Happy New Year!

New Years Eve is here and I can't believe that 2009 is over! This time last year I was just talking about baby furniture and hadn't even told my family that Mitch and I were going to start 'trying'! And a week later I was 'pregnant'! lol (They count my pregnancy as starting January 4th, even though I didn't technically conceive until the 14th, 15th, 16th or 17th. And no, we don't know the exact day, we didn't pay attention because we never dreamed we were going to get pregnant so soon!) But 2009 brought us so many joys that we are thankful for! There is no way for us to list them all, but here are just a few things that I thank the Lord for every night...

-For my husband and the great dad that he is!

-For Brookelynne and how much I love her!
-For Toby and Tama and the entertainment and companionship they give me when Mitch is working those 15 hour days!

-For the home the Lord has provided for us and the reliable cars we have!
-For great parents who love us
-For my mom's health! February 1st will be 13 years since her lung transplant!
-For great friends!
-For siblings that we love even when we can't stand them! :)
-For Christ and the sacrifice he made on the cross for me! And the work He does in our family and home every day!

While there were some hardships this year there were far more blessings. I personally lost two things that were very dear to me. Starr was a very good friend who will always be missed but will always be remembered. I love that I get to think of her every time I say Brooke's full name and look forward to getting to tell Brooke about who she's named after and why! I also lost Brooksey, two weeks after losing Starr, which was so difficult because she was 18 years old, and I honestly can't remember not having her. She was our dog for as long as I can remember and was a great pet and companion. She's also very missed, but that is the circle of life and we come to 2010 with renewed enthusiasm for life and for Christ and aim to live life to the fullest with no regrets!

So here is to you (whoever you may be) and to a new beginning for everyone, may we be faithful, honest, Godly men and women and strive to be the people, spouses, children, parents, friends and employees that the Lord would have us to be, so that this time next year we will look back at 2010 and see that we have honored our Lord, our commitments and our families and have no regrets!

Happy New Year!

Christmas Day

The Pearsons Christmas


Well, Christmas Day is here and was filled with many many things to do! We got up early and opened Christmas presents at home, just Mitch, Brooke and me! Mitchell got me a beautiful diamond journey necklace and I love it! Brooke got a couple of things that she LOVED opening! lol jk. But we did get it all on video, so she can love it in a few years. (Mitch's big gift was a suit, by the way).

Then we scurried around the house and got ready to head out. We went to my mom's house and she had breakfast ready! It was soo good, cheese grits, bacon and sausage! We were waiting for Gran to get there but no one could get her on the phone. Come to find out she had gone to visit her daughter in law at the last minute, and left Mom a message, but she hadn't gotten it yet. So after a while we went ahead and opened presents, Mitch, Brookelynne, Mom, Josh and me!

It was very nice! Josh got an MP3 player, and Mitch got a safe. Mom got me a beautiful jewelry box, and Brooke got some clothes and a very cool steering wheel fisher price toy. (And Mitch likes that because it will help her with her spanish! haha).


We then headed over to Mitch's parent's house and opened presents there with Jeanna, Wayne, Zach and Dorothy. Brooke got 2 light up, lullaby dolls, and a piano/building blocks toy! (It is capable of helping with spanish too, but Mommy's going to have to figure out how to work that part before Brooke starts hearing the spanish! haha) Its a very unique toy, and I'll probably have to put some serious work into understanding it, while Brooke will just 'get it'. lol.

Nay Nay also got Brooke a walker/jumper for the house, so she'll be growing into that really soon!


We spent a few hours just hanging out with them, and then headed home, because I had a really bad headache (which didn't go away until I went to sleep). Jeanna had made a delicious lunch and was so generous to send some home with us! She cooked her ham with apple pie filling and it was sooo good! :) Once we got home, we unloaded the cars and walked the dogs and did the dishes and I don't really remember anything past that! I do remember that my house is a disaster area and is going to need some serious work!

Christmas Eve Festivities!

Well Christmas Eve is finally here and we've been very very busy! :) I got up early this morning and went to my mom's to finish the last of the wrapping and then help her cook and clean for tonight! :) Dad did me a favor by coming up here to walk the dogs around noon so that I didn't have to come home, but they didn't have to stay in their cages for 12 straight hours! That would have been bad!

