the chambers

silly face

2011-07-23T08:35:00.001-04:00

our 8 month old (!!) has learned a new silly face. she loves to make this face randomly though i think it's so cute i am trying to figure out what causes it.

what a silly girl! she also now has her 2 top front teeth so 4 teeth total! hoping that maybe we will get a break from teething for a bit... :)

not sure if you can see the teeth but i tried to get a pic of them showing through:

and here she is playing in her fun jumperoo! she likes to smile real big and with her eyes closed sometimes. what a cutie :)

for some reason abby grace turning 8 months old seems SO much older than 7 months. can't believe how close we are getting to her 1st bday!

i heard this song a few wks ago and became so tearful. it's a great and "so true" song for parenting. it's a country song released a few yrs ago by Darius Rucker (who was the lead singer for hootie and the blowfish) called "it won't be like this for long".
hope you enjoy it and hug on your little one all the more!

it won't be like this for long

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big girl

2011-07-17T08:33:00.001-04:00

walked into abby grace's room yesterday afternoon and found my cutie standing up! she had so much fun banging on her crib and making lots of noise. we only have 1 more level to lower the mattress... : / her daddy was known for jumping out of his crib, crawling onto countertops, etc... all signs are pointing to her truly being her daddy's girl....

can't believe she will be 8 months old in 3 days!!

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crawling!

2011-06-28T19:23:00.008-04:00

abby grace is just over 7 months old and is always on the move.

she's gained almost 1lb since 6 months and she now weighs 15&1/2 pounds.

she's learned a lot this past month and her new achievements are constant challenges & joys for mommy :)

i love crawling!

whenever mom puts me on the floor,

this is the 1st thing i go after.

i'm so little & cute

some videos of new things i'm doing...

clapping my hands together is my favorite

making "music" with my toys

crawling after maverick & giggling

mimi, lolly, uncle trey, & great aunt marylee visited!

i had so much fun!

i'm trying lots of new foods...

like avocado puree!

yuck!

i like it better mixed with oatmeal.

look at those eyelashes!

& yummy sweet potatoes!

cheeks galore

gave my daddy lots of love on father's day because he's the best!

just last week we traveled to visit our friends who are planting a church in seattle. they were on this side of the country so we road-tripped to meet up with them!

i'm such a great road-tripper!

delaney is 6 days older than abby grace

and this is the 1st time they met!

we loved meeting delaney!

delaney is quite affectionate and we found out that abby grace likes her personal space.

kinda like mommy. :)

kim & i holding each other's babies!

it was such a blessing seeing each other! we hadn't met each other babies and it was so fun getting to know delaney's bubbly personality!

what a blessed 7 months this has been!

texas trip

2011-06-17T19:14:00.004-04:00

so... here's the recap of the last month.

we drove out to texas last month and abby grace did wonderful!! we left at 4pm, stopped for a longer stop around 7pm for dinner and to feed her, and then she slept

THE. REST. OF. THE. WAY. to texas. until we rolled in at about 6am TX time. praise the Lord! she's a little road-tripper like we are - and for that we are sincerely grateful.

here are lots of pics from our TX trip:

w/aunt meg @ matt's mexican restaurant

w/aunt nat

loved playing with uncle jas!

went swimming with nina & big daddy!

love my big daddy!

so cute

still not too sure about this whole swimming thing.

mommy & abby grace!

in texas we started solids!

abby grace's initial reaction... : /

started getting used to it :)

video of her 1st solid bites! she was pretty disgusted.

1 night in tx we were under a tornado warning so i had to wake up abby grace to move her to the pantry.

she was a bit out of it & grouchy.

she doesn't like to be woken up from her sleep...

just like her daddy :)

in TX abby grace turned 6 months old!

a week before her 6 month bday,

she weighed 14lbs 7oz & she was 26.25 inches long.

& now in a couple days she's almost 7 months old!

i'll post again soon with pics of her sitting up and crawling!

Friends

2011-05-23T16:54:00.004-04:00

a little over a week ago we had our friends the rolands & hintons over for a grill out & playdate. funny how pre-kids we used to hang out with friends starting around 6 or 7pm but now our get-togethers usually end around that time for baby bedtimes :)

pax, abby grace, & abigail playing. poor paxy was in the depths of teething but he still had fun with the girls.

abigail trying out abby grace's exersaucer.

love her expression.

before abigail (& her parents) arrived, pax and abby grace played some. there's a little clip of them hugging each other which i got a pic of as well. pax was checking out abby grace's teeth since he is in the process of getting some.

oh & please excuse all the mommy giggles courtesy of kendall & i.

we are thankful for fun times with friends!

bouncy bouncy

2011-05-15T22:32:00.003-04:00

abby grace has fallen in love with bouncing. here are a couple videos to prove it.

this 1st short video is her 2nd time watching the baby einstein mozart dvd while in her exersaucer. there are parts in this video that she just adores & gets her all bouncy.

this is a longer video of her just having fun in her exersaucer. my favorite part is at the end :) she's all smiley and bouncy and full of cuteness.

we were gifted a jumper and we can't wait to try that out in texas! im pretty certain she will be hooked!

2-week madness

2011-05-10T09:36:00.008-04:00

so the past 2 weeks were total madness. it started right after easter... abby grace got sick. but she decided to start teething. at. the. same. time. oh the misery.

so whenever i heard moms talk about teething before i was like 'oh that stinks'. yeah so when they say their kids are teething, these are the implications:

the baby is...

- extra fussy

- fighting sleep

- running a fever usually

- drooling. everywhere.

- fighting feedings usually

-wanting to be held constantly

so, in essence, life gets pretty chaotic. i thanked the Lord for tylenol. you can give it in small doses every 4hrs. literally, at the 3hrs45min mark, she would start getting fussy. thankfully her bottom tooth broke through after about 1.5wks and the tooth right next to it should break through any day now.

she was a pitiful sight and honestly, so was i. but who wants to see me looking all pitiful? at least she's still all cute when she's sick. here are some pics:

here she is happy right after easter. but you can tell her eyes are swollen and the madness is about to ensue!

poor, pitiful, precious abby grace turned into my little monkey bc she wanted to be held all the time.

grateful for my ergo carrier.

starting to feel better but eyes still swollen...

'hmm how do i fit this in my mouth?'

all better! still some teething going on but for the most part back to normal!

in other news...

abby grace loves looking at books now!

my sis, nat, got us this 'beaba' baby food maker - it steams, purees, and reheats baby food so you can make your own! super excited about this! i had planned to start our journey into the world of solids a couple weeks ago but then the madness occurred. so i'll be starting that up real soon.

we got together with our good friends, the hintons, and abby grace & pax 'played'.

abby grace was definitely interested in watching pax play!

pax was content with his toys :)

abby grace got real tired and assumed her sleeping position. this is how she sleeps, with her hands all tucked underneath her. it's pretty darn cute.

so this is my most recent fav pic of abby grace.

isn't she a doll? ;)

5 months, easter, & such

2011-04-25T20:30:00.013-04:00

5 months old!

abby grace turned 5 months old on april 20th! she went to the pediatrician and here are her 5 month stats:

height - 26 inches (90th percentile)

weight - 13lbs7oz (40th percentile)

we are most likely starting solids within the next couple weeks. she has been on the same weight curve (40-45%) for the past few months so the dr isn't concerned about her weight. but, she said abby grace will most likely be ready for solids soon - when she starts signaling for more frequent feedings. i'm a bit overwhelmed at the prospect of starting solid foods but i just need to start researching.

i actually never got one of those cute baby with the delivery doctor pics so better late than never right?

i was so very grateful for dr. nett during my pregnancy and especially during labor & delivery.

5 Months Fun Things:

i am learning to balance in the sit-up position on my own!

im still not quite sure about my exersaucer

but i do still really love my exercise gym

i love to stand with mommy!

