Friday, March 28, 2014

five on friday

[ONE]
teeth

Weeks like this week make me wish teeth didn't exist. Reuben's got his top molars popping through and his bottom molars AND top eye teeth are next. All four gum spots are super swollen and red. It's awful. And why does it just have to be so bad at night? Why can't he be a complete grump during the day and then sleep like an angel at night? Instead he's happy as can be during the day and an angry monster at bedtime. Bedsharing was attempted last night out of desperation, but he was kicked out by 10:30. Nobody was happy and at least we were both semi-ok separate. He does look so dang cute asleep though!


[TWO]
silhouette

My husband surprised me this week by buying me a silhouette portrait! I've had my eye on one of these for over a year, but could never justify buying one. It's on sale (HALF OFF, Y'ALL!!!) and now that we're moving and I won't be working full time, I'll have a ton more time to mess around with it. The possibilities are endless. My creative juices are already flowing!


[THREE]
consignment sales

I went to my second consignment sale ever and totally scored this week! I got a Combi Cosmo stroller and two pairs of shoes for Reuben for only $27!!! We desperately needed all three items. The only stroller we have is the one that came with our travel system. We love it and it's been great on all day trips, but it's like driving a boat. It's huge. So this is perfect for trips to the zoo or the mall--places where we don't need a day's worth of stuff with us. Plus, the shoes are perfect for little man who's been zooming all over the place now. He loves them!


[FOUR]
profiles

I was messing around during lunch the other day and made this from a photo I took of Reuben. It's far from perfect, but I absolutely love it. The little baby mullet and double chin... be still my heart!


[FIVE]
dada's home!

Clint's been gone since last Friday and BOY have we missed him! "Dada" has been coming out of Reuben's mouth more than ever. The boy loves his dada. It was so sweet to see him reunited this morning when they got back to the church. Mama is happy to have him back too! It made me a little nervous about us being separated while he works in Knoxville, but I'm trusting God's got it under control and our house will sell exactly as soon as it needs to!


HAPPY FRIDAY, Y'ALL!


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Wednesday, March 26, 2014

night off

Last night was one of the most glorious nights of my life.

Clint was out of town

and Reuben was at my parent's house.

What's that? I think I hear angels singing...

But seriously, y'all. I love me some people and some good social time, but I'm an introvert through and through. To have 6 hours totally and completely to myself was one of the best things my mom and dad could've done for me.

I knocked out a week's worth of laundry and purged my closet in prep to move. I decided to toss/donate/sell close to 100 things. I don't know whether to be proud of that or sign myself up for some sort of hoarding intervention.

Confession: I found a pair of Levi's I got in 8th grade. They're hiddeous- two snaps instead of buttons, flares big enough they touch in the middle, covered in paint, and cut up the side since they're 3 inches too long. But they fit. So I kept them because I'm proud I can still wear them.

After I finished the purging and laundry was going, I sat myself down to eat a little bit of heaven. If you haven't had Talenti gelato, go getcha some. FOR REAL. You're welcome.


I got to watch whatever I wanted for as long as I wanted *cough*hours and hours of Law and Order:SVU*cough* and go to sleep whenver I felt like it. I even actually had to set an alarm for the first time in 13 months.

It. Was. Glorious.

But now I miss my boys. I'm more than ready to see them!

I'll leave you with this official toddler. He's walking everywhere now! It's like getting some new, fly kicks inspired him.


Happy Wednesday!

Monday, March 24, 2014

playtime

Playtime has been getting so much more entertaining around our house!

Reuben's walking and getting in to everything... adorable and obnoxious at the same time. He's also started playing with us instead of just around us.

He's got the sweetest little personality and I was so happy to catch some moments over the weekend!

Here's his spread. The kid has too many toys. This isn't even all of them because we have some put away that we rotate out. That's what happens when your first Christmas and birthday are less than two months apart.


Poor kid has his molars breaking through. I know for a fact the amber necklace works and has cut down tremendously on his extra slobber, so I don't even want to know what he would look like without it...


This is the face I get when I tell him "no" to something. I call it the "who, me?" face. It's generally followed by a smirk and another attempt at whatever got the first no. Stubborn kiddo.


