This time last year I was counting contractions in between bites of Thanksgiving Dinner. Where has the year gone?! I’m pretty sure I swore that I would never eat Thanksgiving dinner again while I was throwing it up once active labor kicked in (TMI? Probably, but that’s how I roll!). I’m glad my memory is foggy on that proclamation, because I would have been very sad to forgo the yumminess of Thanksgiving dinner this year!  We celebrated the day with Bryson’s parents, sister and her family. I kept feeling like something was missing, but then I remembered that the past two years have been pretty epic Thanksgivings…last year going into labor with Meyer and the year before Bryson and I were in India traveling when we got the call that we had passed court and Evyn was our daughter. So, no offense to those whom we celebrated Turkey day with this year, but I missed that epic feeling that I have had the past two years!  But regardless of the lacking life-changing moments, it was delicious and full of fun! We were thankful to have The Wherry’s here for a visit and get to spend some time with their sweet boys. Nash and Evyn especially loved hanging out with them!

We really do  have so very much to be thankful for. Jesus is good.

Here are some pictures of the little people enjoying the festivities.

Cousins...

mimi!

This food is goooooood!

But helping with dessert is REALLY GOOD!

We exchanged early christmas gifts with the cousins and Meyer was obviously excited about her new book...

Nash loving the supper...

Evyn was beyond Thrilled with her new princess shoes and accessories!

And matching pj’s courtesy of Mimi. This is fun until they are about 10…then it becomes really mean. I’m just glad the don’t come in adult sizes. 

We just finished celebrating Meyer’s birthday so I will post on that tomorrow! Good night friends!

Miss Meyer is working hard to figure out how to stand and walk. She can now pull herself up on anything but just can’t seem to get her feet moving once she is standing. No matter how many times you watch a little person learn to walk, it never gets old! It is so precious to see her reach these little milestones and beam with pride. It won’t be long until she is chasing her big brother and sister! How is my baby getting to be such a big girl!

Little miss Evyn was looking adorable (as always, if I do say so myself!:)) this morning and was even in the mood for mama to snap a few pictures. I always embrace those moments and snap away! Here are some of the cute shots I got of my little model in the making.  (BTW, Evyn calls this particular hair style, “The Pirate”. Funny girl!)

Miami, baby!

Bryson swept me away for a 48 hour getaway to Miami Beach this past weekend. Thanks to some sweet friends, we had a gift certificate to stay in the Ritz Carlton in South Beach. What, what!? Such a fun treat!! We are not Ritz Carlton people — we are more like, “what can we get for cheap on Hotels.com?” kind of people — or even more realistic, “do we know any friends that live there that we can stay with?” kind of people, so staying in the fancy-smancy-pillows-as-soft-as-marshmallows-Ritz was a SUPER treat!! The weather was AMAZING. The beach beautiful. People watching HILARIOUS! Lazy-poolside-relaxing was good for my soul. The local Cuban food was yummy to my tummy. AND my traveling partner could not have been sweeter. So glad my husband is my best friend!

The palm tree I stared at all day long...soaking in a little slice of paradise.

Special shout out to Mimi and PopPop for lovin’ on our kids while we were away. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!

I’m a big time believer that getaway weekends without kids is VITAL for marriage healthiness…have you gotten away recently with your man?

…had a farm, e i e i o! And on his farm he had a….dog, a chicken, and a pig!

What a fun night hanging out with friends and dressing our kids in ridiculous outfits! I love halloween! The kids did great this year and really enjoyed going house to house. Evyn was fearless and proclaimed “TRICK OR TREAT” to whomever might listen, Nash was a little cautious (and armed with his flashlight so we didn’t loose our way), and Meyer of course, was just along for the ride with a smile on her face.  It was a fun evening! Here are some more pictures of our first Halloween in Underwood Hills…

with a "woof woof" here...

and an "oink, oink" here....

and a "chick, chick" here...

show me those pearly whites...

Nash had a leash that I held as we walked along. So funny!

a farmer's work is never done...

Mrs. Old McDonald and her prize chicken.

The livestock...

