To Granny, Love Mary Grace

Mary Grace is stealing my blog today to wish the best Granny in the world a very happy, happy, happy 60th birthday!

{You gotta love those lopsided piggy tails}

While looking through my camera for a sweet picture to add this this post, I came across this.....

 

Look at that sweet bald head. It's hard to believe she was once so small.

 Happy Birthday, Granny!

We love you!

 

Domain Name Change

I wanted to give you, my sweet readers, a heads up regarding the domain name for my blog.

It was www.bobbyandsylvia.blogspot.com

I plan to change it to match my blog name. The new url is..

www.thesmalltownlifeblog.blogspot.com

That's a mouth full, I know. But it seems there are dozens upon dozens of other domains with 'the small town life' in them. Fooey.
 
I've been meaning to do this since my blog revamp, but just never really got to it. Although it's  something silly and small, I feel quite proud of myself for finally getting around to making the change.

Anywho, that's the deal. It's definitely Monday at our home. Little Miss is into everything today. While trying to get her a bowl of popcorn, she opened one of our large drawers, climbed in, jumped up and down, and messed it up or something. Not sure. I tried getting it back on track, but its one of those that will gently shut, and it's a bit complicated. Have no fear though, I'm sure the hubs can just pop it right back into place. At least that's what I'm hoping.

Darling girl is napping and it's Mommy's break time. Worship music is playing and I plan to do 15 minutes of speed cleaning, then spend some time reading. I don't feel like I have caught my breath yet. I didn't get home until Saturday night, and Sunday's are always busy with church / family time. I'm hoping I can regroup today :)

Oh, I promise I am going to post the slightly late 21 month update this week {although she will be 22 months Friday}. The grands are asking about it :)

Nothing fancy today, lovelies. I'll try and post something a little more exciting next time.
 

Baby's First Snow {1.28.14}

One day, your first snowflakes fell. And I held you up, and watched it melt on your baby skin.

-Someday {my favorite children's book}

For three magical days it was simply our little family of three and the beautiful snow.

No work.

No place to go.

No hustle and bustle.

Nothing except the quiet, falling snow.

Just us, at home, together, in awe of God's beauty in the dead of winter.

Friday Five

What a week it has been in our small town.

I'm gearing up for a jam packed weekend: overnight trip to Nashville, my Dad's birthday, church, play dates... oh my!

On to today's edition of the Friday Five.

Uno. The Music City
I am currently en route to Nashville for a VBS conference with some of my church sistas. While we are going for a conference, this lady is going to pretend we are on a mini vacay :) My sweet husband is on duty tonight and tomorrow- I know sweet Mary Grace is going to enjoy her time with Dada. I think getting out will do all of us a bit of good. Cabin Fever was beginning to set in and after being cooped up for three days with a rambunctious toddler, Mommy and Daddy need a break. MG has been asking about her Nannie, Bubba, and Duke {the dog} for days now, so I know she'll be ecstatic to spend a few hours with them.

Someone likes it :)

Dos. Violette Pinafore and Leggings
What do you do when you're stuck at home for three days? You dream of Spring and start sewing sweet little outfits for those gloriously warm days. I made this little lovely and cannot wait for warmer weather so she can wear it out. The top was oh so easy- I foresee making many of these for little miss. {Please overlook the safety pins on the top- I've got to find some super cute buttons}.

 

 

 Tres. Forgotten God
When I wasn't sewing or chasing the wee one, I was busy catching up on some reading. I finished this book {finally} and highly recommend it. I say finally because I've been working on it for a couple of months now. I tried to really marinate on what it had to say. It focuses on the Holy Spirit and it's role in our lives. Definitely made me view the Holy Spirit and in a whole new way.

Qutro. Snuggle Buddy
Louie may be the only one excited about the freezing temperatures. It was his excuse to spend a couple of nights inside, snuggled up with me. Although I'm not sure what was worse- braving the freezing temps outside or having Mary Grace chase him relentlessly inside.

Cinco. Birthday Wishes
I saved the best for last. Today is my sweet Daddy's birthday. I hate that I'm traveling and cannot be there to sing to him in person ;) While going through my camera photos, I came across this sweet treasure. Priceless.

Happy Birthday, Daddy! I cannot wait to see you tomorrow!

That's all I have for today. Check back tomorrow for a glimpse into our snow days.

Now, head on over to The Sowell Life and check out Joy's Friday Five- along with others who have joined the fun!

Happy Friday!

