Today we honored my grandfather in the annual Walk To End Alzheimer's.  There were more than 30 people there in his honor, and it was a wonderful opportunity to not only bring awareness to this disease, but to also help raise fund to find a cure! Here we are three generations strong, my Mimi, me and Eli.  It is so important to me that my son know the legacy from which he comes.   This is what happens when you give Eric the camera. Ha!  I'm so glad he can find the humor in life! Eli got a little tired, so my new t-shirt became his pillow. Sweet, sweet boy! Here are some of us who walked for my Papaw.  Here are the grand kids minus two! And Eli with two of the best people I know. 

Today was the wedding shower for my soon-to-be sister in law, Mandi. They're getting married next month, so we were kind of down to crunch time.  Do you even know how hard it is to help plan a shower from  two and a half hours away?  Thankfully, my mom and sister are pros at it, and really stepped up to the plate.  In fact, I felt like I was slacking.  And speaking of the hostesses with the most(ess), here we are with the bride.  Please excuse the nasty looking picture of me.  Eli decided to be uncharming and not sleep...rrh! Here is my cousin Alea with my second cousin Gracie! Eli was whiny the whole entire time thanks to no sleep.  Luckily, he adore my granny and was content to sit in her lap long enough for me to get a few pictures of the bride-tobe! As always, our family was incredibly generous and showered Mandi and Clay with love and blessings as they start their new life together!

This weekend we will travel to Lexington to do the Walk To End Alzheimer's in honor of my grandfather, Don White.  Alzheimer's is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, and it robs families of the ones they love.  Like my Papaw, so many are with us physically, but no longer resemble the person we once knew. Yes, Alzheimer's disease it cruel and for my family it has taken away the greatest man we have ever known.  If there was ever a song that captures the essence of a person it would be "Thank You" by Ray Boltz.  I could try to tell you about my Papaw and his character, but I'll let you read these lyrics because they capture my heart more tenderly and more purely than anything I could put into words. "THANK YOU" I dreamed I went to heaven and You were there with me We walked upon the streets of gold Beside the crystal sea. We heard the angels singing Then someone called your name. You turned and saw this young man An

Hello All.  I know, I know it's been a while.  I just can't seem to stay caught up on this blog.  I'd love to tell you that it's because I have been using my time to organize our home, or that I've been really crafty lately, or that we've been on a great vacation, but it would be a lie. The truth is, life is just crazy.  I don't have time to blog at work anymore, and my time at home is spent either resting too much or playing catch-up from my laziness.  RRH!  I hate how that works. Lucky for you, I have about a gazillion "drafts" that have been written and are awaiting pictures.  And since this is my little family scrapbook, you get to endure the agony of my updates which will hopefully take place this week. I was going to make a list and put in on my desk here at work, but I thought the blog might be a better place to put it.  So, here is a look at each month and what needs to be done. December 2011 (yes, my bad) 1. Parade Weekend 2.

Pregnancy Highlights: How far along:  15 weeks Size of baby: Baby E is the size of an apple.  Total Weight Gain/Loss:  I've put on 5lbs, but that still leaves me 10lbs UNDER pre-pregnancy weight. Maternity Clothes:  Ha! Been in pants since week 7.  I'm still in the  weird  stage where maternity stuff is too big, but regular stuff is too small.  As for the belly band, it's a big bust for me! Gender:  It's a girl!!  Elizabeth Victoria Watson...aka, Ellie! Movement:  I have  definitely  felt more movement this week.  Looks like this baby is going to like the morning hours. Of course with mom up at 4:48 every morning, it should! Sleep:  I'm sleeping great!  Actually, I wake up several times to pee and sometimes have a hard time drifting back off, but after Eli this is a walk in the park! What I miss:  Honestly, being able to take meds for my endometriosis.  It's been uncomfortable for this  pregnancy, and I would love so relief! Cravings:  No

Well, tomorrow is the big day...the one when we find out who is joining our family. Lord willing this child will cooperate and show his/her "goodies." Ha! Before we jump into this little shabang, I have to ask you not to tell our parents.  Neither set frequent this blog, so I feel fairly safe that they won't find out, but if you know them...please keep quiet.  It's a surprise.  How cool will it be when we randomly call tomorrow morning to announce the gender?! I didn't have this blog when I was pregnant with Eli, so I couldn't document my thoughts or feelings on gender.  I want to remember everything this time around, so I'm going to be perfectly honest. I want a girl... desperately.  I love the idea of Texas size bows, frilly dresses and tea parties.  I love the idea of having a room that looks like pink threw up.  I love the idea of raising both a daughter and a son. That being said, I'm also in love with the idea of having two sons...best fr

Ya'll know I've been choppin' at the bit to find out who is joining our family, and with the big reveal getting closer, I had a little fun this weekend doing some old wives tales. Chinese Gender Chart. - I have never known this to be wrong.  Of everyone who gets a false reading I later found out that they didn't calculate their Chinese age.  You have to do that!  Anyway, since it's always been right for me and my friends, I found this online it said... GIRL!!! The Baking Soda Test - I never did this with Eli, but I thought it would be fun since it's safe.  You basically you pee in a cup with Baking Soda in the bottom.  If the pee reacts in a fizzing manor, it's a boy.  If there is no reaction, it's a girl.  Mine did not react, so the result... GIRL!! The Wedding Ring Test - For starters, this is not my belly.  Ok, now that we have that out of the way,  I did this test with Eli and it too was right.  Basically, you put thread through