& play with daddy!

im almost always in this position.

instead of crawling, i just try swimming on the ground.

it doesnt work very well.

i hold my own bottle when i really want to

& mom's favorite new fun thing is that im getting a lot more cuddly and even resting my little head on mommy's shoulder when i get real tired. mommy tried to take a pic of this but it didn't turn out very well.

easter!

we had a great easter yesterday! trent's dad and his wife traveled up to visit for a couple days and it was wonderful spending time with them. trent's dad has been wrestling with his grandpa name. it was "Doodah" but he's now officially "Grandy" - hopefully this one will stick :) but as we all know, abby grace will be the one deciding all the names.

what could be better than eating @ Chuy's for easter?

laughing with Grandy

& such

we've been quite busy this past month.

we spent several days in texas at the end of march. here are just a few pics of our wonderful time there.

i flew on an airplane for the 1st time! (most stressful thing ever)

daddy & i were both pretty sleepy.

i enjoyed meeting monga & gaga for the 1st time!

i am their 1st great-grandchild.

i save my biggest smiles for my big daddy!

i loved spending time with my nina & aunt nanny & uncle jas.

last week we traveled to north georgia for trent's mini-sabbatical. most of the sabbatical, trent & i spent the time apart as he was getting away with the Lord to get refreshed & refocused. but, some of his family drove up to where we were staying to watch abby grace while we took a much needed date night! it was certainly a blessing.

mimi gave abby grace her bottle & burped her

trent's aunt beth met abby grace for the 1st time

uncle travis spent some cuddly time with abby grace

grandy & abby grace shared giggles together (with lolly in the background!)

apparently sweet little abby grace had a diaper explosion all over uncle travis :) she thought it was super funny

on our last night of the sabbatical, we decided to get a head start on our drive home and we stayed at a beautiful town outside of the mountains known for it's bed & breakfasts. we stayed in a gorgeous B&B and it was the perfect ending to our blessed time away.

it's been a very blessed 5 months!

Abby Grace is 4 months old!

2011-03-20T17:39:00.001-04:00

4 months ago today Abby Grace was born!

YouTube Video

We thank the Lord for the past 4 months with our precious Abby Grace!

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grateful for mary

2011-03-17T22:21:00.001-04:00

meet mary.

mary makes abby grace a happy baby and for that, i'm grateful :)

here's what i mean...

YouTube Video

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recent pics

2011-03-16T14:34:00.001-04:00

Some recent pics of Abby grace...

Showing off her cute outfit...

In her playard...

Looking at her mobile...

"playing with my mobile & my Sophie giraffe teether is so much fun!"

A video of her interacting with her mobile & being like a lizard :)

YouTube Video

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Wake up Abby Grace!

2011-03-09T18:48:00.001-05:00

Abby Grace wakes up a whole lot happier than trent & I do... In fact I love waking her up!!

This is why...

YouTube Video

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Abby Grace talking!

2011-03-08T12:27:00.001-05:00

Abby Grace is learning to "talk" and it's just so cute!

YouTube Video

She also loves to stand with daddy!

Can't believe shes 3.5 months already!

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twinkies!

2011-02-01T15:47:00.007-05:00

my good friend, michelle, just posted a great blog with lots of pics of our girls. we met michelle & kyle in our natural birthing class - we sat next to them & discovered that we had tons in common! she's from texas, i'm from texas, he's from georgia, trent's from georgia. they are at southern seminary and so were we once upon a time! the craziest connection is that we were due 1 week apart and had both chosen the name Abigail Grace for our girls... twinkies! they ended up being born 5 days apart - our abby grace on november 20th and their abigail on november 25th. michelle's birth story is even pretty similar to mine.

so, we got the girls together & took some twinkie pics! abby grace was beyond tired so she wasn't the smiliest... but abigail was just loving lovin on abby grace! too precious....

matching teddy bear snowsuits!

let's eat our hands!

fun times

abby grace is over pics. abigail is loving the photo shoot!

coordinating outfits!

too cute!

abigail wants to hold abby grace's hand! abby grace isn't quite sure about it...

sleep time & giggles!

so many camera flashes...

drawing up our legs! look at abigail laughin away! abby grace... not so much :)

hey mommies!

sleepy abby grace & sweet abigail!

abby grace & i are looking forward to more play-dates with michelle & abigail!

my how you've grown!

2011-01-22T13:06:00.005-05:00

in honor of abby grace turning 2 months old on her aunt nat's bday (jan 20th), here are a few shots to try to capture how much she has grown...

BIRTH, Nov. 20th, 2010

19 inches long, 5lbs 11oz

1 MONTH, Dec. 20th, 2010

20&3/4 inches long, 7lbs 1oz

2 MONTHS, Jan. 20th, 2011

23&1/4 inches long, 10lbs 3oz

the birth story

2011-01-05T17:55:00.010-05:00

okay so this is 6.5wks late... but here is the story behind abby grace's entrance into this world!

note: if hearing the words 'dilation', 'cervix', & 'effacement' gross you out... please stop reading now. :)

my due date was november 16th, 2010. i was always thinking i'd be late - i wasn't measuring ahead & abby grace was measuring more around the nov. 18th mark. but i had my hopes up. 5% of babies are born on their due dates... i would be in that lucky 5%, right? well not quite.

@39wks: i was only 1cm, 60% effaced, baby barely engaged.

@40wks (nov.16th): i was 1cm, 70% effaced.

agh! every prego lady dreams that she would go to her dr appt, miraculously be 5cm dilated and rushed to the hospital. not only was that NOT the case - but i had barely even progressed from my last appt! oh the frustration. thankfully, you have to be 1cm dilated to get your membranes stripped. decided to go ahead and do this to try to get things going. i will spare you the gory details, but essentially getting your membranes stripped helps progress labor IF your body is ready. so it a natural form of induction. helps your body along if its ready - if not, no real harm. at this point in time, i had experienced zero contractions. tons of braxton hicks contractions but no real low, crampy contractions.

unlike my good friend, kendall, i did not make the most of the last days before abby grace arrived! i pretty much pouted and did everything i could to promote labor. i never would've understood it pre-pregoness, but when you get close to your due date, a madness comes over you & your life easily revolves around a get-this-baby-out-now mentality. it really is insanity. im grateful michelle was due just 1wk after i was so we both could relate to this due date insanity that beset us.

i made the mistake of running to the post office & to speedway to get my beloved coke icee & a guy in front of me in the line says 'oh when are you due?' me: 'uh. today actually'. insert look of shock by said male. yeah so i decided to avoid public places the rest of week. yup, i became an insane prego hermit.

anyways...

@ post 40wks (tuesday-thursday) i walked a million miles, bounced a million times on my exercise ball, & did whatever else i could think of to get abby grace to make her entrance. to no avail.

@40wks 3 days (friday) i had my next appt. again, dreams of being rushed to the hospital bc i was in labor frequented my mind. so i get checked.... and i am 1.5cm, 80% effaced. i almost slapped somebody! i was trying to be grateful - yay i progressed a little bit - but i was getting worried my body did not know how to function. got the membranes stripped again. got an ultrasound to make sure abby grace was doing okay since she was post-term. all looked good so the plan was an induction set for tuesday morn. ugh the dreaded word... induction. the thing a natural birth mommy does NOT want to face! it is much harder to avoid pain meds when you force your body into labor and it's not ready - plus pitocin contractions are known to be a killer.

so im bummed and my fam is in the air on their way from tx to meet the unborn abby grace. so trent & i decided to do what anybody would've done in our shoes... we went to see harry potter 7 in the theater. it was the perfect 'let's get our minds off labor' sort of thing.

alright so here comes the actual birth story...

my contractions started halfway through the movie. i hadn't really experienced real contractions so i just tried to ignore them 'no this couldnt be it' said i to myself. well they got to the point that i couldn't ignore them anymore & i started timing them at 2:30pm with about 30min left of the movie. they were 4-6min apart. they stayed strong and consistent and within the hour were 3-4min apart. we picked up the fam from the airport, took tylenol, drank lots of water, went on a walk and they were about 2-3min apart. decided to go on to the hospital.

