Can I just say that either I'm too old or too pregnant to be traveling around the country the week before Christmas! We started our trip on Wednesday, 12/17, and drove to Birmingham with my parents. They dropped us off at the airport (they kept driving to TX) and then Max and I flew to Dallas (sounds crazy but my brother is a pilot for Southwest Airlines and gave us two free tickets...driving 16 hours vs. driving 4 hours...hmmm). Don flew into Dallas on Saturday and then we left this past Monday and flew to Nashville to see Don's grandmother (well, we actually drove 45 minutes to her town after we landed). We stayed in a hotel that night and then drove the 6 1/2 hours back to Greenville on Tuesday. The day before we left Dallas Max started getting sick, then I started feeling it and then it finally got to Don yesterday on Christmas. So, I am ready for things to slow down so we can get some sleep and get well!

We had a great time in Dallas and Max had a ball playing with his cousins. We stayed with my brother and his wife for several days and then moved our tribe over to my sister Shari's house for the last part of our trip. She was keeping her neighbor's dogs so Max thought it was hilarious that 2 Shitzus and 2 poodles were following him around the house...cheap entertainment. But, since I took a lot of pictures (well, not as many as I should have) and we did so many different things I thought I would break it down into different posts...also gives me more things to post since I've been so slack lately!

Before we left for Texas we had a little Christmas dinner with my sister, Andrea, and her family and my mom and dad. Here are a few pics from the evening.

Max opening his first Christmas gift of the year...pure joy.It's Wall-E!Lily and the gift we got her...she can make and design her own ribbons to hang in her room...my sister was none too pleased with me.My parents and my dad checking out the 2 dollar bill they gave each of the kids.Andrea trying to figure out one of Clay's new toys.Clay and a few of his goodies.Clay and Max discussing their new toys.A future blog photographer!Since all of my blog friends are so creative and are constantly making things, I thought I would share with you what my sister made for her house in hopes this will make me look better. Isn't this cool? She said she just had some old silk fabric laying around her house (doesn't everybody), took the silhouette to Kinko's and had them enlarge it, and then just put it on a canvas and framed it with ribbon. Of course she made it sound like it was no big deal and it probably wasn't for her...WHY OH WHY didn't I get any of the creative genes?

Clardy Christmas 2008 to be continued...

We're heading down to Dallas tomorrow so I wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! Max and I are driving with my parents (leaving at 4 am...fun times) so I'm busy packing and hoping to get into bed early tonight (Don is flying down on Saturday).

I'll leave you with a picture and two videos of Max's visit to see Santa today. The 2nd video is so funny to me because Max is listening so seriously to Santa and then looks like he's leaning in for a kiss...too cute!

OH MY GOODNESS!!!! Seriously, I think I hit the lottery with my blog swap gift! INGER completely outdid herself and I cannot thank her enough. The gift actually got here on Friday, but I was not able to go to the post office and pick it up until this afternoon. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE everything Inger sent me...and so did Max!

Look at all these goodies...can you believe it???Inger wrote a sweet note that was attached to an adorable pouch that contained a note pad, bookmark, pen and note cards!!!This one literally made me cry...the first gift I've received for the twins and they are precious! I'm assuming Inger made these (I know she's very crafty - check out her blog sometime) so they mean so much to me. You will definitely see a picture of these on the kiddos next winter...can't wait!!! THANK YOU INGER...these are absolutely precious!!!Okay, this pillow is so COOL! I love the silver garland and especially the huge "diamond" above the "i." This is just my style and I love it!And Miss Inger didn't leave out Max either...he got a great book called "Go Back to Bed" and a Pez with a ton of refills...can you say sugar high? :) By the way, I love the Christmas ribbon she wrapped everything in...me thinks this will be used again on some Christmas gift this year!
INGER LUFF...you completely outdid yourself with this one and I cannot thank you enough! Everything is adorable!

