thank you mom and dad...

i could sit here and write this post for the next decade and it wouldnt put into words how much my parents mean to me and how much they have done for our family. for those of you that are lucky enough to know my mom and dad, you know they are the kindest people you will ever meet. you know that they would give ANYTHING for their girls (and now their boys). you know that they are the picture of what a relationship should look like, one that started as young kids. you also know that they are the parents that every mother and father should strive to be.

they have done so much for jared, bennett and i over the last couple of months. i will never be able to repay them for their kindness, love and support. it would take days to write out all of the things that they have done for us during this crazy time. a couple things that come to mind are:

the night we went to the hospital to have Bennett, my mom slept on the floor of the hospital by my side all night long. when we ended up having to stay for a week, she and dad never left our side. they brought dinner every night, they catered to our every need, they did more than we could have EVER asked for. the second thing that comes to mind are the last couple of weeks. not only does my mother keep bennett for me while i work, they have been staying with me every night until jared gets home from tcby. they help me with bennett, watch him while i take a bath, they just take care of us. they do this even though my dad has to get up at 5:45 every morning and my mom gets up early to keep BOTH of her grandsons. they know that this makes this busy time so much easier for me and that's why they do it.

for the last 30 years, their lives have been about me and my sister. that doesnt mean that they havent always put their marriage at the top of the list as well. they know how to have the perfect balance. they were always the parents that would rather be with jess and i on a friday night, than out on the town. they have never cared about being socialites because that meant that they would sacrifice time and energy away from their family. even though my dad always worked so hard (and still does), he never missed a single thing when we were growing up, and neither did my mom. they still havent.

i only hope that bennett finds the love, security, friendship, faith, family, and support in jared and i as his mother and father as i have been given by my mom and dad for the last 28 years.

i love you mom and dad, and i will never be able to repay you for what you have given to us.

thank you!!!

weekend..

our little family sacked out on michelle's couch i tried his easter outfit on today, and it was too big... so i pulled out another cute outfit... that has a bonnet, and this is what he thought of that!

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here is a family pic from earlier tonight. jared and i went on a date for sushi. i hadn't had real sushi since i got pregnant. it was tasty and it was nice to have dinner with jar. i have missed him! we had a lovely weekend around here. i got a ton of stuff checked off my to do list and we had some fun family time at the store. we went to visit michelle and introduce her to baby bennett. she is having her 3 babies this wednesday. we cant wait to meet those sweeties!!!

i am going to enjoy my final three days off work this week and then head back to my new reality ;)

i hope that everyone has a lovely week!

crazy...

TCBY Ribbon Cutting

the ceo of tcby/mrs fields with bennett and i

saying... ooo, i like the back room of tcby...

i think i will spend a lot of time here :)

we had over 3,000 customers on saturday!!!

in our pjs

big smiles :)

all wiped out from a loooong week and weekend

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for almost the last year i have had MANY people tell jared and i that we are insane.. we were building a house, opening a business and having a baby all at the same time. i would laugh and say, 'i know, we are pretty busy.' all the while, i would think that it wasn't that bad.. what was i missing? well.... now that we have opened the store, had our sweet angel, and are two weeks away from moving into our house, i understand why so many people made that comment. jared has worked 18 hour days for the last 11 days. the funny thing is that we didn't even order me a name tag for the store since i 'would never be there'. this is comical looking back :)bennett has been a trooper. sometimes he stays home with his mimi, and other times i take him up there to hang out in the back. we have been so blessed. we never imagined that we would have the business that we have had in the last week. our grand opening was fabulous, we had over 3,000 customers!!! the best part of the whole thing (other than free white chocolate mousse) is seeing all of the sweet families that come in. i have seen the cutest kids and they love tcby. everyday there is a new crowd at the store, i told mom yesterday that there were a lot of sweet older people in the store. everyone from 0-100 seems to be enjoying it. we are glad that we were able to bring something here that so many people enjoy with their families. we have been so fortunate to have such great help. our managers are awesome and the high school kiddos are adorable. they are all such hard workers and a joy to be around!!it has been very, very busy but very fun to get this thing going.

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our house is getting so close to the finish line!!! i cannot wait to move in there in a few weeks. the painters just finished painting the whole house and it looks exactly as i imagined. i picked out two colors for stripes in baby bear's room and it looks perfect. i will post pics soon. the colors are turquoise and a bright green. i think we will love to lay in his bed and stare at his bright walls (this baby LOVES to stare at colors, prints, and just about anything else). i hope he loves his room as much as i do!

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he turned 7 weeks old today. tear. i already feel like he is getting so big. he continues to be a great baby. he is still eating like a champ and our nights are getting better. they are pretty inconsistent, but they aren't bad. once we get our lives back to normal and have a schedule, i think he will do great. until then, we are making do :)he has been pretty good about taking naps lately. he has to be in his miracle blanket to sleep, regardless of what time of day it is. he loves being swaddled. i love getting him up in the morning and taking his blanket off and watching him stretch out. when he wakes up, he is pretty hungry and as i try to get him situated and ready to nurse, he becomes pretty impatient. lately he has started this funny thing where he yells at me. its not a cry, its him letting out these loud screams while making a mean face. silly little boy. he is very impatient like his mom and daddy. everyday he is looking more like his daddy. i don't think he looks a thing like momma :( he has jared's beautiful blue eyes and his entire face is looking just like jared. i think he even has the same belly button as daddy :) * i go back to work on thursday. i am ready to get that milestone behind us and get used to life the way it will be with me working. he will be spending part of his weeks with his mimi and his cousin, oliver. the other days, my MIL will be watching him, which will be a huge help to all. she will be driving up from little rock to watch him on mondays and tuesdays. safe to say, he will be in good hands. i will miss him terribly during the days, but i will be working hard to be able to provide a great life for him and our family. * we hope everyone has a great weekend!!!!