to: aunt brooksie, from: addison

in my attempt to wish aunt brooksie a happy birthday with a special birthday card, several things happened....

i tried to eat it...

i played peek-a-boo with it...

i got silly with it...

and then mommy got snazzy with it...happy birthday aunt brooksie!!! i love you!!!

addison's big day

addison's baptism was wonderful! it was so great to have my family there...as well as mandy, wes, ms. patty, lsd and springer, and many more. i have no idea what the highlight was...maybe that brooke and josh literally walked into the sanctuary and walked right up to the front with us. the normal person would have thought they were sitting with us and following suit to the front. however, we all knew that they left b'ham at 5:30, got detoured due to a wreck, was an hour away 45 minutes before the service, and out of breath due to making a swift be-line from the car, up the stairs and into the sanctuary. it was priceless...and perfect. then on to addison...bob kissed her head at one point and she just beamed from ear to ear. then she continued to lick his hand...he must have had some good breakfast! it was too funny! so in an instant most people learned A) addison loves being kissed by boys (oh no!) and B) she loves to eat. aside from the funny moments, it was so special! and so perfect to celebrate a bapstism when we celebrate the birth of our saviour. afterwards mom was so great and had everyone over for lunch. as i have said and will say agiain, it was perfect. a perfect day.

christmas with the elliotts

every christmas eve we have a standing date with my family on my dad's side. my aunt cindy and her kids live in texas so they arren't able to come but there is always a phone call. imagine this group on speaker phone to el paso...i am surpised anyone could understand what was going on. after chatting we took a afamily picture for aunt cindy's enjoyment. i love our attempt at a crazy picture...we are some wild kids. that is about all...i guess i just wanted to say that i love my family and as always, christmas eve with the elliotts was just perfect.

addi bug...

while i had brooke's camera i snapped a couple of my little addi bug...not too shabby.

she is finally here!!!

i cannot believe it...natalie is finally here! but i must say, she put up a hard fight...that little girl was quite comfy in momma kel's belly. kelly was a champ. literally. she was in that hospital bed for well over 24 hours before she got to lay eyes on that beautful baby of hers. brooke was sweet enough to let me take her camera to capture the big event. here are some pics...

kel looking as beautiful as ever despite the vomiting and waiting and vomiting and waiting...and let us not forget mutiple boosters of her epidural.

as we were in the waiting room, i think lonnie got the best birth control ever - he said it just took way too long to have a baby - haha!

after mcdonalds dinner, many cokes, a cup of coffee, two trips to the nurses station begging for info, baby natalie finally entered this world! grandpa woody was sooo cute!

and of coarse grandma gail could not contain herself, she kept saying "my baby, that's my baby!" can't you just hear her saying it?!?!

and how sweet was this...daddy already protecting his little girl.

and finally baby girl...8 lbs, 20 1/2 inches long...and a head full of hair!!

congratulations dave and kel!!!! she is beautiful!!!!

calling all alums

we have a big day coming up in addison's life - she is getting baptized on sunday in macon. why macon you ask??? long story but here is the short version - we are members of oak mountain presbyterian church. moved out to mccalla and started going to a church closer to home - lake crest presbyterian. terry took a new job up in north birmingham. house is on the market, hasn't sold, but hopefully it will soon. when we move we will probably be in the same boat of wanting a church home closer to our new house. we want addison baptized. don't feel right about joining lcpc just to have her baptized. martha bowman is my home away from home. i became a believer there. we got married there. mom works there. it just fits. and my brother-in-law told us that would be a great idea. for some reason, if josh thinks it is a good idea then it sticks - he has that way with people. all this to say, kelli, lsd, mandy, ashley, any of you martha bowman alums out there - look for us sunday morning. 10:30 praise and worship.

on another note, brooke took some christmas pics of addison and this is one of my favorites. i just had to share.

christmas decorating 2007

i was so excited to wake up this morning because it was decorating day in the tingle home. terry does not love this day so much but he embraced it - just for me. it was fun to wake up and find these two loves of my life hanging out on the couch...oh so cute!

i have an old christmas song i learned in french class with madame marxsen that is still my favorite to this day. when i start singing it addison just lights up - it is too funny.

"il est ne le divine enfant..."my mom (a.k.a. shug) seems to hand down more and more christmas decorations every year. this year was a movable ice rink...or something like that. anyway, the people move and it plays christmas music. when i plugged it in i was sure addison would love it as much as my singing but instead i recieved this perplexed look...haha. aunt brooksie came to take some pictures of addison today. we tried to get some good ones by the christmas tree but it just didn't work out. so, i tried again later. not as fancy a picture as aunt brooksie's but it was still pretty cute.
and finally bedtime. she has just started falling alseep on her side. and how cute are these pj's...she just knew i wanted a picture of her hiney so bad.

