The whole idea behind having this blog is to keep track of our little family trips, getaways, activities and visitors we have here in SC. I know that in 5 years I might forget about an excursion to find a small waterfall or that Caiden's very first hike was at table rock lake at 25 months. So in order to keep these memories stored up I thought jotting down little notes about our adventures might come in handy someday. Honestly, it might be a pretty boring read for anyone else, but my hope is that in 15 years we can sit down and read through some old family stories...whether they're sad, adventurous, exciting or even just a regular day in the Stephens household.
In March, Randy and Janet came in town for a quick visit since it had been a few months since they saw Caiden. Jered and I spent a night at Three Pines View bed and breakfast. This place was AMAZING!!!!! For those of you who love to travel I highly recommend staying at bed and breakfasts whenever you get a chance! You get to hear stories about the area, meet great people and are treated like royalty! The next day we hiked to Isaqueena Falls and Stump House Tunnel then we had lunch in Seneca. Being the HUGE outdoor people that we are, I feel so blessed to live in such a beautiful area where just down the road there's hiking, waterfalls, lakes, rivers bike trails and even beaches! Psalm 37:4 says, delight in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart. He sure has!! That's one thing we can count on is that GOD keeps his promises.
Next is Aunt Mary's visit to Greenville in April, 2011. It was her spring break and this would be her first time here! The trip started off a little crazy, she missed her first flight, had to wait 8 hours to 'maybe' get on another flight only to find that all the flights were booked solid. I guess flying the Thursday before spring break is the thing to do! My dad ended up going back to the airport to pick her up only to take her back a few hours later, at 4:00 the next morning. Luckily she got on an early flight this time!! This only increased our excitement for her to finally get here :)
While she was here we tried to do everything 'Greenville'. We went downtown for dinner, went to Church, spent a day in the mountains and went out one night for a girls dinner. I loved spending one on one time with her, I always learn so much from her and she's honestly one of the funniest people I know! Hopefully she'll be back soon with her precious little baby girl who is due in February!
SAVANNAH, GA
Fast forward a few weeks to my 28th birthday, mother's day and our anniversary (all in the same week). We decided to go to Savannah for a few days to celebrate the three-in-one family holiday.
Savannah was like no town I've ever seen before. I have always said that if I could do anything I wanted in life I would be a history teacher and this amazing town was PACKED with stories of old America and how civilian life began here! We stayed in an old but renovated bed and breakfast...if you want to call it that. The breakfast was as simple at packaged muffins and orange juice from the tiny fridge located in the closet. But hey, if it saves us a few pennies, we're all for it!
When we first got there we thought it would be a good idea to take a trolly ride and get a tourist view of the city. We also wanted to get a good layout for what we wanted to do for the next 3 days. Following protocol, our tour guide immediately struck up a conversation about how Savannah was the most haunted city in the US. We humored him a little and kept asking for more stories, most of which were second hand stories about someone he knew who knew someone else who saw or had an encounter with a ghost. Jered, being the skeptic that he is, enjoyed the stories but to him that's all they were....stories. Me on the other hand, I haven't decided if I really believe in ghost or spirits but for this trip I became a believer. Every window I looked in I thought that if I looked long enough maybe I would see something. And every picture I took of an old building I would go back and see if an odd image had appeared. I did this the whole time and I must say it made the trip very mysterious for me. We visited the cemetery in the middle of the city that dates back to the mid 1800's. It was mid day, sun shining bright yet I didn't venture far from Jered, my protector, just in case something were to jump out at me.
We also went to Tybee Island to hang out at the beach and get some sun. The first day at Tybee we got our lounge chairs, drinks and a few snack and people watched pretty much the whole day. Sometimes those are the best memories where you can just sit back, relax and talk about whatever odd thoughts comes to mind. The next day we headed to Tybee again and thought it would be fun to rent some jet skis for a few hours. SO FUN!!! We raced, jumped the waves and even saw a few dolphins! A couple of them were just a few feet in front of us!!!!
Savannah was a blast and I can't wait to go back!!
More short stories to come, eventually?!