The Dog rounding up the chickens...

Pig and Dog are sweet friends....

This girl LOVED trick or treating...

just one more of the cutest chicken in the world...

Halloween was a blast, but the best news of the day was that we picked up Bryson from the airport this morning!! Yay!!!  He has been in Nepal and India for the past 2 weeks so he was a trooper trick – or – treating with us tonight even though he is so jet lagged he could have fallen over at any moment. We are so glad he is home!! This mama is so much happier (and sane) when my man is home!

Meyer on the move really means, Meyer the Mess Maker….

Case and point: A perfectly neat and organized pantry can be “reorganized” by Meyer in just a few minutes. Sorry about your pantry Mimi!

She looks so innocent, how could you be mad at this little face!

Back in action...

I really love this age baby! Meyer constantly make me laugh with her silly faces, funny dance moves, and eagerness to learn to walk. Simply precious. I also love how Evyn has really fallen in love with her sister and is constantly kissing on her, helping feed her (or helping EAT Meyer’s cheerios!). I continue to pray that God would bond these two sisters and that they would forever be the best of friends. My little sister is my dearest friend, and I want that for my daughters.

Me and my punkin’ lil’s had a fun (and full!) day at a North Georgia pumpkin patch with our dear Mimi. Here are some a lot of sweet pictures of our morning adventure…

When did my baby become a little man??

Thumbs up for the kids first ever hayride...

Feeding the goats...

Corn maze...

Mimi + Meyer...look at those 2 big front teeth! Love it!

Evyn was a little scared of the hayride. Good thing for big brothers.

kisses for baby.

Silliness.

I tried to get a pic of all three of them smiling and frolicking through the pumpkin patch...but alas, this is the best of my efforts! They look annoyed at me for taking so many picutres. They will thank me one day....one day!

I was catching up with some friends from Athens last week and they asked how Meyer was doing. I answered, “She’s great! Always happy and it’s hard to believe she is 9 months old.” To which Bryson said, “Um, honey? Meyer is 11 months old next week. She turns one in November.” My jaw dropped. Where have the last 2 months gone– let alone the last year? I was sure she was only 9 months old. Poor third baby…mama just can’t keep up with all the milestones! Meyer has had a full few months. Now that she is on the move (army crawl is her speciality) she can get anywhere she wants, and fast (even the bottom of a flight of stairs, but that’s a story for a different day!). And her quick access around the floor means she can find all sorts of awesome things to “eat” that her brother and sister leave within her reach. You know things like: legos, pennies, bandaids, paper and grapes. Awesome. I’m constantly checking her mouth for these little choke-able treasures. In other big news, Meyer finally has teeth!! Four teeth to be exact and they all arrived at the same time last week. Zero to Four almost overnight. But she just smiles through it all and keeps the crown for being the worlds happiest baby. This year is going way to fast.

Cubby cheek beauty in a homemade bow...

Happy girl eating her finger foods...

Smiles so big it looks like it might hurt. Love! (before the top teeth broke through)

Her "funny face". She has been making the funniest faces with her lips. I think her teeth hurt which make her do funny things with her mouth. It's hilarious!

I smell like campfire, and I like it. I wish I could go back in time and tell my 12 year old self that. See, we just got home from spending a beautiful (like, seriously beautiful!) October day at Vogel State Park — or as my kids call it, VogelTANZ State Park. We did nothing but sit around a campfire pit with friends, eat, and play in the creek and dirt. The campfire part was especially nice. You don’t realize you smell like campfire until you are away from it, so as we got home this evening and put the kids to bed I caught a wiff of myself and the first thing I thought was, “I smell like BACON”! Why? Because when I was 12 years old I spent a day, similar to this very day, hanging out with friends around a campfire. Then I headed to youth group at my church where a boy (who I happened to have a major crush on at the time) told me with a look of disgust on his face, “You smell like bacon!” I was of course crushed because no girl wants to smell like bacon! That, my friends, was my first memory of feeling completely insecure around a boy. Now 20 years later…yes, 20 years later, that memory was the first thing to come to mind when I smelled the campfire smoke on my skin tonight. It is amazing how words have so much power! Even (or especially?) words spoken by a zitty-faced 12 year old boy! So let’s give that old insecurity a good laugh and put it to rest! No, self, I don’t smell like bacon. I smell like a campfire — and I like it. It reminds me of the beautiful day I just had and brings back lots of memories of childhood summers sitting around the fire with my family and at camp. I just so happen to like smelling like a campfire!

