30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 21}

Today I am thankful for:
 a few hours of precious sleep
deer hunting for Mike
snuggling in bed with Rosie
early morning chats with my sister in-law
clean laundry
the most amazing weather
yummy food
the group effort of several of us on Sadie-Rose's birthday cake and most of all I'm ever so thankful for a beautiful little girl that turned 5 years old - words can't express how thankful I am to have been blessed with having Sadie-Rose as my daughter
family that blessed Sadie-Rose's little heart and made her ever so happy with lots of little horsey toys
getting my pie crusts made the night before
tucking a very happy birthday girl into bed

30 Days of Thankfulness (Day 19 & 20)

Day 19
Today I'm thankful for:
pretty weather
some quiet time alone
talking with family
Mike fulfilling wishes and taking the girls fishing down at the pond
yummy hot soup to warm up with
Mimi making a special dinner for Miss O. because of her wicked canker sore on her tongue
laughing together at silly things
ice cream in a cup



Day 20
Today I am thankful for:
glorious weather
the sunrise
apple muffins like only Mam can make them
another new opportunity
chats on the phone with my mom
family friends who bring my girly her dream
a miniature pony named "Tony"
a camera to capture Sadie-Rose's happiness
3 kids who were over the moon delighted to get to play with and ride the pony
freshly scrubbed young'ins fresh out of the tub

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 17 & 18}

Day 17
Today I am thankful for:
the beauty of early mornings, right before dawn
no lines at the security check point
Mike making it on board our 1st flight, even though he was the very last person
making our 2nd flight with just 20 minutes to spare
a baby boy who slept on our 2nd plane ride
sunshine when we got to Oklahoma
lunch out with all the family
a fun afternoon just hanging out and relaxing with Mike's brother and sister in-law
a dear nephew who followed Samuel around outside for hours (and hours and hours)
watching the OSU vs Texas Tech football game
and watching the guys play football together outside
a quiet starry drive to Mike's parents house
arriving at our " home away from home" as Olivia calls it, safe and sound
having Mike's younger brother there to greet us
a yummy dinner waiting for us
crawling into our bed, it felt so good to lay down and go to sleep


Day 18
Today I am thankful for:
getting up feeling rested
a relaxing morning with Mike's parents
preparing lunch with Candy
how adorable Samuel looks in his new coat
chatting with Gary, sharing our hearts and perspectives
having all the family together for lunch
new to me tv shows (Call the Midwife)
popcorn and a movie
snuggling with my little girly
Samuel in his new jammies

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 16}

Today I am thankful for:
time with Mike
smoothies
a happy baby boy
quick school work
early naptime
getting stuff packed
Mike home early
him fixing a delicious dinner while I continued packing
Olivia's awesome job picking up the house while Daddy was cooking and Mommy was packing
getting all finished up with  time to spare
getting to prep a special little birthday project to stick in my bag
a clean house
a meteor shower

30 Days of Thankfulnes {Day 15}

Today I am thankful for:
a blustery day that really feels like autumn
a warm house
 pancakes
a shower
getting errands run
violin and ballet lessons

30 Days of Thankfulnes {Day 14}

Today I am thankful for:
clean clothes
getting school work done
lettuce from our garden for lunch
dwarf pak choy from our garden for supper
leftover gingerbread birthday cake throughout the day with cups of tea
my genius husband who figured out a way to make our blue-screened desktop come alive again so that I could save my documents and math programs from being lost forever

30 Days of Thankfulnes {Day 13}

Today I am thankful for:
silly-ness with Olivia
my favorite bras going on sale on Zulily (it's the little things!)
new orders
daily chats with my mom and sister
getting the girls all packed
a simple dinner
Mike being home early again
hugs from Samuel

30 Days of Thankfulnes {Day 12}

Today I am thankful for:
Sadie-Rose waking up without a fever (even though she went to bed with one)
Olivia seeing and understanding my mental state and taking her brother for a bit so I could have a break
kind reminders and words from a friend
Mike being so thoughtful and coming home at a "normal" hour to "help" me get ready for our trip
getting our kitchen and living room set back to rights after the partying on Saturday
sunshine and warm weather
bedtime

30 Days of Thankfulnes {Day 11}

Today I'm thankful for:
coffee
making it to early service
the reminder from our pastor
chats with friends
new clothes for Mike
a little man's nap in the car
lunch out
new clothes for Samuel
Mike's help

30 Days of Thankfulnes {Day 10}

Today I am thankful for:
getting up early
new ideas
remembering 10 on 10
lots of help from my family
cupcakes turning out so much better than I had hoped
getting to take a shower by myself and not having to worry about the kids
a scrubbed clean porch
party details coming together easily
being {mostly}ready for the party before everyone arrived
a birthday party that went off without a hitch
one very happy little girl who's birthday we celebrated early today
polka dots
red, white, and turquoise
striped paper straws
yummy cake
cutely decorated gingerbread houses all lined up in rows
Sadie-Rose's very closest friends coming to spend the afternoon with her
smiles on everyone's faces

