Five On Friday

Oooohh Hello Friday!!!

I tell you what this whole being off on a Thursday and going back to work on Friday is not for me. It feels like the dreaded Monday all over again, my body is totally confused. But at least I have a job to come back to and for that I am thankful. I always look forward to Friday not only because it is the beginning of the weekend but because I get to link up with the girls for the Five On Friday link-up. Out of all the link-ups I have done this is my favorite because it always leads to discovering new blog friends!

{1} I am loving Carrie Underwood's new song "See You Again". It's one of those songs that reminds me of my Mom but doesn't make me sob uncontrollably! Last Thursday marked 5 years since she passed and being in the hospital made the day almost unbearable. My Mom was a nurse that, combined with her condition, we spent a LOT of time in hospitals growing up. I know that sounds horrible but she always had a way of making it fun! When I was little she would take me to work with her and I would ride in the cart when she would deliver medicine, every shadow day I ever had she made her job seem like a dream and she could even make hospital food seem glamorous by making it a game to see who could get the best tasting food out of the vending machines with the sliding doors. She was truly incredible. So naturally sitting there with my sister last week was memory overload. Not only was it emotional seeing my sister in that position but every time the IV dripped I thought about all the IV's I helped my Mom mix on shadow day; so then I would leave the room to gather myself and I would see the super fun vending machine then I would reach up to wipe my tears and my arm smelled like her. I know that sounds incredibly weird but she always smelled like hospital and Escada perfume and it was the most comforting smell in my world! Anyway this song lets me have my moment without completely destroying me, it is a nice uplifting way of thinking about things!

 

wow that was long enough for a whole post I will keep the other ones short

 

{2} Yesterday I picked up this little gem at Hobby Lobby and now I have got the redecorating itch,  bad!

The coloring is off but it is a really pretty light blue. It is super cute and different but I think I am going to take those yellow rhinestones off, I'm not digging them. We live in a rental house that is painted poop brown, literally it's horrible. So I am trying to bring in some color and this just opened up a whole slew of options!

a little inspiration from the ADORABLE Little Miss Momma

 

 

 

{3} Speaking of color I have recently become obsessed with prints. In my last post I mentioned the chalkboard prints from J&Paper. This week I discovered two new shops that I am loving!

These from Paper Finch Design

 

And these from Lettered Life Shop

 

I am seriously considering making an entire collage wall filled with prints. Too much?? Oh and while I was brainstorming Hubby suggested we blow this picture of our wedding venue up and hang it. And you know what, I think it's perfect and has plenty of color!

{4} Yesterday with all the rain I decided to do a little shopping! I went to one of my favorite stores Charming Charlie, seriously this girl could do some SERIOUS damage in there. But I demonstrated some self control and only got two little bracelets. I am going to go ahead and pat myself right on the back!  

A little love & a monogram makes for a very happy girl!

 

{5} Tomorrow is going to be a great day! A couple weeks ago Lauren asked me to be one of her bridesmaids!! Not to get all mushy or anything but Lauren has so quickly become one of my best friends. As I get older I have figured out that the length of time you have known someone doesn't necessarily make them your best friend, it's the people that come into your life and are a genuine, true friend and that is 100% Lauren! Her fiancé Cody also asked Paul to be his groomsmen and we are so excited! Now that she has asked all her bridesmaids I can share the super cute way she asked me, so stay tuned for that! Anyway, tomorrow we are going to try on bridesmaids dresses {my body is TOTALLY not ready for that} but it will still be super fun! After that Paul & I have not one but two 4th of July family cookouts to go to. One in Cornelia and one in Clayton, story of our lives. But it is totally worth it to spend time with family!

 

Well that is it for me today, talk about a sCatTerbraIneD post! But that completely describes me today. Have a blessed weekend y'all!!

The Good Life

 

 

 

 



My New Home: The Hospital

Well at least it feels like hospitals have become my home since that is where I have spent the majority of the past three days!

Luckily this time I am not the patient. Monday night my sister-in-law Kaley had her beautiful baby boy after four days of labor!  Seriously y'all he is soooo beautiful!

Everyone meet Branson Todd Stephens all 9lb 15oz & 22in of him!! Boy is a hoss! 

I just love all those first day details the fuzzy hair & wrinkly hands get me everytime! 

He already has the best expressions!!!

I love you so much already (not so) little man!!  

Today on the other hand is not such a joyful visit. My little sister had to have a very extensive jaw surgery today so I have been camped out at Egleston since 6 a.m. needless to say I am exhausted!! Anyone who knows me knows that seeing my little in pain breaks every little piece of my heart but everything went great she is resting at the moment. It is definitely going to be a long night but hopefully she will get some sleep and I will too. 

So I am sorry for the poor quality of this post but it is coming from my iPhone and very very little sleep! I know I missed a link up in a series I was doing today but I'm just gonna have to do it when I can get back to normal! 

Later y'all!! 

