Hailey is here!!!

I'd like to introduce you to Hailey!!!

She was born December 15, 2011 at 7:17 am

9 pounds 12 ounces and 20.5 inches

"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!!" 2 Corinthians 9:15

Organization fun!!!

I'm about 34 weeks now and nesting has hit full force!  My brain has SO many things it wants to do...unfortunately I can't keep up but I can get little projects done.  One of the projects is jewelry organization.  I'm not much of a jewelry girl but I do have some and was using a jewelry tree for my necklaces & bracelets.  It worked ok but took up space on the dresser and just looked cluttered.  I've been eyeballing these frames turned jewelry organizers for awhile and today I FINALLY made mine!

All I did was get a frame at Hobby Lobby (I could have found one at the thrift store and painted it but I just don't have the energy or time to go treasure hunting right now).  Thankfully I had my handy 40% off coupon for my frame!!  Then I got some quilting batting & some muslin...I just got 1/2 a yard and I have a bunch leftover...I'm thinking Christmas gifts!!!  I measured and predrilled my little holes for the hooks, hot glued the batting & muslin down, then screwed in the hooks.  Viola!  A beautiful necklace holder that doesn't take up any dresser space!!  (and a sad tid bit...we've lived in our house for almost 6 years and this is the first thing I've hung on that wall!)

See ya summer...HELLO fall!!!

It's been a crazy and kind of awful summer and I'm so glad to see it go.  My aunt became very ill (and very unexpectedly) and we almost lost her back in July.  The greatest birthday present I could have ever received was NOT having to plan her funeral.  (we got the call 2 days before my birthday that she wouldn't make it through the day.  It was the worst call I've ever received)  The Lord has truly had His hand on her and she's improving little by little each day.  SO thankful she's still here and praying for her during this long and difficult recovery process.

The pregnancy nausea pretty much did me in all summer...even now at 25 weeks I'm still dealing with it, although thankfully it's much better.  Then the heat...that wonderful heat we've all been putting up with has been terrible.  Being severely nauseous + 100* temps = very very sick me.  Yall...I used to want nothing more than to live on the beach.  This summer killed that dream.  So with all that going on...goodbye and good riddance summer!

Last Friday I put up the fall decorations.  It may be a little early, but I'm excited to welcome fall!  I'm excited about football (ROLL TIDE!!!), cooler weather, the holidays, school for the girls, the smells and colors of autumn and of course...getting closer and closer to meeting our newest baby girl!

The girls start Mother's Day Out tomorrow.  Kenley should have started Tuesday but power outages canceled school.  I can't believe this is her last year of MDO and certainly can't believe my little baby Taylor starts her first year!!  Thankfully tomorrow morning will be busy so I won't have time to cry!

My mom and I have slowly started fall shopping...and next week I'll hit up my BIG consignment sale and hopefully score some good fall/winter wardrobes for the girls.  All 3 of them.  Wow it still hits me that we're about to have 3 girls. 

And because any post is more fun with pictures, here's a sweet picture of the girls' new shoes!  Even Jelly Bean got a pair!!  I love this picture!!

6 Years!!

On August 6th, we celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary!  It's hard to believe 6 years have gone by already!  Unfortunately on the day of our anniversary, I was second shooting a wedding so we had to put off our dinner plans for a bit...but we did enjoy watching our wedding DVD that night when I got home!  It was so much fun going back to that special day...watching us exchange vows and making a lifetime commitment to each other.  The Lord has truly challenged us and blessed us over these 6 years...and I have loved it all!  It's amazing how much more you love your spouse as time goes on and you build your life together!

Thursday I got a text from my sweet husband (who had been out of town for work all week) that I needed to be packed and ready to go out of town for the weekend by early Friday afternoon!  I literally cried when I received his text...we haven't been out of town together since Sept '07 and we have never been out of town for our anniversary, so to say I was excited is a huge understatement!!!

Friday I dropped the girls off with my in-laws and impatiently waited for my husband to get home so we could start our weekend!  When he got home, he still wouldn't tell me where we were going, but I didn't care...we were about to have a whole weekend just the 2 of us!!!!  We ended up heading to Chattanooga!  He had the whole weekend planned out!  We stayed in a nice hotel in downtown Chattanooga that was walking distance to all kinds of restaurants & the aquarium!

Friday night we went to dinner at Big River then enjoyed dessert at Ben & Jerry's!  My sweet husband knows how much I crave B&J's when I'm pregnant and had planned our trip there!!  There was a baseball game that night next to our hotel so we got to enjoy the fireworks from our hotel!

 Just a quick picture on the river before dinner

Saturday we had a very nice breakfast at our hotel...they had AMAZING french toast...then we headed to the aquarium!  We wanted to do Rock City but it was just too hot and I was exhausted so we headed back to the hotel and took a nap!  Then we got ready to go have our 2 week belated anniversary dinner at Easy Bistro and Bar!

