Blessing Ring

I have loved this idea since before we even thought about expanding our family. I'm certainly not known for my craftiness, so that's probably why this simple, but very cute idea stuck with me for many years. I also have a bad habit of wanting to keep every single card from every occasion throughout the year...good thing my husband is the total opposite! I did manage to hold on to most of the cards we received for baby showers and after the birth. This is a constant reminder of all the love and prayers that were poured upon our family as we welcomed our son into the world.

Thanksgiving

Better late than never, right?! I figured I should touch on our wonderful Thanksgiving in Florida, before we dive head first into our busy Christmas schedule.

Thanksgiving was filled with a lot of this...



And some much needed quality 'Goomba' time!



We had SO very much to be Thankful for this year, and we're so glad that we made the trip to Florida. Eli earned a gold star for his first car ride to Florida! It did seem to help that he had mom and dad in the back seat to keep him company the whole time. We did little entertaining, and left that part up to him! He's not much of a sleeper in the car anymore, but a few cat naps and many laughs made for a delightful trip.

Eli's first Thanksgiving was filled with many wonderful memories...

Long talks with Dad


A little taste of pumpkin pie


Lots of extra attention


And as usual...tons of jumping!


We had a blast, and ate WAY too much! Eli hit some pretty special milestones while we were away :) One day while home with the girls, he started saying 'dada!' Needless to say, he's said it about 500 times per day since then! He just has the sweetest little voice, and we love listening to him babble across new words. He's so proud of himself and his new found words...he even feels the need to wake up extra early some mornings to chat with himself :)

We're beyond excited about our plans for Christmas, and have been counting down the days for some time now! We're heading up to Virginia on the 20th, and will spend Christmas with my family. When we get back, we'll be spending an amazingly fun week with our siblings, neices and nephews here in Hilton Head. We can hardly wait for the other half of the Morgans to come in from Japan!!!!! It's been a very long year and a half, and we've missed them SO terribly! We'll be meeting cousin Micah for the first time, and they will finally get to meet our Eli.

We have A LOT to look forward to in the next few weeks!

Charleston

Last Friday we hit the road to Charleston to spend the day with Auntie Elizabeth. She drove all the way from Lynchburg, VA for the weekend, and had the opportunity to attend the Marine Ball at the Citadel on Saturday night. We hadn't seen her since the beginning of August, so we were glad for even a short visit to get us through until we're home next month for Christmas. She absolutely loved her time with Eli...we're finding that our presence isn't really as important to many anymore! We're completely fine with that, and so is Eli!



We went to the Friday afternoon parade at the Citadel...Eli had the best seat in the house



We ate dinner at California Dreaming (AMAZING!)





Eli ate a good dinner for his Auntie



And then decided to eat her new Blackberry



Had to show her how big I am!



All in all it was a fun day trip filled with lots of memories.

Here's a fun video of Eli in the car on the way to Charleston.

Blessings

One of my greatest blessings in life...


Today as I was driving down the road, I was hit with some pretty powerful lyrics. I usually change the radio station when a song with this type of meaning comes on, mostly to avoid the tears that are sure to come. If it weren't for my love for country music, I would probably have a much easier time avoiding sad songs and painful memories.

I haven't been able to listen to any form of daddy/daughter songs since my dad past away. The words always just hit way too close to home. One in particular that I have the hardest time with, is the song that my dad and I were to dance to on our wedding day. It's called 'I loved her first,' by Heartland.

"...I was enough for her not long ago
I was her number one
She told me so
And she still means the world to me
Just so you know
So be careful when you hold my girl
Time changes everything
Life must go on
And I'm not gonna stand in your way

But I loved her first and I held her first
And a place in my heart will always be hers
From the first breath she breathed
When she first smiled at me
I knew the love of a father runs deep
And I prayed that she'd find you someday
But it still hard to give her away
I loved her first"

I have even more appreciation for this song now that I'm a mother. What a huge blessing our children are, and we simply want the absolute best for them.

Babies don't keep

I came across the most wonderful poem today, and it really hit home with me

Song for a Fifth Child.

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

Being a mother is one of the hardest, most absolutely beautiful things I have ever done. It is without a doubt the most rewarding thing in this world.

