Fun weekend!

We had quite a jam-packed weekend! We celebrated Molly's Baptism! To help us celebrate, my brother (Mike--Park City, Utah), sisters (Molly Ebaugh--Cincinnati, OH; Anne--Detroit area), and newest nephew (Tommy) came to Memphis. Mike arrived late on Thursday night and he, Molly and I went shopping and to lunch, while Matt took the day off to take an exam for school. We enjoyed a great dinner and hung out at night. Saturday, the four of us went to Ole Miss for Mike's first Grove and SEC Football experience. We all had a great time despite the poor game versus Arkansas. Oh well. Molly Ebaugh, Anne and Baby Tommy arrived from Cincinnati on Saturday evening. Mike, Molly E., Matt and I went to my friend, Erin Fudge's, CD release party that night. Great job, Erin!

On Sunday, we all woke up late and had brunch. Later, we got ready to go to The Stirring to have Molly baptized. It was a very special evening. To carry on with the tradition that I was raised with in the Catholic church, we decided to ask Molly E. and Mike to be Molly Jane's Godparents. It's kind of neat because Molly E. and Mike are my Godparents, too! Plus, Mike and I are Godparents to our niece, Kathryn, and our nephew, Ryan. Such a special honor to share! Our friend, Shanon (who also married us), baptized Molly and made it quite a memory. Some of the neat things that took place...Molly wore a baptism gown that we brought back from Ireland, we had the candle lit that I had at my baptism, some friends gave us water from the Jordan River to use, we wrapped Molly in Matt's baby blanket, another friend was baptized at the same time....and so many more. It was a great evening, complete with a family celebration dinner at Yia Yia's afterwards.

The family had to leave on Monday morning. It was a very quick trip, especially for the girls. We really enjoyed ourselves, though. It was so nice to be able to meet my newest nephew, Tommy. He's 4 weeks old; 8 weeks younger than Molly. When I held Tommy for the first time, I exclaimed, "He's so light!" at the same time as Anne held Molly and said, "She's so big!" Funny. Molly looked huge compared to him! That's what 8 weeks and 5 pounds will do to newborns. Anne and I dressed Tommy and Molly in coordinating outfits and took some cute pictures before they left. It's going to be fun to see these two cousins grow up together. They have lots of older cousins and will hopefully have some more younger ones, but it's neat that they're the same age. Anne and I had fun comparing stats, stories and sharing nursing sessions together.

Oh yeah, and I can't forget to mention that Anne brought me doughnuts from the Cider Mill in Michigan! Mmmmmmmmm! I call her every Fall to let her know how much I'm missing the Cider Mill. For those of you who don't know, one of the things that Michigan is known for are their apples. There are cider mills and apple orchards all around. There's simply nothing better than visiting one of them and tasting some warm doughnuts and fresh cold apple cider! It's a true Fall delight! So, Anne brought that taste down here to Memphis for me to enjoy! Thanks, Anne!

Well, that's our big weekend. Molly and I were so pooped on Monday after we dropped my brother off at the airport. We got home at 9am and napped. Well, can you consider sleeping for nine hours a "nap?" Yep. She and I conked out on the couch for a full day's work of sleeping. Every once in awhile it's fun to do that on a perfect rainy day like yesterday!

On that note, I think it's time for me to listen to the rain to hit the hay. Good night!

Such a tease...

Yeah, I know. I start back blogging on Monday night and it's already Tuesday before I get a chance to write again. Sorry. I've learned that my Mommy time when Molly is sleeping is a precious commodity. Yes, some days she sleeps 5 hours during the day, but the whole time I'm thinking, "How much longer will she be asleep and will it be long enough for me to ________?" Fill in the blank with "shower," "do dishes," "design stationery," "clean," and maybe even "vacuum." She usually does really well when I vacuum. I can start it up in the same room she's in and vacuum the whole house without her even waking up! But I still leave that chore to the last thing I need to do just in case I disturb her and my Mommy time is no more. Anyways, all that to say, here I am blogging during my Mommy time not only because I want to tell you all hello, but also because I'm putting off cleaning. :)

We went to the pediatrician yesterday. It was Molly's 2 month check-up on her 12th week birthday. She is now 24 1/4 inches long, 12 lbs 15.5 oz (yes, they wouldn't just round up to 13 lbs.), and her head is 41 cm in circumference. She is in the 90th percentile for height and the 75-90th for weight and head circumference. She's going to be a tall girl! The doctor said that all is well and she's a very healthy baby!

