Instacute.

It seems like the easiest way I have been able to chronicle what has been going on with us has been through mediums like Instagram… it’s just easy to take a quick snapshot and upload it. So here’s what’s been going on lately:

That’s all, folks!

rambling.

I've been trying to figure out what I wanted to talk about tonight, because I felt like after a break from Blogging I should at least attempt to come up with something. I toyed with the idea of doing a post about why we don't celebrate Easter {or Christmas, for that matter} as a religious holiday. But I believe that I'm going to save that for another occasion, after I do a bit more studying on the matter. Right now our house is coated with nasty pollen. Benjamin and Hubby are both being beat down by the nasty stuff. Surprisingly enough, I haven't had such a problem. Perhaps it is the fact that last night I took some Benadryl and when I woke up, I took an allergy pill. Please keep them in your prayers. It's hard when both my boys are sick!

I'm really excited for a few reasons. You know those diaper straps I made? Well my new love for sewing has inspired me to think about opening an etsy shop. Right now I am trying to perfect my talent, which is probably impossible, but I can work toward it! But in the future I really would like to do this.

Another thing is the possibility of one of my lifelong dreams coming true. There were very few things I wanted to do with my life when I was growing up. One was country music star {funnily enough, I'm not a country music fan now}. Another was Marine Biologist {I have a water phobia}. And the one I have always really loved to think about was becoming a published author. Being at the Lectureship last week has really inspired me to work toward this.

This past week also lead me to realize a number of other things. One in particular being at how great and awesome our God is. How loving and caring He is in that He always provides for us a way even when we don't know we need one. He knows our needs before we even know we have a need, and He takes care of us. He opens doors for us and I am so thankful! Now, I know this may come as a surprise to some, but I don't believe that miracles still happen today. I believe that some things people call miracles is actually God's providential hand. I do believe in providence, firmly and honestly. Perhaps another post in the future will go more in depth about my beliefs about miracles.

But not right now. Right now I am thinking about the future. And I am so excited.






These pictures were taken on our long drive home from Memphis last Friday. Benjamin was looking at his "Bible for Babies" book, which we bought at the bookstore at the Lectures. It was just a very sweet thing to look back and see, I just couldn't help but to capture the moment!

I hope you all had a very blessed Lord's day, and have a wonderful week to follow!

I can't believe it!

This is unheard of. I haven't posted anything all week. I meant to, I really did. I had planned to post every day about what I learned that day during the lectures... or at least let you know how we were getting through our days. However, we were just so busy and so tired at the end of the day that believe it or not, blogging was far from my mind.

Tonight, though tired, we have nearly packed everything up and gotten them ready to go to the car tomorrow. We leave in the morning, heading back to life as usual. I'm sad that the week is ending, but really needing to get back into the regular swing of things. This night and the last have been the only two that Benjamin has gone down in his pack-n-play. I'm ready to sleep in my own bed with a comforter that will reach my chin without pulling.

I didn't take very many pictures, either. While that is something that I really truly enjoy, I enjoy listening to God's word and fellowshipping with God's people a lot more! I will share the few pictures I did take at a later time though. In fact, there are a few things I will share with y'all, but right now... I am dead tired.

And I will have to catch up on all your blogs this weekend, too!

I hope you all had a fantastic week! For all of you who we saw or met in Memphis, see you next year, Lord willing!

Keep us in your prayers as we travel, please!

Random Thoughts For Today

Yesterday I was feeling yucky so I didn't get around to blogging. I do however have an update on my Grandmother, and I just wanted to thank everyone for praying for her. She had her surgery yesterday and everything went well! There were no complications {that I have heard of anyway}, and she is now recovering. She should be returning home over the weekend sometime I think. We are really thanking God for this!

Today I've been busy with cleaning and organizing as well as I can, not to mention sorting through clothes and bagging them for Goodwill. Twenty minutes ago Benjamin decided to have a sip of my green tea and poured it all down his front, and over his shoulders too. So we had to have a mid-day bath. I've decided to relax a bit and let him have a snack and watch his Wiggles before he goes down for another nap. He's holding up pretty well today! He's had a few off days lately concerning napping and whether or not he will go down. It's kind of strange because he usually went down no problem when we were at my parents' house, and yet when we get back to his familiar home... nope! I'm a little nervous about what we're going to do when we take our trip at the end of the month to Memphis. It should be an interesting trip anyway, because we are sharing a hotel room with Micah, her husband Justin, and their daughter Reagan. Yes, four adults and two babies in a hotel room! That is a recipe for a very interesting week! But, we are very grateful that our friends {who I haven't actually met in person before!} are willing to split a room with us!

