Working at the Carwash...

Today, Will decided he wanted to wash his daddy's truck... like father, like son!! He loves anything outside, and this was right up his ally. It is rather warm outside, so it was the perfect day!


In other news... Brian will be at training for the upcoming trip to Nova Scotia this weekend. The transmission will be fixed on the car Tuesday. Not sure how long we will be without it. I am sure however, that I am ready for it to be fixed! I feel like a crazy person. I thought I was someone who didn't mind being at home, until I have went a week without my car!! My thoughts have changed... :) Hope you all have a great weekend!

My Book Worms

Sunday afternoon, we all got back in the pj's to rest a little while. Abby picked out The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss to read. She made her a place right in front of Molly's bouncy seat and read to her baby sister. Molly loved looking at the pictures and listening to Abby! It was so sweet.

Springtime

Friday afternoon, Brian and I attempted to do a little yard work. I absolutely love to work in the yard. Whether it be digging, planting, cutting grass, whatever... I love it! Friday we did a little of all of the above. We spread some mulch and hung some baskets on the front porch. The kids played with some of their neighborhood friends while we worked in the front. Molly sat contently in her stroller and watched Mama and Daddy busy at work. There's just something about the outdoors that makes me happy. This past week we talked in our Bible study about our Creator and the beauty He gives us through nature. His Word tells us that "if any one be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17 Spring is such a beautiful reminder of this!

Happy Birthday, Friend!

Today is my best friend, Holly's, birthday. God answered my prayers when He sent me such a loyal and true friend. We have known each other for about 10 years now, although our husbands have been friends since they were 4. In the past 10 ten years we have shared so much together. She is more like a sister to me than a friend. I had the privilege of being her matron of honor. She shared in the births of both of my girls. We have braved many, many road trips. We have cried with other, screamed at each other, and oh, have we laughed at and with each other! Goodness, the stories I could type, but I will spare you from all those "you just had to be there" moments!

I thank God for Holly today and everyday. Many people aren't as blessed as I have been to have someone in their life like her. She is always honest with me, even when it's not necessarily what I want to hear, but what I need to hear. Most importantly, I know when I ask her to pray for me, she already has!

Happy Birthday Holly... I love you much! :)

"A friend loves at all times."

Proverbs 17:17

Yum~Yum

Well, now that Miss Molly is sleeping 10 - 11 hours each night, (!) I figured we should start giving her a little cereal each morning. (She has to be hungry!) She did quite well. It took her a little bit to get the hang of eating with a spoon, but overall she did beautifully... well, until the end and every time I would put the spoon in her mouth, she would try to suck on it like it was her bottle. She got a little upset when she realized it wasn't! But that's ok, she did great for the first time!

Here is Molly before...

After the first bite...

And then once she got the hang of it...

Another Wild Child....

Yesterday morning, I got ready for bible study and went to get Molly up to get her ready. When I got to her bed and pulled her blanket off this is what she looked like...

I am not real sure how she managed this, but she sure was funny! She thought it was funny too!

Happy Easter!

I love each day of the Easter season. Palm Sunday, the day Jesus entered into Jerusalem, knowing he was headed to the cross. Maundy Thursday, the day Jesus celebrated the Passover with the disciples, even washing the feet of the one he knew would betray him. The prayer he prayed in Gethsemane, Father not my will, but Thy will be done. Good Friday, the day my sins nailed a perfect Savior to an old rugged cross. Defeat could have been the outcome but oh, the victory we have in Easter morning, the day Jesus conquered death and rose from the grave. Praise God that He loved us enough to send His only and only Son to die, so that we may live.

We traveled back Gaffney for a few days this weekend. We got to spend some time with friends and family that we miss so much. Saturday we had an Easter Egg Hunt at Nonnie and Papa's. Nanny, Papa, John, Pamela, Mitch, Holly, and Kylee all came and we had such a good time.