 

Monday Hodgepodge

Krispy Kreme Sale
Oh my, can I just lament on how cold it was Saturday morning? Thank goodness we sold out in record time, because my toes were beginning to freeze.
A big thank you to everyone who came out and supported our team!

Snow
As we get closer to the big day, the chances for snow keep going up. I am sooooo excited about the possibility of snow! I cannot wait to let Mary Grace play in her first snow :) If you've never lived in the deep South- let me fill you in on the situation. When the first forecast of snow appears, no matter how small, people suddenly lose their minds, buy 6 loaves of bread and 200 cases of bottled water. Oh, and did I mention that every.single.thing shuts down- even if it's just snow flurries. Having lived in Indian where 2 feet of snow is considered normal, I see the humor in it. I'm just praying for the ice to stay away and the power to stay on.

Sweet Treat Overload
My house is not the place to be if you are trying to watch what you eat. If you were to walk into my kitchen right now you would find a box of krispy kreme doughnuts {we've already devoured one box}, a chocolate chip bundt cake {you can find the recipe here}, and amish friendship bread I baked  yesterday. I am meeting my daily caloric intake by 10:00 am, but I'm claiming the quote above to be true ;)

A Hunger for the Holy
When looking for a new study for our Bible group, our pastor mentioned this as an option. We ended up choosing a different study by Kyle Idleman {gods at war}, but something about this study just stuck with me. I ended up picking it up at Lifeway and it is so good. It's all about nurturing your intimacy with Christ. I'm beginning to think it was written just for me, because every day it has impacted me so deeply. I highly recommend it.

Happy Monday, lovelies!

 

Friday Five {sheer randomness today}

Let's get right down to this week's randomness. I know you're anxiously awaiting the popular Friday list. ;)

One. Minnie Mouse Fanatic
My child is a tad obsessed with Minnie. My Dad bought her a cute little pair of Minnie pajamas. It was all good until she started refusing to wear anything but her Minnie jammies. She digs through the dirty clothes looking for them. Soooo, I am having a blast washing them every. single. day.

Thanks to her new Minnie Mouse Bowtique movie from Mima, she now thinks Minnie can be shown on demand. No more giving her the excuse of 'Minnie's not on right now'. She knows better. She lets you know that she knows better. I don't care to share with you how many times we've watched that two.hour.long marathon.

Oh, let's not forget the Minnie Mouse plate. While shopping with Chickadee on Monday, she found a cute little Minnie Mouse plate. I thought, heck it's only $2, might as well. Worst investment ever. She will now only eat if she has her Minnie plate. Soooo... again, I'm having a blast washing it after every. single. meal. {Oh, after snacks, too}.

The next person that buys her something 'Minnie' needs to be prepared. I just might dive on you.

Two. Happy Feet
Nothing makes me happier that having packages appear on my steps. Especially when said package is my new Brooks Ghost 6 kicks. It's on now. I felt my motivation level rise drastically after just trying them on. They arrived just in time for the first long run on the new year tomorrow. I am shooting for 5-6 miles :)

 

Three. Gods at War
Our Bible study group had a last minute change of plans, we decided to do Gods at War by Kyle Idleman instead of the other study we had picked out. I am super excited about getting back into our weekly study group routine :)

Four. Purging
I went a bit psycho on Wednesday and cleaned out every.single.drawer/closet/cabinet in my house {with the exception of Mary Grace's room- which is next on my list}.  Ya'll, I even went through my spice rack and our medicine basket. Here's a glimpse of the first load I took to the Salvation Army yesterday {minus the five bags of trash}. A more detailed post on this craziness to come.

Five.  Krispy Kreme Fundraiser 
For my readers who live locally- don't forget to stop by and show your support for our mission trip to Nicaragua! Who can say no to Krispy Kreme? Certainly not me! We will be around the courthouse square or within that vicinity. There are five of us total, plus we will have signs- so you can't miss us!

Alright, lovelies- you know what to do. Check out other Friday Five link-ups via The Sowell Life.
As always, we'd love for you to join the fun!

Happy Friday!

Krispy Kreme {Mission Trip Fundraising}

Our Mission Team will be selling doughnuts Saturday morning in town. Please stop by and help support our mission trip to Nicaragua!

We are picking them up early Saturday morning so they will be fresh and oh so good!

Boxes are $6- additional donations are welcome.

If you are in town, stop by and grab a box!

We also have some super cute t-shirts designs for ladies/gentlemen. Be on the lookout for a post on the designs and ordering details!

Thanks again for your support.

 

Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice

Yesterday my dear friend, Chickadee, had quite an exciting day!

