A New Chapter

Yesterday, Samantha Grace "graduated" from the 1-year old room into the 2-year old room. Mommy has to say that I am a bit tearful. We have LOVED our teachers this year. They have been some of the most compassionate and loving teachers!

When SG comes home and constantly asks, "Where's Berta (it's really Roberta but she can't say it all)?" or "Where's Christi?" You know it's been a great year!

She has made some fantastic friends and memories! Some we will never forget. One of the best "presents" that SG brought home was a collage of pictures of her and her friends from her class. My! How she has grown and changed since the beginning of the year. She is such a littl girl now!

There is one picture, in particular, where she is standing with her friend Beasley and she has her arm around her, leaning her head on Beasley's shoulder and smiling from ear-to-ear. It looks like a picture you would have seend in a high school year book. It just made Mommy cry.



We have now enetered our summer season. We know that there are still many possible changes on the horizon for our family and wait upon the Lord for some answers. But for now we are enjoying the laughter, water playing, swing-set swinging and friend playing times each moment that we get!

Mommy cannot thank Miss Roberta and Miss Christi for any better year than this! You guys are the best and the memories will last a life time!

A Year Later

Some of you may not realize but last week has a great significance on our lives as a family. Exactly one year ago, we put our sweet Samantha Grace's life in the hands of wonderful doctor's and nurses here at home and at our wonderful Children's Hospital upon the realization of a diagnosis of Type I Diabetes. To mark the year of dramatic changes, I first thought I could compose a letter, but later thought that pictures do a much better job of explaining than I can do in words. Plus have you ever tried to write a letter to your child...not easy! So here in pictures are some of the journeys we have taken since May 8, 2009.

Almost 1 month prior to diagnosis.

Exactly one week prior to diagnosis.

Leaving PICU and heading to a regular room at Children's Hospital on day 3!

About 1 month after diagnosis in Nashville on the lake!



My first Braves game. September 2009.



Collecting rocks with SG's Uncle Vance. October 2009.



Beach trip with Bobo, Mimi, Mommy and Daddy. October 2009.



Tulip Fairy. Halloween 2009.



Thanksgiving 2009. Family Hike in Nashville.
Received our insulin pump. Such an answer to prayer!



Finger/Body painting at Mimi's. November 2009.



Christmas 2009. Only a day after being hospitalized with Type A & B Flu and a double ear infection.



Her favorite Christmas gift. Christmas 2009.



Learning all about Skyping. January 2010.



Riding the carousel at the Nashville Zoo. March 2010.



First petting zoo experience at the Atlanta Zoo. April 2010.



Dress-up like Abby. April 2010.



Samantha Grace and her "big brothers". May 2, 2010.

After all this fun and dramatic physical changes in our little angel, when the day is said and done Samantha Grace is just plain...



wiped out.

"Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." - Psalm 106:3

What a Day!

Today SG experienced her first friend birthday party. She was a little tentative at first, but slowly took to...

A Picture with the Special Guest (Snow White)




Listening to the Special Guest with Mommy
and
Listening to my friend and Snow White sing "Someday My Prince will Come"




Mowing my Friend's Grass



Sliding Down a SUPER Fast slide



Riding Home After Lots of Fun with My Cool New Shades and Jewelry.


Later on this evening, SG decided to try on one of her birthday outfits...


We even got a family photo with our little Abby Cadabby!

New Hobby

My husband gives me a hard time frequently about my hobbies...as the continue to add up. Some of my favorite hobbies are those that I can do while watching my favorite TV show and newly released movies on DVD (i.e. scrapbooking, sewing, etc.).

Since I have a cute little princess for a daughter, I knew the time would come when bows would start to consume our lives. Not wanting to pay the usual $5.00 plus for a hair bow, I knew that I could make them on my own but just needed a little instruction. From several helpful friends and family members, I finally have mastered "my way" of making bows successfully!

Tonight while catching up on one of my favorite reality TV shows, I was able to make 4 hairbows in less than 2 hours, hot glued and secured to all barretts! I am so proud!

Tomorrow...a vintage pillow case dress!

P.S. Here is a picture of a few bows that I completed tonight.

Cheese Cow

So many experienced moms have told me through the past few months that once they (meaning children) really start putting words together, they can say the funniest things. Take this conversation between SG and Mommy from today as an example:

Today while driving home from one of our many YMCA's in Montgomery, SG said, "Cows! Mommy! I see cows!"

I replied, "Yes, Samantha Grace those are just like the cows that live by our house."

A few minutes passed and SG asked,"Whatcha doing?" Side Note: This is one of her favorite questions right now that is usually asked at least 5 times in the matter of a few minutes.

I replied, "Driving to our house. Look, Samantha Grace there are some more cows."

SG replies without any extended period of thought, "Those my cows Momma."

"Oh, really...What kind of cows do you have?" I asked.

"Cheese cows. Mine cows cheese," replied SG.

"Really Samantha Grace. Well, let me tell you a little bit about cows. Cows produce milk and milk is then turned into cheese. Maybe once day Daddy and I can take you to a dairy farm and see the cows and how they make milk and cheese," I explained.

"I walk to cows Momma?!" SG asked.

"No not today," as I lowered her out of the car," maybe another day soon."

"Oh...(thinking)okay," SG stated.

If only I could have had a camera to continuously shoot her facial expressions throughout this conversation. She was quite determined that the cows belonged to her and that they were cheese cows. She even got her pointer finger going and hand motions trying to explain everything. Quite hysterical!


So next time you see the cows off of Thorington Road, just remember they belong to Samantha Grace and that they are Cheese Cows!
Happy Tuesday!

Oh What Fun!

Today we had SG's 2nd birthday party. Words cannot express how much fun we all had...here are some pictures to show all the excitement!

This is how SG burned off the sugar from her cookie!

Turning 2

Time flies when your having.... You can fill in the blank. For us it could include a multitude of things that have encompassed the last year of little Samantha Grace's life, or shall I say now, "big" girl Samantha Grace's life. She has proudly known that this week was her birthday. She knows she has turned two (I think partly because that is her favorite number right now), and she has loved all of the attention she has gotten. But who wouldn't?! I have included some of the minor celebration pictures from this week thus far and a couple videos. We will have BIG celebration this weekend with family and close friends. This celebration is almost two fold for us, not only a celebration of her birthday but also a celebration of life. For only two and half weeks after her first birthday was she Life Flighted to Birmingham with a looming diagnosis of her diabetes. (More on that milestone to come at a later date.) Praise the Lord for he IS good!