RECENT PICTURES OF BRIANNA:WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO

LAST SATURDAY, BRIANNA AND I WENT WITH SOME GIRLS FROM

OUR SCOUT TROOP TO SEE GREER CHILDREN'S THEATRE'S

PRODUCTION OF HONK! THE MUSICAL.

IT TOLD THE STORY OF THE UGLY DUCKLING. BRIANNA LOVED

THE PLAY ESPECIALLY THE PART WHERE THE UGLY DUCKLING

TURNED INTO A BEAUTIFUL SWAN.

ON APRIL 18TH, BRIANNA AND I WENT TO VISIT RIVERBANKS ZOO.

THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME EITHER OF US HAD BEEN. WE BOTH

ENJOYED OURSELVES. BRIANNA GOT TO FEED A GIRAFFE, RIDE A HORSE,

AND FEED LORIKEETS. WE EVEN GOT TO WATCH THE SEA LION

PRESENTATION. OF COURSE, HER FAVORITE THING WAS VISITING THE

BIRDHOUSE AND THE AQUARIUM-REPTILE COMPLEX.

WE WILL DEFINATELY BE GOING TO THIS ZOO AGAIN.

PICTURES FROM EASTER

THE EASTER BUNNY CAME TO SEE BRIANNA

Brianna was so excited dying eggs last night and making a snack for the Easter Bunny. She was even happier to find out this morning that the Easter Bunny had left her a basket full of goodies, new crocs and a Swan Webkinz.

Kerrie's Wedding

Kerrie's wedding was last Saturday. At the rehearsal, Brianna had ants in her pants and I was a little nervous about how she would behave when it came down to the real thing, but I have to tell you that I was very proud of our little girl. The doors to the church opened up, and it was Brianna's turn to walk down the aisle(I would walk after her). She went through the doors and was walking like such a big girl, prissing and all. As the doors started to close behind her, all I could do was think that she will be walking down the aisle one day in a white dress. I could not help but get teary eyed.

The wedding itself was good and the bride was beautiful. We are so glad that we could be a part of Kerrie's special day. I managed to take some pictures.

SPRING HAS SPRUNG

But I have yet to catch "the fever". The only thing being caught around here is Strep throat. Brianna started complaining last night about her throat hurting. She was still in pain this morning and had a temperature. I didn't want to risk her getting worse, so I went ahead and took her to see the doctor. Sure enough, it's a good thing I did. She tested positive for Strep. She's been a good little patient today though. All she's wanted to do was lay on the couch.

I myself, have been trying to get our yard cleaned up. I started cleaning out the flower bed last night after work, and finished it this afternoon. Now I just have to figure out what flowers to plant and throw some mulch down. Wish I could get motivated to do the inside of the house. But like I mentioned earlier-I haven't caught "Spring Fever" yet.

STILL "HANGIN TOUGH"

I went to see NKOTB Tuesday night at the Bi-Lo Center, after much ridicule from my husband and brother! It may be fifteen years later, but I have to tell you--they put on one heck of a show. When I decided to go I thought that it would be a good show(why else buy a ticket), but it was really better than I had thought. I would even say that it was better than when my momma took me to see them in Charlotte all those years ago. From the very beginning of the show, I was taken back to when I was 12 years old. I got goosebumps on my arms,a lump in my throat, and tears in my eyes. I'm sure my husband is rolling his eyes right about now. It brought back so many memories. It was great to get to go back in time, even if it was for just one night with the New Kids.

ONLY 5

Brianna is only 5 and already, she is signing her Daddy's name to her school papers. Her homework page has to be signed off everyday by her parents. Tonight, I picked up the paper to sign it, and Brianna had wrote her dad's name on the line. Needless to say, we had to have a little talk.
I can only imagine what we'll have on our hands in 10 years!

BRIANNA AND AMERICAN IDOL

Unfortunately for her Daddy, Brianna has become a fan of American Idol. Last night when we were watching it she got so upset.
The blonde headed girl with the funny dances, Megan, was singing Rockin Robin. Brianna was so excited. "Hey, I know this song. Rockin Robin! I like it." So Brianna proceeds to sing along with the girl on tv. When it's over Simon gets to critique it. Boy, at that moment Brianna shot up out of that bad and says, "He said that was a stupid choice of song! He shouldn't say stupid and it wasn't a stupid choice! She sang it good and I liked it. You just wait till tomorrow night when he gets up there to sing. And I'm going to say, THAT WAS A STUPID CHOICE!"

