My Lovely Weekend

Of Course this is a week or so over due but I had lovely weekend with my family and I want to show you and of course it's always better through pictures right!?!

Abby picked me up late late Thursday night and I got to squeeze him!! This was our first meeting. (I died a little he is SOOO cute!!). After the initial meeting we drove home to Saginaw. It was a long night. . .

But Isaac and I got some good sleep and we woke up at the same time this is us stretching of course. Well I guess this is just me stretching That is actually how he prefers to sleep. Arms out and up right buddy?

JacksonThen I spent the day splitting my time with these two adorable little children because I love them so. How lucky am I?
CharlotteSee that is his favorite position! It's really funny he is only a month old and he does not like to be swaddled he will fight to get out of it until he can be in this position right here and then he will sleep.

Then these two came to see us and I was so happy to see them!!! Jake is so big and crawling. He is adorable, he NEVER stops smiling. And my sweet sister Angela I loved seeing you!!

Saturday was the early Halloween/late birthday celebration!!

First we wished birthday balloons off for Jackson and Isaac.

Then we dressed the kiddies up in their costumes . . .

Jackson and Charlotte

Can you say adorable?






Don't worry I didn't forget about little Dino (my dad's nick name for Isaac) you are going to say awwww . . . . ready.

Then we went here and everyone picked a pumpkin!

It was such a cute pumpkin patch!

after the pumpkin picking there were games played and food was eaten and then it was time to prepare for the whole reason we all got together. The Big B day.

It was a perfect day and a great end to a lovely weekend. Only one missing in the fam picture is Christopher but he had a pretty good weekend himself. His interview at Iowa went well and he feels really good about it. So now it's back to the waiting game! Abby you look amazing and so happy. What a great weekend. I'm going to leave you with this cute picture, it will make you smile and say "oh he is so cute".

He looks just like Abby it's really sweet!

Love you

Looking Forward

This weekend could not come at a better time. I am going home to Michigan and I can't wait. I am having serious withdrawals from my seesters (in-laws included of course) and Pheeelip. I am going to meet my sweet new nephew and squeeze his cheeks. I am going to soak up the fall weather. I am going to go for a run with my dad. I'm going to love on my marmie and just soak her in, I really miss her a lot, I only call her that when I miss her a lot a lot. I'm going to see my other sweet nephew that is crawling now!!! Charlotte and Jackson will also be loved on quite frequently by me! I am going to eat really good food and I am going to laugh a lot . . . .That one is just a given. I am going to walk around our back yard and soak up the fall goodness. Maybe a game of whoofle ball or two will be played. I believe a bonfire in the back with s'mores is brewing as well as a newly adopted balloon launching tradition. Only one thing will put a damper on this weekend. My sweet Chreasy will not be coming with me, I only call him that when I know I am going to miss him a lot. He is going to Iowa for an interview at University of Iowa. I know I will wish he was there, I always do when I travel alone. But he has our future to prepare for, Good luck babe, we will all miss you in MI. Anyways I need to wrap this up and look for a new camera charger so I can take pictures of my lovely weekend and come back and share them here!

love you

So I owe it to all those who read our blog to give you the details on our life. We are in Texas in the Dallas/ Fort Worth area. We moved here at the end of June from Mississippi. I got a job right away working at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I worked there for a month when I was offered another job that is relevant to my degree, well it is more then relevant I got the job because of my degree so that is pretty cool. It turns out a BSW is useful after all!! So that is going well. I have also started my own little business selling a product I am really falling in love with! Arbonne is the product name and it is some good stuff! Anyways Christopher was studying for the DAT very diligently and has taken the test again and improved his score, so now we wait and hope for the best!! We just moved out of Elizabeth and Jason's house and into our own apartment which is coming together nicely. We like having a our own place but we miss being so close to our family here. Even though we are only 25 min away that seems like a lot after living with them for 3 1/2 months.

While living with them we just fell in love with our nieces. They are both so sweet Little Olivia melted Christopher's heart, she really did a number on him. They are adorable and we are getting another one here in about a month. We are excited for that. Hopefully we get to do a lot of babysitting and give Elizabeth a break from the craziness she is about to have in her home. She will be great though!!

We have been adjusting to the weather it has been a scorcher this summer and it is finally cooling off a little bit. I am going to really miss the Michigan Fall but I guess I'll deal with it. I'm trying to think what else I need to update you on but nothing comes to mind . . . but it's late so I will save more for another time. Love you.

11lbs 5 oz

Now, what are a few things that come to mind when you think of 11lbs 5 oz?

