night.  Yesterday I received some very shocking, tragic news that hit me so hard that I have yet to get it off my mind.  I learned that a very dear friend of our family's died suddenly of a massive brain hemorrhage while at the beach with her family for the holiday weekend.  She was literally here one minute and gone the next.  She was young, healthy and happy.  She left behind a husband and her only daughter, who is 25.  With the passing of Mrs. Lucy yesterday, this makes THREE young girls who are friends of mine that have lost their Mothers in the past two months.  I can't even begin to imagine how these girls are coping with such a loss.  Particularly a loss that was so unexpected and so sudden.  Since October, I have had THREE more friends/acquaintances who have lost their precious babies and children to unexpected death.  So that makes six families who have had to deal with unimaginable, devastating circumstances.....circumstances which I cannot even begin to comprehend.  I must have gone into Kyndall's room just to check on her 10 times last night and turned to see Matthew's chest rising over and over again as I laid awake with thoughts of death, dying and loss racing through my mind. 
I've never really had any deep feelings on the subject of death until now, because thankfully I haven't had to experience much of it in my short lifetime.  I've seen others go through it, but it's never hit me as hard as it has the past few weeks.  It's so real to me now.  Too real.  Too close for comfort.  Suddenly I find myself thinking about it constantly.  It's always on my mind, almost to the point of paranoia.  I worry, I fear, I check, I re-check, I question, I say "what if?".

So....as the words of the song say...."when I'm feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don't feel so bad!"  In an effort to get back to focusing on the positive, here are a few of my favorite things, as of lately....

I've NEVER been a Diet Coke fan....until now!!!!



I like to call this "Heaven on a spoon"

I'm all about convenience these days

Yummy AND pretty.....

100% guaranteed to put a smile on my face at 4:00 everyday!

Again, convenience wins!

Those are just a few of my favorite things lately.  I could probably add blogging to the list, since I am really enjoying this new hobby of mine.  Many of you enjoy it because it gives you a glimpse into our everyday lives.  But for me, it's therapeutic.  It gives me something to look forward to, and although I'm not a Mommy who needs/enjoys "me time", it does serve that purpose for me.  With all of this sadness and thoughts about death and dying, let me remind you of a scripture that speaks so true in times like these.  "You do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? You are but a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes." James 4:14

Ridin' in Style!

Several months ago I bought this bike trailer for just 50 bucks on Craigslist.  I wasn't sure if Kyndall would like it or not, but I figured for $50 it was worth a shot!  Today we tried it out for the first time and she LOVED it!  She's still a little bit small for it, but we strapped her in tight and went for a spin.  Look how cute....

Ok, so the shoulder straps are more like face straps for her...but it works!



Kicked back and relaxing...

I couldn't resist trying it out with our 4-legged babies as well.  One of them liked it and one didn't.  So typical!

Here we are in action...

By far the best $50 I've spent in a while!  Between this crazy looking thing and the new baby seat, I see lots of family bike rides in our future!!

A Day of Firsts!

Kyndall had a very exciting day!  She used a sippy cup for the first time, tasted her first strawberries and blueberries, and went on her first bike ride!  I think she thoroughly enjoyed all of them, but particularly the blueberries! 

"What's this thing??"

Next step:  Teaching her to hold the sippy cup!



Apparently, this baby LOVES blueberries!!

Here's a video I took of Kyndall just after she finished her little afternoon snack.  She's not doing anything exceptionally amazing, but I thought it was cute!

After dinner, Matthew hooked up Kyndall's new baby seat to the back of his bike and took her for a little spin in front of our house.  Until we get her a helmet, that's as far as I'm letting them go!  I was pretty nervous the whole time, but Kyndall seemed to enjoy it.

Hopefully you won't get dizzy watching this video!...

Red, White and Cute!

What better way to kick off Memorial Day weekend than with a cook-out, swimming and great friends?  Our friends Wendy and Freddy Marchant graciously invited us to spend the day with their family at Wendy's parents' house on James Island.  Wendy and Freddy and their boys lived in Tallahassee for several years and I used to babysit for them.  We also went to church together.  A few years ago they moved to Charleston and it has been so nice reuniting with them and their boys now that we're here too.  We always have such a good time when we get together, and always wonder why we don't do it more often.  Here are a few pictures from our day....

I made this cake to take to the cook-out.  This is a super easy recipe--the hardest thing about it is resisting the temptation to eat all of the yummy fruit as you're putting it on the cake! 

Check out these adorable jelly shoes!  Growing up, I practically lived in these things...so I just had to get Kyndall a pair!

Ready to hit the pool!



Wendy's Mom was so sweet to set Kyndall up with a soft play space in the shade, which is where she happily played for about two hours straight!

Kyndall thought that Will was just the funniest thing ever!

Kyndall and Avery

 When we got ready to leave, Freddy took us over to a park that only the locals on James Island know about.  It has a picnic area, a beach, lots of shade, and gorgeous views of Charleston!  I think we'll be going back soon for a picnic, possibly when my family comes up to visit on July 4th weekend. 



We had a great day, and as you can tell from the picture above, Prissy was worn out!  She completely missed her normal 2 hour nap today, but you would've never known!  She wasn't grumpy or fussy at all!  I love the fact that she just goes with the flow and doesn't necessarily have to stick to the exact same schedule everyday.  Makes days like this much easier!  Once we got home, she ate her dinner, took a warm bath and passed out in her Daddy's arms. 

Thank you, Marchants for a wonderful day!  And thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Freemire for hosting everyone and opening your home to us!  We look forward to getting together more often now that summer has arrived!