One Last Beach Trip

The kids LOVED the private pool!

Our family has had an awesome year, traveling to the beach several times so far, but we had one last hurrah planned with my family!  It was a trip that we had been looking forward to all summer long.  We were going with my brother and his family, as well as my parents.  Though we were going much later in the summer than I would choose, it was my parents first real trip to panhandle and we wanted to make sure they had a fabulous time.

Brian and Lucy doing the "linebacker"

Steve and I researched homes all along 30A, and ultimately selected a home one street away from Rosemary Beach (our favorite area).  It was about 1.5 blocks off the beach, so an easy walk for all of us and was a very short bike ride to all of our favorite restaurants, bars, parks and activities!  The house had four bedrooms, all with attached baths, two living spaces, a huge wrap around deck and a private pool....so it worked out perfectly for our growing family.

Unfortunately, it has been a very wet summer, so we didn't know what to expect from a weather aspect.  However, mother nature spared us, and it only rained a half a day and sprinkled a little a couple other days.  In addition, the water was awesome all week, with the exception of one day.

Brian holding one of our crabs

Kids crabbing...catching little ones with their hands!



We started our trip with an awesome shrimp boil!  We even had special guests....my matron of honor, Kris Viguerie, and her family.  It was awesome to see her after several years, and for us to meet each other's children.

Kris and me with our kids

The best part of our trip is just being together and watching all of the kids together.  They really love each other.  As they get older, I see more and more similarities between them too.  Pres and Christian are such competitive, active little boys.  And Bennett and Henley couldn't be more different from them.  They are both more dramatic, and little caregivers to each other and Lucy.



The kids at the Sugar Shak!

Two cuties!

Fun on the Beach...notice the mermaid tales?

Splash pad!

Nighttime fun!

Steve, my engineer, loves to build sand castles with the kids

Playing games on the iPads

The girls...two peas in a pod

Nene and Poppy with their grandchildren

Steve's goal was to hold Lucy without her crying

Showing me their tongues after snow cones

Body surfing

Date night at Caliza

Inspecting the hermit crabs we caught

Last night, family dinner

We started most days with a morning bike ride, and then headed to the beach.  The kids alternated between the pool and beach, but it never was a problem since we had so many adults.  We visited area parks, went crabbing, hunted shells, built sand castles, road waves, did a lot of swimming, played games, went out to eat a few nights and visited sno-balls, the sugar shak and cool candy...the kid's favorite dessert hangouts.  We packed a lot in for seven days, and our kids were exhausted when they came home.

Thank you to my parents for an awesome trip!

our only family pic, not good, but it will do



Summer Fun

Midway through the summer, and we have been successful knocking out items on our wish list of activities.  Between camps, we have tried to have fun, and here are a few photos to prove it!

Sleepover with cousin Henley

Fun with friends

Hanging out with Poppy

Jumping on new trampoline

Baking me a birthday cake

Goofing off

Fun at the zoo!

Visiting traveling dino exhibit at zoo

Swimming with friends

Fishing with Daddy

Watch and read for more to come....

A Rainy Independence Day Weekend

As the long 4th of July weekend approached, we kept reading the weather forecast about scattered showers.  We knew there was potential for bad weather (which makes enjoying the lake tough), but it is rare for us to go to the Mizerany's lake house and have everyone up there.  So we went ahead and packed for the long weekend, and decided to play it by ear.  Everyone trickled in Wednesday like we expected.  The kids were able to get in the lake and swim some, and then we had a great dinner.

The festivities and fun started for all of the adults right away (everyone but me, of course).  However, the rain started shortly after.  It then continued to rain about 15 inches of rain over the next day and a half!  There were short periods of time where we got a break, and the kids took advantage of them...swimming, fishing, catching frogs...but they never lasted long enough.

frog catching!

Pres getting ready to fish

Beer Pong....yes, Pres learned how to play

After two days of rain, Bennett and I decided to head back to Birmingham.  As much as I love family, I can't stand being cooped up and feeling trapped.  At least back home, I could knock out little chores, eat out and run errands.  Fortunately, the weather back home was better, so Bennett and I attended a post-Independence day get together with friends and watched them light a bunch of fireworks.  We also enjoyed dinner out, just the two of us.  We snuggled each night, and slept in until 9am both mornings.  It was glorious having a quiet house and a little alone time with my girl.