Thanks for letting me “air out” (yes, pun intended!) that old memory, folks. I feel a little more free now that I have gotten that out in the open.

Tell me I’m not the only one who has funny (random?!) memories like this? My brain full of them!!

If I could bottle up some of life’s sweet moments, this would be one of them…

Sic em’! woof woof woof woof woof….

Because my work on Passion 2012 has picked up and I need a little more work time during the week, Nash and Evyn get to go to a Mother’s Morning Out program one morning a week at a local church. It’s hardly “school”, but it is the first structured classroom experience either of them have had (outside of sunday school)…so I just HAD to capture their “first day of school” picture for memory sake….

Excited. Beyond excited.

This child is always dancing around and making funny songs and faces...just like this.

These little people are growing up WAY too fast. Sigh.

We are squeezing the last drops out of summer around here!!  We just returned from yet another trip to the beach!! So blessed!! I can’t believe we have been able to go to the beach 3 times this summer. My heart is full!! I haven’t been to the ocean this much in a summer since my college days working at Barefoot RV in Myrtle Beach as a Summershiner! Oh the memories!!  Our first time to the beach this summer the kids didn’t like it (especially Evyn!)…the second time they were warming up to it, but it was so very hot (never going to the Gulf in July again!)…the third time was just right (Amazing!)! Except for our little run in with Tropical Storm Lee the first couple days, the weather worked itself out the rest of the week was PERFECTION. Nice breeze, cool mornings, warm afternoons, clear skies, crystal clear water, powder white sand. Ahhhhhh! Can I go back please???!!

It was a joy to spend the week with Mimi and Pop Pop! Such a sweet blessing that they shared the week with our crazy crew! Here are a few pictures from our final summer adventure along the beaches of 30A in Florida (I left my camera at home so I have limited pictures to share! Oh well…memories are better in the mind than what can be captured with a camera anyway!)

Hello Tropical Storm Lee....I've never seen such huge waves on the Gulf!!!

Thanks to Tropical Storm Lee our entertainment the first few days at the beach was jumping in puddles.

Happy Mama...

Daddy + Nash = silliness

We are not a photogenic family. I've accepted that.

Yep, that's more like it.

Meyer is always happy...well, almost always.

Meyer enjoyed the beach...and eating sand.

Pop Pop and Nash...

wind blown hair is a good look on Nash...

Our "jungle" walk to the beach...

She knows she's cool.

Another shot of Evyn's "scarf sari"...I think this look is so IN this season! (and the topless mermaid in the background should consider getting one herself! A little modesty miss mermaid!)

Wow. I just finished reading the 3 book Mark of the Lion Series by Francine Rivers.

Uh-mazing.

I think I am about 10 years behind the times on learning about these books, but I am so glad I finally picked the first book off my night stand and read it (it’s been sitting there for 3 years!)! I could not put it down. Literally. I read the first book in 2 days and the second book in less than 24 hours! Needless to say, the laundry and the house work got neglected but my heart fed. They are fictional books…a love story…but the truth of Jesus is woven throughout the entire story. Even though it is fictional book, the Truth in the story really challenged me spiritually. I wasn’t expecting that when I began reading!

So, if you have time (or even if you don’t) and need a good book, check out the Mark of the Lion series (especially the first two books: Voice in the Wind and Echo in the Darkness). I hope you love them as much as I have!

