MALI TURNS 1

Time sure flies when you are having fun!!! Right? The past year has flown by and our baby girl is a big (haha) 1 year old!!! We were fortunate to have Grandma and Pa down here with us to help celebrate Mali's birthday. She had a princess cake because she is Princess Mal Mal!! We had her party on Monday night because the weather was bad and we werent able to work. Then on Weds night (her b-day) we went to Disney on Ice. She LOVED it!! Here are a few pics from both events. Thanks to Grandma she had a delicious fudge cake on her birthday too!!

Time to blog!!

Ok it has been over 3 months so I figured that its time for me to get on here and update and post some pictures. The kids started school in August. I cant believe it but Lexi is a Jr and Marlee is in 8th grade. John and I are getting old!! That means 2 in high school next year :( Makenna is in the 7th, Maleah in 4th and Michael in 1st. Our babies are growing up and growing up fast!!

Marlee and Makenna both made cheerleading!!! GO PANTHERS!!! They really do a good job and I am so proud of them :) Since this is the 1st time they have cheered I have to admit I was a little nervous about them trying out, but they did it and I knew they would!!

And Makenna has had her 12th birthday!! She is now in Young Womens. We had a little party with a few of her friends. The night of her birthday she went skating with some friends and Rachel came home with her and spent the night. She stayed here until late the next night. The two of them went out to dinner by themselves and had a great time!!

Mali's birthday is next week and we cant believe that she has been a blessing in our lives for a year already. She is growing and learning everyday and we cant imagine what our lives would be without her.

Where does the time go?! School is out!!! :) Marlee and Makenna both made the cheerleading team at their middle school, so they are officially cheerleaders for Cowan Road Middle School. I am so proud of both of them for working so hard at try-outs. They have practice every Tues and Thurs throughout the summer. Michael graduated from Kindergarten, without actually graduating. He was sick with a hot fever, ear infection and strep throat. Maleah, Mali and Lexi are all doing great as well. Daddy and Mama met John and I on the 18th in South Carolina and dropped Maleah, Michael and Mali off to visit for a while. Then on 24th, Jessica (she was in Atlanta for a Braves vs Yankees game) took Marlee and Makenna to the island too. So John and I have been alone for 5 days now :) We have really enjoyed being able to spend some time alone. Don't get me wrong, we MISS the kids terribly, but we have enjoyed our alone time. We have plans to drive up on the 3rd to spend the weekend and bring the kids back. Just to update anyone who reads this on how Mali is doing, she still hasnt grown much, she is now 8 months old and weighs just a little over 14 lbs. Back to John and I hanging out alone, we really have enjoyed being with eachother. We have kind of just lounged around, watched TV played eachother some Ms PacMan. We watched a really good movie, Fireproof. If you haven't seen it you need to.

Below is the lyrics to one of the songs in the movie.

Love is not a place to come and go as we please

It's a house we enter in then commit to never leave

So lock the door behind you Throw away the key

Work it out together Let it bring us to our knees

Love is a shelter in a raging storm

Love is peace in the middle of a war

And if we try to leave;

May God send angels to guard the door

No, Love is not a fight but its something worth fighting for

To some love is a word that they can fall into.

But when they're falling out keeping that word is hard to do

Love is a shelter in a raging storm

Love is peace in the middle of a war

And if we try to leave;

May God send angels to guard the door

No, Love is not a fight but its something worth fighting for

Love will come to save us

If we'll only call

He will ask nothing from us

but demand we give our all

Love is a shelter in a raging storm

Love is peace in the middle of a war

And if we try to leave;

May God send angels to guard the door

No, Love is not a fight but its something worth fighting for.

Cause I Will Fight For You

Would You Fight For Me

It's Worth Fighting For.

