Saturday, November 30

Babies and Bible Stories

Last night after Daddy finished reading our Bible story, our 'little momma' decided she needed to read a Bible story to her babies.

Ya'll, it melted my heart.

All I could think was how one day she will be reading her baby a Bible story. Be still, my heart.

Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6

The Message translates this verse as:  
"Point your kids in the right direction- when they're old they won't be lost." 

But my favorite, is how the Living Word reads:
"Teach a child to choose the right path, and when he is older, he will remain upon it." 

It's a choice.
In our home, we choose Jesus.




Tuesday, November 26

Elf on the Shelf

We've decided to join the band-wagon and welcome our own little elf into our holiday traditions. I know the boy elf is more traditional, but I really think the girl elf is too cute!

Onto my current dilemma- the name. Let's face it, the name is key, especially since he or she will be visiting our home for years to come.

I've hit a wall in the creative naming department so I checked out Pinterest for a solution. I found several cute name ideas and stumbled across this list.
Enter my faithful blogging friends for help :) I've narrowed it down to the following:

Girl Names
  • Poppy
  • Noelle
  • Trixie
  • Evie
  • Rosie
Boy Names
  • Noel
  • Jinx
  • Hermey
  • Dash 
  • Jingle

Which do you like best? Or, maybe you have a cute name that isn't on the list. I welcome all suggestions :) 

Monday, November 25

Purging, Pajamas, and the Purpose of Christmas

Make Room For Christmas
Is it just me, or do the holidays make you nervous?

I mean like, nervous in a sense of oh-my-gosh-my-house-must-make-room-for-everything?

It's almost part of my holiday tradition- I always do a 'purge' of my house before and after the holidays.

Speaking of holidays- can you believe Christmas is one month from today? Craziness!

Today was purge day. Oh, how I love purge day. When I see my house lose weight, it makes me feel lighter too :)

I started by making room for decorations. MG's play nook is in our Christmas tree spot, so I set up shop for her in the dining room. It's empty right now and actually ended up being perfect! I'm excited about our new dining table coming in soon, but I will miss having her mess toys out of the way.

Instead of dishes and other lovelies, my floor-to-ceiling bookshelf is now home to books, dolls, puzzles, and art supplies.
Then I started on her closets, which led to tears over cute little summer frocks that she will never fit in again. I see just how much she has grown when I have to clean out closets.

Then I moved to the pantry- but alas, I still cannot make myself get rid of her bottles. They are tucked away up high, but in my mind, as long as they are there, I still have a baby in the house.

I think I'll save our room/office/closet for another day :)


Drop-Ins
My sweet friend, Libby dropped by this morning to bring me a happy - my Spark refill {hence the reason I had the energy to do the above}.
Missouri Momma is on her way over now and I and so excited for a chat while MG naps :) Since I'm home with the wee one these days, adult conversation is like heaven on earth!

And yes, I was in my jammies for both visits. That's just how I roll these days. Every day is a pajama day.


Last Session
Our last session for our current Bible study is tonight- and while I'm sad it's ending, it's really just the beginning. We've chosen a Bible study on the purpose of Christmas and I'm excited to get started. I love our weekly time with friends in the Word.


There you have it-  today's randomness.
Happy Cold Monday, Blogland!

Wednesday, November 20

Read. Set. Run 13.1

Oh my- is it just me or is it crazy cold today? The beauty of having the half behind me is that on cold mornings like this, I don't have to run. Instead, I opted for weights with the 5:02 workout group. I am in serious need of some upper body/core strength.

Ya'll, I cannot believe I ran a half marathon. Our goal was to not walk a step and finish in under 2 1/2 hours.

I never walked a single step and my official time was 2:29. Yes, I'm bragging a bit here.

While I am thrilled I finished the run, I think I am most proud of myself for sticking with the training. It was brutal at times but I worked ran my boo-tay off for 3.5 months for a total of 197 miles logged during training.

And I only played hookey twice.

For those of you who follow me on Facebook, feel free to skip the rest of this post. I apologize for blowing up the news feed with photos and running stats all weekend.

Saturday morning started early for me at 4:30. I was up, dressed, and believe it or not I curled my hair- although you can't tell in any of the pictures post mile 1. We arrived at 6:30 am, I drank my faithful Advocare Spark and ate my banana  per my usual long run day ritual.

We were off at 7:00 for the hilliest route possible. At mile one Pastor Brown's calf (which he injured on our last long run) started hurting so we prayed and ran through it. At mile 4 I was tired of the hills and was about to break. At mile six, surprise, my knee bands started pulling (they always do on long runs). Our first six miles were sub 11 minutes so we decided to take it down a notch for the remaining hilly spots. I shot my Slam at mile 8 and trudged on.