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 9}

Today I'm thankful for:
coffee
cakes made
the smell of gingerbread through-out my house
being silly with Olivia
Olivia's help in the kitchen
clean dishes
working with just Sadie-Rose to make her birthday party cupcakes
the sound of my girls laughing as they clean together
our church's oyster roast this evening
a bonfire in the firepit
 the fact that it's Friday and this week is almost over

30 Days of Thankfulness {Days 7 & 8}

Day 7
today I'm thankful for:
not passing out with a needle in my arm
water
good kids
an understanding husband
(today was a bad day. I'm just glad I made it through the day and I don't  want to see the inside of a drs.office again in a very long time. And I really don't want any needles stuck in me ever again. period.)

Day 8
today I'm thankful for:
getting up early and getting lots done
new opportunities
a beautiful day where my kids can play outside
violin lessons for Olivia
a great library with an excellent reserve system
dance lessons for Sadie-Rose
the best kids book store ever, run by the kindest lady ever (she lets Olivia sit and read all her books while Sadie-Rose is at dance class, 2 doors down)
a baby boy who needed some extra snuggles and just wanted to be held
a good trip through Target with all the kids in tow
a warm house and a happy husband who had a cup of tea waiting for me as a walked in the door
snuggling all together in bed and watching a movie
a warm down comforter in a very cold bedroom

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 6}

Today I'm thankful for:
the freedom and privilege I have in this country to vote!
only having a 1 1/2 hour wait in line
Mike's help with Samuel
hot coffee on a very chilly morning
knee socks and tall boots
children who were pretty close to saintly through today's escapades
getting my voting out of the way early in the morning so I could move on with my other plans for the day
Samuel having his own personal miniature "I Voted" sticker on his shirt all day, made me smile every time I saw it
getting all 12 graham cracker gingerbread house assembled
leftovers which made for an early supper
a good glass of wine
snuggling on the couch with Mike while we watch the last episode of Downton Abbey

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 5}

Today I'm thankful for:
all the cleaning I did on Sunday
Mike going to the orthodontist with us today
sippy cups that don't spill when dropped
and that Samuel finally decided that sippy cups aren't altogether evil
heat
sunshine
a quiet afternoon
food in our bellies
a blender to liquify Olivia's dinner so she can eat something (new brace wires...can you say "ouch?")
a room full of giggles and laughter while watching old Muppet shows
my baby boy's bright smile
clean sheets

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 4}

Today I'm thankful for:
the freedom to chose who, how, and where I worship
an amazing church body
a great pastor who brings encouragment to us
the reminder that you must "have a heart to work"
a reminder that God has placed my husband and my children before me as my "work" and it's the most important thing I can consecrate to Him
encouraging words from one of our senior pastors to Mike and I
no one throwing up during our shift in Children's church (the previous shift? ehh, not so much...)
nursery workers who love on my boy from 9:15 until 12:30 and still think he's awesome
my girls who love getting to spend over half their Sunday hanging out with friends
great Children's church leaders to work under
Olivia's opportunity to stretch her wings a bit in the area of drama (yay Children's Christmas play!)
my months worth of grocery
my over-flowing pantry, cupboard, and freezer
a clean kitchen by the end of the day
a cup of hot tea, my own personal bowl of popcorn, and two (almost) uninterrupted episodes of season 2 of Downton Abbey while snuggling with Mike
a good rain for our gardens
going to bed at a decent hour

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 3}

Today I'm very thankful:
that it's the weekend
that I was able to mark a bunch of stuff of my to-do list
that my husband gamely tagged along with all my errands to manage the boy
for late afternoon snuggles and giggles on the living room floor with all of us
all the sweet little green veggies growing in our garden
new jeans that fit Miss O. (She's in a size 12! How did that happen???)
a Starbucks coffee shared with Mike to help us get through the madness that was Target tonight
dinner ready when we got home

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 2}

Day 2:
Today I'm thankful for my favorite new sweater, easy school day, a clean kitchen, nap time, a eager to learn young sewer who makes herself a skirt at the age of 4,a meal plan (I've been terribly lax since my accident,) a list of "to-do's" for the weekend, breastfeeding (it's the cure-all for temper tantrums and bad days to a certain 20 mo. old,) sunshine, and a washing machine that's still working.