Today, we attended church and afterwards we went to the park to take a few pictures of the kids. This afternoon we have just enjoyed the day. It is beautiful! Tomorrow we will head back into reality....

Pamela, I promise I will try to post more this week! :)

It's a Girls' Weekend!!

Well, really it's a boys' weekend! The boys are gone to Gaffney for the weekend to go to a Truck Show in Charlotte with Papa. They were so excited to go and spend some quality bonding time. So, the girl's are home, but not really. It's a busy, busy weekend. Tonight, I am helping host a bridal shower and tomorrow is our Easter Egg hunt at church. I was hoping to be able to post some pics up tomorrow of that, but the hubby took my camera. Maybe Kelly will get some good ones and post them. ;)

Abby, yesterday, had to come home from school for problems with her blood sugar. Hopefully, it was just a one time thing. Please pray that's all it was. She was feeling much better after she ate, and has been fine since.

So, now I have to run, run, run! Here's a picture Nanny took of Brian burping Molly the other weekend when we was there for a visit. And no, we're not abusing her!! :)

Oh, what a day...

Today, we went for Molly's 2 month check up and vaccinations. :( I must say she did better than her mommy. She weighed 10 lbs 13 oz and was 24 inches long. She was in the 95% for her length and in the 50% for her weight. Her little bitty head landed in the 25%. As you can see from the photo above, she is content and resting... thanks to a little Motrin. :)

The doctor gave us a new formula to try. (Since the last time I blogged we had to take her to the dr. because of vomitting and fussiness. He diagnosed her with acid reflux and started her on Zantac.) She is going to continue the medicine and seems to be doing great on it.

Will got to feed Molly for the first time last week. We were on our way home from Target and it was time for Molly to eat. Once the grunting turned into screaming, Will climbed into to the back to feed her. Once we were at home, I took Molly out of her seat to burp her and Will asked if he could finish feeding her. (He had never asked before, and I had never thought to see if he wanted to. ) So, he sat on the couch and fed her like a pro. Although, I'm not sure how much she actually ate, because she was grinning so big. Her little face lights up every time he is near her. He is such a great big brother!

Of course, Abby couldn't be out done, so she too has taken a liking to feeding Miss Molly. She is a wonderful big sister too. (As long as Molly doesn't try to steal her thunder!)

Wisdom or Folly

Each night, before bedtime, we all sit together to read a chapter in Proverbs and to pray together. Last night, we read chapter 9 and talked about wisdom and folly. We explained to Will and Abby that wisdom is knowledge, and that you gain wisdom from learning and experiencing life. We talked about the older people who are in our lives, and the wisdom they have and how we can learn so much from them because of all the things they have experienced during their lives. We talked about MawMaw (Brian's grandmother), and the wisdom she has from living 80 plus years. After that we explained that folly was ignorance and in Proverbs it says that folly causes our days to be shorter. So, before we prayed we asked them what we learned and to help them to remember I said, "What did we say MawMaw was?". Abby's little face lit up and said "I know! I know! Old!."

Nanny, I know you love this! :)

This week's happenings...

Sorry, I haven't updated lately. To be honest, I don't have a good excuse so I'm not even going to try! ;) I will give you a quick recap, though, of our extremely interesting life! That was meant to be sarcastic. I do realize that the grandparents are probably the only ones who really care about the day to day stuff, and that's only when it involves the babies. :) But that's ok, I know deep down they love Brian and me as well!

We didn't get snow but we appreciate all the snow pictures we received via email from our friends and family from home. They were calling for 3-5 inches in our area and within an hour the forecast changed. I was a little disappointed, but there's always next year, right?

