Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Perry Family!! We are looking forward to having Uncle Doug and Cece at our house today and then going to Meme and Pop Pop's house tomorrow for another feast. We are thankful for so many things......

1. Our family and friends - ALL OF YOU!! Tim and I (and Ava Grace too) wouldn't be the people we are today without the love and support of each one of you.

2. Our new reason to be thankful....Ava Grace. We are so blessed to have this little girl in our lives!! We couldn't imagine life without her and we are so thankful that God chose us to be her parents.

3. Military people....we have had a cousin in Iraq for some time and have had many friends who have been on the battlefield...we admire you and your courage!! Thank you for all that you do -I know that sounds cliche, but we really are thankful for you and your service.

4. Jobs....Tim and I have jobs that we enjoy very much. Although it can be frustrating at times, we realize that we have a place to work everyday and that others are not so fortunate. On that same note, we are also thankful for the people that we work with. They make going to work more fun!

5. Our house....although small, we love our house. We are thankful for the coziness and for a place to call home.

6. Our church...we are so lucky to be a part of a wonderful church. Teaching Children's Church and attending other functions has been a lot of fun and have put some things in perspective for both of us.

I could go on, but I think you get the gist. So, on this cold, mountain, Thanksgiving Day, we hope that y'all have a wonderful time with your families and you remember all that you are thankful for today and always.

A Special Day

Ava Grace was baptized on Sunday morning! It was a special day and she looked like an angel. The weather turned out to be sunny and nice considering that we had snow two days before. The service was sweet and Ava Grace performed really well. Rev. Combs took Ava Grace in his hands to walk around the church so that everyone could see her. She did not cry once - YEAH!! I thinks he was amazed at all of the people looking at her. I also think that she like the microphone and Rev. Combs voice. Many people greeted us after the service and commented on how beautiful Ava Grace is. Of course we think so!! :) After the service, everyone came back to our house for lunch. It was wonderful to have the WHOLE family (almost everyone...Brittany had a Powder Puff football game on Sunday afternoon and couldn't make it) together!! It was a big day for all of us and we are looking forward to raising Ava Grace in our church. The youth at the church already love her so much!!

Thank you to everyone for traveling to share this day with us: Meme, Pop Pop, Aunt Deb, Uncle Evan, Rebecca, Uncle Steve, Aunt Diana, Justin, Cece, Uncle Doug, Aunt Stacey, Luke, Mrs. Lisa, Mr. Stephen, Matthew, Sarah, MiMi (Dianne Haynes - Lisa's mom), and Claire. We love each of you!!

What a week!

So, this has been by far the craziest week since I went back to work. Work is going well, but it is seriously hard to function without a computer. Yes, I have been TRYING to function without a computer for 5 weeks now. I FINALLY got my laptop back this week and I can't tell you how excited I was. I could have kissed the secretary who gave it to me!! :) So, I thought my job was going to get easier with the laptop - just kidding. I accidently erased 5 reports and a ton of paperwork for meetings off of a disk. Oh yeah - that's right! So, as I was on the verge of tears, I decided I better suck it up and get busy because it was going to take me many hours to redo everything. So, on top of the other work that I had to do this week, I had to reconstruct reports and paperwork for meetings. Our big federal deadline is Dec. 1st which means with the Thanksgiving holidays, everything has to be turned in by this Tuesday. It definitely was BAD timing to lose all of that stuff!! I didn't get in bed any night before midnight this week and of course was up at 5 am as usual. Thank goodness Ava Grace slept through the night this week. I'm not sure if I could have made it through 5 days without crying if she hadn't done it. She must have known how stressed I was (and still am because the work is far from over).
On a better note, it snowed 2 days this week which is always fun to see. Of course the best part is that it didn't stick to the ground for very long which means we were in school. No one really wants to miss school before the Christmas holidays, so it has worked in our favor so far. The bad part about it is that it has been incredibly cold. It was 17 degrees this morning when I got up! Brrrr!!!
Another birthday....I know it seems like we know everyone, but this is a special one. Yesterday (21st) was Price's birthday. Some of you know who I am talking about, but for others, Price is actually Mrs. Price. When I was a little girl for some reason, I just decided I would shorten her name to Price and it has stuck. Her grandchildren even call her Price. Yesterday was her birthday and I am sorry that we weren't there to celebrate. Her daughter Paige is a baker at home and the one who made my wedding cake. YUMMY!! Paige had the cutest cake made up for her with ltos of her favorite candies. Price even wore a Birthday Princess hat all day! Too cute!! There is no relation, but Price and her family have always been special friends in our lives. So, happy birthday Price!! We'll see you in a few weeks!! :)
I'm sure there are other things that have happened this week, but I can't think right now. Hope everyone has had a good weekend so far!!

