Visit to Greenville

Frank spent a week in Greenville while Bess and I were "taking it easy" in Columbia. Then, Bess and I went and stayed a few days. It was so nice to have the extra help! Here are some pictures from our visit. Frank was worn out!

I'm not sure whose dog Frank is walking...This is before we arrived.

Big Daddy was practicing dressing up as a "character" for Bess. She does not like characters at all so we are trying to get her prepared for Disney World next month! At first, she is not so sure, then she warms up.

Bess LOVES her Ariel doll!

Big Daddy and Frank like to take a break and have a snack.

21 weeks

The appt. today went well! The length of my cervix measured 3.1 cm(they told me last week that normal was 3.0-5.0 cm). The doctor still says I cannot lift (Now, how am I supposed to do that with an 18 month old?), but she says things look much better. I have really taken it easy this week. Frank has been in Greenville with my parents, so that has really helped. Bess and I went to see The American Girl movie yesterday and have enjoyed hanging out at home this week. I have cleaned out some drawers and closets, so that is a great feeling. I'll go back in a couple of weeks for them to check me again, but hopefully, things will stay fine and we'll still be on track for a November baby. Bess and Frank were born at 38 weeks, and with this one being a c-section, as well, the doctor is thinking the beginning of the week of Thanksgiving!

The good news is, if in 2 weeks I have stayed the same as I was today (or even better), we can still take Bess to Disney in September. We are really hoping this will work out!

Litchfield Beach pictures

We went to Litchfield Beach with my parents a few weeks ago, but have been having some computer problems that would not allow me to receive pictures from their computer. We finally have them and I wanted to share! We had a ball at Litchfield! The weather was beautiful and the restaurants were delicious! Our friends Kayne and Thomas, and their daughter, Anna Grace, were at Litchfield that week, too, so it was fun to spend some time with them. It was a great trip!

20 week appointment

Yesterday I had my big 20 week appointment. The baby looked fine, but my cervix did not. The doctor said for the next week I needed to be on kind of a "modified" bed rest. She said I could not lift Baby Frank or really anything over the weight of a bag of sugar. Frank weighs 28 pounds and I lift him constantly...He's so much fun, but is always into things! She said to take it very easy for 1 week and then next Wednesday I will go back in for another look. I think I am wording this the way she explained it...The length of a normal cervix she said was between 3.0-5.0 cm. Mine was 2.5 cm, which is right on the border of being in the danger zone. If it has improved by next Wednesday, then great, they'll just watch me very closely for the rest of the pregnancy. If not, they'll do a cerclage, where basically they'll give me a spinal, put a stitch my cervix, wait for the spinal to wear off, and then I'll be sent home that same day.

So, Frank went to Greenville for a few days to stay with my parents. We already miss him! Bess and I are taking it easy today. I need to catch up on some much needed light housework and organizing so this will be good for me. I do not like to "take it easy," but I can do it for a week!

On another note, the ultrasound tech said several times yesterday that the new baby was a wild thing...We were also told that at the 16 week appt. We are going to have our hands FULL!

4th of July Barbecue

We spent the 4th of July at a barbecue with some of our friends. The rain held off about 2 hours, giving the children time to play and eat. We tried to give the children cupcakes to make them sit still for a group shot.

Thompson and Bess are having some fun on the Gator! Bess was playing princess with the girls before she came outside to ride the Gator so I'm thinking she has on some sort of princess crown.

Frank was happy to sit at the table and eat!

It was hard to get a good group shot of the adults...

We had Big Frank holding the cupcakes in this group picture.
We are still trying to get a good group shot of the children.


The pictures did not turn out great, but we had a wonderful night!

The Zoo

We love going to the Riverbanks Zoo. Since we live so close, we go about once a week. Last week, we met some friends there...Farrah and her two children, Anna Kathryn and Sanders. The children had a ball!


Frank will stay in the stroller if he has some snacks to munch on.

Off to the Beach!

We are leaving in a little while for the beach. Kayne, Thomas, and Anna Grace are also going to be at the beach (near us) this week so we can't wait to spend some time with their family! We are about to start loading the car and then we'll be all set to go. I'm most excited about the seafood restaurants...Surprise, surprise! I'll post some of our beach adventures later this week.

Childhood Friends

Sal, Ashley, and Kayne

Yesterday I went to Greenville with my friend Kayne for a baby shower for Ashley. We have all been friends forever! Ashley is pregnant with a little boy, Ames, due July 31. Ashley also has a little girl that is 2 1/2. She got so many precious little boy goodies. We are all so excited for the Peterson family and can't wait to meet Ames next month!

Caroline and Frank

Caroline, Martha Ann, and Mema came for a visit on Friday. Caroline is so great with the children, and they had a wonderful time with her! We want her to come help out in December!!!

Bess in her Dance Costume

I wanted to get some pictures of Bess in her Dance Recital costume since we did not have any from her big night. On Friday, Martha Ann, Caroline, and Mema came for a visit and Bess performed for them.

It's a...

BOY!!!



Everything looked great at my appt. today. The baby was moving (again) like crazy. We are already calling him "Wild Man!" It's time to do another nursery...So much fun!

