The After Thanksgiving Post

Well, we are all 5 pounds heavier and had fun celebrating our 1st Thanksgiving with Leighton!

Thanksgiving Day family pic that was accomplished in TWO takes!

First up my grandparents house where my grandpa got up at 2am to start smoking a turkey. Crazy!
This may be our last Thanksgiving with my great grandma so it was nice to spend a little extra time with her.
Not sure why we wait until the end of people's lives to spend that extra time...
Leighton is in love with Thanksgiving food. (Not her momma's daughter...I could totally skip the holiday and be fine! HA!) She beat her tray and cried when her plate was empty. It was really funny. Can't wait until Christmas!




Next up Grandma Rachel's.
We had ham.
Leighton had just as much fun at this meal too! This girl loves her food! HA!

Bring on the food~ I am ready!

This is the FIRST bottle I have ever been able to personally give Lo!
A Kodak moment for sure!

Overall, a fun a festive holiday.
Babies make it so much more fun!
Bring on Christmas!!

A little preview.

Ps. 100

¹ Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

² Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.

³ Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

⁵ For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalms 100

While Thanksgiving is not my favorite holiday (not a fan of the food really), the concept is not lost on me. Taking time out from our hectic lives to stop and remember and enjoy all the things we are thankful for is truly what it is all about.

I/we have many blessings to be thankful for and give God the praise. Here are just a few on my short list this year.

• Our families being close and such an amazing support system.

• My husband, the list is ennumerable, but I am truly thankful for him working so hard so I can be home with our daughter.

• My beautiful daughter. I had waited for her for a long time. I can not begin to imagine our lives without her. She is my biggest blessing this year.

• 

• Our Church and church family and friends.
• Our pups they bring such joy to our home and family.

• And the basics like a warm home, cars, food on the table, and our health.

Again this is just my short list. God is and continues to be so good to our family!

What are you thankful for this year?

~Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!~

Show Us Your Life: Pet Edition

This week at Kelly's Korner it is all about the pets!

I love dogs!
When I went away to college my heart was so sad because I couldn't take my poodle, Buddy, with me.

Then I got married and DESPERATELY wanted a dog, but all the dumb apartments had a NO PETS ALLOWED rule. (I think it is dumb...I am sure it is proven that college kids are more responsible and do better in school if they have a pet! :) ).

Anyway, Chad promised me that when we moved back home we would get an apartment that DID allow pets...and we did!

I was then able to bring my beloved Buddy to come live with us. Those of you who know Buddy know he was a very mean and aggressive dog most days of the week. We tried so hard to break him of his aggressiveness, but after 7 years nothing was changing. Where was Cesar Milan when I needed him!! Sadly, we had to put him down. This was and still is a gut wrenching decision for me. I am tearing up just thinking about it. Matter of fact I hardly EVER think of Buddy because it can still bring on uncontrollable tears. The decision had to be made because we wanted to start having babies and Buddy and a small baby would not mix.

In Loving Memory
Buddy James
March 1999-April 2006

A few days later we got Tuck! Another poodle! He is loving (well towards balls) and a great companion. Tuck is under the impression he is part human and really wants nothing to do with other dogs per say. HA!
He was our baby forever. We had no idea it would take us so long to get pregnant. Then when we did we feared Tuck would be overcome with loneliness. (Stupid perhaps, but we truly believed it!)

Our 1st "family" photo

Tuck with his "Mini-Me"

So when I was 8 weeks pregnant we picked up another phantom poodle, Toby! (they are actually 1/2 brothers).

Toby is night and day different than Tuck. Toby is the dog I always wanted. He is my lap puppy and snuggle bunny! (Not even Lo let's me snuggle her...a mommy needs snuggles.) Toby is also THE BEST pup with Leighton, he lets her pull his ears and "pet" him all she wants and never "complains!"

Meeting Tobias he fell asleep on my shoulder and it was LOVE!

Toby LOVES the outside even when it is SNOWING!