Football News

Well, Ava Grace sported her Mauldin Maverick football attire yesterday in hopes to bring good luck to Uncle Doug and his football team. Unfortunately, Mauldin was unable to pull out a victory against Clover - losing the game 49-32. It rained the whole game and there was even a lightning delay during the 4th quarter. I just know that if Mauldin could play Clover again on an equal playing field (no rain) that OUR team could win. So, we are sad that the season is over, but we are so incredibly proud of the accomplishments of the boys and the coaches (especially uncle Doug and Cousin Lee).

Since I am writing about football, I wanted to say a brief word about a friend of ours. Coach Gregg Skipper (Skip to us) coached at MBHS for 28 years. He coached under my dad and coached my brother in middle school and on the JV football team at the high school. I honestly can't remember not knowing him!! On Friday morning, we received some sad news. Skip was killed in a car accident about 1/3 mile from his house. He was still coaching at MBHS with this year being his last. MBHS played Airport last night in the 2nd round of the play-offs and won!! They did it for Skip!! He will be greatly missed by my family as well as many other people in the Myrtle Beach community. Thanks for all of the good times and fun memories. I smile as I think of you right now!! We love you Skip!!

4 Months Old

Ava Grace turned 4 months old today!! Time is really flying by. She has learned how to do several things this past month. Let me see....she can grab her feet now although they haven't made it to her mouth yet (but we are waiting), she can blow bubbles while drool runs all the way from her mouth to her feet, she can laugh at the silly things her Mama and Daddy do, and she kicks violently in the bathtub (definitely one of her favorite activities of the night). She has mastered some other skills as well, but you get the point. Ava Grace has really enjoyed going to the sitter's for the last month (since I started back to work). She and Nanny (sitter) have a great time during the day and she is enthralled with the other children - watching their every move. She rarely takes a nap longer than 30 minutes at this point because she is so scared she is going to miss something. Fortunately, she is in a great mood when I pick her up in the afternoon, so I guess her little power naps are enough for her right now. She is really growing and changing every day. It is truly amazing how quickly the days pass by. It is hard for me to believe that she is already 4 months old!! Time is flying, but we are loving every minute of it!!

Remembering....

It has been a somewhat sad day yet a day filled with many memories for my family. It is so hard to believe that 14 years ago today my dad (Granddaddy to Ava Grace) passed away. Of course I can relive that day as if it happened yesterday, but instead of thinking about all of the pain and confusion of that day in 1994, I have been thinking about the fun times. There are definitely too many for me to write about, but I want to share a little bit about the times I remember and how wonderful my dad was. Of course it goes without saying that I was definitely a "Daddy's Girl"!! I lived in his back pocket!! We had many special times spent together - just the two of us. Lets see....I would go with him on Saturday mornings to the high school to clean out the locker room after the football games, I would go with him to the high school and just roam around finding things to do as he worked with the athletes (he knew I would be ok...I could run the school after all!), I would go on the practice football field every afternoon after tennis practice to tell him about the match I played that day (win or lose), we would shag in the living room and watch the contest on tv every Saturday night, and I would sit by him most Sundays at church just so he could put his arm around me!! Of course there are many memories that we have as a family too....wonderful vacations, Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, any sporting event that involved Doug or me (there were lots of those along with the other athletic events we attended at MBHS), and watching football while eating boiled peanuts on Saturdays and Sundays. I could go on and on about my dad and how much he means to our family. He truly was the best dad in the world!! I think about him every day and wonder if I am living up to half the person that he was. He was one of the most caring, sensitive, giving, and loving men I have ever known. Although most people only knew my dad as a football coach, teacher, or athletic director at the high school, he was a person whose character went far beyond those titles. I know that many people miss him very much and so do I!! I have accomplished a lot in the last 14 years that I know he would be so proud of!! Of course I wish he could have been here to share everything - high school graduation, graduation from Wofford, grad school graduation, getting married, and most recently having a baby. I know Ava Grace and Luke would bring a HUGE smile to his face.
So, on this day as my heart hurts because I miss you so much, I am so thankful for the 17 years I had with you and the lifetime of memories that you left for us. I know no matter what, I will always be "your little girl"!! I love you so much!!

