Our final graduation? Nope

Well, it's been a busy graduation week/weekend. We started the festivities off in typical graduation week fashion; skit night and bbq at Dr. Smith's pad. Complete with the big white tent and band. Joey volunteered himself last year to write the skit for his class. Let's just say he wasn't asked again this year! But he, Russ, Danny (whom they recruited from the 2nd yr class), and Carlos. They did their own thing and it was pretty funny to see Joey in my running gear and a depends. Don't ask.

Maggie, Asia, and Bethany climbing the big Magnolia tree in the front yard

Some of the residents gearing up for the skits.

Our family the last three years:(

Joey (Dr. Sealy), Russ (Dr.Smith) and Danny AKA Danququ

The goofballs. This crew could only mean trouble!

The next day was the big graduation day. Joey's family came and his older brother, Charley. We missed Rusty but understand he's got a "real" job these days. We then went to a little reception afterwards and said our goodbyes. Lydia was really tired and started getting fussy at this point and I took her home. I got to avoid the long goodbyes which I HATE! But I went by and said bye to the Acosta's later that day. So sad.

Joey getting his diploma, at least I think that's what you call it?

Bethany was so proud of her Daddy!

The Montgomery Center for Family Practices class of 2010!

Liddy had to be taken out during the ceremony but she was all smiles afterwards.

After the big graduation I took her Joey to ATL for some Braves games. Before kids we went to at least one series every season but I haven't been to Turner Field since the year I got pregnant with Bethany. Joey's been back each year but it was a long time since the two of us enjoyed some games together. We saw two great games against the Detroit Tigers. The first night McCann hit his career 100th home run and then the next day Chipper hit a 3 run homer. We enjoyed our time without the kiddos but I missed them.

Most people would be happy to never go back to school after 23 years of school but he's not through yet. Joey starts seminary in the fall while he works at Ware Shoals family practice. He has to get so many seminary hours before being appointed as a career missionary with the International Mission Board. We're in a our last phase before we leave for the mission field! So exciting. We have the month of July to ourselves before he starts working! We plan to make up for lost time while he was a resident! It's amazing to look back over the years and see God's hand at work. Guiding us when we had no idea he was nudging us. I can't wait to see what the next few years hold!

The Man of our house!

Dad cuddling his girls:)

I wanted to post a little about the man that is the father of our house. He has a lot to put up with with three girls that want his attention and love. He is the type of man who gets up in the middle of the night when his babies are newborns and calms his anxious wife when she isn't sure of herself. He makes bottles, changes diapers, plays tea party and cowgirl, and cuddle and kisses his girls daily. On top of his domestic duties he is fully committed to his patients and their families. Many a night he has come home after staying with a family well past his shift to comfort them or reassure them. He prays with nearly all his patients and has shared the gospel with many who lack the hope of salvation. He is passionate about his family and his calling and we are few lucky girls to have his devotion! We love you babe!

Father's day 2010 at Lake Cherokee

Lydia's first Father's Day

Saddle Ridge Ranch

Howdy ya'll! This here is a few pictures of our VBS at "Saddle Ridge Ranch"! Another teacher and I led the preschool missions. We had two classrooms for each age; 3k, 4k and kindergarten. Bethany had a blast. They learned about African missionaries that work with Ostriches, Cowboy missionaries that work with cowboys and X-treme team missionaries that work in hard to reach places like the Amazon. The first night they looked at me like I was from another planet but by the end I think they realized what missionaries were and that they could be missionaries right now just by showing God's love and telling others about Jesus. So if they got that then I deem it a success! We had over 150 kids each night and the last night was "Family Night". Bethany got to sit on a real horsey and that made her day. Each night she reported to me that there were no real horses. I think she thought VBS was going to be all about horses! I have so many cute things that the kids did but not the energy to write them down. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves....

This was my 4k group, they were a trip! You can see trouble all over their little faces!

B before the worship rally at the beginning.

This is part of B's class, 3k, this isn't all of them. They were hard to corral. The costumes were part of my lesson.

Family night and Miss Priss is on Velvet. Look at that smile. She told me last night that for Father's day she was getting dad a REAL horse and for "Child's Day" (a holiday I was not aware of) she wanted a really pretty dress.

She hung around Velvet for a while before she did the jump houses.