@triage, 5pm: certainly with this being my 1st experience of contractions, they would progress my body quickly, right?? wrong! i got checked and (gasp!) was 1.5cm & 90% effaced... why i oughtta! my contractions were getting more intense but i wasn't really dilating more - not fun. well they monitored abby grace and suddenly the triage nurse came in & said "i spoke to the dr on call and due to the 6 minute descel, we need to get this baby out of you within the next 24hrs". uhh... what?? we had no idea what was going on and to this day i dont know what 'descel' is or if thats how you spell it but i do know that she was exhibiting distress during my contractions. oh but i did find out that a 10 minute descel = an emergency csection - yipes! so i couldn't go home & i had to be continuously monitored to make sure she was okay.

@labor&delivery room...

7pm: contractions kept up and the plan was that my dr was going to break my water @9pm - 2hrs later if i hadn't dilated since my water was broken, pitocin had to be started. contractions kept on. i tried using the telemetry monitor so i could walk around through my labor but it didn't pick up her heartrate well so i was bound to my bed (not a good thing if you're trying to stay natural). my hopes were pretty dismal bc i was bound to my bed, was being induced, my body wasn't progressing... all negative things!

yeah, this was before my contractions got really intense

how trent coped through the labor

oh the lovely look of labor

9pm: dr nett checked me - i was 4cm! yay!!! praise God my body was progressing and i was actually in labor before being induced! my water was broken (which didn't hurt at all - thought it would). contractions picked up in intensity. the monitors were so stressful bc every time i moved, it couldnt find abby grace's heartrate so i had to reposition the monitor and couldnt move much at all. dr nett made the prediction that abby grace would arrive at 5am.

11pm: i was checked & was 5cm! i didn't have to start pitocin just yet since i was progressing. this is where things really picked up. i said to trent over & over 'i dont know how im going to stay natural'. he was amazing at encouraging me and reminding me what all this is working towards. it was getting exceptionally hard to breathe through the contractions. i had it in my head that she was arriving at 5am and i had no clue how i could endure 6 more hours of the pain i was experiencing. the policy was for me to be checked every 2hrs.

12am: i was in so much pain that i asked the nurse to check me. i was at 6cm. great, but i was ready to get this baby out of me. i went to the restroom and felt the urge to push. which was weird. i was only 6cm, i shouldn't need to push until i was 10cm. so then a couple more contractions went by and i felt the same urge to push but also a burning feeling. trent kept saying 'maybe youre in transition!' - which was only discouraging bc i was like 'how in the crykee can i endure a 5hr long transition if thats the case??'

12:15am: tons of pain. urges to push. burning feeling. asked nurse to check me. she looked at me like i was stupid and was like 'well i checked you 15min ago'. yeah, i know, i was there, check me again, woman! but i didnt say that. but she did. and her response: "uhhh i cant find your cervix... let me go get another nurse". another nurse comes in: "yes, you are complete. you are 10cm, baby's head is low and you're ready to have this baby" - score!! by God's grace i went from 6cm to 10cm in 15min - hallelujah! so then the nurse said "whatever you do, dont push". awesome. this was almost as hard as enduring the pain of contractions. i had to have oxygen to help me through this and trent was firmly telling me to not push. so hard to do! but he didn't want to deliver the baby and we had to wait until dr nett arrived.

dr nett arrived! i pushed through about 10 contractions and...

@ 1:11am abby grace was born! pushing her out was the least painful part compared to the labor and fighting the urge to push. she was 5lbs 11oz, 19in long, cute & healthy. i was certainly in shock for awhile bc it all happened so fast.

here are some shots of abby grace in the hospital with her visitors:

my mom ('nina')

trent's mom ('lolly') & step-dad ('poppy')

lolly & trent's grandma mimi

isnt she a doll? sleeping in my her aunt natalie's arms.

yay we got to leave the hospital after staying there for only 1 night!

excited to be home with abby grace!

trent's dad ('doodah') & his stepmom visited as well!

my dad ('big daddy') & aunt meg met abby grace when she was 3 days old!

that first week after her birth whenever i thought about my labor & delivery i was brought to tears with gratitude to the Lord for His grace that sustained me through it and allowed for it to progress so quickly. all glory to God!

new books!

2011-01-03T13:59:00.003-05:00

just placed an order for these 2 books & i can't wait until they're on my doorstep! cool thing - found out about both of these books through their blogs!

my newest endeavor is to learn how to quilt. i found this blog and i am in love!

i've also been frequenting the pioneer woman's blog to get some of her recipes & cooking ideas since i have such a limited imagination when it comes to food.

i haven't officially made any resolutions for 2011 but perhaps quilting & cooking should be on the list!

alas... can't post a blog without a cute pic of abby grace!

this is a pic of abby grace's 1st stroller ride taken on new years eve:

love her!

abby grace arrived!

2010-12-21T17:42:00.009-05:00

so... it's been a busy month! yesterday was abby grace's 1 month birthday! we can't believe she is already so old! at some point in time i hope to post my birth story - details about labor and how the 1st month has gone...

BUT

for now...

pictures!!!

Nov.20, 2010 - abigail grace chambers arrived at 1:11am!

5lbs11oz, 19in long

aunt natalie meeting abby grace!

1st car ride! on the way home from the hospital.

aunt meg meeting abby grace!

abby grace's 1st thanksgiving with aunt meg, nina, & big daddy!

her 1st snow!

loving on my girl

learning to smile

favorite sleep position!

sleeping with lovey!

my precious smiley!

bright-eyed beauty!

daddy & his girl

dec. 21st: abby grace @ 1 month + 1 day

8 days and counting... plus nursery!

2010-11-08T14:20:00.008-05:00

wow look at that little elephant countdown ticker at the top of my blog... isn't it insanely close to the finish line?? ahhh!

yes, tomorrow is officially 1 week from our due date. abby grace is not showing any signs of being impatient (unfortunately) so we are thinking there is a good chance our due date will come and go... but oh how we would love for her to get antsy to meet us as we are antsy to meet her!

here are the practically finalized pics of our nursery...

these 2 pics are courtesy of candy ailstock's wonderful photography skills! more of the maternity pics she took of me can be found here & on my facebook page.

we can't wait to take pics of little abby grace in her room! :)

HBC baby shower!

2010-10-19T17:58:00.006-04:00

last week (10.10.10) our church threw us a baby shower! it was such a blessing & we were very grateful for the loving kindness of our fellow church members. i just wanted to share a few pics that were taken at the shower...

us & the yummy cake!

trents looks are priceless. loved this gift... handknit blanket, booties, & cap. they actually match a knit cardigan my gma gave me when i was baby!

our dear friends luke & kendall hinton (due in jan.) & melissa farmer (bryan & their 1yr old jacob were at home). kendall & melissa helped record all of the gifts - a great help!

a pic of some of the ppl who showed up for the shower!

i had to explain why abby grace needs leg warmers :)

leg warmer, head bands, & i love mom shirt - what more could you want??

trent did a great job opening presents & announcing the giver & gift!

2 lovely ladies who helped host the shower & serve the cake!

i enjoyed anticipating trent's reactions :)

a cute elephant sleepsack & adorable hamper!

a couple shots i took when we got home & laid out the gifts!

felt like christmas morn :)

cute baby on the cake

thanks to all who came to the baby shower! we truly give thanks to the Lord that you would express such generosity & love towards us & our daughter!

side note... 36 weeks today & 28 days to go until the due date! wow!

mom & dad's visit!