While there are plenty of moments I question where my hormone levels were at when I made the choice to get another puppy, I have never ever regretted it! We are all one big happy family!

Tuck even secretly loves his baby brother!

Now if you are an animal lover then hop on over to Kelly's Korner and check out others pet stories!

65 in 365

I realize this is a bit early but in lieu of New Year's Resolutions (which I rarely ever do). I have seen this 65 tasks completed in 365 days.
So here goes nothing.

Starting Nov. 19th, 2009 through Nov. 18th, 2010 I have the highest aspirations to get this list completed. I need my blog to keep me accountable. Currently, my list is only 27 tasks...I can't come up with 65 but I will add to it as I think of things, but let's face it, I may be hard pressed to get these 27 things done. HA!

1. Finish Leighton's First Year Scrapbook/Photobook by Feb. 15th.
2. Submit RD portfolio
3. Do at least 30 continuing Eds
4. Get grocery budget to ~$150/mo.
5. Start exercising again...consistently!
6. Complete at least 4 personal Bible studies
7. Memorize at least 24 verses
8. Read at least 12 adult books. (ie not kid's books)
9. Finish decorating my basement
10. Start going on monthly dates w/ the hubs.
11. Get Meg's HS Grad "project" done (MAY)
12. Get my storage closet under control.
13. Try 1 new recipe a month
14. Volunteer at church
15. Research/Start own RD counseling career.
16. Get all loose photos organized in albums
17. Donate excess clothes and stuff (1x/ year).
18. Wipe clean my Mac computer and sell it.
19. Organize/consolidate office area.
20. Create and implement cleaning schedule.
21. Clean fridge 1x every 6mo.
22. Keep my photo site up to date
23. Host at least 2 family dinners
24. Start a vegetable garden
25. Paint the house trim
26. Clean out window wells.
27. Clean and organize garage.

Well there you have it...I am exhausted looking at the list. But it will feel good to have all of that behind me in a year!
I plan to update my progress every few months. I would encourage all my fellow procrastinators to try this out!

9 Months

I think I am coming to realize I don't have a little baby anymore. She is just growing up so fast and I don't particular care for it!

Here is what we have been up to this month:

* Leighton has become such a chill baby these last few months and it is GLORIOUS! After 18 weeks of straight colic (and only those of you who have had a colic baby can truly understand what I am talking about here) it has been such a wonderful reward!



*She has gotten two teeth back to back and other than seeing them poke through (and a horrible diaper rash) you would have no idea she was teething!

*Lo is just developmental growing leaps and bounds (not physically...more on that in a minute).
She is walking all over the place with her walker toys and around the furniture. If she would just trust herself I think she would be off, maybe next month?!

This is the walker that was part of the exersaucer!! (I heart 2-in-1 toys)!

While we are "chill" most of the time we do have our major melts when we are told "no."
I think it is funny when her face gets all puckery and sad, then she squeezes out the BIG crocodile tears (I know I shouldn't laugh but it is funny).

I just really am in awe of how we come into this world full of sin. Even our precious little ones. No one teaches them how to toe the line or manipulate it is just innate in us. So now parenting begins. Prayers welcome! :)

*Leighton has entered the clingy phase. Only mommy will do, not even daddy gets many hugs without complete meltdown. She will grasp my shirt, necklace or hair in a death grip to keep from leaving me. It is endearing to mean that much one person, but sometimes my back needs a break. HA! God bless the church nursery and my family who watches her when we are away!

Our 1st tractor ride w/ uncle Kreg.

*Lo is in my opinion saying Ma-ma when she wants me to come get her. This is the only constant sounds she makes. The rest is just weird raptor noises.

Let the baby proofing begin :)
See all those toys...and she wants my pictures! oy!

*She is so loving and affectionate. Sometimes I ask for a kiss and I get it! She even let me rock her in a rocking chair for the first time the other day!!

*Naps are just all over the place some days good (ie 1.5 hours) and other days not so good (ie 30 min. or not at all). Still sleeps through the night even when we had our first cold!

