The Beloved 'Bu is dead.

Alex's Malibu that is. Alex was only 0.5 mile from home this morning when he over-corrected after going off the side of the road a bit. It spun his car around and slammed him into an embankment area, flipping the car a couple of times...very similar to what happened to me this past summer. Of course I was scared when I got his phone call this morning, but he assured me he was ok. I asked him if he needed me to come get him, but he said he had called a wrecker and he'd have them drop him off at home. He later told me that he didn't want me or the girls to see the car...guess it's pretty banged up. I am sooo thankful Alex is ok...my worst nightmare is to lose Alex or one of my girls. But...I'm not too upset about the car. ;) For those who know us well, you know we often joke about Alex's "purple grandma car"...and literally, we bought it from a guy who was selling his deceased mother's possessions! Alex is all about finding the best deal...no matter what the color or style, if it gets good gas mileage, has low miles and a low ticket price, it's his kind of car! :) So, who knows what we'll get this time. Personally, I would jump for a Toyota Prius, but I doubt it's in the budget since we pay cash for vehicles. Please be praying for us to find something that meets Alex's car criteria quickly. It might be a good idea to pray for our insurance policy too! :)

How Sweet it Is!

Friday, the girls wore their special shirts to daycare. I was glad Braylee was feeling better so she wouldn't miss her Valentine party. Even though Brynna looks perfectly fine in this picture, by 8:30 daycare had already called to tell me Brynna had started with diarrhea. :( Poor thing. Braylee was able to stay and enjoy the day though...and brought home lots of goodies.Saturday morning when the girls woke up, we made heart-shaped pancakes and said a little prayer for baby Andon's family.
The girls couldn't wait to open their Vday gifts. They each received a new swimsuit and Princess stickers and candy. Braylee had an extra surprise, a swimsuit cover up. Brynna gets to inherit Braylee's old one. ;) The girls were definitely in the mood to model on Sat. morning.

Then, it was time for Mommy to go to work at the Quick Care Clinic...and Daddy had already been gone to his bball tournament all morning. Bridgette came to babysit. The girls were sooo excited. She brought them heart-shaped ring pops and sugar cookies with icing! She took some pictures of Brynna enjoying her cookies, so cute!
Once Alex was home, he brought the girls by the clinic to give me a card. I could tell right away it was a card that played music, but I was so surprised when I opened it and heard each of my girls say "I love you, Mommy." Then the song "How Sweet it is to be Loved by You" played. I just about started crying, but I held it in since I was at work. If only you could have seen the girls too...only a dad would take them out of the house looking the way they did! :)

Sunday after church, we were sitting at the dinner table when Brynna fell out of her seat. She exclaimed, "I dropped me-self!" She is such a silly girl! The girls went down for naps while I put things together for small groups that evening. This is how I found Braylee...my kids do such weird stuff at nap time!
During small group, Brooke made the comment that we hadn't heard from Braylee and Willow for awhile. It wasn't long before Willow walked into the family room with bright red toes. Oh Dear, I thought! When I went to the bathroom door (which was locked), I said, "Braylee?" Immediately, I heard, "Soooorrryy." in an I-know-I'm-in-trouble tone of voice. Luckily, they did manage to keep most of the nail polish on themselves, but still...what a mess!
Yesterday, the sun was out and while it was still cold, the girls decided they wanted to spend some time outside. Then Aunt Trista did a little shopping with us.

Brynna's 1st Haircut

Monday, we met Mandi, her kids, and Gramma at McDonalds for lunch. I wasn't feeling the best...had a horrible headache all day. I knew something was starting with Braylee too. I found her back in bed 3 times before we ever even made it to McDs, but she said she was just tired. She ran a low grade temp of 101 in the afternoon but seemed fine otherwise. We even made cupcakes that evening!
Yesterday morning, I went to baby Andon's viewing. My heart continues to ache for them. Please remember Chelsa, Ryan, and their families daily in your prayers.

I picked up my girls and headed to my parents' house. We took the girls to Aunt Trista's salon...or beauty shop as the girls call it. This was Brynna's first turn in the salon chair! I have such a hard time with that first cut! Braylee was even older when she got her 1st trim. Braylee went first yesterday to show Brynna how it's done. On the way there she had said, "Mom, make sure Trista knows I only want a TRIM! And this is even the last trim I'm getting!" She always tells me how she wants long hair like Aunt Tracee. :) While Brynna waited her turn, Mamaw pulled out all of the goodies she and Papaw had brought from Hawaii for the girls...hair clips, jewelry, and Hawaiian paper dolls. So cute! Brynna was such a good girl when it was her turn and sat very still. Trista evened it up and gave me a few of those sweet first-cut curls for her baby book. Once we were done, of course we had our usual lunch...Mexican. Yum!

Braylee's ready for her trim.

Look how cute her little legs look sticking straight out.
Getting ready for the first snips...
Handing me the curls...
Post trim, looking cute!
Thanking Aunt Trista and showing off their new paper dolls.