2010-10-11T11:47:00.008-04:00

dad had a business trip in chicago 2 weeks ago so mom decided to fly with him & get dropped off in louisville while he was in chicago - yay! she was here from sunday-thursday and then dad joined us from thursday-saturday. it was such a joy to have them visit!! mom & i were able to see abby grace and do some shopping & resting.

mom & i @ cheesecake factory

trent & i @ cheesecake factory

(33wks pregnant)

mom & i couldn't resist getting this cute doll from pottery barn kids! primarily b/c her name is "Abby". so Abby doll has helped trent learn a little bit about changing diapers. when Abby Grace is older, she will have her own Abby doll :)

we picked up dad from the airport and went to his favorite lunch place - Brendan's Pub in St Matthews.

on their last full day here, we took mom & dad to Huber Farms! it was so much fun! we had never been there before and it was a gorgeous day for picking pumpkins & apples!

we ate at the restaurant for lunch first - and we were grateful to do some walking around afterwards bc lunch was quite a huge southern feast!

yay i am about to pick pumpkins!

dad & the pumpkins we chose!

wondering how abby grace's little pumpkin compares to her actual size

our pumpkins! we already had a tall pumpkin at home so we got a short round pumpkin with twisted top & little pumpkin for abby grace. so we have a nice pumpkin family on our front porch :)

mom & dad!

picked delicious apples!

made an apple crisp later that day - fresh apples taste amazing!!

mom picking apples!

so fun!

all of us @ huber farms - we had such a great time!

(mom & i also worked a lot on our nursery so updated nursery pics soon to come...)

meet abby grace!

2010-10-05T16:06:00.009-04:00

my mom came all the way from texas last week for a visit!! it was such a joy having her here at the house. bc she lives in tx, i've been trying to think of ways to include her more in on the pregnancy. when we found out we were having a girl, we called a local shop in dallas to prepare a 'girl surprise' for my mom to go pick up & open - just something fun for her to be in on the surprise. since she has been unable to attend any of the dr visits, i decided a 3D/4D ultrasound would be an extra special treat for us to experience together. & it was such a blessing to watch abby grace move around and have fun!! she stuck out her tongue quite often, wiggled frequently, yawned (so cute!!)... i am so glad my mom was able to experience that with me!!

we did find out that abby grace is breech :( so please be praying that she will flip around! if she stays breech, i will have to have a c-section... nothing against c-sections but my preference is for a natural birth! we know the Lord is sovereign even over her position so we trust that He knows best.

so... here are pics from abby grace's 1st fun photo shoot:

the umbilical cord is around her arm -

not a big deal but a good pic of her arm and cute face

she's sticking her tongue out a little here

the ultrasound tech was surprised by her head full of hair!

cute little foot!

awww my fav :) most adorable yawn ever

yay squishy face

yeah so i warned you that she likes to stick out her tongue, right?

i dunno where she gets all that sass from :)

this is the side of her face - you can see her hand over her face,

her ear, and her chin is resting on her foot. she's flexible.

side pic of her feet - you can really see her ankle bone.

there's her sweet face!

look at that precious sleepy expression :)

do you see any resemblance with this baby pic of me....?

i will be updating again soon with more nursery pics & pics from my parent's visit last week!

why cloth diapers?

2010-09-16T21:09:00.015-04:00

why in the world are we choosing cloth diapers??

my intent for this post is to provide a brief overview of the reasons behind our ambition to use cloth diapers.

*note: i do know that cloth diapers may not be the best fit for every family! i never would have considered cloth diapers but then my friend, molly, started blogging about her usage of cloth diapers. i realized that cloth diapers were maybe not so out of the realm of normality & started doing my own research. if anything else, i hope this post exposes you to the fact that there are indeed people who cloth diaper! & perhaps it will allow you to at least consider the decision for your own family.

1. MONEY

we know that the Lord has called us to be stewards of our resources - our money, time, energy, etc. financially, there is a major benefit of choosing cloth diapers over disposable. you can save around

$1500-$2000 per child if you use cloth diapers! there are upfront costs to cloth diapers as you are building your stock but if you invest wisely, you can use the same cloth diapers on most if not all of your subsequent children. so if you have 4 children, you can save up to $8000!

2. ENVIRONMENT

though trent & i are not 'super green' about all things, we do know that God has called mankind to rule over creation. we shouldn't look at this flippantly as we are called to care for the earth. of course, we would be the first to say that we are not the most faithful in this area. but, these stats have really opened our eyes:

* it takes roughly 500 years for 1 (yes, one!) disposable diaper to decompose

* you use roughly 6,000 disposable diapers on 1 baby... adds up quickly!

* 18 billion diapers enter the landfill every year

3. BABY'S HEALTH

cloth diapers can really cut down on diaper rash! of course, if you leave the cloth diaper on too long & if you don't wash all of the detergent out of the diapers, diaper rash will occur. however, if you care for cloth diapers properly, rashes can really decrease.

4. POTTY TRAINING!

disposable diapers are created with a stay dry absorbent material - this is great b/c they absorb a lot! this can be a negative when it comes to potty training time. b/c the material does a great job soaking urine up, the baby has a hard time feeling or sensing when he/she is wet.

a lot of cloth diapers are now made with a stay dry material as well. however, you can purchase certain types of cloth diapers made with cotton inserts - they are still absorbent but they don't wick the moisture away. this is very helpful when it comes to potty training time b/c

it will allow the child to feel when he/she is wet.

5. CUTENESS

okay so a lot of cloth diapers are super cute! here are some pics of ones i adore (the 1st one is my absolute fav!!!) ...

"But cloth diapers are so difficult!"

* today's cloth diapers are much different than you may expect!

they make 'one-size' 'all-in-one' cloth diapers. these are the easiest cloth diapers by far. you actually put the cloth diaper on exactly as you would a disposable diaper - but typically you snap it on instead of velcro it on! this particular kind of cloth diaper comes with sizing snaps so that you snap up or down to fit the baby from 7-35lbs. so you can use this 1 diaper for essentially the entire time your baby is in diapers!

"Ugh but what about all the washing?"

if you are using an easy all-in-one diaper, once the baby soils the diaper, you throw it in your pail and every couple days you take your pail liner full of diapers to the washing machine & do a wash. if you use a prefold, fitted, or insert diaper PLUS a cover, after the baby soils the diaper, you throw the prefold/fitted/insert into the pail but all you have to do wipe the inside of the cover & reuse it! also, instead of having to buy tons of trash bags for your disposable diapers, for cloth diapers you can purchase a reusable pail liner. you don't have to buy any trash bags at all! so once you are ready for a wash, you simply wash the pail liner with your cloth diapers. super easy!

"But what about gross stinky poopy diapers?"

well if the baby is breastfeeding, the BF poop is actually water soluble. so, you can actually throw the soiled diaper straight into the pail & then into the wash or you can rinse it before putting it in the pail. with the big poopy diapers, you have a few options. you can buy flushable liners to lay inside of the cloth diaper - this liner picks up the poop so you just have to throw the liner with poop into the toilet. also, they make a diaper sprayer (think of that sprayer on your kitchen sink) that you attach to your toilet. you just spray the poop off the diaper & into the toilet. you can always just take the diaper to the toilet and knock the poop into the toilet yourself as well.

* side note... did you know that on every box of disposable diapers, they actually tell you to knock the poop into the toilet before throwing it into the trash??

