Monday, October 1, 2012

July, August, and September you were not forgotten....

With cooler weather, mums, pumpkins, creepy costumes, and everything else that comes in the month of October I thought this would be the perfect time to also do a recap on the past several months courtesy of my iPhone.









 



















*Happy 5 Months Evie*Goofball heads*Mumford and Sons*Good times*Let there be light*Uncle Nuzzle*Auntie Lovin'*I Heart Auntie*Summer Lovin'*Beach Bums*Happy 6th Months E!*Happy Birthday to You, You Live in a Zoo!*"This is the best birthday EVER!"*Birthday Buds*Bikin' Birthday*Wheelin' and Dealin'*Birthday Party Swim*Dennis the Menace Overkill*Super Fast School Shoes*Kindergarten!*Family Photo Op-"We Tried"*Chancey Hear I Come!*1st Day!*Tear, Tear*Big K Crash & Burn*YeeHaw!*Pre-Game Warm Up*Go Cards!*Sweet Girl*She's Already 7 Months!?!?*Melting My Heart*Grand-babies!*Kissy-kiss*KAAA*POW!*Saturday Morning Moment*

Thursday, September 27, 2012

The longest vacation in history

So there has obviously been a huge gap from my last post until now. My family and I went on vacation and then it was like we never returned (according to my blog), but let me assure you we did return. Just a little thing called "life" happened.

By the way I have missed you.


Where do I even start? I guess at the beginning......

Our last minute (because that's how we roll), much-needed vacation to the beach served it's purpose.


 We rested and played and enjoyed being with just us; just our family.



Everything was so good. Laying on the beach reading at one moment, then hitting the waves with Simms and his new boogie board (that has a painting of a kind-of-creepy, yet groovy gigantic eyeball) the next moment.


Building "the world's bestest sandcastle,"




and then eating fresh seafood directly in front of where it used to be swimming.





Letting my son truly be a kid, and not hold all these high expectations over his head for him to be better than I was, for one moment.




Enjoying simple, yummy food in Seaside that I swear I am going to make one day in my kitchen for breakfast.... brown sugar, praline bacon, on a homemade biscuit smothered in melted pimento cheese with a side of green chili, white cheddar grits. My mouth is salivating just sharing this.


And just being thankful for the few days to breath normal, and not worry about what tomorrow is going to bring. 

But "tomorrow" did come, just as it always does, and it surprised us....



And honestly scared us and wrecked us and woke us up and left me feeling defenseless, like I had nothing to cling to, with no where to go or grow. I felt bare. 

Just as my husband sort of feels without his beard.


But, the Lord has and is covering us with His grace and is growing me; growing us, into better people than we were before. 

Sort of like Matt's beard.....


better than it was before.....tomorrow I might feel different. 

But just for now that's how I see it.



Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Home Stay


It was another morning…..I woke from a deep sleep by the sound of my 5-year-old running down the hall and slamming open our bedroom door.
“We have got to tighten the screws on that door knob; it’s about to fall off,” I thought as I wiped drool from the right side of my face.
Simms was my alarm for yet another morning. He is a morning person. It’s like he already had five cups of coffee. I know; letting my son wake me up….lazy parenting….I should have waken up an hour ago, had five cups of coffee and read my Bible. What’s it to ya?
Simms asked to crawl up in bed with me and I quickly obliged. He won’t want to snuggle for that much longer so I’ll take all I can get. I worked full-time his first year of life, missed his first steps; yep I got a call at work from his babysitter and found that out, and I am sure many other firsts that I have blocked out of my memory; so now I will hold him as long as he will let me. A few minutes later we heard my baby girl on the monitor. She is also a morning person. I do not know where our kids got that gene, but not from us. She will gurgle, talk, and cough till someone will get her. Then as soon as I enter her room a smile takes over her entire face.
I get up, ungracefully, with morning breath and make my way to the bathroom.
“I have to clean this place up today,” I thought.
I brush my teeth, put a sports bra on, and throw on a t-shirt dress. I contemplate putting on underwear…they are so binding….but then begrudgingly decide to put some on. I then pull my red hair half-way back, and go get my little baby.
After I feed Evie the world is finally coming into focus and I decide it is time for coffee.  I need my caffeine. A headache is coming on already and I need it. I need it with cream and sugar, and with this 97 degree heat in the south, iced.  I need it. I need it. I need it like the air I breath. I am starting to sound like an addict, but I need it. I need the taste, I need that jolt, I need it.
This is my routine every morning.
I place Evie in her little bassinet and push it out to the living room, let Simms watch some cartoons, and curl up on the left corner of the couch and watch my kids.
As I am sitting there I look at our 12-year-old carpet, like it’s my child about to get a spanking and dream about hardwood floors one day.
I let my mind wander some more. I dream of writing from home and having a New York Times best-seller, I dream of finally organizing our walk-in closet perfectly and it staying that way (yea right!), I dream of taking the family on vacation for an entire week without a budget (I know, not very practical), I dream of having no debt, I dream of a perfectly manicured lawn and flawlessly decorated house of vintage finds, but then my mind wanders to a time where I used to dream of THIS. Sitting on the couch, with my beloved coffee and staying home with my even more (if you can believe it) beloved kids. Watching them grow and learn, laugh and love, and not missing a solitary moment.
So here’s to dreams, living your dreams, and having them come true. Here’s to storing those dreams and treasures where it matters….in Heaven with my Maker. The Maker of truth and everything else.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Just June

Another month has flown by so here is a little taste of the "pennyless" life in the month of June.
















*"I Heart Mommy"*Happy 4-month birthday!*Alison and Evie*A Sleep Sandwich*Congrats Mr. & Mrs. Greenwell!*Daddy's Girl*"It's just me and you watching Spy Kids"*Bieber Fever*Wrestling with His Buddy*Big Bro and Sis*Cutie Patootie*My Sleeping Beauty*Her Happy Pic*Vintage Finds at The Butterfly Garden