Mom made homemade spaghetti sauce, garlic bread and a salad for dinner while I did most of the straightening up and set up! Brooke, meanwhile, spent a good portion of the day being walked around by Paw Paw, and then laying on her play mat! We had to get ready for church around 3:45, but Mom had fallen asleep on the couch with Brooke and told me that she couldn't get up because Brookelynne was 'holding her down'! Ha! They are both such stinkers! :) hehe. Mom and I had finished getting ready and were changing Brooke into her dress when Nickie, Phillip, Danielle, Cameron, Parker and Emma arrived! They came inside and dressed the babies and we headed downtown!

Josh and Amy had saved us seats near the back! The service was very nice, but Brookelynne didn't want to be there apparently because she kept crying. I would no sooner step through the doors to go into the lobby that she would quiet right down. As soon as I would sit back down, she'd be crying! Mom finally took her and kept her outside for about 15 minutes until she fell asleep and then she came back in with her. We did the Lord's Supper and then lit our candles, it was a very sweet service, and I loved holding Brooke as the auditorium was lit by candlelight. I started crying as I prayed for her and thanked the Lord for sending Jesus, and asked that she'd come to know him in just a few years.

We went back to the house and finished getting dinner on the table. We sat around the table and ate and talked and had a very good time! (Mitch and Dad had arrived by then!) Then we opened presents! The little boys got toy trucks and were loving them! lol Lots of noise involved! The rest of us got gifts too and really had a good time spending time with family! We pulled out Brooke's Santa pjs, which matched Parker's and Emma's and got some cute pics, here are some of them!



Brookelynne, Parker and Emma



Parker and Cameron with their trucks spinning!


Brooke and Emma


The Pearsons!


Josh and Amy


Brooke in her Jenny Jump Up from Aunt Amy and Uncle Josh!

Countdown to Christmas!

So many things are going on while I'm getting ready for Christmas 2009. So many things are new and great this year! Obviously, Brookelynne is here for her first Christmas which we are so excited about! I remember last year on Christmas Eve sitting around with my mom and cousins Danielle and Nickie and talking about getting started on my baby furniture because Mitch and I hoped to have a baby in a 'couple of years'. WOW! We never dreamed that a year later we'd have such an amazing gift! I guess God's plans were sooner than we thought, and we're just fine with that! :)

Anyway, yesterday Brooke and I went and saw Nay Nay while we were on that side of town. It was very nice and we had a good time, unfortunately, we got away from our original time schedule and ended up not getting home until like 8:45! (instead of 6!) I had to go by the Verizon kiosk at Regency bc my phone is not charging right and I don't know if its the charger or the phone. They said that my phone is under warranty and gave me a number to call. I called them tonight and they told me to go to a store that has a tech, and they can process the warranty claim there...guess where the closest one is? Yep Allll the way up in Brunswick!

So I drove up there today and was supposed to pick up Mitch's phone and take it too, but he had to go to the island so I just took mine. I was there for over two hours! It took forever, but I did get a new phone. Not a replacement one because apparently they don't make them anymore or something, but the one they gave me is pretty nice.

Tomorrow I have to go to my mom's and attempt to finish the wrapping and some sewing and cleaning...I doubt it will all happen! lol. We'll see! Can't believe Christmas Eve is the day after tomorrow!

8 Days til Christmas and SOOO much to do!

Well this week has been less than productive! lol. I am telling you, it doesn't matter what I do, I can't seem to get ahead of anything. I had worked to get stuff cleaned off the table and out of the living room, and then Mitch brought 2 boxes inside yesterday and spread stuff everywhere! lol. My house is past the point of being a disaster! The only rooms that get and stay clean are the kitchen and Brooke's room! Once those are done, I'm either out of time or out of energy! haha. I still have 4 or 5 presents to buy and more than that to wrap! I've got to get organized and there is some painting that needs to be done. And Christmas eve is a week from today! SO crazy!

Well, with so much to do, I better stop typing and get to doing something!

Packed Weekend...

Well its 9:30 Sunday night, and I'm exhausted! lol I don't think I've even slowed down since Thursday. Between wrapping presents, straightening up my mom's house, visiting with my Aunt, Uncle and cousin, laundry, church and shoe molding, I haven't slowed down at all.

My sweet girl loves the camera!


