My cousin Kody and his fiancée Tayler asked Neva to be their flower girl! I was excited, but Neva's 4......and very unpredictable. So to say I wasn't a little worried, would be an utter lie.
At rehearsal dinner, Neva blew me away with her performance. Somebody was a little jealous.
The next day sweet Emily fixed Neva's hair, since I have never used a curling iron in my life.
Seeing this beauty with her hair all girly, no pony tail with wings, no dirt...I gotta tell ya, it tore me up a little.
She looked BEAUTIFUL! And Cutter was so handsome! They did PERFECT!
Neva turned out to be a little ham....I can barely get her to pose for a quick snap shot. But the photographers got some great shots.
Tayler was brave to ask my lil Neva to participate. But it paid off. If I do say so myself, Neva made an already beautiful wedding even more so.
My aunt (mom's baby sister), my uncle, and their gorgeous sons.
The biggest and prettiest wedding party ever!
This is during the actual wedding. She held that sideways head for so long, I'm surprised she didn't get a crick.
Spring flowers
Yummy Walker's!
RELAY FESTIVITIES! Ms Sharon at David's Grocery (mom's old work) gladly hosted our bake sale again this year.
Volunteers came out of the wood works with delicious baked goods for us to sell!
She's the reason I'm there, and I never want a soul to forget it. The bake sale was a HUGE success! I was so happy to have my dedicated team mates by my side.
Next came Easter!
old table cloth + food coloring + boiled eggs + table spoon = GOOD TIME.
This kid rocks my world. In this picture she is 13 months old, and STILL NOT WALKING ;/
This was the Saturday before Easter. Taylorsville family moved it to accommodate our growing crowd.
Kody worked with her the entire holiday.
By the end of the day, she stood by herself without pulling up. That was a welcomed first!
On a MISSION!
There's a money egg just waiting to be found.....
There was no shortage of attention for my girls, though their Gammy was watching from Heaven. The aunts filled in the gaps.
Who is sillier? The little ones, or the big ones??
We always have a good time when we get everyone together.
See What I mean?
Pretty girls!
Uncle Ricky even got some Mili love.
My baby
Kiddos counting their loot
On actual Easter, The bunny was SO generous with the chocolate!
He also brought fever for Neva
Luckily we keep Tylenol on hand and once the fever broke, Neva was ready to chow down!
That's the biggest Krabby Patty EVER!
Nori may be a shorty, but you've got to admire her dedication!
Pajama Egg hunt
Sadly, on Easter it was yucky and rained. While stuck inside, Mili took her first steps! So the next weekend, we had ANOTHER egg hunt!
Yes, we look like throw aways. We don't have dressy holidays on either side of our family.....I just cashed in on it, that's all. PawPaw did his usual mystery egg hunt. Each egg contains a paper with a symbol. (Yes, that is a Halloween bucket. They DO have Easter Baskets. For whatever reason, they both grabbed these out of their closets)
After the hunt is over, he decodes the symbols and tells us what we won!
The kids have their own hunt
Then the adults have theirs! It's a big deal ya know? We don't play around when it comes to the big egg hunt.
Emily, Christopher and Logan
Jessica, Payton, and Jamina.....
A couple nights later, Mili put on a show walking around NayNay and PawPaws house! It was short lived. After this night, she refused to walk again for weeks.
We LOVE going to the movies!
Lunch at Mi Casita's with Nay Nay and the family!
First soccer practice!
Michael and I both were both sporty growing up, so we pictured Neva as being this prodigy player.
First game!
Our team was the Lady Bugs, and Amber bought the girls a "lil lady bug" shirt to wear to their sister's games.
The boys played too! Same color team, but boys and girls play separately!
Neva did good, FOR A 4 YEAR OLD! Lots of aimless running, watching airplanes, and actually a whole lot of dancing on the field. Not quite what we envisioned, but equally as entertaining!
Uncle Bubba loves his nieces and nephews and it shows with his dedication.
Celebration Dinner
The VERY last game Neva kicked the ball in the goal! A fellow teammate gave her some help, but she still scored! I was so very proud! I jumped up and high fived everyone on the side line!
My baby loves spaghetti
For whatever reason, they asked me to record a spot in a Relay for Life commercial to air on B95. I was so nervous, but it was fun! Before I left, I asked Allison if they were hiring.
Speaking of Relay, last year, we borrowed a trailer to cook food the night of the event. Since then, Michael has wanted to buy one that was ours. For relay, but also for a little side business.
He found one at a GREAT price online, so one Sunday we took off to Florida.
It was a turn around trip. And quite frankly, a nightmare. Don't let these smiles fool ya.
It was a lot of riding, and aside from this ONE day swimming in an indoor pool, it was MISERABLE.
This is as close as we got to the beach. Every one in the truck got a HORRIBLE stomach virus.
But we got the trailer......
It's used, so there is a lot Michael wanted/still wants to change....
After we got it home, we immediately began tearing out flooring and making changes. We had ONE week until relay, so Everyone chipped in!
Right in the middle of our repairs, our beloved Nay Nay had a stroke.
She is my children's only living grandmother, and the absolute love of their life, so it was very traumatic.
Michael carries the Donut Shop single handedly, and it's a 7 day a week job....But we went to the hospital as often as we could.
Mili sure did miss her Nay Nay. We found out early on that she would be in the hospital at least three weeks for therapy. The stroke affected her speech, her sight, her left arm and leg and took her ability to walk unassisted. I called my Relay superiors and through my tears, we dropped out of the event. There was just no way.
Kindergarten sign ups snuck up on us, so we had to go see our friend Ms. Nancy at Laurel Peds to get some remaining shots.....This picture is BEFORE the shots....