50 things about me :)

1. What color is your toothbrush?
pink
2. Name one person who made you smile today:
Mali, Maleah and Michael
3. What were you doing at 8 am this morning:
ironing Johns clothes
4. What were you doing 45 minutes ago?
calling dentists
5. What is your favorite candy bar?
Hersheys
6. Have you ever been to a strip club?
No
7. What is the last thing you said aloud?
shes a whiner!!!!
8. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
chocolate
9. What was the last thing you had to drink?
Sprite
10. Do you like your wallet?
I guess...but its definately time for a new one
11. What was the last thing you ate?
a bite of Maleahs chocolate chip pop-tart
12. Have you bought any new clothing items this week?
sure have
13. The last sporting event you watched?
the NFL draft
14. What is your favorite flavor of popcorn?
popcorn from the movies with lots of butter
15. Who is the last person you sent a text message to?
Celeste
16. Ever go camping?
Yes, LOVE IT...... me John and all the kids with the exception of Mali, she wasnt here yet
17. Do you take vitamins daily?
no but I try to
18. Do you go to church every Sunday?
Yes, most of the time
19. Do you have a tan?
Yep when I get a chance
20. Do you prefer Chinese food over pizza?
Depends on who cooks it
21. Do you drink your soda with a straw?
only in a restaurant
22. What did your last text message say?
IDK John has my phone this morning
23. What are you doing tomorrow?
going to church
24? what happened to 24?

25. Look to your left, what do you see?
my kitchen
26. What color is your watch?
dont have one
27. What do you think of when you hear Australia?
I want to go there one day
28. What is your birthstone?
Opal
29. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru?
hit the drive thru
30. What is your favorite number?
7
31. Who's the last person you talked to on the phone?
Andrew.....Answered Marlees phone and it was Rebeccas little brother
32. Any plans today?
help Liz move and take Maleah and Michael to the movies
33. How many states have you lived in?
3
34. Biggest annoyance right now?
Stupid People
35. Last song you listened to?
your mamas calling back..............Marlees ringtone for when I call
36. Can you say the alphabet backwards?
no
37. Do you have a maid service clean your house?
I wish
38. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time?
my worn out Rainbows
39. Are you jealous of anyone?
nope
40. Is anyone jealous of you?
nope
41. Do you love anyone?
Lots of people
42. Do any of your friends have children?
Most of them
43. What do you usually do during the day?
work cook clean
44. Do you hate anyone that you know right now?
No
45. Do you use the word 'hello' daily?
everytime I answer the phone :)
46. What color is your car?
one is silver and one is grey
47. Do you like cats?
NO
48. Are you thinking about someone right now?
Yes
49. Have you ever been to Six Flags?
yes
50. How did you get your worst scar?
cut my finger on the church fence

What is that on my arm?

So I cooked a big pot of beef-a-roni tonight for dinner. I wanted a big glass of cold milk to go with it BUT when I went to the fridge and got it out, it was out of date!! To me there is nothing like a big glass of COLD milk with spaghetti!! Mali was in her bouncy seat on the kitchen table right in front of me eating her baby food (mac n cheese) . I was talking to my sister Mariah via SKYPE, while we were having dinner. As I was eating my dinner, something from Mali's way landed on my arm. I just wiped it off, as any mother would do and took another bite of my beef-a-roni. Then I looked up to give Mali another bite and her bottom end had EXPLODED all over her and her bouncy seat. THEN it hit me.............. it was flying Mali poo that had hit my arm!!! Mariah informed me that I probably shouldnt eat anymore from that plate, maybe I should fix me another!!! SO I gave Mali her bath and washed my hands and arm...... and fixed myself another plate :)

Where did February go?

Where did February go? I dont know BUT it went really fast. On February 20 my very young looking husband turnded the big 4-0 YES 40 years old!! I decorated his office all in black for the big event. The kids decorated the living and dining rooms. We grilled out that night, fun time for all. Our little Mal Mal as she is most oftened called is finally starting to grow!! She had her 4 month check-up last week, 19 weeks old, and she weighed 11 lbs and 9 oz. She is such a sweet and happy baby. (most of the time) Tonight Maleah was talking to her and she was laughing SO hard that it almost sounded like she was crying. This past Sunday, March 1st we went to church, late of course I think we got there around 10:30 and it starts at 10, around 11:30 the kids in the hall started getting really loud. To make a long story short.... it had started snowing and the kids were all in and out playing in the falling snow. It snowed until sometime very late that evening and the kids had a wonderful, very wet time playing in the snow. Monday was a SNOW DAY for us, I'm not sure how things are really done down here and if they will have to make it up or not. This weekend is a busy weekend down here. It is race weekend and we live about 5-10 mins from Atlanta Motor Speedway. We were hoping that Daddy and Mama would have been here this weekend so we could take Daddy to the race but had surgery yesterday and wont be able to come for a while. *we are praying for a speedy recovery* The above picture was taken a few weeks ago, while I was giving Mali her bath. This expressiong and sweet look is how she is most of the time. She has been such a blessing to us as are all the kids. We love our 5 girls and 1 little boy. ~Times are good and our home is filled with lots of laughter and love~

2009 is here!!