4 month check-up

Ava Grace had a good visit to the doctor's today. She weighs 14 pounds and is 25 inches long. She is really growing!! It is hard to believe how small she was when she was first born. Unfortunately, she had to get 5 shots again. Ava Grace has definitely felt the affects of the shots this afternoon and evening as she has been a little fussy, run a fever, and wanted to be held by Tim and me. Of course we didn't mind the holding part, but we hope that she feels better tomorrow. Everything else checked out at the doctor's office and they won't need to see her until she is 6 months old (assuming she doesn't get sick or anything in the meantime....we are definitely praying she doesn't get sick). So, that is all the news from Dr. Goodwin for this visit!

Visit with Meme and Pop Pop

Ava Grace and I visited with Meme and Pop Pop on Saturday morning for a little while. Aunt Deb, Brittany, and Rebecca came over to visit too. It was so nice to catch up with everyone and I think Ava Grace had a good time getting to know them better. I told her before long she will be begging to go to Meme's and Pop Pop's and to Cece's. The days of clinging to her mama will be over!! :) Ava Grace sat in Pop Pop's lap and they talked about all kinds of things. She even added her two cents worth. Ava Grace and Meme talked too and Meme showed her all of the neat Halloween and Thanksgiving things she has in her house. Ava Grace has no idea how fun and noisy Christmas will be over there with all of the decorations that play music!! I'm sure her big cousin Rebecca will show her the ropes. Sorry Perry family, Ava Grace will probably follow in Rebecca's footsteps with making noise and talking nonstop. :)

I've attached a picture of Rebecca and Ava Grace from the visit. Rebecca is 4 years old going on 30! She is so adorable and so funny!! Rebecca also loves "her Ava Grace".

We're so proud of you!!

YEAH!! The Mauldin Mavericks have done it again - beaten Hillcrest for the second time this year!! It was a great game and of course with the rivalry, it made the victory even sweeter!! The players and coaches were sooo excited as this topped off a winning season at 6-5 and allowed Mauldin to make the play-offs for the first time in several years. Uncle Doug got a huge bath of Gatorade at the end of the game, but he was all smiles anyway. Mauldin will travel to Clover on Friday night to face the Blue Eagles in the first round of the play-offs. We are hoping for a victory, but above all, we are lifting praises for the kids and coaches that worked so hard this year and deserve this more than anything! Congrats Uncle Doug and the Mauldin Mavericks!!

Another busy weekend

We had another busy weekend as usual. Ava Grace and I went to Uncle Doug's game on Friday night against Byrnes. If anyone saw the score, it wasn't pretty. However, the score is not indicative of how the boys played. It looked like Byrnes beat them badly, but our kids played well - just made a few costly mistakes. They play Hillcrest this weekend and then it is off to the play-offs. We are counting on a win this Friday night - Go Mavs!!

On Saturday morning, we hung out with Uncle Doug, Aunt Stacey, and Luke. It was nice to sit around and chat. We haven't done that in what seems like forever. That was the first time they held Ava Grace since she was 2 weeks old. She smiled and cooed and also cried...the emotions of a baby change so quickly! After our short visit, Ava Grace and I headed back up the mountain to the university. The Bulldog World Series continued this weekend. It was a beautiful weekend for baseball!! We also attended the volleyball game against Winthrop. Our UNCA girls won in 5 games!! YEAH!! Ava Grace enjoys the volleyball games and her daddy is hoping that she continues to be tall and maybe play one day. There were more recruits in town for the weekend as well, so we headed to dinner. It was nice to visit with Christine and Kendall while getting to know the recruits and their families better.

On Sunday, Ava Grace and I went to church before heading to the university again. it was the last day of the Bulldog World Series and the series was even - blue team 2, black team 2. In the end, the black team ended up winning!! The guys played really well. I hope that is just a preview on what our season will be like in the spring.

So, as you can see, Tim, Ava Grace, and I haven't slowed down much since I went back to work. I know it is all going to catch up with me very soon. It has been nice to have Tim home more though, so it is worth being busy!!