When we reached mile 10, along with a hill that felt like Mount Everest, I was waning. The last three miles were solid hills, curves, and an incline that put extra work on my already weaker right side.

Brutal.

Pastor Brown hit a wall at mile 11.5, which is the same place we hit our wall on our last long run. After a quick pep talk we were picking up the pace to finish it out.

I can't describe how I felt seeing that finish line and knowing I didn't have a single hill left to battle.

Pastor Brown and I finished together, and our other partner in crime, Missouri Momma, finished soon after.

13.1- done!

My husband informed me that I am a beast. hehe

What it was all about- running in honor of those with Alzheimer's and Dementia

Pre-Race when we still looked decent :)
Around mile 4- it finally stopped raining.

Finish line

My stats

Official finish time
There you have it, friends- 13.1 details. The fun doesn't stop here, though. We are already committed to a half in Tuscaloosa on March 8th and we are considering a half at the beach in late February.

Happy Half-Marathoning!

Friday, November 15

Five on Friday {link up #10}

Oh my, what a week it has been. It's been quite hectic as of late- MG woke up Monday with the sniffles and we've been battling them ever since, we hosted Bible study Tuesday night, I'm trying to get ready for the half, and on top of it all, I have sewing orders coming in like crazy!

One. Leo Run To Remember Half Marathon
It's finally here- race day is tomorrow. We start at 7:00 am, so if you're up at that time, say a little prayer for us :) After months of training I am ready to conquer 13.1 miles!

Two. Library Day
With the colder temps making their appearance, our sunny days on the porch or at the park are coming to an end. So, I've been looking for things to do with Mary Grace indoors- so she can get out of the house some. One thing we recently did was visit the library. She loved it and it made my heart smile seeing how happy she was over her books. Truth- she slept with them at nap time the day she got them. I think we've read them 1,023,358 times now ;)

Three. Menu Planning
Those of you that have been with me for a while now know that I'm a planner. When it's time for our biweekly grocery trips, we carefully plan out what we want to eat, then write our list accordingly. With our recent diet changes, I have to be more organized than ever in the planning department. My sister-in-law liked the printable I use, so I thought I'd post it on here for you to use. There are dozens of these on Pinterest. Click here to download it :)


Four. Santa Stopped By
Santa has already stopped to drop off a few of MG's Christmas gifts. Seeing all the fun that is sure to ensue is making me super excited for the big day to arrive!

Five. Pretty Ponytails
I've been browsing pinterest for cute updo's since my hair is getting longer. I came across this ponytail idea and thought it was a cute and fancier version of what I sport these days- so I thought I'd give it a try.


As always, don't forget to check out Joy's Friday Five {along with others who have linked up} at The Sowell Life. Better yet- join the fun by linking up with your own random, Friday Five!

Happy Friday and Helloooo Weekend!


Monday, November 11

Halloween 2013 {In Pictures}

Mary- Mother of Jesus




First Stop: Nanny J and Bubba (the baby doll was her Baby Jesus)

Next Stop: Nannies (Bob's grandmother). She loves the piano.

Last stop: Pop and Gran's house (my parents)


Friday, November 8

Five on Friday {Link-up #10}

Happy Friday, blogland!
Here's another fun Friday Five link-up- be sure to check out Joy at The Sowell Life to see her list as well as others!

One. There's An App For That
Those of you that know me in real life know that due to recent happenings we are now on a semi-gluten free diet. As hard as it is now, I'm dreading having to go completely gluten free in a a week. Here's a challenge and a way to walk in my shoes, next time you are grocery shopping, try to find as many things as you can that are gluten free, then report back to me :) Gluten= wheat, barley, rye. After a couple of meltdowns in the grocery store, someone mentioned an app to me. I heart my new ShopWell app- you enter your diet/allergies, then if you aren't sure about a product, scan the barcode and it will tell you if its a go or not. Plus, if it's something you can't have {like Goldfish crackers} it will give you several alternative substitues {usually brands that ARE gluten free}. There's also an app for GlutenFreeFastFood and is very handy for those quick, on the go visits.

Two. Coconut Oil
The whole brown-to-blonde-and-back-to-semi-natural thing has taken a toll on my hair. It's super dry and driving me crazy. Making things worse is the fact that since we are running {and sweating} almost everyday, I'm having to wash it daily. My hairstylist recommended putting Extra Virgin Coconut Oil on it overnight once a week. While I haven't tried it yet, I plan to this weekend. Pinterest even agrees that it's a good way to add moisture back to dry locks. :)

Three. Mommy Time.
While I hate getting up so early to run, I love having that time when I get back home. I usually have about an hour and a half to shower, dress for the day, actually fix my hair, read the morning part of my Bible study, spend time in prayer, blog, sip coffee, catch up on the news. Heaven. My days usually go so much better when I start them out with just a smidge of me time. I should do it everyday, but on morning that we don't run I'm oh so lazy and sleep until the baby wakes.