I cant believe another year is here already. And I cant believe my baby is already 3 months old as of this past Wednesday. I had her weighed that day and she now weighs 10# and 11 oz. She is such a little cutie!! The kids are really enjoying having another little one around. And she is such a sweet baby!! She really enjoys eating. Yes I feed her and she loves it. She usually doesnt get messy but I let her just so I could take some pictures of her messy!! She LOVES tapioca pudding and sweet potatoes!! (the orange face) Just to catch up a little bit since the last post...... Christmas came. What a wonderful time of year. Lexi came and stayed several days with us and I was actually able to get a pretty good picture of all of the kids together. AND it didnt take as many snaps as I thought that it would. It may not be the best but for a picture of 6 kids, I thought that I did a good job. We had a wonderful time together.

Then next was New Years Eve. Well the day before that I think it was we were eating dinner approximately at 9:00 pm. And it was so good. I had made beef tips over rice and I dont remember now what I fixed to go with that. ANYWAYS while we were eating Marlee ran outside to get something from one of her friends and when she came back in she said look who's here and when we looked....... it was Grandma and Pa!!!! They surprised us by coming down to see us. I had asked them to the day before, Daddy had a Dr.'s appointment in Durham and I tried talking them into coming but Mama said they couldnt they didnt have clothes or anything they would need with them. I didnt know but they were planning on coming here all along. So New Years Eve, me, Mama and the girls but a bunch of party food and partied all night!!! Mama laid on 1 couch and I laid on the other and both tried staying awake until the New Year came in. Other than that there isnt much going on. John and I are working really hard to build our business. We now OWN 14 machines and are hoping to increase our inventory to 20 very soon. As anyone knows........... good help is hard to find. We have several really good, hard working guys and gals right now. Hopefully there are a few of them that we can hold onto. The kids have a long weekend since it is MLK day on Monday! They have off for their winter break the middle of February. We may go to the Island for that week, but we have also talked about going to Myrtle Beach. Oh yeah John got me a new laptop for Christmas. It has a webcam and camera. This is just one of the many pictures that has been taken with it. We have really enjoyed talking to our family back in NC and being able to see eachother. We are very excited for this new year with our wonderful little family and teaching Mali so many new things. Love to everyone!!!

How time flies.........

I cant believe that I haven't blogged in over a month!!! Just to catch up a little bit....... we went to NC for Thanksgiving. We were able to be there for 5 days well that includes driving there and back but still we were gone for 5 days. Everyone was so excited to see all of the kids and to especially see Mali for the 1st time. There were very few minutes in the day that she wasn't in someones arms. We had Thanksgiving dinner at Mama and Daddy's. My sisters Macy and Mariah and my youngest (but biggest... hes over 6 ft tall) brother Riley was there. Mema (my grandma) was able to be there and to see and hold Mali and Mikal and all of her family and Marianne and all of her family. There were quite a few of us squeezed in the house but it was nice being all together.
Marlee and Makenna had their Christmas chorus concert and it was great. That group of kids sing really good and I love their concerts. Mali is now 2 months old and weighs a big whopping 9 lbs!! She isn't very big but she is growing!! Michael is finally getting a top front tooth and for those of you that really know him, he hasn't had one since he was 2 years old!! Maleah had a haircut this week and man is her hair curly now. I really just trimmed it but it looks much shorter now. Maleah and Michael also got new bunk beds this week. John and I finally got them put together last night (with the kids help) so they were finally able to sleep on them. Which they didn't know til this morning....... they fell asleep on the couch!!
Christmas is next week and I haven't done ANY shopping. When I say ANY I mean I haven't purchased the 1st gift!! NOTHING!!! I need to get busy, I just have to decide what I am going to buy for them!! Today is also the kids last day of school til January 6, 2009. We are hoping to find time to take the kids to Stone Mountain while they are on vacation for a day of fun at snow mountain. It looks like so much fun!! Heres a video that you can look at. http://www.snowmountainpark.com/snow_goodies/promo-detail.aspx?id=14 It's open from Dec 31 til March 31 so if we dont get to go during this vacation there is still time that we can go!!
What a wonderful year this has been. We have been blessed in so many ways. We have 6 beautiful and healthy kids. My husband and I share a wonderful life together and working together everyday. Our children are blessed with the best parents ever (hehehe) and the best grandparents too. Hopefully this coming year the kids will be able to spend more time with Grandma and Pa. (we are hoping they visit more) To everyone that reads this we love you and wish the best for your families in the coming new year.