Christy visits Greenville
Trip to KC for Mellisa's Baby Shower
Heidi makes her grand entrance
Trip to STL to meet baby Heidi for the first time
Meemaw Comes to Visit
Hiking at Triple Falls, Hooker Falls, Bridal Falls
Caesar's Head State Park
Paris Mountain
Burlingam
Drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway
Jamaican lunch in Asheville, Nine Mile
Denver Downs Farm - Civil War Reenactment
Happy Cow Creamery
Caiden's 2nd Birthday on Lake Keowee
Day on Lake Keowee with our new boat
Blueberry festival at Roper Mountain Science Center
Fall for Greenville - Caiden showed his love for live music
Table Rock Mountain
The Adventures of the Stephens Family
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
A day with my Aunt Maunu
Caiden and Aunt Maunu got to spend a WHOLE day together. They had so much fun, that they wanted to write Mommy and Daddy a special note about all the fun they had:
Monday, July 18, 2011
Caiden's Bedtime Blessing
HELP ME DEAR GOD
TO LIVE THE WAY YOU WANT ME TO LIVE
DAY BY DAY
OH SHOW ME HOW TO PLEASE YOU BEST
WHEN I'M AT
WORK
OR PLAY
OR REST
AND MAY I OFTEN THINK OF YOU
AND NEVER SAY WHAT ISN'T TRUE
AND ALWAYS TRY TO DO
WHAT'S RIGHT
I THINK THAT'S ALL DEAR GOD
GOOD NIGHT
AMEN
Friday, July 15, 2011
"All Better"
As most of our friends and family know, Caiden has some food and other allergies so we are very careful about what he eats and keep a close on the ingredients in his foods. We didn't realize just how serious these allergies were until a few weeks ago.
It was Friday afternoon around 4:00 and Kim, his daycare provider, called me to say that Caiden wasn't feeling too well and was looking a little ill. This alarmed me because Kim has never called and suggested that we pick him up early. I knew that Jered was closer than I was to her home so I called him and let him know what was going on so he headed over right away. A couple minutes later, while I'm driving safely but quickly to Kim's, Jered called and says that Caiden was in fact looking a little pale and was acting a bit lethargic. So I step on the gas, OK I floored it, heart racing knowing that we had to get him to the doctor right away. When Kim had first called, I assumed it was a little cold and he was sleepy but I realized then that it was getting worse and that it could have been an allergic reaction. Once I had gotten there just a few minutes later and saw him, there was no question. He was still happy and gave me a huge smile and hug, not realizing what was happening to him. We drove (flew) Caiden
over to the emergency clinic that was a few minutes away, Caiden in the car seat, and me watching his every move. Once we got there and got checked in -very quickly- the doctor saw us right away. We told him about his allergies and he saw that Caiden's ears, eyes, mouth and face had swelled and a rash had begun to spread down to his tiny legs. He ordered a type of steroid to reduce the swelling and requested that we take him to the Children's hospital downtown. The ambulance ride was just about 15 minutes and thankfully the steroid shot helped drastically for most of that time. By the time we had made it to the hospital the swelling was back and the rash was worse. The doctor there requested benedryl be given either orally or intravenously and we opted for the oral route, since it was less invasive. The thought of an IV in our little baby's arm sickened us and we knew that since the doctor gave us the option, we would be safe with either choice. Within just 30 minutes he was sound asleep and looking much better! The doctor and ourselves agreed that we wouldn't leave there until Caiden was 100% better and had the energy to eat and drink.
We ended up staying there for a couple more hours and Caiden was getting better by the minute! Kim had called several times to check in on him and was helping us figure out what the reaction had been from. She is and has always been extremely careful with his allergies. She keeps no peanuts in her home and watches the ingredients just as we do. We came to the conclusion that one of the other mothers had came into Kim's home after being in a massage salon and somehow Caiden had come in contact with the perfumes she was wearing. I haven't heard of a severe perfume allergy before this, but now I know that it is to be taken very seriously.
The doctor came in one last time to check on his condition and was amazed that everything had cleared up completely. We woke him up and gave him a couple graham crackers (or 8) and some Gatorade to make sure that he had his appetite back. We were relieved to see that he was, as Caiden would say, "all better!" and so grateful that God answered our prayers and watched over our little boy! 
It was Friday afternoon around 4:00 and Kim, his daycare provider, called me to say that Caiden wasn't feeling too well and was looking a little ill. This alarmed me because Kim has never called and suggested that we pick him up early. I knew that Jered was closer than I was to her home so I called him and let him know what was going on so he headed over right away. A couple minutes later, while I'm driving safely but quickly to Kim's, Jered called and says that Caiden was in fact looking a little pale and was acting a bit lethargic. So I step on the gas, OK I floored it, heart racing knowing that we had to get him to the doctor right away. When Kim had first called, I assumed it was a little cold and he was sleepy but I realized then that it was getting worse and that it could have been an allergic reaction. Once I had gotten there just a few minutes later and saw him, there was no question. He was still happy and gave me a huge smile and hug, not realizing what was happening to him. We drove (flew) Caiden
over to the emergency clinic that was a few minutes away, Caiden in the car seat, and me watching his every move. Once we got there and got checked in -very quickly- the doctor saw us right away. We told him about his allergies and he saw that Caiden's ears, eyes, mouth and face had swelled and a rash had begun to spread down to his tiny legs. He ordered a type of steroid to reduce the swelling and requested that we take him to the Children's hospital downtown. The ambulance ride was just about 15 minutes and thankfully the steroid shot helped drastically for most of that time. By the time we had made it to the hospital the swelling was back and the rash was worse. The doctor there requested benedryl be given either orally or intravenously and we opted for the oral route, since it was less invasive. The thought of an IV in our little baby's arm sickened us and we knew that since the doctor gave us the option, we would be safe with either choice. Within just 30 minutes he was sound asleep and looking much better! The doctor and ourselves agreed that we wouldn't leave there until Caiden was 100% better and had the energy to eat and drink.