Goodnight!

thanksgiving pics

i am finally getting around to posting some pictures from thanksgiving. i love the one below of aunt brooksie and addison. so often brooke is behind the camera but not for this one!

taking a rest!

too much turkey, mom! and finally,addison and aunt mandy!

nothing important

disclaimer: there is nothing of value in this post...nothing to ponder, analyze or addison pics to goo over. it is 7:30 am on a friday morning, i just purchased my second starbucks grande peppermint mocha with whip cream and those oh so fun red sprinkles of the season, listened to my favorite christmas music on the way in to work, i by-passed a HUGE wreck (major accomplishment), my miniture christmas tree at work is turned on and finally it is casual friday!!! i mean, who wouldn't want to blog after a fabulous list like that!

so, i love christmas. i love buying people presents. i love the music, the lights, and the traditions it brings. but before christmas there was thanksgiving. and it was crazy. but one of the best parts was visiting with mandy, ashley and pete. as i have said many, many times, they make my heart smile. it is so fun to see us old-er but still feel 15 when i am with them. these two girls really, really know me. they know all of my past. we grew up in the most amazing youth group together. we knew ashley when she had a mullet and got runover by a boat (i am not kidding, it's true). we knew mandy when she had her first kiss and finally joined us at uga. and who can stinking forget the fro-fighters?!?! good times, my friends, good times. so it was fulfilling to see them, hug them, and laugh with them.

back to christmas. this year is so fun...i cannot WAIT to go shopping for addison. not that she will even understand the meaning of christmas or who santa is, but it will still be fun buying for her. some of the best memories from my childhood were from christmas on craddock way. there was door-to-door caroling, luminaries on the street, sleeping with my sister because i was scared of santa, and who can forget the 5am christmas mornings. i am so excited about givng addison those same memories.

as many new parents, we have been so emersed in addison this year, terry and i haven't bought ourselves anything - and we have no idea what to get each other. so i am asking for suggestions...are there new things out there that you like, that you want? or new books that you have enjoyed that i might like? or even games that we might like that we have never heard of? what is on your christmas list? i just like to hear what people want from Santa!!!

so merry christmas on a happy friday...don't get trampled on crazy kiosk poeple like my sister, do type in your favorite christmas carol at pandora and enjoy the endless selections they give you, and please, don't forget to treat yourself to a yummy peppermint mocha from starbucks!

so much more

so i was thinking tonight of how much of my little world revolves around my little one. but there is so much more, i am so much more than that. i am a wife first and foremost. and i have to say that this weekend has been so fun just being with terry. being his wife.

i am funny. yeah. i am. i make terry laugh and that is so fun. i love bringing joy to peoples faces. i love to hear a good ole deep in the belly chuckle. it is refreshing to others, to myself.

i am a daughter. a daughter who continuosly calls her parents asking for advice. for praise. for protection. i love being a daugher to two amazing parents. i love knowing where i came from and who taught me.

i am a designer. at the most amazing place. my job fills me up. some days it fills me with chaos but for the most part it fills my self with confidence, success, and even joy.

i am a believer. i go to bed every night and wake every morning with a good god on my side, in my heart. i have a maker that holds me tight while i tremble in this world.

but the thing i am most of all these days is a prayer. i am a prayer. ask and it shall be given. pray with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. i believe in these words. i trust in these words. i have too. there is no other choice. there are many things i prayer about daily, but just a few surface day after day, hour after hour. they are the prayers for those with empty arms, sick bodies, and lost hearts. i will not cease in any of these prayers for i am a believer.

so yes, this is quite a quirky little post but these are the things on my mind today. terry. laughter. my parents. my job. my faith. my prayers.

celebrating baby natalie

last weekend we three tingles packed up in the new go-cart and headed to the atl. we arrived saturday late afternoon and were quite pooped from the busy morning and the drive over, but it was so worth it!

kel looked oh-so-cute pregnant, but seriously folks, did we ever doubt it?!?! heck no! we played in natalie's room and got excited looking at all her cute stuff. now we just need her here to wear it! addison did great sleeping away from home, but then again, i didn't doubt that either. addison certainly loved playing with her aunt kel...and with daddy hanging on the couch.

sunday afternoon the big event finally arrived...it was time to get dressed for a party! addison was a champ while being passed around the room. i don't think she will ever realize how special these ladies will be in here life. they will each teach her something i never could...i now this is true because they each have helped make me who i am. i can only guess what shannon will teach her, but i can just imagine me in 16 years in another room trying to eavesdrop as i hear shan and addison giggling about god knows what...and for the record, i will never want to know what you two will be giggling about!

then there is haley...oh haley will teach her to dance. and about boy bands. and how silly pooting can be. and how to save a dime. i wouldn't be surpirsed if addison's first piggy bank comes from haley! but make sure it is filled with money, hayes! addison loved resting in haley's arms. she was so content and so protected...so much the way haley makes me feel, too!