30 Days of Thankfulness {Day 1}

Day 1
Today I am thankful for:
the 1st of November
beans in the pressure canner
a husband who sacrifices for his family
baking soda and vinegar 
dance lessons for Sadie-Rose
a warm dry house
a boy who is less "temper tantrum" and more "sweetest boy in the whole wide world" today


Please join me in 30 day of being thankful and let me know! I'd love to follow along.

Momtrepreneur's Market {Christmas In July}

So, I just happen to know some hard-working ladies who own their own businesses or work from home creating amazing things who just happen to be momma's too. A couple of them got together and dreamed up this great idea of having a mom's market .  An evening to get out of the house, set up a table, and share our handmade goods with other people. It kind of grew, just by word-of-facebook, and we rented a barn at Mixon Park Circle in the historic North Charleston area, 17 different vendors showed up, and we had an amazing evening with all kinds of shopping, wine, Christmas music, and even beautiful food to enjoy. I loved getting to be a part of the vendors. I had two tables set up. One with my own personal handmade things and another filled with the amazing smelling soaps, candles, and lip balms that my mom and I make. My sweet friend, Tammy, came out and helped me manage my tables. Can't wait to do it again in October! And in the mean time, I hope to be able to stock my etsy shop with lovely little earrings, necklaces, and word blocks for the holidays and our new etsy shop with the soaps, candles, and lip balms.

I was a total slacker and took not a single picture. These 3 are borrowed from Mixon Park Circle's facebook page.

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Some of the awesome ladies that I'm friends with were there:

Keri of Pink Lemonade

Ashley of Fraiche Event Designs

Rachael of Lily Carriers

Ivy of Living Tree

sand between our toes

 Mike and I are not originally from the coast, Mike is actually from Oklahoma, which is pretty close to as far away from the ocean as you can get. So during the 12 years that we've lived here we've only been to the beach a handful of times. Sand is not my favorite thing, constantly being worried that my child (who shall remain unnamed) was going to run off with strangers or drown herself, and not being able to see what exactly I'm stepping on in the water, those have all been deterrents to my (our?) enjoyment of "the beach." But recently we've been going to a specific beach during a specific time at the prompting of some friends. And you know what? It's been a totally different experience (other than that I still don't like murky water and stepping on pointy conch shells) that makes the colossal amount of sand in the bathtub and the car, and the washer, and the porch, and the beach bags, all worth it. I've parred down our "essentials" of what we carry to the beach and we've added food to the mix. A trip to Whole Foods or Trader Joe's for snacks and special drinks right before we hit the island makes a world of difference. We've stayed for hours. Hours and hours. Our kids love it. Samuel is in boy heaven and we can actually relax and just sit and watch them play in the tidal pool. Very few worries about them, unless the tide is coming in, and a very wonderful way to spend our Saturdays. I only wish we had discovered it could be this way years ago.
Here's to a month of Saturday's at the beach! I finally feel like a true South Carolinian! (shhhh...don't tell the natives!)

 

 

 

July 2012 {10 on 10}

Crazy crazy day. You can't tell it from the photos, but it was. We had friend from WA. staying with, a house showing, a hurt foot, a thunder storm, preparations for a craft night at my house, preparations for a craft bazaar, and church all in one day. I'm short a couple photos but I was just snapping them as I went, not counting and hoping I had my 10. I have 9. Enough for this time.

 7am - coffee in a favorite vintage-thrift-store-find-mug to get me going

8am - craft bazaar products all stacked up and so cute to look at

 9am - getting the floor swept for the showing

 

 10am - the lace table cloth from Mike's grandmother, always on our table for show

 1pm - a crashed out boy (yes, it's crazy blurry but he's so darn cute)

 2pm - mandevilla in the rain 

 3pm - Olivia's twisted ankle

4pm - working on more craft bazaar items

5pm - Mac and friends fill my living room floor

June 2012 {10 on 10}

10 on 10 

June 2012

7:30 - new nail polish 

8:30 - hair done and earrings on

9:30 - new skirt and sandals

2:30 - Disney movies are on sale at Costco right now

Love Cars!

3:30 - my beautiful gladiolas 

4:30 - tomatoes from the garden

5:30 - sticking magnets on the fridge

6:30 - chopping nuts for cookie making

7:30 - mommy and daddy cups of tea

8:30 - helping hands in the cookie dough

Memorial Day 2012

We didn't do a whole huge lot on Memorial Day weekend. It was just us, no family or friends, so very quiet. A date on Monday + take-out with the girls, church on Sunday and the buying of a very large anniversary present, and on Saturday lots of relaxing and playing. In the evening we decided to take Rosie over to the school ball field and start practicing riding her bike without training wheels.
 She had received a glider bike for her 3rd birthday and had gotten really good at it and loved riding it. But when we switched her to a bike with peddles, it was all a bit too much coordination for a newly minted 4 year old to try and balance, steer, and peddle all at the same time. So we pulled the training wheels out and stuck them on. She was happy and we were a bit chagrined that the whole idea of the glider bike had seemingly not worked. Fast forward 6 months to May and by this point she had been begging us for 2 months to please take her training wheels off. Our long weekend at home seemed like a perfect time to try.

