Family lunch in G-vegas

I'm still trying to catch up with my photos from my trip back home. For those of you on Facebook, you probably saw these already. And for those of you not on Facebook, give it a try! My brother and sister told me how out of touch I was, but when my Aunt Nancy (my mom's age) told me I was out of it as just a 'blogger', I really decided to check in to it. It turns out it is not just for high school and college students. It's pretty cool. If you join, I'll be your friend (probably).

So, these are just a few of my favorites from the big Sunday lunch we had when we were home. The weather was perfect. Except nobody was going to sit outside until Todd and I insisted. Turns out people who LIVE in South Carolina dislike the humidity more than those who don't live there! We love and miss all of you East-coasters!

Caroline Ashleigh Counts

I'm sitting here this morning at the computer again. I have tears in my eyes and an ache in my heart. I miss my own baby boy so much after only one night apart (two more nights to go) and I'm rejoicing over the birth of my new neice, Caroline. I sit here and look at the pictures of my dear sister, Erika and Caroline her first born girl. I am overwhelmed by God's goodness to our family. We are all believers and trust so much in God's provision and He lavishes us everyday with joys new every morning. There really is nothing like a new baby to make you realize your own helplessness and the great love that our Father has for us. Praise be to God! For all the great things He has done.

So, let me tell you about a crazy month....

I'm still in the midst of the whirlwind. Maybe I'm crazy for doing all of this. We've had a pretty busy month of May. It actually all started on April 30th when me, hubby and JG boarded a plane to go back to SC for a much needed Carolina visit. We got to have some great quality time with family and friends. Todd came back to Colorado on May 11 and I stayed in Greenville until the 16th. At 9:00 PM on the 16th, mom, dad, thomas, me and jg loaded into a van and drove to Canada. JG slept almost the entire way there! And he really didn't make much of a peep for the entire 14 hours in the car. To all of you who specifically prayed for that, thank you. God did answer your prayers. We spent a long weekend in Windsor, Ontario and got to go to my cousin's wedding and see a lot of relatives that I hardly ever get to spend time with. JG and I flew back to Colorado on the 21st of May, arriving home around midnight after traveling for 9 hours. JG was such a trooper through all the travel, but it seemed to take him a week to recover! When Todd brought me home that night, we drove up and there was a HUGE surprise in front of my house! Todd had spent every spare minute of his time re-landscaping the front yard. That involved sod-cutting out the entire existing patch of weeds and putting edging around sidewalks and new flower beds (not easy when you have roots like we do), rolling out sod, keeping the sod alive in Colorado and generally improving the curb appeal of our home by leaps and bounds. We still have a lot of details to finish up out there, but I was so pleasantly surprised and proud (as always) of my wonderful husband. Some day I'm hoping to post a bunch of before and after pictures of all the work we've done to our little 1906 bungalow. I say "we", but really I mean Todd. I didn't really do much other than supervise!

We had such a fun Memorial Day weekend, including a birthday party (the 11th anniversary of her 29th birthday!) on Sunday night and then we had about 15 people over to our house on Memorial Day...kind of a last minute arrangement, but lots of fun! I also got to spend most of Memorial Day at the Garden store and in the dirt of my backyard which was so fun. I got my tomatoes in the ground finally and am looking forward to a very GREEN and productive summer of gardening. Especially after the long, COLD winter we had to endure this year.

Back to the travel schedule. Todd and JG are back in G'ville right now celebrating my father-in-law's retirement from Fluor Daniel and then I leave tomorrow (hopefully) for Chicago on a brief business trip. Todd returns Saturday and I'm supposed to return Sunday. I say possibly because I found out some surprising news at work today. I've had a bit of a cough this week and turns out one of my coworkers had kids test positive for pertussis. (whooping cough). So, I got tested today and should get the results back tomorrow. I'm on prophylactic antibiotics right now, but if my test comes back positive, I have to be isolated until Tuesday. (Pertussis is extremely contagious) So, going to a conference with a lot of doctors is out of the question! The other big bummer is that my big sis had her baby girl TODAY!! And I can't go to the hospital to see her because I don't want to expose anyone else to this. For now I'll have to take her word about how adorable little Caroline Ashleigh (http://erikacounts.blogspot.com) is and wait to smell her sweet newborn head until tomorrow....or Tuesday.

Once this drama has passed, JG and I board a plane again on June 11 for Suffolk, VA to visit a dear friend. So, that's the craziness in our lives right now! I'll be posting more pictures soon!

hangin' at evelyn and floyd's house

Not sure where the floating head came from. . .


Just hanging out with the floyd and evelyn of g-ville.

Thomas Graduated!!

Way to go Thomas! He graduated from Spartanburg Tech with an Associates in Horticulture and we are SO proud of him. If you have a question about plants, my brother is the guy to go to. He loves what he studies and he is super smart. He's on to finish his Bachelor's next!

May 2007 - Smiley Boy

It is so fun to have such a smiley baby. Jack Greer posing at his Mimi and Grandad's house in Greenville.

Cousin Olice

We returned from South Carolina and Canada on May 21. I'll start posting some of the pictures now! So, Cousin Olice was a big highlight. As you can see in the picture, Olice wasn't afraid to kiss JG and leave his mark (the big drool line on JG's forehead!) And the boys sweetly shared toys...duckies and helicopters.