End of the Year Program

I thought this was funny. It's Bethany's end of the school year program and she did much better than her Christmas program. At the Christmas program she just stared out into the crowd and didn't move. I think she was mesmerized by the big light. But this time she did better. Note the ugly face she makes before the music starts. I get to look at these kinds of faces at least 6-12x a day! She also gets stuck with the "eyes" motion for a while but by the end she was doing all the motions. It's only a little bit of the video hope you enjoy....
* You can silence the music by scrolling to the bottom of the page and hitting the pause button.

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a great Memorial Day weekend with my family. The only thing missing was Joey! He had his next to last call night and was working all weekend. The girls had a blast with my sisters and brother. Poor Anna had Bethany on her hip all weekend. B also slept with Anna and woke her very early every morning!!! Kara played in a basketball tournament all weekend and i got to catch one game and Bethany went with them to a game. She also got a new horsey compliments of Gram. I don't have a picture with her and the horsey yet but she named him Spotted and rode him all weekend. It's just a little stick horse that makes a galloping noise but she loves it! Here are a few pics of the girls with the family.

B and Lid getting a pic in their matching outfits

The girls with Gram and Papa

Kara and Sam and B. She had a great time bossing them around all weekend!

"Bloom where you are planted"

Or is the phrase "Grow where you are planted"? I don't know but this little phrase sure helped me out when I was in one my most discontented states. I first pondered this quote 3 years ago when I went on my first women's retreat with South Main Street Baptist Church. I was struggling at this time with moving to Greenwood and being a stay-at-home "single" mother. It was Joey's intern year and Bethany and I spent most of out time without our man. Greenwood didn't have much for me to do and I terribly missed working as an HIV case manager and my co-workers that had become great friends. I was just kind of unhappy. But once our speaker Ruth McWhite started to share about a season in her life where she felt this way she quoted this little saying and told how it really made a difference in her life. I started thinking about that and it hit me that I was only going to grow more miserable if I continued this state-of-mind. It's funny how easily your outlook on life can change by just being more positive.

I thought of that season of my life today as I was harvesting our first crops out of the garden. Only weeks ago we planted little seeds that needed sunlight, water, and nutrients. We took special care during this time to water and feed them so they would grow and bear fruit. It's such a wonderful analogy of us. At the beginning of our relationship with God we need spiritual food and nutrients. We need our roots to grow deep so that when the drought of life hits are roots are deeply planted and we can still bear fruit.

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and i in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

John 15:5

Monty watching me harvest my veggies! Last year he got into the little fence around the garden and ate much of our veggies. He also ate several cantaloupe that had vined outside of the fence.

Note all of Bethany's plastic eggs that he has chewed!

Our Garden!

We have squash, zucchini, cantaloupe, okra, tomato,red and green peppers and lettuce.

Me with my 2 squash and zucchini! Can't wait to cook those things up...yum!

Liddy Lou

Can you believe it's already been 3 months since Liddy-Lou-Who was born? She's laying next to me right now as I'm typing and giving me her best toothless grin. What a joy she's turning into! To recap on the last 13 weeks, she was quite the handful until about 6 weeks old. At that point she started to settle in and didn't have anymore inconsolable "spells" as my grandmother would put it. She discontinued her acid reflux medication during her second month and has done great without it.

Liddy, at 3 months you are doing well. You will now sleep 8-10 hrs at night. We give you one last "dream feed" around 10PM and don't wake you and you will sleep until 6:30am-7:30am. You take 3 naps a day and your daytime sleep totals 5.5-6 hrs of sleep. You eat 5.5-6.5 oz of milk six times a day! I have to use two bibs at each feeding because you are so messy! You have out grown much of you sister's baby cloths and I'm afraid you will catch up with her at some point.

You love to talk to your mom and dad and will babble at us when we speak to you. You also try and laugh out loud but right now you make a loud sucking in sound that scares your cat, Cruz:) You bat at your toys and can even grasp things and hold them in your hand. For the past 2 weeks you have been fascinated with your hands and concentrate very hard to get them in your mouth. Most of the time you end up crying because you can't quite get the hang of it.

Your big sister is taking more of an interest in you and you now give her big smiles and watch her as she plays. This has helped to make her feel special and to like being around you more:) Way to go Lydia! I remind Bethany that one day you and her will be best friends.

