It’s official, we’re finally home owners as of yesterday!  It went smooth and quickly once we (we, meaning my awesome “team” of people working while I sat around stressed) got over some speed bumps.  Is it worth that stress in the end? Yes.

In fact, I was a little sad when it was all signed and keys delivered that the process was over.  As I mentioned before, I had a great realtor and I told her I will miss driving around on the weekends and exchanging a bazillion emails everyday.  It’s kind of like getting married, you look forward to it and plan for months, waiting and waiting, and finally it gets here. It’s a burst of excitement and then, boom. It’s over!  It’s weird having met another “first” milestone in my life. I feel like an adult, yet also like I’m playing an elaborate game of pretend house.

Is this really ours?

Did I really get to pick my own kitchen color?

Are these really my own dishes? Finally out of boxes after three years?

Is this really my own daughter in her own future big girl cotton candy pink room?

Why, yes. Yes it is. Crazy.

My uncle started the painting process just hours after we signing the papers. It’s looking amazing and feels more cozy already.  I can’t wait to get our furniture in there to really see what it looks like as “ours” (don’t worry, I’ll post pictures!)  However, move-in date was postponed to next weekend because of the closing delays and now we’ve supposedly got winter weather coming. But, the good news is that gives us time to have a brand new washer and dryer delivered, the paint will all be finished, we’ll have blinds up, and hopefully it won’t be 15 degree weather to haul things around in. The bad news is, that will only give me TWO weeks to get the house looking decent before Savannah huge birthday party (our RSVP’d guest list is at 22 right, could be up to 35. I hope yall like to stand or sit on the floor!) Things happen for a reason, I just have to keep telling myself that.

Have I mentioned how blessed I feel? Thank you, God!

Drink tea.

While I write a paper. Drive to school. Snuggle my little girl (who steals a sip or two).  Eat breakfast. Catch up on blog readings. Read emails . Even while we viewed a piece of land yesterday (!).

I heart tea.

Me and tea, we go way back, and the bonds are everlasting.

And? I can do it guilt free with no caffeine and no sugar. I’ve been using “Ideal” brand Xylitol and love it. It tastes and looks like sugar, but it has zero calaries, low carbs, and no sugar. And, it’s actually good for you, unlike sugar and other artificial sweeteners: it  helps prevent cavities! Plus, it’s cheap.

So, I heart Xylitol as well. I just wish I could buy it in bulk in local stores :-/ More on xylitol later. It deserves it’s own post!

Today is an important day.  Not just because of the USA’s change of power and that our new president is the first African American of our history, but because today it snowed!  Which, therefore marks history in our little family’s memories as it was Savannah’s first experience with it. And, Mark and I were just plain excited to see snow again as it’s not been around these parts for a few years besides flurries. To see snow stick is amazing!  Mark tried to go to work but couldn’t get there and had to turn around so he got to experience this first with us. And we only have 2 inches or less. Go ahead and laugh, Northerners.  It’s not a whole lot, but enough to still enjoy the beauty and fun of it.

Behold our snow bunny, who just finished her first sled ride. Clearly, she’s ready to go again:

And then she discovered that snow tastes good. And she wouldn’t stop eating it, even to sled or play. “It’s yummy, mmm good!:

Also? Thank goodness for hand me downs. Since we hadn’t seen a “good” snow (again, you may laugh if you wish) in years I didn’t think to buy any snow gear. But, I remembered I saw a snow suit in her stash of hand me downs some where, and it was just the right size!  I was stumped with what to do about snow boots, we definitely don’t have any of those, and then I remembered that Kaylee had given Savannah her old pair of Barbie boots that would work (although, they are still too big).  They aren’t made for snow but they definitely do the job better than tennis shoes! And me? I’ve yet to unpack my snow gear (except my snow boots) from my college days in the mountains, so I had to do with 3 pairs of pants on (boy, I looked more meaty than normal).

And so that’s our excitment of the day.  Making memories. And dealing with the worse melt-down (no pun intended) of this new year when we had to come inside because her little cheeks and hands were freezing. Eventually watching snow fall through the window was good enough.

I have to say, I’m overwhelmed by all the birthday love I’ve been getting throughout the day. Thanks everyone! Comments, phone calls, and even presents in the MAIL! (Thanks Bre!) It’s turned out to be a simple, but good day. Nothing too exciting to tell, just another day at school and a lovely Spanish test to take, but I had a happy heart and smile on all day.

And while all the comments and presents are wonderful, by far the high light of my day was the simplest thing I could ask for: Hearing my Kaylee sing me happy birthday over the phone and then tell me about how she has “a lot of snot in her nose.” And knowing she asked to talk to me.

Melt my heart.

That said, we’re headed out tomorrow so you won’t be hearing much from me while I’m celebrating with friends, breathing in wonderful mountain air, and soaking in the gorgeous views.

I’m so blessed.

(P.S. Tomorrow another giveaway will be posted…worth $50! Come back tomorrow to see what it’s about.)