Party Animal!

Here lately I have come to love throwing parties! Now I am not talking about raging keggers or anything like that I am talking baby showers, birthday parties, graduation parties, bridal showers and random themed dinner parties with friends.

 

Last month I had a baby shower and a graduation party to throw in one weeks time! It was fun but incredibly stressful. The first one was a baby shower for my sister-in-law Kaley thrown by myself & my other sister-in-law Heather! I really hate the cheesy, over the top themed, horrible decorations baby showers so we tried to stay away from that kind of thing. So we went with a simple "Mommy To Bee" theme. Now this could have easily went cheesy with cut-out bumble bees and the "dirty diaper" game but again, totally not our style. We kept it simple by only incorporating the theme in the colors and types of food. Also, it really fit perfectly because the baby's name is Branson and Kaley calls him her "little baby B". So cute!

 

The Menu

Chicken Fingers w/ Honey Mustard

Mixed Fruit & Veggies w/ Honey Cinnamon Fruit Dip

Coconut Chocolate Chip Banana Pudding Shooters

Black & White Frosted Cupcakes

Favors: Candy Dipped Pretzels & Flavored Honey Sticks

 How stinking cute are those shooters & they were super delicious! Good job Heather!

 

Instead of the "dirty diaper" or "who can chug a bottle" game we did something more simple. Heather & I wrote the names of famous Moms on paper and taped them on peoples back and throughout the evening they had to ask questions to figure out whose name they had on their back. We also had bibs that guests could decorate for little Baby"B''.

 

The Great-Grandmothers making their onesies.

Me & my sissy's! Look at that big ol' bump!

Overall it was a great day! Celebrating the "Mommy to Bee" and my newest nephew

Branson who could be here any day now! I cannot wait to meet you Branson Todd Stephens!

 

 

 I was going to write about Megan's graduation party but this post ended up being longer than I expected so I will save that for tomorrow!

 

To Be Continued.....

 

 

 

 

 

Mom

I figured since my Mom will be mentioned very often in this blog and unfortunately in the past tense, that I should go ahead and tell her story!

 

Now I know all girls think that their Mom is perfect but mine really was as close to perfect as one can be. She was the most selfless, caring, strong, independent person I have ever known. My sister & I were her world and she was ours. After having my sister she became really sick. She was then diagnosed with postpartum cardiomyopathy . After that she was placed on the heart transplant list and then it was just a waiting game. She got sicker and sicker but she finally got the call that a heart was available. On November 3,1996, three days before her 26th birthdayMom received her new heart!

 

{they spelled her name wrong, Jerri}

After the surgery Mom bounced back faster & stronger than most transplant patients ever do. She returned to work full time and took care of two kids, practically alone. And she did it like a rock star! She was incredible, never felt sorry for herself and although she was struggling on the inside she never let us think that she was anything less than Superwoman!

 

 

 One day my junior year of high school I was sitting in my kitchen with two friends who had stopped by before their softball game. Mom walked in from work and I could immediately tell something was wrong. My friends left and I turned to my Mom who was propped up against the stove and all she said was "I need a hug". This was very unusual for her because she was not a very affectionate person. Don't get me wrong she wasn't cold or anything she just wasn't very emotional, which I now think was intentional; so that we would be strong and independent like her. Of course I rushed to her, put my arms around her and held her tight. It was then that she told me she was in rejection. Pretty much that means her body was rejecting her new heart. When you have any kind of transplant you take medicine to suppress your immune system but sometimes your body will still identify the organ

as foreign and it attacks it. She had been in rejection before but somehow I knew this time was different. She was put in the hospital and everything got under control but after that her health just went downhill.

 

 

 

On June 27,2008 at 2 a.m, while on vacation with my Dad & his family, I got the call that changed my life. Before we left for Florida my Mom wasn't feeling well and I begged her to let me stay home with her. But she constantly refused telling me she would see me when I got back. The day after we left when I called her I found out she had been admitted to the hospital and once again I begged her to let me come home but she still told me she would be fine. I talked to her again before I went to bed and she sounded fine, said she was feeling better and that she was ready to go home. But then my phone rang and it was my stepdad saying he needed to talk to my Dad. It was then that I knew. After that I blacked out, my life as I knew it was over. Ever since that night and that phone call there has been a huge void in my life, a missing piece of my heart that will forever be gone. Though it has been the worst pain I have ever felt it also made me who I am. And I know that I was blessed to have her as long as I did, most transplant patients live 7-8 years after their surgery and she lived 11 (almost 12). But that was par for the course with her, she was a fighter and she always said all she wanted was to see her girls grow up and for the most part that's what she did and I thank God every single day for that.

 

 

 

 Organ donation saved my Mom's life and when she passed she donated her eyes. I love knowing that someone out there is seeing the world thanks to her! For more information about organ donation

go here

 

"Don't take your organs to Heaven.. Heaven knows we need them here"