Wednesday night after church, the family came home, settled in and watched a little "Idol". My throat had seemed a little scratchy during the day, but I wrote it off as sinus drainage. By midnight my temperature was 103. I had body aches, chills the whole nine yards. Thursday morning, Brian woke me up to tell me he had called the doctor and we needed to leave to go see him. I was so disoriented, I assume from the fever, that I didn't brush my hair, wash my face, anything! I vaguely remember even going! Needless, to say when the temperature broke, man did I feel stupid! Our doctor and medical assistant are friends of ours, and go to our church. I am still not real sure of anything I said and I hope I didn't look as bad as I felt. Pretty sure I did though! Hopefully, they have forgotten the whole deal. I left with an antibiotic and a diagnosis of an Upper Respiratory Infection. I feel much better now. I believe the fever was the biggest problem. The worse part was not holding Molly until today! I still can't get in her face, and I know she is missing me kissing all over her...not! :)

Friday was another day at home. Thankfully, Spring has arrived and the kids were able to run off some of this energy they have stored up all winter! They played outside until it was dark, and we had a nice evening of America's Funniest Home Videos.

Today, I realized I must be better, because I have relapsed into my insomnia. Every since Molly has been born I can't sleep at night. (Except for Wednesday and Thursday night.) She is a wonderful sleeper and does great at night. I, on the other hand, not so much! I can't seem to wind down at night. It's become custom for me to be up at 3 or 4 when she wakes up for her feeding. I may sleep an hour or two and that's it. Last night I went to bed at 4:00am, got up at 4:30am and had all the laundry done and the playroom cleaned by 6:45am! I feel good, it's just bizarre to me. Oh well...

We were supposed to have Sissy's (Abby) birthday party today in Gaffney, but we decided, Thursday when I got sick, to postpone. I hate that we waited, because today was such a beautiful day. But, I am praying for another sunny day in a couple of weeks.

We did take her to the nail salon today and let her get her nails painted. She really thinks this is a special treat for her, but really it's a bigger treat for Brian and me! Abby's cuticles grow at record breaking speed. We can't keep them pushed back and her daddy is a little obsessive about finger/toenail care. (?) So, to keep us from having to hog tie her and listen to her screaming, we take her to the nail salon. There, she sits in that big girl chair like she just loves having her cuticles pushed back. Some people have criticized us for taking her to have her nails "done" at 5 years of age. I say it's worth the $10!! Plus Brian sits with her while I go window shop the mall. We all win!

Tonight, we are staying home, playing a little Wii, and enjoying the nice breeze coming through our open windows. I hope you all have a wonderful, worshipful, and restful Sunday tomorrow!

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!

Although most of the ones reading this probably already have beautifully covered white yards, we still have nothing at this time! Things are supposed to start happening soon though! We can only hope! I haven't posted in a couple days and thought I would catch everyone up.

Molly started her new formula and has done wonderfully on it. I am pretty confident that the problem has been solved. She's growing so much. It hurts my heart. :(

Friday night we met our good friends for supper. Brian and Mitch have been best friends since they were 4. Their families both attended the same church and they have stuck together all these years. While Brian and I were dating, I became friends with Mitch's girlfriend (now wife) Holly. God has blessed us tremendously with the friendship we have with them. We have been able to share in weddings, babies, deaths, vacations, and much more. It's been such a joy to share in all these experiences with them. They truly are like family to us. I thank God for them each and every day.

This is their daughter, Kylee, holding Molly Friday.

Saturday, Nonnie and Papa came for a visit. Papa and Brian took Will and Abby to Frankie's Funpark. They had a ball! Nonnie and I hung out around the house with Molly, then met them later for supper.

So, that's pretty much been the happenings at our house. I decided to not take Molly to church this morning due to the rain and cold. Our services were cancelled tonight due to the inclement weather. I made snowflake brownies tonight in anticipation for the snow that we are supposed to be getting. We also ate breakfast for supper. I love doing that! :) There's something about this weather that makes me want to cook! But now I have to go clean my kitchen. :(

My snowflake brownies

Oh, and by the way... It's snowing!!

Good Golly Miss Molly

Well, yesterday we had a little scare. Late Tuesday night Molly started having some stomach problems. We took her to the doctor and it turns out she has an allergy to the cow's milk in her formula. Apparently this is pretty common in newborns, but it was very new to me! We switched her formula and already she is doing better. She was up to 9lbs yesterday! She's growing so fast!

