3 more weeks and 1/3 there....

We are so happy to announce that with three weeks left until delivery, we are 1/3 of the way to our fundraising goal of $15,000.

This weekend we were blessed beyond belief with two major strides toward our goal.  In addition to so many personal donations to Ty, we had two fundraisers come rolling in.  

The first was our Pampered Chef fundraiser that we have been blasting on facebook.  Our grand total from the facebook Pampered Chef party was $400.25.  I was blown away with all of the support and so grateful to Sarah Basham with The Pampered Chef for facilitating this fundraiser!  I also have to give a HUGE shout out to my sister who had the idea in the first place and got everything organized.  I also can't not mention my mom, sister-in-law, and Anne for helping publicize and being the ship to addresses to help us get products where they belong when they come in!  I appreciate each of you and the role you played to make this fundraiser FUN and a success!

The second fundraiser to come in this weekend was the Gallatin Country Club 3rd Annual Chili Cook Off!  This one was a total surprise to Chris and I when we found out they were doing it just a week ago.  The woman's golf association there started this annual event, but this year decided to honor us with the proceeds.  Not only was this a fun night of friends, great food, and fun, we brought home a whopping $600 for Ty!  We were truly blown away by everyone's kindness and generosity.

I have to thank our wonderful neighbor-friends who asked the girls to stay for a sleep over while Chris and I went to the Chili Cook off.  The girls were both SO excited to have a sleep over with them.  They each packed their own suitcases full of stuffed animals and games.  Ava Grace was bouncing off the walls and shouting at the top of her lungs when we dropped them off.  They had THE BEST time and although Chris and I were home by 8:00, we enjoyed a "night off" worry free knowing the girls were right across the street and well taken care of.

In other news:
Ty got a check up on Thursday and passed with flying colors!  His MFM gave his ultrasound an 8 out of 8!  Everything looks so very healthy with the exception of his heart.  We officially scheduled our induction for March 24 and got all of those details together.  From here on out I'll be making the trip to Nashville twice a week for checkups on me and on Ty.  I'm not looking forward to all the driving, gas, and time spent at at the doctors offices, but I am glad that Vanderbilt is so very on top of things and keeping a good eye on us!  That also means I'll have more frequent updates to share as well.

I offer a most heartfelt thanks to all who continue to lift our family and Ty up in prayer!  I also thank everyone who has felt led to give.  We are truly amazed at how God is at work in the life of our family and Ty and all around us.  He is providing in so many ways both financially and by filling us with peace as we wait for our little guy's arrival!

Phone Photo Unload

My phone is full of pictures and I try to load them to the computer and clear them off the phone on a pretty regular basis.  The key word there is "try."  It never actually happens.  I usually only manage to do it every 3 or 4 months.  Today, I did just that.  So, here are a few of my favorite phone photos from this summer...

Grandmommy and Ava Grace picking flowers.

The pool!

You know I had tons of pool pictures.

I'm only sharing a few, but had to share this one of our sweet neighbor and friend, Kassidy!  Both our girls love her and think she is the coolest.... because, well, she is!  Have I mentioned today that we have the best neighbors ever?  Ever. 

This picture is posted as proof that I exist.  It's a running joke at our house because I am always the one taking the picture and thus never in them!  

These two have gotten crazy close over the summer.  Chris is just plain and simply the best. daddy. ever.

If one paci is good, two is better, right?

Playing at the park with Papaw.

Ava Grace is a little dare devil!  She loves to slide and swing!!

This was the summer of the scooter for Lily!  This thing went everywhere with use!

Okay, one more pool picture!  This water bug is all about "wimming."  She even jumped off the diving board at Grandmommy and Papaws!

Too cool for school...

LOVES Mommy's glasses!

Chris and Lily at her favorite place...

the ZOO of course!

Fun with Daddy at the gym!

Sister can put away some milk!

The best view is from daddy's shoulders!

Okay, a couple more pool pictures.

They are just too darn cute!

Future golfer?

Ava Grace loves to go to the golf course and ride in the golf cart and "help" Daddy golf.  Last time we went, she insisted on bringing her own clubs and playing alongside Chris.  It was too cute and she was so proud of herself!

Fishing at the park.

Painting

2nd day of 4th grade!  I forgot to take a picture when we picked her up on her first day... ooops!  She is getting so big and grown up... I STILL can't believe she's a fourth grader.  Every time I say it sounds weird!

Lauren and Courtney's new addition, Connor!

Me and Connor

Courtney and Connor!

He is the CUTEST little thing!  I was blown away at how tiny he was.  I swear I don't remember Ava Grace being that small.  Too. Too. Sweet.

Ava Grace's new, most-favorite-in-all-the-world thing to do is play "chi-chen" (kitchen).  We moved Lily's play kitchen to the loft and Ava Grace has played with it every single day.  She takes me to the bottom of the stairs every single morning and asks to go up and play kitchen.  This morning I snapped this picture of her serving me a breakfast of hot dogs, chicken and a very large carrot.  Yummy.

Dinner and a movie!

This little plastic chair and table, that we got for the deck, have been loved and used all summer!  Inside AND out!

July Recap...

We have had trouble with our internet, but got it fixed today.  So here is a quick recap of the activities from the end of July...

Lily did acting camp again this summer!  This is her third summer in a row and she just keeps getting better and better!  This was her fifth play!  This year's play was Mary Poppins!  Lily truly knocked our socks off this year!  Her state presence was fantastic, her voice and motions were larger than life, and her singing was out of this world!  Way to go Lily!  You sure do make us proud!!

 Two days after Lily's play, Chris and I loaded Ava Grace up and headed to Cincinnati for surgery #3.

 We got there just in time to see a Red's game!

