The Green Family

Has it really been 3 months??

2009-04-20T21:16:00.004-04:00

I do not know where the time has gone. I cannot believe it has been 3 months since last posting. There has not been too much that has changed with Eron and I. Eron, still stays busy with work, as usual. I am in the process of applying for my Florida RN license and contemplating getting a job. However, Harper has changed SO much in the last three months. I have many words to describe her, but there are several that are very definitive of her: sassy, smart, silly, spunky, sweet, and kissy, to name a few! She is an absolute blast and joy to be around. We were out of town last week and of course, when we go out of town, her schedule goes out the door. So, we were trying to get her to sleep at about 1130 p.m., 3 1/2 hours past her bedtime, and Eron and I were in tears, because we were laughing so hard at this silly girl. I cannot even tell you what we were laughing at but, she is SO silly that we crack up at her most of the time! She has a ton of personality, and always has, but her personality has really blossomed lately!

She is talking up a storm, eating like a big girl, preferring a fork over a spoon, and growing tall, but not gaining weight. She has not gained any weight since her 15 month checkup in January, weighing in at a measly 22lbs. Her Dr. is not concerned with this and neither am I given, I know how much she eats! She is loving broccoli, frozen green peas, any meat, and her fruit of choice are strawberries, just like her mama! And the normal things, she can point to all of her body parts, she can tell you if her tootsies are stinky, or if her shoes, are stinky for that matter. She is learning to pray and bow her head and she says Amen, quite well. The other night we were saying her bedtime prayers and apparently my prayer was running longer than she thought necessary as, she started to say amen a few times in a row, guess she thought it was time to end the prayer! Her vocabulary consists of about 25-30 words! Some of her favorite daily words are bye, please, amen, poopoo, mommy, ah man, shoes, stinky, tootsies, to name a few! She loves to brush her teeth, too! And also, I guess she likes to eat rocks. She and Eron were "working" in the yard the other day while I was at a baby shower and he looked back at her and she was sitting on the ground with Hunter and they were both chewing rocks! I am glad daddy got them out of her mouth quickly. She must take after her uncle Ryan, because she also likes to eat dog food, while Ryan's preference was Tender Vittles, hers, is dog food.

Every time we pick her up from the nursery at church, her teachers tell me how much she has been kissing on her friend, Jesse and Jacob. Apparently, Jesse is her main squeeze, but as her teacher says, she has become a bit fickle lately and Jacob is receiving most of the affection these days. I have to say she is very affectionate and will love on anyone, but I am not sure why she has chosen these two boys to share her affection with!

Obviously, she keeps us quite entertained and very busy! We love this age and I am so thankful to be able to be home and watch her amaze me every day! We look forward to a busy few months coming up, and I hope to update sooner than 3 months!! Also, I have more pictures to add, but it wont let me, so I will add them in another post!
Hunting Easter eggs

On the Merry-go-round at Busch Gardens

Cousin Sarah and Harper at Busch Gardens

Getting caught in mommy's makeup!

Update

2009-01-19T06:26:00.002-05:00

Well it has been almost a month since my last update, figured it was time for one.

We had a great Christmas. It was very relaxing, my dad came into town and we spent Christmas here at our house, just the four of us. It was nice to be home and not have too much going on, we were able to sit back and enjoy the holiday. Harper loved spending time with her Daddad. She got him a webcam for Christmas so that they can talk and see each other often. Then we spontaneously decided to head to Alabama for new years. We relaxed and got to visit with Eron's family and we saw some of his friends that we had not seen in years, so it was fun to catch up with them. Harper loved being there, she played outside a lot and rode the 4 wheeler with her daddy among other things.

Since we have been home there really has not been a whole lot going on. Eron has been staying busy at work, as usual and hasnt slowed down since the beginning of the new year. We have been working on picking out things for the new/old house next door that is being renovated a bit. They (volunteers and Joe, maintenance director) have made a lot of progress, the kitchen is empty of cabinets appliances, walls, and floors. Most everything out of the bathrooms has been taken out (tile, vanities, toilets, etc.). We have picked and exterior color as well as all of the interior colors! So, that has been keeping us busy!

I have started working out, exercising. There are a few ladies that I know from MOPs who have been getting together with early in the morning (5-5:30 am) for the last 2 weeks to run with. They are better runners than I but if they can keep me accountable for showing up then that works for me. I actually enjoy getting up early and being home early before anyone awakes so that I have time for myself and can get some things done, too. Today I started a spin class at 5am and it was so hard. It has been years since I have done spin and it will definitely take some getting used to. I am hoping to shed some pounds before I get pregnant again (hopefully in the next few months). This does not make sense to some people but perfect sense to me. I would rather lose some weight now and have that much less to lose after baby instead of going into the pregnancy with extra weight and have to lose that on top of baby weight. So, we shall see, I will keep everyone posted! We hope all is well and everyone is having a good new year so far!!

Much love,
Shelley

December photos

2008-12-20T15:21:00.003-05:00

I have not uploaded many photos lately, so I added an album to the right on the bottom with a few random photos from this month so far! Hope you enjoy!

A few things Harper has been up to:

2008-12-06T20:21:00.002-05:00

~Talking- her new phrase every time she sees a light, "the light" except she says it with a bit of a southern twang! (so, Christmas time is fun to say the least, she will say "the light" consecutively several times in a row)

~She can say "nose" and of course then proceed to point at it.

~ She can point to the tv when asked where it is

~She will "bark" when asked what Hunter or Bella say

~She will point when you ask her where her "tootsies" are

~A little dancing

~A little bit of tantrum throwing

~A little bit of getting into trouble

~She smiles real big right before she does something that she knows she isnt supposed to (we can't help but giggle inside when she does this)

~She just started waving (I have no idea why it took her so long to start that)

~She is a big tease, she will offer you something and quickly takes it back before you have a chance to take what she offers

~She follows directions very well most of the time. (ex: we taught her to just touch the tree, ornaments, etc. with one finger instead of forbidding her to touch anything. So, she touches everything on the tree with just one finger! It has made having the tree up very easy!)

~And, of course reading alot and pointing at certain things in each book! She LOVES to read!

~She gives great "high fives"

She is sooo much fun right now, however she definitely test her boundaries too! I love this stage, and we just can't get enough of her!! We have a lot of pictures to post soon!

Reminiscing

2008-11-24T14:01:00.004-05:00

I was looking through pictures and reminiscing. I cannot believe this little stinker of a girl is older than a year! It seems like yesterday she was this small! I miss those days at times! She loved the sun from the beginning

Getting ready to go home

Look at those cheeks!

Resting on baby Ryland and Sherah! (She was preggo)

Busy Times (Meant to post on last friday, oh well)

2008-11-19T20:21:00.008-05:00

Ok, excuse the pictures, they are all out of order as far as a timeline is concerned: Elle and Harper watching TV

My Dad on the big screen at the football game

Harper enjoying the game with Judy

Renner at the game, not sure if he was too thrilled to be there!

Harper and Timothy lookin at the football players lining up (cant see them from the pic)

Kissing cousins, ha!

Mark and Timothy

Cutting the ribbon

"Hall of Legends" buildingEating at our favorite mexican restaraunt (Avila's)

Harper and Aunty Jen at the Christmas Fair, Harper wouldnt sit with Santa by herself(thanks, Jen)

At the Miami Children's Home Campus

Harper by a Eucalyptus Tree at the Miami Tropical Gardens, this tree was gorgeous!

We have been super busy the past few weeks! Time for an update: We spent Halloween night in Miami. It was time for a FBCH board meeting and this time around it was in Miami. We ate great food the entire weekend. We ate Cuban food one night and then Argentinian the other night! Very yummy. Halloween in Miami is an interesting sight. We drove around South Beach with some of Eron's coworkers and saw some costumes that I am sure we will never see again! It was lovely to get back to Miami, the first time since we have moved, and I am glad to say that I enjoy visiting more than living there, just not for us and that is ok.

The following week, Harper and I made an impromtu trip to El Paso. New Mexico State University honored my dad and his business partner (cousin by marriage sort of) and their company (Clifford, Ross and Cooper, CPA's) by naming an athletic building in the end zone of the Aggie Memorial Stadium, in their name! It is called, "The Clifford, Ross, and Cooper, CPA's Hall of Legends". It was a lovely dedication and I was so proud of my dad that day. It was nice to have all of the friends and family and many other guests, including former coaches and even an NCAA Hall of Fame coach there as well. My dad has been an Aggie fan since he was in college and has been a basketball statistical crew member for almost 40 years. So, all in all it was a great honor and a proud moment for them.

