A Stroll Down Memory Lane......

It took me so long to get this post finished; when I started looking back over mine & Lance's & then Brayden's life together in this house I remembered all the good, bad & ugly times that happened & IT ALL warmed my heart to tears over & over & over again.  With each picture I would look at I would remember the way I felt at that point & time in our lives & the emotions actually became quite overwhelming at certain times.  We said goodbye to the first home Lance & I owned together when we handed the keys over to the renters April 9th & although we have moved into our dream home the goodbye was sad & bittersweet. 

So many memories have been made in that house &

I thought I would share a few of them with you all.............

We looked at this house for the 1st time on 6/2/2006 &

about a month & a half it was ours & we were moving in!!

 We found out we were pregnant while in this home; from my 8 week ultrasound......

 to my 11 week belly shot.....

 to getting to 40 weeks only to find out B wasn't quite ready to come out yet! :)

 (my belly looks much smaller covered!!)

We took our maternity photos at this home.....

We brought Brayden home from the hospital to this home.........

We brought Bella home to this home, Christmas of 2006...........

 Georgia & Bella became sisters in this home..............

 Christmas 2006 also just so happened to be the same Christmas Lance proposed to me

(in the room over the garage in this home).........

 We started having "The Goodson Annual Halloween Party's" in this home........

2006......Danny & Sandy

2007......Poison Ivy & The Riddler (I MADE Lance's COSTUME!!!)

 2008.......

 & then there was Halloween 2009..........

no Annual Party just fun at home with our little one.

We had Brayden's 1st Christmas in this home.........

I planned our wedding in this home & then we drove to VA &

became Husband & Wife............

Then we returned from our amazing honeymoon as The Goodson's to this home............ 

 Lance & I both spend many birthday's in this home but I think our most memorable would have to be Lance's 32nd...........we spent that one with our 13 day old little boy!!

  

These are just a few of the highlights that we had in the house that we made our home; this doesn't show half of the memories that I have from living in our first home but I cherish them all just the same.  I know that we are renting the house so we haven't really said goodbye to it forever but as easy as it was get excited about our new & bigger dream home it was sad to let this one go.  It did make it easier that the renters were 7 months pregnant & the Brayden's old nursery is now going to be a little girls very soon.

Song of the Day: Breaking Benjamin - Give Me A Sign

Thankful on a Thursday..........

(to join in on Thankful on a Thursday visit The Outdoor Wife)

I got the below email from a good friend this morning

& I think it is perfect as my Thankful on a Thursday post.......

I AM THANKFUL:

For the Wife who says it's hot dogs tonight, because she is at home & not out with someone else.

For the Husband who is on the sofa being a couch potato, because he is home & not out at the bars.

For the teenager who is complaining about doing the dishes, because she is at home & not out running the streets.

For the Taxes I pay, because it means I am employed.

For the mess to clean up after a party; because it means I have been surrounded by friends.


For the clothes that fit a little to snug; because it means I have had enough to eat.

For my shadow that watches me work; because it means that I am out in the sunshine.

For the Lawn that needs mowing, windows that needs cleaning & gutters that need fixing; because it means I have a home.

For all the complaining I hear about the government; because it means I have the freedom of speech.

For the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot; because it means that I am capable of walking & I have been blessed with transportation.

For my huge heating bill; because it means I am warm.

For the lady behind me in church who sings off key; because it means I can hear.

For the pile of laundry & ironing; because it means I have clothes to wear.

For the weariness & aching muscles at the end of the day; because it means that I have been capable of working hard.

For the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours; because it means I am alive. 

And finally, for too much e-mail.......because it means I have friends & loved ones who care about me.

Live well, Laugh often, & Love with all of your heart!

Song of the Day: Josh Turner - Long Black Train

Wordless Wednesday........

Song of the Day: James Blunt - "You're Beautiful"

You Asked & I Am Finally Getting To Answer...Part 1!

What is your favorite quality in your husband?
His huge heart; he is the most loving & caring man that I have ever met & would give the shirt off of his back to me, Brayden, a family member, friend or even a stranger!!

What do you enjoy most about being a mommy?
Watching Brayden's personality develop each day hour that passes by as does the ever growing love I have for him. I knew that I always wanted to have children but from the day he was conceived, too the day he was born, too today my love for him has grown & grown. I just never knew I would ever be able to love like this!!

What is one of your most favorite childhood memories that you will try to recreate for Brayden?
I would like to have B & I watch a movie every Christmas like my mom & I used too; it was very special to me & made me feel like my mom was all mine for the hour & a half. We would watch "White Christmas" together as the turkey cooked & smelled the house up. I know that he is a boy & will probably be outside doing something with his dad but I hope that he & I have special moments like that too!!