I enjoy you more with each day and count my blessings because I am able to stay at home with you and your sister every day and watch you grow and learn. Know that I daily ask God for wisdom on how to raise you girls and prepare you to be Godly women.

You were 3 months old this week and you have gotten very big.

As you can see, it's hard for me to get a good picture of you and your sister. I hardly have ANY picture of the two of you and it's been 3 months!

You and Brice have become friends. Your sister is best friends with Brice's big brother, Lucas!

You will only sit in your bumbo for short amounts of time or you end up like this!

On Mother's Day you were dedicated at Church. The pastor prayed for you and gave you letter that you are to open when you are 12 yrs old. The Church members also recited a prayer and pledged to help you grow into a spiritually strong person. Your friend Brantley Carter and Kaleb Sperry were dedicated with you.

Mommy felt very blessed on Mother's Day to have such a wonderful family.

I might be the luckiest woman in the world....

How far is Heaven???

Bethany and I singing Father Abraham.....

Me: I use to sing this song when I was a little girl

Bethany: With your mommy?

Me: Yes, me and my mommy would sing that song. I miss my mommy...

Bethany: (Big smile like she just thought of something really good) You can see your mommy when you get to heaven!

Me: (Tears) Yes, I'll get to see my mommy when I get to heaven.

Bethany: I'll get to see her, too, when I go to heaven. And daddy and Lydia will go to.


This was just what I needed to be reminded of today of all days and it's a bonus God delivered his comfort through the mouth of my 3 year old daughter! My sweet Nanny passed away early this morning and her journey to heaven these last few weeks have taken me back to my mom when she was near the end. So, I've had a couple of rough days watching Nanny grow sicker and taking me back to those awful weeks before my mom passed. I couldn't help but be happy for Nanny. She was a Christian and I have no doubt she stepped through the gates of glory. I wondered what she would see first and who would be their to usher her in. I thought of all the people that have preceded her and knew my mom would be there waiting to give her a big hug. Life is so fleeting and time passes by more quickly each day. I pray that I don't take this life for granted and each day is lived bringing others closer to the Creator of it all.

Bethany and Nanny at Thanksgiving Dinner 2009



Nanny meeting and holding Lydia for the first time. I'm so grateful she was able to meet Lydia and see Bethany one last time. What a blessing.

" Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish ore defect.

He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.

Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God."

1 Peter 1:17-21

Oh Bethany, Your so Brave....

So, for those that don't know after my last post I got a call from Joey. He was in the car with Bethany and Hannah Grace (our neighbor who's 5) and was taking the crew to our favorite trail, Oconee Falls. Well, 30-45 minutes later I get a phone call and Joey says, "We've had a little accident". WHAT!?!?!?! Those words are every mothers worst nightmare. He goes on to tell me that they were at end of the trail with the waterfall in sight when she and HG started running and she tripped and hit a rock. She was a very brave girl when said she was fine and didn't' need to go get stitches. But to the hospital they went and waited for 5 hrs for the numbing cream. By the time she got them she got frantic and ended up ripping the first set out and having to get more. She has gotten great pleasure from all the well-wishers telling her that she's brave. She really thinks she's big stuff!
Even with the stitches she had an awesome weekend and loved camping and staying in the tent. Poor thing...she missed the best part, hobo's and s'mores.

Here are some pics of her first father/daughter camping trip...

The Crew having breakfast. Eggs and Bacon, yummy!

Bethany in front of the massive tent. Who wouldn't have fun playing in that thing? (Note the hair and mix-matched outfit. Her Daddy tried!)

Bethany has a lot of catching up to do to get on even ground with this crew!


The chin... ewwww

After the fact, don't let the happy face fool you.

It's a Spring Thing

AHHHHH, it's finally Spring in the south! We southerners aren't use to such a long winter. I actually look forward to the winter months and the short days but it's awful having a winter baby. With both of my girls I had to stay inside so much because it's RSV season and this time it was the swine flu and RSV! I was very excited about daylight savings this year and the summer-like weather we've had!