While there we were thrilled to see my close cousin Mark, Sarah and their son, Timothy (Mark's dad is the "Clifford" part of the company). Harper loves Timothy and gave him kisses to prove it. She doesnt seem to care that they are cousins, ha! We spent 10 days in El Paso with family and friends. Harper really enjoyed playing with her big cousins Elle and Renner. She misses them. I think she missed Aunty Jen and Uncle Ryan, whom she was attatched to the whole time! Some of the things we did while in El Paso:

Breakfast with Santa at the Christmas Fair
Went back to the Christmas Fair 2 more times
Went to the doctor 3 Times
Went to an Aggie Football game
Went to an Aggie Basketball game
Played with Elle and Renner
Played with Timothy
Played with Merritt
Shopped
Slept horribly
Ate lots of yummy food (Ardovinos, Avilas, Ripe's sweet potato fries, just to name a few)

So, we were very busy and although we enjoyed the trip and spending time with family and friends, I do not wish to be gone that long from Eron! We missed him and I realized how much her helps when I have to do it for 10 days by myself for the most part (thanks Ryan and Jen for your help).

We got home on Sunday and have been getting back to normal. So glad that Harper is getting back on schedule! We have a busy week and weekend ahead of us: MOP's (which I have missed the last two weeks), Christmas decorating at the Children's Home, family photos, highschool football, church and then Monday my dad comes for the Thanksgiving week and then off to Jacksonville to celebrate with family.

As we approach Thanksgiving, I realize how much we have to be thankful for, we are so blessed in many ways! I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Love,
Shelley

~Chickadee~

2008-10-27T15:53:00.003-04:00

We had a fun weekend!! We enjoyed a fall festival outside at the Children's Home. Harper would not stay still enought for me to get a good photo. I loved her costume but I was kinda bummed that I was unable to find orange tights for her legs. I have never really seen a chicken with white legs, but oh well. I had no idea it was outside, I thought it would be in the gym, so it was very warm outside. Needless to say she did not keep the costume on the whole time.

It was a great time. She did not mess with her costume, and kept it on without trying to take it off! The butt of the costume kept getting her off balance, so she had a tough time walking sometimes. She also won the funniest costume contest!! It was a good time!

Our Little Pumpkin

2008-10-17T21:13:00.004-04:00

Picking out just the right pumpkin
Harper and her buddy Jake, not such a nice face she is making at him

Harper giving Jake a kiss...I think we are in trouble, she'll probably be the girl in elementary school that will get in trouble for kissing the boys at recess, oh goodness!

So, I haven't blogged in a while, but there has not been too much out of the ordinary going on! We did go pick out pumpkins today with some girls from my MOP's group and their kids! We had a great time and we fed the swans at the lake right next to the pumpkins and ate lunch by the lake too! It was a fun day and Harper and her buddy Jake kept myself and Jacob's mom, Amy very busy! Needless to say they had about worn us out by the end of it all. They both headed straight for the water many times, SCARY!

I have to say that fall is my favorite time of year and it absolutley does not feel like fall out here at all! I mean we were picking out pumpkins in 90 degree weather! So, I really miss the cooler weather and the leaves turning, but I guess I can't complain too much, since we will probably be going swimming tomorrow towards the end of OCTOBER!!!

Thanks to Kallie.....

2008-09-30T11:48:00.004-04:00

Ok, so my friend Kallie, who was able to capture Harper's party moments for us, did a great job! She has put a sampling of some of the pics on her blog: dkbuckmaster.blogspot.com. Please check them out. She will have more up next week!! Thanks so much Kallie!

Happy Birthday our sweet Harper!!

2008-09-30T08:57:00.007-04:00

Birthday pancakes, this morning...

Where has the year gone?? It honestly just seems like yesterday that they pulled her from my belly and I saw those sweet chubby cheeks for the first time! Her cheeks are the one thing that stands out when I first saw her, I was way out of it but I will always remember the first time I saw her! We are so thankful for a very blessed year and a very healthy baby, but I cannot help but feel a little sad as I look at her right now, walking, tearing up a magazine (ugh, after I have told her a million times not too!) watching Jack's Big Music Show, that the time has gone by way too fast!!

Who would have known that last year in the hospital with our brand new baby (hang on, time for some discipline about the mag)ok, that she would have lived in 4 cities by the time she was 1! She has lived in El Paso, Portales, Miami and now Lakeland, Fl. She has had quite an eventful year and she has been the best baby through it all. I guess God new we needed a very laid back child given all we went through the first year of her life!

We are so thankful for this little baby, she has truly blessed our lives and the lives of others. We are also thankful for our family and friends that have supported us through this first year of her life and for all the transitions and new experiences that Eron and I have had as well!

She has reached many milestones! She now walks even better than when she started a month or so ago, she now drinks whole milk (yea no more messing with formula), she is almost off of the bottle, she claps, waves, plays patty cake, talks ALL of the time (her own language of course), now sits front facing in the car (which she loves), she can pick up very tiny objects with her thumb and forefinger, still only says "daddy" (this doesn't hurt my feelings at all, yeah right! after all I am only the one that she is with all day), understands and usually (and I mean usually, there are the exceptions more times that not, ha) obeys "sit down" and "no"! She loves to be outside, play with dogs, reading books and she loves her daddy!! Harper is very affectionate and gives kisses and hugs all of the time. When Eron recently came home from a business trip she hugged him and snuggled with him for at least 5 minutes, no joke!

Thank you, God for a very special, loving and sweet girl, we are sooo blessed! Thank you, Harper for all of the laughs and special moments you have brought us this first year! We love you so much!

Blowing out her candle with daddy's help of course
Her new favorite chair, a gift from Daddad! Thanks Daddad!!
And, this is one of those times that she did not obey when I asked her to "sit down", but doesn't look like she seemed to care!

We love you and hope you have a great first birthday!

Daddy and Momma

Party...

2008-09-28T21:21:00.003-04:00

Well, all that planning and it is over just like that! The party was lots of fun! I was having some camera issues that day and did not have my camera available, so, no pictures to show for all of the hard work!! Just kidding! My friend Kallie came through for a girl in the clutch! She had her camera with her and I know there will be some fantastic pictures taken!! She is having computer troubles and she is also going out of town for the week, so I am sure when she gets everything worked out and returns from her trip there will be pictures to show for the party!! I can't thank her enough, so THANK YOU, Kallie!

So, when I get pictures up I will explain in more detail about the party, but I think it was a hit and have to say I had more comments about the corn dip and the Etsy party supplies! Yea for ETSY!! Harper was great and we had a dedication ceremony for her too! It was very special. She had fun and really enjoyed her cake!

So, this means Sherah and Jen you must be patient, remember it is a virtue!

Much love,
Shelley

Some party supplies for Harper's party!

2008-09-24T15:02:00.003-04:00

So, I have been planning away for Harper's first bday party that takes place this weekend. I think I have most things in order. I have used the best site ever to order most of her things for the Party, Etsy! Well, one of the girls that I ordered a lot of fun stuff from blogged about what she made for Harper's party. So you will have to go here: polkadots-pirates.blogspot.com and check her out! She was so great to work with and you all must check out her Etsy shop for cute things. Also, there is a bib and a hat that were made from another Etsy shop(goldenshop.etsy.com) and she is fantastic, too! So, have fun and take a looka round on both sites!

Eron has been out of town and Harper and I have been getting things ready for the party and just hanging around the house. Today, we went to Lake Bonny Park with friend who is in my MOPS group and some of her friends and their kids were there! It was nice to get out of the house for a bit! We then ran some errands, and came home for a nap! Eron comes home tonight and we are both ready for that! I think the dogs have missed him as well. They have misbehaved terribly the past two days. They have gotten in to 2 bags of trash, and got it all over the yard...then a bag of dirty diapers, all over the yard...and I have had to chase Bella around the house constantly because she always seems to have one of Harper's toys. Ugh..they are so high maintenance, and I know they dont get that from me, must be Eron!

So, tomorrow we have MOPS and then come home to get ready for company from out of town! I will post pictures of the party after it is all said and done, hope it all turns out well!

We're back!