Abby is home sick today. I believe she must have the "crud" that has been going around. Hopefully, she will be feeling better soon and no one else in the family catches it.

During my "free time" this week ( at 12:00 or 1:00 in the morning, when I can't go to sleep!) I have been reading the Duggar Family's new book. They are so interesting and quite inspiring. If any of you want to borrow it when I am done, I think you would enjoy it. There are times I feel so overwhelmed with my 3 kids, how do they do it with 18?

Well, here's some new baby pictures...

My Engineer

Will amazes me at his ability to build things. He's very creative and inventive. Probably his most absolute favorite thing to play with would be Legos. For a long time he had a bucket of Legos that you could pretty much build anything with. Christmas he decided that he wanted to start getting some of the different kits to build specific things. He received several from family and Santa and I must say he has already built them all! Although it took a while for him to use the directions! :)

Will has to be the sweetest child I know. I know he's mine, and I may be just a little partial, but really, he has the biggest heart. God has blessed that boy with the gifts of compassion, mercy and giving. I know God has great plans for Will. My prayer is that Will is obedient to whatever God calls him to. I am excited to see what it will be. Maybe it will have something to do with building things....

A day with Uncle John and Aunt Pamela

Today, my brother, John, and his wife, Pamela, came down for a visit. I'm pretty sure it wasn't to see Brian and me! :) But that's ok. I am so grateful for the relationship that the kids have with them. I know when they get older they are going to appreciate all the support and love that John and Pamela has given them and they are going to cherish John and Pamela's presence in their lives. I know Brian and I do. And I am sure the kids will remember all the gifts that their Aunt and Uncle have come bearing over the years!

Today, we went to San Jose for lunch. (Kelly, I know you will appreciate!) After that we had to make a "short stop" by WalMart. (Did you read the part above about the gifts?) Pamela and I sat in the car with Molly while the rest of the crew went inside. Will picked out his usual Hot Wheels cars and Nerf dart gun. Abby picked out a puzzle and.... a High School Musical wig! This was so funny, and so Abby! She loved having hair the same color as Aunt Pamela's! After a little playtime John and Pamela had to go. Visits with family just never last long enough.

Tomorrow the plan is to get this baby girl to church! I look forward to it so bad. I have missed being there and I have missed the Pastor's sermons. God is doing a mighty work at our church and it's so exciting to see it and be a part of it. Our family is so thankful for our Pastor and his family. They couldn't have come a better time. But then again, I guess God knew that! They have been an answer to prayer and in case we haven't told you guys lately, we love you all dearly! There's many churches who don't have solid, Godly leadership, and I am so thankful that we do.

PS--- This picture of John wasn't from today, but I felt bad for not getting any of him today so I thought I would post this one from the day we brought Molly home. :)

Friday Night With the Girls

Brian and the youth went to Winter Jam tonight, and since Toby Mac just happens to be Will's all time favorite, he went along with them. So, that left me and the girls with a night to ourselves. And what else to do with our "girl time" but to go shopping!! We didn't accomplish much but that's ok we had fun out together. Of course, Molly slept the entire shopping trip, but me and Abby got to have some good girl talk.

I didn't have much to say tonight but wanted to post this picture of the girls in their matching sweaters they got for Christmas. They wore them tonight for our night out! Uncle John and Aunt Pamela are coming for a visit tomorrow so I am sure I will have more to say then! We are looking forward to their visit. The kids adore them and we like them pretty good too! :)

Busy week already

Wow, it feels like it should be Friday already! I feel like I haven't stopped. Yesterday, Molly had a doctor appointment. She was up to 8lbs! I was so happy. During her first week of life, she dropped down to 6 lbs 15 oz. So, our goal for yesterday was to get her back to her birth weight, and we exceeded it! Yea!! The dr. said she was wonderful, like we needed to be told that! We take her back in March for her 2 month check up.