Four. A Cozy Fire.
I love having breakfast by the fire on these chilly mornings and reading a book in front of the coziness in the evenings. It's one of the few things I love about cold weather.

Five. Birthday Milestones.
My sweet friend, Missouri Momma, turns the big 3-0 today. Yes, I'm calling her out, and yes, I understand she'll do the same for me when it's my turn. I loved chatting with her during our run this morning, and MG and I are heading to her house for some girl time and celebration this evening. Fun! It's a little scary when your friends start hitting the thirty mark- because it means your walking that fine line, too. I am so thankful for sweet, caring, Christian friends like her that are always there and help encourage me in the faith.



There you have it- I blogged everyday this week. Granted, yesterday's post wasn't up until the evening, but it wasn't my fault. I'm passing blame to Blogger for taking way to long to upload photos ;)

Happy Friday, Lovelies!

 


Thursday, November 7

Sweet Mary Grace {18 months}

Someone pinch me please, because I must be dreaming. There is no way we are already halfway to Mary Grace's 2nd birthday. Heart, be still.
Here are all the fun things happening in Miss MG's world these days {let's face it, it's really her universe anyway}.

I love dressing her in outfits I made for her!

 You're Such A Big Girl.
These last three months have brought with them so many, many changes my dear. You no longer walk, but run everywhere. You've even been know to run from Mommy and Daddy, especially when we are in a hurry you insist on playing chase ;)  You are now home with Mommy everyday and I am enjoying this time more than you will ever know. You love being around other kids so we try and get you out during the week: church on Sunday morning/night and Wednesdays, Bible study with the Karr family on Tuesdays, and I still let you see our precious Nanny J every week or so. Since walking, you have bloomed into a little social butterfly and will wave, smile, and talk to everyone {as long as they don't try and touch you since you like your own space}.



 
Potty Time. We officially started potty training you towards the end of August and you have been doing great! When asked if you need to potty and you will answer either no or run to the potty as a sign that you are about to burst. You have started telling us when you feel you need to 'tee-tee' and you hate it when you wet yourself {you insist on a diaper change immediately}. I was a bit worried about how well you would take to the potty, but with the help of suckers for bribery, you took right to it. There are days when you will only have a couple of accidents. Go Mary Grace! I'm hoping to be completely diaper free by your second birthday. You are currently wearing size 4 Huggies Little Movers Pull Up Diapers and they make potty time oh so much easier than wearing a regular diaper.

{I love those sweet curls}

Size Matters. You are a petite little thing! You wore a dress to church recently that you wore at Christmas last year. Tiny tot! You are wearing sizes 12-18 month clothing. Some of your winter shirts are 24 months and we have to roll up the sleeves. You're in a size 5 shoe {you're little foot is so narrow and skinny}. Speaking of shoes, we went shoe shopping for new Keds and you fell in love with a pair of boots. Looks like you are going to be a little fashionista! You love hairbows, hats are your latest obsession, sunglasses, and purses. You, my dear, are all girl!

At you're 18 month checkup you were 20.9 lbs {4th percentile}, 31.25 inches long {50th percentile} and your head circumference was 46.5 cm. You had actually lost a bit of weight. We've been battling to get some weight on you since your 15 month checkup, so when you registered as losing weight we had to get a bit of lab work done. I almost didn't make it but you were a trooper and did much better than I would have. You have a big appointment coming up and we are hoping to get more details then.
 

