I know it's a long post but it's also a prayer request!

First of all....I'M BACK!!! HAHAHA I know you've missed me!! Well we had an amazing time in Chicago with many wonderful moments and many sad ones as well.
I can not explain to you how proud I am of my sister. As I sat through her graduation from the Navy I swelled with pride and tears filled my eyes. She has wanted to do this for so long and finally she did! She is such a strong woman in such a now muscular little body!! I sat in amazement of ALL of the "recruits" finally becoming SAILORS and wondered how they did it! They sang songs, threw rifles, carried flags, marched and stood for over an hour and although some of them passed out from over heating, it was such an amazing ceremony. Everyone did so well. CAN YOU TELL I'M PROUD!!! I am so proud to be a Navy sister.
After the ceremony we finally got to hug our sailor...well Hayli is actually known as an Airman because of the field she is going in. She is going into search and rescue so she will be in helicopters, which I will talk about again in a few minutes. So anyway, we finally got to hug her and see her for the first time in a couple of months and it was awesome. She was happy, we were happy, everyone was happy. We got to bring her back to the hotel with us and we spent a few hours talking and listening and laughing! Just like old times...but with HILARIOUS stories. We went to eat at a steak house..of course...that's what Hammonds do!! HA!! Then we went back to the room and listened to more crazy stories before she had to go back that night.
Day two: She was able to leave the base at 8 that morning which was great because she didn't have to be back until 8 that night! She got to the room and all she wanted to do was take a nice LONG bath and shave! HA!! The little things we take for granted right!! After she did that we went for breakfast and rode around checking out the area...trying to get to Lake Michigan (another story for another post) and just cross the Wisconsin border(literally.) We made it back to the room and Hayli wanted to put on jeans and a T-shirt and just watch t.v. so we did! A little later on we went to Chucky Cheese and had a blast! Then it was time to get back to the hotel for the BAMA game....ROLL TIDE by the way!!!! Hayli got to watch most of the first half and then it was back to the base, but this time it was for our final good bye before we had to head back to Alabama. Let me mention here that this good bye had to be the hardest one I ever had to say!! I have missed her so much but I don't think I realized how much until this weekend.
O.k. so that little something I said I would come back to. Well that's where my prayer request comes in. In her last check up Hayli was told that she was anemic. I know it's very common but it's a big no-no for people who are supposed to be in airplanes and helicopters to do their job. They have her on iron pills and all that and I'm sure the next blood test will be fine but the problem comes after that. She is stuck in Great Lakes until she isn't anemic any more and once she isn't anemic they will start the paper work to get her transferred. No big deal right....WRONG!!! She has been told the paper work could take months to process. That means she is up there for who knows how long and although she isn't still in boot camp she still has to abide by the rules. She is really down and out and needs your thoughts and prayers. Please say a prayer for her. I will try my best to get pics from the graduation up as soon as possible. Thank you again and I am so sorry for the long post!
With love,

Kelli

Quick Catch Up!!

So it was BACK TO WORK yesterday after a well deserved week off...if I say so myself. The kids were wonderful and I have to admit that I missed them like crazy. The problem is that as much as I missed them, I now miss my Emma 1000 times more! I got used to seeing my priss every morning running around the house talking her sweet little language and saying "mama...mama...mama" and wanting to give me her kisses and hugs. She is such a mess!

Many kids had tons of fun stories about their Fall Break. You know the usual stories like "I lost a tooth...look", "I watched the dog movie and I laughed until I passed gas" (yes I actually had one say that!!!), and of course my favorite...."it was ssssooo boring with my parents ALL DAY LONG!" You have GOT to LOVE kids! They are so honest. You know I am still hearing stories about that dog movie! HA I could sit and listen to them forever. They are so innocent and so loving and SO HONEST!!! God has truly blessed me with an amazing and touching job. I couldn't imagine doing anything else.

So back to Priss! :-) I met my neighbor and her precious baby boy and she took some pics of our kiddo's in front of a beautiful Fall backdrop. Let's just say Priss was not in the best of moods but we got a few good pics. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!! Thanks for visiting and I will check in again soon! We leave for Chicago in a couple of days to see Hayli so it may be next week before I'm back. Keep checking though...You Never Know!!

In Him,

Kelli

Football Saturdays....You gotta love it!!!