The 6 of them

Al l 6 of the kids were here this past weekend. They had alot of fun times. I tried getting a good picture of them but try getting 6 to look at you and smile all at the same time. The 4 girls on the right did a good job, but Marlee and Michael weren't very cooperative. So out of all of the pictures I took of them together this is the one that turned out the best. I'm hoping that the next time that Lexi comes down that we will be able to get at least one good picture of all of them so we can put it in our office.

John, Makenna, Maleah and Lexi spent a great deal of the day doing cheerleading stunts, with Maleah being the flyer. John, I have to say caught on pretty quick. They tried getting Michael to do it but he changed his mind real quick!! THANK GOODNESS!!!!!

Anyway Mali is growing tooooo quickly, and time is going by tooooo fast. She will be a month old is 7 days and it hurts my feelings and hurts my heart. Dont you wish sometimes that time would just slow down, but then there are times when you wish it would just speed up. We are planning, as of right now, going to the Island for Thanksgiving. I really want everyone to see Mali before she gets too much bigger. And I especially want Mema to be able to see her.

Life has been good here for us. We have so many things to be thankful for. The kids primary program is this coming Sunday and then the following Sunday Marlee and I are supposed to talk in Sacrament meeting. We are both very nervous to say the least. We have to speak on service. I havent talked in Sacrament meeting since I was pregnant with Makenna, over 11 years ago!! The little one has woke up and so I must cut this short!!

SHE'S HERE!!!!

Mali Anna Peck arrived on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 at 6:15 pm. I had to be at the hospital at 6am. When I got there I was dilated 2 and 70% effaced. At 6:45 they inserted Cytotec into my cervix. Around 10:30 the magic man arrived in my room, Dr Loo, and started the epidural and then at 10:45 I was dilated to 4 and they started me on Pitocin and the Dr broke my water. Soon after that her heartbeat dropped and so did my blood pressure. They gave me medication to bring it back up and put oxygen on me. We kept losing Mali's heartbeat so they put a fetal monitor on her and put my feet up and my head down. I stayed at 4 for quite a while. I think at 4:00 I was finally dilated to 6. It wasnt long after this that I told John, everytime I have a contraction I feel pressure down there. I waited for a couple more contractions to make sure and then I got John to call the nurse back in, that was around 5:00. She came right in and checked me and I was dilated to 9.5. They called the Dr and she finally got there sometime after 6:00. I felt like everyone was just taking there time, but the epidural was still working good, so I wasnt in any pain. I think I pushed thru 3 contractions. When her head came out, they told me to stop pushing, the cord was wrapped around her neck twice, hence the reason for the heartbeat to keep going down!!! The Dr cut the cord and one more push and she was out!! Head full of black hair and BEAUTIFUL!!!! She was much tinier than we thought that she would be. She weighed 6 pounds and 9 ounces. She was 20 inches long. All of the kids were in the waiting room eagerly awaiting her arrival. Everyone was so excited and glad that she was here. We are enjoying every minute with her. All of her sisters and her brother, think that she is perfect and Dad and I know she is. What a wonderful, beautiful, perfect little girl to complete our family. There is nothing in the world like a new baby. We all love her so much and cant wait to watch her learn and grow. Heavenly Father has truly blessed us.

Went to the Dr

OK, so I went to the Dr yesterday, for my last visit!!! YAY!!! I am dilated a whole big whopping 1 cm and I am 50% effaced!! I am to report to the hospital on Tuesday, Oct 14 at 6am. Daddy, Mama and Macy (and all of her kids) are leaving the Island today for Durham. Daddy has a Dr appt in the morning there at 8am. After the appt they are leaving to drive down this way!!