I think of a very large Christmas ham or 2 5 pound weights + a pound and a half. I also think of one of my new chairs I just bought to go along with my dining room table ( ok maybe the chair is a little heavier). Christopher said he thinks of twins at birth with their weight put together. These are just a few but I wanted you to get the idea that 11lbs 5 oz can be a heavy load.

Now, what are somethings that don't come to mind when you think of 11lbs 5 oz?

I guess I wouldn't think of, lets say, a spring chick or my purse. I probably wouldn't think of a blanket or my cell phone. I wouldn't think of a little kitty or the bag of baby carrots I got at the store last week. I think I would definitely not think of a new born baby, especially if that new born baby was my sister's and she had pushed it out through the birthing canal!

But I'm here to tell you folks that I have a new little nephew, who remains nameless, that weighed 11lbs 5 oz at birth. Needless to say he is very large and has lots of chubs, just what we Jones girls like! The fatter the better!! Maybe not right when they come out, right Abs?

Anyway, my sister is amazing. She was in labor for 42 hours and could have had a c-section on the first day but that is not what she wanted. She is pretty cool. I think she is my new hero!

Can't wait to see you nameless!!! I love you Abby and Jonathon. Congrats guys!!

Sorry I don't have any pictures to post, I'm not there remember!!! :(

The "magical moment"

So my sister Abby has been in labor for over 30 hours now and she is still waiting. It all started yesterday morning when she began have contractions in the hospital. It was progressing all day long, it was slow but it was progressing. This morning at 7:30 she had hit the home stretch at 8/9cm and 90%. She could feel the baby's head! This was amazing considering the length of time my sweet sister has already waited for her first born. 2 hours later they came to check again and the little bugger had moved. This in turn slowed the process and even sent her backwards. Back to 7 cm and cervix getting thicker. This upped her chances of a C-section to a 50/50 percent. Currently they are still waiting just praying the little guy will return to the ideal birthing position. He's got two hours and then it's time to go in a get him. This is Abby's worst fear coming true here. This has been really hard for me being in Texas and all because I am so far away and I am having a hard time grasping the feel of what is really going on. I'm worried about my sister. I was just talking to my dad though and he is so cute!! (I miss him like crazy by the way) but he said " what's the big deal if I were Abby I'd want the c-section right away I wouldn't even go into labour" I had to answer him " dad, if she has the c-section she won't have the "magical moment" when the baby comes out and they lay it on you, and you get all slimy and such." He ofcourse said some elequent response that I can't quite recall at this moment and I wouldn't want to miss quote anyone. But I know you will be sad Abby if you have to have a c-section, so I hope you don't, but I know no matter what it will be a magical moment when he comes out. And who knows you still might get all slimy and stuff if your awake for it! You are a Queen! I'm so proud of you. Now get that baby out so I can see pictures. Love ya, Eliza

Inspired

My sister gave me a website to look at for some new recipes and I did get some great new ones to try, but I think I gained a little more from it. It is a blog of a woman who talks about the experiences of her family and being a wife and mother. She shares her creative ideas and just talks about everyday life. These are cool things about her blog but it is not what I drew inspiration from. I was inspired by her outlook on life. Never once on her blog do you read of the negative or frustrations she has fulfilling her daily duties. She focuses on the good things and the things that make her life so beautiful. It's not that she is any more amazing then any other mother of four children and wife and citizen in this country but she sure makes me feel like her life is magical. Anyways the last four days at work I have been reading her blog from start to finish. I have been inspired to focus on the good things in my life (because there are soooo many) and I feel like lately I have just been worring about everything that is not so great and lets be honest I felt like crap.
But this week was different this week was happy. I mean sure I probably got mad and whinned at Christopher over something but I can't rememebr any of it. All I can remember is that Christopher and I made dinner together and we snuggled a lot and last night when I was sick and miserable on the bathroom floor at 3am he came in and sat with me and rubbed my hair and stayed with me untill I felt better (2 hours later). Then this morning when I woke up I would usually be thinking how tired and miserable I was from the fact that I spent two hours on the bathroom floor the night before, but all I could think about was how amazing it was that someone loved me that much to sit with me all night and make sure I was ok. I feel happy this week and it is my goal to feel like this all the time. Everyone should try this, it feels so good to focus on how awesome your life is. And everyone has awesomness in their lives no matter how bad your situation is.

The bloggers name is Stephanie Nielson and she and her husband were just in a horrible plane accident. They both survived but have suffered much. This is a website you can go to to donate if you choose. Her story also confirmed to me how amazing the blessing of the lord are when we are living as he has asked us too.

Love you all.