I can not tell you how much I love Football season and especially when it's ALABAMA FOOTBALL!!!! So I must say it was a little scary this week. When will our players learn to listen to Saban when he says "WE HAVE TO FINISH THE GAME!!!" We were up 24-3 at the half and what was the final score???? 24-20!!!!
On another note, I live in a college town and it is the college's homecoming was today, so that means that a lot of hubby's frat brothers are in town. A couple of them came in town last night and stayed here with us. Emma LOVES company and she has been on cloud nine all day. New people to play with and then...more people came over before they headed out to the big homecoming game! I have to admit, as much as I love football season, I have never gotten into our local colleges team. I love to see the town paint their store windows in support for the team and love the spirit but I just don't care for going. Justin thinks I am nuts because I will drop everything and go to T-Town, which is 3 hours away, but I won't go 5 minutes up the road to watch the local team. And YES I did attend the local college, which kind of makes it worse, but what can I say!! So I opted to stay home with "miss priss" and hand out with her.
Well what do you know???? She was exhausted from playing with her new friends and passed out from exhaustion. So I decided to blog!! :-)
Great news....Hayli got to call today!! She is doing great and we actually get to see her next week! YEP... She's graduating from Basic Training next Friday! We are driving up to be a part of the celebration and she is so excited about seeing all of us. She told me that she absolutely LOVED all of the letters that everyone has sent. It has been such and encouragement to her through out this tough process. Please continue to pray for her...She has a LONG way to go! It is a lot of time away from us and she misses seeing Emma so much.
I hope everyone else is having a wonderful and beautiful Saturday!! I don't know about you guys but we had an unbelievably beautiful day here in Alabama!!! Also thank you to those of you who have commented on my blogs! It's such a great feeling to sign in and see you have comments! It's like getting something in the mail when you were a kid!!HA!!!
Have a blessed Saturday night and wonderful Sunday!!
In Him,
Kelli

It's Friday Already????

Where has this week gone. I have loved every minute of my time with my sweet Emma!! It has truly been a blessing. I was talking to my dad last night telling him about ALL of the crazy, funny, sweet things his silly grand daughter did yesterday and he said, "She sure is going to miss you when you go back to work!" That it home so hard! After I got off the phone with him I started crying. I would give anything to be able to stay at home with her but it is impossible for us to do that. I miss her so much during the day that every time I get a chance, I call the amazing baby sitter and check on her. I'm sure she gets tired of seeing my phone number on caller ID!
So my question to all of you bloggers out there is....If you are a working mom....Do you regret working instead of staying at home with your child or children?? If your a stay at home mom...Do you wish you worked? It has been such a struggle for me. I guess it has a lot to do with all that we have been through with Emma and that I feel like I am missing so much with her. Often I feel like I am letting her down as a mother by not being there to teach her new things! Will she be upset next week when I drop her off and leave??? I guess I am starting to ramble, so that's usually my cue to sign off!!! I hope you have had a blessed week and I also hope I can find time to blog!! HA! I know it won't be everyday!
Remember me in your prayers that I can be the mom, wife, and teacher that God wants me to be!
With love,
Kelli

Thursday....I'm pooped!!!

Well it's 10:30 and Emma is already down for her nap so that means one thing....We were up EARLY this morning and playing hard! She is such a stinker. I could hear her in her room, but she wasn't crying so I gave her a little time to play (I really just didn't want to get out of bed yet). She played for about 15 minutes with her toys in her crib. It was so sweet to listen to her talking and squealing and playing. I finally couldn't take it any more and went in there to get her. When I opened her door she had both legs through the rails of her bed and was looking through the bars like she was in jail, but she was laughing and playing. I wish I had my camera because it was so cute.

We played in the living room with the abundance of toys and ran around and around the living room and kitchen and then we started winding down. She was exhausted and couldn't go any more. Let me just say...WE PLAYED HARD and I am thinking I may need a nap myself!!

On top of it all...WE HAVE ANTS!!! They have found their way back into the house and are everywhere. That's bad, but the worse part of it is that I am allergic to ants, so I tend to freak out when I see an ant! I just pray that Emma doesn't get that allergy from me! It makes it hard to spend time outside in the yard, but we do it anyway! So if anyone has any suggestions on getting rid of these things, please let me know!!! My hubby thinks he is the exterminator...Hello....we still have ants!!!!!

So yesterday we went shopping after Emma woke up we went shopping. I am so proud of myself. Not only did I not by one thing for myself, but I hit 3 shops in an hour!!! Pretty good huh!!! Isn't it amazing what moms are capable of doing. I swear we should get to wear super hero capes all the time!! HA!!! I love my husband to death, but I would like to be a fly on the wall and see him one WHOLE day with Emma, and have to take her somewhere!!! I have a whole new respect for my mother!!!

