7 is a good number...

 Tomorrow my husband and I will celebrate 7 years of being married. I look back and wonder where time went and yet it feels like life has always been this way.

Every day gets better and better and I am blown away by this blessing. I could not have asked for a more

Sensitive

Caring

Compassionate

Understanding

Talented

Wise

Discerning
Romantic

Strong

Smart
Funny

Or

Handsome

                                                                Man than I have!

He is everything I ever prayed for and more. Each day I learn something new. He is the man of the house, he is our spiritual leader and he loves me!

This weekend I took him away overnight and my lovely Mom stayed with Jack!

He is always the one that plans the fun surprises and I wanted to do it this time!

We started the day with a trip to Good Bean, our favorite place for bagels!

We walked around Jacksonville for awhile and took in this cute little town that sometimes we forget about because we are local. Only after bumping in to dozens of tourists do we realize what a find this little town is!

That evening we had dinner at The Bella, where my sister works. She sat us at a great table in the back!

After dinner we went to our lodging for the night, The McCully House. Our fireplace in our original room didn't work so we had to be upgraded...after I walked into the room and gasped there was no need to twist my arm to move rooms! We stayed in the luxurious suite that is usually $300 a night! It was amazing! (pics of our room are the ones just before the bottom set)

The next morning we headed to the Apple Cellar for a breakfast of homemade croissants, his a bacon, egg and cheese and mine a spinach and feta.We then headed back into town for a matinee of Robin Hood which was fantastic!


It felt like we were gone for a week, but it was just under 24 hours....now THAT is what I call a great getaway!

Big Boy Bed

Yep...it's big boy bed time.

It was about 2 weeks ago when I heard him crying, and I knew it wasn't a normal cry.

I ran into his bedroom to find his leg stuck past his knee and he was on his tummy.

My husband wasn't home and I did my best to remain calm on the outside while inside I was freaking out.

I couldn't get it out.

He was so stuck and just crying, it was awful. I was pretty sure I was going to have to break the crib to get his leg out. But just before it snapped, I slipped his leg out.

I was sick inside. It was awful.

Jack is a wild sleeper, and he's long. We often go in to find him in crazy positions all over the crib. But this put it all over the edge. So......it's big boy bed time.

Can't say I'm looking forward to him being able to get up on his own

and since I'm sort of neurotic, my hubby said we can set up a webcam in there for the first month or so :)

But I am looking forward to sneaking in his room while he's alseep and laying down next to him.

 Books in bed and snuggles.

I remember thinking this moment was so far away, but it feels like yesterday we brought him home from the hospital. I can't believe it's here. But he is so ready. The kid practically asks us to go to bed and heads right to his room and grabs his night-time stuff.

It's just me that isn't. :)

I'll post pictures when it's all set up! Probably in the next few weeks, waiting for it all to get here!
Because it's never "just a bed" You've got the rails and the sheets and the mattress protectors and blah blah blah.

By the way, got some super cool bed rails that aren't your typical "hospital" looking rail and much safer! Let me know if you want more info!!

Wordless Wednesday...sort of :)

"Your Hands" a blog by Lacie Lacy

Last week I sat with one of my dear friends during her ultrasound as they told her there was no heartbeat. This was the 3rd loss for my friend.

We cried. We hugged.

I felt very honored because she doesn't normally let people see this side of her. But there was no way she was going to spend that morning alone.

My dear, sweet friend doesn't let people in. She rarely let's people see what's really going on.

Well, after this recent loss she decided to start a blog called Your Hands and it's sole purpose is to be an encouragement to others who have lost babies, either before or after birth. It's a place where she is sharing her thoughts, emotions, and things that have helped her along the way.

We trust and believe that God has a plan for both of us

And I can't imagine what people do without Him to lean on.

He is the true source of strength and joy and comfort

And He gives us these special people in our lives to weep and rejoice with.

I would love for you to check out her blog! If her blog hits 50 followers The Vintage Pearl is doing a giveaway!! Go take a look at their stuff, I know I want to win! So please, take time to look at her blog and become a follower...and then pass the word along! Thank you so much!!

Wordless Wednesday

Fill in the blank Friday (whoops...forgot to post this! Oh well!)

 1. The very best thing about the summer is the bbq's. I don't really care for summer, other than I bbq several times a week :)

2. My first crush ever was a boy named Daniel Neilson :) We were best buddies and his sister and I are still close. He was my first. We used to kiss eachother and tell his sister that we were "pinching" eachother so she shouldn't come in or she'd get hurt. Haha!

3. This may sound really silly but I don't like standing on the drain in the shower. Any shower. I have vivid memories of a video shown during science class back in like 2nd grade of a spider crawling back up it after it had been swept away.

4. I squeeze my toothpaste from the middle.

5. My absolute favorite "comfort food" is bread. Bread in general. I could take a loaf of french with a pat of butter and be just dandy.

6. A random fact about me is that I once chugged 3 liters of Mt. Dew in 45 minutes to impress a guy. I barfed it all up about 20 minutes later,  but I still felt pretty darn cool.