It's official

A few things that are official:

• #1 I am the worst blogger in the history of these past 4 months (maybe longer).
• #2 Christopher and I no longer live in Mississippi, in fact we havn't lived there for three months. We now reside it Hot Hot Texas. Nedd I mention it is Hot here.
• #3 I will officially be missing the birth of little Dunford Jr. starting tonight whenever she goes in to the hospital. I'm very sad about this.
• #4 Christopher and I are going meat-less. (more on that later)
• #5 We are getting internet tomorrow so I can officially not have an excuse not to blog more often and post pics! so that is double official.
• #6 I am missing my beautiful nice mild michigan transition from summer to fall!!
• #7 I have been inspired and it is already making me happier!(more on this at a later date as well)

Love ya!

M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I, here we come!!

So Christopher and I packed up our things and said good bye to our home in Michigan. We've loved living here and will be sad to say goodbye, but we are looking forward to our new adventure together. We packed up a big 16 footer truck said our goodbyes and off we went. It was a 14 hour drive and we did it in one day. I of course was scared out of my mind to drive the truck, but Christopher needed a break about half way through the trip so I took over. I was really proud of myself for those 45 min I drove. I was holding my breath the whole time and I had my hands at ten and two, and they were glued there. I was actually a little sore after he took over again because I was squeezing the wheel so hard and I was tense. I was grateful for a husband who would drive almost the entire time!! He is wonderful and he is working hard in Southaven, MS to provide for our little family. I'm still on the job hunt but hopefully it will be over soon!!! We are currently living with Christopher's sister Elizabeth and her sweet family. We are loving it! They have the cutest little girls, and one more on the way!!! I wish I had more pictures of Mississippi but my camera has been dead the entire time we've been here until now. So pictures shall be posted soon.

May 12, 2008 (One Year Mark)

We actually celebrated our one year anniversary a little early this year. Christopher bought tickets to go and see STOMP and he took me to one of my favorite restaurants before hand. It was a really good night. We did eat the top of our cake exactly one year later on May 12, 2008. It was quite the event and these are only half the pictures we took. For anyone who was at our wedding you will know that our cake was the most amazing tasting wedding cake ever!! (I realize that might be an extreme statement but I just want you to get the idea of how good it was.) When we stored our top layer in the freezer lets just say it wasn't the most gracious way you freeze your wedding cake if you are planning on eating it. Basically it was put in a bowl and we covered the top with foil and someone stuck a fork in it, which ended up ripping the foil. All this was done before storing it in a freezer full of meat that had the tendency to turn off every once in a while. Needless to say I wasn't that thrilled to taste it. So after we took a million pictures to try and just get one good one we finally tasted it!! Much to our surprise it tasted just like the day we got married. It was so good!! And seriously not even ten min after we had cut it, it was gone. Christopher inhaled it. You can see my face in the picture below as he stuffs his face luckily we got that on camera. I like when he eats food I make for him like this because then I know he really does like it and he's not just trying to make me feel good. He is so sweet to me and after a year of marriage we are both doing great!! We love being married and we are excited about this next year and what it will bring!!!






















. . . . and it's gone

Graduation DAY!!!!

We did it!! Christopher and I graduated on May 10th. It was a good day and I am happy that I "made" him walk. His parents came up to see us and Joseph was graduating too. I should have known though that by making him walk I was going to get what I wanted, but with a price. (story time) It had already been a long morning because we had to go early for all the graduating athletes and listen to a few people talk. After that we went and checked in and waited for the ceremony to start. Of course there were faculty trying to get everyone in line and organized before we all marched out and they asked us to get in line. So I go and get in line and Christopher and Joseph just continue to sit at this table not moving. I think one lady must have asked them to get in line at least four times, but you better believe they were the last people in line, only to get in line when the music started to play. So at this point I'm already nervous and semi embarrassed that they weren't getting in line, but I decided not to choose this battle and just let Christopher sit since he was only walking to make me happy in the first place. Okay so they get in line and we walk out together and sit. We are the first college that will be called after the Masters students and we are pretty close to the front being that our last name is Dougherty. The boys bust out the plan that we are going to walk up get our diplomas and just continue to walk out after we go back to our seats. At first I was not liking this plan I was nervous that everyone would be watching us just walk out, and I think Christopher was a little nervous too. Looking back on it now though I'm grateful Joseph made the final decision. We followed through with the plan and bypassed about 3 hours of pure torture!!! I think our families were pretty happy with our decision as was I after we did it! We are both so happy to be done with our undergraduate education. For now we are taking a break but a higher education is in the future for both of us!!!

