Kenna Turns One!

Our baby turned one 2 weeks ago on November 7th. In one moment I think it has gone by so fast and it feels like I just had her a few days ago. In the next moment, I realize how much has happened in her one little year of life, and it feels right.
I am so proud to be this little girl's Mama. She is just so SWEET! I love when she sees me across the room after a few minutes of playing alone, and she comes over just to give me a big smile and hug, then goes off to her merry little way to play some more.
We got to have her party on her actual birthday at our house. We decided to keep it "small" with just family, but that included a lot of people! We're blessed to have so many family members that we are close to.
At one, she could walk about 6-7 wobbly steps. She was saying the words "uh-oh", "thank you" (in her own way), "da-da", "easy" and tries to say "itsy bitsy" for the itsy bitsy spider song. No "Mama" yet, but I'm patiently waiting... As patient as I can to hear those sweet little syllables!
Here are some pics from that very special day:



Good morning big one year old!



Kenna's Great Grandaddy & Grandmother



Brian with his dad and stepmom


Kenna and her Aunt Cici


Us with our birthday girl


Kenna loves her cousin Teaghan & giving hugs!



Big one year old!


Reading birthday cards


Yummy ladybug cake


Grandmother and my pretty Mama


Opening presents


Family of 3!


The aftermath of the cake!

Catchin' Up to Speed

Wow. I haven't written in here since August. I constantly feel like I have so much to do with not enough time to do it in. I mean, I know everybody probably feels that way. Who has time to put photo books together, write in their blogs, keep up with their kids calendars of milestones, read magazines, exercise and keep up with their favorite tv shows (my DVR has 3 weeks worth as of now) on TOP of everything else? If you have the time, please do share your secrets with me. :)
Since I have last wrote, to catch up with just me, I have 2 surgeries scheduled for this month. One, to drain the hematoma from my leg that I got after falling down a flight of stairs at work - action movie style - and two on my left shoulder. I think I hurt my shoulder playing on the playset we have in our backyard. But it just hurts so bad sometimes I have to do something about it. I also just went to the doctor Wednesday about a lump I found in my neck about 4 weeks ago that hasn't gone down. Call me paranoid, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Since Daddy died from cancer, I'm pretty scared I will have cancer too. I pretty much convince myself when one thing is wrong with me that it's cancer. I really need to work on enjoying TODAY instead of worrying all the time. I do have a cold right now too, which makes me have other swollen nodes, but this one in particular has been there for weeks! My doctor said it's probably just from an infection and he gave me some antibiotics to help it go down. He also did blood work which came back fine, thank God. I'm still going to an ENT doctor next week though because they want to make sure it's taken care of before my surgeries. The shoulder surgery is scheduled for Nov. 19th and my leg isn't scheduled yet because worker's comp has to approve it. THAT's been a fun experience. :)
I turned 30!!! It really didn't bother me and I think it's just because I am so happy in my life. I have a beautiful healthy sweet little girl, a loving husband with a heart of gold, a good job where I am respected and appreciated, a nice warm home, a mom and sister I could call any time of day who are also my best friends, and a best friend who I know will always be there (who also made me the awesome "Sugar Cube" T-shirt below for my birthday - check out her blog at Lele Green Captures). There was nothing sad about celebrating the 30th year of my life. I had an 80's party to appreciate the year I was born. See mine and Brian's pic below :)
Kenna has grown so much and simultaneously it's hard to believe she'll be ONE in 2 days because I can remember the day she joined us like it was yesterday, but then I think of how much has happened since she was born, and it's been a lot! She is taking 5-6 steps at a time now and considers walking her main source of transportation. She wants to hold my hand a lot to get around and it is so sweet. She has learned how to say "uh-oh" and will push things off her highchair just so she can say it! She also says "da-da" a lot! We're not sure if she completely associates it with Brian yet, because she says it to other people too. She can wave bye bye, do "Indian girl" by making indian noises with her mouth, and she tries to do the Itsy Bitsy Spider with her hands. She is a sweet child who gives hugs and pats you on the back at the same time. She thinks that dogs are HILARIOUS and laughs at them more than I can get her to!
Brian and I took a cruise 2 weeks ago on the Norwegian Pearl to the Carribbean. It was wonderful. I'm going to write a separate post about that, so I'll give more details there. Kenna's first birthday party is Sunday! We got her decorations the other night and I'm so excited! I didn't really do a "theme". Just pink :)
Here are a few of my favorite pics from the past few months.