And out of about 50 blurry, slobbery, silly shots, I found this gem and they were all worth it.


Happy Monday, y'all!

Friday, March 21, 2014

five on friday

First off, if you didn't read yesterday's post, go ahead and check that out. It's a pretty big deal! We're so thankful for all the support and prayers during this transitional time.

Now, let's get down to business.

[ONE]
baby babbles

Reuben's getting to the age where he's babbling all.of.the.time. Most of it is intelligible, but I'm also starting to understand pieces here and there. This week, he's started saying outside... but in baby language, it's "ow dah!". The kid is obsessed with the chickens at my parents farm and ALWAYS wants "ow dah".


[TWO]
Muppets Most Wanted

The Muppets Movie from 2011 is one of our family's favorite movies. It's incredibly clever with some really catchy music. Knowing that we'll be 3 hours apart in a month, Clint and I are trying to squeeze in as much quality time together as possible so we decided to go on a last minute date after Reuben's bedtime tonight and Muppets Most Wanted seemed like the perfect idea.

I have to be honest, I was a wee bit disappointed. It was funny...ish. I didn't love the storyline and the songs weren't nearly as catchy. It was cute and I don't regret seeing it, but it definitely lived up to the general rule of sequels not being as good as the original.


[THREE]
bathtub woes

Our house was a foreclosure and it's come with plenty of issues, one of which is our bathtub. There have been these stains that I absolutely cannot get out. I found a concoction of vinegar, borax, and dawn dish soap on pinterest that I was convinced would work. So much so, that I even took before pictures to put on here before the after photos I'd get. Here's one:


Here's after:


Ok, so that's the same picture, but seriously. NOTHING CHANGED. UGH. So now we're thinking we're going to have to just get the bathtub refinished. I've tried everything I can think of and none of it is working. That being said, has anybody ever gotten a new bathtub liner? Looking for some hope, here.

[FOUR]
teething tongue

Reuben's got some molars breaking through his gums and he's decided sticking his tongue out makes him feel better. It's out 99.9% of the day and it's so dang adorable.


Oh, please excuse the massive pile of clothes in the background. Our friends gave us three boys worth of handmedowns so I was in the process of organizing them. Our house isn't always that messy ;-)

[FIVE]
the first of the lasts

Wednesday was Clint's last regular Wednesday night in the student ministry and the night they told all the students we were leaving. It was definitely bittersweet and there were plenty of tears from the both of us. It's really surreal that we're actually leaving and that was the first thing that made it sort of start sinking in. I'm just so proud of Clint and how God's used him in the student ministry. I'm excited to see what's next, but it'll be hard to leave this behind.



Happy weekend, y'all! Hope you have some fun plans!

Thursday, March 20, 2014

hope: our next chapter

A few weeks after Reuben was born, Clint and I both had a strong feeling that God was calling us away from Long Hollow-our church, workplace, and family. We've both been here since we were kids and our whole world kind of revolves around it. Both of our families go here, we both work here, and just about every single one of our friends either goes or works here. We felt like God was wanting us to go somewhere new and stretch ourselves to grow, both as an adult and as a Christ follower.

To make a year long journey a short-ish story, over a year's time, Clint's had close to 10 opportunities present themselves to him. He hasn't looked for a single one. When the first one presented itself about a month after we felt the nudge from God, we were sure it was it. We even flew out to San Antonio to interview with their staff. We loved the people, the church, and the city, but found out it wasn't what God had planned for us. We were so disappointed, but then another opportunity arose in south Florida (who doesn't want to live there?!) and we figured THIS was it-why God shut the door to Texas.

But it wasn't.

And neither were the 5-6 things that followed that.

Most of them were just talks. "We may be having a position open soon. We'd love to talk to you about it" and then nothing more would come of it.

But every single time, we'd get our hopes up.

It's hard even thinking back on it. It's easily been the most frustrating year of my life. I've been so mad at and irritated with God. I felt abandoned. He had given us this sense of moving on and here we were, stuck where we've been for the last 12 years.

I had lost hope.

Then a friend called Clint and said he was going to throw his name out there for a position if it was alright with him. Clint said sure and then told me about it. I just chuckled and said whatever. I hardly thought anything of it.