We walked over to the feild, shut the gates (to keep the boy captive) Mike took off the training wheels and she hopped on. 1st time around the feild, he was holding her up and she was crying that she couldn't ever learn it. 2nd time around the field, he held her less and she was still frustrated that she hadn't gotten it yet. 3rd time around the field, he let go and she took off. He ran along side, gently tapping her sides if she started leaning to far over. 4th time around required nothing. She had it. All in a space of about 5 minutes.
We were amazed and she was so proud. There is nothing quite like the look of proud accomplishment on your child's face when they conquer something they were struggling with.

We spent over an hour, going round and round, learning things like; how to start, ("give yourself a little kick") and most importantly, how to stop on command ("red light, STOP!") That it's ok to go "fast like a rabbit" sometimes, but often times "slow like a turtle" is safer and best. Sticking together and always keeping mommy and daddy in sight are very important. Don't always try to race big sister, (my little competitive middle child!) please avoid running over baby brother and other people it at all possible, and never cross the road without a grown up.

It was an amazing evening, seeing your baby grow up before your eyes. The weather was perfect, no bugs, and the light was perfection. I took a ton of pictures.
Sweet Rose, you are now a full-fledged two-wheeled bike rider! We are so proud of you!

 taking the training wheels off

 2nd time around, she's still upset she can't do it on her own

 3rd time around, she's doing it herself!

 the lil man was just happy to be free and in the dirt!

 catching their breath

 Miss O. who didn't want her picture taken

 

all my loves doing their thing

 

She was so happy and proud. <3

And today we celebrate...

10 years ago I said, "I do" to this man.
He's pretty amazing, if I do say so myself.
We agree that we'd do it all over again in a heartbeat, if it was still to each other.
We think on the same brain wave length pretty frequently.
I think that's ridiculously cool.
I know his likes and dislikes better than my own.
We don't fight very much any more.
Discuss? yes. Heatedly? eh, some. Disagree? occasionally. Out right fight? It's been a long time.
I think he looks even better now than he did 10 years go.
We've learned an incredible amount of things together and grown in that knowledge.
Somehow, we've even discovered and developed interests and hobbies in the same things along the way.
He stands by me and gives me his support in even the craziest situations.
Some days his analytical-problem-seeking-and-solving-brain drives me berserk but most of the time, I can only say "Thank you Jesus for making this man the way he is!"
He can look at something going on in our life from an unemotional view point and see it so much clearer than I can.
He thinks it's awesome that he's converted me to bell peppers and kind of to mushrooms.
I can trust his gut instinct every time.
Most of our detailed conversations happen in the kitchen while we're cooking.
But our in-depth soul-bearing heart-breaking moments usually take place late at night, lying in bed. And there's usually a small child lying in between us. 
We dance in the kitchen almost daily.
We always hold hands in the car.
I'm still trying to come to terms with the fact that he's right 98% of the time.
Hence why I do a Snoopy dance and write it down when it's the other 2% of the time.
He disagrees with the above statement. :)
We both think we are introverts, not sure how we ever managed to talk to each other in the 1st place.
We aren't perfect by any means, but even with all the tough stuff, life is pretty sweet.
We're definitely looking forward to the next 70-some years together.

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May 2012 {10 on 10}

This months 10 on 10 was challenging, but full of memories. We were on vacation for a week in the Smokey Mountains with Mike's parents.It was a full but fun day. One I know that our girls will remember and talk about for years. A few of the pictures were taken by Mike's mom as I was not allowed to have my camera during part of the day. And this month, no consecutive hours. I had a tendency to take a whole bunch for 1 or 2 hours and then be busy (or in the car) for an hour or so.
Oh well, it was our day!

 9am - yes, we slept till 9am! 

Must have been a combination of the king size bed, 

 the roaring creek right outside our windows, and the pitch black nighttime. 

All things we are unused to in our subdivision home.

We also had this little visitor crawl in bed with us, unbeknownst to us until we woke up.

 11am - breakfast on the balcony overlooking the creek

 12pm - Samuel, ready to go!

 2pm - Olivia on her 1st horse ride.

 3pm - Samuel and Grandpa looking at the pond, 

waiting for us to get back from our horse ride.

 4pm - Olivia sifting gemstones

 5pm - Samuel, after splashing in the water slough.

6pm - dinner at a local wood-fired brick oven pizzeria.

  8pm - momma's dessert, vanilla ice cream 

topped with crunchy peanut butter and homemade granola

 9pm - one very tired little man.