Third Post for the Day!!

Okay, I know this is the THIRD blog I have posted today, but I am just trying to play catch up I guess. As I posted earlier today, we finally got Tatum Alivia's baby bedding in, so I was eager to get it put on her bed. As you will see in the pictures below, I need to figure out how exactly to tie the bumper pad on her bed so it looks better. My mom also got curtains to put on the windows that match PERFECTLY with the bedding and the chair. I will try to get those up this week if I can find curtain rods I like. Anyway, enjoy the pictures, they aren't the best pictures, but everyone is free to come see her sleeping in her bed when she arrives!

Nikita Koloff "The Russian Nightmare"

(Sorry this is a bad picture of me, but the men in the picture make me look much better, not to mention that world title belt that I am holding!!)

This past Sunday at our church we had Nikita Koloff "The Russian Nightmare" at our church. For those of you that don't know who he is, he was a professional wrestler back in the day with Sting, Rick Flare, and the Hulk! Anyway you guys can google him if you want to know more or check out his website at www.nikitakoloff.com . He was at our church on Saturday to participate in some wrestling matches along with KoKo B. Ware and Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. Then on Sunday, he spoke during the service and he was AWESOME. I must admit that I am no wrestling fan, but I enjoyed his message so much.

I have decided to try to write blogs after each Sunday service so that I can keep track of the messages at our church. Every Sunday, I take notes in church, but I never do anything with them and usually end up losing them or throwing them away(which I am not proud of). I thought it might be good to have a place to go back and look over what I got from different messages. Anyway, if this bores you sorry, but this is more for me I guess.

The title of his message was "Are you a FAITHFUL FOLLOWER OF CHRIST or are you a CULTURAL CHRISTIAN?"

1. I must be DEVOTED to be a faithful follower of Christ. I must set myself apart from worldly things.

"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world-the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-comes not from the Father but from the world." 1 John 2:15-16

"You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." James 4:4

"Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded." James 4:8

I must take the FIRST step towards God and after that HE will take a step towards me!
I am not going to talk, walk, or act like the world!
Through the good and bad I must ALWAYS trust in God.
I must stand firm and be faithful.
I cam through my mom and dad, but I came FROM God because he has a plan for me.

2. Be DEFIANT! The word defiant usually carries a negative meaning to most people, but in this case, this is what God wants.

"Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked." Psalms 97:10

We must LOVE what God loves, and HATE what God hates.(sin, evil, disobedience, etc.)

"Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or left, that you may be sucessful wherever you go." Joshua 1:7

It takes lots of courage to obey ALL the laws and to be DEVOTED and DEFIANT! It takes courage to say NO! However, my primary relationship is with God. As long as I am devoted to my relationship with God and obey his laws, all other relationships will fall into place.

God and silver must go through very intense heat in order to be purified just like I as a Christian must sometimes go through tough times.

I am not ashamed to be a CHILD OF GOD!

That pretty much sums up the message from Sunday. I am sure I did not do it justice at all, but it was really good I promise! After the service Antonio and I got to take Nikita Koloff out to lunch with another couple. Kind of an embarrassing thing, Antonio and I went ahead of the others to go ahead and get a table so we wouldn't have to wait so long. When we were on our way, I asked Antonio, "Do you think we should request a table in the back so that all of his fans don't bother him throughout the meal?" We decided not to ask for special seating, and everything was great. After we ordered our food from the waiter, Nikita Koloff asked the waiter to tell us something that we could pray for him about. We could tell that it caught the waiter a little off guard, but after a minute, he told us he would like prayer for his schooling because he was in his last year of college. It was a wonderful idea that I plan to steal and implement from him. Anyway, Nikita Koloff was such an interesting person and I think we asked him a million questions. Please visit his website and if you ever have the chance to see him speak, take advantage of it. Below are some pictures from Sunday.

Oh My!!

Wow! I have so much going on right now and so much I want/need to blog about, but I just can't seem to find the time.

Anyway, I just wanted to give a quick update on something...as most of you guys know, today was the day that the baby bedding was supposed to come in. I got home early from work just so I could sit by the window and look for the UPS truck. The worst thing in the world happened...as I was looking out the window, the UPS truck went right by my house without even slowing down. Needless to say, my heart sank! But then, like 10 minutes later, he came back with a huge box for MY HOUSE!! I dashed outside to meet him and got my box. I ran inside, opened the box and there it was.....Tatum Alivia's baby bedding!!! I was so excited!! That is wonderful news of course, however, the mobile that I ordered that was supposed to come at the same time was no where to be seen. I tried to call, but the company closes at 4pm Eastern time and it was too late to call. I will try calling tomorrow.