And then when our friend called back and said they were interested, a little spark lit up in my heart. I wanted to think this could be it, but I was terrified to get my hopes up. They'd been let down and stepped on so many times. This scenario was too perfect. There was no way God would make us wait for a year just to hand us something so perfect, right?  (My spirit was clearly in the wrong here, because scriptures tell us over and over again that that's exactly what He does!)

The next morning, I read this verse:


God is the God of HOPE! He desires that we overflow with hope. But not in our own power- in the power of the Holy Spirit.

At that point, the spark grew to a small flame and I started to really hope in the Lord-that he was faithful to fulfill our desires from him and that his timing was perfect. I asked some friends to pray with me and for me because I knew if this didn't work out, it was going to be really hard on me.

One thing led to another and...


It's exciting and scary all at the same time. We know without a shadow of a doubt this is where God wants us, but the unknowns are creeping up on us and it's hard to not let them get to you.

If you pray, pray with us that the Lord will continue to guide us through this process. We've got to sell our house and find another one-something neither of us has ever done. We'll also be separated for a while as I stay here with Reuben and continue to work until our house sells or until August, whichever comes first (definitely pray it doesn't take that long to sell our house!!!).

We will miss our friends and family here much more than I could ever convey over a blog post, but guess what? We're only 2.5 hours away! That's a day trip. So come and visit us!

Monday, March 17, 2014

Happy St. Patrick's Day!


His shirt's too big, but it's Mickey Mouse, so that makes it acceptable... right?

Friday, March 14, 2014

five on friday

Linking up with the good life blog, a. liz adventures, carolina charm, and hello happiness for Five on Friday.

ONE
[more zoo time]

Reuben and I so loved the zoo when we went a couple of weeks ago, we're going again! This time, with a whole group of mommies I've met on facebook. We're majorly excited to enjoy the warm-ish weather!

 
TWO
[american idol]

I gave up on American Idol a few seasons ago... it was just tired. Nothing had changed in the last 12 seasons and I didn't really like any of the contestants/winners. I'll be honest, I only started watching it this season because I think Harry Connick Jr. is awesome. But I'm SO impressed with how they've changed it up and it feels fresh again. There's some so-so talent, but a few stand outs.

Team Alex, FTW!


THREE
[on the move]

Reuben started walking this week!

Cue the waterworks.

I'm convinced he could walk across America now, but not so much for him. He'll take a few steps if I bribe him, but he's not really into it. He's a speed crawler, so that's still his main mode of transportation, but he's definitely on the way to toddling through life! 

 
FOUR
[hill family farm]

I don't think I've talked about it on here, but my parents are farmers at Hill Family Farm! It's a new venture, started after my dad's job got eliminated in the fall. They've always loved gardening and added a few chickens to their family a couple of years ago. After moving to a house with 5 acres last year, they got more, just to get more eggs and maybe sell some on the side. Once my dad's job was gone, they realized this could be their life now and have jumped in with both feet and are killing it! They've got fruits, veggies, fresh chicken, pigs (that will make tasty bacon even though they're adorable), and eggs. If you're local to the Nashville area, check them out! If not, still check them out and see how dang cute those little walking pork chops are...


FIVE
[blogging]

I'm really loving blogging nowadays. It feels much more natural than it has in the past. I'm happy to have this little space on the internet to record our life and all the crazy things going on in it. Thanks for reading it! :)

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

he liked it so he put a ring on it

Clint proposed four years ago today! I know it's sort of a silly anniversary to want to commemorate, but my thinking is that if that hadn't happened, the wedding and the baby wouldn't have happened either.

So it's kind of a big deal.

Here's my point of view of it all.

Miriam and I decided we would go to Chattanooga for a girl's trip over my spring break. Clint and Jonathan (her husband) would meet up with us and then Clint and I would head home while Jonathan and Miriam stayed for a few days to celebrate her birthday. Clint had already told me he wasn't going to propose on the trip, but I had a little freak out moment and made him absolutely swear to me that he wasn't so that I could go on the trip and just enjoy myself and not be looking for him to propose every step of the way. He swore he wasn't going to, and I went on my way, bummed to not be getting engaged, but happy to enjoy some time with Miriam.