Bennett with a sparkler

Dinner out with just the girls!

Meanwhile, the boys stayed back and had a great time hanging out with cousins.  Mimi doted on them and they were spoiled in their own kind of way....not cooking nor doing any chores (Steve's perfect weekend). Fortunately for them, the weather cleared up some so they had a ball too.

Pres ninja kicking into the lake

Father-Son bonding!

Overall I think we all had a wonderful weekend, even if we weren't together the entire time.  Here is a pic we took of all of the cousins.

Lake Time

This weekend we headed up to Smith Lake with the Tanners.  The six kids have a ball together, and they have all of the toys needed to keep everyone entertained....a boat, ski toys, a waverunner, fishing rods and indoor toys.  As soon as we got there, we hit the ground running and boarded the boat!  All of the kids took turns tubing, then the parents (minus me) skied and/or wakeboarded.  Before we headed in though, we let the kids try water-skiing.  I was so proud of Bennett for trying multiple times, and finally getting up too!

William, Pres, MaryCase and B

Bennett is finally up!

Pres on skis

Caroline and Bennett floating

Miz taking the boys for a spin

Even Miz got up for his first time on the wakeboard

Later that night, we grilled burgers and relaxed.  After the kids were safely settled in bed, we took a late night boat cruise (don't worry, Brian's father was at the house in case any of the kids woke up).  The moon was huge and the sky was loaded with stars....something we don't get to see that often in Birmingham.
The next day, we awoke to a huge breakfast...thanks to Brian's father.  We had scrambled eggs, bacon, grits, biscuits and fresh fruit.  It was delicious and just what we needed to get the day started!  Thereafter we hit the water again, with more tubing and skiing.  We encouraged the kids to keep trying new things, today it was wakeboarding.  William was the first one to attempt it, and he got up for a minute.  Then Preston gave it a try.  After a few bad falls, he finally got up, but only for a few seconds.  Just long enough for me to snap these:

Bennett also gave it the old college try, but like Preston...had several bad falls.  After a handful of times, she gave up.  The Tanner girls were next, and none of them succeeded either.  All of the kids complained of stomach aches after their falls, so I guess that started scaring them.

She sure looked cute looking the part....

What a fun filled weekend on the water with friends!

Camp Winnataska

We are happy to report that Bennett made it through her first spend the night camp experience!  Back in January, we began talking about the possibility of going to camp away from home for a few nights.  At first she was apprehensive, but as the time got closer, she became more comfortable with the idea.  We have been preparing for months....learning to bath by herself (learning to get all of the shampoo and conditioner out of her hair), shopping for the essentials, having sleepovers, and just talking it up so she wouldn't be worried.

Bennett and Caroline

On Wednesday afternoon, Pres and I drove her out with her gigantic duffel bag and pillow!  We got her all checked in, I made her bed, took a few photos, and then she basically kicked us out.  As my eyes started to well up with tears as I hugged her one last time, she said "you don't have to walk me back, I got it."  My baby girl was growing up....

 
 
 



Samantha, B, Vivian and Caroline

Bennett in front of her cabin

Bennett w/ Adelaide, one of her counselors

For the past few days, Steve and I have checked pictures online, but that was our only way of checking in on her.  Of course, we were so excited to go get her this morning and hear all about it.  She looked happy, and said she had a great time.  When we asked her to tell us about it, she would tell us bits and pieces, as she remembered them.  She is eager to return for a week, and I know she had fun.  She got to drink Pepsi (which she hadn't tasted before camp...yes we are those parents), go canoeing, swim in the lake and pool, go horseback riding, hiking, sing and dance, do crafts, shoot bows and arrows, experience a ropes course, and otherwise just be independent for three days!  We are so happy that her experience was a good one, and hope that the years to follow keep providing her with long lasting memories. 