2008-09-11T21:21:00.005-04:00

Well, we are back from our trip to El Paso. We had an interesting time. It was not a usual trip to EP. Harper was sick, Eron was sick and so was my cutie patootie niece Elle. The trip started out great! We flew to Dallas and I spent the day dear friend Sherah and her daughter Ryland, whom we had not met yet. Sherah had met Harper when she was 5 weeks old, so to say the least it had been a while! We hung out at her house while my brother Ryan and Eron played golf. Eron then met us, including Kyle, Sherah's hubby and her sister Talitha at a yummy restaurant for dinner. It was so fun to catch up and spend time with Sherah like the good ol days in Portales! It was neat to see Ryland and Harper playing. Harper is about three months older than Ryland and it is funny to see the difference 3 months makes in the way they interact! Harper was definitely on the move while Ryland seemed to be in slow motion, it was so cute and funny! They had fun together to say the least! (I will be posting pics of them tomorrow). So, then later that night we went to my cousin, Mark's house to see his son and wife, Timothy and Sarah. He is 1 month older than Harper and was celebrating his birthday the next day. We did not get to stay long but it was so good to see them, we miss them sooo much! We left Dallas on Sunday and helped my brother move some stuff out to El Paso! We did not do much while in EP, like I mentioned everyone seemed to be sick, Eron did not even make it to his favorite restaurant Maries, the whole time we were there. It was nice to spend time with Jennifer, Ryan, Elle, Renner, my dad and Judy! We did enjoy our time while we were gone, just a little more relaxed and not so busy! Harper love, love, loves her cousins Elle and Renner and loves, her uncle Ryan and aunt Jennifer! She had a lot if kisses to give out to all of them. She loves her daddad too!

We had an early 1st birthday party for Harper so that my family could celebrate with her since they will not be able to make it to her party at the end of the month. Judy was so nice to let us have it at her house. It was a small family gathering and it was very fun. I made her a mini red velvet cake (daddy's suggestion, bad idea), and my dad's friend Jerry catered some yummy chicken and rice. We had salad and rolls to go along with it! The food was great! She opened presents, dug into her cake, literally, took a bath to wash it all off and then enjoyed the time with her family!! We had a great time! Pleas click on the following link to view pics of her party:http://picasaweb.google.com/shellgr/HarperS1stBirthdayInElPaso.

A few more things about our trip. It was the hubby's 31st birthday on Sunday and we had a mini celebration at State Line restaurant with the fam! Happy birthday, love you and cannot believe you are 31 and thanks for being the best daddy to Harper and a great husband! We did also make a trip to Roswell, NM to see our friends who we still stay in touch with at the least once a week, Phillip and Cari. Cari was preggo with their first child and she was induced on Thurs morning, so we made the three hour trip to see them and meet their precious baby girl, Abigail Sue Jowers! We were glad to spend a few hours with them before heading back to EP, wish we had more time!

We got home Monday night and now it is settling down into a routine. It has been a busy week, Jr. League meeting, Harper and I joined some girls from the Home for an etiquette class of sorts at one of the social workers home, it was a fun experience and I actually learned a few things too! Then we had church and bible study and dinner after lastnight, and this morning I went to my first MOPS meeting, which I think is going to be wonderful and then tonight we went to one of Eron's basketball games. So, the house is a wreck from getting home and unpacking but not having time to tidy up. So, tomorrow will be dedicated to housework and then hopefully we will have a relaxing weekend!

Pictures of Harper walking!

2008-08-22T20:27:00.003-04:00

Bear crawling..

Taking a step, she took about three this time..
She loves to smile for the camera! and yes, I let her play on the ground and get dirty, nothing that a good bath can't fix..

She smiles with her mouth, eyes and nose, love these smiles!
Sitting in Eron's grandmother's old, old rocking chair!
On the screened in porch!

2 Teeth and 2 Steps

2008-08-18T19:07:00.002-04:00

Well, Harper has been on one for a few weeks! Her naps are totally messed up, the only way she will get to sleep these days is with me or daddy and her rocker (love that part), but I hate that she is not getting good naps! Well, as I had suspected, she is definitely teething and her top front teeth are breaking as we speak! So, this will explain the nap situation, I believe! I am thrilled that these teeth are coming in! When she gives kisses now, she likes to kiss our lips and then head for our noses where she decides to bite our nose! That doesn't feel too great. So, now she is giving more and more kisses than we even ask for just to get a bite at our noses. Silly girl!

On another note, I was such a proud mommy today. We were out in the backyard and she stood up several times from a squatting position all by herself and proceeded to take two steps forward with her arms and hands way out in front of her! I was so excited, now I realize that she is not "walking" but she is certainly getting brave and taking steps on her own!

Well, we are getting ready for tropical storm Fay! I have never had to prepare for something like this and although it is not supposed to be too bad if it turns into a hurricane, there is a part of me loves the idea of having to stay cooped up and safe indoors while it pours rain outside! It is supposed to come right over us tomorrow, so Eron will be home and so will Harper and of course the dogs!

Oh, one more side note, Bella had shots today and we were told the obvious, that she is "obese". Yes we already knew that, but still kinda take offense to it! Oh well, looks like someone is going on a diet! Poor girl!

Homemade Pretzels~

2008-08-17T19:25:00.004-04:00

We had a lazy Sunday. I have been having some issues with my eye. I think that I am allergic to my contact. We got up this morning to get ready for church and I could not keep my eye open, it was runny and burning and any light or focusing hurt it. So hubby went to get my some drops to hold me over until I can get to the Dr. to see what the deal is. So, I took a nap after that and it seemed to be a little better.

So, I decided to be somewhat productive and decided to make some homemade pretzels, here http://http://belladia.typepad.com/crafty_crow/2008/05/homemade-pretze.html, they looked and sounded so yummy! So here is the process, they were super easy and really good.
So, here is what you need: 1 1/2 tsp. of active live yeast, 1 1/2 c. hot water, 1/2 tsp. brown sugar, and a dash of salt. Combine these ingredients and let sit for 5 minutes.
Harper supervised!
Yeast and above ingredients sitting for 5 minutes...
Then you add four cups of white flour, mix well and knead for 5 minutes...
Then, place in a greased bowl and lay a damp towel over the top and let sit for 1 hour in a warm spot...
Divide dough into 8-12 pieces, roll into rope and shape. ( I made some classic shapes and then some sticks that I added garlic and Parmesan cheese to go with our pizza tonight)...

Harper tested out the dough..
After you shape them, dip them into 1/4 c. warm water with 1 Tbsp. of baking soda and then place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 500 degrees for 8 minutes...
After taking out of oven, brush liberally with butter. I added cinnamon sugar to some of them and then garlic salt and Parmesan cheese and we dipped them in marinara sauce...
Then enjoy! Yummy....
Oh, we halved this recipe and there were just enough for us~

Finally, a highchair!!!

2008-08-07T21:39:00.003-04:00

Well, I realize that Harper is almost 10 months old, but we have just now gotten her highchair. I was a little picky with this selection, so that is why it has taken me so long. I wanted something a little classic looking and wooden. So, this is what I found. It is a Jenny Lind Highchair. It matches her crib, so I guess that is why I like it. So, here it is. She has been eating in her dumbo bumbo since she was six months old. I love bumbos but I am to the point that I am tired of them, and I know she is too!

Look at the joy on her face!!

She is so tiny, it swallows her..

Picture Problems

2008-08-05T20:45:00.002-04:00

I am not sure why we cannot see the pictures in the last two posts, but thanks to those who have filled me in on that. If anyone cares to look at the ones that were going to be in the post I just went ahead and added them to an album at the bottom on the right. Sorry about the problem.

And what is a post without pictures of Harper Faye...

2008-08-04T22:00:00.001-04:00

These pictures were suppost to be a part of the last post, but of course for some reason I could not get them all on there like I normally can, so I am sure you all get tired of seeing pictures of her, but I can't resist!

In this photo below she is intently watching her dogs play fetch. and yes she is not wearing shorts, tank top and diaper that is it!

Poor thing, when is she ever going to get hair???? It is so burly, just like her daddy's was when he was a baby. Bless her little heart, hairless child...

Our other children...