From Pampers' website:

Waste removal

As the Pampers bag recommends, you'll want to dump bowel movements in the toilet. Then just roll the diaper into its backsheet, using the tape or fasteners to keep it closed, and dispose of it in the trash.

they make all kinds of cloth diapers... prefolds w/diaper covers, fitted diapers w/covers, pocket diapers, all-in-one diapers, etc. perhaps i will blog on the differences and ones we intend to use in the future.

if you are interested in cloth diapers, please feel free to email me for more info. also, you can find tons of info from people who have actually used cloth diapers at these sites:

My friend Molly's post on cloth diapers

*great tutorial on how to put cloth diapers on... this is helpful if you are interested in the most frugal cloth diapering route with prefolds (cotton insert) and diaper covers

*she had twins! if she can do it with twins... then certainly i can do it with 1 baby!

Her friend's blog that has some good info about cloth diapering

*some good stats on this site as well as helpful info & her preferences on the best diapers

Nicki's Diapers

*where you can buy cloth diapers - i used this site to get the cloth diaper pics seen above

Green Mountain Diapers

*excellent info if you're new to cloth diapering - plus you can purchase diapers & accessories from them

nursery (phase 1)

2010-09-09T14:09:00.002-04:00

so our nursery isn't CLOSE to being completed... & my ticker is telling me i only have over 9 weeks left... yipes! single digit weeks left!

but i will go ahead & post pics of what we have going on so far...

our beautiful crib!

the lighting looks kinda weird in the next few pics.

but the walls are an icy pink & the crib is white.

close up of the birdie mobile & PBK bedding

adorable gift meg painted for the nursery! matches perfectly!

close up of the owl/birdie sheets + adorable stuffed animals.

so i am obsessed with owls. it's a fact.

there is our changing tower!

trent will be adding the hutch to the top of it hopefully tonight.

this pic has better lighting &

shows the pink color of the room better.

yay for our glider & valance!!!

okay that's a preview of what's going on in the nursery thus far.

i will be updating as we get the hutch up & actually start the decorating process :)

11 weeks left

2010-08-31T22:34:00.012-04:00

can i just say...

look at how close that cute little pink elephant (above) is to the finish line??

ahhh! it's crazy!!!

this past weekend we were in canton, ga for a conference trent was speaking at. trent's mom decided to throw us a baby shower while we were in town & it was such a blessing!! here are a few cute pics to show off her decorating skills from the shower...

cute clothesline in the entry...

abby grace has already received her 1st Texas onesie & bib

(thanks to nat & jas)

& now she has received her 1st UGA tee & cap & booties. :)

"it's a girl" cookie favors - thanks, mimi!

girly floral arrangement :)

beautiful & yummy cupcakes & cake!

so i was still getting ready but here is a belly shot from my baby shower attire.

28 weeks and 3 days in this pic.

thanks, mama lindy, for the beautiful baby shower!! it was such a blessing & we are so appreciative.

$$ recent savings $$

2010-08-22T00:36:00.008-04:00

i've been blessed with some exciting savings opportunities lately!

i think i had my best CVS trip to date!!!

i bought $41.94 worth of products for only $1.35 out of my pocket.

here's the proof:

so how did i do this??

here's how (props to southern savers - as usual):

i bought all of these items in 1 transaction...

1 purex laundry sheets ($7.99)

... on sale for $5.99

... used $3 coupon (RP 8/15)

... got back $2 ECBs (paid $0.99)

1 zegereid otc ($12.99)

... on sale for $9.99

... used $4 coupon (all you magazine)

... got back $7 ECB (so i made $2.99 off this item)

1 crest prohealth toothpaste ($4.99)

... on sale for $3.49

... used $0.75 coupon (RP 8/1)

... got back $2.50 ECBs (paid $0.24)

1 glide prohealth floss ($4.49)

... on sale for $3.49

... used $0.75 coupon (RP 8/1)

... got back $2.50 ECBs (paid $0.24)

1 blink tears eyedrops ($9.99)

... on sale for $7.99

... used $1.50 coupon (printable)

... got $7.99 ECBs in return (so i made $1.50 off this item)

1 orbit gum ($1.49) - filler

... on sale for $0.99 (had to spend this to reach $30)

i purchased all of these items, then i:

- used my $5/$30 CVS coupon (emailed to me)

- used my $3 CVS coupon i received in honor of my birthday (emailed to me)

- used my $13.94ECBs from last week

total out of pocket = $1.35

and i received $21.99 ECBs in return!!

so now i can use my $21.99 ECBs & attempt to do this all over again next week by buying the products that are on sale, have coupons, & give you ECBs in return.

i have been trepidatious to try out coupons @ the grocery store but i finally did this past week. kroger was having an awesome mega event sale. i ended up spending less than $35 on over $89 worth of groceries!! praise the Lord!

with the upcoming arrival of our baby, i am striving to be all the more wise with our money and to save in areas that i can. i figure... if there are ways to save over 50% on groceries and even get paid to purchase some items, it's definitely worth my time & effort to learn how!

even in such a mundane thing as grocery shopping, you can give Him glory by being a wise steward of your money. that is my hope!

:) happy couponing!

it's a girl!!!

2010-06-28T17:10:00.011-04:00

that's right... our little baby is a GIRL!

we found out friday morn that we are expecting a girl! we are very excited! i think i said to myself/Trent at least 10 times, "i can't believe we are having a girl"... it's crazy actually knowing. and now continues our extensive baby girl name search. we are having quite the challenge so feel free to make any suggestions!!

here are a couple pics of our beautiful girl...

we love how she is already so modest with her legs crossed all proper-like :) trent especially loves that.

right after we found out, we went to target to buy our 1st baby girl outfits for her. it was actually hard at first just b/c we aren't naturally drawn to all the frilly, over-the-top girly things... but we eventually found 2 outfits we both adore!!

this 1st outfit actually has a monkey on it!! it is very hard to find a girls outfit w/monkeys bc most of the boys outfits have those. so we had to get this one!

this one is just adorable! the elephants are too cute.

okay & here is a belly shot from the day before our big u/s. i am 19wks & 2days.

thanks for celebrating our joyous news with us!!

hmm boy or girl?

2010-06-23T16:02:00.013-04:00

so here is my 1st actual pregnancy update... it's about time. i'm 19 weeks as of yesterday!

i am finally getting some good rest @ night which is a huge blessing! i was excited for the 2nd trimester for this reason... but weeks 14-16 were horrendous for me due to severe allergies & little sleep! more so than my nausea during weeks 6-8. thankfully, the allergies died down & now it is getting hard for me to wake up early whatsoever.

here is a cute idea i got from my cute prego friend, kendall.

Food Cravings:

1. coke icees!

2. grape slushies from sonic

3. sonic tater tots

4. chocolate carnation instant breakfast w/skim milk (look forward to this every morn!)

5. pasta salad, pasta salad, pasta salad (& i never liked the stuff pre-pregoness)

6. chick-fil-a lemonade (let's be honest, that's always been a craving of mine)

7. dill pickles, extra crunchy

8. subway grilled chicken sandwich (honey oat bread, cheese, lettuce, tomato, extra pickles, mayo, red wine vinegar, salt & pepper)

9. sushi - california roll (fake sushi)

10. chips & salsa (preferably @ el toro)

Food Aversions:

1. beef stew

2. meatloaf

3. lasagna

4. steak

5. hamburgers

6. browning ground beef (hmm i see a trend)

7. BBQ

8. really, any creamy beefy things

9. supreme pizza or mighty meaty wick

10. roast beef

we find out in 2 days - this Friday (our 5th anniversary!) if we are having a boy or girl. so based on some old wives' tales, let's see what i am predicted to have.....

* You didn't experience morning sickness in early pregnancy - BOY

* Your baby's heart rate is at least 140 beats per minute - GIRL

* You are craving salty or sour foods - BOY

* You are carrying low - BOY

* Dad-to-be is gaining weight, right along with you - BOY :)

* Your belly looks like a watermelon - GIRL (well... not sure yet, but it's shaping to be more of a watermelon than a basketball)

* You are having headaches - BOY

* You don't look quite as good as normal during pregnancy - GIRL (girls supposedly suck the beauty away from you, while boys add beauty to their mommies)

* Your breasts have really blossomed! - i wish! this is true if you're having a GIRL, so this a BOY point for me

* Your face breaks out more than usual - GIRL (awesome!)