The way a Saturday should be...

We have spent this Saturday at home.  We left the house once for only about 30 minutes to take some paint to the dump (which was closed on Saturday) and then to an antique store called Rooster Tails.  I have absolutely loved this day with my husband and little girl.  We talked about how every Saturday should be just like today.  We played with Kenna all day (when she was awake and felt like it) and I ate it all up.  Kenna got tubes in her ears this past Thursday.  She has had 4 ear infections in 5 months, and the doctors decided she was the perfect canidate.  Unrelated, she has a horrible cold and my little sugar cube hasn't felt well at all the past 2 days.  She still plays like a little trooper until she just can't do it anymore!  I miss her so much during the week when I am at work.  I know I am doing what is best for our family by working, but I wish I had more time with her during the week.  I'm sure there are TONS of other parents that feel the same way. 
Brian and I cleaned both of our cars inside AND out!  And of course...it's raining now and Brian's 4Runner is outside.  :)  We also cleaned up the garage and got it organized some.  Brett stopped by to help Brian hang a large mirror that goes with our new dresser.  We also got my office put together finally and got some stuff on the walls that had been sitting on the floor since we moved in.  Kenna is sleeping soundly and I just heard the garage door open from Brian's run to get us a bottle of red wine :)  That's my cue...

Over the river and through the woods...

To Grandma's house we went!  Brian went with the men's church group yesterday to white water raft the Ocoee River and Andy went with him.  So on Friday, me, Mama, and Kenna went for a visit to my Grandma's.  She hadn't seen Kenna since April!  She was so excited.  When we got there she had a HUGE meal fixed and her house was spotless!  Kenna just smiled at her and that made Grandma's day.  I love my Grandma.  Growing up when I ever answered the question who do you want to be like when you grow up, my answer was my Grandma.  She is such a caring, Godly like, strong woman.  Here are a few pictures from the visit.

Gonna be better! I promise! :)

Ok, I really AM going to be better about writing in my blog now. We have FINALLY moved into our new house - we moved in about a month ago. I have my own little office off of our bedroom with some french doors that I just love! So, no excuses!
Here's what's going on in the life of the Moyers: first of all, I'm wondering where my newborn went! I can't believe she's 7 and a half months old. Time flies more now than it ever has! She started crawling last Monday while she was at Mama's house. Mama walked out of the room, and Kenna decided to follow her and just crawled right to Mama! Luckily Mama got a video of it and sent it to me. It seems like it was just a week or 2 before that that she was sitting up on her own! I really think that her going to daycare 3 days a week makes a difference in her development. She sees older children doing things and decides she wants to do it too! Unfortunately, she has also caught a cold and has been really sick the past few days. But hopefully that's on the out! LeAnna took her 6 month pictures also, and I'd like to share some of those. Here is the link to Le's blog with her pictures: http://lelegreencaptures.blogspot.com/2010/06/kenna-rayn-6-months-old-franklin-baby.html
In other news, I left PHHW, tried another job, and now I'm going back to PHHW.  The new job just didn't work out, and it is way too long to write.  I did try my best though, but some things are just not meant to be.
So, PHHW has graciously accepted me back into their firm, and I do feel like I'm going "home". I will start back sometime within the next week or 2, which depends on...
Shoulder surgery, possibly. About 4-5 weeks ago I was playing on the swingset we have in our new backyard with my neice and nephew, and I seem to have moved like a 14 year old in a 29 year olds body while doing a limbo move under a bar while holding on with my left hand. The doctor believes I have torn something which may require surgery to repair it depending on the severity of the tear. I had a MRI this morning which will give more insight. Sigh...
Well, that's news for now! Life is good, and God is greater!
:)

Lots Going On!