So my to do list:

On Saturday, Marlee has All State Chorus tryouts at 11:40.
Some of the girls at church are getting together on Saturday at 1:00 to have me a little shower. (glad Mama and Macy are gonna be able to be there)
Get my bag packed
Get Malis bag packed
Make sure I have all of the necessary items for the hospital
Make a place for everyone to sleep while they are here
And I'm sure ALOT more!!!

Our last photo shoot!!

I went to the Dr this morning, we had our final in utero photo shoot. She was simply beautiful of course!! According to their calculations she weighed 6lbs 2oz. What a big girl!! And I'm not even 35 weeks yet. She hid her face most of the time, but we were able to get some good pictures of her after her measurements. Only 3 more weeks til I go to be induced. Maleah and Michael ask everyday, how many more days til Mali is here. They are all so excited and so are John and I. Cant wait for us all to be at home together.

A sweet surprise!!!

So this past week has been a busy one at the shop!!! On Tuesday we interviewed about 75 people!! What a LONG day! On Wednesday we had 11 of those people come back for orientation. A very busy morning!! I had to take one of the guys home after orientation was over. Well Mariah and Chris and their kids had been to Florida the past week. They spent Tuesday night in Savannah which is about 3 hours from Griffin. I called her Tuesday night and told her that they should come here and stay a couple of days, which was the original plan, but then we were so busy at the office that those plans got changed!! She said she would let me know something. I called her Wednesday morning and she said Chris just wanted to get home, he pulled his back out while in Florida!! I told her that we should be done with class around lunchtime so if they could hangout in Savannah then maybe we could meet somewhere and at least we could spend a few hours together. So I went on to the office and like I said we had orientation, then I took one of the guys home. On my way back to the office I called her and she said they had decided to go on home and they were almost to Fayetteville. Well when I got to the office, John met me outside and said the Smiths were there and very upset cause their baby had gotten her fingers cut on their machine, for me to hurry and come talk to them. He said this with a kindof smirky grin on his face, I had no idea what he was up to. So I went on in and went in the back of the office and there sat Mariah, Chris, Kenan and Kenly!!! What a sweet surprise!!!!
We hurried home and got the kids out of school ordered pizza and pasta from Pizza Hut, ate and then headed to a Braves game. The Braves actually won the game and we had a great time! The weather was nice, it cooled off and felt really good. They came to the house the next morning and told the kids bye before they went to school and then they headed home! Their visit was short and sweet but we enjoyed every minute of it :)

..........

Ok, so I went to the Dr this past week. I had lost a couple of pounds YAY!! So as of now I have only gained 12 pounds. I was 31 weeks and measured 33. Everything went quite well!! The Dr's here are so much different about things than back in Carteret County. They will induce you with no problems at all. When I had the placenta previa, my Dr had talked to me about a c-section about 2 weeks early. At that time we discussed that most of my family lived in NC and it was about a 10 hour drive for them to get here so a scheduled date would be wonderful. Well as you know my placenta has moved so hopefully heads down and no c-section, BUT she said that she would plan to induce me so that my family could be here. (so nice of her) So my due date is Oct 28 and we have a planned induction for Mali on October 14!!! Its also Julies birthday so we are excited that she may be born on that day!!! I go back to the Dr on Sept 22 for a routine visit and another ultrasound. I cant wait to see how much Mali has changed in the 7 weeks since we have seen her.

Well here goes again.......

Ok so I'm gonna play catch-up!! I went to the Dr and got a good report. Mali had gained a pound in 3 weeks, she is growing very fast!! And no more placenta previa!!! Her little cheeks were so chubby. We are anxiously awaiting her arrival!! I go back to the Dr this week. On Tuesday I will be 31 weeks. So not much longer before this little one is here in our arms, being spoiled rotten. This was my 30 week picture, that was taken this past week.

The kids have started school. This will be their 4th week of school, so its an old thing even to Michael already. Michael is really liking Kindergarten and loves his teachers, Ms Connel and Ms Cross. Maleahs teacher is Ms Ware and shes loving being the only big sister at school with Michael. Makenna is a big middle schooler now. We tell her she has become a social butterfly since she has started Middle School. She spends the nights away now and goes home with friends after school. She even went to the skating rink this past Friday night with Marlee. They are both in Chorus and their 1st concert is October 16. Marlee is loving school again this year and is in the BETA Club and the Chorus Presidency. Thats about it for right now. I will try to post again Thursday after my Dr's appointment!!

