August...

I don't know about you, but to me it felt like August slipped right in and immediately filled itself with so many activities and going-ons for our family and then sped right out like lightening and I'm still wondering if maybe I missed something because it all came and went so fast! No regrets, though, except that maybe it would've been a little slower...What I have now are such fond memories of such an eventful month and many blessings that have left my heart full. Some of the highlights of August include:

• The Big Split of our former Camden Ward
• Erika and Jack's visit to South Carolina with Leighton
• Changes in our Home (thanks to my wonderful husband)
• My Sister's Birthday Celebration
• Girls' Night Out for Karen's Birthday
• My New Job Offer/Transfer at the New KershawHealth Elgin Campus
• My Best Friend in California Became a Grandmother

and some great time with family and friends.

For a while we've been anticipating that our ward at church would split so the news was not a surprise but have to admit that it was still a little tough. I was excited about the change because change generally means growth and change is good but my goodness, I didn't expect to miss so many of our "church family" so much. However, we have many new people from the Ridgeway Ward and we do see our other Camden Ward friends between meetings so it's nice. The brand new Elgin Ward is going to be great -- it already is. And, I have a new calling as primary pianist for the children's Primary so I'll be gaining new piano skills that have gotten very rusty. It's an exciting time!

During the month of August Joey made many home improvements to our home -- my favorite being our hall bathroom and our freshly painted white kitchen cabinets, which I've wanted for many years! :) It brightened up the kitchen so much and I am so grateful for all Joseph's hard work and his dedication -- he is amazing and I love him so much! The hall bathroom (guest bathroom) also got an amazing face lift with new flooring, a new toilet (thanks to Mom -- we said she must've had to hold the handle to flush one time too many and purchased a new one for us -- thanks, Mom, I love you!!!), new paint, and a wallpaper border. It looks so different! It transformed from blue, green, and yellow flowers with a white floor to a black tile-look floor with red and beige accents in the border -- very different! It looks so much better and Joey and I had a great time doing this project in one evening. (He's a great work partner!)

My friend, Karen, and my sister, Tiawanna, both have August birthdays and we had a girls' night to celebrate each one. For Karen's birthday we celebrated at Olive Garden for a full three-and-a-half hours! We laughed sooooooo much! Our waiter was a hoot and we had such a great time. For Tiawanna's birthday, Karen was out of town and we missed her. Darla, Jody, Tiawanna, Addison, and I went to the Tokyo Express and to the movies to celebrate and I really thought we were going to get kicked out of the theater for the giggles. It was hilarious! Then we took a drive through SandHills and Darla had us all in stitches! Let's see -- was it the dancing in the street, the glamorous glasses, or the buggy ride I took her on in the Penney's parking lot...Geez, I think it was all of them that still has my tummy sore from so much laughing. THAT we need to do again -- talking about laugher therapy! Darla's the one to call for just that! Ha!

Another neat thing that happened to me in August was that I interviewed for a position within the hospital which will be at the new Elgin campus (KershawHealth Elgin Urgent Care) and was offered the position. I am really excited about it and think it will be pretty neat to be there at the beginning of a brand new facility and it will be fun learning new things. I love people and serving and feel this will be a growing opportunity for me. I absolutely LOVE my job now in the Women's Center and I so much love the people I work with. However, I get pulled so much all over the hospital and at times to areas I am not comfortable with and feel it is time for a change. I am looking forward to this new adventure.

During the month of August my dear friend, Anne, in California who was my best friend in the whole world when we were in Hawaii became a grandmother to a beautiful baby girl, Ellie Mae. She is a baby doll and is the answer to so many prayers. I am so happy for their entire family and this tremendous blessing to all of them. I look forward to meeting Miss Ellie someday! Anne's other daughter, Addie, who lives close to Erika in Idaho is also expecting a baby girl in November -- what a great year for Anne! "Grandmotherhood" sure agrees with you, Anne! :)

We had so many good things happen during the month of August and I've saved the best thing until last to write about and that was Jack, Erika, and Leighton's visit to South Carolina and spending with us. This was Leighton's first time meeting the rest of the family besides Addison and me and it was HEAVENLY! Addi and I picked them up from the Greensboro, NC airport Wednesday the 26th and we stopped first at Mama and Daddy's and were they so happy! We had such a good time with them here. Leighton slept right next to me every night and the joy I felt each time I woke up and saw her there. She is such an angel and I love her so much. Erika and Jack were so funny and had a list of places they wanted to eat while here which included Chic-Fil-A, San Jose', Rush's, Lugoff House of Pizza, and Leo's Chicken Wings. They also had planned an overnight trip to Hilton Head to celebrate their anniversary. Joey and I got to have Leighton all to ourselves Thursday and Friday while they were away and enjoyed every second of it! Leighton's Blessing was Sunday, 8/30/09 at church and it was a wonderful day. Another major highlight is that Jack's parents (Bob and Joanne) and his brother, Thomas, also came from Idaho for a long weekend so they could be here for Leighton's blessing day. We loved having them here and it was such a wonderul weekend. We had a cookout at the lake on Saturday night when they all arrived to celebrate Leighton and the Maxfield's being here. What a great time we had! I think I'll have to devote an entire blog post to Leighton's visit and meeting everyone in South Carolina. It is an event that I cherish and hold close all the memories made that week. When they left this past Wednesday I felt like a huge part of my heart left with them on the plane -- I know it did because that baby girl is so precious to me.

Well, that just about covers the month of August for happenings in our family. It was a fun month with lots of wonderful memories left behind. I can hardly believe that September is here and oh my goodness, Christmas and the end of the year is just around the corner. 2009 has been an extremely fast year already -- I can hardly believe it.

Time -- enjoy it -- it passes very quickly...