We have had an awesome (an successful) game day in the Watson home.  It started out with a Mommy/Son date to Applebees this morning while Daddy golfed.  We actually attended a pancake breakfast to support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.   I told Eli it was game day, and he insisted on wearing his WKU baseball helmet.  Even though he is clearly confused about the sport, I love his enthusiasm! After our breakfast, I took him to Chick-fil-A to play on the playground for a little while.  It amazes me that he was three weeks old the first time we went for a treat, and he now plays and socailizes with the other kids.   Next was a trip to Wal-Mart for groceries.  Normally, I don't take Eli along.  However, a bribed him with a new car and the rest was history!! Once we made it home I took a short nap while Eric played with Eli.  They put up the projector screen to watch WKU beat UK!!  While the game was on we had a little football party with gre

Do you ever have those prayers that you're sorta scared to voice because you know that if God takes you up on the offer it might hurt a little? For example, I hate praying, "Lord help me to trust you." You know that no sooner than you say "amen" the world will cave in.  Ha! It's true.  I hate praying for patience because I know that soon after, Eli will test my sanity with the fit of all fits, or the driver in front of me will sit through a green light, or the waitress will forget my meal.  You get the point. The thing is, we have to pray those scary prayers because otherwise we become stagnant in our growth. Maturing in Christ simply can not stop, so we humbly admit there is an area that needs God's attention.  Then we step back and wait in faith for him to scrub out the stains.  Waiting "in faith" is the hardest part because we have to trust God that the temporary growing pains we feel are for his glory. Oh, and there are growing pain

Pregnancy Highlights: How far along:  14 weeks Size of baby:  Baby E is the size of a fist Total Weight Gain/Loss:  I've put on 5lbs, but that still leaves me 10lbs UNDER pre-pregnancy weight. Maternity Clothes:  Ha! Been in pants since week 7.  Otherwise, it's loose dresses and tops.  I also went shopping over the weekend to pick up a few cardigans to put over the maternity clothes I wore with Eli. Gender:  We will know ONE week from today!! Movement:  I have  definitely  felt more movement this week.  Looks like this baby is going to like the morning hours. Of course with mom up at 4:48 every morning, it should! Sleep:  I'm sleeping great!  Actually, I wake up several times to pee and sometimes have a hard time drifting back off, but after Eli this is a walk in the park! What I miss:  Eating.  I have severe food  aversions  and can't eat much without getting sick.  Hints the weight loss.  Cravings:  Raw Potatoes with salt.  I actually eat these

We have had so many people ask about names, so I thought I would let you in on the process. Girl Name: We have had our girl name picked out since before Eli was born, because of course it would have been his name.  If the Lord blesses us with a precious daughter, She will be named Elizabeth Victoria Watson and called Ellie.  My mom's name is Victoria, so she will be named after her.  We laugh all the time and say she'll be 25 before she can spell her full name.  Haha! Boy Name: Should we have a boy, he will be named after baseball bat...ha!  We've actually had this name picked out for a while, and it's a funny story.  With Eli and Ellie we just happened to like "E" names, but wanted to find another boy name to keep the tradition alive.  One morning we were in bed watching TV when Eli walked in with and bat.  We both looked and each other, and laughed because we knew we had found our "E" name.  Should the Lord bless us with another son, he will be

1. It's Thursday which means only one day stands between me and the weekend! Can I get a "Hallelujah?" 2.  It's been a super short week with Monday off, plus Eli leaves tonight to spend time with my parents.  We actually have two separate weddings this weekend and didn't think Eli would love sitting through them! 3. It makes me almost sick thinking about him leaving, and the older he gets the worse I become.  I think when he was younger I was just so exhausted that I didn't care.  Now I think about all I'll miss out on like cuddling at night and playing together. 4. I know it's good for him to be away, and maybe even better for my parents to enjoy him, but it's still hard. 5. Of course it's also good for me and Eric.  We can have quiet dinners, go on dates, sleep late and get caught up on some things around the house. 6. Usually I clean on Mondays but my goal is to do it this weekend so that me and baby boy can enjoy some fall fun nex

I don't even know where to start this because I feel like I've been keeping the secret for about a billion years.  I had so many posts to write, but since we are just now spilling the beans, I'm going to attempt to put all this information into one VERY long entry. Getting Preggo:  Well, we had decided to wait until the end of this year to try for baby #2.  I had been going back and forth on when to try, but my wise husband wanted to wait. Since I wasn't 100% decided, I didn't really push the subject. You can imagine my surprise in June when Eric announced that we should try. I was instantly ready, and that's how I knew the Lord was leading us into this.  My prayer had been that we would be in agreement when the time was right.  Of course we serve a faithful and mighty God, and three short weeks later we got two pink lines. I say "three short weeks," but the truth is they were long.  I was analyzing every detail and symptom and went through a

"I'm going to be a BIG BROTHER"

We were all pretty worn out this morning after all the activities we enjoyed yesterday, so we slept fairly late.  We hit the road and drove to Chattanooga for lunch and some more sightseeing.   Eli is a great traveler which is such a blessing for us!  We were so excited to make it to Lookout Mountain even if it was pouring the rain!  My husband is about ten kinds of awesome and found this Starbucks with the most amazing view I have ever seen.  I enjoyed a Caramel Apple Cider and dreamed about moving to the mountains.  I'll take the mountains over the beach...any day!! We ended up going to a National Park area where admission was much cheaper.  Plus, the views were amazing, the history was fascinating! Every time I look at God's creation I stand in awe of his majesty.  How beautiful are the mountains? We of course took tons of pictures, and just walked around until it started raining again.  Then we hit up the gift shop where