Away with the Internet

My dear friends and family that have been faithful with reading our blog. I just wanted to inform y'all that we have given up our internet for a little while. So when it comes to updating the blog it probably will be even longer then normal. I just wanted to let y'all know so that you didn't think we had disappeared. I'll try to update it as much as I can. Love ya!!

Abby's First Birthday

Hallie, Abby, and Brianne

She couldn't decide which one to play with first!

Abby in her Birthday Tutu and headband!

Abby with her Papa Griffin

Abby loves Elmo!

So I know it's been a month since she turned one but things have just been crazy around our house lately. I'm sorry for not posting anything sooner. Abby turned one on Sept. 7 but we decided to have her birthday party on the 6th which was a Saturday. I felt bad for the little girl she started getting a runny nose and couching Friday night so in alot of the pictures you may see her running nose and poor little red eyes. My parents came up on Thursday night and stayed for the whole weekend. I have Friday's off so we went up to Opry Mills Mall and got things ready for the party on Saturday. Brian's parents, his brother's Todd who brought one of his kids, Brianne. Then Matt and Stacey which is Brian's other brother and his wife and one of my best friends Bonny and her husband Chad and their kids Owen and Hallie.




We had a great time. We had hamburgers and hotdogs along with lots of other stuff. Abby loved her Seasame Street cake and I thought that she was going to go into a coma after eatting all that sugar. You only have that first birthday one time! She got so many gifts she didn't know what to do. I just want to thank everyone that came to the party and those that were there in spirit. Thank you for the gifts!

Only a week and half away

So I was just thinking today at work that my little girl is going to be turning "1" in a week and half. It is amazing how fast the year has gone and how lucky I have been to be able to spend the time that I did at home. Abby is such a wonderful baby/little girl! I look forward to her upcoming birthday celebration and the years to come!

Back to School!

Brian going to his first class that starts at 6:50 AM

Brian with his cute little bookbag!

So today marks Brian's first official day of school! After taking a year off from school to help out with Abby and working he started back at Middle Tennessee State University majoring in Construction Management. I think I was more nervous and anxious then he was about going back. I called him on the way to work to see how his classes were going. I told all of my little residents at work about him going back to school and taking pictures of him. They loved it! He seems to be excited about it! I'm so excited for him and so grateful that he has an eagerness to learn and to future his education. Here are some pictures of Brian on his first day of School!

Over the Month of July

Abby The Cowgirl!

Abby and Grandma Warby

Brian and Grandpa Warby

Brian, Grandpa Warby, Matt, and Grandma Warby

Abby and Brian at the pancake breakfast!

This is at the Indian Village

They call this is the "Fancy Traditional" dancing

Abby at the Thunder bird show

Some of the steer roping

Abby and Brian at the Fireworks Show in Downtown Nashville

Some of the people that decided to come to the fireworks show too

Abby in her big girl car seat!

Abby and Grandpa Warby


Sorry For not posting anything lately but life in the Gilday house hold has been very fast paced lately. After we got back from Georgia we celebrated Abby's first Fourth Of July. Brian had to work that day but that night we met up with some friends and we went to the downtown Nashville Fireworks show. Talk about amazing!!! That same night we went to Walmart and bought Abby a big girl car seat. I got kind of teary eyed because it seems like yesterday that I was bringing her home from the hospital and now she is almost 1 years old. They grow up so fast! She didn't know what to think of it at first but overall she loves it!

A couple of days after the fourth I got a phone call from a facility called Donelson Place Care and Rehab and they offered me the Activity Director position. So I became a working girl on the 8th of July. It was hard and it still is to put Abby in daycare but I have a wonderful friend,Bonnie Day, that has been watching her during the day. I miss being with her during the day but there has been great things happen from her staying at Bonnie's. Those being she is not as clingy and she has started to pick up walking from watching Owen Day.