The SVSU Graduates!!
All of my sisters except for Margie are graduating this year. Mary from High School, Emily and Abby with their Masters, me with my BSW, and Christopher with his BA. Yea for us!










This is of the three of us while we were sitting waiting to walk.









We were so happy Dennis and Kae could come!!!

Celebrating Mr. and Mrs. Bowen

The lovely couple
Michelle, Britt, and Tia 3 of my most favorite people ever
The happy couple stepping out for the first time as the Bowens!!!

One of my best friends got married in April in SLC and I was so happy that I could be there!! It was such a fun wedding, and it was so good to see all of my old friends from school. Unfortuantely Christopher wasn't able to come on this trip with me either but one of these days we are going to go somewhere together. Even though I missed him I had so much fun with my girlfriends!! Tia made the most beautiful bride ever and Cam (the groom) didn't look to shabby either. We all danced the night away in a huge mansion, it was a great party!!! It was a big weekend I was lucky enough to attend two weddings I went to my long time friend Miriam's wedding as well. I also got to see my family too. I loved my trip to Utah it was well needed. I miss my girls already though. Love you!

Everyone was taking pictures with their significant others and I was feeling sad because I missed Christopher so I imagined he was there and this is me hugging him . . . . I think it looks like I'm doing some weird dance but at least he knows I was thinking about him.

Birthdays!!!

Christopher turned 25 on March 24 and I turned 23 this weekend and we had a good time on both occasions. Dennis and Kae were here from Iowa and we were with family the whole weekend. I actually got to blow candles out twice, unfortunately I don't think either wish will come true since I failed to blow all the candles out in one breath both times. In my family April is a busy month of birthdays. Abby and my birthdays are 3 days apart well 3 years and 3 days but mine is the 12 and hers is the 15. We were talking about old memories this weekend and she remembered a pretty good story. I always use to tease her and tell her I was older because my birthday came before hers. She would always end up in tears because I would never let her tell me I was wrong. Somehow I always made Abby cry . . . . sorry I was such a mean little sister! I'm glad it was just a phase, Love you! Christopher was so sweet to me on my birthday. He took me out to dinner the night before to my favorite place (outback), and he got me something I told him I wanted just in passing days before, but he remembered, and of course wrote me a birthday poem! I love him for that! Overall it was a good weekend. We had a lot of fun with our families!

Little Jake

We have a new Nephew. Angela and Joseph had Jake Dennis Dougherty on March 8. He is so cute and he is getting big so fast. He is one of the biggest 5 week old babies I've ever seen. So maybe the title of this post isn't the most appropriate. We have had a lot of fun with him. This past Sunday He was blessed in church by Joseph. Dennis and Kae made the trip to Michigan to be here and it was so good to see them. They are such devoted parents and grandparents we love them a lot. We are so happy for Angela and Joseph they make a good pair! We are also excited to be getting 3 more nephews this fall! Well maybe 3 nephews . . . for sure we have two boys on the way and then we have a question mark still for the third, but we think its time for a boy in this particular family (right Elizabeth!). No matter what it is we are excited!

Scrapbook Weekend (cousin style)

So we had our first scrapbook weekend, and needless to say scrap booking was not first on the list by any means!! However, just let me say we did bring some paper and supplies just in case we felt an urge. I know all I wanted to do was play with the babies! I went with my sisters Abby and Emily. We drove to our cousin Alicia's house in Wisconsin , and it was a great weekend. Christopher couldn't come but its probably a good thing because I don't think scrap booking or playing with babies all day is his style. But the Girls that were there had a lot of fun!!! Can't wait for the next one. Thanks Slish!!

Happiness

It will be one year in May and Christopher and I are doing great! We have had an eventful year with both the good and the bad but we have grown so much and are truly happy with life right now. We are both will be graduating in May, and could not be more excited to be done with school. I will have my BSW and Christopher will have his degree in Spanish. Our plan was to head right on into Dental School for Christopher, but it looks like we might have to be patient and try again next year. Christopher worked hard to get his application ready for dental school over the course of last year and we waited for a long time to hear back from all the schools. He is on a waiting list at Creighton and will find out in May or June. In the mean time an opportunity has opened up in Mississippi where Christopher can work with his brother-in-law for a year while he re-applys. We are grateful for this opportunity and are excited to make it a reality in the case he is not accepted to Creighton. We have been so blessed through this whole waiting process. I know our prayers were answered because even though we were disappointed after hearing "no" time after time from the schools we were able to stay positive. We really felt comfort in knowing that the lord had a plan for us and that if we did our part we would be fine. Christopher and I know that we are on the right path and we are excited to see where it takes us.