So, here we are. My belly is really getting bigger now. I've been feeling (and seeing!) lots of kicking and moving around. I love feeling that throughout the day!!!

We traveled for Thanksgiving--to the beach and then to Clinton. I don't know what we're going to do when the baby gets here because there was not much room to spare in the jeep. It probably doesn't help that Dakota takes up the whole back seat!!!

We have a name!!! It is possible that the name could still change, but for now we're set!!

GRAYSON PAUL HAYES

Gray and Paul are both family names so we came up with Grayson. It's a name we've always liked and it's not too common.

I haven't done too much in the nursery lately. Here is a picture of Grayson's crib and bedding.

My next task is to get the closet organized.

Chad is working hard on the laundry room to get it finished. I'll post pics when he's done.

Mountain Weekend

This past weekend I got to get away with a precious lady from my church. The men from our church had a retreat this weekend so we went without our husbands to a beautiful cabin in the mountains. Her 2 children came along and they each got to bring a friend. So, Kay and I had the whole weekend just to sit around and chat. It was wonderful!!! She is an amazing woman with so much wisdom that the Lord, by His grace, has given her.
We shared scripture and talked about everything under the sun! It was so refreshing! The Lord has been so faithful to me and Chad to bring this family into our lives to disciple us. Chad has been discipled by her husband for about 2 years now. We are so thankful for them!!!
Chad also learned so much over the weekend at the retreat. It was so rewarding to come back together and share all the things that we both had learned.

This weekend my parents are coming into town. Chad and my dad plan on finishing the laundry room. I'm sure me and my mom will enjoy spending some time shopping!! We also plan on working in the nursery a little. Maybe I'll have some pictures to share soon!

It's A Boy!!!

So I think most of you who read this blog already knew that Chad and I were expecting. We found out yesterday that it's a boy!!! We feel so humbled and so incredibly blessed to know that God has allowed us to experience the growth and movement of a healthy baby!!

We have a lot to do to prepare for the little one. We haven't completely decided on a name yet , so we'll keep you posted.
Now that we know it's a boy, we can get started working in the nursery --very exciting!
Chad has been busy lately working on the outside of our house. We've been refinishing and painting our front door and back door and we will put new shutters up soon.

I think that was the last picture we'll see of the baby before he's born in March, so we'll keep you up to date on the preparations for Baby Hayes!

Congrats William and Bonnie!!!

This past weekend we were in Fort Mill to marry off my little brother. It was the sweetest wedding-- they were so happy to be getting married!! William actually found someone who likes to hunt and fish. They went to the Outer Banks for their honeymoon-with 2 fishing poles!! They are so much alike!!!

I'm so happy to finally have a "sister"! We had so much fun visiting with family and friends.

More Pics:

http://picasaweb.google.com/molliehayes/WilliamSWedding#

Finally..an update!

So I know that I have gone all summer with no updates. But...we just haven't had alot going on. We just stayed home all summer and did some things around the house. I keep forgetting to take pictures of the progress in our sunroom. I'll have to do that soon.

This past weekend Chad's grandmother passed away so we headed to Greenville. Despite the circumstances, it was a great time with family! Little Noah is growing up so fast--already 4 months!

I didn't take any pictures the whole time until we were leaving. So here we are--saying goodbye.

Oh well, as I said, not much going on here.

School has started back for me and it's going very well. We have 20 in our class--which I will not complain about!! Chad is staying very busy with work and has even picked up a few side design jobs for some friends.

We should have some more interesting updates coming up soon--my little brother gets married in a few weeks!!! We'll keep you posted.....

Peachtree Road Race 2008!!

We spent our July 4th running the Peachtree. We absolutely loved it and will definately try to make it a July 4th tradition!!

Here's our whole group--we all met at 6:00 am and carpooled to the race to meet up with the 55,000 other runners.

I finished in 1 hr. 12 min. and Chad finished in 1 hr. 8 min.

Not really good time, but considering that it was our first time and we didn't really train--I think we did pretty good. Chad actually did not train at all.

I had so much fun running the race that I am actually considering a half-marathon next year. I think it would be a great accomplishment!! We'll see....

Sunroom Floor!!

I finally have a sunroom floor! I finished up grouting and sealing the tile this week. We absolutely love it!! I can't wait to start decorating soon. This weekend we will be installing door moldings and baseboards. Then I will have some painting to do next week. It's such a slow process but very much worth it!

The dogs are even enjoying it!! We're dogsitting this week, so Dakota is loving the company.

Braves Game

Yay! We made it to a Braves game this year with Adam and Bentley and Ella. We didn't pay too much attention to the game--it was just so nice to be outside!!

Chad and I have been working really hard to get our sunroom floor finished. We're almost there! We have finished tiling and grouting. Now we just need to install baseboards, mouldings, and doors. It looks great!! I'm really excited to get in there and start decorating!! I'll have pictures posted soon!

Home Again

Sunday night we all decided to go to the pool. They absolutely love the pool--I think they could stay in it all day!

After giving baths and putting kids to bed, Chad got very sick. He must have gotten some kind of stomach virus. It was awful! He was up all throughout the night. The next morning I had to call the grandmother and tell her to come get the kids. I definately didn't want them getting sick too. So...our time with the Neimans has been cut short. They will be staying with their grandparents the rest of the week. We had fun but we are definately enjoying our time being back at home!