I'm sure the nap situation will work out and it will be a fantastic week, as it usually is!



Ignore the boogers, check out those chub cheeks, and have a fantastic Thursday evening!

a Lazy Thursday

Today is a lazy Thursday. I have a lot to do but I don't feel like doing it at the moment. It's just one of those days. I've been packing and trying to relax. Later we're going to visit a farm with some baby goats so Benjamin can have a little fun out there.

Since I really don't have anything interesting to say today, here are two photos of two very darling babies. {Did I mention I have enough money to buy my DSLR now? Hopefully soon I can get it!}





You're welcome.

Tart Strawberries?

Benjamin is so fickle sometimes. Sunday, he loved Strawberries. Yesterday, he wasn't too interested. I think it must be a phase or something... Or maybe the strawberries were a little too tart?



Just a little side note. If you happen to notice changes with the way the blog looks, just know that I am always tweaking and playing with different things. I have always liked to tweak things like this so I suppose it's just something I do when I have the time.

Hope you all have a fantastic Friday tomorrow! What are your favorite Friday memes?

A Day Out

Today we slept in. It was nearly ten when we woke up and forced ourselves out of the cozy, warm bed, into the cold morning air. I hated it. And then Benjamin came to give me a morning hug and I loved it.

Today we spent about three hours at home after we woke up before heading out for the entire day. First, we went to Denny's to take advantage of the free Grand Slam. It was packed, and wasn't worth the wait. So we went to Zaxby's instead.

After a pleasant lunch together, we headed out to our friend Kelly's house. Two weeks ago she gave birth to her second baby boy, who had come I think a month early if I'm correct. We hadn't been able to see him yet so we were especially excited to meet him. He was so tiny and sweet, and so quiet and still. It was precious and wonderful. I miss having a newborn and hearing the little newborn noises. I am so happy for Kelly and her husband and their first son. We stayed for a couple of hours and just talked, catching up with each other as the last month had been crazy busy and Kelly had been on bed rest from week 33 till she finally gave birth. Benjamin and their firstborn had fun playing together. Benjamin also did this:





Kroger was next. We picked up groceries for our Lost night, then went to Kohl's in hopes to find a Valentine's Day outfit (uniform, as Hubby kept saying??) for Benjamin. Failed in that endeavor, but that just means we didn't have to pay more money out. I'm okay with that.

Lost night. Wow.

And now we are home, Benjamin is asleep, and we are watching Fringe, which was created by the same guy who created Lost.

We didn't spend too much time at home, but we still had a really good day! Hope you did, too!

The Best Medicine

Hubby took Benjamin yesterday to the store while I watched Mariah.

They came back and Benjamin walked over to me holding this:





This was followed up by Starbucks from Hubby.

My boys are the sweetest!

And for the record, I do feel better today!

It's Paw-ty Time!

Today is Mariah's birthday party, and we are so excited to go and celebrate her turning One with her! Tomorrow is her actual birthday, but we are going to celebrate it today at her birthday "Paw-ty", as the invitation said! If you can't tell, it has a puppy theme!

I also wanted to make mention of my new button over there on the right side of the page. Feel free to update the one you took, if you have taken one, or to take it if you haven't! Check out my Links page, and please if you have a button and I don't have it up, let me know so I can add it!

So, I hope you all have a fantastic weekend! It's quite possible that I will be bowling tonight. Hopefully I won't embarrass myself (though, I don't see how I couldn't... I am the world's worst bowler.)!

Home, Sweet Home

I am back! Two weeks is a long time to be away from one's house, don't you agree? While I was just about dying for a vacation, I am really glad to be home. Even if my home smells like an old person after being shut up for so long with no ventilation. Whatever. Oh, and for those of you who don't know, vacation for mommies is not vacation. Especially when your baby has a hard time sleeping in places that are not familiar. I spent the past two nights sleeping on a futon with just Benjamin. The child crawls around in his sleep. He sits up and flops over, rolls here, there, everywhere. Gets up on his hands and knees. Moans and sighs.