We got to Chattanooga around dinner time and decided to go to Chilis. After that, we got checked into our hotel to just hang out and relax. Jonathan called Miriam and told her he'd bought something expensive without asking her and she got frustrated and went out to the hallway to have the conversation so I didn't hear them fighting. We laid in bed that night and I kept talking about how Clint needed to propose soon. I had bought some belts from Urban Outfitters that I wanted my bridesmaids to wear, but I bought way more than I needed and needed to return the rest but I couldn't talk numbers of wedding party until we were engaged. (What a stupid thing to worry about... for real.)

The next day it was raining and gross so we went to breakfast across the river at Aretha Frankenstein's and then decided to go antique shopping. While we were out, I was wondering where the boys were, so I gave Clint a call and he said they'd gotten stuck in traffic, but should be there in about an hour and that we should just to the coffee shop where we were meeting and wait for them. I thought "No way! I'm not stopping shopping to just go and sit at a coffee shop."

So we kept shopping. Duh.

An hour passed and still no word... So I called again. He said they'd stopped to take pictures at a scenic view and they'd be there in 45 minutes and to wait for them at the coffee shop. Again, I thought no way. They'd only gone a few miles in an hour so I wasn't going to waste time.

Finally about 20 minutes later, we got a call saying they'd be there in 20 minutes or so. I was finally ok with going to the coffee shop.

We got there and Miriam said she wanted to show me this cool courtyard area she'd told me about a few weeks before, before it started raining again, but she had to go to the bathroom first. I said I'd wait outside and then she said she'd just go after we saw it.

We turned the corner and Jonathan and Clint were standing there. I thought, "Oh cool! They surprised us early!" and then I realized Jonathan had a camera and Miriam was getting all sappy... What?

Clint told me to put my umbrella down and come over. I finally figured out what was going on...


He said (and this is word for word) "I know I promised I wasn't going to do this today but...

Will you marry me?"


And I squealed yes and jumped up and down like an giddy school girl. There were laides passing by and they started clapping and Miriam was crying and it was kind of perfect.



Little did I know, from Clints point of view...

He decided the second he got out of the car with  me that he was going to propose the next day. He told Jonathan and Jonathan somehow miraculously timed his phone call to Miriam while I was in the bathroom at Chilis. So when they got in a "fight" that night, they were really just talking details. They had a plan, but the plan and the back up plan got rained out. So they were texting constantly on the 12th, trying to decide what was going to happen. When Clint told me they were an hour out the first time, they were already there. He was trying to keep me surpised but I don't think he realized how stubborn I was going to be. He and Jonathan waited outside in the rain for two hours!


Definitely ranks in at one of the top 5 days of my life!



Tuesday, March 11, 2014

HELP!

I need some help.

Some advice.

Some "We've been there and it get's better"s.

Reuben hates, hates, double hates the nursery at church.  We're talking hysterical screams the entire time unless he's walking the halls in someone's arms or the "bye bye buggie." He got so loud the other Sunday that I could hear him in my room on the other side of the building.

He's officially THAT kid.

I figured it was because he's always in there over a nap time that he's missing because he stinks at taking naps, but he's started screaming just SEEING the ladies that keep him. I know they're wonderful women who have done aboslutely nothing to make him feel this way. They're just not mama.

Clint and I both work at church and I serve in preschool in another room so he absolutely has to go.

So here's my cry for HELP!

Any tips or tricks to help him? How long did it last for your kiddo? What seemed to make the difference to them?

Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated!

Friday, March 7, 2014

five on friday

Another week of linking up with the good life blog, a. liz adventures, carolina charm, and hello happiness for Five on Friday.

[ONE]
cold weather

Is anybody else absolutely sick of winter?! I know in July I'm going to be complaining about the heat, but seriously. I can't handle much more of this. I think the few days of having temperatures in the 60s seriously convinced me that winter was over. So three days of ice and snow just infuriates me. I've given up wearing my winter coat in some sort of subconcious protest, so now I'm just extra cold becuase the thin layer of long sleeves just isn't cutting it...

SPRING!!! I WANT YOU!!!