Braylee seemed fine all day, but as the evening wore on, she started complaining of a belly ache. She had a rough night, so Alex stayed home with the girls today. Braylee left me such a funny voicemail today that I nearly choked on my sandwich when I listened to it! After a long nap this afternoon, she seems back to her normal self and had seconds at dinner! :) The girls are excited about their Valentine party tomorrow. I hope Braylee is able to go!

Happy Birthday, Grandma-Great!

Saturday night, we went to the Barr-Reeve Homecoming game. The girls filled up on too much junk as usual...nachos, popcorn, and candy. Can you believe on the way home Braylee asked if she could have a snack before bed?! :)

Today after church, we went to Grandma-Great's house (Alex's mom's mom) to celebrate her 85th birthday. She tells some of the best stories and we enjoy our visits with her.
We tried to get a picture of some of the great-grandkids together...easier said than done! :) (I'll put the sibling groups in the same color.)

Brody, Addison, Sydney, Trista, Brent, Braylee, Ella, Brynna, Eli, Gabe, and Grace
Gramma and Pappy's 4 Little Sweeties

Braylee & Bridgette (Bridgette was Braylee's age when Alex and I started dating!)
Loving the warm front that came through!!

11 years

Alex and I have officially been together for 11 years now. I remember there was a ton of snow on the ground then too. We had spent extra time hanging out together since classes had been cancelled. Within two weeks, I had a feeling he was "the one." Within a couple of months, we were talking about marriage. By the time the spring semester was over at the beginning of May, we knew we were meant for each other and had already talked about naming our little girl Braylee some day. When I told my parents that summer that I knew he was the one, they said they already knew. :) It's been 11 wonderful years, with many more to come.

Snow Storm

I guess I'm a homebody...being cooped up in the house from the snow storm didn't bother me too much. :) I love being with my girls, and it was especially fun having Alex home last Wednesday. I knew the roads had to be bad when Alex stayed home from work! The girls had fun playing in the snow with him.

Watching Daddy make a snow angel...

Friday evening, we decided to plan a quick trip to Indy at the last minute. Due to the snow storm, Alex's basketball was canceled for Sat., so after his bible study Saturday morning, we loaded up the car and went to Indy for the rest of the weekend. We attended the Home Show at the state fairgrounds. We got some great ideas and advice for our new house. From there, we went to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, The Cheesecake Factory. Yum!! We were stuffed full and ordered our cheesecake to go, but of course the girls had to get a quick taste in before we left!

The girls had been waiting all day to go swimming, and as soon as we were checked into our hotel room, they started changing into their swimsuits. Brynna was a little top heavy at first in her life jacket...it kept tipping her forward and she'd get water in her mouth. Once we explained that she had to keep her feet moving, she swam all over the pool and had races with her big sis. They both LOVE jumping in too.

Braylee "swimming" under water.

My parents were leaving for Hawaii on Sunday and I knew they would be flying out early. On our way to Indy, I had called my mom to see which hotel they were staying in by the airport on Sat. night. It just so happened that our hotel was directly across the street from their hotel! Braylee and Brynna enjoyed their visit from Mamaw and Papaw before bedtime. It was nice to see them before they left on their trip.
Sunday, we made it home in time for a Super Bowl party at Jenn & Brad's house. It was a typical Super Bowl party for me...the men were watching the game in the basement, while the ladies chatted upstairs. :)

Acting silly in the hotel Sunday morning

Tuesday, Alex and I met with the guy designing our house. We spent two hours making changes to our plans. His program allows us to see the house in 3D. It's so realistic that you can "see" in the windows when looking at the exterior...very cool. The snow had drifted so much while we were there, Alex and I barely made it out of his drive. It's the little adventures like that that remind me how much I enjoy my husband and his personality. :) The wind was blowing the snow around so much that at times it felt like we were driving through a blizzard. A few pictures to share...

She set up an entire little office do check ups on her babies.

Little mommy with her purse and baby carriage.

A few weeks ago, we went to see Hotel for Dogs with Abby, Lillie, and Pierce.
Watching Charlie Brown with her sissy.

Brynna had seen me measuring rooms (trying to prepare for the house)...guess she wondered if Leila would fit in the new house. :) When I asked her how big, she replied "29!" It reminded me of my nephew Ely...He went through a phase when his answer to everything involving numbers was "28."

Braylee went home with Lillie from church last night. It sounds like they had a lot of fun, but I missed snuggling her last night.
Tonight at dinner as Brynna was shoveling food into her mouth, I said, "You're a little piggy!" She said, "No I'm not. I'm me! I'm Brynna!" :)

Continue to keep Chelsa, Ryan, and Brycen in your prayers. I can't imagine the loss they are going through right now. As Andon's due date approaches, I'm sure it will be extremely hard on them. My heart breaks for them.