After the doctor's appointment we went to Gibson's for one of my favorite fall treats...pumpkin doughnuts! It's amazing how many pumpkin things Matt and I enjoy... doughnuts (Gibsons), dip (Jennifer Young from Hope), lattes (Starbucks), desserts (Jane Hillis from Hope)...the list goes on and on. Oh yeah and you can't forget about the Yankee Candles! Mmmmm! One thing that just doesn't sound like a good idea to me is pumpkin scented lotion. Erin Fudge and I saw it at Bath and Body Works yesterday and I just don't think I'd like to smear that all over me.

On that note, I think I'll go light my pumpkin spice candle and get back to cleaning before little one wakes up. I hope each of you is enjoying your own kind of pumpkin today!

We're Greener!

Well, it's been over a year since our last post. At that time we has just returned from our trip to Ireland. My how our lives have changed in the past year. Our trip to Ireland was part of our "plan" to get some of our "to-do's" checked off our list before we started a family. We went to Ireland in September 2006 and were pregnant in November. God is good...His timing actually matched ours. We know it's not always that easy and we're very grateful that he blessed us with a healthy and fairly easy pregnancy!

Fast forward to Fall 2007. I sit here with a beautiful baby girl next to me. Molly Jane Green was born on Wednesday, July 25, 2007. She wasn't born with red curly hair, but she does have dark hair (and a decent amount of it), big bright blue eyes, a precious nose, my full lips, and Daddy's long feet. She is a wonderful baby...very peaceful and pleasant. She loves to sleep...just like her Mommy. And she loves to smile!

I've been home full-time since June. It has been a completely different life for me. I keep busy, but at a much more manageable pace. During the summer months, I followed a few blogs that some friends posted and I decided to get back at it. There's no way that I can even attempt to "out-blog" the amazing posts from my friend, Jennifer, who with her husband tracked her journey to/during/from Kazakhstan to adopt a precious baby girl; nor the stories from Noel, who's with her husband studying in Germany for 18 months. Yet, I know there are a few of you out there who are interested in our life here in Memphis. Even if it consists of small, but great things, such as watching my baby sleep, designing invitations for others, or catching up on the Fall TV schedule.

You may ask what I'm doing to fill my time now that I'm not under constant deadlines working at a busy church. Well, I'm continuing to launch my stationery and design business, "What's Inside Designs." It was my goal to have a website, online catalog, identity system, pricing breakdown, etc. set in place before Molly was born. It just didn't happen, though. Fortunately I've been too busy filling the orders from clients! Thank God for word of mouth advertising! One day I'll get all of that other stuff in place. It's funny... I can help others create their identity and launch their business, but when it comes to my own, it's very daunting! Thankfully, Matt is working with me on all of the "business" stuff that I don't like to do. He set me up with all of the tax/legal stuff as well as a bank account. He does all of that so I can focus on being creative and building our company.

Aww, as I type, I look over at sweet Molly laying under her activity gym on the floor in my office. She's the reason why I began this post. She was looking up at the ladybug on the arch of her gym as if her friend would talk back to her. Then she realized she had another buddy in the butterfly flying next to the ladybug. It's so fun to watch her learn new things. Even though she's only 2 months old, the small things she learns is such a huge feat! Anyways, now my sweet baby is drifting off to sleep. What a precious sight it is to see a baby sleeping. You know that all is right with the world when you see the peace in such a small body. Ahhhhhhhh.

Well, with that, I leave you. We are truly a bit greener since our last post.

Oh yeah, and if you'd like to keep up with our family photos, visit http://photoshow.comcast.net/mjmgreen.