2008-08-04T21:36:00.001-04:00

Our other children, Hunter and Bella, have recieved a brand new humungo ( I know it is not a word) yard. The children's home is just about to complete putting up a new wrought iron fence that will enclose the whole campus, including our house!! Each main entrance that has a gate that can be closed and locked. Essentially this means that we can let our dogs out of the house and let them run wild over all 35 acres of the campus! Fun for them. They love to run, explore and hunt (squirrles, especially)! So, lately we have been letting them out in the evenings, to run, roam and play fetch!! They love this. We have two different types of runners in our dogs. Bella (aka, the fat one, or the one that is mistaken by many to be pregnant!!!, yes I am a bit offended by that)well, she is our sprinter, believe it or not. Most of the time she beats Hunter to the fetch toy. But, take her to Lake Hollingsworth to walk/run the three miles around the lake, she has had enough by mile 1.5. It is quite embarrasing when you are walking her and she just quits, sits down and doesn't move. Then we have our first born, Hunter, he is our long distance runner. He and Eron can run and run and run, and it never phases him. I am so glad they ar different. I love them even though we have had a baby, yes they are not numero uno anymore but we still love them!! I think they are very thankful for this new addition to their lives!

This is part of the fence that runs in front of our house:

This is part of the yard that runs along the fence:

Part of our front yard:

New toy!

2008-08-02T18:15:00.003-04:00

We got Harper a new walking toy. We thought she was ready for it since her balance has been pretty good standing alone for a few seconds when she does. So, we got her this (below). She has enjoyed pushing and walking along with it, although she was a little shaky at first. I think she is really going to love it!! She better, ha!

Oh, I also added a few pictures of Harper from our time at the beach a couple of weekends ago!

A little blurry, sorry, but this was one of those times she was not so sure about this new toy!

So sweet, reading time!
The water was so pretty...
Probably getting ready to put that handful of sand in her mouth!

Time to Share!!!

2008-07-30T09:10:00.002-04:00

Ok, I need everyone's help here. It is time that I get back to cooking on a regular basis. It seems like, for one, that we are never here to eat in, and two, sometimes I dread the thought of having to come up with something to cook for dinner. It seems like I always make the same thing over and over again. Well, that is partly because the hubby won't eat anything that is for one green or does not include the word potato. So, that can make for some boring meals. When we lived in New Mexico, I planned menus for the week and that worked out really well. So, that is what I am going to start doing again. It was nice to always know what to fix or what there was available to fix in the fridge or freezer. I have been reading some wonderful food blogs that I subscribe to and I even came upon a lady from El Paso who blogs about mexican food! A lot of her recipes make me feel at home. So, I have already gathered some new ideas, but I am trying to fill a notebook full of different options. So, if you cook and have favorite recipes (Sherah, Jennifer to name a few!!!!!!!!!!) please share them with me if you get the chance. It would be greatly appreciated. Jennifer I may let you slide since you are moving, but I know you can cook! Thanks for your help!

Standing alone!

2008-07-27T22:30:00.003-04:00

Harper started standing alone the other day. I have some refrigerator magnet toys that she plays with while I am in the kitchen and she was standing up at the frig playing and she just stood there with a toy in each hand playing with them. She stood like that for several seconds! Obviously I don't think she realized what she was doing but it was very exciting for me to see. Later that day she did the same thing expect she was standing up at our ottoman. I say I can't wait till she can walk, but I think my job will even get harder, oh well that is part of the fun!

We had a busy weekend. Friday we went to Universal Studios with a group of kids from the home. It was so fun, but I am dying to go back (maybe in the fall). It was soooo busy that we did not get much done. US has two parks, US and Islands of Adventure. They are probably my favorite of all the parks next to Disney. I highly recommend it to anyone.

Saturday, Eron had a basketball tournament, they won, yea! Harper and I got there late and missed the whole thing, whoops! We went to lunch at Shane's Rib Shack with some people from his team, we had never been there before, it was alright, nothing special! Then we rested up a bit at home and headed to the outlet malls in Orlando. Shopping is always fun but this day was not. It was really hot and so stinkin busy. Think we won't be going back for a long time, after summer definitely. We still managed to leave with a few things.

Today we had church, great sermon! Then we came home, Eron went to play b-ball and Harp and I took a long much needed nap! Tomorrow we are headed to Tallahassee where Eron has a board meeting and Harp and I are going along for the ride. We will be back Tuesday. Hope you all have a great week!

9 1/2 Months

2008-07-22T20:52:00.002-04:00

Harper went for her 9 month checkup last week. She is doing great, she weighs a mere 17 pounds and is 27 inches long. She is in the 10th percentile for both. Her doc said that she was fine since she is growing consistently. She is moving past baby food now for the most part. She pretty much eats modified versions of what we are eating. Once she had table food, baby food does not interest her anymore.

Sunday was the first time that she waved hello/goodbye discriminantly. We were at the beach and she was waving goodbye to everyone who waved at her. Too cute! I cannot believe how big she is getting, I don't know where the time has gone, she will be walking in no time!

Yesterday we went to Sea World Aquatica. It was scorching hot and packed with people. It was not the best water park that I have been to, but it was good to get to go. We both got a little burned (ok, well I did a lot!). She love, love, loves the water. She did not want to get out of the wave pool. She enjoyed the beach on Sunday, even eating the sand, yum!

Friday, Eron and I are going to Universal Studios with the kids from the children's home. I think Harper is going to sit this one out. She has been pretty busy over the last few weeks. It should be a fun time!

Here is a rare picture of Harper and I. I am usually the one taking the pics, but Eron play photographer this time. This was taken at the Lowry Zoo in Tampa last weekend inside one of the Aquariums.

Janice Faye

2008-07-19T00:53:00.003-04:00

I just got off of the phone with my brother, well actually a bit ago, and we had a conversation about our mom and the illness that eventually took her life. I tried to go to bed but couldn't get to sleep, so I thought that I would come write down my thoughts instead.

Ryan and I are very different in many ways, but we are alike in a lot of ways too. When my mom was sick with Scleroderma, I could not bear the thought of talking to her about the inevitable. I did not know when or how she was going to die and honestly I did not even think it would happen when it did. I think that was partly a defense mechanism for me. She never told me that she was dying, and I thank her for that because I think that she knew that I could not handle that. So, subconsciously I don't think that I allowed myself to think that she would succumb to her illness. My job (self-appointed) was to take care of her physically and that I did. I wanted to be the one to care for her, so I took the semester off of college. The last three months of her life were the worst, when she could not even get out of bed to use the bedside potty chair without it taking every ounce of oxygen that she had. It took her 20 minutes for her breathing and oxygenation to recover from just taking two steps to the chair and back to bed. But through all of that I could be there, day in and day out to take care of the physical needs that were overwhelming. I would bathe her, dress her, cook for her, do her hair, her nails, wake up in the middle of the night to make her hot tea with honey and lemon to ease a coughing fit, anything she needed, I tried to provide. We had walkie talkies and she would call any time that she needed something. I think back to those days and don't know how I did it, but I did and I am so thankful for that time with her. I guess nursing has always been a part of who I am! (There were some fun memories through those months, though, like playing Phase 10 every night with Eron and dad and occasionally Ryan and Jen, if they were over, and also making dinner and all of us going back to mom and dad's room to eat because it was so much easier on her. We had some good memories through those times). My brother on the other hand, could go where my dad and I could not. He could have those conversations about how she was truly doing, not physically but spiritually and emotionally. I am so thankful for the fact that he could sit down and have these deep conversations with her because I know she needed to talk with someone in her family about this. So, as we were talking tonight we had a conversation about her outlook on death that we had not had in a while. It reminded me of what an awesome woman of God that she was and what faith and trust that she had in the Lord. I am so proud to have had her as a mom and I am so heartbroken at the same time because there are so many people that I have wanted to introduce her to in the past almost six years since her death. Everyone loved this woman, she was so special and I am also sad sometimes because I don't think that I really knew and understood what kind of woman she truly was. I was 21 when she passed and I think that is still young and there was so much learning to still be done. I mean I knew her as my mom and I knew how much she was loved by everyone but I will never know her as woman that I am now and I will never know her as the grandmother to my children or the mother-in-law to my husband and that makes me so terribly sad. I am scared that one day I will not remember her voice. It is like I am reaching into memories to hear her and I can't seem to find her voice. I don't ever want to forget her voice. That may not make sense but I am not sure how else to explain it. I guess I just always want to remember her????

Getting back to Ryan and I, I am thankful that all of her needs were met by her family and I am thankful that Ryan could go there with her. She told him that she was never scared about dying that she was ready and at peace with it. She was not mad at God but mentioned that she did not understand but was never mad. Ryan said that the only two times that she cried when talking with him about it was when she said that she did not want my dad to be alone and that she was sad about not knowing her grandchildren. That just amazes me, I am so proud of her faith! She was so faithful and such an incredible christian woman. She never complained about her illness and the effect that it was having on her life. In the hospital room when her terrific doc told her that she only had about a day and a half to live she had one tear that streamed down her face. She was so ready and I am thankful that her heart and mind were in the right place.

