October 13th 2004

On this morning I woke up and had absolutely no idea what I was in store for. I never really pictured myself being a mom and I guess I never really planned on it happening the way it did. But God knew what he was doing. He knew that his plan was far better than what I was doing with my life before I found out that I was pregnant. In a matter of 9 months I found out that my life would be forever changed and I could no longer continue with such selfish, self destructive behavior. I married my husband after dating for a whole 7 months, the beginning was a little rough and we actually broke up several times. We started planning a wedding around 5 months, officially engaged by the 6th month, and married on the 7th. Did I ever plan it this way? No way. I would not change any of it. So on October 13, 2004 I go to St. Vincents to be enduced for labor. My blood pressure was high due to a pregnancy rash that I developed around week 34. It was horrid! Around 2:15 Pm they told me that I was not progressing as I should and they were doing a C-section. At 3:45, Mallory Claire Brannum came into this world at 7lbs 3 oz. I was In love with her instantly. We heard that sweet little cry for the first time and it lasted all but 1 second. They did their thing and wiped her and rubbed her and honestly, she did not make a sound. She stared at them the entire time and her eyes were so big and bright. My OB doctor actually called her bright eyes because every time she came in to my room to check on my, Mallory was staring around the room just taking it all in. She was the perfect baby. She hardly ever cried and was always so content. You could not disrupt her schedule. Even as a toddler, she never went through a bad stage. She would take naps on her own and was such a joy to be around. If anything, she was a little sensitive. She spoke in complete sentences when she was only 16 months old and was reading at 5-6 year old level at age 4. Commen sense comes very easy to her and she is great to get along with. She loves everyone, especially God and she is a wonderful big sister. I love this girl and can not believe that she is 8 years old. She is still as well behaved and content as ever. She also still has those big eyes and always absorbs everything. She really does not miss a thing. I am proud to be her mom. Mallory wanted to shop for her own clothes for her birthday. So we celebrated with a little birthday dinner with family and one of her friends on Friday night at Mizu (she loves Japenese food) and Saturday we had a mother daughter shopping day. We followed that up with a birthday party for a friend from church at the skating rink. And yes, I skated too. I felt like I was in middle school. LOL

She is getting so big and her hair is getting so long......Tear...

School Starts

I can not believe that school has already started back. Time is flying by so fast. All I can really say about summer is that is was H-O-T-T. The girls spent the summer at a summer fun program at the school. I really wish I could have spent it with them, but it all worked out well. It helped Morgan get used to her new school and meet new friends. They will both be going to Kingwood Christian School. Tre and I sit down each year and discuss whether we can afford to send them to private school, and it is really a huge decision. But doing without some things are no substitute for what I know they are getting at Kingwood. The decision could change next year or the next, but for now, it is one day at a time. Just to show off a few key summer events: This past year I started off helping in Mpact Girls club at church. At the start of 2012 I took over the Stars class, which is 3rd-5th grade. At the end of each year we do a graduation ceremony for all the girls moving up and a crowning/graduation cermony for the 5th grade Honor Stars. (this is a pretty big deal) This was my first year to be involved and I really enjoyed it. We ended the year and graduation performing a Human Video that would be presented at camp. The girls did so good and it was powerful. They are all lined up below for prayer in their outfits for the video.

I was suppose to attend Missionettes camp with the girls this year but unfortunately I could not take off work. The girls had a blast. I was able to go to Springville Camp and Conferance Center one night and join in all the festivities. They had so much fun.

This year we ended our summer with a short vacation to a small area near Fairhope, AL. Thanks to Marriott rewards points for making the trip free. The resort was absolutely gorgeous. We did a lot of swimming and bike riding on the bay.

The girls had a wonderful time, as did we. Morgan ended the summer with several goals accomplished. She is doing a great job riding her bike and will soon be withou training wheels and swimming with no floats. It was the much needed family time we needed before school started on Monday. We came back to town ready to meet the teacher and get organized for the upcoming school year. Monday came fast and I was ready. I must say, I had it going on. Everything was together and organized and we were out the door with tons of time to spare. Mallory on her adventure into 3rd grade and Morgan into Kindergarden. Mallory has a teacher this year who is new to both teaching and to KCS. I really liker her though and I think she will do a wonderful job. Morgan has the same teacher Mallory had in K-5. She is fabulous and I love her heart for her kids. She dresses up as the Cat in the Hat and on the first day she was dressed in camo for the bear hunt. She is awesome and Morgan already loves her.

My 2 sweet girls. They look so cute in uniforms. They are so sweet to each other and get along so well. I could not be more proud of them. Morgan is turning out to be quite the little artist. She is very particular about coloring. She is reading full sentences and can count to 100. Most importantly, Christ lives in her heart. Mallory is currently waiting to be baptized. She accepted Christ a long time ago but was very skiddish about being baptized in front of the entire church. She is reading on a 5th grade level. For a girl who is really only suppose to go in 2nd grade, this mom is proud. She is starting piano this year(her choice), which made us very happy. :)She still loves bugs and reptiles and will collect them in a heartbeat. I am also finding it funny how she has started taking an interest in clothes and shoes. She understands that I do not go out and buy her what she wants or the highest price clothes. I love that about her. She has always been perfectly fine with every thing we tell her. But she did pick out her school shoes. They are converse high tops. Totally Punky Brewster. She did some work to help with the cost. But honestly, I have never seen her so excited about anything, EVER. It is ok to just do it every now and then. The smile on her face was priceless. She sat in the driveway and waited for those shoes to be delivered for awhile and has not taken them off, except for bed time. She will be 8 in 2 months and she just wants to go shopping and pick out some of her own clothes. (modest of course) So its a full girls day of shopping! We have had an awesome start to the school year and we have so much stuff coming up in the next few months. It is going to be busy....................