My wonderful friends at Williamson Medical Center

Sign on our room door

Room 231
One of the "window" signs
The other read..."Happy Birthday Isabelle"

Courtney brought her boys up to play with my girls.

They get along so great!

The nurses will even get in bed with you when you are in labor!

My good friend Courtney!

Beth and Trish with Isabelle

The girls brought my lunch on Friday.

I have the greatest friends on earth! The nurses at Williamson took such wonderful care of Isabelle and myself. They decorated my room before we got there. They brought me lunch one day. They fought over who would take care of us. Not sure if that is true or not but it was nice for them to say they did! They brought in presents and cookies, food, and cupcakes! I could not have been more blessed! I love each one of them and will be eternally grateful for all that they did for us! At Williamson Medical Center you truly can "Expect Excellence"!

First few days at home as a family of 5!

Isabelle always had her feet crossed on
of the ultrasounds! She has the longest toes! Proud sisters with Isabelle...Her face is yellow
from the bruising that is healing well!
No jaundice anywhere else!


Madlyn and her baby sister


Leaving the hospital

For all of my Willamson friends (especially Trish)

Isabelle in her "Expect Excellence" onezie

Well our first few days at home have not been what I expected...Jeremy had to return to work on Monday, Madlyn went back to school, Emily did not want to go back to school without mommie taking her there, and breastfeeding has been a struggle. Everything is working itself out though. Jeremy and Madlyn have adjusted well. Isabelle and I rode with Emily and Grandma Martha to take Emily to preschool. Then Isabelle and Grandma waited in the car while Emily and I went to her christmas party. And breastfeeding gets easier everyday. I'm almost scared to say that out loud. Both of my others were so easy to breastfeed and Isabelle was so easy in the hospital that even this "baby nurse" had a few meltdown moments. But, with the encouragement of a few friends (you know who you are), both Isabelle and I are "getting it". I am tired, but my family and friends have been me helping out! I could not have have done it without you! I will keep everyone updated and try and post pictures here as often as possible. And to the Funks...I'm sorry we had to miss Funk christmas this year. But Karen and John showed us pictures and it looked as though a fun time was had by all. We will be there next year and I'm sure our song will be impressive! Congratulations to Jake and Lauren...can't wait to meet the next Funk! Keep us posted! Love to everyone.

Sarah

Emily's Big Night

Emily and her trophy!
So Proud!!!

Due to all the excitement of Isabelle, I failed to post any pictures of Emily's Big Night at Gymnastics! I'm starting off this mother of 3 thing with a bang, I'd say! Last Monday night was Emily's night to get her first year award trophy. She was so proud of herself and kept telling Madlyn that now she had a trophy too! The week before she had received her very first trophy ever and that was her soccer trophy...For those of you who know, Emily did not exactly enjoy soccer and so even though it was her first trophy, she was not all that excited! This one, however, was a BIG DEAL! She was so proud!

She's here!!!!!

Madlyn and Isabelle

Emily and Isabelle


The Proud Parents and their "Smurf"



Jeremy's four Girls

The Sisters

Well...she's here! Isabelle Gracelyn Brown was born yesterday, December 11, at 3:43 PM. She weighted 7lbs 10oz and was 20 inches long. It was a long day for everyone, but we are so proud to have our new addition to the family. The girls are very excited. As with any member of this family, Izzy was born with a blue face and was quickly nicknamed Baby Smurf. This was caused by bruising due to the fast approach to the world. Today her face is pink and beautiful. So much for the new nickname!!!!!!! Emily keeps saying that she is so beautiful and get a little upset when she can't hold the her the whole time. Maddie is taking things in stride and is being a great big sis. The proud parents are a little tired, dad needs a beer, but we are doing great. The hospital is treating mom like a queen and her little angel a princess. We will be going home Saturday and hope to post more pictures in the future. Thanks for everyone's thoughts and prayers.

Isabelle's Big Day

It is official....we will be welcoming Isabelle Gracelyn Brown on Thursday December 11th! Unless, of course, she has other plans. I will be induced that morning. I will keep everyone posted.

Love,
Sarah

Finally...the Bunk Beds!

Well, we finally did it. We bought the girls bunk beds for their room. We moved both the girls into Madlyn's room to give Baby Isabelle a nursery. The girls are VERY excited about it! We will see how long that lasts. I'll let you know. Madlyn has chosen the top bunk, which seems to not bother Emily in the least. They slept in it for the first time last night. And everyone slept through the night, including us. Emily usually comes and wakes us up at least one time every night...so we are thrilled! We still have some things to do before Isabelle makes her arrival, but overall things are coming together quite nicely. Wanted to share a few pictures of the girls' new bed!

