Linkin UP!

I am not the craftiest or the most talented. But I have started this little blog here that has a few followers so I thought I would use my little blog to give a couple of shout outs. 

Today I'm linking up at Kelly's Korner to share these wonderful Etsy shops.

I have 2 very dear friends that have the most wonderful Etsy shops. 

My friend Ashley who I have known since, get this, 3RD GRADE! Has a cute little shop on Etsy where she crochets unique items. 

If you are like me and you don't like having the same thing that everyone else has then check her out. She has made a few super cute items for my Cabby and I get so many compliments on them. 

Check her out her....   KittiesCanCrochet

{This is not the best pic,  but this is my Cabby in some of her stuff. I usually find a picture of what I like and send it to her... she's never let me down.}

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I also have another sweet friend that makes Custom headbands and other cute accessories for little girls. I mean, what little girl is complete without accessories. 

If you like big beautiful flowers and bows that are sure to make people stop and say "OMGosh, where did you get that" then she's the one for you.

They are great quality and super cute and every one is unique. 

Check her out at .... Twinkle Belle

Check them out and tell them I sent ya :)

Toodles,

Amanda

Exposed!!!!!!!!

My name is Amanda

I'm almost 27

I LOVE my Jesus

I LOVE my birthday {11/24/85}

I'm a coffee addict but that doesn't come close to comparing to my addiction to CAKE!

I am a mother, sister and wife.

I talk (a lot) :) but I'm OK with that

I am real, what you see is what you get.

I am a born and bred southerner transplanted in the north (wish that I could be back in the south everyday)

I would love to have a plate of Stamey's BBQ topped with slaw, a side of hush puppies, a glass of tea and a helping of peach cobbler and vanilla ice cream to finish it all off.

I HATE the snow, but love the beach

There is not a day that goes by when I don't miss my little sister and wish that she was right next door. :(

I blog because I love to talk but people honestly don't want to listen to my rambling (hey, I have to put it somewhere)

I would rather by accessories than clothes

I love expensive bags and shoes

I HATE cancer and the affects it has on a family as a whole

I really hate childhood cancer and wish they could find a cure

I have a horrible case of scoliosis.

I'm low maintenance

I drive a 1997 minivan that is on the brink of death.

I love taking pictures of my kids.

I want to bungee jump

I want to sky dive

I want to trek across Europe with my little sister

I want to turn my phone off and drive as far as I can on a random highway just to see where it takes me

I don't like asparagus or spinach

I love lazy Saturdays when I don't have to do anything

I love to read

I would love to be a writer

I almost joined the Navy / I did 3 years of high school ROTC and had plans of going to the Naval Academy.

I can't swim but would love to learn

I enjoy history

I am horrible at math

I have horribly frizzy hair that drives me bonkers most of the time

I tend to be loud

I.... AM.... ME.... AND I am fine with that.

My Sweet Cabby is 7 months old

I don't get to do this much, I really wish that I had kept up with this as he's been growing but keeping up with my 3 is a full time job.

Caleb (aka Cabby, thanks to Zoe calling him baby Cabbage), is going to be 7 months old on the 18th. It's really hard to believe, to think that he is almost a year old. It saddens me a bit, he's my baby, my last baby. 

So here are his stats:

He was almost 20lbs at his 6 month visit so I am sure that he is there by now. 

He is still nursing about every 4-6 hours. But sleeping through the night. 

He is cooing away. I think da-da or mama are in the near future.

He is LOVING solid foods. Table food is his favorite thing. What baby doesn't love mashed taters. 

He is wearing size 3 diapers and 9mth clothes.

He has just cut his first bottom tooth. Teething up a storm. 

(frozen berries in his munchkin food holder is his favorite thing to teeth on)

I was afraid to give him those puffs that dissolve but that little booger was CHEWING a Nilla Wafer. This boy can for sure eat. 

The doctors are predicting that if he continues to grow the way he does that he will be about 6 feet!!! That's a big boy. 

