Today is THE DAY!!!!

I got a text from Jonathan this morning and he was still on location at 8 this morning, but he is gonna catch 40 winks and then head HOME!!!! This is me doing the happy dance!!! We have missed him soooooo much! His boss has also said that there is a possibility of him getting the full week off!!! :) Some quality family time will be soooo good!!! I cannot wait to see the love of my life within the next 24 hours! Gracie has been saving up hugs and kisses for her daddy the past couple of weeks and can't wait to see him either! :) What a blessing and a joy Jonathan is to all those around him!

Sweet Treats to Sweet Friends!

Today Grace & I got up early to bring my sweet friend Libby some Oreo-Pops! (This is why Gracie is still in her Jammies lol!) It was so fun to have a little fellowship to get the day going!

Not only did we get to visit with Libby but her wonderful fiance was there too! Grace enjoyed playing/hanging out with them!

Pretty soon this will be you guys and one of your own! :) 

Thanks ya'll for letting us drop by!

Wakey, Wakey, Eggs & Bacey!

Every morning I wake up and get greeted by the most amazing little girl! Even after 11 months, this still proves to be one of the highlights of each day! Since many of you aren't there when we start our day I thought I would snap a few pictures from this morning's "wakey" time!

Gracie-Bug loves her lovee, she sleeps with it every night! I can't wait to see what she will name it!

I hope everybody is having a great mid-week! From Gracie-Bug & Me, Good Morning!

Like Mother Like Daughter!

So this evening while I was on the laptop I looked over and Grace was playing on hers! Definitely made me smile!

She even types with her feet!

Sometimes she just cracks me up! :) Can't wait to make Oreo-Pops later today with this little Sweetie!

Marriage & Taco Bueno

So I had a few minutes this morning while Grace was snoozing and I picked up "Sacred Marriage." Blew my mind!!! How I would love to have Gary Thomas over for dinner and pick his brain, it would be such a treat for us!

Today he utilized Marriage as a tool, in which God uses to teach us to love. Gary talks about how God calls us to love others, which is great... I have been involved in camping ministry, youth ministry, etc. Check! I love others, Well... All of that is easy, but what about the "others" who are not as "fun" to love? Like the homeless.... It has always been easy for me to love on kids, but how often have I stopped to help the homeless?

I like the way Gary put it: "On one level, it's easy to love God, because God doesn't smell. God doesn't have bad breath. God doesn't reward kindness with evil. God doesn't make berating comments. Loving God is easy, in this sense. But Jesus really let us have it when he attached our love for God with our love for other people."

And how does that relate to marriage???

"In the marriage context, we have absolutely no excuse. God lets us choose whom we're going to love. Because we get the choice and then find it difficult to carry out the love in practice, what grounds do we have to ever stop loving? God does not command us to get married; he offers it to us as an opportunity. Once we enter the marriage relationship, we cannot love God without loving our spouse as well."
-Gary Thomas

While reading Gary's thoughts on that topic, I was sent back to a time I was 8 and sitting in the backseat of my mom's car. We had been out shopping all day with my mom and we had stopped at Taco Bueno to grab a bite to eat on our way home. My mom let me order what I wanted but she ordered for my younger siblings since they were still too little. I remember my sister Whitney was upset because she wanted to order for herself since I had gotten to. Finally after my mom settled the dispute and we had pulled out of the drive-thru... I had a realization... As I opened my order... That I didn't like what I had and wished I had opted to let my mom order for me too... What the other three were eating certainly looked more appetizing... I began to complain, and my mom stopped me right there, and said, "You begged and begged to order yourself, now that is what you are going to eat." I am pretty sure I pouted the entire way home. God blesses us with the decision to choose whom we marry and sometimes I think when times get rough we still want to be 8... But we aren't, we are adults and yes, sometimes that means the hard thing is the right thing...

Right now, for me, my marriage is young and love is still new and exciting! But I know with decades to come that these lessons will be ones that  will help us push through the trials ahead. Marriage wasn't designed to make us happy, but holy, and somehow in return I think that is what makes us truly joyful!

Gracie-Bug Hearts Pom-Poms!

With Grace's big day right around the corner, she and I have been hard at work with prepping decorations! Today's project was to practice and perfect the Pom-Pom! They were super cute and easy to make!

It was so fun, I worked on them and then she would play/destroy them (that was her favorite part)!

We both enjoyed this project! Courtesy of Martha Stewart, I was able to throw a practice pom-pom together in no time and let Grace enjoy a new experience!

I hope she enjoys her party as much as we are enjoying getting ready for it!

Daddy Day!

Grace and I had the most wonderful surprise this evening! Jonathan was able to spend the evening and the night with us! We went out on a family date and rented a movie (Gracie is still too little to go to the theatre). At dinner Grace sat in a high chair like a big girl for the first time (no worries I had a cover for it)! It was truly a treat to get some quality time with him! Thanks FracTech for sending him our way! :)

Swheat Day with a Sweet Friend!

Today Grace and I were blessed with a visit from a sweet friend and former camper, Lauren! :) We were so excited to catch up with her and just enjoy hanging out!

We were able to do a little shopping and Lauren got to do a little comparing between Layne's and Cane's! So fun! I hope we are able to enjoy more visits from our sweet friend! Not long after Lauren left, Grace conked out while playing in the living room!

I would say that she definitely enjoyed her eventful day!

A Day With Grace

Round Number Two of the Blog! I am hoping that since I am at home now, I will have more time to blog and such! I am getting excited about finding activities offered in our town to get Grace & I involved in.  As Grace gets older I am sure our outings will change. Speaking of growing, Grace is already 11 months!!! Ahhh! The party planning is in full swing! I have found I truly love party planning! :)

With more time on my hands I am looking forward to being able to get more involved in our church and spend more time investing in my friendships! I feel like I am breathing fresh air. :)