Also, yesterday our new table and chairs were delivered. Another yea! Our house seems to be getting smaller and smaller!

Last night, we went to try to find Molly a dress. We had our church directory pictures made today. We actually had them made 2 weeks before Molly was born, but when we found out there was going to be a remake day, we signed up. We did find her a sweet little dress. The pictures turned out so much better than I thought they would. I can't wait to show them off!

Today, has been spent doing laundry, washing bottles, sterilizing bottles, making bottles. I imagine tonight I will probably dream of bottles! And it amazes me how something so sweet and tiny and dirty up so many clothes! My washing machine has not stopped.

Well, sorry I didn't really have a lot of interesting things to say, but my life isn't always that interesting. But here's a few pictures to show off what we have been doing...

Happy Valentine's Day!

I have to admit, Valentine's is not my favorite holiday. Honestly, I don't like it much at all. I remind Brian all the time of how easy he has it. (Not so sure he agrees with me, though.) I just don't need a holiday to tell someone I love them, and I don't want a holiday to be the reason someone tells me they love me. Too much pressure! But this year I thought I would try a little harder to participate in this holiday. I understand that many people do not agree with me on this, and that is totally fine. After thinking about it, I realized that one day Will may have a girl in his life that loves Valentine's, and he needs to know how to make that day special for her, if it is important to her. I also want him to know how to make ordinary days special too, though. He has a great teacher. (Brian is one of the most loving, and caring people I have ever met. Will isn't far behind him. ) So, I tried to do better today. Maybe next year, I will try harder...

But our Valentine activities started last night with the children's party at church. We played games, made crafts, decorated cupcakes and cookies, and of course ate! We had a really good time but boy was I pooped! And of course I forgot my camera!

Today, Nonnie and Papa came for a visit. After hanging out at the house for a while, they treated us to an early dinner at Red Lobster. Even though we had to wait for a little while, it was so worth it! And Molly got to wear her little Valentine outfit that Mrs. Mary Ann gave her!! :) We really enjoyed getting to spend the day with the grandparents. It just doesn't happen often enough.

My Princess in Training

Well, today was a big day for Abby. We (me, Abby and Molly) met Jessica, Nicole, Auburn, Mary Ann, Susan and Alex to shop for Abby a flower girl dress for Jessica's wedding. She thought this was the best thing ever! I mean, how much more fun could playing dress up be? After trying on 6 dresses we found "the one". She was beautiful if I do say so myself.

Alex will be walking down the aisle with Abby, as ring bearer. Although, we sent Brian a picture mail via cell phone of how adorable they were in their outfits, he wasn't very amused. :) But then again, we were going on about how that would be them in 20 years.

We also went today and bought a new dining table and chairs. Now, the Padgett's can actually sit down to eat together. I can't wait for them to deliver it, but I have to wait until Monday. :(

Maybe some Krispy Kreme's will make the days go by faster...

Sleepless in Columbia... for some of us anyway!

Can you tell how much sleep the Padgett's are getting these days? Really, it hasn't been that bad. This was the day after we pulled our "all nighter" last week. I actually enjoy getting up with Molly during the night and spending that one on one time with her. It's a good thing too, seeing how Brian copes with little sleep. :)

I went to the doctor this morning for my hemoglobin check and thankfully it was on the rise. We actually had two different families bring supper to us tonight. So, yea for me, I don't have to cook tomorrow either.

Daddy went back to work today and I must say, we missed him terribly. So, I think I will go spend some time with him now, since all our babies are in the bed... or on the couch!

So, it's been awhile....

I realize it has been awhile since I last blogged, and a lot sure has happened since the last post. The best thing that has happened is that we welcomed Molly Joy Padgett into this world, Friday, January 30 at 5:30pm. She weighed 7 lbs 6 oz and was 22 inches long.