There is so much going on right now!  Where to start???  I guess the first thing is that I will be leaving my position at PHHW on April 15th this year after 5 and a half years of service.  It was an extremely hard decision that I prayed and thought over for at least a month.  I have accepted the position of Tax Manager/CFO with a company called Tri Star Sports & Entertainment.  They are an all-inclusive business management firm for entertainers and pro athletes.  I'm very excited about this new challenge and opportunity, but very sad at the same time to leave the people that have become like family at PHHW.  However, this new position will not demand any OT during "busy season" from which most of you know calls for about 65 to 70 hours a week during tax time!  I did not see my baby girl for ONE minute today.  She was asleep when I left this morning and asleep when I got home...I just cannot do that anymore.  Especially when I think about having baby #2 or #3 (possibly)!!

On another note - WE SOLD OUR HOUSE!!!  We closed on March 31st - we are officially DEBT FREE and homeless!  :)  Well, we have a home at Mama's right now!  We are currently waiting on the news from our offer on a home in Franklin.  It is a "short sale", which is a PROCESS....lemme tell ya!  The owners had 2 mortgages, from which one of them has accepted our offer, but the other has not.  We are supposed to find out this Thursday (4/8)...cross your fingers and say a prayer (but not necessarily in that order!) for us :)  This house is incredible and perfect for our family.  We have been staying at Mama's for about 2 and a half months now...we have one big room that makes up our living room, office, bedroom AND nursery!  Well, as of late we have moved Kenna into another room.  Poor baby doesn't even have her crib, just the pack and play!  But, she's happy just the same!

Kenna will be 5 months old on Wednesday!  Crazy!  Time has gone by so fast.  She is such a happy little girl!  Her "laughs" sound more like a squeal you make while sucking in air...really hard to describe in words!  Her eyes are still a blue-green....wondering if they'll stay that way...my mama has green eyes, Brian's mom has blue, both of my mama's parents have blue...guess we'll see!  She is a side sleeper and always rolls to her side to sleep when put on her back.  She also LOVES to squeal!  I really think she's going to be a loud talker like her Mama, which is like her Gran...haha.  She loves riding around outside in her stroller and kicks her legs the whole time.  She is eating cereal now and only spits in back out sometimes.  She is wearing 6-9 months clothes!  I think she's going to be a little chunker!  haha  Her smile is the most amazing thing to me and she is like a magnet that I am just drawn to...she is incredible and I thank God every day for her!

In 10 days busy season will be over and I will have a week and a half off before I start my new job.  I'm going to spend it with my "sugar cube"(aka Kenna), my sweet man, with a little shopping, massaging, and manicure/pedicure added in.  And maybe...just MAYBE...I'll be moving into our new house :)

Happy Birthday Daddy...

Daddy would have turned 57 today...

I dreamed the other night that Kenna met her Granddaddy at his cabin he built in Hickman County.  I had to take Kenna to the doctor on Thursday because she was sick...she pooted in the doctor's office and the nurse said "You must've learned that from Granddaddy, huh?".  I know she didn't know...but it still hurt my heart.

I look at pictures of Daddy that I have at my desk at work and I still can't believe he's gone.  He had so much more to give in life.  But God has a time for all of us...however, that doesn't make it any easier to accept the fact that he is gone. 

I pray every morning on the way to work...I pray outloud, kind of have my own conversation with God.  A few times a week, I ask God, "If Daddy is around, will you tell him that I said hi and that I miss him and love him?".  I don't know if he knows I do that...we'll never know till we get there, but I really hope he does. 

I wrote the following and shared it at Daddy's funeral - I think it shares my heart:

Christi and I had the best Daddy that God could have ever blessed us with. He always put us first; always made sure we had everything we needed. I would be so mad at myself if I did not stand up here and talk about Daddy, because he is the greatest man I have ever known. I do not know how to go day to day without him here, I’ve never had to do that before, but I will be strong and do it, because that is what he would want me to do. And even now that he is gone, I still want to make him proud, and I will strive to do that every day for the rest of my life.



