What's Poppin'?

Mia and I have a new fun activity...poppin' popcorn!

My mother-in-law gave us their old air popper and we LOVE it!  I'm pretty sure we had one like it when we were growing up, so it brings back memories of Sunday nights.  We would pop a huge bowl*, grab a pepsi and watch Murder She Wrote as a family.  (I know...it sounds weird now that I am an adult that we watched that, but I think it was one of my mom's favorite shows.  It wouldn't have mattered what we watched though...we just enjoyed being together as a family on Sunday nights.)

After I met Caleb I learned that his parents LOVE popcorn too.  And not the kind you put in the microwave...the kind that you cook on the stove.  Ahhhh....I fell in love.  "Real" popcorn tastes so much better to me.  The only problem is that I never got the hang of cooking it myself.  It was either too chewy or too burned.  YUCK!

But now popping popcorn is SO EASY!  You literally pour some kernels in the top, put a bowl under it, and plug it in.  Then you stand in awe (or squeal if you are Mia) as you watch the kernels pop up and down and change into popcorn!

(Totally wish I would have focussed on her face instead of the popcorn here.  I love that she is so amazed by it!)

Pour some butter on it.  Add some salt.  Snuggle under a blanket on the couch in your pajamas with your toddler.  Ahhh...pure bliss. :)


*or clam dip


(The pics were from our first batch 2 days ago.  We finished it this morning, so we made some more.)

Caught in the act...

...of loving. :)

I looked over today and saw Mia loving on Ellie Grace while she watched T.V.  Now doesn't that just melt your heart?  I've prayed for their relationship since before Ellie Grace was born.  I can't wait to watch them grow up together.  Mmmmm....my heart is happy. :)

However, the "loving" had to stop when I saw the blanket go over Ellie Grace's head. haha  Yes, there is a baby under there.

Have a FANTASTIC day!!!!!

Hooray for Fish...

...and HOORAY for my little Mia Jubilee!  I am SO thankful for her that it literally takes my breath away sometimes.

She's here! (and is already FOUR days old!)

We love our sweet Ellie Grace.  She is the perfect addition to our family...

Caleb was playing around with Ellie Grace's toes last night.  They are so tiny!

She is so sweet...

And check out her awesome big sister!...

 This is the "I'm about to wake up and want to eat" face.  

Still waking up...

Mia LOVES to show Ellie Grace to everyone who comes over.  

THEN she'll acknowledge you and give you a hug...

Check out this cutie pie owl that my friend, Maria, gave Ellie Grace.  Isn't it sweet?  Mia makes sure that Ellie Grace has it at all times.  :)

This is how I find Mia Jubilee at random times throughout the day.  She just likes to stare at her.  :)

My mom brought us some flowers from her garden.  "They represent your family." she said.  "There are two big ones and two little ones." (they were buds yesterday before I took the pic)  And guess what Caleb found last night?  ANOTHER tiny one hidden within the pack.  haha  Prophetic?  Who knows!  Not any time soon though!!!!

Making cookies with Grandma today!...

The "fun-ness" of my life has increased exponentially in the past 4 days!  It is indescribable how happy I am. :)

More pics coming soon!!!!

(P.S...If you aren't a follower of the blog and you want to keep up with pics of my sweet family, you may want to subscribe.  I'll probably post more on the blog now that Facebook is a little cuh-razy! :)

Sleeping Beauties...

Who needs T.V. when you have this to look at?

Ellie Grace will arrive....

...ANY TIME NOW!!!!

I went to the doctor this morning and I am 3-4 cm!  YAY!!!!

The doctor thinks that I will have Ellie Grace on my own tonight, but she scheduled an induction for tomorrow morning just in case.

Can you believe it?!!!!!  I am so excited!  I'll definitely keep you all posted and let you know when she arrives!  In the mean time, please pray for a quick and easy delivery.

Natalie

You've gotta meet her...

Meet my friend, Abby!

(I took this pic from the WHHS website.)

She is...

Crazy smart

Witty

Hilariously Sarcastic

Athletic

Mildly Sympathetic :)

Coach

FCA teacher representative

Heart for kids

Amazing Teacher

Science Department Head at Wade Hampton High School

Loyal Friend

Cancer Survivor

Child of God

Life of the Party

Artist

Dependable 

I love my friend!  Many of you know her and love her too.  :)  

Now if she would only become a follower of my blog.  Then I could add that to the list of reasons why I love her so much. 

Have a GREAT day, everyone!  Enjoy your friends today!!!!! :)

An encouraging word for moms...