For 4 years we prayed for another child. As happy as I was with the 2 wonderful children that God has blessed me with, my heart longed to become a mother again. In May of last year I went to a new doctor for my annual checkup. I was so impressed with this new doctor, but had no idea the role she would soon play in my life. After a discussion of our shared belief in God, she delivered the news that I would not be able to ever conceive another child. Once in my car, I thanked God for the children He had blessed me with and had allowed me the privilege of borrowing from Him. A peace swept over me and I was content with my family of 4.

A few weeks later, my mom fell off of a ladder and broke her arm. Brian and I took the kids to be at Nonnie's side for a week to help out. On the last day of our visit, Sunday, as I was walking up the patio stairs I caught a cramp in my left leg. I didn't think much about it and we packed up the car and was on our way home. The next couple of days the pain worsened. By Wednesday, I could hardly walk and after a call to a church member who is a RN, I decided to call our family doctor. From there I was sent to the hospital for a Doppler of my veins. There at the hospital, it was confirmed that I had a blood clot behind my left knee. After what seemed like forever, the doctor came in and told us as a standard protocol, while they were running the other labs, they also ran a pregnancy test, and that I was indeed pregnant. I didn't know what to say. An ultrasound was ordered and sure enough we saw the precious heartbeat of our 5 week 5 day old baby. The hospital sent us home that night with orders to see my Ob/Gyn the next day. I don't think I closed my eyes that night, afraid that if I did I would wake up and it would all just be a dream.

The dr. walked in the room that next day and her words were, "This is an act of God. A true miracle!". She also said that we would have a long road ahead, but that she would be there every step of the way, praying along side of me.

Being the OCD doctor that she is, :) many test were ordered to see if there was a cause to the blood clot. After a few weeks, we learned that I have an autoimmune disease that causes blood clots, but chances are more likely during pregnancy. She was very honest at the risk we would encounter throughout the pregnancy and afterward. But she vowed to me then that she would fight with me to be able to raise these children that God had blessed us with. I continued and would have to continue 2 shots of blood thinner each day in the tummy.

After a week of bed rest to give the blood clot time to dissolve, I felt like I had a normal pregnancy. There was moments throughout that I was afraid, but took comfort in Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you. I had to trust that God had a plan for this child.

I knew from the beginning, that my doctor would not allow me to go the full 40 weeks of pregnancy, due to the medications I was on, but I also was very aware of the odds of me being able to carry her past 20 weeks due to the APS.

But the days kept passing and the chances of us having a healthy baby grew stronger and stronger. Towards the end, I started having a problem with my amniotic fluid levels. I started going in for ultrasounds 2 times a week (with a grand total of 19 altogether!). On January 29, I went in for the routine and during the ultrasound the tech said "She's not going to let you go home today." My level was 2 times lower than it was 2 days before. I sat in the room, praying for peace, when my doctor walked in and said "We have reached the end of this journey. Tomorrow you will be a Mommy again." And then she said, "I never thought we would make it this far." She did agree to let me go home and pack and come back bright and early for my induction the next day. Although she was not very happy about it. :o

The next day was a looonnnggg day to say the least. But after being at the hospital for 12 1/2 hours the wait was over and Miss Molly was here. I still can't believe that she's mine. I look at her and can't help but tear up at the thoughts of how good God is. She is truly a miracle.

In all honesty, there have been times when I wondered why God led us to Columbia. Away from our families and friends and everything I had known my entire life. But throughout the last year and a half, he has shown me many, many different reasons of why. I believe this was one of them. Had we not ever moved here, I would have never met such a wonderful doctor, who believed that the calling on her life was to minister to people through modern day medicine, who I knew was praying for me and my child, who worked on her day off just to be able to be with me and to deliver Molly. God has had to remind me that He is always at work.

Wow, I guess I made up for all those days that have passed without blogging, huh, Kelly? I just wanted to give God the glory for the things He has done!

Weeping may last through the night, but Joy comes in the morning! Psalms 30:5