I will not say that Daddy lost his battle with cancer, because nothing that Daddy went through in the past 8 months involved “losing”. Daddy fought so very hard, even when he was exhausted and weak, but we could not expect anything less from him. He fought so hard because he wanted to be here with us, no matter the pain or the sickness that it caused him, just for the chance to still be here sharing life with us.


Daddy was the hardest worker I have ever known. When he was working, fixing something, teaching us, building something, or coaching he put 110% of himself into it – he never shortchanged anything. If you knew Daddy, you knew this about him. When Christi and I were little, we would hide behind the kitchen door every night when Daddy got home from work and jump out and scare him when he walked in and every time he acted scared, as if he weren’t expecting it. I know Daddy must have been exhausted; he worked from sun up to sun down to make sure that we never needed for anything. Daddy taught me that there is nothing wrong with having to work hard for things in life, and that is how it should be. After I called him one night telling him I had not passed a part of the CPA exam and I was upset, he said “But Honey, how good will it feel when you do pass it, and you had to work hard for it? It wouldn’t mean nearly as much if you didn’t have to work hard for it” Daddy believed in hard work, and everyone around him could see that.


Daddy was always the first person I would call when I had news. Whether it was a good grade, finally passing the CPA exam, or simply making a wise decision, I would call him first because I knew that he would be the proudest. Daddy always expressed how important education is and he made sure that school always came first before softball or any other activity. I told Daddy a few months ago that I am pretty sure he was proud of me, and that is the highest compliment I would ever receive. One of the last things Daddy told me and Christi was that he is proud of us; that was so important to him for us to know that. I hope he knew how proud I am to be his daughter.


Daddy loved to tell stories, and he liked to tell him his way without anyone interrupting him. He got to tell one last story to me, Brian, Christi & Uncle Jeff on Wednesday night about the time Uncle Jeff sank his boat and trailer. That was such an enjoyment to him. I can still see him getting tickled to himself while telling stories and having to wait for the laugh to pass for him to continue.


I will miss Daddy’s laugh, hearing his greeting of “hey honey” on the other end of the line, his advice, his hugs, his excitement of sharing the updates on the cabin with us, his unwavering strength, his love, and simply his presence.


I could talk for hours, and I still don’t think that I would feel like I have said enough that he deserves to be said about him. As I write this, I wish there were perfect words and perfect sentences, so I can get across exactly how much he meant to me and how much he is loved. But all of you that are here know how wonderful he is, or else you wouldn’t be here with us today. I know that you all feel like you were lucky to have Daddy in your life, and his memory will stay with you forever. Daddy was not a man of many words, at least not all the time, but he sure did make an impression on so many lives.


Daddy would want me to tell everyone to not remember the David that we saw the last 8 months, but to remember the David the whole 55 years before he got sick. He would want Harold, Jimmy, Darryl and all the people down in Hickman County to remember the hunting, plowing, corn feeding, fish fry’s, and whatever else it was ya’ll did down there. He would want Billy & Floyd to remember the fishing they did together, their routine lunches and all the times they fixed our cars…even when we did things like put diesel in our cars instead of gas. He would want Uncle Jeff to remember him calling him Bruiser and all the crazy nights by a fire in their underwear. He would want his family to remember him as the caring, providing, loving, selfless man he was all the time. He would want Mama to remember good times like their 8 and a half mile hike in Gatlinburg just last May, him buying her roses every year for Valentine’s Day, and all of our wonderful vacations together. He would want Christi to remember all her “knuckle sandwiches” he gave her and times like when he built her sorority a race car that won and her bright purple and green tree house. He would want me to remember all of our softball trips together and wins, all of our rides together running errands that I began to cherish, and simply sitting in his office talking. And that is what I’m going to try and do. It will be very hard at first because I already just miss him so so much.

Daddy will never be forgotten, my children will always know who their Granddaddy was, and I will enjoy my life here on earth without his physical presence. But what a glorious day it will be when I get to say “Hey Daddy” in heaven, hug him, and hear him say “Hey honey” back.

Happy Birthday Daddy...I love you.