In the mean time, I am going to put the bedding on her bed tonight hopefully and I will take some pictures to post. I am so excited that I can check one more thing off the list of things to do! Watch for a few blogs to come in the next couple of days along with lots of pictures.

Soccer Mom Practice

I know I haven't blogged in a while and I apologize for that, but I have been SO TIRED this week. I feel like I am in my first trimester again and I can't do anything but sleep. Anyway, that is for another blog. So let me get to this one....

Last Saturday I had the chance to practice being a soccer mom! My preacher and his wife were out of town and they needed help with their 3 kids getting to all their football and soccer games on Saturday. So, I was lucky enough to get to take their little girl, we will just call her K, to her soccer game. I must say I had SO much fun watching her!!! "Why?" you ask, well Antonio sees a future soccer star in my tummy, so I got to experience my future if Tatum Alivia likes sports.

I was NOT the best soccer "mom" out there though, cause we got there and I took no chair with me, so I had to sit on the ground. That was fine by me, but after an hour my back end was beginning to hurt a little. Also, what "soccer mom" forgets to buy a water or powerade for the game?? ME!! I felt so bad because the coaches would yell "WATER BREAK." and K would run over hot and out of breath and I had nothing for her. Luckily, the coaches brought some snacks and drinks for after the game, so they gave K hers early.

K was definitely the star of the game!! She was the best goalie AND the best player on the field!! I promise she was, I am not being partial!! She was awesome and I was proud to be there cheering her on. Anyway, I learned that I need to learn more about soccer if Tatum Alivia plans to play because I don't know all the rules.(However, if she plays basketball then I will be just fine!! I just hope she likes sports at all!) So, here are the pics....


Everyone knows a good athlete must stretch before each game to take care of the body and muscles.



After stretching, a team needs to practice kicking the ball into the goal!


After all the stretching and practicing, it is game time!


Look how good K is at controlling the ball and keeping the defense back!


Now she is ready to show everyone how she works the net!!


During half time, sometimes you just "GOTTA GO!!"

This last picture is by far my favorite! K was such a good player! She is fast and knows how to play a great game of soccer! Maybe she can teach Tatum Alivia how to play in a few years!!

Like I said before, I was so PROUD being there watching K play soccer, I have been going to church with her for like 4 years, so I can remember when Antonio and I kept her in the nursery. She has grown up so much over the years and it is awesome.

I sat there at the game wondering if my parents were as proud of me everytime they watched me play in a basketball game. While I loved playing, I don't think I was any good at all. I can't wait to experience watching Tatum Alivia play sports, do gymnastics, dance, play in the marching band, or anything else she wants to do.

Neat Poem

I found this poem online and thought I just have to post a blog about it. I think it speaks for itself, so enjoy....

When I say I'm a Christian... By Maya Angelou

When I say..."I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin."
I'm whispering "I was lost,
"Now I'm found and forgiven.

When I say..."I am a Christian"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble
and need CHRIST to be my guide.

When I say... "I am a Christian
"I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak
and need HIS strength to carry on.

When I say... "I am a Christian
"I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed
and need God to clean my mess.

When I say... "I am a Christian
"I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible
but, God believes I am worth it.

When I say... "I am a Christian
"I still feel the sting of pain,
I have my share of heartaches
So I call upon His name.

When I say... "I am a Christian
"I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner
who received God's good grace, somehow.

Work Shower

Today I was lucky enough to have a baby shower at work. As you will soon see from the pictures below, I got LOTS of cute things for Tatum Alivia. Hope you guys don't get tired of all the pics, but I want to post them all.









Here are some burp cloths that Tobie made for
Tatum Alivia. The first one says "cute as a button", the second one says "Tatum Alivia", and the third one says "God's Girl". They are so cute!!









Tobie also made a diaper bag for me. I don't know if you can tell in this picture, but it has an "S" on it too.












Cintas also gave me a little baby blanket with "CINTAS" on it. I guess they don't want me to forget that I will be heading back to work after my maternity leave? j/k It is really soft and so cute.








This was the first present I opened. It was a little bear that sounds like the inside of my tummy so Tatum Alivia won't be scared in her big bed!











This is a picture of bibs, burp cloths, and receiving blankets.