Changing my desktop every month has become a thrill to me. Before, I would have the same one for years at a time, but now I love being able to change it to express each month and display some of my favorite pictures.

This month happens to be one of my favorite months. Why? Well, a little thing called my birthday happens. And, it’s just a beautiful and more comfortable time of the year as fall begins to make it’s appearance. The desktop options made by various scrapbooking websites just didn’t fit the bill this month though. None of them were my style, and didn’t express what I wanted it to: My Birthday!

So, I attempted at making my own. I had issues with getting it to resize correctly to my screen size, but I’m satisfied. I picked my favorite colors of the moment, brown and pink, and chose a picture to get me excited about my birthday weekend.  Pretty much it just makes me feel special all month. That’s what birthdays are for, right?

See, I don’t have many friends (because I’m either too shy or too darn busy to build a close friendship near me) and the ones I do have happen to all live several hours away.  So, for my birthday I’m making a trip to visit Jessica in the beautiful mountains. I’m excited. Her birthday is tomorrow (Happy Birthday Jess!) and we like to celebrate together.

On the list of things to do?  Well, it is our 21st birthday so buying our first drink is in order. Nothing too crazy, we’re not wild and crazy people, just a fruity drink with dinner or something.  And then, we’re going to see the movie The Women which comes out just in time on September 12th.  Dove so kindly sent me 2 free tickets along with a gift in return for writing a review of the movie, so look for that soon over on the review blog.

If you haven’t heard much about the movie yet, it’s about the many challenges in women’s life…and most importantly about the friendship that gets women through it (i.e. a more adult version of The Sisterhood of the traveling pants, and a younger version of The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood). It has lots of talented stars in it like Meg Ryan, Debra Messing, Eva Mendes, Bette Midler and many more.  It looks hilarious from the clips I’ve seen (of course, some adult content and language is in there I’m sure) and I’m super excited. Being a Mom now, I don’t often get a chance to go to a movie in theaters and it has definitely been years since I’ve gone with a friend, so this will be a treat! I need me some girl time.

And? You too can win a chance to see it for free! Family Review Network is giving away 2 tickets and all you have to do is comment on that post. The drawing will be held on on September 11th (!) so you can see it on opening night if you wish. Dove also has a game on their website where you can win tickets.

See why I’m so excited about September? And this is only half of it! Go win you some tickets!

We’ve been on vacation. Sort of. As much as there can be with a 16 month old around, and if you consider going to the grandparent’s house a vacation. It’s been a good couple of weeks! And really, I’ve just been preoccupied with important things like family and fun in the sun (and maybe some reading?).

So let’s back track, shall we? Saturday the 14th was Kaylee’s birthday party, which went very well. We got there a tiny bit earlier than the rest of the crowd so Kaylee and I got some sweet one-on-one time. She begged to open my gifts right away but her Mommy said no, of course. And when she did finally get to open them, she could care less about the PJ’s and book, but one day she will. Mark’s parents take the price at THE favorite gift ever: a Cinderella doll with jelly clothes. Her cake was a Strawberry Shortcake (the character) in a pink Cinderella dress. Oh, she’s funny. And of course, we ended the day with our famous kissy picture (and she loved it!).

After the party we (me and Savannah) rode home with my parents to start our get-a-way. We had many new adventures that week including a trip to the pool, a ride in a mustang convertible (top down, of course. Where she learned to say..CAR! Go bye bye!), and a visit to the kid’s interactive museum. She loved wearing the mini-Japanese Kimono in the Japan section. She drove a bus and a little car her size. She was a pirate and painted some water master pieces outside. My Stepmom and I built a house for her out of HUGE lego blocks (thanks to the help of some random kid, too). My brother and sister played a game of GIANT Connect four. We all banged on drums and other instruments. It was so, so, so fun and we all had a blast.

And then, my wonderful husband showed up at our door with roses in his hand Thursday night to surprise us! I was expecting to not see him until Sunday, when he would meet with my parents some where half way the distance. Boy, he had me surprised! He worked his booty off at work so that he could make up the hours he was going to take off for Friday. What a sweet, sweet man I have :-) And it’s nice to know my presence is missed when I’m not around.

And now? We’re all back home together. I came home to a clean house thanks to my husband and he created me my own little reading nook in his game room so that we could enjoy the room together. Ya know, do separate things but still be together? It works for us. I’ve also been super productive and my laundry is NOT in unmanagable piles, or all over the floor. I’ve made my bed every day, showered and brushed my teeth at appropriate times (rather than be stinky all morning until nap time to do it). I’ve maintained our clean house and made dinner several nights. Oh…and I’ve been walking a mile every morning. Whoa! I feel really good all around.

Get-a-ways are refreshing and I feel like I’ve come home to a new start. I like my new routine, it makes me feel like how a mom should feel–active, productive, completely in love with my kid and my husband, and on top on things. Of course, I am still human so I’m sure I’ll have my share of one of those days soon enough. Don’t feel bad, Moms, today I’ve got everything under control but who knows what tomorrow will bring? That’s life. We have good and bad days.

