Ben's Job

So, every week day and many weekends for the past 20 months, my husband traveled an hour and 15 minutes one way to Montevallo, AL to manage and oversee the construction of the Alabama National Cemetery.  What started out as a "once a week" visit to the cemetery for meetings quickly turned into an every day trip, sometimes turning into overnight trips.  To say I handled it poorly at times might be an understatement.  Ben would sometimes leave as early as 5am and not return until 9pm or later.  He never knew when he would be able to leave the job and could only give an estimated time at which he may be able to be home for dinner.  Drove. Me. Nuts.  

Ben is the type of person who, when he does something, he does it right and he does it to the best of his ability.  As the project manager of this phase of the cemetery, he wanted everything to be perfect to the extent that he would get out in the field and do some of the work himself in order to keep things going, keep people happy, and make things happen.  This is one of the things I love the most about him and at the same time, drives me crazy.  However, at the age of 25, Ben has an 11 million dollar (plus) job under his belt which is a huge accomplishment.  Not only did he get the job done, but his company received the highest ratings that can be given by the VA and those records will be stored in Washington. I am extremely proud of him.  

A separate company created a book about the cemetery which includes pictures of the cemetery and some of the buildings that Ben was in charge of. When Ben left C and C Contractors (the company Ben worked for when building the cemetery) two weeks ago, the owner of the company presented Ben with a copy of the book.

The cemetery was completed the week that Mason was born.  One of these days I hope to take photos of it myself and see the final product. Ben worked tirelessly to make sure that they met their deadline so he would get to be home with our new baby with no worries.  After Mason was born, it became more obvious that Ben needed a job closer to home with no traveling involved.  (aka I was an emotional wreck) So, we prayed a lot about it (and had been for a while) and a perfect opportunity presented itself... a company literally right down the street from our neighborhood.  I couldn't be more thrilled! What an answered prayer!!  Ben was sad to leave the people at C and C but they were very understanding about his desire to spend more time closer to home.

I have to say that God has gone above and beyond in the way He has taken care of our family and our job situations since Ben and I got married.  Things didn't always go as we would have planned, but we have been able to see the good things that have come from each situation and see that God's timing is perfect.  Now Ben and I have the opportunity to be home more and be closer to home and to spend lots of quality time with our little man and each other.  We are so thankful and consider ourselves so blessed!

We are loving the experience of our most important job yet, being parents.

Here is Ben with Mason in my hospital bed the  2nd night we were in the hospital.  I couldn't get around very well because of the C-section and I am certain that Ben changed more diapers than I did and got up almost every time I did during the night.  I was the feeder but Ben was the master swaddler. 

Independence Day Pictures

Ben and I were blessed with some time off for the holiday and we got to make the trip up to Florence for the weekend.  So, we loaded up the little man and the doggies and headed North on Saturday morning.  On Saturday night, Mason got to go to his very first shrimp boil. I wish I had gotten some pictures of that but I tend to get stressed out when I take him in public places or outdoors, afraid that he is getting too hot or uncomfortable or worried about him being passed around a lot.  Thus, I am too distracted to take pictures. The food was amazing and there was a TON of it!  They did it Low Country Boil style where they dumped bucket after bucket of shrimp, crawfish, corn, potatoes, and onions into a huge homemade trough.  It was amazing! 

We spent all of Sunday and Monday hanging out at my parent's house playing in the pool, eating, and just relaxing.  Mom made chocolate covered oreo balls (holy moly), pasta salad, a cheese ball, and lots of other goodies that we snacked on all day.  The 4th was complete with grilled steaks marinated in Dale's sauce, my favorite!! 

Here are some of my favorite photos from the weekend....

I tried to relax on the float while Ben tried to make me miserable.

Sweet Pea and Daddy hanging out by the pool

Not So Sure About This Chilly Water  

Big Feet, Little Feet

My Daddy and His Boys

Berkley and Pete Having Fun 

The 4th Wouldn't Be Complete Without Fireworks. It Helps to Have Neighbors Who Own Fireworks Stands!

Notice Anything Odd About This One? I Was Practicing Photographing Fireworks and My Sister Thought She'd Add Her Special Touch 

The Neighbor's Could've Shot These Fireworks After a Baseball Game or Something. They Were Huge!

Mason and His Great Grandmother

Mason Sound Asleep in Nana's Arms

Local Celebrity Gets a Bath

Mason Loves Bath Time

So Relaxing

Poodles Like to Relax Too
(my wide angle lens distorted him a bit)

Disclaimer: This is a normal picture of my sister, unlike the one that follows.....

We Had Fun Taking Pictures Off the Diving Board

It Provided Lots of Laughs... then again, my sister usually does.

My Brother Makes It Look Easy

Love the Elbow Dimple

While we were in Florence, Mason started smiling and cooing a lot! It is amazing how fast babies change and learn new things.  I was getting my feelings hurt because he kept smiling at the ceiling fan but wouldn't smile at me. (I know, he is just a baby.) Now, he is all about smiling at me and everyone else and talking to us too! I love it!! He also wants to sit up or stand all the time and keeps trying to pull himself up into the sitting position.  It is so funny because he strains his head forward like he is trying to get up.  I start back to work next week but more on that later... it is ok to go ahead and start praying for me though. :)