He smiles at everything and he's just the sweetest baby ever. He just started sleeping in his actual crib last night. I can't believe how fast he's growing. 

He loves his big brother and Zoe, bless her heart, drives him crazy. She's a mother hen. 

So that's my Cabby.

All smiles all the time.

Sleeping in his Crib

So in love with this little man

__________________________________________________________________

In other news, Braxton started pre-school!!!! This was a very big step for him as well as for me. I have always sheltered and hovered over him, and to be honest, I probably always will anywhere that he is concerned. He did so good. One day a week he gets a swimming lesson for 30 minutes. I think this is so good for him because the chemo that he has to take has caused a bit of neuropathy in his legs. The swimming in the warm water is supposed to be good for this. 

I was worried that he would be behind the other kids because we didn't let him go to preschool last year, but he seems to be doing just fine. His class is small (about 13 kids) so I'm not as nervous as far as germs go. 

He had chemo on Monday so this was not the best week to start something new. With steroids on board he's always moody and forever changing. But my baby isn't a baby anymore. 

On his first day last week, I got to the school early and he just happened to be on the playground. So I parked far enough back so that he couldn't see me. (I am sure that I must have looked like a creeper) I just sat there, thanking God for bringing him this far and for the opportunity to go to school, like a normal kid. He wasn't Brac the little boy with Leukemia... he was Brac, the 5 year old preschooler. So I sat there for 30 minutes and sobbed like a crazy lady, watching him play on the playground with all his new little friends, realizing just how blessed we are and how Mighty our God really is. 

First Day

Swim Class

Getting deaccessed. .. I am so proud of him.

And I can't leave out my Zoe. She is having a time adjusting to Bub being in School for only 2 1/2 hours. But I think she gets it now. She will go next year and I am really regretting not putting her in now. I think that she would have really enjoyed it. Her new cute thing is putting her finger to her mouth and going "hmmmm, I know" and her favorite person... Diego. I predict she'll be speaking Spanish before she turns 3 :)

Enjoying sparklers and fireworks since the county finally lifted the burn /fireworks ban.

Being Zoe

I said "look at the camera" she replied "I can't, I'm busy"

I'm a survivor...

Where do I begin... WHEW!! What a wild weekend in my house.

Braxton is officially 5! I got through the weekend with minimal grey hairs.

This year Braxton had his very first sleepover...huh umm... I mean Camp Out, because that's what boys have is camp outs not sleep overs.

It was really a camp in because there was no way that those boys would have been comfortable outside with the temps as high as they have been.

Friday night at 8 all the little boys started to trickle in. I had, in a moment of insanity agreed to let Brac have 7 little boys spend the night. And you know what? it really wasn't all that bad. Eron came home and took them outside and if I have learned anything about boys in 5 years, it's that they are better when they are outside. They rode the four wheeler, played tag, and then roasted s'mores. I even managed to get them all to shower. That was rather tricky, but we did it with minimal chaos. We put the tent up in the living room and then, once they were all tucked in, they drifted off to sleep.

The next day the choas started all over again. Until his party that night. Have you ever tried to set up for a party by yourself, with 8 little boys, an attention deprived 2 year old and a 7 mth old to look after? NOT EASY, but when my sweet friends came over, it became slightly more managable and the party ended up going great. {Kudos to Kevin and Anna for coming early to help wrangle those boys and Kudos to my Brother in Law JR for being the grill master}

Some of the yummy party goodies... party favors and Spiderman pancakes

Pocket knife from Daddy and Mommy (it's put up high)

Brac and his "girlfriend" Ava

Some of the yummy treats... thank you Pinterest
Cresent rolls with chocolate chips and mini marshmallows topped with Chocolate syrup, doesn't get any easier. 

You know, as crazy as it was at times, hearing all the little thank you's and watching Brac have a blast with all his friends was so worth it. He went outside at 430 and I didn't see him much until he finally came in with his daddy at 1030. With Zoe and Caleb in the bed, we let him open all his presents. This has become some what of a tradition in our house. We let our kids take all the gifts out and "examine" them and play with them before they go to bed. It's fun to have that one on one time with them on there special day.