Liddy's 2 nd month has been busy and is flying by. She went on her first trip to the Isle of Palms for the Cooper River Bridge Run. The whole Patrick clan was down for the trip and Lydia had her worst nights (yes that's plural) yet while we were there. She was up screaming all night twice but she also had her best night (yes that's singular) while there. The day we got back she started taking really good naps and doing well at night (no screaming or playtime)! It always happens that way. With Bethany, a good friend came to visit when she was 6 weeks old and she was up every night screaming inconsolably while he was here. Then the next week she started sleeping through the night! But sadly, I forgot my camera while at the beach and didn't get any Bridge pics. Bethany did the kid's fun run and had a great time. I, of course, walked the 6.2 miles with a friend and Joey and his dad and brother ran.

As I type, Bethany and Joey are on their first camping trip to Devil's Fork. They went with neighbors and it sounds like they are having a blast. Joey did take the camera so I'll post pics of the trip later. Below are some highlights of our month thus far.

This is Joey and B going to Doughnuts for Dad at school. Oddly enough, the book fair is held during the week of Doughnuts for Dad.... Needless to say Bethany came home with a book. The most expensive one at that!! You can see the excitement on her face. She knew she was getting a doughnut AND a book that day!

I keep finding Bethany trying out Liddy's stuff. On this day she had become eerily quiet so I went upstairs to find her in her sister's crib with her paci in her mouth. I thought it was so funny. The next picture is when I decided she had had her fun and needed to give the paci over and get out of the crib. As you can see, it caused a major breakdown!

Lydia and B at our church Easter Egg hunt. I'm surprised B got in the bunny's lap. I think I would have been scared of this bunny if it were me!

Lastly, the best family shot I could get of us on Easter. It was our first Sunday back at church and we were all excited to get back to our church family. We had missed them. We are still another 2 weeks away from going to Sunday School. Joey doesn't want Lydia in the nursery until she's 8 weeks. So we're all anxiously awaiting that return too.

Happy Spring everyone! Enjoy the season of new birth and resurrection!

Our first month!

So, we are officially starting the second month with Lydia. She was 4 weeks old last Friday. Somehow the days seem endless but the month has flown by. The first month and a half seem to be pure survival mode but once weeks 6-8 roll around it seems more predictable. Lydia has been somewhat of a fussy baby but we started medication for acid reflux and it has really seemed to help. She's had a handful of nights that she's slept 5-51/2 hr stretches but she's also had nights where she was up 2-3 hrs at a time. We are seeing more of a pattern at this point and look forward to the first night of 7 hrs of sleep!!! Bethany was such a great baby but somehow I forgot the horrible 6weeks of inconsolable crying at 2 am. Lydia is not this bad but she has her moments:) Newborns are just hard sometimes. Joey's been great, as always, with Lydia. He gets up and takes a night shift or he'll help in the middle of the night when she won't stop crying. The baby stage is his thing... he enjoys it and is really hands on. It's helped me a lot.

Bethany has been doing well. She is sort of indifferent to her sister. She hasn't let her disrupt her life and she doesn't show a ton of interest in her right now. If someone ask her how she likes her sister, her response is "She cries a lot"! She has been really good with the new addition. I've been proud of her. B has been really into Easter eggs and we have to hide eggs around the house or in the yard for her to find. I can't wait for our church Easter egg hunt where she'll be able to find eggs and get prizes!

Here's some pics of the month....

This is at the beginning of the month at about week 2!

Lydia started smiling in her 3rd week! This is one caught on camera. B didn't start social smiling until 6 weeks....

The girls

We call this her Don Juan look! We were trying to wake her to take her bottle so we had to strip her down. As you can see, this technique didn't work so well. She was in a milk induced coma....
We found big sister playing with Liddy's stuff!

Introducing...Lydia Hopkins Patrick

Lydia was born on February 19 at 9:40ish PM. She weighed 8.3 lbs and 19 1/2 inches long! We have been home for over a week and are adjusting to the newborn schedule. It's much trickier when you have a 3 year old to keep up with too! Big sister is doing good. She has been indifferent to Lydia for the most part. In the hospital she didn't want to have anything to do with me or the baby. So we don't really have any cute sister pictures in the hospital. Bethany was a bit intimidated by the hospital and mommy not being able to move around much and having an IV in her arm. It's been hard for her to understand why I can't pick her up and carry her around and this has caused a couple of meltdowns. She also got the stomach bug for 3 days once we got home and she only wanted mommy during this time. You know she must be feeling bad when she turns down "Linny" (grandma) and wants me! But for the most part we are doing well considering the lack of sleep! I'll try and post more pics later.