The day of registration, our entire family went. Michael went in the room with Neva during her evaluation and came out all swole up with pride. Apparently, she breezed through the entire thing. This made me proud, considering she's never had one single moment of preschool.
Though I was hesitant, our Relay team rose up, and decided that together we COULD pull this thing off. I announced to the committee that we were back in, and we busted our tails for the remaining days to get everything ready.
I am so glad. Because while relay is SO emotional for me, it is absolutely therapeutic.
Our team theme was '80's
And our team was pumped, enthusiastic and totally 80's
Our little family team is growing every year.....It makes me so proud of my mom. After all, this particular group of people came together because of her. Every team member has their own motivation for relaying, but our team exists because of my mom's valiant fight.
And it's a good thing that we have some dedicated members, because it was CRAZY busy!
The caregiver lap...I carried a portrait of my mom to show by standers my reason for Relaying. I am proud that I was a caregiver for my mom. It will forever be my greatest accomplishment.
Seeing the Survivors always tears me up. They are so strong. So brave. So inspiring.
Chicken on a stick, Philly sandwiches, donuts, tattoos and mow hawks, and of course a break dance area.....Can't get more 80's than that...
Mili stayed with my daddy and Kim. But my big girls were total troopers. They made it through the beautiful luminary/lantern ceremony.
But then they were DONE! This year, we came equipped with a tent.
Meanwhile, Ms. Becky (NayNay) was getting passes here and there to leave the hospital. The first day she got out her kids gave her the choice to do anything or go anywhere under the sun. Her choice? Shipley's Donuts in Laurel. We all got together. She was homesick and teary the whole time.
Goofing off at home..
Who needs toys when you've got a clothes basket?
Mili's first fourwheeler ride was NOT a fun one.
Ms. Jill working with Neva at the library.
Mili enjoying the blocks
While Nori pecks away at a Dora computer game...
Neva thinks she is a big girl when her daddy let's her drive. He actually let her drive unassisted the other day. I was threatening his life the entire time. But she did great! Looks like there is a lil 4-wheeler purchase in our future.
So can I brag for a minute? Neva came walking up to me with the cordless phone. She had been studying it and she recreated the words that she saw....I was SO impressed!
After getting some supper from Subway one night, Neva silently and excitedly ran to her room. She came out with this. She asked "Mama, the sign at Subway said this....What does it mean?" I couldn't believe that she had remembered the order of the letters all the way home. She's SO smart!
Kid's Rule rules!
unless you ask Mili....She prefers stable ground....
A few bucks for a real good time....Can't beat it!
And now for some dirty face shots:
Park time!
Sandersville has a jewel of a park just down the road from our house.
Mili is a goof ball!
Now let go and WALK ALREADY!
The bike track is awesome!
Seriously? She can't walk, but she's climbing? Really?
Catching up on some reading.
Timeout for a dance move
HHHHmmmmmm
I'd like to thank Wal-Mart and Target for the cheapest kid clothes ever. Why go anywhere else?
Yeah.....I don't know.
Mother's Day
My husband disappeared with my girls. When they reappeared a couple hours later, I had 3 drawings. Neva and Nori had given their dad quotes to write on their drawings. Then he had them brainstorm what Mili would say if she could talk. He wrote it down as well. Mili's "quote" was: "Mama, thank you for giving me food and drink". Haha I was so happy! I also had some hand made jewelry! They helped their dad string beads and make me three necklaces and three bracelets. They were the best gifts I could have possibly got!
Mother's Day Flowers
Nori has been in dance class now for a while....
Finally her much anticipated recital came. A once a year event...
I have never seen her more beautiful.
She got up on stage and was so brave! I was so proud of her!
With NayNay in the hospital, we didn't have the crowd of spectators that we hoped for. Bubba made it though! Old faithful! Nori was SO happy that he was there to watch her dance.
Our trips to the hospital continue. And finally after three weeks, we found out Nay Nay was coming home!
Michael immediately got to work on some hand rails.
We missed her so much! She's doing a lot better, but she's got a LONG way to go.....
Cutie Kaden graduated!
Neva and I went alone and goofed off with my phone in the cheap seats WAAAAYY in the back....
Pretty sure these cupcakes were iced with spit AND chocolate icing. I saw a lot of licking happening in there.
Josh and his poor knees. He had to have surgery on both of them.
So we all came to support him. My kids lasted about 3 hours. Then we had to go. He is healing now, and probably not as smoothly as he hoped. I hope he finds some much needed relief after all is said and done.
End of season soccer party!
We had the BEST TEAM and BEST PARENTS and BEST COACH EVER!
We loved our soccer experience and Neva learned SO much! I can't wait for Fall season!
Daddy can sleep through anything....
A little mud never hurt anyone...
Even Sprinkles the dog got in on the mud action on this day!
We always clean up afterwards....
It's getting hot outside!
Time for a little splash pool to cool off in!
Bowling with my daddy one Sunday.....WE HAD A BLAST!
I just added this picture. No reason
During one of their many adventures, Michael and the girls found some wild baby rabbits. They were SO cute. Anyone want to guess what that wet spot is on Michael's shirt? hehe......Don't worry they returned the bunnies after we petted them and scared them to death I'm sure.
Just another picture I wanted to throw in there. You're welcome.
She Still don't like riding......
But guess who FINALLY started walking yesterday?
She's something else...
Well, don't be surprised if I slip a few more pics in on you here and there.....Because this wasn't even ALMOST all of them. I have so missed y'all. I love sharing my boring lil world with you. I know I have said it before, but I really will do better with my blogging.
A few days before my Baptism, Valentine's Day to be exact, I found out something very, very interesting.
Meet Baby Duggar Garcia # 4
due October 31st