What is something you loved and hated about being pregnant?
Hate if you want too but I didn't hate anything about being pregnant; I never got sick, never once could I not eat, I didn't get any stretch marks (I think because all I did was guzzle water & rub lotion on my whole body), I didn't get hemorrhoids, I didn't swell to much (it was summer of course I did a bit but nothing major) & yes he was a week late & I was over being a waddling pregnant lady but it was a great time. I think my favorite thing about being pregnant was the closeness I felt to Brayden; from day one it was just he & I & I felt like the luckiest mom in the world!

Now if you were to ask what I hated about after he was born I will say MY BODY & the ways that it has changed!! I am not a twenty something mom so things just didn't pop back into place & I have worked to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight & size but everything just seems different. Lance says that I am more beautiful so I made him an appointment to go see the eye doctor :)

What does a typical day look like for you?
3:30 - Wake & get ready for work
4:30 - Feed & let dogs out & make B's lunch & bottles for the day (if I didn't make Lance & I's the night before I do ours as well)
5-5:30 - Brayden wakes up STARVING
5:30-6:20 - feed, dress, play with B
5:45 - wake Lance up so that he can shower & get ready for work & be able to watch little man
6:20 - leave for work
7-4 - WORK, WORK, and WORK (run any & all errands at lunch)
4 - Leave to pick B up
4:30-4:45 - Arrive at B's school & see that smiling little boy & he again amazes me & melts my heart (this is the best part of my day!!)
5 - get home & B is STARVING
5:15-7 - Feed, bath, play, read & bottle for B
5:30 - Feed the pups & let them in & out to potty
After 7 - Make dinner & lunches for Lance & I, play & love on the pups, clean up the house & laundry, if B's food is low make more (I try to do on Sunday's but sometimes B eats more & we run out), & try to have some ME time......but it never really happens
8:30 to whenever - Wait for Lance to get home to try & spend a few minutes with him before I pass out from exhaustion (Brayden is getting better at STTN but it is not an every nght thing yet)



More to come..........stay tuned!!

Weekend Review, Tooth #2, & So Much More.....

We had a wonderful weekend getting the house organized & finally putting things on the walls in the new house.  We are trying to take our time with the decorating aspect of this house & it seems like it is taking FOREVER; slowly but shirley things are getting hung on the walls, put in their place & it is looking more & more like home each day!!  I promise once at least one room gets fully finished I will start to post pictures of it all.

The best part of our weekend would have to be all the things that B learned, did or popped out.  In the span of last Friday to Monday (yesterday) his 2nd tooth popped through, he learned how to patty cake all by himself, decided that he can use his pincher's to feed himself, can drink from his sippy cup all by himself, can scoot himself on his belly all across the room (only backwards though), & only wants to walk when we go from room to room (holding our hands of course)!  I swear I feel like he became his own little person this weekend & soon he won't need me at all.

I knew that he was working on a tooth but should have know that it was coming VERY soon when Sophie became his best buddy again Friday night.  I noticed it had popped through yesterday when I picked him up from school & he now has his 2 front bottom teeth!

He has been working on the crawling thing a good bit for only about a week now & he really doesn't show much interest in doing it but he will rock on his hands & knees but usually gives up, lays on his belly & pushes himself backwards to get where he wants to go or to get his hands on the toy he is after!

When B first started school I went back & forth in my head about if I did or did not want his school telling us things that might be firsts; at first I didn't want them to tell me things because I thought that he would eventually do it for Lance & I & we would think he did his first whatever for us but I have changed my mind completely on that when I found out he had been feeding himself for over a week before he did it for us at home NOT TO MENTION drinking from him sippy cup by himself.  It is so neat to watch him do things for himself not to mention I now get to make him homemade finger foods!!

He learned to clap when we sing "paddy cake, paddy cake" to him & it is the cutest thing I have ever seen in my WHOLE life.  He gets so excited when he hears it & will sit & clap the whole time you sing it & I mean the whole time.........no matter how long you sing!!

Now on to the thing that makes me the most sad; he loves to do this (below) all the time& by all the time I mean when I am holding him he pushes me to put him down! 

He doesn't want to be held by his momma when we are at home anymore, he wants to walk like a big boy..........doesn't he know that he is still my baby & mommy needs more baby time with him??  Doesn't he know that he can't grow up this fast??  As cute as he is walking I still want to hold, cuddle & carry my little boy.........at least for a few more years!!

Oh yeah..........I almost forgot; Lance has to lower his crib tomorrow too.  I put him down in his crib so that I could get his bath ready & when I walked around the corner I saw his with his hands on the front of his crib up on his knees; I almost passed out!!  Slow down little man......PLEASE!!!