P.S. Thank you Donna for putting all this together...you DA BOMB!

We had a busy but fun weekend!

On Friday night Don and I attended the wedding of a good friend of mine, Christine. Christine and I went to Bob Jones together but didn't know each other then. We actually met and became friends when we worked at the same company in our early 20's. She has waited for the right guy and found him this year! I think they started dating in June, got engaged in October and married this past weekend...when you know you know! The wedding was at this gorgeous inn and was absolutely beautiful as was Christine.

I must thank Christine for the wonderful dinner she provided Don and I...it was SO good! I told Don I don't think I've eaten that much good food at a wedding ever before. They had a huge cheese and cracker spread, scrumptious manicotti, a mashed potato bar with all the fixin's, vegetables, chicken cordon bleu and prime rib. Oh, and I think I had about 4 glasses of the lemonade punch - a definite thirst quencher!

Christine is a drug rep (the good kind of drugs) and her new husband is a pediatrician so there were quite a few medical folks at the wedding. In fact, I saw the doctor who made the decision to go ahead and do a c-section on me and get Max out of there. When I told her we were expecting twins and showed her my bump she said "wow, you're going to be big"...way to make a girl feel good. :)

I didn't take my camera to the wedding so I stole this picture off of Christine's sister's Facebook page - thanks Karen!Max's first basketball game was Saturday morning and was HILARIOUS!!! Seriously, if you're ever bored and need a good laugh, go to a 4 & 5 year olds basketball game...you won't regret it! Max didn't score and his team lost, but we're hoping to change that record as the season progresses.Then on Saturday night we headed downtown to the annual Greenville Christmas parade where we froze our backsides off - it was freezing! My parents and some of our neighbor friends went with us.

The Bellfort girls... ...and the Bellfort Boys (well, and a few little girls)!Mom, Dad and Don trying to stay warm...Mom said maybe they'll watch it on TV next year!Can't have a parade without the Chick-fil-A cows! Here is the Bob Jones van which was pulling a float full of BJ kids...and full of pant wearing girls!
Last, but not least, SANTA CLAUS!!!

We also went to our church's Christmas program yesterday afternoon which was so good! Some of my favorite childhood Christmas memories are of the programs our church and school did...was hoping Max would get as excited as I use to get, but he fell asleep in my lap and slept through the whole thing. But, poor thing, he was sick and is actually home with me today...just the yucky nose, cough, fever thing.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Today I went to the Meyer Center Ladies Luncheon that happens every year around this time. The Meyer Center is a school for children with special needs and the school Max attended the past several years. This is the 3rd year I've been and the 3rd year I've sat in my seat crying like a baby. I can't help it...when parents of children who attend or have attended the Meyer Center get up to speak I just lose it. The first lady who spoke had a son who attended the MC years ago and now he has graduated from college and teaches English in another country - what an inspiration!

The 2nd parent who spoke was my friend, Kelly (go check out her blog about her sweet AnnaKate...precious). Kelly did a TERRIFIC job and was the main reason for my snotty nose and swollen eyes! :) She talked about the grieving process a parent goes through when they learn their child won't be a "normal" child, but then how you get to a point where you can't imagine them being anything other than who they are...they're perfect the way they are. Wow - she hit a nerve with me on that one! I can remember having this emotion right after I had Max and grieving the fact that I missed out on so much of my pregnancy and then that Max would probably have a lot of issues even after we brought him home. But, I also know that I was able to experience something very life changing that a lot of people never will get to experience and I think that's kind of neat - as strange as that may sound. Now Max will probably grow out of his special needs and probably won't need therapy after a few years (we're so thankful and really blessed), but he will always have vision issues and his eyes will always look a little different - something I can really stress myself out about if I really think about it. I just think how cruel some children can be and how his feelings could be hurt over the years - I hate to even think about it. But, like one of the speakers mentioned today, the Meyer Center gives children the confidence to go out in the world and deal with whatever comes their way...this is what I hope for in Max.