Today? Is good.

(Now if only I could motivate my self to start spending time with God again….hmmm…)

Normally Love Thursdays feature a photo showing love. But not today. Today, it’s a conversation that I was privileged to have:

Me: Hi Kaylee!
K: I’m four now.
Me: I know! Did you have a happy birthday? What did you get?
K: Yes. I got a um…a baby doll! With um…strips on her clothes. And…she has something in her hair with strips on it too. Oh! It’s a bow.
Me: What did you name her?
K: I named her Cyndi (which is my stepmom’s name)
Me: What else did you get?
…Pause
K: BYE!

Her Mom gets on the phone again and she says, “Oh, Kaylee wants to talk again.”

K: I love you.
Me: I love you, too!

That makes my day, my place, so much better. Why, oh why, do I ever worry that she will forget or not love me? Yes, simple words can mean so much.

Yes, we’re one of those couples. We’re corny. We like to match.

This picture was taken on our first wedding anniversary last Monday the 19th. We were headed out to eat at Firebirds, where I was so excited to finally get me a Filet Mignon and shrimp only for it come out burnt. Twice. And so, we got our entire $50 meal for free. Free! God certainly has a sense of humor, but I’m not complaining! The night didn’t turn out exactly as we planned, but it was still wonderful to spend some time with Mark and we were thrilled about our free meal.

And, we were thrilled to show our lovey-dovey-ness by matching. It actually kind of happened by accident on this day, since I knew I wanted to wear this new outfit because I don’t have a job to wear it to, and Mark just happened to wear red and black to work that day. I even got to wear my beautiful red shoes that about killed my feet!

Matching was something I grew up with in my family, especially on holidays like Christmas, but Mark and I match often regardless of the event. This Sunday to church we both wore brown. Some times Savannah gets lucky and matches us, too.

Told you, we’re corny. I can just see us when we’re 80 wearing matching sweatshirts, can’t you?

I haven’t posted anything about our money stresses because well…anybody could read my blog and that’s not something everyone needs to know! But, I just have to share this and how faithful God is.  Let’s just say I didn’t know if I would be able to go back to school this fall, let alone pay for Savannah’s diapers.  As our funds lowered, I was getting more scared and stressed. Job opportunities for me weren’t working out, the government stimulus check was taking forever to get here, then Mark has a car accident on top of all this, etc.

Last night nearly in tears I began my search for scholarships, almost began writing some essays that never win, when I decided to check my school account just in case. And there it was: money waiting for me to accept from the government. Let’s just say between the money Mark and I will receive for school and from his job, it not only provides enough to pay for college but also for me to be able to stay at home with Savannah for the summer and through the school year (when I’m not in classes, of course).  God is so good!

Literally, I think God was waiting for me to just stop and trust when there was nothing left.  I knew He would provide, but it just took longer than I thought!  All in God’s own time.  I’m so, so thankful and grateful for His blessings on our little family.  He knew our desires, He knew our stresses, and He took the burden off and provided as He promises. Praises to God.

I’m very content with where I am right now, right where I need to be, at home with my girl.  Obviously, getting priorities straight helps out in life. Thank you, God, for always being there when I return.

—-

P.S. Mark’s Mom is fine. Swelling and bruising more by the second but she’s still in good spirits and got the good news that there were no broken bones or conclusion. She’s just got to let it heal.

Yes, one year ago today…this was our day.

(Hint: If you’d like to hear the beautiful Cannon by Pacabel that I walked down the isle to, click the little speaker button in the bottom left corner of the slide show. When you’re done, you can click it again to turn the music off)

And today, it is again as we celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary! As I’m writing this, one year ago I was finishing up my final beauty touches and waiting patiently (or…trying…) to begin walking down the isle. The ceremony was set to start at 11 am. I remember those last few moments as a single woman being completely excited, yet oh-so-nervous. I remember peaking around the stair case to glance at my soon to be husband and him not seeing me. I remember hearing the cuing music and taking my Dad’s arm as we began the walk and him saying, “You’re doing good, you haven’t tripped yet!” Oh, those sweet moments.

It was a most wonderful day, perfect in every way. The weather cooperated, the birds sang, people showed up to share our joy, we had our best friends and family surrounding us, I didn’t trip, I didn’t sob during the whole ceremony, Mark didn’t shove cake on my face, I danced with my daughter…and most importantly I married my best friend . Yes, it was a perfect day.

I’ve heard it a million times: The first year is always the toughest. It wasn’t that bad for us, though we certainly have faced our challenges. A new baby, living with the in-laws, both full time students, sicknesses, too many clothes to fold, etc. But really? I wouldn’t have it any other way. God has blessed us in many ways and helped us through so much.

Here’s to us, Sweetie, and may this next year be even sweeter than this past one. I love you.

(Now excuse me while I ago cry, I can’t believe it’s already been a year)