She continued to fuss about him for the next 10 minutes before she finally fell asleep.

BRIANNA READ DR. SEUSS

Part of Brianna's homework each night is to read a book. Most of the times, she picks out books for me to read with some assistance from her. Tonight she picked out One Fish, Two Fish by Dr. Seuss. She began reading the first 2 pages and before I knew it, she had read to page 32 before needing any assistance from me. I was so proud of her. We are saving the rest to read tomorrow night.

GRANNY GOES OUT ON THE TOWN

Saturday night, my Grandmother got the chance to go to a dinner party for Ronnie McDowell. Many of you may not know this man, but my grandma is probably his biggest fan. He was performing in concert on Sunday at the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium. My mom had bought tickets for my grandma. Well, earlier this week, my mom called the radio station and ended up getting my grandma on VIP list for a party Saturday night. She was tickled pink. So naturally she enlisted my help on getting purdy. She cleans up pretty good, don't she. I sure hope I look that good when I'm 72!

OUR NIGHTLY VISITOR

This lil' critter comes to visit us every night. He just comes right onto the patio. He likes to eat all the cat food. We've even seen him giving Oreo kisses.

BRIANNA GOES TO A PRINCESS PARTY

Last Monday, Brianna attended a Princess Party sponsored by some of the older Girl Scouts. She had fun playing games and dancing with the "Princesses". Here are some pictures.

BACK FROM MY HIATUS

"Hiatus" --- Did I spell that correctly? I know it's been awhile. I've been trying to get my scrapbook caught up. I am now only 1 1/2 years behind. That in itself is a great accomplishment. I also just have not really had anything to write about. Brianna hasn't had much going on. We just live this mundane life here. Sad isn't it? Brianna has been doing great in school. She gets smiley faces on her folder everyday and has only had to pull a crayon once since school started. Too bad she doesn't behave that well at home. Right now she is on restrictions. Around here, we call it "loosing privileges". She can not have her Nintendo DS or watch Sponge Bob until Wednesday. What did she do to deserve that, you ask. I shall tell you. We took her and a friend to Gatti Town Sunday night and to make a long story short, we had to drag her out of the prize room kicking and screaming. Let's just hope that loosing privileges helps her learn a lesson, cause spanking sure don't work with her. I may have to keep her on restrictions just so I don't have to listen to Sponge Bob anymore.

TODAY'S MY BIRTHDAY

I turned 32 today. I must say that today was a pretty good day. My husband and child woke up this morning and told me Happy Birthday, Brianna even sang to me. She gave me a great big hug and said, "I love you Mommy". That in itself is the best birthday present. Brian had already given me my birthday present at the end of December--a Dyson vacuum. Don't think bad of him, I really wanted a new vacuum, and the Dyson is AWESOME! I use it every other day. Brian and Brianna sent flowers to my work. Sweet. I came home to a small birthday party. Brianna had picked out a Littlest Pet Shop cookie cake and a huge Pet Shop kitty balloon. She told her Daddy that I would love it, and I do. We even played a game of "Pin the tail on the Rabbit", at Brianna's request of course. Thank you all for the calls, cards and well wishes.

UPDATE ON BRIANNA'S PROGRESS

The bandages have now came off. The incisions are now covered with 5 pieces of butterfly tape on each one. Her arm is still a little swolen and blue, but it is looking better. She isn't complaining about it hurting anymore and even managed to go to school today. Thank you all for your concern about our precious little one.

BRIANNA'S QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Martin Luther King wanted us to use our words not fists."

BRIANNA'S FINAL SURGERY

We left the house this morning at 6:00 to go to the hospital where Brianna would be having her final surgery due to the broken arm. Today, Dr. Beckish would be removing the 2 plates and 9 screws he had placed in her arm earlier last year. Brianna was a little nervous about the surgery until her Daddy told her that she would get a Nintendo DS afterward. Since then she has been counting down the days. Her surgery took about 1 hour. Dr Beckish removed the hardware and said he cleaned the old scars up. He said they will look better than they did before(THAT--I will believe when I see!). He used different stitches and bandages because she had an allergic reaction to the last ones he had used. He commented on how Brianna was "wise beyond her years" and handled the surgery much better than others he has seen. The only trouble we had was when she awoke from the anesthesia. She was a little angry and confused, and wanted to go home. That's normal. She mostly just wanted to get those little sticky things and wires off her chest. All in all, it was a good day! Again, Brianna has shown us how "big" she is and we are very proud of her.