I truly feel that even after a 'bad mommy day,' I walk away with lessons learned to help transform me to be an even better mother the next day. I love being a mother in spite of all the sleepless nights, the constant worry, the projectile vomit and other bodily functions that I'm always wearing. Have you ever been so tired that you would sleep straight through an earthquake, yet your on your feet after the first cry from the nursery? That's me, almost every night. Again...wouldn't trade it for the world. And let's not forget...we're only on month 6! Whatever tomorrow may bring, I'm ready for it. It's totally worth every single second of it.

Some people feel they were born to be a doctor or maybe an athlete, but I have dreamed of becoming a mother since I was old enough to understand what it meant. I feel so blessed to have found my soul mate at such a young age, and to be making a family with him.


I pray that our home will always be one in which our children can share whatever it is that's on their minds, a place of comfort, one full of laughter and cheer, and most of all, an unimaginable amount of love.

Tonight, Danny and I spent a solid hour on the couch with Eli, laughing hysterically. We've already made the sweetet of memories in just his 6 short months with us. I can only imagine what's to come.

I know that there are plenty of hard days to come, but I feel that the Lord has given me the strength to overcome whatever may come our way. Once you become a mother, you simply just do what you have to do to make it through each day. You take advice from more experienced mothers, and you figure out what works best for yours truly. You learn to get a lot done in a very short amount of time, and rest whenever you get the opportunity. I've become more laid back, and have learned to slow down and really enjoy life. At the end of the day, I shut down and relax with my husband.

This is the reason I can't wait to do it all again tomorrow...

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is kind of a big deal in our neighborhood...let me correct myself...it's a HUGE deal. We've never seen anything like it before. Cars line the entrance to our neighborhood, as families from ALL over find our neighborhood to be the Halloween hot spot. We even had neighbors using a big projector to watch football games from outside in the lawn...it's just hilarious! We ran out of candy in no time, but luckily Billy and Amanda decided to come over and enjoy the crazy sights at our house, and came with their extra candy! I was just completely disgusted by the number of adults trick or treating...we had a grown man take our last 2 pieces of candy. He's lucky that I hate confrontation!

Other than it being miserably hot for the end of October, we still had a blast. Eli surprised us and kept his cow cosutme on for the entire night, despite how sweaty he was!



He's already a sucker for candy...he never hesitated to dive into the candy bowl!





We've already found the perfect costume for next year, and look forward to taking him trick or treating for the first time.

I'm so excited about the Holidays being right around the corner. I can hardly wait to start hearing Christmas music, shopping, decorating, the whole deal, I'm just in the mood this year! We're heading to Florida for Thanksgiving this year, and we're so excited to be able to spend this holiday with Danny's parents and grandparents. I'm hoping to learn a thing or two in the kitchen from the finest of cooks while we're there!

Playing catch up

Let me start off by saying that I have turned into the world's worst blogger. I thought that surely with only one child, and being a stay at home mom, I would have plenty of time to blog during the week. NOT! Between vacation, company, and just being plain busy, I've gotten a little bit behind. So here's a quick re-cap from October, and a promise to do better in the weeks to come!





Our trip to the mountains was absolutely everything that we thought it would be (or hoped it would be!) Your expectations are always a little bit different when traveling with an infant, but he was a real trooper. Eli did really well in the car, and we were all able to keep our sanity. The weather was beyond amazing, all except for one day of rain. It was only chilly on one day, and the rest of the time it remained in the low 70's during the day. We couldn't believe that we got to see some of the beautiful fall colors, and not have to experience freezing cold mountain weather! We would love to go back in the winter and get to ski, so hopefully we'll be able to fit in another trip.

I always forget how much I love the mountains, until I see my first glimpse of this..


We made it to the top of Grandfather Mountain, went across the swinging mile high bridge, and I managed to avoid a heart attack!


We really enjoyed spending time on the front porch, and in the rocking chairs. There's just nothing more relaxing!


Bailey could have cared less if we left her there forever. She loved it even more than we thought she would.


We even got to stop in Columbia on the way home, and visit with some very fun cousins! I would love to post pictures from our visit...but we've since lost everything on our computer. Those pictures unfortunately weren't on my memory card.