Anyway, I'm rambling but this luncheon always puts me in reflective mood and makes me really grateful for the Meyer Center and all they have done for Max and our family. Max attends a K-4 program at our church now, and although we're over at the MC once a week for therapy, I still miss seeing everyone on a regular basis.

Oh, and I've got to throw this in because I'm so excited about my early Christmas gift to myself. It's called the Flip video camera...have you guys heard of these? It's very small and attaches easily to your computer (the little USB thing just flips back in). I've been wanting one for awhile and got one on sale the day after Thanksgiving. Check out the video I took at the luncheon today - it's Edwin McCain (a local Greenville boy) singing one of his popular songs. Edwin is a huge supporter of the Meyer Center and has been for several years. I'm so mad, though, because I didn't think of my camera until after Kelly spoke...sorry Kelly! I would have loved to have gotten your whole speech on video. :(



Oh, and while we're at it, here's a short video of Max saying the Pledge of Allegiance.


Oh, and one more thing...today was my sister's birthday...Happy Birthday Andrea!! My mom made fried chicken (yum) and we had a little birthday celebration tonight. It's her 9th anniversary of her 35th birthday!

I'm alive! Seriously, could I go longer without posting? I think I've set a new record. I have just been in a funk lately and have not felt like being on the computer much. But, I have got to get better because this is the time I really should be blogging about so that I can remember it for years to come.

Let's go back several weeks to Max's Thanksgiving party at school. Mrs. Stoddard made the cutest placemats using their hand prints and then the kids also made some cute teepees. A very nifty table display if I do say so myself!

Below is a picture of my niece, Alyssa, who plays volleyball for Pensacola Christian College. They had a tournament about 45 minutes away from Greenville so we packed up and headed to watch her spike some balls...that girl doesn't mess around! Unfortunately, they lost their first game so they had to head back the next day, but it was nice to see her for just a short time. On to Gluttony Day...better known as Thanksgiving. We ate at my parent's house and boy did we eat! It was just my parents, Andrea and her family and Don's dad. I failed to get a picture of the spread, but trust me it was delish!

Here's Max doing his favorite post-meal activity...playing in dirt.One of the many pictures I took of my parents. We were trying to get a Christmas card picture so we'll see if one of them makes the cut.Here's Lily trying to shake Andrea's food she just ate from her hips to her chest area.And, no, your eyes are not deceiving you...the twins are making themselves known! Now, I will say that 1/4 of this is turkey and dressing, sweet potatoes, and rolls, but still...can you believe it? Seriously, I did not show with Max until my 4th month and this is making me really nervous. I'm only 10 weeks...can you imagine me at 36 weeks? I got one of those Bella Bands that you put over your regular pants and it holds them up so you can wear them longer so I've already been wearing that. I also wore a white buttoned down shirt to church yesterday and I kept thinking the button was going to fly off and hit someone in the eye because it was being pulled so tightly! Anyway, I'm glad those babies are growing, but the vanity in me sure is wondering how big I'm really going to get! :)

Dolly, do you recognize the white tank? HA HA!!!On to Christmas...check out my living room and my unfinished tree (notice no lights at the top...I ran out so back to the store I go). I usually get all my Christmas decorations put up in one day...today is day #3 that they've been sitting in the living room. Oh well, it will get done eventually!

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving holiday!!!

I admit it, I've been a bad blogger...both in posting and reading blogs!

But, before I go any further let me say that I am not a fan of negative posts on blogs. I know, I know - we all have our fair share of bad days and things we can complain about, but who wants to read about them? I mean, I can complain about as much as anyone, but it sure doesn't help me or anyone reading it...does it? Anyway, all that to say that I'm going to be Debbie Downer and say that this morning sickness thing is kicking my tail. Actually, it's more like late morning to evening sickness. I have felt so unmotivated to do anything. I have SO much to do...like clean out our office/spare bedroom so we can move Max in there (he asks every morning when he can move into the office), clean out the downstairs spare bedroom so I can move the office into it, clean out our closets because they are packed to the max and we will be needing space for 2 more people, etc. Anyway, I'm really hoping that this sickness goes away soon. My doctor gave me a prescription for Phenargen which helps nausea so I'm going to try that tonight...this gal's got work to do!