Thursday I spent the morning with Jeanna, my mother in law (for those who are unaware). We went out to a consignment shop at the beach to look at baby stuff! She picked out an adorable Christmas outfit for Brooke as well as a play-mat for her! I also got her a little piano (I'm going to give it to her as a birthday present!) so that we can see if she has any desire to be musical, without spending $30 or $40 on stuff! (It was only $12!). Then we went to Garden Ridge, just to find out that they no longer carry any craft supplies! None, seriously. I was SHOCKED! Shocked, I say! :) Then we went back to her house and fed Brooke and hung out for an hour or so with Dorothy (Mitch's Grandma).

This is Brooke in her new outfit from Nay Nay

(In her swing)


(In my baby rocking chair)


(With her Daddy next to her!)


(With Tama (left) and Toby (right))

I had picked up a present while at Garden Ridge and between it and the ones that I got from Gran to wrap from her, my car was packed! So I figured I might as well go ahead and take them to my mom's house so that they could be wrapped. I made a nice little mess in my mom's living room while getting about half of them wrapped, but Brooke was pretty fussy all afternoon so I didn't get as much done as I wanted.

Friday I went back over there to finish wrapping and to clean up the mess I made because my Aunt Doris and Uncle Bob were coming there to see us on Saturday! They arrived nice and early (around 9:30) Saturday morning from Gainesville. It was the first time they got to see Brooke and they thought she was wonderful (like I do!) We had a very nice time visiting with them and having lunch. After Mitch got done at the flea market, we went to dinner at Olive Garden, which was really nice! I hurried home and went into overdrive for a couple of hours, straightening up the bathroom, folding 5 loads of laundry, washing all the bottles/bottle accessories, and cleaning Brooke's room. Then I took a shower and Brooke went to bed around 11:30.

I, therefore, didn't get to bed until midnight, and then I woke up at 3. I got up and pumped and headed back to be 30 mins later. Unfortunately, Brookelynne woke up at 4:45 and was hungry, so I fed her and was up again at 6:30 to try and get out of the house to make it to church. Mitch was working at the flea market today so I was on my own for church. Didn't quite make it on time, but did at least get to Sunday School after dropping Brookelynne in the nursery for the first time! :( Church and Sunday School were good (except for this guy who sat in our group today who kept saying all these non-Biblical, degrading, sexist and stupid things! I seriously had to fight my flesh, because I wanted to throw something at him and/or tell him off! lol But I can say honestly, that I was not rude and held my tongue very well!

Had lunch with my parents and dropped food off for Mitch and then I stopped to see Ms Darlene because she had just gotten out of the hospital. I visited with her for about half an hour and then went to my mom's. I worked in my old bedroom, putting down shoe molding and painting, until Mitch got finished at the flea market. Then we had dinner at the Japanese Steakhouse before coming home. I am sooo tired but won't be going to sleep any time in the near future. Trying to decide if I should go finish that room tomorrow, so that Josh doesn't make a mockery out of the paint job! (He's seriously bad with a paint brush/roller!) lol

Also, we pulled out the play mat that Nay Nay bought Brookelynne the other day and here are a few of her playing on it!

Week in Review...

Well this week has gone by very quickly. Since we found out that Brooke had an ear infection we've been dealing with her slight fussiness and random schedule. One day she'd be up all day and sleep great, and the next day she'd sleep all day and be up until midnight! She'd been sleeping through the night for a couple of weeks when she got her ear infection, so I was definitely not loving the regression. I also didn't love her not feeling well, because I don't know whats wrong with her. Is her ear not improving? Is it just a tummy ache? Did she get a cold? Have a headache? There's no way to know! :(

Yesterday we went back to the doctor's office because she had a fever on Sunday night and was cranky on Monday. They told me that her ear infection was all healed up so she much just have caught a little something else. They did her two month check up so that I wouldn't have to go back on Thursday! She weighed 12 lbs and half an ounce! She's 23 inches long which means she's grown an inch and a half since she was born! They gave her her shots, but wouldn't let me hold her while they did it, which made me mad! (Because I had been told by several of our friends that they had been allowed to hold their babies while they got their shots!)

I did fine, didn't cry or anything. She wasn't happy at all but quieted down when I was able to pick her up. :P (Mean nurse).

Today is my Grandma Gwen's birthday, so we're going over to have dinner with her at 6. Hopefully Brooke feels up to it! :)

Here are some pics of her the last week or so!

Looks like my baby's sick...