Some days it's hard to be a mommy.  It's way different than working out of the home...at least for me it is.  In fact, most days I don't really feel affirmed and appreciated.  Sound selfish and prideful?  Maybe.  But as I talked to more and more SAHM I realized that I'm not alone.  So when my friend, Laura, sent this to a group of us moms, I knew I had to pass it along!

"When service is unto people , the bones can grow weary, the frustration deep. Because agrees Dorothy Sayers, "whenever man is made the center of things, he becomes the storm-center of trouble. The moment you think of serving people you begin to have a notion that other people owe you something for your pains...you will begin to bargain for reward, to angle for applause...
When the laundry is for the dozen arms of children or the dozen legs,, it's true. I think I'm due some appreciation. SO comes the storm of trouble and lightening strikes joy. But when Christ is center, when dishes, laundry, work, is my song of thanks to him, joy rains"

Sound like a familiar verse? Col. 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men."

Need a little MORE encouragement?  Watch this short video:

Thanks for the encouraging words, Laura!  Now off to continue building my sweet Little Monument. :)

She IS pretty cute, huh?

Two of my new favorite things...

Baby stuff if expensive!  There's a TON of cool stuff out there, but so much of it is just that...cool.  Not a necessity.  So when I got pregnant with Mia, I tried to be smart when registering so that I could get help buying what I really NEEDED.

When I first heard of baby video monitors I thought, "That's not a must have, I sure don't want other people (neighbors) looking into my baby's crib, PLUS they are expensive."  Well...all last year I wished and wished that I had one.  Seriously!  There were so many times that I would creep into Mia's room to check on her, and somehow she would "know" I was in there and wake up.  UGH!!!!!

Fast forward a year...

I'm pregnant with baby girl #2.  There are three things that I REALLY want:

1. A GOOD baby swing!  (I bought Mia's at a yard sale and she hated it.  I mean, I should have known by looking at it how uncomfortable it was.)

2. Video Monitor

3. Double Stroller

My mom and sister went in together and bought me this swing:

Now THAT looks comfortable, huh?  You can check it out here.  I can't wait to put Ellie Grace in it!!!!

My mother-in-law gave money toward the monitor, I sold a swing set on Craigslist, AND got a 20% off coupon to get the money for this AWESOME video monitor...

And my sweet friends that came to my baby shower gave money so that I could buy the fabulous double stroller that I wanted (plus I got a 25% off coupon for trading in an old stroller)...

So let me tell you why two of these have already become my favorites:

1.  The video monitor is AWESOME!!!!  I used to go into Mia's room and just stare and stare at her.  All of you mamas know that there is nothing sweeter than your sleeping baby.  Now I just turn the monitor on and stare. :)  This monitor is extra cool because you can scan the room AND it zooms in and out.  Plus, I don't have to worry about it picking up other babies down the street.  This monitor is synced at the warehouse for safety.  I haven't had any problems so far.   It's also been fun to watch Caleb interact with Mia when he doesn't know I'm watching. :)

2.  This double stroller rocks my face off!  First of all, I wanted something good, but I didn't want to pay BOB prices.  I'm not planning on taking these kiddos down trails, so I don't need the BEST, just something great. :)  I initially wanted a different chicco stroller, but the one that I had my eye on has been discontinued, and I couldn't find one ANYwhere.  So...I started researching again and totally fell in love with the one I showed you above.  If you're interested in learning more about it, watch this video.  Mia LOVES it already and it's soooo easy to use.  We use it a lot already.  In fact, I took her for a walk this morning in hopes to speed this process along. :)

So there you have it...two of my new faves!

I'm sure when Ellie Grace gets here and I have a chance to use my swing, I'll be posting about how much I love that too!

Only a week and a half until her due date!!!

It's getting close!...

Ellie Grace will be here soon!  Her due date is two weeks from tomorrow. :)  Little Mia is seriously going to be the best big sister!  Look at how well she takes care of her babies now...

This child is so goofy!

I guess the only thing she needs to work on is putting some cute clothes on her babies.  haha  I promise we won't let Ellie Grace go naked all day. :)

Our identity...

One of my friends sent me this from her devotional today.  Please take the time to read it.  It's so important that we understand our identity. :)  Love y'all!

September 6, 2011
The Power of the Holy Spirit in You!

Sharon Jaynes

Today’s Truth
Jesus said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” (Acts 1:8 NIV).

Friend to Friend
“I’m not good enough.” Have you ever said or thought those words? 