Yummy To Your Tummy. While your weight may not show it, you can out eat your Daddy when it comes to pizza {it's your absolute favorite}. You are not a picky eater, thank goodness, and you eat a wide variety of things. Your favorites are as follows:
Breakfast: oatmeal, grits, scrambled eggs with syrup, pancakes, chocolate chip waffles, our traditional morning fruit smoothies, bananas, cheese toast.
Lunch: mac and cheese, pb&j sandwiches, grilled cheese sandwiches, ravioli, any type of chicken, pizza
Dinner: Generally you eat anything we eat for dinner - casseroles, soups, beef stew, veggies, fruits, pizza, pizza roll-ups, pork chops, roast.
Snacks: oreos, mandarin oranges are your fave, goldfish, fruit gummies, strawberries, bananas, grapes, yogart, jello was a recent hit with you, pudding, ice cream sandwiches in the birthday cake flavor.
Drinks: whole milk, you love Mommy's flavored waters, and you just started getting a little juice once a day.
Everyday Details. Daddy and I joke that you will end up giving us 7 grandchildren. You are a little momma, my dear. Rarely are you without a baby, bottle, and blanket. You lug those babies around everywhere we go and take such good care of them. You feed them, rock them, stroll them in the stroller, carry them in their carseat... Oh my, the fun we are having! You love balls {everything round is a 'bawl' as you say it in your sweet southern accent} and will make a great pitcher one day. You are big into blocks, more knocking our towers down than stacking them yourself ;). You love books. Music and dancing is your element. You are starting to try and 'sing' and it is so sweet to hear. You love helping Mommy get ready- make up is so interesting to you :). You dig through my closet daily and will walk out sporting my shoes/shirts. You're latest discovery is my jewelry dresser and you have oh so much fun playing dress up! You're favorite shows are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sofia the First, Doc McStuffins, and Henry Hugglemonster {although you may watch 3 minutes of it at the most}. We watch alot of the Disney Classics. Little Mermaid was just released and I think we have broken the record for most views in a single week. You love the outdoors and chasing Louie on the porch. Your fascination with rocks makes me think you would make a great archaeologist. They are like your little treasures and we find where you sneak them inside :) I ran an errand the other day and noticed a 'treasure' {aka rock} on my seat and smiled at the thought of you leaving it there for Mommy. You love our shower and have made it a habit of taking one with Mommy. You play with the shampoo bottles, twirl around under the rainforest head, and cry when it's time to get out. Speaking of twirling, your newest trick involves spinning in circles until you are too dizzy to stand. We get many laughs out of you each day, my dear.

 
Bathtime Shenanigans. You are a mess when it comes to bathtime. You say 'Uh oh' when you see me open the drain. You know the water is going 'bye bye' as you say, so you start swimming like a little fish, splashing, and squealing {you squeal non-stop all day}. You are great at brushing your teeth and love our nightly family Bible time. You've started flipping through the pages and will kiss Jesus each time you see him on the page. Melts our heart! Speaking of Jesus, church is your favorite place to go right now. The other day we were going to run an errand so I told you to get your bag so we could go bye-bye. You waited for me at the door like always, but you were holding my Bible. I asked if you wanted to go to church and you said 'yeeaah'. Too cute :) You are no longer in a baby/toddler tub, but rather in the big tub so you can have plenty of splashing room!

Sleeping Beauty. I won the lottery when it comes to the sleeping department. You are just like you're Mommy- you love your sleep time. You go down after Bible time {usually between 8-8:30}, we turn on sleep sheep, and you put yourself to sleep without a peep or fuss. You sleep 12 hours usually, sometimes more, and wake up between 8:30-9:30 in the morning. You are such a happy thing in the mornings! You take your afternoon nap after lunch, usually you go down at 1:00 {again, we turn on sleep sheep and lay you down, you put yourself to sleep without a fuss}. Your normal naps are 2-3 hours depending. Heaven!

Mommy's Big Helper. The key to getting you going is the phrase, "Can you help Mommy...". You love to help me vacuum using your toy popper pushing thingy ;) and you will take a dust rag and wipe down for me. You are great at helping pick up toys or putting laundry in the washer/dryer.  You will try your best to sweep using our big broom. You know that trash goes in the canister and are really good about throwing leftover snack/wrappers away without me having to ask you. Such a big girl!
From The Mouths of Babes. Everyone said you would start talking our ear off at this age and they were right. You babble constantly and will carry on a 'conversation' for quite a while. Although we can't understand all that you are saying, it is still so much fun. You get frustrated when we can't understand what you want/say, so you will point or pull us to what you want. You know what a dog and cow say and will imitate them when asked- such a cute little bark and moo! You are starting to say short phrases like "Its hot", "I pott-deeee", " I wannn {for I want}. You've even made three word sentences like "I wan jooooos { I want juice}. You're little vocabulary is increasing so fast! I cannot wait to really start hearing how your sweet voice/accent will sound.

Oh, my love, where is the time going? I am trying to soak up all that I can, while I can, because I know I will turn around and you'll be a lady, leaving for her first day of college. I wish you could stay just like this forever, but as bittersweet as it may be, I enjoy watching you grow into the person God has made you to be.

On August 22, 2013 I decided to take pictures to capture a 'day in the life' but never got around to posting them. Better late than never :)
Breakfast time!

Showered, dressed, and ready to take on the day!
Back porch fun!


16 months going on sweet 16 :)


Dimples!

She loves picking the flowers at the mailbox!
Puzzle time!


Lounging while Mommy cooks lunch. Yes, that's one of her precious loveys in her mouth.

Cinderella time :)

Snack time on the porch after napping!


Storytime!

Play time in her room. That was my old toy box my parents made for me- notice my name I painted when in Kindergarten :)