[TWO]
baby hair

It's totally time to get Reuben's hair cut. He's got a really weird thing going on now. He's still got 90% of the hair he was born with and it's now between 3-5 inches long. The other 10% fell out from him rubbing his head back and forth against stuff so in the very middle of his head he's got hair that's grown in and is only like an inch long. It turns it into a super weird looking mullet type thing. So he needs a hair cut... but I just can't let go of these sweet baby curls.



[THREE]
new car seat

Reuben got his big boy car seat delivered this week! I can't wait to get him settled in it. We decided on the Diono Radian RXT.


We haven't gotten him in it yet, that'll be a this weekend thing. I got a little sappy in the car Tuesday on the way to Louisville, thinking this was his last trip in his infant seat. It's what we brought him home in! A lot of memories and mama hormones going on there...


[FOUR]
louisville

We took a >24 hour trip to Louisville Tuesday for Clint to do an interview for a cool opportunity and I loved it! It's such a cool city! We stayed at the Galt House hotel right on the river and ate at a casual dining place on the other side of the river in Indiana. It was just gorgeous and seemed to have a really neat vibe. I'd love to go back for a longer visit!


[FIVE]
collect*

Back in October, I was looking for a way to store a photo of Reuben from each day in one, easy to see and access place. I did a little digging around on google and found collect. I've used it every single day since and I've fallen in love. I love seeing the photos displayed on the calendar. It reminds me every day at 6:05 to take a picture, so if I haven't already, I can make sure to snap a picture of little man doing something cute before bed. I'm so thankful for it because day-by-day I can't see much change, but if I look back to when I got it, I realize just how much of a little boy he is becoming!


So there ya have it! What's on your mind today?

*Collect has zero idea who I am. I just genuinely love the app and want everyone to know about it!

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

fourteen months later...

Clint was away all weekend, so I decided it would be perfect timing to finish painting our room and get something up on the wall behind it.

Clint is absolutely adamant we'll never have a legitimate headboard because he hates when pillows fall between the crack of the mattress and the headboard, so we've been living with our bed against the wall for all 3 years of our marriage. Not exactly the homiest way to live.

So, like I said last Friday, we'd been living with an absolute horribly half-painted room for 14 months. It wasn't even like we had clean lines where we'd decided to end. We just quit mid paint job.



My mom came and helped me move the massive bed and clean the walls up to paint and my dad helped me move it back the next day after everything had dried. Teamwork makes the dream work.

I painted after Reuben went to bed for the night. Praise the Lord for 6:15 bedtime! It only took a couple hours and it honestly flew by thanks to trusty Law and Order: SVU.

Once it was dried and the bed was moved back, it was time to clean, organize, and decorate. I had big plans of doing a really cool display behind the bed, but I ran out of time/energy, so some twine, tape, photos, and old book pages did the trick just fine. I'm sure I'll update it to something a little more to scale with a king sized bed eventually...

probably in like 14 months.




Monday, March 3, 2014

12 little white onesies

It is over.

I got 12 semi-successful pictures of Reuben somewhat close to monthly in a white onesie that may or may not have actually fit.



While I am SO thankful to have these sweet memories (is he seriously the same baby as that little squinty peanut from month one?!), our next babies will have monthly photos taken differently. I had two issues:

1. Finding 12 different, not girly, fabric surfaces already owned to lay him on. I didn't want to spend money on fabric just for a single picture, so I used sheets, comforters, and blankets. I was officially out of non pink or leopard print things by the time December rolled around, so I was super thankful we got a new white comforter and blue Duke blanket. Perfect timing!

2. Having a white long sleeved onesie in the right size every month. It obviously didn't happen if you look at months 6-11-- oops! He just doesn't ever wear a plain white onesie. He had one in (what I thought should be) each size, but if I couldn't find it, we were just out of luck. Once it got to the 20s of the month, I'd start getting desperate and would use whatever white onesie I could find. I think he's in a 6-9 mo one in his 11 mo photo.

Next kid(s), I will do a plain diaper and plain background. I just didn't think when I committed to his month one photo and when I got a few months in and saw how it was going to be a pain, the OCD in me came out and I couldn't change that far in and have photos that didn't match.

So there ya go! I hope you learn from my mistakes...

And enjoyed seeing little man grow up in the blink of an eye!
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