Like I said we had had this conversation before but again tonight as we were talking about it, it made me sad yet it also gave me some peace over her being gone. I am so sad and there is not a day that goes by that I don't think about her and how much I miss her and how much I wish Harper and Elle and Renner knew her, but yet I can be at peace that she was at peace and she was ok with going home to the Lord. We all miss her and my dad will never be the same without her but she is with the Lord now and I am so thankful for that! Everyone says that with time things get better, that is somewhat true, with time you learn to deal and get used to not having that person, yet with time comes all of the years of my life that I will not have to share with her.
The truth of the matter is that she is in a better place and she is whole again and not sick, but when you are suffering a loss that is the last thing that you want to hear from someone. So, for future reference, if you are ever confronted with a situation in which someone has lost someone try your best to stay away from those cliche statements. Yes, she may be in a better place but at that moment that does not make most people feel better. It is purely selfish feelings, I know, but I do know that she is better off with the Lord than here. I think that one thing that gets me through times when I am feeling sad is knowing the promise that eternal life brings us. It is so much better in Heaven that even if she had the choice to return here and enjoy the things that she is missing out on, that she would choose to stay because it is so awesome and we cannot even fathom it right now.

Twenty one years is not a long time to have with someone but I am thankful for all of the years that I did have with her. I am thankful for the mother that she was to me and Ryan and the wife that she was to my dad, because Lord knows he needed a very special woman to put up with his quirkiness, oh my! She will always be missed but she has left us with so many memories and family traditions that forgetting her love will be impossible. I love my mother and I am so so proud of her and I know one day we will meet again, what a blessed day! Thank you Lord for the blessing she was and will always be in our lives!

Friends, Family and getting down to business!

2008-07-17T22:13:00.002-04:00

Update- this past weekend we had some friends from Alabama in town. We enjoyed having them at our home. We went to Sea World on Friday. I had never been before and it was a fun time. Probably not my favorite park but I did enjoy it. Luckliy we arrived right before the park opened so we were able to see most everything that we wanted to in the morning before it got sweltering hot. We all know how much I hate the humidity as it is, but this day is was beyond miserable for me, oh well I made it through! We left a little after lunch before it got even worse.
Saturday we went in to Tampa and and went to the Tampa Zoo. It was a nice zoo. Enjoyed seeing all the animals. Harper made both parks with us and did great. I know she loved being in her stroller and observing everything. We had a few mishaps on the Tampa trip that included a broken, no longer functioning stroller among other things, but all in all it was a fun weekend and we hope to see them soon!

This weekend, my cousins from Jacksonville are coming down until Tuesday. Sunday we are going to go to Sea World's new water park, Aquatica. So bring on the heat! I think I can handle it as long as there is water near by. This park seems like a lot of fun, so I will fill you all in after we go. I think Monday we are going to skip another park and head to the gulf for the day! Can't wait!

Ok, getting down to business. So, I have thought of ways to motivate myself into getting back into shape (it is about time that I do), so I have decided to train for a 5K! Ha, I know that sounds ridiculous, who needs to train to run three miles, well that would be me my friends! Sad as it may be, I hate the act of running but I love the way it makes me feel! So, starting next week, I will begin. I know that if I have a goal then it will make me work harder to accomplish something. So we will see how it goes. I have always hated running, I dreaded the 20 minute run in elementary school, one of the last always to make it! Before I got pregnant I was pretty close to running that without stopping, then I got pregnant and that gave me an excuse to stop! So, I will keep you all updated on my progress. Should be interesting. I am also contemplating on hiring a personal trainer, still thinking about that one, if it were up to me, I would have one tomorrow but Eron has to approve and he thinks he should be my trainer, ha, what a joke, that would never work! But I am getting closer to it happening!

Post again soon!

Shelley

Tibbie Time

2008-07-09T22:23:00.003-04:00

Well, we are back from Tibbie. We had a great time! We got to see Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw, Uncle Eric, Aunt Heather and cousin Aiden. We enjoyed just relaxing and not having to do a million things. Harper loved Uncle Eric and Aiden, she smiled everytime she saw them. It was nice to have other people there, especially Maw-Maw to look after her instead of just me or Eron all of the time. However, her sleeping schedule, oh goodness, was awful and I mean awful. She woke up one to two times per night for what reason, I don't know. I would put her in the bed with us and she was fine. I am glad she doesn't sleep in the same bed with us, because we just don't sleep well like that, but hey we were doing whatever it took to get a little sleep. She ate her first watermelon and then proceeded to play and splash in the watermelon, but I think she like it. Then she took a good ol southern bath afterwards (See pics, oh and there are more in the album). She loved the fireworks and just watched in amazement, I am glad that she wasn't bothered by the loud noises.
This week we have been trying to get back in to the swing of things. I hate coming back from a trip and having to unpack, seems like it takes me forever. Tomorrow, a childhood friend of Eron's, Andy, his wife Courtney and their son Brice are coming for the weekend and we are going to go to Sea World and Buchs Gardens. Should be a fun time, just hope it is not scorching outside. Post again soon!

Taking a good ol southern bath after watermelon eating!
Daddy and Harper on the 4 wheeler, she loved it, just like her momma!

Harper and new buddy Uncle Eric

Oh, kinda out of place but had to add it, she took stripping to a whole new level, after a nap, no joke!
Trying out the watermelon..
Not sure yet..
Oh yeah, she loves it
and loves it!!

Off to Tibbie (Alabama)!

2008-07-01T15:03:00.000-04:00

Well we are currently off to Eron's hometown(what he calls God's country) for some family time, four wheeler riding, hopefully some boating and fourth of july celebrating! Hope everyone has a fabulous fourth of july weekend and don't do anything I wouldn't, ha! We will be home sundaym God bless America!

The Green's

Bubble bath,Stripping and No Fear

2008-06-26T14:49:00.002-04:00

Bubble Bath~ Harper took her first bubble bath the other night! She loved it as the pictures will show! She loves bath time anyway and the bubbles made it all the more exciting. She splashed and splashed and splashed. I guess this is going to be a nightly thing~

Stripping~ Well, ok not really stripping. However, I came in to get her after she had taken a nap and this is how I found her (see picture below). She cracks me up, she just had the biggest grin on her face, didn't seem to bother her. Still unclear how she got her arm out, wild sleeper!

No Fear~ She really thinks that she is a big girl! She has no fear of pulling up on anything. She will do and most of the time fall and hit her head on the hard floor, and then she cries for 2 seconds and then she is up and at it again. Don't worry we are right there when she is taking the dare. I know she will be walking ver soon. Fun times!

Oh, and this one is especially for Jennifer!

2008-06-26T14:25:00.002-04:00

Eron tells me not to put certain photos of him up on the blog, sometimes because the ones that I want to put up are um, shall we say, not so flattering. Well, I am sorry he does this all the time when we are taking pictures to be silly, but he has ruined some really great pics with this awful and ridiculous face that he makes. So, you know what I am going to post this one and maybe he'll think about it next time he decides to do this silly face, ha!

As usual, more photos!

2008-06-26T14:19:00.002-04:00

Our friends from New Mexico, Phillip and Cari, came to see us in El Paso while we were visiting. Well he is a photographer and took a few photos for us while he was there. These are just a tiny portion of what he took. Hope you love them. Thanks Phillip!!!

Moving past boring vegetables!!

2008-06-25T22:02:00.002-04:00

Just an update, Harper FINALLY got her two bottom teeth about two weeks ago and they are some sharp little things. I have to say she looks especially cute when she smiles now. So, she has been eating it up. She loves that little gerber wheels and biter biscuits they are so nasty and she makes a huge mess, but what are you going to do? She also has moved past the boring old vegetables to special dinners and jarred meats now. She eats those one meal a day now (dinner). But so far she has loved them. Her favorties include mac n cheese, Ham, turkey, turkey and rice dinner, and chicken and apple dinner, to name a few.

Question for you expereinced mommies: Harper has been using a sippy cup since about six months, one time a day. I put juice and water in it to help with the weaning process when it is that time. But, all she wants to do is chew on it. She doesn't ever get anything out of it. She has not figured out how to suck out through a cup. Is this something that she will just learn on her own as she gets older? Or if any of you have any suggestions that would help her learn (i.e. techniques, certain cups, etc.) I would love your input. I still keep giving it to her to get her familiar with the idea of the cup even though she is getting anything out and we are just wasting juice, oh well. Suggestions would be appreciated!