 It was so much fun!  Ava Grace LOVED it!

 It was very hot, so Ava Grace had to cool off with some ice cream... of course!

 Overall, we had a great night in Cincinnati and went to bed extra early in preparation for our VERY early rise the next morning at 4:00 AM our time.

 Ava Grace didn't seem to mind the early hour as we drove through downtown to the hospital to her awaiting room and, more importantly, toy bag!

 As if her bag full of toys wasn't enough, the nurses let her play with all of the equipment too!  I'm telling you, this place is the best!

 They always come in and let us pick a hand made surgery cap and a scent for her anesthesia!  They have something crazy, like 37 - I think - "flavors" to choose from.  We went with strawberry, since those are Ava Grace's number one favorite food of all time. 

 There is A LOT of waiting involved when we arrive at 5:30 (that's 4:30 our time) and surgery isn't until 7:30!!

 We walked her back, gave kisses outside the operating room, and then killed a whopping 20 minutes before we were paged back to the post-surgery meeting room.  Everything went great.  She was slower to wake up this time and we beat her back to her room to be there when she arrived... very groggy and slightly drunk.

This is the nurse and student that took care of us this time!  Everyone there is so wonderful!!  It was a great experience again!!  We head back for #4 in October!

The weekend after surgery, we prepped for house guests!! My parents (Grandmommy and Papaw) and my niece Bentlee came up for a visit!!

 It was great fun to see them!  We shopped, had a birthday dinner for Aunt Jan with Chris' whole family, and did lost of visiting.  We went the Corvette museum in Bowling Green and then picked Lily up from her week at her mom's.  Lily didn't know Bentlee was coming - it was a huge surprise!  Bentlee was beside herself with excitement and plans to surprise Lily and Lily was just as excited to see her! 

 They had great fun playing American girl and also putting on a dance show and a fashion show!

 When we were kids, mom had a bunch of dresses she had saved from being in weddings and such and we had so much fun playing in them!  For that reason, I have saved all my past prom dresses, bridesmaid dresses, and dresses from other formal events.  All those dresses taking up space, finally paid off!  Lily and Bentlee did a four round fashion show complete with jewelry!  It was so cute!

 Saturday of that weekend was Ice Day at the zoo!  We, of course, had to get in on that!  We had so much fun!!!  My parents and Bentlee came along, but we also hooked Chris' parents and brother and sister-in-law into joining us!  It was fun to see all the animals with their icy treats!

Ava Grace had fun as always and looked extra cute in her new go-to-the-zoo outfit!

The last leg of our July recap journey happened this past week.  Our amazing neighbors and friends (the one's across the street that keep Ava Grace) told me about the Sumner County Fair and encouraged Lily to enter some things!  We had just made the hair bows that I blogged about in a prior post, so we decided to enter the one Lily made...

...and look who got FIRST PLACE!  Lily was SO EXCITED!  We also entered our "Peanut-butter-Brookies," but they didn't win.  We are already planning our entries for next year!

Missy's girls had several entries as well.  Among them were some photos of Ava Grace!  They got first place too!!

 We went to the Fair Wednesday for some good, but not-so-good-for-ya fair food and some rides!  We saw Missy and the girls and even got to ride a ride with Kassidy!  It was a lot of fun!  Now we are gearing up for the Wilson County Fair next weekend!

Summer Fun

We are rapidly running out of summer!  The older I get the more time flies... all time.  Summer, however, seems to go by even faster than the fastest of days and weeks during the rest of the year!

We have been trying our best to use each day to the fullest!  It doesn't seem like we can possibly fit it all in, but we sure do try!

We recently enjoyed getting together with our friend's Kelly and Nate and their little girl Ella!  It was so much fun hanging out in their backyard and grilling out!

Nate built Ella a playhouse and she and Ava Grace had a big time playing in it with water and sand!

Patrick brought Emerson over to play as well!  All the kids had a great time!

We have been logging as many pool hours as we can fit into the schedule as well!  Taking a toddler to the pool adds a whole new dimension to my favorite pastime!

Both of the girls are just as addicted drawn to the water as I am and we are rapidly converting Chris!

I love these sweet girls...

...and they sure do love each other!

I can say that one thing we have done this summer for sure is make family time a priority!  Chris and I have really tried to come up with things to do together to be active this summer!  It is turning out great and we are all enjoying the fun!

Lily celebrated her birthday with Chris' family late.  Mimi and Pap hosted and made it a party with cupcakes, ice cream sundays, and gifts, of course!

We all enjoyed Lily's party, but mostly just enjoyed the time spent together with family!

Lily got a lot of her American Girl wish list!  She got many things to go with her new doll, Saige.  Lily also got a family membership to the Zoo!

The zoo is one of our most favorite places to go, so we were all four very excited about this gift!  We wasted no time in heading there for some fun!

Chris' favorite parts are Alligator Cove and the reptile house.  I love the monkeys.  Ava Grace loves the flamingos.  Lily loves the red panda and... well... all of it!  Both girls, of course, really really like the petting area with goats and camels!

We are really looking forward to the opening of the  new kangaroo exhibit and also ice day coming up in a week, when they give all the animals Popsicles!

The #1 best part of the zoo, however, is...... drum-roll please...... the $8 icee with unlimited refills!!!!!  That's Lily's most favorite part of the zoo.... for. real.

We can't wait to get in a few more weeks of summer fun and many many more zoo visits!  I highly recommend a zoo membership to anyone in or around Nashville!  $100 gets you a year long family membership.  They give an educator discount and often do a $20 off discount code - so you can really get it for less than $100 and they have so many fun things to do and see!  From movies and trick-or-treating at the zoo to brews at the zoo, it really is fun for the whole family!