Brianna playing on her DS after we go home from the hospital.

Brianna brought home some "souvenirs". These are the

plates and screws that were taken out today.

OUR TERRIFIC KID

The Kiwanis Club of Greer sponsors the Terrific Kids Club to encourage character development, self-esteem, and perseverance. Every month, each teacher selects a student to be the Terrific Kid of the month. The student and his/her parents are invited to a special assembly where Mrs. Pickering reads a personalized letter or poem prepared by the teacher. Mr. Joe Mabry, Kiwanis Club secretary, gives each Terrific Kid a t-shirt, pencil, bumper sticker, coupon for a Chick-fil-A meal, and an award certificate.

Brianna is Crestview Elementary's Terrific Kid for the month of January! The character trait they were looking for this month was Influential. On Wednesday, Brian and I attended the Terrific Kid assembly to honor the January students.

We are so very proud of Brianna!

To see our picture taken for the Terrific Kid posting on Crestview Elementary's School Link, please click here.

THIS IS A GREAT WEBSITE

For those of us that are trying to make healthier decisions when it comes to eating:

Check out MyDailyPlate . It is very helpful...and free.

IT'S GIRL SCOUT COOKIE TIME

Brianna's Daisy Troop will begin selling cookies on January 16th. The cost per box is $3.50. The troop will get to keep .45 per box and the remaining will go to the Girl Scout council; they will use 100% of these proceeds to underwrite camperships, membership assistance, program development, training opportunities, and upkeep property improvements. With the cookie money they are allowed to keep, the girls have decided to give 10% of the money earned for a community project to make the world a better place and the remaining money will be used for a trip to Gatti Town. If you are interested in ordering Girl Scout Cookies from Brianna, please click here to see what cookies are available this year and leave a comment to let me know what you would like. When the cookies come in, I will deliver them and pick up the money.

Thank you so much for your support.

WHAT'S GOING ON HERE

Well, I've been devoting myself to Wii Fit and trying to eat more healthy. Let's just say it's not an easy task. Wii Fit is great, but I have to fight with everyone here to be able to get in the living room and work out for 30 minutes. Eating healthy, well let's just say it is very difficult not to mention costly. I haven't ate anything this whole week without counting up calories. I've tried to stay around 1300. I will tell you though that I splurged Friday night with Chicfila, but those waffle fries were worth it.

My cousin, Kerrie, is getting married in April. She has asked Brianna and I to be in the wedding. I will be one of two bridesmaids, and Brianna will be a junior bridesmaid. Brianna and I are happy to participate. I went yesterday morning to get the dress. I picked out a junior bridesmaid dress for myself, it fit perfectly except needing to be hemmed and it was about $40 cheaper than the others. I found Brianna's dress on the clearance rack, so I got a deal there too. However, Brianna's dress will have to be taken apart and altered. The smallest size the dress came in is sz. 6, and she wears a sz. 4. Good thing I saved on the dress, because the alterations will be a pretty penny.

We also had a Girl Scout meeting yesterday. Brianna earned her "Honest and Fair" petal patch. We also were given our Cookie Sale information. We will begin selling Girl Scout Cookies on January 16th.

Wii FIT

Brian got me Wii Fit for Christmas. This is the best thing EVER!!!!! I know it's a New Year and some of you out there may be on one of those dieting resolutions, if so, this thing is for you! I've done it for almost a week now and it has truly kicked my tail. There are 4 types of training:yoga, strength, aerobics, and balance. With each of these are workouts designed to work on certain parts of your body. Basically you're working out and having fun doing it. What's even better is that the whole family can get involved. Brianna has been doing it with me and she absolutely loves it. She's even taught me some things. It keeps track of your BMI and weight progress. This is a good and bad thing. Good because having to see your weight everyday makes you want to do better, and bad when you see that your weight has changed for the worse(very disheartening). Really, this thing is great even if you aren't wanting to lose weight. It will help you to improve your center of balance, thus improving your overall health and will also help you to exercise and become more fit.