Post It Note Tuesday....

Song of the Day: Steel Magnolia - Keep on Loving You

Thankful on a Thursday

I decided that I might need to remind myself just how blessed I am; not that I have ever really forgotten but some days I let the lack of sleep, drama at work or traffic on the way home get me down & when this happens I need to reflect on the things that I am thankful for..........here are just a few of these things!!

 1. Today & everyday I am thankful to be a wife to Lance & a mother Brayden, Georgia & Bella

2.  Nights out with good friends

3.  International Coffee Creamers

4.  The beautiful Georgia weather that we are going to have today...........80 degrees & SUNNY!

5.  Great Music like this, this, & this.  I am a firm believer that music can lighten a mood, change your mood all together, bring a smile to your face, make tears disappear or even take you back to an exact time in place where you have heard it before!!

6.  God's daily guidance & unconditional love

7. Kisses

8.  Our New Home

9.  Our Old Home & the memories I have from living there!

10.  Bath Time

 

What are you thankful for??

Wordless Wednesday......

Awards, Awards.......

Thank you to Jeannie at Perfectly Imperfect for the award.........I received this award a VERY long time ago (like 4 weeks) & am horrible for just now getting to it!!

Here are the rules...

1) Post where you want to be in 10 years

2) Pass it on to 10 fellow bloggers

10 years from now I hope to be as blessed & happy as I am right now.  My biggest hope is that I have a happy & healthy almost 11 year old son running around like a crazy man.  Lance & I will be almost celebrating our 13th wedding anniversary (WOW)!!  I will be planning Lance's 43rd birthday party & my 44th & we will be just as in love if not more in 10 years as we are now :)  It is funny to think & say where I might be in 10 years because I think of B & how much he will have changed & grown & it really makes me wonder about his personality & the little man he will be becoming.  Will he still be smiling all day everyday?  Will he still kick his legs when he gets excited??  Will he still me momma little boy??  It is exciting to think about & I can't wait to see :)

Thank you to Francis over at "The Fick Family Blog for the Beautiful Blogger Award -

Ok so here are the rules:

Accept and thank the person who gave it to you!

List 10 things about yourself

List 5 additional things you DON'T like

Then pick ten people to give this lovely award to!

About Me:

1.   I am a neat/organization freak.

2.   I only knew Lance for a week before we moved in together

3.   I am very claustrophobic

4.   I am a reality TV junkie (now I have to DVR it & watch it during nap time)

5.   I LOVE to do laundry

6.   I love my son more than I ever thought possible

7.   I have always had a crush on Ben Affleck

8.   I think that music makes a day brighter & your mood just over better

9.   I have the most amazing & wonderful mom & dad.........even though I am cursed with my dad's ear & B is as well

10.  I love the smell on honeysuckles in the summer time

Things I Hate About Me:

1.   I hate that I am so critical of myself
2.   I hate that I sometimes don't enjoy things because I stress about the little stuff
3.   I hate that I have to work & can't be home with B all day everyday
4.   I hate when people say "I don't  like that" & they haven't even tried it
5.   I HATE traffic

I would like to give both awards to:
Julie
A Real Housewife
HisLovf
Sar
Shelby
Stefani
Meant to Be A Mom
Jacqueline
Tiffany
The Pacheco's

Song of the Day:  Jamie O'Neal - Somebody's Hero

Holy Gift Basket Giveaway.......

To enter to Win a "Bea's Gift Basket" for Mother's Day go HERE!!!!!

Catch Up Cont'd - Easter Sunday

This little gummy smile brightens my day & fills my heart with the greastest joy I have ever known!! 

 We moved on Saturday & slept in our new house for the first time that night so when we woke up Sunday morning it was Easter & the Easter bunny had come so we had plans to go to lunch with PaPa & JuJu & then take B to thank the Easter Bunny.......... 

The whole car ride to lunch I was wondering if he was going to laugh at the bunny or cry......as we turned into the resturant which is right by the mall I noticed the there were NO cars at the mall!!

Yep, MOM FAIL....the mall was closed & I missed out on taking B to see the bunny on his 1st ever Easter!!

Lance & his parents told me he wouldn't remember anyway but I will; I should have planned better & not let the move get in the way of one of B's firsts.......B was fine but I was crushed!!

We had a wonderful lunch & B had fun playing with the children's paper menu!

We ate & then headed back to the house to get some much needed unpacking done........

Brayden played with his plastic eggs like such..........

Played with his new favorite toy with his JuJu........

& sat on the sofa with his PaPa.........

All in all it was a great 1st Easter but I will forever be upset about Brayden NOT seeing the Easter bunny all because his mommy didn't play better!!