Lots of love,
Shelley

Some pictures

2008-06-19T23:43:00.004-04:00

These were suppost to be in the last post. This is Harper at the lake, she loved the water and the sand... Harper and one of her fav girls from the home...

This one is Harper in the swimming pool. Our super hero, spider man before the big race...

At the starting line
Harper sitting on the bank of the lake looking out

Camp Of Champions

2008-06-19T23:25:00.003-04:00

For the past few days we have been at Camp of Champions with the Florida Baptist Children's Homes from each campus across the state. It has been an eventful week! The camp is located on Lake Yale, which is somewhat north of Orlando (sort of). It has been a good time, and been fun to meet kids and staff from other campuses. There were a lot of fun activities for the kids to do. Eron and the other administrators were in charge on canoeing and tubing on the lake, so that is where Harper and I spent most of our time outside. This years theme was extreme sports so, the guest speaker was a professional drag racer, pretty interesting. The kids seemed to have a blast. Eron was in a "triathlon" against the other three administrators. This was last night, at the end of the extreme game show. He had to put on some spider man feet and hands and goggles and "swim" through pudding and syrup and then ride a "bike" (tricycle) and then run to the finish line. He won, whoo hoo! Harper and I were so proud along with the rest of the Lakeland campus. This victory put the Lakeland campus in first place for the whole competition! Way to go! We have had fun at our first COC and we look forward to next year. We head home tomorrow morning. Here just a few of our time here, ok well most of them are of Harper (like I don't have enough).

Saturday Project

2008-06-14T18:07:00.004-04:00

We have finally been home on a weekend to get some projects done around the house. Here is one that we worked on this morning. We painted to door a brick red and the concrete steps black. We now just need to add our new columns and do landscaping around the front of the house (in July) and then add some potted flowers on the porch! I am happy with how it turned out, what do you think?

Made my day!!

2008-06-13T14:53:00.005-04:00

These photos that I took from my sis in law (sorry jen, but i had to), gave a me some much needed laughs today.

Renner with pink goggles, I dont know why I think this is so funny
Sweet cousins
Oh my, this one gave me the biggest laugh
As Jen says, Elle was having hair drama before the wedding
And, last but not least, I am at a loss for words with this one- oh goodness!

Pictures

2008-06-12T21:15:00.010-04:00

Well, I guess I should have just added an album but I didn't realize I would have so many that I wanted to share with everyone. Anyway, here are a few random pictures and some from our trip to St. Augustine. Enjoy!! Also, Harper is feeling much better and back to herself.

Getting ready for our walk around the lake today

Now this is what I call sit back and enjoy the ride

new way to sleep
Lunch time
she gets more use out of the excercise ball than I do
She has got her new crawling gear on her legs

yes that is straw in her mouth (not my idea)
Movin, movin...

She was supposed to be sleeping

Her favorite rocker

Our scooter was soooo fun

Eron on our scooter

Eron thought she needed to chew on straw like he used to

These are of the outside of our room.

St. Augustine and a Sick Baby!

2008-06-05T22:36:00.002-04:00

Busy week, again! Eron and I started our week celebrating our four year anniversary in St. Augustine, FL (today is our actual anniversary!). We stayed at a cozy B&B on the bay front, rented a scooter to get us around and took a private carriage ride. It was a great time, just wish that we had more time. If you have never been, you must go visit, it is one of my most favorite places. Harper did great with Cheryl while we were gone. I don't think she even missed us! It was a good time. We headed home to Lakeland Monday night.

So, Tuesday night rolled around and we had one of the worst nights that we have ever had with Harper. She was awake off and on pretty much the whole night. She just was not acting like herself. She had been a little congested for about a week before that, and I figured it was just a little cold which is viral in nature and there is nothing you can do for that anyway, so we were just going to wait it out and see how she felt. Well Wednesday morning, she could not be consoled at all (not like her at all) she cried for a good thirty minutes straight. So, eight o'clock rolled around and I figured I better call the doc. Well, we went and it turns out she did have a cold, like I thought, but that led to a right ear infection, which I suspected. Poor baby, but I am glad to know what we are dealing with here. The doc gave her an antibiotic which we have started. She seems to be feeling better and I am thankful. So, please keep us and her in your prayers. Luckily we have all been getting better sleep! Granted she has never been sick in almost 9 months, so we are definitely grateful for that!

Bitter sweet photos

2008-05-29T23:44:00.006-04:00

Me in my swing

Mom and Ryan, I think

My brother was so cute..

Me and Mom (nice hair, Shelley)
The Fam
Oh My!!
Mom and Dad, sweet picture...
I am still waiting for Harper to look like me, not finding her in me here..

Mom, Dad and Ryan
Mike, Mark, Ryan holding me and Krista
Nice..Dad and Barbara
My mom's best friend Kathy gave me a CD of pictures that she took through the years of our family. It was so great of her to scan every one of these and I am so thankful to her for the memories. It was fun to see my dad at such a young age and see the resemblence of my brother in him. It was fun to see old pics of me and Ryan as well. The pictures of my mom were the best. It makes me so sad to see those pictures of her and not be able to share all these times with her now. I shed a few tears. I miss her so much and wish she were here for all of the joys in our lives right now. Miss you mom!

I have such bad luck with computers!!!

2008-05-29T22:59:00.002-04:00

All I wanted to do was add a few new pics to the post and for some reason I have to get a whole new account to do that, do not know why, so I go to do that and it is not even showing my current accout. WHATEVER, so I will just try to add an album instead, ughhhhh......

And finally, an update!

2008-05-29T22:14:00.003-04:00

Ok, so it has been a hectic month, we have only been home one weekend in the last six weeks, and that weekend we were home, Eron had pneumonia! Thank goodness he is over that. Our latest trip took us to home sweet home (for me and Harper anyway), El Paso. We were there for 10 days and it was wonderful. I miss it so much. We saw dear friends and family. My brother, Jennifer, Elle and Renner also came for the last weekend that we were there, it was so nice to be around family. My dear and best cousin, Mark and his son Timothy who I haven't seen in 7 months made the trip from the Dallas, also, all for our cousin Krista's wedding. It was so great to see them as well. Timothy is only a month older that Harper, but man, he is a big, adorable kid!

It really was a great trip. It was nice to spend time with my dad, brother, sister -in- law and niece and nephew. Harper was such a trooper as always. She did great on the plane. There was one 2 1/2 hour trip that she was just great on! She had some what of a time getting used to the two hour time difference but she made it through without any problems.

Harper started crawling before we left, but since we have hardwood floors, she became frustrated slipping on the floor. But, she let loose once she got to Dad-Dad's house and got on the carpet. So here are a few things she did while we were gone:
~fell off the bed, not once but twice (I know I am a bad mom for it happening the second time)
~crawled all over the place
~pulled a candelabra down on herself
~said, "DaDa", but I don't think she knew what she was saying
~played and played with Elle and Renner
~developed many bumps and bruises due to her new found freedom
~started pulling up on tables and TVs
~choked on paper, but don't worry daddy stepped in to do the baby Heimlich (was not this serious but it worked anyway)
~shopped with mommy
~went to Marie's restaurant way more times than mommy really wanted to go
~played with Merritt and Jared and Lori
~played with Dad-Dad, of course
~and also played with "her Judy"

So, to say the least it was an eventful trip and Harper had many new adventures. She is definitely keeping me on my toes. Crawling has added a whole new dimension to parenting! She did miss her dogs while she was gone and she was very happy to see them when we got home!

Well, that was a quick update, we will be heading to St. Augustine this weekend to stay at a Bed and Breakfast for our 4 year anniversary! Harper will be staying a short 20 minutes away at my cousin, Cheryl's house. I don't think that Eron and I have had a night to ourselves since she was born, so it will be a nice time to get away and focus on ourselves. Then we will be home, hopefully for a while after that. I will add a few pictures to this post, but I have also created and album from our trip. Hope you enjoy!

Eron, Shelley and Harper

A bad haircut!!!$%!%$!!