But I have to tell you, I sure am glad Brian was outside the other night when I was attempting push ups. I managed 2, and then could barely do the rest. It was a sight, let me tell you.

WISHING YOU A HAPPY NEW YEAR(A LITTLE LATE, I KNOW)

First let me start out by saying, Happy 2009! We spent New Years Eve watching Dick Clark's Rocking Eve, of course. Ryan Seacrest and Kelly Pickler did a good job, "Ya!" Hopefully ya'll go that. Every time she spoke to someone in the crowd, she ended it with "Ya!" I felt really bad for Taylor Swift who had to watch the ball drop and welcome in the New Year with her Ex from the Jonas Brothers. Heck, it was even uncomfortable for me to watch. And then there was Dick Clark. I know that he is an "icon" and the celebration just wouldn't be the same without him, but there comes a time when all good things must come to an end. He was just pitiful on that television, that too made me feel uncomfortable. But as for us here at home watching this event on TV. Brian and I brought in the New Year together, and I woke Brianna up(at her request) for just a second to give her a kiss. Then it was lights out. I don't much like resolutions, because they are very hard to stick too. However, there are a few things this year that I hope to improve.
The most important thing is my relationship with God and finding a church home to grow in. I enjoy going to SpringWell, and Brianna LOVES the children ministry there. It is just so big. I have been going there for about 4 years, and still only know a handful of people. And that may not necessarily be the Church's fault. I don't take the time to get to know them either. I go and listen to the sermon and leave. I guess I just want to feel like I am a part of something, that I belong. Hopefully, God will place me where I need to be.

WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS

SANTA CAME FOR A VISIT

SANTA BROUGHT SPIKE THE ULTRA DINOSAUR!

BRIANNA ALSO GOT A BOWLING BALL

FROM MOMMY & DADDY.

SHE PICKED THIS BALL OUT: RED/BLACK/SILVER.
WE EVEN HAD THE HOLES DRILLED TO FIT HER.

IF ONLY BRIANNA HAD SMILED.....

OPENING UP PRESENTS AT GRANNY'S.

SHE GOT A TINI PUPPINI AND A SWIM

TO ME PUPPY RESCUE PET

UP AT GRANNY'S.

CHRISTMAS EVE LUNCH AT MAMA & PAPA HAYES'.

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS

Brianna's Christmas List:



Dancing Ballarina Kittens

Mouse Webkinz

Lion Toy

Fish Toy

Leopard Toy

Jump Rope

Pink Tutu

"Tumbles" the Rollover Puppy

Barbie Horse Riding Adventure Game for Wii

Carnival PuttPutt Game for Wii

Tini Puppinis

Pixos

What's in Ned's Head

Walter the Farting Dog Book

Tea Set

Roller Skates

Bowling Ball

and last, but not least

Spike the Ultra Dinosaur

PICTURES THAT DIDN'T MAKE IT ONTO OUR CHRISTMAS CARD.

NO, I'M NOT DEAD!!

I know that must be what some of you are thinking. I've just been so BUSY lately. This whole Girl Scout Troop Leader is taking up ALOT of my time. The meetings themselves aren't so bad. It's just all the planning and preparing that has to go into it is driving me insane. I do have a Co-Leader. I think I will ask her if she can handle the meetings in January. That seems fair to me. I did manage to go out with Heather to do our night of Thanksgiving shopping. It was fun to spend some time with her, not so fun to spend money. After getting home at 5:00 that morning, Brianna and I went back out at 9:00 and got back home around 1. Just in time to start getting ready to go watch Disney on Ice with the Troop. The girls loved it and so did I. It was really good. I would post some pictures, but I just don't have time to load them up. Enough about me, let's talk about Brianna. She has been doing good. School is great, but she did have to pull a crayon a couple weeks back because she called a little boy in her class a Cookoo Head. Heck, if that's the only thing she gets in trouble for-I'd say she's doing pretty good. She was going to have her surgery this month on her arm to remove the plates and screws, but since we would have to meet our deductible again come January we decided to wait until then. Right now, she is too consumed with Christmas and Santa. Brian and I have begun to decorate outside and will hopefully finish today. I also have to start working on those dreaded Christmas cards. You all know what I'm talking about. It's almost impossible to take a picture of my child with her eyes open. Heather, you know how true that statement is. Please wish me luck!