Heart Friends

Baby Grace:


So we all talk about those friends that we live far away from, that we don't do the greatest job of keeping in touch with, but that are so easy to reconnect with once we're given an opportunity. One thing that Jeremy and I do not lack is the blessing of true heart friends. We have some of them here in Florence, and some of them spread out all over many other cities and states. And this past weekend, we had the pleasure of visiting with one such couple, Danny and Erin, and their beautiful six-month old daughter, Grace. We met them during our brief two-year "stop" in Charlotte and share so many similarities in our life-paths that God saw fit to intertwine our lives and forever knit our hearts to this super-neat family.


Getting to know Mr. Jeremy:


The daddies and their girls:


All the ladies in the house...


The proudest papa:


Grace is trying her darndest to get up and crawl!


...and pulling up on whatever will provide some support!


Erin and Grace


What a happy girl.


It was so fun to have a little baby in the house. Though she's much bigger than the last time we saw her, at only a few weeks old, she's still a lot littler than our big girl who, as a matter of fact just today weighed in at 34 pounds and I forget exactly how tall, but 97th percentile for both height and weight!! Anyway, Grace was so beautiful and petite and stinkin' sweet to hold and cuddle with. They only were able to stay for an afternoon, but what a memorable afternoon it was. Thanks for making the trip guys. Tag, we're it...we'll make a trip up to the Queen City to see you soon! All our love!!

Just For Fun

A few pictures from December/January that I never got around to posting, but that I wanted to share:

Olivia got a Snow White costume for Christmas and got pretty excited seeing herself in the mirror:

Sharing fun time with her closest buds:

Ring around the rosies in front of the Christmas tree:

Just to get away!

Not that we're running from anything, but this weekend's been nice just to get away. We took advantage of the free weekend to scoot to Granna's beach house in Little River. If we're honest, we would have to admit that we've been unbelievably LAZY. For us, "unbelievably lazy" looks like p.j.'s that are worn from 8:00 p.m. one night until, oh, about noon the next day. Showers AFTER Olivia's afternoon nap. Eating out three nights in a row. Watching so much TV that we can't break away from it. We have gone shopping at the outlets, if that counts as productive. We took a walk this morning and we spent about a half hour freezing on the beach this afternoon, but other than that, we've just let Olivia cover the floor with her toys and have a blast being a kid.


We did get pictures on the beach today that I wanted to post....from one of our rare non-lazy moments of the weekend. Here they are:

Edventure, the Second Time Around

Last Saturday, we found ourselves with not too much going on so what were we to do? Daddy suggested Edventure, an idea which Mommy loved, so we got ready and set out for Columbia. We had a great time just being together, though we kind of timed things a little "off" so we were actually in the museum for the two hours that Olivia's usually in her bed napping--which of course made things just a little tricky. Nonetheless, we enjoyed our time while we were there and Olivia caught a little cat nap on the car ride home; yes, still only about 15 or 20 minutes of sleep, but enough to get us back to Florence to enjoy the rest of our Saturday together.

Here are some shots from our family date to Edventure:

Daddy and Olivia climb the stairs to the firetruck.


Olivia is a bit "taken" with this fireman, it seems.


Down the fire pole they go, off to put out the fire.


Olivia's first "snow."


And first snow-slide:

Mommy and Liv fishing:


And checking for eggs:


Then hunting for just the right groceries:


I wish my little girl could forever stay this little...


Olivia and Daddy enjoy some lunch at the diner:

So I'm pretty content these days with how Liv and her Daddy are getting on. They really love being together. Of course, Jeremy's always loved being with her but Olivia had, for a while, been going through the whole "I need Mommy for everything" phase...changing diapers, pushing shopping carts and strollers, going night-night, and honestly, it was wearing Mommy a little thin. But here in the last month or so, it's been back to "normal." Perhaps even better than normal...in fact now, when she wakes up in the morning and it's still dark, "Daddy" is the name that she cries out. And Daddy loves it...not the "getting up while its still dark" part, but just that he's on her mind, perhaps. And Mommy loves it too cause she can sometimes use it to talk Daddy into getting the baby and letting Mommy sleep in. Anyway, all that to say that I love to see them interact, these two. For lots of reasons. They're so much alike, personality-wise, it's kind of scary sometimes. Jeremy becomes a total goofball, he'll do anything, and I do mean ANYTHING to get her to laugh. They just enjoy being together and it's mainly because Jeremy's such an invested, involved, in-love father.


Olivia again amazed to see herself on TV:


Trying on some silly masks. Daddy the duck:


Olivia the zebra:


Our little fam, worn out but enjoying just being together:

Christmas 2007

Hard to believe another Christmas season has already passed us by...only means Olivia is getting older which makes me sad to think about, but I'll try to dwell on the positives of our holidays.

Mom had all the events planned out for our very limited time in High Point...we would enjoy dinners together, go bowling, attend Chris and Whitney's Christmas party, celebrate Olivia's birthday (her 4th celebration), go see the lights at Tanglewood (a story in itself), attend the Christmas Eve service at Emerywood, eat a FABULOUS meal at PF Chang's, and that was all BEFORE Christmas Day. So we packed in lots of activities in a little bit of time, but enjoyed every single moment of it.

Olivia and her cousins:


Hard to believe it's already been TWO years:


Granna's just as excited as Olivia:


Courtney and Tracy enjoy some b-day cake:


Who me?


Cora and Olivia, BFF:


A Patterson Christmas


The traditional sausageballs, an old family favorite:


And the new cinnamon coffee cake, a new family favorite, and hopefully a tradition henceforth:


Cousinly love:






Nolan gets love from his "cousin," Margaret:


Aunt/uncle love:




My mom is such a good Granna. Before the madness of opening presents ensued, we all gathered together and talked about Jesus and Christmas's true meaning and Mom read a story about how a little boy compared Jesus to Santa, and how, well, Santa just doesn't compare and how Jesus is so much more. Thanks, Mom, for leading out by starting the day off right, right focus, right perspective, just right!

Olivia is enthralled, as you can see :) Maybe next year:


My youngest sister, Whitney, had some pictures taken when she was Olivia's age in a sweet pair of pink overalls with hearts on them. A couple months ago, my mom passed along that same outfit to me and I got some shots of Olivia wearing it, so for Christmas, I gave Whit a picture frame that had pictures of both of them, just only 25 years or so between them. This is Whit after she opened her present:


These are a couple of the actual pictures of Olivia in the cute pink outfit that I hadn't posted yet cause I didn't want to spoil the Christmas surprise for Whitney:






Poppy playing with Olivia's new cabbage patch doll, Baby Janie, named after Aunt Jayna who shares the same birthday with the new doll.


Brook and Myles, the two Ketchup Kings, get a giant-supply from Granna.


Olivia's BIG present from Granna and Poppy, her kitchen set:


Aunt Jayna and Uncle Brook gave her a new chef outfit so she at least looks cute while she's cooking. Isn't that what's truly important, afterall?


We had a great few days at home and so wished it could have lasted a lot longer. Olivia always loves being surrounded by those who know and love her well, which makes High Point, more specifically Granna's house, one of her FAVORITE places to be!