Thanksgiving 2008

Jeremy making the turkey!
Jeremy and Sarah posing after stuffing themselves at Grandma Martha's

Madlyn and Emily prior to eating

Emily (Galloping Horse) at her Thanksgiving Party

Emily's class singing "One Little Indian"

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. We went to my mom's house and aunt Becca was there from Baltimore. The girls love seeing aunt "Becky" as they call her. Of which, she does not approve, which makes it that much more FUN! We had turkey (thanks dad!), mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash soup (Aunt Becky's favorite), green bean casserole, broccoli, cranberry sauce, stuffing, gravy (Emily's favorite), pumpkin pie, chocolate chip cookies, and 2 kinds of jello! All for 6 people! Ridiculous! But GOOD! Then, of course, we watched the Titans kick the Lions's "rear ends". GO TITANS! Emily had a Thanksgiving day party at her school on the 21st. The kids sang songs and dressed up as Indians! Emily picked out her own Indian name...Galloping Horse. Very appropriate for her since she LOVES horses! Then they had a Harvest meal, which I and another parent was in charge of. It is extremely difficult to come up with a meal that 4 years will eat! So we had chicken nuggets, which we called "turkey nuggets", carrot sticks, apples, grapes, popcorn, pumpkin pie (for the parents...but Emily ate), and cookies! Oh well, we tried! This blog seemed to be mainly about food! I guess that is partly what Thanksgiving is about. Of course the bigger picture is about about being truly thankful. I am so grateful for everything and everybody in my life! My family and friends are the best. And with Isabelle coming soon, I could not be more appreciative for what I have! I have a wonderful husband, beautiful daughters, and fantastic family and the best friends anyone could ask for! Not to mention a roof over my head, a job I love, and all of the material things I could need! I am truly fortunate! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and look forward to a fabulous Christmas season!

Much love,

Sarah

Soccer friends

The season is almost over and it has been one exciting season! Madlyn's team has done really well this year. They have actually won almost every game, which is a HUGE improvement. You can tell the girls realize it too, which makes it even more fun to watch. They have worked together as a team and it shows! Madlyn has also turned into quite alittle "defender", which surprised the heck out of me! This is a picture of Madlyn and her "best friend" Kaitlyn. They have played on the same team for some time now and get along just great. My computer reversed the picture somehow so their "Sun Drop" uniforms are backwards if you look closely. One day I will get better at this whole thing. The same goes for Emily's picture. Her picture is of her friend (and Kaitlyn's sister) Emily. They have had so much fun cheering the big girls on all these seasons. They are "two peas in a pod". In terms of soccer for Emily, let's just say soccer is not her sport! Although the day this was taken, Emily scored her first goal and was very excited about it! But not excited enough to play next season! She spent most of the season on the sideline because she was "tired" or "hot" or my personal favorite..."dizzy". Momma didn't raise no fool! Moreover, she does seem to have an impressive arm (wonder where she gets that from). She seriously knows how to do the bean bag toss! And we should know...we went to enough "fall festivals" this year and the bean bag toss was no problem for Miss Emily! So maybe we will try T-ball...of course they might need to put in a pinch runner for her. Do they allow that in T-Ball? We might find out.

No news on Isabelle yet. I am feeling good, just tired. And still trying to get everything done before she gets here. I am 34 weeks and all is well. Hope all is well with all of you!

Sarah

A Witchy Halloween!

Well this year we were witches for Halloween! Emily was an "October Witch" and Madlyn was a "Spider Witch"! Scary! Even my mother and Jeremy's mother showed up as for the festivities as witches! I did not dress up this year, even though, with my expanding belly, I could have been a number of "FUN" things! My mother and I stayed home and gave out the candy while Jeremy and his parents took the girls out trick-or-treating! You should have seen the amount of candy they came home with! Ridiculous! Jeremy and Madlyn ended up bringing their treasure home and dropping it off and going back out 2 more times! Of course, I won't tell you how much is still left. We do love some candy in this house! Emily quit pretty early, and really, I think she enjoyed passing out candy more! She would wait at the door and get upset if we went more than a few minutes without someone coming to the house. It was rather funny! I hope everyone's Halloween was as good as ours! We certainly enjoyed ourselves!

Let it Shine

Last week was trophy week at the girls gymnastics class. They do it 3 or 4 times a year. Madlyn just loves it! Once a year they get a trophy provided by the gym assuming the parents order it in time! Which, by the way, my mom always forgot to order it and so I went years without receiving a trophy when I took gymnastics there as a child. It wasn't until my own daughters went there that I fully understood because somehow it was always the gyms fault according to my mother...but I digress! If it is not their turn for a trophy that week then they get a red ribbon which just isn't nearly as good according to Madlyn, but she is learning. Last week was Madlyn's 4th year at Let it Shine and so she received a plaque. She was so excited! It was a very special evening and as she pointed out "the first time the trophy had her name on it"! Emily is due for her first trophy in December so she received the red ribbon this time. It didn't seem to bother her at all that her big sister got a plaque though. She was extremely proud of Madlyn and just kept smiling! I couldn't believe it. I would have been so jealous of my sister...but not Emily! Here are a few pictures of the night, including one with Madlyn and 2 of her coaches (Coach Kyra and Coach Natalie) and 2 of her friends from class.