The truth is if you have made Jesus the Lord of your life, then you have the power of the Holy Spirit living in you and working through you. Jesus said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” (Acts 1:8).  You have God’s incomparably great power at your disposal. “That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms…” (Ephesians 1:19-20). The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work within us?  Yep.  The same power.

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth” (don’t you just love it when He says that), anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing.  He will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12).  Did He just say that?  Yep.  What does going to the Father have to do with the power we receive?  Because once Jesus went to the Father, the Holy Spirit came to live in believers.  “If you love me, you will obey what I command.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-the Spirit of truth” (John 14:15-16).

Holocaust survivor Corrie ten Boom spent the last years of her life speaking to men and women all around the world about the God who sustained her during her imprisonment and who delivered her from the Nazi prison camps.  During one of her presentations, she held up a lady’s white glove.

“What can this white glove do?” she asked. Then she went on to explain…           

“The glove can do nothing. “Oh, but if my hand is in the glove, it can do many things…cook, play the piano, write.  Well, you say that is not the glove but the hand in the glove that does it.  Yes, that is so.  I tell you that we are nothing but gloves. The hand in the glove is the Holy Spirit of God. Can the glove do something if it is very near the hand?  No! The glove must be filled with the hand to do the work. That is exactly the same for us:  We must be filled with the Holy Spirit to do the work God has for us to do.”

It is time to see yourself as God sees you. No more living in a house of mirrors looking at a distorted image of who you are.  This is how God sees you.

You are a child of God. John 1:12
You are justified- completely forgiven. Romans 5:1
You are free from condemnation. Romans 8:1
You have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:16
You have been made righteous. 2 Corinthians 5:21
You have been blessed with every spiritual blessing. Ephesians 1:3
You are righteous and holy.  Ephesians 4:24
You have been redeemed and forgiven of all your sins. Colossians 1:14
You are a dwelling place for Christ. He lives in you. Colossians 1:27
You are complete in Christ. Colossians 2:10
You are chosen of God, holy and dearly loved. Colossians 3:12
You have been given a spirit of power, love and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7
You have been given exceedingly great and precious promises by God by which you are a partaker of God’s divine nature. 2 Peter 1:4

And that, my friend is only the beginning!  Say these verses out loud.  Speak to your soul.  Believe the truth about who you are.  You are more than good enough because of who lives in you and works through you.

Now It’s Your Turn
I’ve given you a lot to think about today.  Go back up to the verses listed in today’s devotion and put a check by the ones that you have a difficult time believing for yourself.  Now, choose to believe the truth, regardless of how you feel.  When you choose the truth, you will be renewing your mind!  

Check out Romans 12:2 to learn what happens when we renew our minds with the truth.

The above verses are so good!  I'll probably end up printing them out and posting them on my mirror.  So many people are confused about who they are.  I hope this devotional speaks to you today.  Thanks for sharing, Amy! 

Quick CASH! :)

Want to know how to make some quick cash?  One word...

Craigslist.

It's simple, convenient, and if you price your stuff right...it's quick!

Point in case, last night I listed these two items:

$40 for the mini-fridge (retails for $75 new)

$150 for the swing set (retails for $560 new)

Both of these items were given to me and I got great use out of them.

By the time morning rolled around, we had about 10 interested buyers for the swing set and a hand full of people interested in the fridge.  WHAT?!!!!  Heck yeah!

It always makes you question whether or not you should have asked more money, however I have learned to remind myself of the following:

1. Choose a price that you are willing to live with.  Ask that price.  Don't regret it later.

2. You want to sell it quickly!  If you are willing to sit on it for a while, go ahead and ask more.  

3. Good deals are a blessing to other people! (I always feel so blessed when I find a good deal.  It's kind of like the "pay it forward" concept. :)

4. You'll usually get more selling it on CL than if you split the profit with a consigner.

So go ahead and try it!  It can't hurt.  All you have to do is:

-take a picture of the item (Trust me...no picture = WAY less likely to sell)

-post it ("sell it" in the description)  I often will include a link to the original item so that buyers can read the reviews and see the original description

-be honest about the condition (you don't want someone to get to your house and end up not buying it)

-know ahead of time what your bottom dollar is

-be willing to meet someone for pick up (if you don't feel comfortable with a stranger coming to your house)

-make sure they pay in CASH!!!

-I also include Caleb's cell phone number in the add and let people know they can call or text for more info.  This has helped things sell very quickly!