Random SC pictures.

Will post more to come later, but here's a couple pictures to show you what we've been up to the last couple days.

Sisters. . . and Twins??

I've been having some quality time with my sissies in Greenville this week. It has been n the 80s with about 90% humidity--and believe it or not, I LOVE IT!!! Here's to not having to put on moisturizer and chapstick three times a day! Today at TJ Maxx, dan dan and I were asked if we were twins. This has been happening with increasing frequency over recent years. I'm taking a poll. What do you think?

My lil' crawler

I don't have a picture of it (yet), but J.G. has learned to crawl today. He also learned how to play peek-a-boo this week. I was really hoping the crawling skill could have waited until he was at least 7 months old, but no. He decided it was time. Every one told me once JG could sit up on his own what a great phase that is--he can sit and play and not move. That lasted about 3 1/2 weeks. As my sister said, he probably realized his situation wasn't going to get any better so he decided to get up and GO! Lord help me. Seriously, how do you handle a 6 month old who can crawl? I always thought once they started to crawl, you have to start disciplining to teach them what they can and cannot have. With such an early start, my son has a long life of discipline looming in his future!

The great yellow one

You Are Big Bird

Talented, smart, and friendly... you're also one of the sanest people around. You are usually feeling: Happy. From riding a unicycle to writing poetry, you have plenty of hobbies to keep you busy. You are famous for: Being a friend to everyone. Even the grumpiest person gets along with you. How you life your life: Joyfully. "Super. Duper. Flooper."

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

So, I'm also a copy cat as this was my sister's idea. But funny, huh? If you take the quiz, leave me a comment telling me what character you are! I accidently did this whole personlity test thing before doing the big bird test and realized why I might have a hard time getting along with some people. (Despite what it says above about me being big bird and all) Although I'm pretty outgoing, apparantly I am a heartless bitch sometimes. Here is what the test said:

"Key Areas of your Personality
Your personality stands out from the average person's particularly in the areas of:

. Your High Curiosity Level
. Your Low Emotional Reactivity Level
Your High Assertiveness Level"

It said some other things, but really just that I was outgoing. I guess that is true sometimes. Anyway, I'll try to post once more before we leave town, but don't be surprised if you don't hear from me in a while. We are going to South Carolina on Monday for three weeks. I'll try to update with some photos while we are there. I can't wait to see family and all go on a unicycle ride together! (reference to the Big Bird in me)

Leisure Suit, circa 1976

This leisure suit was my hubby's when he was a baby! J.G. has almost outgrown it, but it wasn't really warm enough to wear it until now. Besides, it shows off the little bit of chub he has since it fits so tight. And capris are in style for little boys, right? Ha!!

Spring 2007 Hottest Colors

What can I say, I was interested. Click on title to be linked to the pantone website.

Is this normal?!

Is it normal for a six month old to be able to walk (with a little assistance)? He will put one foot in front of the other and walk around as long as I will hold him up.

Ralph Lauren Easter Bunny

Here is Cousin "Naniel" with his ears, sweater vest and tie. Oh my gosh he was cute on Easter Sunday!

Easter weekend.

I didn't take any pictures on Easter. Well, one inside shot of my nephew, Daniel, but I haven't loaded it in my computer yet. Why didn't I take any pictures? Well, the outside temperature never exceeded 34 degrees all day and it snowed. All day on Easter. So, for all my Southern etiquette friends, what exactly are you supposed to wear on Easter Sunday when it is snowing?? But more important than the weather is the beautiful meaning of Easter. We had a great service at church praising God for His great story of redemption and forgiveness.

I also wanted to jot a quick note to let you know I survived two nights with three kids. A 3 year old, a 16 month old and a 6 month old. And it was actually a lot of fun. It would have been a complete fun house except my hubby had bronchitis and the 6 month old (JG) has been running a fever since Sunday night. And he was up from 12-3 on Sunday night and from 12-4 on Monday night. Oh, and he was pretty fussy and didn't want to be put down which made taking care of the other two children quite a challenge. I have a whole new respect for moms. And to my sister Erika, I'll be praying for you as your third will arrive in June. But, you were always better than me at these types of challenges, so I have no doubts in your abilities. Maybe none of your kiddos will get sick for the next year or two. If they do, your two boys sleep great at their Aunt Shinny's house! Send 'em over. I have been tested and I survived!!! (didn't thrive, really, just survived!)

The Attack Kiss of a 6 month old!

More 6 month shots. . .

The boy and his Daddy. . .


The boy and his Mommy. . .

J.G. is 6 months old!!

J.G. turned six months on April 3rd. We took him out to the college down the street to take a few snapshots at the time he was born (6:18 pm). His other big news is that he can sit up now!!


Well, MOSTLY!


But, he still would much rather be standing, even if he has to have a little help with that still.

So, I really love hanging out with my boys. And I am surrounded by boys between my hubby, the dog and my son! Here are my boys sitting on the patio watering the grass. They both love hats. Well, JG might not really have an opinion about that quite yet. Next week I'm watching my sisters two boys for a couple nights. They are 3 and 16 months. That's five boys and me. For a girl who grew up with 3 sisters, I'm beginning to feel a little out of my element! Taking advice now. :) I have a week to prepare!