Anyone else out there a big fan of The Mark of Lion books?? What are some other great books I should read? You know, in my spare time…

Anyone else out there addicted to Pinterest? I was obsessed for about 2 weeks but, thankfully my infatuation has died down a bit over the past few weeks and I am not as tempted to “pin” away all my free time. If you don’t know what Pinterest is, it’s an online bulletin board where you can post pictures/ideas/recipes/anything you like from any website and it keeps it all organized for you. It’s all about your style, finding cool things other people are doing and “pinning” them to one of your boards. It’s a brilliant concept…and really fun! ANYWAY…it hit me after 2 weeks of “pinning” really cool stuff that other people are doing, that, “why am I just sitting on my butt, starring at my computer screen and looking at all the cool ideas other people are doing? I’m cool (not really, but I was just giving myself a pep talk trying to convince myself that I was cool). I should DO something cool.”

So I set out to create some cool decor for my real world.

I needed something special in Meyer’s room and so I created this (i think it looks better in real life, but i could not get my camera to cooperate)…

I created this mobile over her crib made with branches I found outside. I cut and glued assorted shades of green leaves onto the tips of the branches then hung paper flowers from Hobby Lobby from the limbs. It looks really adorable and I was so pleased with how it turned out.

I have a thing for branches. I love love love how they look inside a house. I love repurposing something that most people look at as trash and work into my home decor style. Branches are part of my style. I could have a whole Pinterest page just dedicated with branch decor.

My box + branches...this has been used in every house for the past 8 years! My husband always makes me throw away the branches when we move...but then I always make him go hunt for some new ones when we arrive at our new house. He loves that.

Nothing is more homey to me than a branch wreath. Love the simplicity of it.

So that’s a little snapshot of “my style”! Whatcha think?

Tropical storm Lee is putting a damper on our getaway to the beach, but we are safe and keeping dry, so I have not place to complain. We managed to get out of the house today and went to lunch about 30 minutes away from where we are staying. Just as we are entering the restaurant, Evyn informs me she has to “make some waters”. That means she’s gotta go peepee, folks. Of course I scooped her up as quickly as I could and checked out the surroundings for the nearest potty. But it was too late. I knew immediately when I picked her up that she had in fact already, “made the waters”. Sigh.

Of course she was wearing a one piece number so there was no way to just replace the bottoms and get on with life. And, of course I didn’t have another outfit for her in the car. AND, of course I didn’t have ANY clothing in the car, period. All I had was scarf. Mimi and I looked in a few stores for a kid size t-shirt, but with no luck. The scarf was going to have to do. A few twists and a tie and, “tada” you have yourself a little sari dress…

As I carried Evyn into the restaurant to meet up with the rest of the family I wanted to bust out laughing, but didn’t want her to feel self conscience. She looked hilarious…and absolutely beautiful all at the same time. She has that essence (and confidence!) about her that she can literally put on ANYTHING and look gorgeous. Even her mom’s scarf!

That was my Monday Macgyger Moment…

We had so much fun celebrating Nash’s 4th birthday! I can not believe what a big guy he has become this past year. So many great milestones! Each day he become more and more like a little man. He is amazing and so full of life, silliness, joy, and passion!!

Here are a few pics from Nash’s little Birthday Bash…

decorating and getting ready for the party!

The girls being silly and awaiting the arrival of our little guests...

Nash is still not a fan of being the center of attention in a crowd...so "Happy Birthday" song is probably his least favorite part of a party. Poor guy wanted to run and hide in his room. I even had to blow out his candles for him.

Instead of a traditional cake, we did "decorate your own brownie". The kids loved it! The parents all thanked me for giving their kids an overdose of sugar at 10am!

The big birthday surprise...Nash's first big boy bike!!! He was beyond thrilled!!!

One more picture of Nash from our family celebration earlier in the week. Again, not enjoying the "Happy Birthday" song...but a chocolate lava brownie and a new favorite toy: magnifying glass, makes it tolerable.

It’s a happy day! Meyer is crawling all over the place! Scoot baby scoot! 

Everyone is very happy and giving Meyer lots of encouragement…

She’s such a sweetie pie! Before I know it she will be getting teeth and then off to college! Soaking in and enjoying these precious moments!

Bad hair day, that is. Nah, Evyn just decided to do her own hair and thought it looked pretty good. She is a princess afterall…or so she reminds me daily! I have to agree.