Mortifying Mom Moment

The other day while in the waiting room of my doctor's office, Nolan was playing with blocks on the floor when a 9 month old baby came crawling up to him with his mother standing behind him. Nolan looked at the baby and then looked up at me with the sweetest face.




"Mommy, I going to kill the baby."
"WHAT?!?!"
"I going to kill the baby."
All of the blood drained out of my head as the baby's mom stared at me clearly hearing what my child just said. How in the world does my sweet boy know that word?! Surely he doesn't know that word! And even if he did learn this word from his big brother or somewhere else, there is no way that he would want to say this about a sweet baby!
All I could think to say was "What did you say??!!" over and over again, causing Nolan to repeat "I going to kill the baby" about 4 times, each time getting louder.
The entire waiting room is watching by now, horrified by this child and his obviously horrific mother.
The sweet baby's mother tries to make the situation better, bless her heart, and guesses "He wants to tickle the baby"??
Yes! Yes! That could be what he's saying...

Suddenly Nicholas looks up from the game he was engrossed in on my phone and swoops in to save the day.
"He said, he's gonna take care of the baby" Nolan confirmed that this was exactly what he had already said 5 times before!
We all breathed one giant sigh of relief--myself, the baby's mom, the entire waiting room!
Thank goodness my sweet boy is still my sweet boy! Nothing like a mortifying mom moment like this keep me humble in my parenting!

Nicholas: The 5 year mark

We've all heard it a million times, "they grow up so fast". I know it's true, but I'm still shocked when I experience it. Wasn't it just the other day that this picture was taken? But somehow a half a decade has come and gone and my sweet baby has gotten so big! He no longer fits in my arms but thankfully he still loves to cuddle and gives great hugs! We celebrated Nick's 5th birthday last week with a small party with some good friends at Glow in the dark putt putt. They had a blast with full access to the whole place and as much mini golf as they wanted! Afterwards, a few friends stuck around and we had fun exploring Discover Mills by riding the train through the mall and playing at the Lego store. Of course this wasn't our only celebration. We got the birthday festivities started early with a pool party and birthday celebration with cousin Mady and family a few weekends ago. For his birthday dinner he chose Moe's and Aunt Ashley joined us. And the celebrations still aren't over as tomorrow we'll celebrate with Mimi because they were on a fabulous trip to California the week of his birthday. It's more fun when it lasts all month right? So here's to our precious Nicholas on your 5th birthday! What an incredible boy you have become! You are the most loving, kind hearted friend and big brother. You always take such excellent care of Nolan and any other young children you are with. You make friends wherever you go and always make those friends feel special. And oh man are you a smart one with an incredible memory! Not a day goes by that you don't wow me with something you say or remember or have learned. I'm so glad I have you around everyday to remind me where I'm going and of our great memories! What in the world will I do without you all day when you go off to kindergarten in less than 2 months?! How can this be?? I had to stop the tears from flowing the other day as we went for your kindergarten screening and registering. You did an incredible job and the teacher was blown away by how well you did in all of the areas. You are going to be a kindergarten superstar!! I pray that these next five years go a little bit slower than these first 5 did and that we (I) focus more on savoring the present moments we are given and not rushing to the next milestone. I am overcome with gratitude for all of God's blessings that I so do not deserve yet He bestows anyway. And Nicholas, baby, you are one of those top blessings! How in the world I got the honor of being your Mom, I will never know but hope to never take for granted. It is an honor that God has entrusted your Daddy and I with and we hope to shape and impact your life for Christ's good works that He has prepared in advance for you--just you! Oh the places you'll go!! Happy Birthday, Nicholas Scott Garrison! What a joy you are!

6 months in a glance

6 months. A lot has happened in 6 months. I didn't intend to disappear for 6 months, it just kind of happened. We have experienced so much change in these 6 months, it's incredible to look back on it. We've had many highs and many lows as well. We've experienced milestones, birthdays, vacations, graduations, and unfortunately the loss of loved ones. We've grown physically, emotionally, and most importantly spiritually. There's no way to catch up all that I've missed sharing in this time so I will just post some recent updates and photos. Nolan turned 2! We had a wonderful family Christmas I live with some really cute SuperHeroes! Papa turned 93! We had an AMAZING trip to Disney World!! Nick loved playing Weeball again this year. Love this great picture Nicholas took of us at the Chattahoochee Nature Center Happy Easter! Jesus is Risen! Mother-son Date Knight at Chick-fil-a Had a blast in Hilton Head! Mother's Day Nicholas Graduates from Preschool!!! Graham's book signing for Legacy Road! And those were just some of the highlights! I hope to do a better job of staying up to date with the blog from here on out and share what God is doing in and for and through our family. God is so good! His love never fails and I am forever humbled by the work He continues to do in our lives! I'll be back soon, I promise!