2008-05-09T12:38:00.003-04:00

Ok, i just read your blog jennifer about happy things, and i will post one dont you worry, but I have to mention something that makes me horribly unhappy, and that is a ridiculous, can't do anything with my stupid hair haircut!!! i just read your blog, Jen and was thinking happy thoughts and then I went into the bathroom to do my hair (I know it is 1230 and I am barely getting ready, that's another issue) and it absolutley is one of the worst haircuts I have ever had in my life. I cannot even curl it to improve upon it! and those of you who think you want to see a picture of this masterpiece that I wasted 100 bucks on, too bad, there is no way in you know what that I will post a picture of me looking like this. Why when you tell your hairdresser to leave the length and not cut it tooo short, they seem to do just the opposite? oh my! I am having some serious issues lately with my hair, I guess i need to get over it! ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I think Harper and I are going to do some retail therapy because i definately need it!

A few pictures~

2008-05-05T14:17:00.004-04:00

Sweet girl!

Eron and our new grill, grilling must make him feel macho!
With our horse and carriage in Charleston
Love those cheeks! Looks like a chipmunk!

On easter, none looks real happy here!
Hunting Easter eggs...

Eating big girl food, yummmm
Walking with daddy at the children's home (and Bella, too)

Here is the link

2008-05-02T22:42:00.001-04:00

Sorry, I forgot to add the link to the Smith story:
www.audreycaroline.blogspot.com

Touched

2008-05-02T22:25:00.002-04:00

For the past two days now, I have been reading a blog from a lady named Angie Smith. Her blog was linked to my sister-in-law Jennifer's blog and I been just overwhelmed by her story. It is seriously like a novel that you cannot put down. I had to read it from beginning to current and it is such and amazing story of faith, hope courage and strength. This woman and her family, people I do not even know personally have touched me to my core. There story is so amazing. She has the faith and trust in God that I have longed for. I love God but do I seek him daily as I should and want to? Does my busy life get in the way of that? Sadly it does. She has so much faith and trust in the midst of a situation that to me seems unbearable. Her story has changed my outlook on life, our daughter and my marriage. I don't know how to put into words how her story has made me take second look at my life but I will from this point on. My words cannot express the deep feelings and emotions that I feel from this family and how grateful I am to their story. Please check out their blog, but be prepared to ball and hurt for them. It may take a long time, but if you have the chance read from the beginning, trust me, your life will be changed by reading this story. Please join me in prayer daily for the Smith family....

Commenting

2008-05-02T22:15:00.001-04:00

For those of you that have wanted to leave comments on our blog but have not been able to because you do not have a google account, I have changed that setting to allow comments from an anonymous source, so, happy commenting!

Sick

2008-05-02T21:58:00.002-04:00

Hello to all! Just to fill everyone in on us, we are back from South Carolina. We had a pretty good trip. We had a lot of fun in Charleston, I love the history of that city. It was a good time. Harper was absolutely perfect. I don't mean to brag, but honestly she did not fuss the whole entire trip. She makes it so easy to travel with her. She always has been a great baby but we could not have asked for her to be any better for this trip. She went on a carriage ride and sat there the whole hour and took it all in. She did not make a peep. During the dinner cruise that was three hours long, she was perfect. She stayed awake the whole time and everyone held her and she was just as content as could be. The next day we toured and old plantation and she again was just as happy as could be. On that tour I ran into five teachers that taught at my high school! That was so strange. I did not have any of them as teachers but I recognized them from there. One of the teachers knows my brother and so that was neat to see her. I say this not to brag about Harper but to just share my thankfulness for blessing us with such a fantastic baby! We love her so much. Not that we wouldn't, obviously, if she was not as good. I just think that God has given us an even keeled child at this time because he knew how he would be working in our lives and knew that we would be going through so many changes! I am sure that our next child will be a holy terror! Haha just kidding and we will love he/she just as much.

We were also so thankful that she was great this trip because Eron has been awfully sick. He has been sick for the past week and on our way to SC we stopped at an urgent clinic so we could get him something to feel better. They diagnosed him with a severe sinus infection. Well, he did not get any better so, on our way back home, we went back to the clinic and discovered that he was mis-diagnosed, turns out he has pneumonia. Pretty sure it is walking pneumonia, but hopefully the medicine that he has now will help him get over it so that he does not have to be admitted to the hospital. So please pray for him and Harper and I. I am starting to not feel well and I really do not want to end up with pneumonia, and certainly do not want Harper to come down with it. So, your prayer would be greatly appreciated as we try to fight this infection. Hope all is well with everyone and I will try to post pictures from our trip tomorrow.

Love,
Eron, Shelley and Harper

What a bad wifey!!!

2008-04-22T14:20:00.001-04:00

Thanks Sherah for mentioning the thesis! How in the world could i forget? That was part of our crazy week. He did pass his thesis defense and oral comprehensive finals! Whoo Hoo! We are so thrilled that that is over! He gets a pay increase too for that, so that makes it even better! He did great on it and we look forward to seeing it binded and published! Thanks again for the reminder Sherah!

Busy times for the Green Family

2008-04-21T21:35:00.000-04:00

Well, it has been a while since I have given an update. Time has just flown and I don't even know where the hours in the day go! Life has been great for us, but we have definitely been staying busy. Eron continues to stay busy with work. This past week was just crazy. The local Lakeland and the state offices for the children's home, which are located on this campus all moved into the new office building, The Piper Children's Center. It is a beautiful building. But this past week there was a lot that needed to be done to make it presentable for the board meeting and building dedication that took place this weekend. We spent a lot of time finding things to make his office pretty and getting it ready with pictures hung and all. I think one night we were there until 12am trying to get pictures hung on the wall. The building dedication was on Saturday. It was nice but oh my was it hot at three o'clock in the afternoon. I thought I would die, ok not really.

We have a lot going on in the coming weeks. Next week we are going to Charleston, SC for annual Baptist Childcare Executive Conference. Eron has been going to these for the past few years but i have not been able to go because of school. But this year I get to go and I cannot wait. I love Charleston! We get to go on a dinner cruise and carriage ride to name a few things. So, it should be fun. Then we get back and then the next week we go to Jacksonville to go to a golf tournament. My dad is coming that week to meet us there, so that will be nice. After that we come back and go to El Paso, where we will be there for about 10 days! I cannot wait. We get to see family and friends and Ryan, Jen, Elle and Renner and Judy and some friends of ours from Portales. Cannot wait! That is just a few things that we have going on. But there are many other things that we will be out of town for with Eron's work this summer. When am I going to find time to go to Disney World???

I have met a new friend, Kallie, she is so fun. Her hubby David works for the state offices here and they live near Tampa but will be moving to Lakeland in may. I cannot wait! It will be so nice to have a friend here. I miss friends. She is a great photographer, also, check her out. I have added a link to her website.

Harper is doing wonderful as usual. She is still so fun and is getting so big. Eron thinks that she is chunky, but I sure dont see it. She has a few rolls on her legs but that is it! We all have a few rolls, well not all of us, but I do, ha! She is eating and likes every vegetable that I feed her, including green peas and green beans! and she loves fruits! She is starting to sit up better on her own and we are still waiting on those darn teeth. She loves people, going for walks around the lake, doing anything outside, her exersaucer, reading books, watching TV, petting the dogs and anything that has texture. She loves to feel things just like I do. There is really not a whole lot that makes her mad. Pretty much just a dirty diaper and being hungry. She is taking about two good naps a day. She goes to sleep now about 845 and wakes up about 7am. It has been wonderful to get some great sleep. She likes to scream at me and I scream back, which I should have never done, because of course she expects me to scream back when she screams in a restaurant. Oh my, it is funny.

Well, this is way long but just wanted to give an update. I will try to update sooner so it is not as long, ta ta for now!

A few new pics!

2008-04-21T17:46:00.000-04:00

hello everyone! it is time for an update, but i will have to get to that in a bit. just to let you know i added a few new pics from this past weekend at the dedication of the new state and campus offices in lakeland. hope you enjoy and will get to an update later tonight!

~6 Months Old~

2008-03-30T20:13:00.001-04:00

Our little girl is six months old today! I cannot believe how fast the time has gone by. Sometimes it feels like yesterday that she was born and yet at the same time it seems like it has been forever! She is doing great! She has started to eat solid foods now. She was on cereal for about two weeks but she seemed to not care for it very much so I started her on some vegetables. We started out with squash and now she is on peas. She has tolerated those both fine and tomorrow she will try carrots! So exciting! She really likes to eat like we do so she has enjoyed eating big girl food!