* You add your age at the time of conception and the number for the month you conceived and the sum is an odd number - GIRL

* You are craving protein -- meats and cheese - true for a boy... NOT true, so - GIRL

* Had Trent look at my eye & tell me which eyeball had a split blood vessel - in my left eye - BOY

**grand total.... BOY: 7, GIRL: 6**

hmmm... well we will see if the old wives' tales are correct in 2 days! will keep you posted!

below is a pic i took of myself today... decided to treat myself to a shorter do & my baby bump is starting to look more like baby and less like mexican food! yay!

& yes that is a coke icee in the pic. mmm.

best savings yet!

2010-06-09T16:18:00.010-04:00

so i know a lot of you may not be interested in my couponing endeavors... but... i can't help but share my awesome week of savings! perhaps it will inspire you to save where you can. i am grateful for the Southern Savers website which i would be lost without. here is the snapshot...

Savings #1 = ~$79 in savings

Medco was doing a great deal of $10 off any purchase with only .99 cent shipping. this means, you could put $10 worth of items in your cart, use the -$10 off code and essentially pay .99 cents for shipping to get your items. you have to enter a new email address each time & luckily trent & i together have many many email addresses.

(props to medco... placed 4 of these orders on June 4th

& received those 4 orders today, June 9th)

so here is what i got:

(1) charged $3.07 for... tylenol allergy pills (24c) & neutrogena body wash (typical cost: ~$15)

(2) charged $2.47 for... aussie gigantic 33oz shampoo & normal conditioner (typical cost: ~$14)

(3) charged $2.96 for... 3 glade sense n spray refills (typical cost: ~$12)

(4) charged $1.68 for... neutrogena oil free moisturizer (typical cost: ~$11)

(5) charged $3.48 for... 2 large bottles of contact solution (typical cost: ~$20-30)

(6) charged $1.68 f0r... huggies ultratrim newborn diapers (36c) (typical cost: ~$13+)

... yes - this is my 1st official purchase for baby chambers!! crazy!!

Summary:

... Bought $95 worth of items (all which i needed!)

... Spent $15.61

Savings #2 = $80.11 in savings

Okay here is the rundown of my CVS success... definitely the best ever.

yes, all of these products = $84.23 (!!)
can't believe how much these items cost full price!!
(though i definitely used to pay full price for them!)

Transaction #1

(1) Bought these items...

Gillette ProGlide Razor ($10.99, on sale for $9.97)

6 Deodorants (4 degree, 2 dove) ($3.79-$4.79, on sale for $2.50 each)

2 Windex MultiSurface Cleaners ($4.29, on sale for $2.50 each)

2 Glade candles ($3.99, on sale for $2.50 each)

(2) Used these coupons...

-$4 off Gillette coupon

-3x $3/2 off Dove/Degree deodorant coupons

-$1.50 off Glade coupon

-2x $1 off Windex coupons

Used these ECBs (essentially, CVS gift card)...

7 ECBs + 4 ECBs + 4.99 ECBs + 3 ECBs = 18.99 ECBs total

*Total $ I gave the cashier: $1.73

***Total ECBs (gift card) I got back: 5ECBs + 5ECBs + 5ECBs = 15 ECBs total

Transaction #2

(1) Bought these items:

2 Old Spice Deodorants ($5.49, on sale for $3.99 each)

1 Old Spice Body Wash ($4.99, on sale for $3.00)

1 Venus Breeze Razor ($9.99, on sale for $8.99)

2 Dawn dish soaps ($1.99, on sale for $0.97)

(2) Used these coupons:

-$5 off purchase of $15

B1G1 Old Spice Deodorant

Free Body Wash wyb Old Spice Deodorant

-$2 off Venus razor

-$0.25 off Dawn dish soap

Used these ECBs:

5ECBs from Transaction #1

*Total $ I gave the cashier... $2.39

***Total ECBs I got back... $4ECBs + $2ECBs = $6ECBs

***TOTAL ECBs for my next purchase = $16ECBs***

Summary:

... Bought $84.23 worth of products

... Spent $4.12 out of pocket

... Have $5 rebate to send off

** Essentially, CVS will pay ME $0.88 for $84.23 in products**

... Received $16 ECBs for future use

wow. i praise the Lord for giving me the time to coupon & save $ as i can.

some of you may be wondering... what am i going to do with all of that deodorant?? well, we will use some of it, we will keep some for a "bed & breakfast" basket for guests, and as we increase our 'stockpile' we will most certainly give the surplus to those in need.

happy couponing!

saved $$$ at cvs!

2010-05-11T21:57:00.004-04:00

so couponing is something that i have been trying to do for almost 1 year now. it definitely takes up time and effort and i took a big break over the past several months from couponing attempts.

but now im back!

i saved $50 @ CVS today!

i am quite excited because i still have 19 ECBs (extra care bucks) to use towards my purchase next week! so my hope is i will use my 19 ECBs and buy items that rack up more ECBs... so essentially i would be getting items for free and just keep rolling my ECBs over each week - fabulous!

here's a snapshot of what i purchased today:

2 12pk Cottonelle toilet paper, 1 bayer meter, 1 box tampons, 2 prohealth crest whitening toothpastes, 2 deodorants for trent, 1 schick hydro razor for trent, some gum, claritin allergy pills

doesn't look like too much but they were high priced items and i saved over $50 :)

(oh - and these items are sitting on our very awesome new comforter from kohls! it was $400 retail price and we got it for $160!! adore it!!!)

couponing can be exhausting and tiresome but when you get good deals... definitely worth it!

note: southern savers is my lifeline for couponing help! the site does pretty much all the prep work for you... a blessing indeed!

best. card. ever.

2010-03-23T14:35:00.005-04:00

i got the cutest surprise package from big sis, nat, a few days ago. i loved the goodies inside but i think the card really made my day.

front:

inside:

"don't even get me started on the imaginary universe we could create.

(thanks for making my real life sparkle)."

adorable.

this card is perfect for all of my family & all of my best friends. in my imaginary universe, we all live in the same cute, quaint neighborhood. if only...

p.s. you can find and purchase this card (& other super cute ones) on papyrus' website.

adding mercy to marriage

2010-03-02T20:25:00.009-05:00

so the jt & i road-tripped it to good ol' canton, ga last weekend. he was asked to speak at a parenting teenagers conference... he did an awesome job!! his dear mom came to me afterwards, gave me a big hug, and said "he knocked it out of the park! i am sooo impressed and proud to be his mama". too cute. i was definitely proud to be his wife too!

on our way down to canton, we decided to listen to brad bigney's marriage series - it has 8 parts. we listened to part 1 over a week ago so we listened to part 2: solving problems & part 3: adding mercy.

i seriously don't think i have ever been more convicted by a sermon in my life. ouch. big time.

i can't remember everything God convicted me about (isn't that sad?) but a few things i do remember.

(1) i certainly spend more time reflecting on the jt's faults than my own fault (opposite of Mt.7 right there)

(2) i have definitely said to myself, "goodness, if i was the only person in this marriage, it would be perfect!" (super ashamed to admit that one)

(3) i absolutely stink at adding mercy/extending grace towards the jt... whereas, he is an amazing example of this!

why is he a better example at this? b/c of this verse right here:

Luke 7:47 - "Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."