the biggest and best surprise of the weekend was getting to see sarah! oh how i have missed that girl! i haven't seen sarah since her wedding day, and what a beautiful wedding day it was! it was one of the few times in my life when i have known without a shadow of a doubt that a friend, a very special friend, was at peace in her world. she was made for that day. and when i saw her sunday, it was even more apparent how much she has grown into an amazing woman. sarah taught me alot in school that she never even knew. she taught me to love every person in my life without judgement and without fear...for you never know when it this world will no longer be their home. sarah makes me strive to be an amazing mom. to never cease in teaching addison new things. to never cease in loving her, hugging her, telling her i love her. i love you, sarah, and please don't stay away so long next time!!!

now i am crying and worn out...i will continue with more later. all in all, it was an inredible weekend and so fun to see everyone. it never fails that my heart is full when i leave all these girls. kel gave us each little decorative plaques with sayings on them as we were leaving. i like to think that mine was made for me...for yes, all you ladies, "you make my heart smile"!

dumpster diving

so it is monday and that means crazy business! i realized friday night that i had left my retainer at work...and yes, i wear a retainer. saturday morning on our way to hotlanta i stopped by my office to pick it up...only it was no longer on my desk. i looked everywhere - under my keyboard, behind my monitor, opened my drawers, i even checked in the stapler. i then looked down into the bottomless pit of a trashcan...completely empty. clean as a whistle. not even a trace of paper...nothing. the retainer was gone. officially gone. until this afternoon. i told my dear, sweet, amazing, committed, and super fun friend kristen that my retainer had left the building. but in her always-up-for-a-party ways, said she would help me dumpster dive...and dumspter dive we did!!! after a long 20 minutes jesus smiled upon us and vicotry was ours! the retainer is found!!!!!! wahooo!!!!!!! all is well with the world now...and if i die of a disease from a "filthy mouth" in a week or two, just know that it was all to save the retainer...and a couple bucks! thanks, kristin, you're the best!!!!!!!!

happy halloween

it has been one of the best halloween's by far! i will start at the beginning...last saturday me, addison, robyn and little evynne went to the pumpkin patch. it was so fun watching little evynne enjoy herself and getting the cute pics of the two of them. there were tons of animals but i had a fondness for the little piggy. it will be so fun to see addison next year playing with evynne...this year the pumpkin patch was strictly a spectator sport...

we will skip over sunday, monday and tuesday...all that it includes is a sick little one, lots and lots of poopy diapers, a diaper rash, and a fever. all is better now but for a couple of days we lived in diarrhea dungeon.

today was wonderful! halloween was so much fun. there was a carnival at school and all the babies were shown off while on parade to the rest of the kids. miss beth and miss stephanie took the cutest pictures of addison and her friends cayley and baylor...

and finally trick-or-treating. our neighborhood is halloween central. it is too fun!!! everyone is hanging out with the neighbors, eating good food, and seeing all the cuties in their costumes. i even sported a costume...i was a fisherman and had the catch of the day! addison was certainly a big hit in her goldfish costume...i think she even liked it a little!

and at the end of the night, we were all tuckered out. goodnight from the tingles and happy halloween!!!

sigh.

it has been a crazy week in the tingle home! i know bullets aren't very fun but they keep me sane while posting all the crazy happenings. and i just like them :)

• we are selling our house. hopefully. we are signing a contract today for a new house. it is still in birmingham, just much closer to terry's work and addison's daycare. please say a little prayer for us...we are total rookies and selling and buying, all at the same time. it makes me very nervous but i know we can do it.
  
• in preparation for selling our house, addison and i played outside last night getting things ready. i pulled weeds, painted the outdoor furniture, watered the yard, and cleaned out the garage a little. what did addison do? sat there looking cute in her bumbo!!! thanks for my bumbo posey!!!!!


• one of the hardest things about deciding to move was telling robyn...the look on her face made my heart hurt. if it truly is what god wants us to do, it will be hard leaving our neighbors - our friends. we live in pleasantville, literally. it is so quaint and fun and there is always someone to talk to and hangout with - all you have to do is step outside. we get together usually at robyn and bridges house every thursday. it is my favorite day, and my favorite time during the week. i love catching up with them, laughing with them, seeing what new tricks evynne is doing, and watching her and addison "play." i know they will grow to be wonderul friends just like their mommies!!! last time we were there i taught little evynne how to take a picture...here is the result...Yeah Evynne!!!
  

• aunt haley and uncle colin came in town last weekend to visit little miss. all i have to say is they look sooooooooo cute with a baby in their arms! Come on hooker, get the ball rolling! (sidenote: for those who don't know haley, that is just what i call her, hooker, but don't worry, she is the farthest thing from that!)
  

i love aunt haley!!! and uncle colin makes me giggle!!!just hanging out in the chair!

• georgia beat bama. that is all i will say. we had a fun time watching the game. aunt brooksie and uncle josh came, carrie and marc, and darby and little sophie grace. we had a big time hanging out, watching the game, eating cookie cake, and celebrating terry's b-day. addison sported her georgia outfit like a champ. but just to ease daddy's pain, here is a picture of her in her cute bama outfit...

• and finally...addison rolled over!!!!!!!! wahoo!!!!! so far the only thing i have missed during the day while i am at work is three blow-out diapers in a row...not too shabby!