After a fun vacation, we were blessed with a quick visit from my family! It was all planned last minute, and was a pretty short trip, but we enjoyed every last second together! My mom, grandparents, and aunt were here for the weekend. Eli certainly ate up all of the extra attention, and we really enjoyed seeing him interact. He's just so much fun these days, and so different from the last time that they saw him at 2 months old. His great-grandaddy Earl calls him 'booger,' and was quite determined for Earl to be his first word spoken before they left! What a blessing it is for my grandparents to be a part of his life.





Mimi got enough kisses to last her for at least a few weeks :)



Even though it seems absolutely impossible, Eli will be 6 months old tomorrow. It's so hard for me to wrap my head around that, and all of me wishes that he was still a teenie tiny newborn. However, he's entering into a very fun stage, and we're loving getting to see more of his precious personality. He's such a happy and fun loving baby, and we count our blessings for that daily. It seems like each day now comes with the learning of something new. In the past few weeks he's been busy sitting up, standing up, eating every meal in his highchair, laughing up a storm, truely finding his vocals, and his all time favorite since yesterday is jumping in his doorway jumper(rather than swaying from side to side). We're happy to report that his reflux is SO much better, and let me tell you, I've enjoyed the much needed break from everyday laundry!

I can't imagine life without him



We had Eli's 6 month pictures done last weekend, and what fun we had! He definitely stole the show and managed to charm everyone in the studio with his smiles.





And finally...HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAN! Thanks for being such an amazing husband and father. And just in case you weren't listening the last time I reminded you..you're now closer to 30 than you are to 20 :)

Stay tuned for pictures from Eli's first Halloween...he's sure to be the cutest cow on the block :)

Happy Fall!

We're full swing into the fall season! Fall decorations are out, Eli is dressed in his pumpkin attire, and we're headed to the mountains tomorrow! We're so excited for our first official family vacation with Eli. We're headed to spend a long weekend at a mountain house near Boone, NC. The fall colors will peak while we're there, so we're hoping to get lots of good pictures. We're really just looking forward to a relaxing time together.

It's been a very busy week preparing for our trip, to say the least. Dan and I packed our suitcase in about 5 minutes last night, but I've been packing Eli's multiple suitcases all week! It looks like Eli will get his first taste of cold weather while we're there, so that added to the amount of clothes to pack.

Eli showing off his latest trick, and very strong legs :)



Shopping at the outlet mall with mommy and daddy!



Happy 5 months to my precious boy



He's such a little stinker...this look just kills us everytime




I hope to have a ton of good memories and pictures to share next week!

Goodbye Bacteria!

I love the fact that there's time for me to blog today. That means that things are quiet, uneventful, and free of sickness :) Last weekend was absolutely none of the above. Eli was sick for the first time...and it wasn't exactly the 'typical cold.' Last week was such a blur. I worked a few days, and by Thursday I was ready for a few normal days at home with my little guy. Of course Thursday was just the beginning of 7 straight days of misery. It all started with a minor upset stomach for Eli, that led into a bloody messy diaper and fever, which then carried us from the pediatricians office straight to the children's hospital in Savannah. They admitted us straight into the Pediatric Surgery Unit(PSU). We were pretty confused as to why we were there, and also thought that it all seemed a little extreme. Eli just wasn't acting that sick yet. Our pediatrician had been consulting with 2 Dr's in the PSU since that morning, and they weren't comfortable with letting Eli go through the weekend without ruling out the worst case scenarios. They were very worried that Eli was suffering from Intussusception. Here's a quick medical lesson..

What Is Intussusception?
"Intussusception occurs when one portion of the bowel slides into the next, much like the pieces of a telescope. When this occurs, it creates an obstruction in the bowel, with the walls of the intestines pressing against one another. This, in turn, leads to swelling, inflammation, and decreased blood flow to the intestines involved.

The most common cause of intestinal obstruction in children between the ages of 3 months and 6 years, intussusception:

•occurs most often in children between 5 and 10 months of age (80% occur before a child is 24 months old)
•affects between one and four infants out of 1,000
•is three to four times more common in boys than in girls"

When we arrived at the hospital, we had no idea that we would be in for an overnight stay. After a long talk with the Dr's, they agreed that Eli didn't look sick enough to keep overnight, as we could monitor and hydrate him from home. As long as the results of his abdominal xray and blood work came back fine, they would discharge us.
After many ours of poking, and no sleep, they let us go home.

