Family

  • Boy Oh Boy – NICU Time with Sweet Kaelan

    'Meeting sweet Little Pumpkin for the first time! Brings back so many memories of NICU!'

    Recently, I had the opportunity to spend a week in Colorado with family. My cousin Renelle Broughton (who is like a sister to me) had her little one early and was spending a big part of each day in NICU. I was able to spend time with her, her husband Eric, and their new sweet little one Kaelan! It was a precious time for me.

    Words cannot express how honored and truly amazing it was me to spend time with this awesome Momma, caring Dad, and adorable little guy. Not to mention to have the chance to experience NICU from a totally different perspective from when the girls were in it over 10 years ago. Kaelan won my heart immediately and I am grateful for Renelle and Eric opening their home, sharing their precious boy with me, and everything during that crazy busy week.

    Thankful for a chance to spend some extra time with my Aunt, Uncle, cousins, my parents, and other extended family over the weekend as well! Wish I lived closer to see them and their little guy grow up. Love you guys! Lots of hugs, kisses, and prayers always from South Carolina! Thankful for an awesome husband Jake Hayes for taking good care of our two chickies while I was in Colorado that week!

    'The goodies we put together for Kaelan!'
    Goodies for Kaelan!
    'Momma waking him up for the next feeding!'
    Renelle is like a sister to me and it was wonderful spending the week with her.
    'The most adorable little feet! He was not too happy with us doing the footprints, but we got it done!'
    He was not happy about getting his footprints done and into the baby book, but his tiny little toes looked so stinkin cute afterwards!
    'He was a trooper taking his bottles!'
    Precious time with Renelle and her sweet little bundle of joy.  I cannot tell you how amazing this week was for me to spend with her, Eric, and her adorable baby boy!

  • Halloween Mystery

    'These blue gloves were hanging in our fridge since Friday night. The girls were very curious about what was inside these gloves and were being careful not to touch them per our instructions!'
    The most disturbing item that had the girls perplexed over the Halloween Weekend was discovered in our refrigerator on Friday night. Today they got to see what was inside the blue gloves this afternoon. They were pleasantly surprised to find edible green jello monster hands!
    'Our green monster jello hand. There was a fold in a couple areas, but it came out well otherwise. The girls thought it was great!'

  • School Activities, “Snow White & The Prince,” and Roller Skating!

    'Our girls!'
    Our girls at Falls Park

    These last few weeks have been a whirlwind of fun with Jake & I going on our anniversary cruise, the girls school activities, fun adventures, work, and more! 🙂 Here’s a little snip-it of some of the school and fun activities Brina & Karlie have been up to lately -“Snow White & The Prince” Play at the Peace Center, a School Roller Skating Fundraiser, Beta Club Induction Ceremony just to name a couple. Very proud of both girls for their hard work at school. They were both accepted into Chorus, STEM Club, National Beta Club (for maintaining an A or A-B grades for their past year in school), Library Assistants, Safety Patrol as well as a number of other school related extra-curricular activities. I had no idea how busy 5th grade could be! Thankful for their hard work, positive attitudes, and their love of learning!

    'Ready to go see "Snow White & The Prince" as a family! Thankful for Jake's willingness to take his girls to these fun events!'
    Hanging out with the family!
    'Having fun skating with Daddy!'
    Skating with Daddy!
    'Proud of these two kiddos for working hard, maintaining their grades, and getting accepted into the National Beta Club! Good Job Girls! Love You!'
    Beta Club inductions!
    'Waiting for the Snow White play to start!'
    Snow White & The Prince at the Peace Center

  • Volunteering at School

    Bridgette Hendrich Hayes's photo.
    Crazy day volunteering at school, watching both girls speak in front of their classmates, teachers, and parents – they did awesome! After running errands, sharing a surprise with someone who has been a blessing to our family, and various other activities I was able to finally sit down, eat a late lunch, and soak in the beautiful sunny Fall view from our back deck. Thankful for the colorful landscape!

  • Flashback Friday: Girls 1st Halloween

    Flashback Friday - 1st Halloween - Brina the Bee and Karlie the Flower (Oct. 2005 - 8 Months)c

     We have a cute little Brina Bumblebee and a pretty Karlie Flower

    Today we Flashback to October 2005 when the girls were eight months old and celebrating their first Halloween!  They were good sports with the Halloween costumes.  We really didn’t go “trick or treating” instead we just stopped by to say “hello” to some family in the area that evening.  The kids had a lot of fun playing and hanging out a little bit with family.

    Brina looking very cute as a beec

    Our little Brina BumbleBee

    Happy little Karlie Flowerc

    Our little Karlie Flower

    Karlie and Brina saw Scooby Doo at Jake's work's Halloween partyc

    Karlie and Brina celebrating Halloween at Daddy’s work

    The flower and bee continue to play showing off their customesc

    Enjoying some play time on Halloween

    Brina and Karlie - Happy Halloweenc

    Brina and Karlie trying to figure out what the Halloween treats from Grandma Kay were.  They loved how the wrapping made crinkling noises.

    Brina with Jordanc

    Brina talking with cousin Jordan

    Karlie with Alecia ad Brina with Jordanc

    Karlie with cousin Alecia and Brina with Jordan

    Karlie with Jordanc

    Karlie and Jordan

    Rachel with Brina and Karlie with Alecia - stopped by BJU to show off the girls customesc

    Rachel with Brina and Karlie with Alecia

  • Happy Halloween!