Will Baby # 3 be a boy or a girl???

We'll find out this Tuesday at my 16 week appointment...hopefully! I go back and forth, but I'm thinking girl.

I wanted to share a clever idea of a friend of mine. My friend has two sons and is expecting another baby in mid November. She found out 2 weeks ago what the gender of her new baby was, but didn't tell anyone immediately. She invited her friends and some in-town family to dinner, and her 2 1/2 year old son opened an envelope with either a pink or a blue piece of paper inside. We were asked to wear either pink or blue, depending on what we thought the baby was. She called this a Pink and Blue Party. Well, Bess and I wore pink (we were thinking girl!) and when we got to the Mexican restaurant, we all visited for a little while, ordered our food, and then her son opened the envelope...It was BLUE! She'll have three precious boys...All 3 years old and under!!!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to Granddaddy, Big Daddy, and Frank! Granddaddy and Frank at Frank's 1st birthday

Big Daddy and Frank at Christmas

Frank and Frank on Father's Day

Say Cheese!

Frank is such a ham in front of the camera...He loves it!

Hanging out before bed...

Bess and Frank love playing together before bed. They are great buddies!

Bible School

Bess, Frank, and I spent the mornings this week at our church's Bible School. The theme was "Surfing Through the Scriptures." We all had a great week! I taught the 2's and it was fun, but challenging, too! The week ended with a cute presentation by the 3's- 2nd graders and a yummy hot dog lunch in the gym.

Frank is supposed to be bringing a camera home today from work so I can start taking pictures of our summer adventures. The camera we were using broke at Bess's Dance Recital...So sad not to have pictures from that night!

Our First Week of Summer...

We had a great first week of summer! Here is one of our typical days...We get up around 8 and eat breakfast outside, if it's not too hot. Then, we take a walk. Pushing the two children in the stroller is hard work, and I am so out of shape right now. If we walk with Lauren and Ramsey, she pushes my two children and she lets me push Ramsey! If we are by ourselves, we walk very slowly! Then we come home and get ready for the pool. This takes a while because I pack three lunches, drinks, diapers, extra swim diapers, dry clothes to change in after swimming, floats, etc. We go to the pool around 11, swim for about an hour, eat lunch at the pool, and swim until 1 or so. Lots of our friends are there and we have a great time! Then, I change the children out of their wet swim suits, put them in dry clothes, and head home. Sometimes Frank falls asleep in the car on the way home, but Bess tries to help me keep him awake. As soon as we get home, Frank takes a good long nap. Bess does not take naps anymore, but every once in a while will end up dozing off to sleep. If not, she has some quiet time and I can get some things done. After Frank's nap, we either run errands or get together with friends or just stay at home and play until dad gets home. Bess and Frank are so excited to see their dad when he gets home!

That's how we've pretty much spent our first week of vacation. Next week is Bible School at church, and Bess can't wait!

Our Weekend...

This weekend I went away with some girlfriends (Elizabeth, Lauren, Kim, and Mandy) to Blowing Rock. We had been planning this trip for a few months. Friday was my last day of school and we were planning to leave that afternoon.


I got up extra early Fri. and left the house at 6:45 to meet Frank's parents near Bishopville. They were taking care of the children for the weekend. I was doing great on time and was all set to be at school at 8, until I got pulled over for speeding. What luck! My last day of school and I got a speeding ticket less than 1 mile from the school. When I realized the court date was during our week at Litchfield in June, I wanted to let him know that it would not work with my schedule, but I felt like that might be pressing my luck. After all, I didn't even have my current insurance card with me...and Frank's the agent! This was not the way I wanted to start the weekend!


After school, I came home to a quiet house and packed for my trip. My friends came over around 4 and we were all set to go. We made good time, even though I drove a little slower than normal, and we had fun catching up on the way. We all have little boys almost the same age. One born in Oct., Nov., Jan., Feb., and April of last year. Three of the five of us are expecting again....We are due within 2 weeks of each other.


We had a ball in Blowing Rock! Elizabeth was so kind to invite us to her in-laws mountain house. It was wonderful sleeping late, talking, eating meals with no children, shopping, and relaxing! I called Frank a few times and everything was going great with the kids. He went to Hartsville Saturday to spend the afternoon with the kids and his parents. He ended up just bringing them back on Sat. night. He said they were having a good weekend...So far, so good!


My cell phone phone rang Sun. morning. I did not answer it. I assumed it was the crack of dawn, but it turns out it was 9:45! It rang about 5 minutes later so I got up and answered it. It was Frank saying Bess had been up since 4 a.m. sick and where were we? He really thought we'd be on our way home and probably getting close...I said I was still asleep! He said he thought we were getting up early, eating a quick breakfast, and getting on the road. We clearly were not doing that, at least not quite yet. The other girls were fine to go ahead and leave so we ate, cleaned up in record time, packed the car, and hit the road. 4 hours later we arrived home. Frank was glad to see the car pull up!

Monday...Bess still has a little stomach bug so we're taking it easy today. Hopefully she will be back to her old self in a day or so.