Needless to say, after a LONG 7 days, Eli is now on the mend :) He tested positive for Salmonella. Gross, I know. I've become an absolute nut case about hand washing and cloroxing. I have the dry and cracked hands to prove my recent insanity! I'm trying not to let it drive me crazy, because we'll never really know exactly where he picked it up. We're just so glad to have our happy boy back. Our house just wasn't the same without his contagious laughs and giggles.

On a lighter note, we took Eli to his first football game on Friday night. He was a HUGE fan! Again, it must be in his blood :)




Here's Eli all dressed & ready for church in his new outfit from mimi :)



Thats it for now, I'll update in a few days with more pictures. Thanks for all of your prayers for our little guy!

No Peas, Please!

After Eli's 4 month appointment, she gave us the go ahead to start introducing solid foods. Obviously, we started with green vegetables, and you can see for yourself how that went! Not a huge fan, YET, but we're determined to get him use to them. We just may have to get a little creative. Oatmeal and pears are currently his favorite breakfast foods.



We have been dieing to try out his big boy highchair, and finally decided to let him break it in. He looks so teenie tiny in it, but oh so cute :)



Ready for some REAL food!



Eli was starting to get a little bored with his toys here, so we borrowed an exersaucer from a friend. Needless to say..it has brought us many laughs! Daddy always seems to get the best ones out of him :) Enjoy this video!



Right before bathtime is Eli's absolute favorite time of day right now. He LOVES being up on the kitchen counter for some reason, and we always spend a good 10 or 15 minutes just enjoying our happy happy boy. As soon as you lay him down, his arms and legs start going and the giggles are never ending!



Dan and I are excited to have our first 'baby free' date night tomorrow! It's only been 5 months since our last one!

Two Years Ago Today...

Two years ago today, we said goodbye to my precious daddy. It was all so unexpected, and happened way too fast. None of us ever imagined having to say goodbye so soon. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of him. I have this fear that I will forget what life was like when he was here, or the sound of his voice, or the way he looked. The last time I saw my dad, he didn’t look like himself. He had miraculously made it through a 10 hour surgery, and was begging us with his eyes to let him go. We told him that he would be alright, he would come through this, and he shook his head telling us no. We are thankful that we were able to spend this time with him in between surgeries, because his body just couldn’t take anymore.

I will never forget the look on the Doctor’s face when he came to give my family the news. One look, and the words “I’m so sorry,” and life would never be the same again for us. It’s just not something that you could ever prepare yourself for.

If I could have just one more talk with him, there are so many things I would say. If I could just see the joy that Eli would bring to him. If he could just call me ‘baby girl’ one more time. He was such a lover, and never let a day go by without pouring it out on his family. I sob uncontrollably as I write this, wanting so badly to wrap my arms around him. I’ve spent a lot of time this week looking through old pictures of my dad. What wonderful memories he has left me with, that I can’t wait to share with Eli. We can’t wait to tell him about his Papa that is up in heaven. It just breaks my heart that Eli will never be able to know him as we did.





It’s easy to say ‘what if,’ but we know that the plan for his life was in much greater hands. There’s not a doubt in my mind that he’s in better hands now. No more aches, or pains, or the stresses of today.

Losing my dad, just 5 short weeks before our wedding day, was an absolute test of faith. You can only ask WHY so many times, before it really hits you. I was able to trust in what God’s word says, even when the circumstances made no sense at all. The sorrow was and is still there, but the trust I have in His future promises is even greater. I never dreamed that I would walk down the aisle with any other than my dad, and I never imagined that he would miss the birth of my first born. But it’s as if he was right there, on both occasions. I’m so thankful for the people that were put into my life, to help guide me through such trying times. I lost a father, and the very next month gained a husband that vowed to love me unconditionally. When Danny asked my dad for my hand in marriage, he said, “Only if you promise to love her as much as I do.” We cling to those words, and always will.

This is the day that Danny asked my dad...



Who knew that this would be our last dance



Here are some lyrics to one of my absolute favorite songs…

“I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love? Did I point to You enough
To make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace who
blessed your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy

Not well traveled, not well read, not well-to-do or well bred
Just want to hear instead, "Well Done" good and faithful one...”

I look at Eli today, tears in my eyes, and a big smile on his face, and know that he was sent to serve a big purpose. This day is a little bit easier this year, now that we have a little piece of heaven to hold onto and love with all of our hearts. Thank you Lord for lending us such a sweet sweet blessing!