It's time to stock up on dresses, hair bows, bloomers, and all things pink!

That's right, Baby K is a darling baby GIRL!

I was so excited I could hardly stand it. After hearing the news we immediately headed into Gymboree to buy Baby K some much needed pink! Of course, I ended up buying her the sweetest little spring dress and cardigan {with a hair bow, of course}- in blue. :)  I love dressing baby girls in blue! No worries though, Baby K now has several sweet little girly, frilly, pink outifts!

I have been team pink all the way and was so excited see that little one is indeed going to be a frilly, sassy girl!

Now the fun begins! I cannot wait to start planning a girly baby shower :) And it's time to get started on the essential monogramming!

Chickadee has been my very best friend for the last 8 years. We've been through everything together. She was there for me every step of the way during my pregnancy. In fact, I found out I was expecting at her home. She knew before anyone. I've seen the Lord pour out so many blessings on her life in the last few years, and I am so blessed to be part of this special time in her life.

June cannot get here fast enough!

Birthday Weekend Recap

Oh my, I am getting so close to 30. Yesterday I turned twenty-eight. I'm excited about this age, but I think this is the age I will stop at ;) Remember when I mentioned that I have a thing with odd years? Even years always bring with them exciting things

. 

At 22 I graduated from college.

At 24 I finished my Ed.S. degree and bought our first home.

At 26 I had my daughter. Our little blessing from above.

I wonder what 28 will hold? Possibly our home selling? Starting an adoption process. We shall see.

Yes, I claimed the entire weekend as my special time. Today counts too, in case you didn't know :) The only good thing about being born in the middle of January when it's too cold to have 'fun birthday parties' is MLK day. It always falls right around my birthday, so I always get a three day weekend off for my special day. Be jealous.

Friday.
Mary Grace and I spent Friday afternoon with our pastor's sweet family. I had been asked to teach sweet KJ how to work her new sewing machine. She was so excited and her happiness is just contagious. Love that sweet girl!

Saturday.
My husband did a bit of light grocery shopping for me so I could relax in my jammies. He came back with ice cream, cup cakes, and birthday candles. We had our own little 'party' at home. Mary Grace has mastered blowing out the candles- just in time for her big second birthday.

Our computer crashed. Is it just me or is that like the number one most frustrating thing in the world? We took it to our pastor (who is very tech savvy). After thinking it over and praying, we decided to just upgrade rather than spend money on the older one.

We topped the night off with dinner at Mexico. MG's personality isn't the only spicy thing about her- apparently her appetite is also. She was devouring the salsa (which amazed everyone since it was so hot). Thankfully my husband feels the same as I do about having waiters singing to you, so he didn't give away our reason for eating out. I had no intentions of a singing group hover around me and shove ice cream up my nose (which is really what they do!). FYI: don't eat out with my mom on, or around, your birthday unless you are okay with embarrassment. She will rat you out. Every. Single. Time.

Sunday.
Sunday morning was our usual routine of Sunday school followed by morning worship. After church we headed to see my dad for my special day.

 Then we were off to Best Buy in search of a new computer (which I am claiming as my birthday gift ;) ) We ended up getting a laptop and a wireless router for our DSL. We figured since we may be moving soon, a laptop offers a bit more flexibility and will not take up as much space.

My view as I'm drafting this post :)

Before leaving town we made a pit stop by A&W Root Beer (my favorite). The little one was beginning to get pretty ill at this point since she had not napped. After dropping my two loves off at home, I headed to evening worship.

My SIL called to wish me happy birthday and share some exciting news: I'm going to be an aunt again! Our family is so excited for another little one to join the mix! I know it's too early to start calling things, but I am feeling a baby boy is on the way :)

Neat little story behind this: A couple of weeks ago I woke up with my SIL on my mind. I felt led to pray for her, so I did. I was a bit worried because the last two times this has happened, something not so good had occured. I texted her and told her I was lifting her up in prayer and hoped that everything was okay. I had a feeling it had something to do with a pregnancy. When she called me, she said they had just found out the night before I texted. She joked that she and my brother can't keep anything from me, because Jesus always lets me know something is happening. Now I know why she was on my heart so heavily.


There you have my weekend recap. Glamorous, right? haha
Today is jam packed for me. I'm spending time with my bestie- who, by the way, finds out what she is having today! I'm team pink all the way, and of course, be on the lookout this week for the big reveal here on the blog. I have a little shopping to do and then a sewing class this evening. Busy but fun day ahead!

Happy Monday!

I hope you are one of the lucky ducks that have the day off!