Telling Preston all about camp

Camp Winnataska is a great little camp, and we are lucky to have it so close to our house (less than 45 minutes away).  This year they celebrated their 95th anniversary, so Bennett participated in some special birthday activities.  The camps run Sunday to Saturday for the older campers, but the younger kids have the option to go for 3 nights or 6 nights.  Each night they have a special theme....cowboys and Indians, glow night, super heroes, etc.  They certainly keep them busy from morning to night, preventing them the opportunity to miss their families.  However, she was excited to see us all, just as we were to see her again.  Love that little girl!

Together Again!

Wishes Really Do Come True!

Steve and I are absolutely THRILLED to announce that we have another bun in the oven!

YES .... WE ARE PREGNANT!!!!

 

confirming it, over and over

I want to start off by saying that I started writing this post on April 29th, but wanted to wait several weeks until we heard the heartbeat, confirmed that there is in fact a baby in there and that we made it to the "safe zone." When Preston was one, we began trying for our third child. Even though our life was chaotic much of the time with two children under three, we always envisioned our lives with three. Two plus years later, we were still without. It brought us a lot of disappointment and sadness, but we thought maybe it was God's plan.

It wasn't until I began selling baby things on Craig's List or at consignment stores that the real sadness set in for me. After discussing it more, we decided we needed to give it a little longer. But before we kept doing what we were doing (which wasn't working), we had my OB run some tests (Feb 2012). Thankfully, all looked good inside of me, and Steve was in great shape. The first mode of fertility is usually Clomed, which she thought would work for me, so I immediately started that.  After a miscarriage, and bad bedside manner dealing with it, we decided to switch OBs in March.

That doctor continued with the Clomed for several months, slowing increasing the dosage, but nothing positive occurred, except "chemical pregnancies."  Basically that is when you get a positive pregnancy test, but it never goes further than that.  Dr. McKee decided after three months to pull the plug on my fertility, and refer us to a specialist (since time was not on our side).

Dr. Long and the ART Fertility Clinic ended up being a huge blessing.  Dr. Long is a compassionate, funny man who never rushes me out of his office.  He is honest, yet kind...a tough combination for a doctor.  He met with Steve and I and tried to gauge our expectations, and explained the risk-reward ratio of different fertility methods. Since Clomed and I did not get along (I had WILD mood swings), he immediately pulled me from that and tried a different drug, Follistim.  Once again we had several "chemical pregnancies."  By December, I was tired of crying all of the time and finally agreed to the laparoscopic surgery that he wanted me to do months before.  As it turned out, I did have some endometriosis (which he removed).  After waiting the proper amount of time, we finally got back on track with another round of fertility (what we had decided after 3 months off as our FINAL month). 

Since we had somewhat succumbed to the fact that we were just going to be a family of four,  we were shocked to take a pregnancy test and have it be positive.  I took one for several days in a row before I called the clinic for an appointment (trying to verify that it wasn't another chemical one).  So you can imagine our happiness when we went in for the initial ultrasound and saw the sac.  Several days later we went back and actually saw the heart beat!


We remained cautious, but week after week, baby Miz continued to flourish.  The heart rate got stronger, it grew and we watched it develop right before our eyes!  I have had weekly appointments for the past 7 weeks, and have not complained once, as it is such a blessing to be reassured each week.  Last week I saw it wiggle, so Dr. Long said my chances for miscarriage declined significantly.  Today the baby moved all over the place... flipping, kicking and the technician was able to get a wonderful close-up of its legs crossed and of it waving to us.  We loved seeing its little toes and fingers....GOD IS GREAT!

May 10th (5 wk 4 d)

 June 3rd (9 weeks)

June 12th: legs crossed and waving at us (10 wk 2 d)

We still have some hurdles, but we are cautiously optimistic that this was God's plan all along...he must have thought I needed more time between my kiddos.  We go in for genetic testing next week, and our final appointment with Dr. Long is on July 1st before getting discharged back to my regular OB who will see us through the remainder of the pregnancy.  Since I am still in my first trimester for another couple of weeks, I ask for prayers.   I am also weeks away from my 41st birthday, making me "advanced maternal age."  Of course we worry about the health of this little angel in my belly, but we are staying positive and praying for continued good news.  We ask that you do the same.  In the meantime, we promise to keep you posted until early January when he/she is due.