Our hair is finally getting a bit thicker! Yeah!!

*Nurses 3-4x/day and Eats cheerios at breakfast, fruits, veggies, and cereal for lunch and dinner. Can eat her weight in puffs and yogurt melts.

Visiting Great Great Grandma.

However, with all that eating she has lost weight.
Her current weight is 14# 9oz (1% wt/age) Down 1.5-2# from last time oops!
Height 25.75 in. (4% ht/age) We finally grew after 4 months!
Head circumference 16in (0%) Tiny head...which I am still glad about ;)

Here we getting ready to leave for the Drs. on this cold day!

Overall, she is appears healthy! I am not worried. We have been from one end of the spectrum coming in at 11# at 2 months to the other now 14# at 9 months. She is just a busy, active girl. But we will go back in a month to re-check.

Anyway, thanks for checking in with us on our 9 month update!

Happy 9 months baby girl!! We love you!!

The Story of Us

We moved into our house 3.5 years ago. And since then I have been turning this house into our home. I get closer all the time to having it decorated just the way I want it. Thankfully, Chad indulges me and gives me free reign.

While most the spaces and rooms are done, I have struggled for 3.5 years as to what to do with all this blank space. I searched high and lo for pictures, wall decor etc. But to no avail found anything I liked.

As usual I never get a "before" shot...but you get the idea.

Since having Leighton I realized I had no pictures of her on display and that had to be remedied ASAP! So 9 months later here we are.

It all started when I stumbled upon this frame at Dillons Marketplace 6 months ago...


Then I had the stroke of genius to use this vinyl lettering to create "The Story of Us."

"The Story of Us" has been a phrase I have used all through out our relationship.
Our 1st scrapbook is entitled "The Story of Us" as well as our blog. I just love the idea of our story unfolding and want to look back one day over all the ups and downs, twists and turns and know we love each other more and are the better for it.

Anyway, THANKS to my great hubby who dangled over the stairs to get this all hung and put up for me! You rock!

(I seriously wish I would have taken the pictures so you could see this ladder he was balancing on to do this for me!! I was too scared and short.)

DONE! Putting vinyl lettering on the wall is a very tedious process and I was super impressed at his patience in working with it.

The finished product! I really like how it turned out and hope to watch the collage grow!

38 weeks

This is a real surreal moment for me.
Leighton is 38 weeks old today.

Huh? My sentiments exactly Lo!

38 weeks ago I gave birth to her sweet little self when I was
38 weeks 2 days pregnant.

She has now been alive outside as long as she was inside...
this is just weird to me.

Yay!

I love you baby girl.
You have blessed our lives more than you shall ever know!!

Happy 38 weeks big girl!

O How He Loves Us

This past weekend I attend my church's rendition of Judgment House (to find out more about JH click here.) It was very powerful for me on many levels, but ultimately the main goal is to give a glimpse into what Heaven and Hell are like. When I got to "Heaven" it really made me think about what I am doing here on earth and how glorious Heaven will be someday!

I relish being a mom. It gives you the tiniest glimpse into how HE loves us! I can not fathom my life with out my Lo Lo. I would do anything for her, just as Jesus did do the unimaginable for us, because HE loves us!

I wanted to share this song with you because I think it conveys Jesus' love for us perfectly!

Please click here to listen to How He Loves Us sung by the David Crowder Band. (Sorry I couldn't post the video directly the embedding code is disabled so you have to go to the site.)

I hope you enjoy!

Halloween Pt. 2

Here is a photo montage of Halloween. We had a good time trick or treating the grandparents!

The Cousins.
Landrey is an Aflac Duck, but she would make a good Donald Duck too! :)

The families were both so clever in getting the girls yogurt melts and puffs for "treats."
And as promised my hubby as a "nerd."Hope you all have a fun and festive Halloween!

I am a bit disappointed because I didn't get to watch my favorite Halloween movie Hocus Pocus...but maybe next year! :)