Monday, November 7, 2016

Weekend Festivities - Zoo Trip, S'mores, and New Furniture!

Raise your hand if you're exhausted!  
What a weekend!  Between the time change and just a busy busy schedule, I'm officially already counting the minutes until Friday.  And I kinda want tomorrow (election day) to just accidentally not happen. Can we just skip to Wednesday?  
Is that possible?
  
Now - onto our weekend recap!
Friday, I promised Andrew that I'd take him to the Zoo, because he's done such a great job with potty training!  I LOVE the Memphis Zoo.  If you're in the area, or passing through, it is a must-see.  It's so shaded, there are tons of awesome exhibits and shows, not to mention the 20 million dollar hippo exhibit that just opened!  

The kids had a blast in the 70 degree weather that we had (praise hands!), and Ellie is finally big enough to sit in the double stroller seats, instead of the car seat adapter.  I LOVE this double stroller by the way (it's this one).  








Speaking of animals, 
since the weather has gotten a little cooler, I brought out some of Andrew's old hats, and I had to make this side-by-side comparison of my two wittle mice ;)
(Andrew 6 months, Ellie 12 months)



Saturday, we shopped around for new furniture (see below), and I ran some more errands while John worked on our dining room table.  (also see below.)

Later, our dear friends came over to play and grill out!  It was perfect weather, and we had such a great time.  We even brought out our fire-pit for some s'more making!  It was Andrew's first s'more and he was definitely a fan!  (note the Halloween costume is still being worn on the daily ;))





Sunday morning came very early ;)  But I can't complain too much.  The kids woke up around 6:30am, which actually gave us more time to make our 8:15am church service on time.  Well sorta on time.  We just can't ever get out of the house on Sunday morning!

While the kids napped, I made a Crockpot Beef Stew - and it was delicious.  Perfect for these cooler temperatures, and who doesn't love a crock pot meal?  
Here's the recipe :)






We also set up our dining room chairs!  We got 8 of them, and plan on getting 2 more chairs that will go on the ends of the table.  Looking for similar ones, but with arm rests...
Now all we need is our table!  



Which hubby (and Andrew) are working on!!  The end is in sight!!



This is the base below, and the top is done as well!  
I'll be finishing and staining over the next 2 weeks, and then John will attach the top and base.
Just in time to host Thanksgiving!  I hope ;)  We're cutting it a little close!  


(for those of y'all wondering, it's an Ana White design, although John combined a few plans to make this custom one.  There's a similar table at Restoration Hardware too.)


And before I take down my Halloween/Fall decor, here's a quick shot of my mantle!  
Has anyone started decorating for Christmas? 




Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!
I'm off to watch the first episode of "The Crown" and do a few loads of laundry while Ellie naps...
 has anyone else watched it??

Image result for netflix the crown



Ok, before I go.
I won't say much about my thoughts on tomorrow except for this....
the one thing that gives me hope.

God is greater.  He is King.  He has always been, and forever will be.  
No matter what, we can put our hope, faith, and trust in Him. 
Leaders will come and go, but ONE thing remains, and that is God.
We will pray for our country, our leaders, and our neighbors,
 loving them even when they seem un-lovable.  
Because that's what we are called to do.  

Love you ALL.


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Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Halloween Weekend!


happy halloween!!

hope y'all had the best weekend!
here are a few pics from ours :)

we had a blast trick or treating in our new neighborhood with our new friends!  the kids loved knocking on the doors and filling their buckets with fruit snacks, chocolates, and lollipops galore!  Ellie loved riding along in the wagon and just soaking it all in!  Andrew didn't want to take his fireman costume off at the end of the night - he though it was the coolest thing ever ;)





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on saturday, we celebrated this cute baby's birthday!  annie and ellie are just 5 days apart!  it has been such a blessing parenting these girls with my dear friend courtney, and i know our babies will be the best of friends!!  







another big milestone in the family this weekend...
andrew is officially potty trained!  we are all SO proud - and he was thrilled to get treats and toys throughout the entire process!
(although i failed to realize this was halloween weekend, so his teeth very well may fall out in the next few days)  #candy24/7



also, these darling bow headbands arrived in the mail just in time for Fall, and they are just the cutest things ever!  the handmade bows are so soft and ellie actually keeps them on!  hooray!  go check out "little mint julep" on etsy!




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one more pic - 3 generations!  
loved having my parents in town for such a fun week!
love ya, dad!



ok, we are off to ellie's one year appointment!  
wasn't she just born?!

here's us from last year!  ellie was one week old!




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Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Welcome Back, and Ellie's First Birthday!

Well, hello there!
Welcome back to the ole blog :)

I'm here after a loooong hiatus (will write more on that later), and I'm so excited to get back to sharing our life and adventures with y'all.
In a nutshell - life is good!  So much has happened since I've blogged last, and I honestly just needed to take some time off.  Time to be present with family, to embrace this season of life, and change my focus a little bit.  I have missed blogging, and I'm always thankful for this little outlet that I have.

We are gonna kick this post off with Ellie's birthday weekend!  This little squish is ONE!
I don't know how, but a year has gone by.  God has given us the most precious gift in Ellie - one that has filled our family with the greatest joy, light, and laughter.  I don't know my heart grows every day with love for this child, but it does.  Every. Single. Day.  I love her more.

For Ellie's birthday, we invited the whole family for a day at Dabney Nursery's Harvest Day, and then back to our new (!!)  house for cake and presents.  We were blessed with perfect weather and everyone had the BEST day!  At the Harvest Day, the kiddos loved the petting zoo, train and wagon rides, turtle races, delicious BBQ lunch and more!

Back at our house, we played in the sunshine, decorated crafts, enjoyed yummy cake and cupcakes, opened gifts, and made the best memories.  It was truly one of the sweetest days ever.  Big ole thanks to everyone who came, and to my parents who always go above and beyond with their help and love for us. And thank you to my MIL for teaching me the tricks and tips of cake decorating!  I had SO much fun making Ellie's birthday cakes and cupcakes - it was so special!!
(Though I hated to have to cut through the pretty icing at the party!)

Ok - enough intro, here are the many pictures from the day!!




























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{thank you Rhonda for the kids' new teepee!  They love it!}

























Happy birthday sweet Ellie!!

(And again, welcome back to the blog, y'all!)


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