Well today we found out that our precious little Brookelynne has an ear infection! Last night she had a fever of 100.6, so I called the doctor's office and they had us come in today. We saw Dr Sanchez and he was really nice! He had to clean out Brooke's ear to see inside and turns out that she has a little ear infection in her left ear. So he prescribed her some amoxacillen (sp? I could go look at the bottle, but don't want to get up). :) The cool thing about that is that apparently Publix just gives it out! No copay and they didn't even bill my insurance! lol Which for the record is very cool. We'll start the doses tonight and then she's got to take it for 10 days, so we'll be done next Thursday, which ironically is when her 2 month appointment is! :)

Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday and Rivalry Saturday...

Well Thanksgiving only comes once a year and is packed full of food and family, as always!

We got up Thanksgiving morning and got all 3 of the girls dressed and out the door around 10. About an hour later than I wanted but, hey, we had 2 extra children! We got to my mom's and I helped her make dinner! We had quite a spread and it was all delicious! She's such a great cook. Josh and Amy had to have Thanksgiving at her grandparents house that morning, so we planned on eating at 1, and Josh and Amy arrived right before we sat down to eat! We had a really nice meal and just talked and laughed for about an hour. Then Mitch and I had to head over to his parent's house for their Thanksgiving!

We got there about 3 and dinner was ready right at 4. Jeanna had worked really hard and it showed! She had so much food and it was great! Especially the yeast rolls *wink wink* (She was very proud of those because she made them from scratch and they were really good! :) ) We got to stay and visit with everyone for a couple of hours and Poppy got to hold Brooke a lot. Then we headed home because Mitch's allergies were really bothering him. Jennifer brought her cat from Texas and Mitch is apparently very allergic because his eyes were red and watery and his nose was running really bad almost immediately! Next time we'll have to get some Benedryl in him before we encounter any cats! lol.

Black Friday, Mom and I decided to go out late, which was 9 am. I don't think I could have gotten out of bed a minute earlier than I did. This having an infant thing and going all over for holidays is exhausting! :) We hit a few stores and got the things we were looking for and then had lunch with Gran before heading to Mom's house. I got the tree out of the garage and got it standing. I also wrapped several presents. I'm not sure what all we have left to buy, but what we've bought is wrapped! :) Then I came home and waited for Mitch to get home. It was another late night! I just can't seem to get away from those!

Saturday Mitch went to the flea market early! It was so cold while he was packing the car that I was getting cold and I was inside! I got up and ready and went to my mom's to finish the wrapping. I was so tired and Brooke was really cranky all morning, so I didn't get over there until almost noon. So I didn't get much time with my mom before meeting Mitch to watch the game. It was a sad loss but expected with the rookies we've had and the problems our defense has faced all season. Still we are Seminoles thru and thru, so here is a picture of us all decked out in our FSU gear!






We had to wake Brooke up to take the picture, so she wasn't very happy! lol

Thanksgiving week

Monday before Thanksgiving Jennifer and the girls got into town, so we went over there to see them. Here are some of the pictures from Brooke's first meeting with her cousin's Alana and Jaqlyn.

Alana is the one holding Brooke, Jaqlyn had her cup in her face! :)


Brooke isn't looking in this one but Jaqlyn is actually looking!


Tuesday I can honestly say I have no earthly idea what Brooke and I did. I don't remember anything, so we'll move on to Wednesday!

Wednesday I picked up the pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving and stopped in to see my friend Amy because she hadn't seen Brooke yet! We got to talk for a few minutes and then I headed to my mom's. I spent the afternoon wrapping presents, cleaning and cooking so that the house would be ready for Thanksgiving day.

This is Brooke in her cradle! Isn't she cute!


Then I went over to the Regency mall to meet Mitch's family so that I could watch Alana and Jaqlyn take their pictures with Santa. Then we all had dinner at Longhorns. After dinner Alana wanted to come home with me, and after quite an exchange that included begging, crying, guilt tripping and some major attempts on my part to not laugh out loud, I headed home with 3 girls in 3 car seats in my back seat! When we got home, we gave all the girls a bath together, and now have the first official 'bath tub party' pictures of Brooke's young life! Here are a couple of them!



Alana and Brooke


Jaqlyn...with a washcloth on her head!


The girls didn't really want to go to bed, so it they played alot. My spare room may never be the same! lol