Hangin' in There

Sorry I haven't updated in a few days. I finally had a chance to sit down and take a breath. We've stayed very busy this past week and this weekend. My favorite time of day is when Chad comes home from work. He's great to help take the little ones off my hands. Thankfully he was able to take the day off on Friday so we loaded up and went to the YMCA pool. It was great! It's like a mini water park! The kids loved it and were pretty worn out by that afternoon.

Some families in our church have been so gracious to invite us over or to help us out by keeping the older children. We all went over to some friend's house on Friday night. Chad and I were grateful to be around adults and the older kids were able to play with their friends. Caleb, the oldest hurt his leg and ended up having to get a tetanus shot and antibiotics the next day. It was quite an adventure!

But.. everyone is well now. We've had some explosive diapers and Chad has not yet been brave enough to change one of those. He's getting some experience with the wet ones, though.

We have 2 more days here. I will be very ready to sleep in my own bed and be back on my schedule. The Lord has definately been faithful to give us strength to get through each day.

Gettin' Some Experience!!

So...the week is finally here!! Chad and I are keeping the 5 Neiman children while their parents are away on a mission trip to Peru. Caleb (9), Luke (7), Lydia (5), Daniel (2), Peter (1).It has actually gone really well so far. The 3 oldest are alot of help but I learned really quickly that I have to keep them busy. If not, they like to wrestle and roll around on the floor which makes me very nervous!! We're going to go swimming alot and start a Father's Day project for their dad. They are really into making things and being creative--which is great!!



The 2 year old (almost 3!) is my biggest challenge. He's potty training--which has been interesting to say the least!! We've had 2 stinky big boy pants in 2 days!!! I'm not giving up, though! And he's recovering from hives. He has quite a temper and shows it alot!



The 1 year old is the most perfect baby!! He's always happy and laughing and content wherever he is!! He goes down for 2 naps with out any fuss--which makes my life much easier!!


So we have different "trips" planned for each day this week (swimming, library, etc.). Our trip for today was the YMCA pool. So..we all got ready (which took about an hour!!), and headed out to the van to discover a flat tire!! Hopefully Chad will be able to fix it tonight! We ended up walking to their neighborhood pool which wasn't so bad--there's just no life guard there and I really have to watch all 5 (a little challenging!).


Last night we all prayed together before bed and it was so sweet to hear all the children praying for their mommy and daddy. They miss their parents so much! What an amazing testimony to their children ---that their parents are willing to leave them for 2 weeks to obey God and serve others in another country. These children are really learning alot about trusting in the Lord!! And so are me and Chad!!!



Oh yeah--Dakota is here too, of course. They are really loving having her around!!



We'll keep you updated!!

Update #2

So I guess I spoke too soon. Last night after their mom called from Peru and talked to them, Lydia got so sad. She was crying uncontrollably which resulted in her throwing up 4 times! We did get the tire fixed so that was huge!!

Today we went to a friend's house to swim, which was great!! I got to have adult conversation and I had help watching the little ones.

We are surviving...

Well, I need to go because Daniel and Peter are up from their nap.

Girl's Weekend

We had a great weekend in Greenville this past weekend. I got to hang out with college friends and Chad spent the weekend with my little brother.





We had so much fun catching up and getting to meet little Haley and Reagan.


We ran into Erin at church so we got to hang out with her for the night.
Fun times!!

Summer is finally here!

I'm finally done with another year of school! Here's all of the little rugrats!

It was good year, yet challenging at times! I'm definately ready for my break.



We have been so busy the past few weekends. We traveled to Clinton for my little brother's engagement party. He and Bonnie are so excited about getting married. We can't wait, either, but it does make me feel so old to think that my little brother is getting married!!



For Memorial Day weekend, we traveled to Little River to see little Noah--our new nephew. He is sooooo precious. Here he is- 2 1/2 weeks!

This coming weekend we will be in Greenville. We're having a girl's weekend and I can't wait to see Meredith, Emily, Christy, Ashley, little Reagan, and little Haley!!! I'm sure there will be more to come.....

We have a nephew!!

Great news! Chad's brother and his wife had their first little baby!! It's a boy and his name is Noah Dalager Hayes. He's very cute!

Chad and I can't wait to meet him.

We plan on traveling to the beach and visiting Memorial Day weekend, so we'll have more pics then!!

We're very excited about being an aunt and uncle now! Wow--I feel so old!

Spring Break!?!

Spring break has come and gone! I'm not too sure I would call it a "break". However, I did get to sleep to 7:30 each morning--which is really good for me! I painted the kitchen and the sunroom. We also kept a dog all week --which was nice for Dakota to have a playmate. I could really get used to not going to work every day!! 4 more weeks of school before the summer is here!

Last weekend, a 7 month old spent the night with us. (This is Grace--she belongs to the girl I team teach with).

We had the best time playing with her!

Chad didn't get too much work done on the house--he was too busy loving on her! It was really sweet!

Dakota was so curious and interested in all the new toys!

House Update:

My parents came afew weeks ago and Chad and my dad were able to build the sunroom floor. Now it is completely level with the rest of the house and ready to be tiled! We will tile both the sunroom and the kitchen. This will probably happen in early May.I am very anxious to get this room finished. Thanks so much to my dad who knows how to do everything!!!

After tiling, we will still have lots of work to do. We are remodeling the laundry room and building a window seat. This will give me much more storage which is always necessary in an older home!

We are almost done with the master bathroom. This was quite a project!! All we have left to do is crown molding, new window, shower fixtures, and a shower door. We will get there eventually but at least it's functional right now and 100% better than what we had!! Here's pics for now, but I'll post more when it's completely done.