Before I go I wanted to share a picture that was made at the pumpkin patch last weekend. It was my favorite!! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!!! She LOVES her Paw Paw!!!

Wednesday...Hump Day...So Sad!

Well it's Wednesday and I am exhausted. You know how excited I was about Emma sleeping in yesterday...Well "Miss Priss" decided to take another late nap and was up until 11:30 last night. HELLO.....I am SO Old. I can not stay up past 10 any more. WOW I can't believe I have admitted it...I am OLD! So Emma and I have played with baby dolls and purses and Elmo all morning long and then we get a phone call from very busy husband asking what we would like for lunch. TOO SWEET! I miss getting to see him during the day. When he gets home in the afternoon we are so rushed to get supper done, spend time with Emma (outside if possible), and bath time, that we don't have time with each other. Any way...back to my day with my girl! So while Justin was here she started rubbing her eyes and whining a little bit which is BIG CODE for nap time. She crawled up into Justin's lap and started waving at us. She was telling us night night. She is such a smart little mess isn't she!!! He walked her to her crib and she rolled over and has been asleep since. Can you believe her???
I can't believe the week is half way over. I have loved every second with her. She gets jealous of me holding her baby dolls...PRECIOUS!!! She climbs up in my lap and gives me great big hugs and kisses. She stuns me every day with new things she has learned. I miss her when she is napping, and I can't get enough of her when she is awake. I love being Emma Kate's mommy! I hope you are having a blessed day!

Kelli

Tuesday with Emma!!!

So today started out with a blessing....we slept in!! WOO HOO!!! She didn't wake up til about 10 minutes before 10 a.m. Yes you heard me...the child who is like clock work at 6:15 every morning finally slept in for mommy!!! Once she was awake she wouldn't let me out of her sight. She was SO clingy, but I must say, I loved it. She didn't want uncle John, JUST MOMMY!! Then I realized, hey I need to get some things done in this house, but she didn't care. She just wanted me to hold her. So we played for a while and the amazing baby sitter and her crew came by (Congrats to Derek for passing his permit test) and entertained her for a while. After they left she was acting tired and rubbing her eyes. I thought there was NO WAY she was sleepy already. WRONG!! She has been asleep for about an hour and a half and is still snoozing. So I was able to get the kitchen and living room clean and I thought I would take a break to let you know the latest with "Priss." Things are going well and we are still having a blast. I better go while I still have a chance to get some things done. Updates later!!!With Love,Kelli

Fall Break...Mommy and Emma Time!

So this week is our Fall Break and boy did I need it. I think I just missed spending time with Emma. It seems like every time I pick her up from our amazing baby sitter ( more on that later) she has learned something new or she has grown up a little bit more. Don't get me wrong, I love my job. I feel like I am so blessed to have the job that I do, but I miss watching my baby grow up. As I am typing right now, she is sitting on her toy car and is yelling at me..."Hi mama...Hi mama...Hi mama!!" and she is waving her little hand in her little pageant wave. TOO CUTE!!! I could just kiss her to death right now.
We went through so much trying to get pregnant, and I always knew that it would be on God's time, but I wanted a baby so bad!! Well he blessed me with not only a MIRACLE from GOD, but a child that reminds me how amazing HE is every day!! She has such a great personality and is so funny.
We had the priveledge of spending the weekend with my parents and she had us laughing so hard all weekend at her. From sitting like pawpaw to walking around in her prissy little way, and even telling us ?something? with those little hands just a waving, she lights up my life. We are truly blessed and I am so fortunate to get to spend the entire week PLAYING with my baby girl!!! I'm sure there will be plenty of stories, and hopefully I will learn how to put pics on here! Have a blessed day!

Hello Blogging Friends!!!

Wow!!! I finally did it!! I have finally joined the world of blogging!! I am an avid reader of blogs, but I never felt like I was worthy of blogging!! HA! Just kidding...I felt like I wouldn't have time, but I'm gonna give it a try!! I know I will have plenty to blog about with my almost 15 month old running around the house and teaching a classromm of 2nd graders...not to mention a husband that gives me plenty of stories all by himself. Well I hope you enjoy the blog, and I hope I figure all of this out! If you have any tips for me....PLEASE send them my way!!!