... so this tells me that the jt does a great job remembering how much he has been forgiven - and is thus able to freely forgive others... yet i often forget my many sins and how much God has forgiven me. when i sinfully think that i've been 'forgiven little' i will then 'love little'...

the ironic thing i was most stricken by was...

my work in focusing on how the jt fails as a husband leads me to fail even more as a wife.

meaning... the more i stare at his "huge" log, the more i act ungodly in order to try to get him to fix his "huge" log. so even though my pride convinces me that i am the "perfect" and "most excellent" wife, my pride certainly leads to my destruction b/c i start holding the jt to the law instead of extending grace.

here is a snapshot (from part 3, adding mercy):

"author and biblical counselor Elyse Fitzpatrick recently gave her own testimony about how God had moved her from a legalistic works-oriented faith to what she calls 'a grace-filled peaceful existence with my merciful heavenly Father... The pressure's off me,' she told her small group. 'Don't get me wrong,' she said 'it's not that i am not pursuing holiness it's just that i know my Father will get me where He wants me to be and that even my failures serve in some way to glorify Him. My relationship with God is growing to be all about His grace, His mercy, His power' but she said she had an awkward moment with her small group that night because when she shared this with her small group, one of her friends spoke up and said, 'Oh, Elyse - Oh, Elyse - that must be such a blessing for your husband, Phil - wow - to be walking in that kind of grace must enable you to be so patient and so grace-filled with him - to know that God is working in him just like He is working in you must make your marriage so sweet and your husband so pleased. It's gotta be great for Phil to know that the pressure is off for him too'. She said there was an awkward, awkward silence as it struck her. She realized in that moment that she rarely ever made the connection between God's mercy and grace to her and her mercy and grace to her husband, Phil. She says 'I scarcely ever extended to Phil the grace I enjoyed with the Lord. Instead I was frequently more like the man in Jesus' parable, who, after he was forgiven a great debt, went out and beat his fellow slave because he owed him some paltry sum.'"

can i get an ouch?

no worries out there... i am not in a state of self-loathing or 'woe is me'. i am repentant & very thankful that God has revealed these areas in my life that i need to work on and i am all the more burdened to strive to be a faithful, loving wife for His glory (and my husband's good!).

i probably explained that in a very perplexing, unclear way... all the more reason to check out the sermons yourself!

grateful

2010-02-15T22:25:00.016-05:00

1 of the 52 books i am reading through this year is

the Excellent Wife by Martha Peace.

i read this one a couple years ago but i am definitely in dire need of the refresher!!

i skipped around a little bit and decided to read chap. 14 last week. this chapter basically deals with how to respond biblically to your husband in conflict - especially when you disagree with something.

i realized through my reading that oftentimes i do not act like this 'excellent wife' God calls me to be... i tend to believe i know best, assert (aggressively so) these opinions i have, and take control of situations. instead of allowing trent to lead, i usually don't even give him the option! but i just assume i know best, tell him that's the case, and then pout if he disagrees (hmm... rings a bell from my toddler years... ouch).

oi.

grateful for this book.

super grateful that my husband's loves for me is not based on my works.

super duper grateful that God's love for me is not based on my works.

in Christ alone, my hope is found.

[ in other news... ]

-- tex lost his manhood last week :( poor little guy. he got stitches thursday. pulled them out himself on saturday. that's tex for ya.

-- in happier news, 4 snow days within the past 7 days! score!

yes, the road covered in snow is the left lane.

we got stuck in a (small) ditch.

all those years trent drove an off road jeep really paid off!

this is not a 1 lane road. but super pretty.

backyard... couple inches left over from last week's snow

+ last night's snow.

grateful to God for many things this Valentine's season!

p.s. to see how the jt & i celebrated vday (early),

please read the "getaway" post :)

getaway

2010-02-10T17:10:00.017-05:00

me and the jt needed to get away. the jt's DNOW + my huge counseling conference (huge describing the work involved in the conference, not necessarily the conference itself) = a chaotic past 4 weeks.

we talked about a cabin in gatlinburg but decided it was just a bit too far away and too much $. then we decided to do nothing at all. then we got home from church sunday totally spent and decided you know what...

we need a getaway.

we did some brief research online (about 3hrs worth) and found a new place that met our long list of requirements about 1hr20min north in Burlington, KY.

willis graves b&b

built in the mid-1800s:

our biggest requirement?

a fireplace.

we didn't want to just veg in front of the tv...

we wanted to:

rest

feel refreshed

breathe

unwind

our 2nd requirement?

last. minute. specials.

we got 20% off for booking

the b&b the day of!

booked @5:30pm.

arrived @7:30pm.

our 3rd requirement?

a b&b known for their breakfast (hey, that's important!)

i had creme brulee french toast for breakfast.

& the jt had pancakes...

super yummy

gingerbread pancakes.

breakfast tasted even better than it looked.

if you are in the area, definitely check out this beautiful b&b!

thinking of a spontaneous, quick getaway? ... definitely well worth it.

passing notes

2010-02-02T16:34:00.006-05:00

what i found in my mailbox ("locker") when i got home from work today...

took me back to those fun days of writing/passing notes in school.

a handwritten note is somehow much more fun and meaningful than a quick text message.

perhaps bc you realize what goes into it:

...more time... more thought... more effort...

ah the simple joys in life.

a revival is needed for handwritten letters.

[VIRGIN].

2010-01-31T17:38:00.003-05:00

so this is one of my fav drinks... a VIRGIN strawberry daiquiri.

and - yes - i do look and act that silly without the aid of alcohol.

hope that clears up any misconceived notions out there.

coupons!

2010-01-21T00:35:00.003-05:00

decided to start the year off with more of a system for couponing...

it's amazing how something cute can motivate you to get more organized and save $!

resolutions

2010-01-10T19:33:00.005-05:00

a couple things i hope to do more of in 2010... (call them resolutions if you so desire)

1. taking (more) pictures

2. updating my blog (more)

3. reading (more) books

lots of (more) in there.

i love reading christian fiction books but have been convicted lately to spend my reading time on books that really grow and challenge me. so my goal is to read 1 book/week in 2010. overall... 52 books. if all goes as planned (does it ever?), i shall post what book i most recently finished on my blog.

on a different, yet connected note...

ever think someone is a 'lost cause'?

like 'eh, they'll never change'.

been thinking that a lot lately and God has reminded me (for the 50th time) that believing someone can't change really shows that i'm NOT believing that God CAN change the person. so my hopelessness in that person's state really reflects how i'm not hoping and trusting in the Lord (ouch).

i've also seen an ugly result of thinking someone is past the point of no return (anyone else sing that phrase in the phantom of the opera's voice?)... is that...

i stop praying for them.

i stop trying to reach out to them.

i stop caring for them.

i stop loving them.

in blunt terms, why waste my (precious) time to someone who is never going to change (& thus is not worth it)? (double ouch, anyone?)

so what do i take away from all this?

i need to trust that God is indeed mighty to save.

of course i believe this. but i need to remind myself of this constantly.

the more i trust that God is able...

the more i will pray for seemingly lost causes,

the more i will reach out,

the more i will care,

the more i will love,

the more i will give my time investing in others' lives for God's glory.

will my faith in God's ability cause that person to change? by no means. but it will honor God by making me a much more faithful and obedient believer.

maybe this year, my ultimate resolution should be:

*trusting God (more) & thereby being (more) faithful in my calling to love others (more)... and leaving the changing up to God.

"surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save,

nor his ear too dull to hear"

-isaiah 59:1

2010.

2010-01-10T19:17:00.006-05:00

i'm starting to see how if you update pics to fb... it seems pretty pointless to also update them to your blog. so i'll just show a few pics... to see more, check out fb.

NEW YEAR's EVE

me in my cute new apron baking blueberry muffins.

we celebrate new year's eve by doing things we love...

we baked treats (blueberry muffins and chocolate dipped strawberries),

we made dinner (calzone and pizza),

we watched a movie (the holiday),

we rang in 2010 with strawberry daquiris (mmm),

we played some rollercoaster tycoon (current rediscovered addiction)

sounds low-key but it was definitely what we needed.