    'Brina made the owl and Karlie designed the scary face pumpkin!'
    We gave the girls a choice about what Halloween activities they wanted to do this year. They chose to stay home, play games, spend time together, carve pumpkins, make a special meal, and more fun instead of going out trick & treating! We had a lot of fun together! Thankful for our girls and sweet time together!
    'BBQ Mustard flavored pumpkin seeds - Jake's favorite this year!'
    Baked and seasoned pumpkin seeds!
    'Karlie working on her pumpkin!'
    Karlie’s scary pumpkin!
    'Caramel coated pumpkin seeds were our other flavor creation this year!'
    Caramel flavored pumpkin seeds!
    'Brina concentrating on carving extra cute hearts on the side of her pumpkin'
    Brina creating her owl pumpkin

  • Travel & Vacation: Galveston Island Ferry

    'Hanging out with my man! Loved our time together!'

    Exploring Galveston, Texas before our plane leaves for home! We took the Galveston Island Ferry boat over to Bolivar. On the ferry ride was saw a lot of dolphins swimming. We went to the Galleria Mall in Houston, TX. It was a huge mall with an ice skating rink! It was the first time we ate at the Cheesecake Factory and it was delicious!

    'The name of our Ferry boat!'
    Our ferry was DeWitt C. Greer!
    'There was a massive amount of birds following the ferries with all the goodies it stirred up!'
    Passing another ferry heading the opposite direction!
    'My Love'
    Jake – my man!
    'Having fun in Galvetson, Texas before heading back home!'
    Grateful for this week with Jake!  It was wonderful having one-on-one time!
    The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family, ways we relax, and tips on how to make trips more enjoyable.  Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away.  Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories.  It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine.  Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn.  You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!

  • Travel & Vacation: Cruising the Gulf of Mexico

    'Relaxing and beautiful views from our balcony....I could get used to living this kind of rough life, ha! Thanks for spoiling me with a week away my love, @[749272290:2048:Jake Hayes]! :)'

    Our last full day on the cruise! The week went by too quickly, but it was relaxing, packed full of great memories, and wonderful having extra time together! We need to do this more often Jake Hayes! 🙂 Thankful for an opportunity to celebrate our 15th Anniversary and looking forward to many more amazing years together with this handsome man! XOXO

    'Checking out the scenery!'
    Handsome guy on our balcony!
    'Our last night out together on the ship!'
    Last night on the ship with my Babycake!
    'Love this man!'
    Thankful for time with this man!
    'Loved being able to relax over meals, talk, and laugh together! We didn't have anywhere to rush off to, no places we had to be, or activities that we had to get done just time to hang out as a couple!'
    Enjoying one more quiet breakfast before hitting the road again!

    The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family, ways we relax, and tips on how to make trips more enjoyable.  Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away.  Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories.  It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine.  Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn.  You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!

  • Travel & Vacation: Ice Skating Show

    'Great times with my sweetheart!'

    Celebrating with my best friend!

    Loving our time together on the cruise! Thankful for a time to celebrate! We had a great day on the ship watching the ice skating show, going to various activities, getting a massage, and so much more!

    'Ice Skating Show'
    Watching the ice skating show aboard the ship!
    'It was a small ice skating rink but they did an awesome performance!'
    A lot of interesting costumes and neat performances during the show!
    'I am blessed to have this amazing man as my husband and best friend!'
    Thankful for a time to get away and spend together!
    'Loved these costumes!'
    Fun characters.  Jake and I went ice skating, but we did have any fancy moves or costumes!

    The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family, ways we relax, and tips on how to make trips more enjoyable.  Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away.  Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories.  It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine.  Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn.  You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!

  • Travel & Vacation: Beautiful Roatan, Honduras

    'Loving traveling with this guy!'
    Jake and I in Roatan, Honduras

    Visiting beautiful Roatan, Honduras! It was a sunny day in Roatan and we did probably one of my favorite ocean activities so far – Snuba! I LOVED it!!!! We were able to go down 25 feet and explore the bottom of the ocean. The ocean ecosystem was fascinating! All the sea grass, fish, coral, sand, and everything moving smoothly and peacefully in the ocean was simply AMAZING! I would do it again in a heartbeat! We were each hooked to an oxygen tank and could go down to 25 feet without needing to come up for air. Snuba is kind of a cross between snorkeling and scuba diving! If you have a chance to try it do it. It was much more gorgeous then even the pictures reflect!

    'LOVE waking up and seeing the beautiful ocean and an equally gorgeous sunrise!'
    Watching the sunrise as we arrive in Honduras!
    'Port at Roatan, Honduras!'
    Ready to explore this beautiful place!
    'We got our fins on and are ready to go on our Snuba activity!'
    One of us has small feet and had to wear the kid fins…..can you guess who, ha!?
    'The park where we did the Snuba activity was postcard pretty! I could have stayed there for a lot longer if we had more time!'
    Beautiful place!  Definitely want to go to do Snuba again sometime!

    The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family, ways we relax, and tips on how to make trips more enjoyable.  Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away.  Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories.  It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine.  Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn.  You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!