Oh, and then I read THIS article today...if Angelina "SUPER MOM" thinks it's hard then how am I supposed to do it? Don't they sell breast milk on the internet...may have to be an option for me. Or maybe one of my blogger friends would volunteer to be a wet nurse for me - a true sign of blog friendship.

Okay, now on to more positive things. This past Saturday we went to the Furman football game to celebrate a big anniversary for my husband (and, yes, we parked in the infamous parking spot). It was the 20th anniversary of the 1988 National Championship Team. That's right, my husband played football for Furman the year they won the Div 1-AA National Championship - the last Furman team to win it. They had about 50 guys come back and, of course, they all looked like they could all get right back out on that football field - well, if it weren't for the wheelchairs and crutches. No seriously, I know I'm old too, but that 1988 team sure had some studs playing for them...the best looking one being my husband of course!

Here are the boys on the field during halftime. Don wanted to pretend one last time that he was catching the game winning touchdown.

Max also started basketball practice last week. It's with our church so it's nothing intense, but he seemed to really enjoy it. Well, let me rephrase, he seemed to enjoy getting in the other's kids faces and trying to scare them - a new form of defense maybe?So then the two girls on the team started doing it back to him...didn't phase him one bit.


We've got some fun things coming up that I'm excited about. Another ultrasound next Wednesday, Thanksgiving at my parent's house, one of my good friends is getting married, the downtown Christmas Parade is Dec. 6 (one of my favorite things to do during the Christmas season), and then we're heading to Dallas for a few days before Christmas to see my sister and her family (FBIL) and my brother and his family - oh, and to also go to the last Dallas Cowboys game at Texas Stadium (that is unless they make the playoffs). We'll be back here in Greenville on Christmas Eve. So, not to bring it up again, but I'm sure hoping this nastiness is G-O-N-E soon so I can enjoy the holidays...it would be SO SAD if I couldn't fully enjoy a piece(s) of my mom's pecan pie, or her homemade yeast rolls, or that sweet potato crunch, or that turkey and dressing...

Oh, one more thing...I participated in a FALL SWAP last month and it was a lot of fun. Well, a new CHRISTMAS SWAP is going to be taking place soon so click here for more information. Check out the swap rules first and then come join the fun...nothing like coming home and seeing a package waiting for YOU on your doorstep!

I'll leave you with a picture of my pantless Indian. Doesn't it look like he's wearing those ice skater pantyhose?

DENISE......YO, I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want...SO, tell me what you want, what you really really want...


I wanna, I wanna...3 pack of sleepers!

I wanna, I wanna...3 pairs of tiny socks!

I wanna, I wanna..."I love mommy" sleeper!

I wanna, I wanna..."I love daddy" sleeper!

I wanna, I wanna...Christmas "Mommy's Little Joy" sleeper and Christmas socks!

I wanna, I wanna...a long gift receipt so I can take everything back and buy lots of diapers!

Denise, I hope you have a fun day "opening" all your gifts! As I've said many times before, you're one terrific mama and you're MY HERO! :)

I would like to thank the lovely Nikki Hogsed for putting together this "blogshower" for Denise's 5th baby! Nikki sent out some ADORABLE party favors - personalized luggage tags and stationery which are for sale on her blog...you should really check them out! I would also like to thank my model, Max Clardy. He showed such extraordinary patience through all of the staging, makeup and wardrobe. And last, but not least, I would like to thank the Spice Girls for all the inspiration they've given me over the past 10+ years!