On the 19th of July we took a little trip to Cheyenne,WY to visit Brian's grandparents but to also enjoy Frontier Days which is the biggest outdoor rodeo in the world! Matt and Stacey were are traveling buddies! We had a great time. One night we went to the PBR-Professional Bull Riding, which was awesome! Then another night we went to see Miranda Lambert and Jason Aldean in concert. I highly recommend going to see them if you get a chance. We went to all kinds of events while we were there. We went to the Indian Village where we saw ethnic dances, bucking horses, steer roping, barrel racing, thunder bird show, and we also went to the pancake breakfast where 9,000 other people showed up also. We had a great time but the best time was had just spending time with Grandpa and Grandma Warby. We appreciate their warm hospitality so very much. It was sad to have to say goodbye but we will see them at the next Warby Family reunion. How grateful I am for the knowledge that I have that families can be eternal. There is no greater joy in my life then my family. It makes every day sweeter to know that this family unit can continue! How blessed I am!

Our Trip to Georgia!

Brian holding baby Kolton

Abby with her Aunt Jamie and cousin Kitty

Kierstin, Jessica, Kitty, and Jamie just hanging out

Gage and Kristi would take turns pushing her in the car. She loved it!

Abby and her cousin Griffin and Gage Clark

Abby and her cousin Ashlee Nelson from Utah

Abby with Papa and Boo Boo

Everyone just having a great time in the pool

Abby was about done at this point

Brian and Taylor my nephew riding in the Razor

Abby cruising in her favorite ride

This weekend we surprised my side of the family and made a trip down to good ole Jesup,Georgia. The reason it was a surprise is my sister Jessica was having her son Kolton blessed at church and my sister Jennifer's son Griffin was getting baptized. Also my sister Jamie and my nieces Ashlee and Kitty and my nephews Taylor and James were visiting from Utah. The nieces and nephews from Utah hadn't seen Abby yet so we were excited. My brother Jason and his family weren't able to come this year but maybe next year.


It is a 8 hour drive down to Jesup so we left after Brian got of work on Friday and we finally got to my parents house about 3:30 in the morning on Saturday. Say the least we were wore out but Abby did great. Saturday morning everyone was going over to Jessica's house to work on the shrimp for the low country boil so we showed up and it was a great reunion. After we got done with the shrimp we went to see one of my friends from high school, Maggie Kicklighter Yoder. She is due in about 5 weeks with her first so we dropped off a present and visited for a little while. We then went out to Jennifer's house and swam. Abby had fun playing with her cousins in the pool. Then that night we all went to Pizza Inn which is an all you can eat pizza buffet in Jesup.


On Sunday Kolton's blessing and Griffin's baptism went great. We had some more family come into town from Savannah. After church we all went over to Jennifer's house to enjoying some low country boil and boiled peanuts. For those that don't know what a low country boil is it is a combination of red potatoes, shrimp, sausage, and corn on the cob along with Cajun spices. It is amazing! There was allot of eating along with socializing. Two things that southern people love to do! We left on Monday around 10:30 so we could miss the heavy traffic in Atlanta. We had such a great time it was really hard to leave. I have such an amazing family and am so blessed. I look forward to the next time we can all get together!

Coach Mayes

Brian and Coach Mayes on 6/16/08
Abby is trying to figure out the horses

So the other day Brian got to talking to one of his brother's friends named Chris Liffereth. Chris was telling Brian about playing basketball up at the stake center in Franklin,Tn and running into an old teacher of his Coach Mayes. To find out Coach Mayes taught Brian when he was in the 7th and 8th grade at Camden Middle School in Nashville. He was also Brian's first wrestling coach and football coach. Brian got a hold of his number and Coach Mayes was so excited to hear from him. He told Brian that he had kept track of his wrestling career through high school. He wanted Brian, Abby, and me to come out to his home for lunch one day so they could talk and catch up.

We had such a great time. It was really neat to see how excited they both got when they saw each other and how they couldn't stop talking about the good ole days. That first year that Brian wrestled was the first year that Coach Mayes's wrestling team won the state championship. After a little chatting and lunch we went outside so Brian could ride on one of the 4 horses that he has. Along with still teaching school and coaching he and his family run an animal rescue. So he has 8 dogs, 4 horses, 3 cats, some fish and I think a bird. After Brian got done riding Coach Mayes pulled out some plans for a tree house that he has been working on for his two little girls. After a little while they decided that it would be built in the morning! Brian had some time off from work so they worked two full days putting up this huge tree house. I haven't been able to get back out to see the completed project to get any pictures but I will. Brian was so excited to be able to help him. I think it is really amazing how it has been over 10 years now that Brian and Coach Mayes has seen each other but the respect and admiration that they have for one another is still so strong.