I love that kid, but, really!? Is that necessary?

I'm smiling as I write, though, so you know I don't mind it all that much.

Anyway, so we're home now. My brother's fiance is here with us as well until Saturday I believe. Tonight we had our friends Chris, Kayla, and Mariah over for pizza, and tomorrow is grocery shopping and unpacking and laundry. Phew!

I took a load of pictures, but I'm afraid I won't be able to share them all with you tonight. Here are a few previews of what may be to come:









You're welcome!

Ah, it's good to be home.

Except for the fact that my phone is completely dead now, which is something I won't get into right now....

Ten Random Facts

Hey all! I am on vacation, so I have prepared a few Blog posts to publish while I'm gone! I hope you enjoy learning a little bit more about me, and don't worry - you'll get plenty of pictures of our vacation once we get back - and plenty of stories I'm sure!

Make sure you are following my Twitter for short updates throughout the trip! Remember, I'll be back TOMORROW!

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An extra long one today, just in case I don't get around to posting tomorrow. I'm not going to schedule one for the 14th.


One.


I love Giraffes.

Two.


That's my eyecolor.

Three.


My favorite part of my wedding decor was my flowers.

Four.


I am familiar with Atlanta Traffic.

Five.


BBQ Nachos are not as good as they look. And if those don't look good to you, they taste worse.

Six.


My dad did my nails for my wedding.

Seven.


I am deathly afraid of horses and will never ride one again.

Eight.


This used to hang from my rearview mirror. His name is Kenneth.

Nine.


That's my husband, ordering from the back seat at Burger King in New Orleans.

Ten.


I love New Orleans, but I would never want to live there.

See you tomorrow, hopefully!!

Mobile Uploads.

First and foremost, I want to give a HUGE thank you to everyone who commented on my post earlier this week and left me so much encouragement! I tried to get around and comment back, but we have been so busy this week that I haven't been able to remember to do so! So here it is: if you commented and I haven't (or even if I have) said thank you to you:



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Tonight was pretty busy. We went over to our friends' house and ate pizza while watching some of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Have I told you guys about my freakish Johnny Depp obsession during my teenage years? ... well, we will save that for another time.). We had a lot of fun and it was good to visit with our friends - we only see Kayla for a few minutes when she drops Mariah off, and Chris well he stays a bit longer chit chatting when he picks her up.

Well, I really didn't know what I wanted to write about tonight, but I just have to please the masses, don't I, all ... 2 of you (just kidding)! I wanted to share with you guys some of the mobile uploads that I have taken. I've posted most on either my Facebook profile, or Twitter, but just in case you all don't follow me or aren't friends with me (why not!?! I'm not THAT scary!!), here are some of the more recent highlights:

First Off, one from tonight while I was getting ready to go:

Can anyone guess who the last person to use that bathroom is?

Another one from today:

There are the three babes who keep me on my toes a few days a week, except for Benny, who keeps me hopping constantly! Aren't they cute?!

My mom says they could be twins...

What do you think? Similarities?

Reading with Daddy

I love moments like these ...


At Quiznos...

Who said he could be a big boy already?! Because I sure did not!

Give it up, Ben...

You know you wanna!

Eating cookies...

On the floor ... is that "acceptable"?! Hehehe...

Lumberjack is a good look for Ben...

Don't you think?

One last drop!

Daddy won't miss it ...

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And that is about as far back as I think I'll go! Maybe after I rack up a few more I'll do another similar post. But ya know, if you'd just befriend me elsewhere, I wouldn't have to do this! Ha!

Hope y'all have a blessed weekend! I am working on another Spiritual post for y'all, hopefully we will have it up within the next week!

In The Leaves.

Let me tell y'all something!

It is really hard trying to photograph an active baby! It has been hard for me to find photographic opportunities while watching Mariah because she is always so busy. But the other day I saw that the corner of our back yard had a lovely blanket of leaves down, so I thought it would be the perfect place for Mariah - the leaves would keep her busy long enough to sit down for some pictures.

And it worked!











Seriously, y'all, is this child not quite beautiful?!





Shortly after taking about fiftybajillion pictures of Mariah, Benjamin woke up from his nap and I tried to get some of the two of them together, but they wanted to go their separate ways after a couple seconds.



But I did get some of Ben separately.














"Pleh!"







I love those kiddos.