There ya go!  Happy selling!  Share your CL stories with me.  I'm posting a couple more things on there tonight.  Hopefully I'll have the same success that I've had in the past.  I've always sold my stuff in less than 48 hours.  That, my friends, makes me happy! :)

She's going to be a natural...

Mia is going to be the BEST big sister!  She spends the majority of her playtime feeding her babies, changing diapers, pushing them in strollers, wrapping them in blankets, holding them, and asking "You okay, Baby?" after they fall on the floor.  She is going to be such a great big sister!  Only three more weeks! (OR LESS!!!!)

There's no doubt about it...

...I am officially a minivan mom now.  However, I like to refer to it as my "swagger wagon".

A little over a year ago I saw this hilarious video by Toyota...

And honestly...I think I'm an even cooler mom, and Caleb is an even cooler/ WAY HOTTER daddy!

After two months of not having AC in my car, I now have a luxurious, spacious, dependable, AIR CONDITIONED vehicle!  I'm still not sold on the minivan image, but when I am riding down the road in my van, I could not be any happier.  Remember my post about it being the sweatpants of the car world?  Well, it's true! :)  This van is crazy comfortable and practical.  In fact, it makes me want to go on a trip just so I can ride in it.  haha  (Watch out all of you who live out of town!...I may just show up on your doorstep one day!)

Ok...I know I am getting a little over-excited about this van, but I really am SO THANKFUL that the Lord has blessed us with this.  It makes a mommy feel good to get her baby out of the car withOUT a sweaty head.  (Even when we DID have AC, it wasn't in the back of the car....NOW it is!!!!!!)

So all of you mamas out there who are considering buying a van, go for it!  You won't regret it! :)

Check out our Chrysler Town and Country below.  (We still need to name her.  Any suggestions?)

:)

A quick "Must Read" for the day...

My friend, Rebecca, posted this simple (but extremely powerful) thought...

God loves us.
  At all times.
    He's never not greatly loving us.
God is good.
  At all times.
    He's never not good.





Let's all take a deep breath (inhale now)... and let that soak in today. :)

Resting in the Mountains...kind of. :)

Ellie Grace will be here in a couple weeks, so when our friends invited us to join them at their mountain house for the weekend, we quickly accepted.  We probably won't celebrate our anniversary until later (since Ellie is due two days before our anniversary) so getting away for the weekend sounded so fun!

And FUN it was!

We went on hikes, ate awesome food, played hilarious games once the kiddos went to sleep, the guys did "guy things" outside, etc...etc...etc!  It is an amazing piece of property on over 100 acres!

We went on several "hikes".  I love how Mia had to have a stick like her Daddy.

(Caleb literally had to push me up the hill on several of the steep parts.  hahahahaha!!!!)

Check out all of the awesome trees!

Cute little cabin on the property.

Field / pond across from the cabin.  The kids loved to run in it.

Mia and Hudson taking a stroll. :)

LOVE when her little hand holds his finger. :)

PRECIOUS picture!  His smile cracks me up!

sweetness

Soon to be family of FOUR! :)

Flying with Daddy!

She always asks him to fly her.

Doesn't his smile bring you joy?

Logan picked some fresh tomatoes for our lunch.

Caleb found a tiny lizard.  They LOVED it!

Coloring with Tia!

Cameron was the UNO king!  And he JUST learned how to play! :)

Cleaning the floors! haha

F.U.N.

It's raining!  But we are guys, so we'll stay out here and continue to throw rocks and carve wood.

Ok...so apparently they were throwing LOGS.  Watch out!

Drinking the rain!

We took a car ride down the mountain in hopes to stop at the taxidermist.  (Kids love animals, right?)  Unfortunately it was closed, but the ride in the van was an adventure in itself.

Carving/ Widdling... Whatever you call it.  The guys made spears and other sharp things to throw.

Check out these warriors and their spears. :)

Caleb actually DID carve a pretty cool weapon.  It was tied together with vines.  My manly man. :)

Another weapon...a boys dream. :)

Don't let Hudson's size fool you.  He has brute strength.

Eating delicious cherries with your cousin.  Could life get any better?

The guys also played flag football.  The littlest team member stayed inside with us. :)

Off on our hike to the waterfall.

My family. :)

The hike turned a little more treacherous.

But we made it!  (Yes...I know I am ginormous!)

Again...the smile.  I can't get enough of it!

The Wolframs!

The kids enjoyed playing at the bottom of the waterfall.

Another house on the property.  This one has a really cool (and a bit scary) story!

Here's the crew!  Can't wait to go back!!!!