A Shower for Isabelle

Madlyn and Courtney's son, Parker
Trish and I "all smiles"
Myself, Martha, Trish, and Kristin

Don't drink the water at work!

Yesterday, Madlyn and I went to a shower for baby Isabelle. It was hosted by 3 of my friends, Courtney, Darci, and Amanda. The guests of honor included myself and 2 my friends from work, Trish and Martha. We are all due within a month of each other and are all having girls! I have another friend from work, Kristin who is due 2 weeks after me and is having a little boy! She gets her own shower because it is her first baby and we are all soooooo excited for her! It was a great success and we had a wonderful time. I quickly realized how lucky I am to have these fabulous ladies in my life! They all made us feel so special yesterday! I think I speak for both Trish and Martha in saying a "big thank you" for all of their love and support! I cherish each one of their friendships and we will be welcoming Miller, Kalli, and Isabelle soon!

A Day With the Animals!

My friends Courtney and Trish invited us to go the the Nashville Zoo today. Emily was so excited! We went with their sons, Parker and Sawyer (Courtney's boys) and Lincoln (Trish's son). A good time was had by all. I just wanted to share a few of the cute pictures with everyone. And the best part was we ate at Fazoli's afterwards! I never forget about the food! Courtney...if you and Matt decide to open a Fazoli's, I guarentee some business from our end! We definitely had fun with the animals (both at the zoo and our own)!

Soccer Season!

Well, it has begun! It is, as many of you know from your own children, soccer season! Madlyn is playing for the same team she has played for the last 3 years...and loves it! This is the first year that she has had her name on the back of her jersey and she "is pumped"! She says she is determined to "win at least one game". Now if that is not optimism, I don't know what is!

It is Emily's first season and she was so excited to go to her first practice. I'm not sure she realized what she was getting into. However, they are so stinkin' cute out there. Someone (usually Emily) asks for a water break about every 4 minutes! The coach said "we are going to have to get you girls in shape!" And he ain't kidding! Let me say there is alot of sitting and laying down on that soccer field! But as Emily says, "Boy mom, I sure do look good!"

Their first game of the season was cancelled due to the weather so we have our technical first game tomorrow. I think Madlyn will do well...Emily we will just have to see! I will post some more pictures during the season. Who knows...we may end up with 2 seasoned soccer players at the end. Or maybe, one athlete and a girl who likes to pick the flowers in the outfield (for those of you who remember me playing softball as a child)! Either way, we will know one thing...Boy, we will look good!

Alot of excitement

Well, I never thought I would see the day when Jeremy got rid of his beloved truck! Not to mention, the day that he decided to buy a CAR instead of another truck! But this weekend, Jeremy surprised us all. He purchased a black Chevy Impala. And apparently feels very spunky in it! He is like a little boy with a new toy! I'm sure he will drive this car into the ground too.

We also came up with a name...Isabelle Gracelyn Brown. Thank you to everyone who voted on our poll! And, no, Isabelle was not an option on the poll at all. We came up with it after I posted it. But all of us like it and hopefully you do too. It was interesting to me...the winner by a landslide was Gabrielle. But, everyone either seemed to LOVE IT or HATE IT. So I guess some of you will be either thrilled or completely devastated. I know you will pick up the pieces and move on with your lives! We also received alot of emails with other suggestions and we appreciated all of them. I am tired but feeling good otherwise and trying to organize the house to see what we still need for the baby. I hope everyone is doing well and I will keep you all updated. I love you.

Sarah

Still playing around

Okay So today I'm attempting to become better at this whole thing and am going to try and post a picture of the family. Madlyn is off at school and Emily is playing with her toy horses, which is her favorite! Jeremy is at work and I am suppose to be cleaning to no avail. It is a horribly raining day from tropical storm Fay (I think). And so it would be a good day to do nothing at all. Sadly, I have an enormous amount of stuff to be doing to get ready for this new baby, etc. and so I can not spend all day lying around. Which is really too bad because I am so darn good at it! I hope this picture thing goes okay. I guess we will find out!

New to this blogging thing!

So I have decided to join the rest of the world and start "blogging". I'm still not totally sure what that means. But I figured I would give it a try. Let me know what you think.



I guess I will start by telling everyone about myself. I am married to a wonderful man, Jeremy, who is a Special Ed teacher and high school baseball coach. We have 2 beautiful girls, Madlyn who is 8 and Emily who is 4. They keep us busy and we should be getting even more busy in the coming months because I am pregnant and due in December 2008. And yes, it is another girl! "Poor Jeremy" seems to be what everyone says but he is so good with the girls! I honestly can't imagine him with a little boy. No name has been picked out...yet. We are slow at doing that part everytime! I will let you know as soon as we come up with something. I am a neonatal intensive care nurse at a local hospital and I love it. Don't get me wrong...there are times that I want to quit and say enough is enough, but overall, I love working with the babies. And the girls I work with are great. We have so much fun together.



Well, I guess that is all for right now. I will try again soon.