Developmentally, she is laughing and turning over and back on to her back all the time. She is trying to crawl but is getting frustrated because she cannot quite get it down, but she is giving it all she's got! She is not quite sitting up by herself but we are working on helping her to do that. She loves to look at books and play in her exersaucer. She is just so much fun and interactive right now, it is such a great age. She has been teething since she was about 31/2 months, however it has been continuous for the last month. Hopefully she will have some teeth here soon.

Eron is doing well, staying busy with work and still trying to get things done around the house. He is defending his thesis in two weeks so he is also preparing for that. I am just staying home and enjoying the time that I get to spend with Harper. We are really liking Lakeland, it has a lot to offer and we are enjoying it so far, although I do miss home, but we will be visiting soon!

Bath Time and Eating!!

2008-03-14T23:39:00.000-04:00

Ok- so every time that we eat and Harper is sitting in Eron's lap, she watches every move his fork makes including tilting her head back to watch the fork enter his mouth! She also drools excessively (though, that may be teething, but it works for this story) while she is watching him. Well, today she was sitting on her bumbo on the table while we were eating lunch and she was mesmerized by him eating. So Eron decided to put his fork full of food to her mouth to see what she would do, and sure enough she opened her mouth and went to grab the fork with her hands, luckily Eron moved it in time! I have tried a few times since she turned four months to see if she was ready to eat and she was not. She would just push the cereal out of her mouth with her tongue. Well she is 51/2 months now, so since today she looked like she was so desperate to eat, I decided to try once more. She actually swallowed this time. But, as you can see from the pictures she still made a huge mess all over her face! We only tried a few bites, not a whole meal today, so maybe in the next few days we will try a whole meal, but she did so good and I think she is really going to enjoy eating! I cannot believe it is time for her to start eating with a spoon, where has the time gone?

We tried another new thing during bath time. We have been using a sponge to lay her on in the bath, which has been great, but we decided to try the bumbo! Why not? I love that thing! It was great and since she thinks that she is such a big girl now and has to sit upright everywhere we are, I knew that she would love it. It was much easier to wash the little hair that she does have! Don't think that we will use it every time, but maybe every once in a while! Well hope you enjoy the pictures!

The Florida Strawberry Festival!

2008-03-02T23:14:00.000-05:00

We have heard many things about the infamous Strawberry Festival in Plant City, Florida since we moved here. So, today our family joined another couple at the festival to see what it was all about! Let me just say, I felt like I was in fair food heaven! I dedicate this article to my friend Sherah because she and I always looked forward to the Roosevelt County Fair in Portales every year because we couldn't wait to eat fair food! Well this was not a county fair but it might as well have been! Obviously the theme was strawberries (my fav fruit) because that is what Plant City is known for. However, this place had sooooo many food vendors it was ridiculous that I didn't even know where to start. I mean they had everything you could think of! From fried pickles and fried sweet potatoes to fried twinkies, BBQ, turkey legs, cowboy tators (as we knew it in NM), sausage, boiled peanuts, fried catfish, chicken on a stick, fried shrimp on a stick, I mean I really could go on and on but I'll stop. So all these choices that we had and I picked a dumb polish sausage with peppers and onions, how boring. I think that I was overwhelmed. There was also plenty of sweet tea to go around. After that we had a strawberry shortcake and then I think my new favorite item at events like this, elephant ears! This was the first time that I had ever heard of it! For those who are unfamiliar with this, it is a piece of dough that is fried and then loaded with melted butter and then cinnamon and sugar and a touch of powdered sugar! Oh my gosh, it was sinful! Well, needless to say the event was full of fun, food and plenty of trashy people to go around, just how I like it sometimes! Harper and Eron had fun too, but didn't enjoy the food selection as much as I did! In order to fit in with all the trashy people around, I did something that I never thought I would do as a mother....I changed Harper's diaper right smack dab in the middle of the festival! Oh my gosh, I really cant believe I did it. I did do it in her car seat, but still! I honestly did not want to go find a bathroom in the midst of the thousands of people just to find I am sure that they would not have a changing station. So, yep I did it, oh well! Well I promise to put up pictures this week. We had a blast at our first ever Florida Strawberry Festival!

Harper Faye

2008-02-29T22:13:00.001-05:00

Just an update on what is going on in little Harper’s life. She has really started to flip her self back and forth halfway onto her stomach and then she will fling herself back over to her back. This makes diaper changing and dressing her very interesting! I can’t help but laugh at her especially when I am trying to change her and she flips her little naked bottom over. I always laugh at her little bottom, because it is just that! She must get it from her daddy, I would love to say that she gets it from me, but I don’t think that is the case anymore. Is it weird that I find humor in that?
She also has been starting to scream for no reason. Today she was playing on the floor while I was doing some things around the house and she just screamed and screamed for twenty minutes off and on! I guess she has figured out that she can really raise her voice. She must like to hear herself talk. She is just so sweet I want to squeeze her all the time. My friend Sherah is friends with this couple at her church who lost their 3 month old baby. I was reading about their story and it just broke my heart and it made me realize to cherish the moments that we have with our sweet precious girl and to thank God for her everyday. I pray that that couple will heal in time and hopefully can find it in them to have another child.
We are still having trouble with uploading pictures, I am going to try to get some up now, so we will see. Hopefully I can get some up.

Welcome to our blog!

2008-02-29T22:10:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Green family blog. A lot of people we know are using a blog to keep in touch with friends and family, and we thought it would be a good idea to start one too! So, hopefully we can blog often and keep our friends and family up to date with what is going on in our crazy world!
Life has been good and we have been very blessed! Just to update those who we have not talked to lately, Eron, Harper and I moved across country from New Mexico to a new world: Miami, Florida! Eron had a job change and took a job with the Florida Baptist Children’s Home. We packed everything up, including our two dogs, Hunter and Bella, and headed across the country at the end of November. Miami, was a different world, but we settled in and started our new life there, just to find out that two months later Eron would take a promotion that he was offered within the company as the Central Florida Area Administrator for the FBCH. This would relocate us to Lakeland, Fl, about 4 hours up from Miami. With a lot of prayer and contemplating, we decided that he would accept the position! So, just what I wanted to do was pack up and move again, but I sucked it up and got busy packing.
We moved to Lakeland (which is between Tampa and Orlando, great location) on February 19th. As a part of his job, we are provided a house on the campus of the children’s home. It is a cute small, old, home with original hard wood floors. We love it, it is very cozy. So, here we are trying to get settled in to yet another new, unfamiliar place! I think that we are really going to love it here. It is a very nice quaint southern town. Let’s just say that it fits our family a lot better than Miami did. However, we are thankful for the opportunity to have experienced Miami life but I think that we are more thankful for the opportunity to leave Miami life.
We are doing well. Harper is growing so fast right before our eyes! She is 19 weeks old and we have truly been blessed with a great child! She is very low-key and layed back. There is not too much that upsets her (the usual hunger and tiredness, oh and if I get in the way of her view of the TV). She loves to sit up and watch TV, which I am not sure how I feel about that. She has been sleeping through the night for a few months now. She is rolling over and laughing and smiling more than anything else. She wakes up in the morning and from naps cooing and talking in her crib, just patiently waiting for someone to come get her. She can’t help but smile. She honestly just has the sweetes disposition. She falls asleep on her own and does not take a pacifier, so like I mentioned she is just very easy going. Can you tell that I am proud and that we love her so much? I will be posting pictures of her shortly!
I am staying at home right now, I appreciate the fact that Eron takes great care of us and provides for us so that I dont have to work unless I want to. I plan on looking for a part time nursing job once we get settled in a bit. We want Harper to be settled, poor child has moved twice in her short little life. So, I think in the next few months I will look for a job doing what I have always wanted to do. But, for now, we are just enjoying our simple life as a family! I miss the mexican food and the southwest in general! I miss the mountains, the only thing close to a mountain that we have out here is the trash mountain (better known as landfill) which is just lovely. We are enjoying the warm weather and I never thought it would happen but I think that I am adjusting to the awful humidity!
Well, I guess that is all for now, hope you enjoy catching up with us and if your ever in the area, please let us know, we have a place for you to stay and we are only 30 minutes from Disney! TaTa for now.
Eron, Shelley and Harper

We Changed blog sites

2008-02-29T17:40:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! ok we decided to change blog sites, sorry for the inconvienence. Our previous blog site was really frustrating for me to manage. I think with this site it will be easier for me to add pictures and to manage! I will be adding our other posts to this site....anyway, just wanted to let everyone know. Now let's see if I can get some pics up!