 Beautiful macaws

 In the butterfly garden at the aquarium

 Shark tank fun

 Closest I'll ever get to being in a shark tank!

 Here we are at Rock City...well standing outside it

 Hotel lobby before dinner

Had a wonderful anniversary dinner here!!!

On our hotel balcony

Sunday we enjoyed another breakfast at the hotel (I'm telling you, the french toast was AMAZING!!) then we went to Ruby Falls!!  Hiking for a mile while pregnant isn't so bad when you're in a cool, dark cave!

About to go see Ruby Falls!

Beautiful rocks inside the falls

 Gorgeous!

 Almost to the falls!

 Ruby Falls!!

Happy 6 year Anniversary to us!!!!!

This was such a wonderful weekend!  I'm so very thankful for my loving & thoughtful husband for putting this all together and making our anniversary so special!!  I'm truly blessed to have such an amazing man for my husband and to have him as the father of our children!  These have been an amazing 6 years and I look forward to the rest of our lives together!!

What a beautiful day

"This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."  

Psalms 118:24

That's a beautiful verse and something I try to do each day...but must admit I have been failing to do as of late.  This heat...it's made a difficult summer even more difficult.  Even though I'm grateful for each day and for all my blessings...whew it's easy to be grumpy when you're drenched in sweat, pregnant & still struggling with nausea and carting 2 kids around. 

It's been a hot summer for most of us...which is why when I walked outside this morning, I stopped in my tracks and felt it.  The slightest hint of fall.  The high today was 87* and felt amazing!!  My dad and step-mom came over for a play date with the girls and we actually got to enjoy our backyard and the girls' new swing-set!!!  We spent the whole morning outside playing on the swing-set, playing chase, swimming in the pool (little plastic pool but still...a pool!)  It was wonderful!

I wish I had been good and got the camera out to get pictures but we were having too much fun playing!  Here's a picture of the swing-set the day it was FINALLY completed.  It's been sitting there for about a month waiting to be played on but it's just been too hot.

I know fall is a long way off (cooler weather-wise) but I was SO grateful for the little reminder today that it's coming.  I'm so grateful to have had such a beautiful day with family and to create those special memories.  

Our newest family member...

Yep...we found out Friday, July 22nd that our sweet jelly bean is a GIRL!!!  We're going to have three little girls!!!  While I would have been just as ecstatic about having a son, I LOVE the thought of 3 sisters...especially since they're all so close in age!  The best thing about that appointment was seeing her move and seeing that she is healthy.  Praise the Lord for another healthy check-up!  She did, however, not give us a good shot of her sweet face (just like Taylor) so we get to have another ultrasound at our next appt!!!  Woo hoo!!!

Our NEW Media Cabinet

Due to the pregnancy...the awful 24/7 nausea to be specific...several projects have been on hold for the past few months.  Now that the nausea is easing up a bit, I'm starting to get some things done.  Awhile back my mom gave us the 'country cabinet' (as we affectionately call it) and I had great plans to re-do the doors and paint/distress it.  It was going to look amazing...but it never got done.  It sat there in all it's country glory, but it was ok b/c it wasn't a focal point in the room...just some storage off to the side.  Then last Christmas we got a new recliner and had to move it...right next to the fireplace for all the world to see.  It served a purpose but it was big and the hearts just aren't my style.  Fast forward to April...while out driving, the girls and I spot a HUGE yard sale.  I be-bop myself right on over and find the perfect little cabinet to replace the country cabinet.  I knew exactly what color I wanted it and knew I could find some perfect knobs at Hobby Lobby.  For $30, that cabinet was MINE!

The "country cabinet".  Aren't those hearts just fabulous!?!

 

The perfect knobs at Hobby Lobby!  And BONUS!  They were 50% off!  Snagged 2 of these beauties for $5 total!!!  Sorry the picture is fuzzy!!!

Got it home and got the 2 coats of paint on.  Had my knobs and had my polycrylic waiting to go.  Then, it hit.  The lovely nausea.  So there sat my perfect new cabinet in the garage for the next few months.  July 4th weekend we stayed in town due to an illness in the family and since we were home, we decided to work on some projects.  I busted out my cabinet and got to work.  2 days later, it found it's new home in our living room and we LOVE it!!!  It's prefect!  It doesn't compete with the fireplace & TV anymore and adds a fun pop of color!  And it only cost $35 total (I used paint I already had and used a gift card for my polycrylic)!!!!

 Not the best picture but my baby is in it so that makes it cute!

Little by little the living room is coming together...FINALLY!!  See the lovely red brick?  It's days are numbered.  It will be antique white soon and I hope the walls will be next!!!