After the house was cleaned and all the toys were put back in there place we finally crashed.

Thank you Papaw and Nana... they always bring the coolest gifts.

This week my 5 year old, gets to start preschool. He is so excited. He also found out that he can now go to Children's church on Wednesday night and sing in the children's choir.

Thanks to everyone for coming out and making his special day even more wonderful.

On another note, Today marks Brac's 1000th day of Chemo, with just 158 days left. He has come a long since day one. It's kind of bitter sweet. I can't help but think about all our friends still in treatment or those that have gone through many more than 1000 days, those that have many more days to go with no idea when they will be finished. And then I think of those friends that have finished. That beat the ugly cancer world. I am celebrating that Brac is almost finished. He put up a fight and he essentially won. It is so nice to talk to the doctors about those last couple months. About scheduling to have his port taken OUT at the beginning of next year. (deep breath.... exhale)

Then we will celebrate again. We will celebrate every year for the rest of his LONG life.... Brac beat the cancer world. I will look forward to that anniversary as much as I look forward to every birthday.

There is a book called The Grouchy Lady Bug by Eric Carle, we have read it to Brac since he was a little thing. Everywhere this little lady bug goes she meets bigger and bigger creatures, she keeps saying "you wanna fight" and then "you're not big enough".... well, I've always kind of thought of this as Brac's phrase.  Cancer said "Hey you, you wanna fight?" and Brac said "you're not big enough" ...

Happy Birthday Brac

{I know that I am a day early, but with all the hustle and bustle sure to go on tomorrow I figured I would post today}

On August 4th 2007 at 4:43am I welcomed the most precious gift from God into my life.

Braxton Andrew came into my life weighing 7lbs 13oz. It's funny how you act with your first. You, as a new mother, are full of about a million emotions. But I remember my heart overwhelmed with love for this little person that I made, that God gave me the privilege to have. We tried for a year to get pregnant and when we finally did, I did EVERYTHING by the book. 

This was me on my due date... he didn't come for 3 more days!!

My Favorite pic of us... he looks at me like he knows exactly  who I am 

Little did we know that 2 years later this sweet little boy would teach us about hope, faith and love. Braxton has been a light in so many ways. He makes me smile, he is witty, he is a fighter, he is amazing, he is strong, he is big (beyond his years), he is a survivor, he is a friend, he's a charmer, he's so smart. He's {most of all} all mine. 

Where did the time go. I feel like he should still be waddling across the living room. He is my miracle. Some days I just sit back and watch him. I love knowing that I have something that God has placed his Mighty hand on right in front of me. The days that he was sickest are still so real in my mind. The days when the house was an eerie quiet because he was too sick to play. I can remember so clear, rushing him to the hospital for fevers so high we had to ice him down. I can remember looking to the doctors wanting them to fix him, and make him better. I can remember those moments pleading with God to heal my little boy because I couldn't possibly imagine one moment in life without him. 

He was a ham on Steroids

First month of Treament... this is one of the funniest pics I have of him.

He was so sick here but this pic always makes me smile because he has never stopped smiling.

Now, with 3 years of chemo almost behind us, and preschool starting next week. He is "normal". He is having sleep overs and eventually I'm sure he'll be going to sleepovers. He jumps and plays and "fights" with all the other little boys. He eats like he's about 15. At his last weigh in he was almost 50lbs.... 50lbs!! He loves Transformers, all things super-heroish, legos, cars and tractors. He has a wild imagination. He thinks that getting a pocket knife is part of being 5. He is an awesome big brother to his sister (most of the time) and he always makes Caleb smile when he comes into the room. He is independent, so much that it sometimes gets him into trouble.  He's his daddy's best friend. He is AMAZING... He is 5!

Happy Birthday to my first born, my little man. 

His Best Friend