Here is the cake that we chowed down on. It was SO good, but I shouldn't have eaten it. Why you ask? Well, I could tell you, but let me SHOW you.....










in this picture you can see a GREAT picture of my DOUBLE CHIN!! (You can double click on any and all of the pictures I post to make the picture bigger.)










This is a picture of a bath robe and little socks from Chereka(who is standing behind me in lots of these pictures.) Notice the gift bag...lol...Thanks Chereka!! Love you girl!! I had to point that out.









Here are more recieving blankets. Kimberly, notice how cute Chereka looks behind me cheesin' for the picture!!











This was a gift from Melissa that works with me. She made it herself and it is too cute!! I took it home and took a picture of it in front of the wall we will probably hang it on. See how well the browns match!! I think it is pretty much an exact match!









This is a cute little Princess castle from Jennifer. It says "Princess" on the front.

Believe it or not, there were many other gifts, but I guess this is all the pictures I should post for now. Thank you to everyone that remembered us during this special time in our lives! Tatum Alivia is very blessed to already have so many people around her that love her so much!

Baby Bedding

Well, this is going to be a VERY short blog, but as some of you may or may not know, I ordered Tatum Alivia's baby bedding on July 27th. Unfortunately, I have not seen it come in the mail yet at all, but they did tell me it would take 4-8 weeks to get to me. Well, I was getting a little impatient today so I decided to call and check on the status. (I think what really made me call was the fact that I had a dream last night that I called later on and it turns out that IN MY DREAM it was delivered and stolen before I got home.) Anyway, the lady on the phone first told me that it was on back order(I was a little nervous after hearing this.), BUT then she said the material came in last week that was on back order, so I should recieve it by next Friday!! I am so excited about this because we have been waiting until we get the bedding before we do too much decorating in her room so we can match up the pink in the bedding with the pink in other things(curtains, rug, paint for some decorating ideas that Eliana came up with, etc.) So, this means that next Saturday(hopefully) I will put her bedding on her bed and her room will be one step closer to being done! If this happens, I will take some pictures of her room so everyone can see how it is progressing. Right now, it is pretty much all brown with just touches of pink. If I can get what's in my head, in that room, it is going to be BEAUTIFUL!! I will keep you posted.

Also, there was one more thing I needed to write about...I know that our God is a very forgiving God, and I hope all of you out there reading my blog are just as forgiving. If you are not, then please work on it...I am only going to mention this once, but it will pertain to anything that I write on here. So, here it goes....Please forgive me for any misspelled words, grammatical errors, run on sentences, unclear thoughts, etc. I try to read back over everything that I write, but sometimes I just miss things. So, if you read this and wonder, "What in the world was this girl thinking?" or "Where did this girl go to school?" just remember, I asked for forgiveness in advance!!

Things I Will Miss

Well, I am not sure if anyone is reading my blogs yet or not because other than my mom and Kimberly no one is commenting, but I like doing the blogs, so maybe the comments and readers will add up eventually. Anyway, here is what has been on my mind lately...

It seems as though when ladies get pregnant, it is common to discuss "what we miss about our pre-pregnancy days". Well, it is true there are things that I do miss, but I was thinking today of all the things I think I will miss when I am no longer pregnant. Ya know, the things that I enjoy about being pregnant. Thinking about all of these things does a few things for me: (1) I don't mind being pregnant, (2) I am not so ready for her to come out, (3) I realize just how blessed I am. So, here are some of the things I enjoy about being pregnant...

1. I enjoy eating whatever I want(for the most part). I have never been one to really watch what I eat, but now if I am hungry I eat. Now, if I start gaining too much weight this may change, but for now, I am happy with my weight gain and all.

2. I love the cute clothes. Okay, so there are lots of maternity clothes out there that are not so cute, but seeing as how my sister is pregnant too and we can wear the same size, we have double the maternity clothes that most people have and I must say I love most of them....(Thanks Mom for stocking the closets so well!!)

3. I don't have to feel guilty about gaining weight. As I stated earlier, I have not gained TOO much weight, so I am okay with the weight gain. I don't have to constantly watch the scales for the most part and it feels great. And even when I do gain that 6 pounds in one month, it's okay because it is all worth it.

4. I love the naps. I love being able to take naps every day if I want to and not have to explain why I am so tired. I have always been somewhat of a napper(even back in high school), but now they are almost expected!!