New Camera!!!

OK so my camera broke in like October. And I have been heartbroken ever since. I LOVE to take pics of everything especially the kids!! And a camera is definately a must with a new baby on the way!!

Another Dr visit, another peek at Mali!!

So I went to the Dr today and got a few more pics of Mali BUT the main reason for the visit was to check my placenta previa AND it hasn't changed. We are hopeful that it will but you never know. As of right now it looks like we will be having her around Oct 17. If my previa doesnt go away by c-section, and if it does they are still going to let me have her around then by induction. They are doing this so that my family in NC can be here if they want and can be. As for Mali she sure is growing fast. 4 weeks ago at my last visit she weighed 1 lb even today she weighed 1 lb 14 oz. The last time I measured 22 and was 21 weeks (4 weeks ago) and today I am 25 weeks and measured 30!!
She is so beautiful and looks and acts so peaceful when they do the ultrasounds of her. What a perfect little gift from our Heavenly Father. Isn't it amazing how much love you have for your unborn child. The love that we all have for her grows everyday and we cant wait til Mali is here and completes our family :)
On a different note, I am at home alone!!!! John has taken the kids to WAL-MART!!! He's getting them a few things that they need for school and picking up some groceries. They sure are lucky that I met and married someone that loves them so much. I truly feel like he loves them like they are his own and they love him just the same. I am indeed a lucky lady!!

We WERE going to be on time :)

Well, the kids all got up when asked to this morning!! surprisingly!! They all ate breakfast and got dressed for church. I had to wash the shirt that I was going to wear. Iron Michaels and Johns clothes, got all that done. We were actually going to be on time to church today, maybe even a little early. THEN Maleah decides shes going to go ahead and get in the car!! She unlocked the drivers door, layed the keys on the seat, shut the door so that she could get in the back and HAD LOCKED THE CAR!!!! With the keys still on the seat!! Are we going to be to church on time today, NO!! We are now waiting for someone to come and unlock the car!! Hope the day gets better :)

OH YEAH.......

We had a wonderful 4th of July!! We couldnt decide where to go and what to do, because there was so many places we could go and so much to do. We ended up going to Atlanta Motor Speedway to the Friday night Drags and they had a wonderful fireworks show in between the racing!! (Atlanta Motor Speedway is about 10 mins from our house)

Things I would like to do.....

I thought that I would blog a little differently tonight!! I am going to list things that I would like to do in my lifetime, hopefully over the next couple of years!! AND these are in no particular order, just things I would like to do!!

1. Place more trust in God

2. Have more FAITH

3. Read the scriptures cover to cover ( I did in seminary but thats been too long ago)

4. Watch my children grow up healthy and happy

5. Be the best mother ever

6. Gain a stronger testimony

7. Take a cruise!!

8. Have FHE every week

9. Carve my body into a state of fabulous

10. Paint the rooms in my house

11. Get a new digital camera and take lots of pictures

12. Visit my family in Harkers Island more

13. Get a great tan every single summer

14. Do something to help terminally ill children and their families

15. Give to the needy

16. Spend a day just driving and spend the night wherever we end up

17. Go fishing

18. Plant a tree

19. Go white water rafting

20. Nurture self confidence and humility in my children

21. Take a ride in a plane (never been on an airplane, there is a hot pink plane that flies into Atlanta and thats the one I want to go on!! LOL)

22. Visit a foreign country

23. Take a trip to Hawaii

24. Learn to play the piano better

25. Be a better example to my family

26. Not take so many things for granted

27. Go to school!!!

28. Say I love you more

29. Go to a concert

30. Plant a garden

31. Run in a race

32. Have all of the kids pictures taken and framed and placed in my living room!!

33. Get a piano!!

34. Eat dinner every night at a reasonable time!!

35. Take a trip to the mountains!!

36. Make more friends, where I live

37. Blog weekly

38. Travel to Utah

39. Have a BIG Thanksgiving dinner at my house!!

40. Be more humble

Okay this is taking longer than I thought, I have to go and finish dinner, another late night of eating, get the kids in the shower and put on their pj's and get ready for a hopefully good nights sleep!!