HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY MAX!!

There is nothing that compare to hearing the first cry of your child. My heart truly leaped and I felt great relief with Max's first cries. It's amazing how bonded you can become to your baby before you ever even hold him/her. Now I have to share him with the rest of the world...what a lucky world!!

I met my beautiful son and he was already "workin" his momma with that bottom lip out.

Welcome to the world baby boy!

Rosy cheeks and pink lips, so healthy and beautiful.

Our first photo with Max, Dad and Mom.

Dr.Crenshaw taking wonderful care of our precious bundle.

MAX'S BIG DAY

Individually and as a family we had prayed for another little one for over 4 years. Many times we would answer Bay and Jackson's questions as to why everyone else were "getting" babies, but we weren't. They were always understanding and just really wanted a little baby at our house. Like everything else I guess I can't do anything without a little drama, so after praying and waiting we were finally blessed with another family member. God truly is great and will carry you through every time of your life, if you will just let him. The photos to follow are here to share our joy and excitement with you, our friends and family.

The morning of September 8th, 2009, day after Labor Day, we welcomed our newest little Rinehart into the world. Bay and Jackson were the first to know we were having a baby, they were there when we found out it was a boy and have been very involved in this pregnancy. It really has been a family working together to get Max here safely.

I was actually having some pretty strong contractions the day before and the day of the scheduled cesarean section. I wanted a photo just for proof!

Here I am getting placed on the external fetal monitor with my sweet nurse Miriam to help me out. I'm so glad she was there that morning. I just love her to pieces! She's a wonderful nurse and awesome friend, definitely a blessing.

The boys wanted to show you the chocolate covered pretzel rods I made for them to pass out in their classrooms to celebrate Max's arrival. Super Yummy!

These were some of the pretzels, gift baskets for my girls in L&D and on 4W along with a couple of our thank you cards. I just love the photo on the front!

MUSCLE SHOALS SCHOOL SPIRIT, GO TROJANS!!

Of course, football season is a big deal in the south and where we live is no different. Every Friday is School Spirit Day and Hat Day. You'll notice the boys are wearing the hats that their Great Grandpa Boose gave them a couple of years ago. Anyway, the boys have a great time wearing their school colors and celebrating each Friday.

GO TROJANS!!

Now THIS is really how silly and goofy my boys are...they keep me laughing!

MATERNITY PHOTO SHOOT AT BUTLER STUDIO

One of the things I really wanted to do was have some photos taken to mark this amazing time. When I was pregnant with Jackson, we had photos taken with Bay that were the sweetest. Now the boys are older, but we still wanted to included them. They were so excited about the pregnancy and all of the changes taking place. This pregnancy was prayed for by all of us and the boys were present for so much of the process. We just wanted to share some of the maternity photos with all of you.

Our gorgeous boys!

BABY SHOWER FOR MAX AT ECM

I work with an amazing group of people that are truly caring and very genuine. A huge "THANKS" to Robin Crossley for setting the date and planning the baby shower. Christy and Parris are expecting soon after me, so our showers were all together. It made for a fun afternoon!! There have been so many of us having babies this year that I think we have probably boosted Target's earnings just off of our registries. I think the final count was 9 nurses in labor and delivery and 4 west having their own little ones...Yes, we do know what causes that and no, there is not something in the water.

My beautiful diaper bag from Laura Horton CRNA and Gene Ellen Holt CRNA. They did a fabulous jog choosing the bag and print. I LOVE IT!!!

Christy G, Parris F and myself all pregnant and glowing. This was one of the last clothing items that would fit around my growing belly.

Here we are each with our gifts ready to see what goodies we had received.

This was a cute little farm animal sleeper from Robin Crossley.

Jackson and Bayley went to the shower with me to help with gifts and to enjoy a baby shower. They were so excited, never having been to a baby shower before. My boys are awesome!

SURPRISE BABY SHOWER AT NAL

Joe's co-workers surprised us on Friday, August 14th with a baby shower for Max. Joe had asked me to come to the plant so they could give us a gift and they surprised both of us with lunch and LOTS of gifts. It was so thoughtful of them and was really helpful. Our boys are old enough that most of our baby stuff was either sold before the big move or doesn't meet safety requirements now. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful extended NAL Alabama family. Thanks guys!!!

MCBRIDE STUDENT COUNCIL

Bay decided he wanted to run for student council this year. He wrote a speech and practiced his presentation skills. Believe it or not, that boy's really talented. I think he has the knack for public speaking. So off to school he went, with us just praying for a positive learning experience for him. Fast forward to after school pick up and he crawls in the car saying "I won, I'm on student council". I'm pretty sure I was more excited than he was. So he had his first meeting yesterday, which apparently went well. We are sooo proud of him!! The other two representatives from his class are Grayson B. and Hannah R. Good Job Kids! Thanks to Mrs.Meares we have a photo from the election day, yeah!

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Well, another summer has come and gone. The school year is upon us and I'd go for another couple of weeks with my boys. They just get so busy when the school year picks up and really gets into full swing...which doesn't take long. Comparing their photos from 2007 to this year, really drives home how much they are growing and changing. This is Bay's last year before Jr. High and I am not hurrying that one more second. Jackson is now in McBride with Bay and is excited about 3rd grade. It's going be a busy year!!

MY LITTLE PRINCESS RILEY ANNE

Ok, so maybe you laugh. This is the only other "girl" in the house and sometimes it's just fun to dress her up...I know, you are wondering, and yes she does have clothes to match her bows. I thought this was cute since the crown is pink and she didn't seem to mind...not too much anyway. Oh, and btw the boys had fun with this too.

HAPPY 13TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY TO US!

We celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary on August 3rd. The only down side is that we haven't been able to make our annual anniversary trip to The Isle of View and dine at Cynthia's for a couple of years. We just love going to Metropolis, IL and then relaxing in Paducah, KY. It's just a tradition we enjoy. Hopefully we can fit in a trip sometime soon. As it was I was very pregnant and so there was no energy in me to even drive over to Huntsville, so we just stayed close by and enjoyed dinner at Frank's Italian Restaurant in Tuscumbia.

It's a great little downtown ristorante.

A quick pic of us before heading out for dinner. Bay took one shot and Jax the other. It was sooo cute! It kind of reminded me of photos before a school dance.