We ended up staying there for a couple more hours and Caiden was getting better by the minute! Kim had called several times to check in on him and was helping us figure out what the reaction had been from. She is and has always been extremely careful with his allergies. She keeps no peanuts in her home and watches the ingredients just as we do. We came to the conclusion that one of the other mothers had came into Kim's home after being in a massage salon and somehow Caiden had come in contact with the perfumes she was wearing. I haven't heard of a severe perfume allergy before this, but now I know that it is to be taken very seriously.
The doctor came in one last time to check on his condition and was amazed that everything had cleared up completely. We woke him up and gave him a couple graham crackers (or 8) and some Gatorade to make sure that he had his appetite back. We were relieved to see that he was, as Caiden would say, "all better!" and so grateful that God answered our prayers and watched over our little boy! 
We had experienced just a fraction of the heart ache that goes along with seeing your child sick and not knowing what was going to happen. My heart breaks for the children and their parents who endure numerous trips to the hospital for various illnesses and treatments. This is something that my soul cannot understand or even comprehend. My prayer is that no matter what may happen, we lean on the Lord for comfort and hope that His will be done and He be glorified and whatever struggles we may face.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Cashiers, NC
This year for Easter Mara, Blaine and his parents invited us to spend the weekend with them at their condo in Cashiers, a small mountain town about an hour from Greenville. We had heard a lot of great things about their new home, it's simply just not the same as being there in 
person. Their condo is on a beautiful 18-hole golf course in the mountains. The flowers were in full bloom and the trees were at their greenest! Once we were settled in, we drove the golf cart to a nearby fishing pond where we threw rocks into the water while Jered and Blaine fished. We left the boys behind for a bit (to catch dinner) and decided to take Caiden for a ride over to the clubhouse and waterfalls. On the way, we spotted a young little bunny and just had to stop! Aunt Mara 
hopped out with Caiden to see where the bunny was headed. They probably spent a good 10 minutes watching the bunny as he hopped around looking for clovers and other food. I love that Mara gets to spend these sweet moments with him! Ever since that day, Caiden correlates Aunt Mara with bunnies. Just a few days ago, I picked Mara up on the way to work and had Caiden in the back of the car. Once he saw her walking up to the car, in a high-pitched excited voice he says, "Mauna an da bunny!!!" meaning, Mara and the bunny! I just about died, especially because this was one of the first times he put more than 2 words together and Mara was NOT holding a bunny. Hilarious!!
For Caiden's 2nd Easter, Aunt Mara got him lots of delicious treats like organic fruit snacks and peanut free M&Ms! (Does she know me or what?!) After church, we had a mini Easter egg hunt. We put one piece of candy in each egg and scattered them throughout the yard. Caiden opens the first one, and BAM - and tiny little piece of heaven falls onto the grass. Not ever having a piece of candy before, he looks at it, looks at daddy to make sure he can have a bite and pops it into his mouth. His eyes get big with excitement - it was the most delicious snack he'd ever had in his whole (20 month) life. On to the next one, and the next one and the next until by the 4th or 5th M&M he looked like he was getting a little woozy from all the chocolate. I just had to snap a pic of this chocolate coma moment! This was about a 7 second pause before opening the next egg!
On Sunday Mara stayed back with Caiden during his afternoon nap while the rest of us went on a hike looking for waterfalls. We had a great time exploring some of the lesser traveled trails and spent some time relaxing near the river. Here's a photo of Keith and Julie, such a fun couple!
After the waterfall adventures, we took the golf cart out and drove around the course. We didn't see a single golfer so it was just us and the mountain views for hours! Good thing we took a fishing pole with us because there was one pond in particular that looked fishier than the others! We decided to throw a line in and within just a few casts, Jered and Caiden caught a pretty nice size blue gill - he says it's the biggest one he's ever caught, over 1 lb! Caiden still hasn't gotten over the scary frog incident, so he wasn't the biggest fan of this slimy creature that dad had on the end of his fishing pole! Hopefully he'll outgrow this slight fear of things that jump or squirm, until then it's quite hysterical! 
It turned out to be a relaxing, quiet weekend in the mountains! We even captured a much needed family picture, one that is now framed and up in our living room :) Thank you to Aunt Mara, Blaine, Julie and Keith for your warm welcome and hospitality! This was an Easter that we will never forget!
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