5. Okay, I was not really happy about this one at the beginning, but it is growing on me...my 1/2 outie belly button. That's right, it's not really an innie any more, yet not really an outie, so it's my own special 1/2 outie and I am growing to love it! I have been told it will go back to normal (and I hope it does), but for now it's okay.

6. One of the not so happy things about the pregnancy...on Feb 23rd of this year is when I went to the dr. and first found out I was definitely pregnant. I remember going and being so excited!! I was only 4 weeks along and it was mine and Antonio's little secret because we didn't want to tell too soon. Well, long story short, this is also the day that one of our chocolate labs, LISA, got hit by a car and died. So, because of this, this day will always be remembered as a bitter/sweet day for us. We miss her very much and we know that Maggie(her sister) misses her too!

7. I will miss the anticipation of each doctor's appointment. Every time we have an appointment I get so excited, especially those major ones when you find out (1) "YES, YOU ARE PREGNANT!" (2) hearing the first heartbeat, (3) trying to find out the sex of the baby(the first time the tech could not tell so we had to come back again, and (4) actually finding out we were having a GIRL! However, even though those are the major ones, all of them have been great because each time, I meassure right on track and we get to hear the heartbeat and it is just so awesome!

8. Finally, the thing I think I will miss the most is feeling Tatum Alivia constantly kicking!! I know many ladies say the bigger she gets the more it hurts, but I don't mind. It is like our little secret between each other...she kicks and I smile EVERYTIME!! No one else can tell she is kicking, so that just makes it more special. I can't even describe what it feels like, but it amazing! It also tells me that she is still doing well and hopefully enjoying "Mommy Hotel" for now.

I am sure there are some other things I will miss, but for now those are what I could come up with. I kind of like being pregnant! Don't get me wrong, I will be glad when she gets here because I can't wait to meet her! I want to see what she looks like, who she acts like, see her first smile, etc., but I am enjoying each day that I am pregnant. So many times, people tell you how bad pregnancy is and how you won't want to do it again, but they are all wrong....the good definitely outweighs the bad!! How can you not feel absolutely blessed by the final product, THE BABY?!?!

To My Parents...Thank You!

So obviously most of you guys know that Antonio and I are expecting our first child in a little over 7 weeks. As time gets closer and actually all throughout the pregnancy, I have constantly been thinking how we will raise our children, what we will do, what we won't do, how to dicipline, how to teach life lessons, etc. The more I think about these things, the more terrified I am that we are going to do something wrong, or make some huge mistake that is forever going to haunt me because I won't be able to undo it. Thinking about all of this has brought about discussions between Antonio and I as to "How did our parents do it?", "How did they afford to raise us financially?", "How did they always have the right answers for everything even if it wasn't what we as children wanted to hear?", "How did we turn out so well?"

I can't ever remember a time waking up on a Sunday morning and wondering if we were going to church, the answer was always YES! There was never a time when we didn't have food to eat. There was never a time when I felt unloved. There was never a time that I thought my parents didn't love one another. There were times that I didn't appreciate and fully understand how well I actually had it, but finally I can see how easy I had it and how blessed I was to have my parents!


Antonio and I are teaching a Sunday school class at church. It is about how we as Christians should handle God's money. Today's lesson specifically was how to teach your children to handle their money according to the Bible. After watching the 15-20 minute video every week, we then have class discussion. Today, I guess it really hit me again how well my parents raised us. Even though we obviously don't have children yet, I started sharing how my parents would give us money and it would be put in little envelopes in my mom's purse and that was our spending money. If we went to Wal-Mart and wanted a toy, my mom would say, "Do you want to spend YOUR money on this?" If the answer was yes, that is what happened, and if it was no, then we realized we didn't want the toy that bad. It seems as though today all many kids have to say is "I want..." and they get it. My parents quickly figured out a way to say no without having to say "NO!" and have us throw fits and temper tantrums in public. (Don't get me wrong, I am sure they have great stories of us throwing fits in public anyway, but I am sure this cut down on it a bit.)

I also told of how we could help around the house and get paid for chores. (mowing the yard, etc.) My parents established a real work ethic in us all. We also talked about how some children are handed everything growing up and even through college and now that we are grown, they are lost without their parents, or they don't know how to manage their money, or they are still actually dependent on their parents. While I was 16 and everyone around me was getting a new car for their birthdays, I WAS jealous, and didn't understand. But, now I do.