SNOW

it also snowed last week!

view from out front door... in between the bushes is our sidewalk. the snow was so beautiful!

COWBOYS

last night, trent and i sported our new dallas cowboys jerseys (thanks mom & dad) as we watched their playoff game against the eagles.

they did so great and are really stepping up their game... 1st playoff win since 1996! hope they keep it up for next week's game against favre's vikings (sunday, 1pm est).

go cowboys! :)

the dr & the gypsy

2009-12-15T19:19:00.002-05:00

candy.passing.out.costumes. :)

current obsession

2009-12-14T14:26:00.007-05:00

remember the good ol' days of middle school when all you really had to worry about was whether or not you could survive oregon trail??

okay maybe there were quite a few other drama-inducing worries of middle school...

but anyways!

i have rediscovered my love for oregon trail!

perhaps it's a result of trent's and my current obsession of the west and the big sky... and my burden for native americans (i'm being serious!). we started re-watching Into the West a few nights ago... it's beyond splendid.

so this led to a quick google search of "download oregon trail".

well a couple hours later... and i found a site to play it on!

Play Oregon Trail now! but be on guard... you may want to throw your computer across the room when you can't shoot a buffalo... or when your entire family dies of dysentery (whatever that is!)...

or maybe that's just me. :)

*side note... if you try to play it and you're on a mac, make sure to scroll down the right side of the page and click "Java version of the game".

enjoy!

i'm still alive

2009-12-03T23:29:00.007-05:00

for those of you who have noticed...

it's been awhile.

i will be making my grand re-appearance soon...

in the meantime -- here's a cute pic of me & trent on pumpkin-carving-day to hold you over.

[more pumpkin-carving-day pics to come]

confession

2009-10-30T11:57:00.006-04:00

this week's confession:

[ I bought leg-warmers... and I have worn them everyday ]

i have yet to expose them to the public but i have faithfully worn them under jeans or with my PJs. the next step is to make their public debut... but i'm not exactly sure how to pull this one off... any ideas?

reading

2009-10-26T22:24:00.014-04:00

re.reading how people change [tripp/lane]. so good. def recommend it. great to use in discipleship opportunities + in your own walk with Christ.

slowly (going on 1.3yrs now) reading body of divinity [thomas watson]. so deep. laboring through that one bit by bit but contains lots of profound treasures.

intending on:

re.reading excellent wife [martha peace]

starting feminine appeal [mahaney]

best overall devotional book for discipleship i've used with girls: lord, only you can change me [kay arthur]. great for new christians + believers who tend to wear masks/live lives that contradict their professions.

excited about looking into lord, teach me to study the bible [kay arthur] that my leigh anne friend recommended.

any other good recommendations for reading (self + discipleship)?

quick updates

2009-10-26T20:34:00.004-04:00

okay so this blog starting thing is harder than i thought...

coupon world:

so last week i def scored big time @ cvs. i used my $10ECBs (essentially, gift card) towards the purchase of $35 worth of items... BUT i paid $6 oop and received $16 back in ECBs. YES! summary: paid ZERO (10+6 = 16, got 16 back) and received $35 worth of items! 1 of my fav purchases was a glade sense n spray (so needed) that was $10 but was on sale for $5 and i had a $4 coupon... = $1!! so cool! i've yet to venture out to other stores (kroger, meijer, etc) - SO wish that we had a publix here!! agh! jealous of my southeast pals.

p90x:

amazing! so glad i shelled out the $ to do this program... even though the JT wasn't too keen on it. ive lost some lbs so far and inches and im onto my 4th wk of the program. 1/3 done - ya-tah! next week starts phase 2. im praying for continued strength & discipline to keep up with it... they're def strenuous workouts but the hardest part is finding time for them!! its minimum 1hr day - typically 1hr15min+. my fav workout is kenpo (karate-ish) and i DETEST yoga - blarf. the JT has yet to join in on the p90x fun but maybe he will after he (hopefully) sees some of my (potential) results.

90day bible:

pressing on. finished the psalms in 3 days -tragic to read through them so fast! on day 47.

...in other random news...

was pretty much out of commission the past week due to unknown (not swine) illness. super swamped with work-related stuff for dr. scott this week.

SO excited to carve pumpy-kins tom with the JT! pics will come. it's like my fav thing to do. AND THEN... POST-HALLOWEEN = XMAS MUSIC TIME!!! woohoo! love this time of year. this will be the first trick-or-treating season that the JT and i are in a grown-up house... we intend to dress up and do some candy-passing-out-ing and meet some neighbors and kids.

oh and i am trying to convince the JT to get a snuggie for little texas. don't you think he needs one?

time to watch *unwrapped* on food network... halloween edition - score!

g.p.l.

My endeavor

2009-09-26T05:24:00.000-04:00

so. it's somewhat daunting writing a blog (let alone THE 1st). but here i go.

why even write a blog? seems to be the trend that prego's start blogs. or families with 12 kids. or someone is going through a hard time or really exciting time. i don't fit into any of those categories... so why start this thing? it's just my feeble attempt of sharing what God is doing in my life - challenging myself to be more vulnerable, more apt w/updating people with life (ahem, leigh anne), more creative.

so this is me. i dunno what this will look like but hopefully you will stay tuned to see :)

onto menial things...

i am totally jumping head first into this whole couponing endeavor. i never knew coupons could be so scary. yet somehow exciting (who am i??). so i dragged the JT along with me to CVS for my grand entrance into coupon world tonight (yes, he complained and was a grumphead the whole time -- and i tried to remind him, 'dude! i'm doing this so we can save $! so it's worth the 10pm, 1 hour long, chaotic run to CVS' - yeah, he didn't agree. i shall show him). so anyways. i wasn't 100% prepared for my grand entrance but i did manage to spend $15 oop (out of pocket) yet save $15 and earn $10 ECB (extra care bucks) - so i'm heading back there tomorrow in attempts to check out @ the (hopefully nice) cashier 3 times... yes... THREE. DIFFERENT. TIMES. so i'm not entirely insane, i promise. my written out agenda (don't make fun) is to buy lots of things and roll over my $10 ECB's into $16 ECB's w/negligible oop expenses. some things on the 'to buy' list: several shampoos/conditioners, hair color stuff, lotions, toothpastes, razors... so hey, if the plan works, i'll get all this stuff AND have $16 ECB to use for the next CVS shopping spree. i'll keep you updated on how i do...

in other news. i [finally] purchased p90x. so i've been thinking about this program for oh... 4 months now i think... and more seriously so within the past week. and i turned on to 1 of my favorite channels (...qvc...) and they were totally selling p90x! it was cheaper than normal so it didn't take much for me to commit. i should get the whole thing next week and start it up... it is going to take sooo much intense work i can't even fathom it right now. but i'm looking forward to it.

so i've got the disciplines of saving $ (coupons), working out/eating well (soon-to-be-p90x)... well might as well make it a full plate and add reading the bible in 90 days to all that, right? whew. i'm exhausted just trying to think of balancing all of this. but God is faithful and strong (mental pep talk). i am SO enjoying this whole 90 day plan - it's intense but it's really an awesome way of getting a broad overview of Scripture and seeing how things fit together. i'm halfway through 1 samuel (ka-chow to God!).

alright its 2:22am and the JT has been getting onto me lately with how late i stay up... so i best be off.

i'll be striving to jot down updates on coupon-mania, p90x-psychosis, and 90-day-bible-insanity... and more than all those boring updates, i hope to entertain a few with my random notes, comments, thoughts, etc. it shall be a journey in the least.

g/p/l (grace/peace/love)