Long story short, I want to say thank you to my parents for the way we were all raised. You guys did your best and it worked! I am thankful we are such a close family. The best thing these days is when we can ALL get together and hang out. It never fails, this turns into us all telling stories from "back in the day" and they are always GREAT stories. We always laugh and it is so funny to see what we each remember about events and each person's perspective on what happened.

I hope and pray that Antonio and I will be as great at parenting as my parents were. Lucky for us we have great role models to look up to in my parents, his parents, and the Bible.

Thank you Mom and Dad for everything!! I love you!

Football Time in Memphis

Last night Antonio and I went to our first Memphis Tigers football game of the season! It was exciting to be starting football season again, and we won too. We bought season tickets with about 9 other friends and had a great time watching the game with everyone. Here are lots of pictures from the game last night(I didn't do too good taking pictures considering there aren't any pictures of Antonio, me, or anyone else in the group. I will do better next time.). Hopefully it won't make any of you guys too jealous that you won't be able to make it to any of the games this year(Clif and Jennifer). We would love for you guys to come down sometime for a game!

Antonio and I are hoping to make it to 3 more home games before Tatum Alivia arrives and after that, Antonio will have to find someone else to take with him I guess. Our next home game will be against Tennessee on September 30th!! Hopefully, we will win and I will definitely have to post a blog after that game if we do! GO TIGERS!!!

Lots of Pictures

Today I am going to attempt to add lots of pictures on here. I do have a myspace page, but if my friends and family don't have one they are limited as to what they can see. So, because of that, I am starting a blog so everyone can stay up to date if they want to.

This first picture is from this summer when Antonio and I went to Colombia for vacation. I was about 24 weeks pregnant in this picture.

The next picture is a picture of the Tatum Alivia's baby bedding that has been ordered, but we are still waiting for its arrival!






The next pictures are lots of things that Antonio and I recieved at our baby showers that we have had. Some of the items are the
Stroller/Carseat(thanks Laurie, Cyp, Mckayla, Clif, Jennifer, Matt, and Stephanie),










a leap frog(from Mckayla. she said it was one of her favorite things when she was a baby. She is 3 now and all grown up!!),










Tatum Alivia's first JEEP(it's really a walker, but we LOVE it, thanks Brandy!),








our pink rocking chair and ottoman for the nursery,










bibs and burp cloths. These were made by a good friend and I just love them so much. I think she may start selling them soon.


We also recieved so many other things, but I don't want to be posting pictures all day. I will put some more up later. Thanks to everyone that has been a part of helping us prepare for Tatum Alivia. She will be here before we know it, but Antonio and I are as ready as we will ever be. These last few pics are some pictures of Antonio and I from a shower.

Starting My New Blog Page

Well, after reading all of Kimberly's blogs for all of these months, I have finally given in and decided to start my own blog spot. Hopefully, I will be able to inform and update everyone on the latest happenings in my life through this blog. SO...let me get started and do some informing and introducing of important people in my life...

Antonio (my husband) and I are expecting our first child on October 30th. We are happy to say we are having a little girl and plan to name her Tatum Alivia. Antonio and I are very excited and a little nervous. We actually finished (graduated) from our Parenting/Childbirth classes this past Tuesday. I must say they were very interesting and we learned lots of valuable information. After taking the class, I feel that both he and I are a little more comfortable with the whole labor and delivery aspect of this pregnancy.

I am currently working full time still and plan to go back to work after my maternity leave is over. I plan to work up until Tatum Alivia actually gets here as long as my health allows me to. That way I will be able to spend all of my time off with her instead of sitting at home and waiting for her arrival.

Let's see....Antonio and I still have lots to do before Tatum Alivia arrives. We bought a house 2 years ago that we have been "fixing up" since then. We have to get our flooring put down in a few rooms before she gets here for sure. We also ordered her bedding at the end of July and it has STILL not arrived!! It said expect 4-8 weeks before it would be delivered, but I am getting a little nervous because we are waiting for the bedding to come in before we do some other decorating because we want to match up the pink in the bedding to other things we want to do. Hopefully, we will receive it soon.

Finally, another big thing coming up for Antonio and me is our first Memphis Tigers home game tomorrow!! Even though I know I won't be able to go to all the games, we still got season tickets. We are very excited about the season and enjoying time with all of our friends.

Anyway, I am rambling right now, so I guess that means I should wrap this up. Hopefully, I will figure out how to post pictures on here soon and I will take some pictures of all of Tatum Alivia's room and other things she has received.