7. The one piece of technology that truly makes my life better and I couldn't live without is the hair straightener. I don't have curly hair and I don't have straight hair. It's this weird in between mess that doesn't allow me to scrunch it into a curl, nor does it allow me to let it air dry. Thank goodness for that thing.

Thanks Lauren at the little things we do!!

Hugaversary!

So 9 years ago today my best friend and I hugged like we always did before saying good-night.

But on this night everything changed. I knew I had fallen for him

(he already had for me...but that's another story)

10 things about yourself.......

TEN THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF

I'm a vegetarian

I am a WWII buff

I'm a pastor's wife (still feels weird to say)

I hate running, but I love the way I feel after

I make a mean oven-pancake (I'll post the recipe one of these days)

I love to read. I gobble books up.

Bring a Mom is all I ever wanted to be

My husband still woos me like we were dating

I'm stubborn

Jack's dimples melt me

NINE THINGS YOU’VE THOUGHT ABOUT RECENTLY (in no particular order)

puke (stomach flu)

groceries

reading

Disneyland (every day)

a wedding

family

God

friends

Jack

EIGHT WAYS TO WIN YOUR HEART

Be real. Be who God wants you to be all the time. Not just around certain friends

Laugh at yourself

No drama.

Be in love with Disneyland as much as we are....it borders on obession

Keep your mouth shut about others

Like dumb things

Be loyal

Love Jesus

SEVEN FAVORITE SONGS YOU’VE HAD

In the Moonlight- Sting (first dance at our wedding)

If You Could See What I See- Geoff Moore (but Trev sang it for me for our wedding and it was better)

At Last- Etta James

Healer- Kari Jobe (the song God gave me after losing the baby)

Be Near- Shane and Shane

Chim Chim Cheree-Mary Poppins

Give Me A Simple Life- Rosemary Clooney

SIX THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU GO TO BED

shower

try to eat something

take jack to the park

read books with jack

call my sister-in-law to say happy birthday!

watch a show and snuggle with Trev

FIVE FAVORITE: MOVIE, ARTIST, BOOK, FOOD, SEASON.

Grease

(at the moment...) Kari Jobe

Redeeming Love

Pizza

Fall

FOUR THINGS YOU’RE DOING RIGHT NOW.

listening to My Friends Tigger and Pooh

Facebooking

updating the calendar

reading Jack books on and off

THREE THINGS YOU’RE SCARED OF

losing people I love

the unknown (God's workin on me!)

large things like boats and stuff....I hate looking at them haha!

TWO THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE

See my kids have kids

Travel. Lots of places. Lots. Does that count as only one?!

ONE CONFESSION

I am content with just my family and being home

Disneyland Before Jack

Disneyland with Jack in the tummy :)

Disneyland with an 11 week old Jack! :)

Thanks Becky for this little "quiz"!

"I Will Carry You" by Angie Smith

One of my favorite blogs is Bring the Rain, Angie Smith's blog. Her husband is in the group Selah and if you don't know her story I highly suggest clicking on the link below and reading from the beginning.

Her first book, about the story of Audrey, was released last week. Yesterday a free edownload version was available for free! Since I was stuck in bed with the stomach flu, I decided to download it and try and distract myself from how I was feeling.

I read the whole thing in a couple of hours, sobbing myself through it. I had been following her blog for quite some time and so much of what I read I had read before, in a different form. But there was a lot more to it, and a lot more detail. It was hard to read at some points, and I would have to set it down for a bit.
She is a very gifted writer and Beth Moore gives an endorsement at the front of the book (Angie, like myself is sort of, in a good healthy way obsessed with her too haha!)

I want to buy a hardcopy so I can highlight all the verses and quotes she used to reference when I need them.
It did bring back quite a bit of emotion for me, and some things she talked about were things I had told myself I was "over". It's hard to put into words, but the book was an encouragement that we don't move "on" we will always carry that loss with us and it's okay. And it's okay to have good days and bad days and to ask God the tough questions.

She is an amazing example of trust, faith and strength. Please check out her blog and her book as well. I promise you will be encouraged!

Bring the Rain- The Story of Audrey Caroline

Link to buy the book from Amazon......

Or from Barnes and Noble

I stole this from my new friend Becky's blog. I love these things and I would do one every day (but that's a bit obsessive) anyhoo......

The best day ever was the day ...aw man, how do i pick one?! probably having jack. it was an incredible experience that you just can't fathom. it also turned out to be one of the hardest/worst days as well since he was whisked away from me, after only holding him for 1 hour, to the NICU. talk about range of emotions!


My favorite meal of the day is ...i kind of graze actually.



This weekend will be ...like any other weekend I guess. sort of busy but not too busy. we are having a birthday dinner for my sis-in-law



Never in my life have I ...been so blessed :)



The only thing better than donuts..well, i don't really care for donuts so lots of things are better than donuts!



I could really do with ...a trip to Disneyland. Yes, we are obsessed. Yes we are going next year...but I'd go every week, I swear!



The most recent thing I bought myself was ...shoes! they are super cute little slip on flats and they are like heather gray fabric with a little button. way cute.



I am most proud of ...my husband. i could go on and on, but i really am so proud of all he deals with on daily basis and who he has allowed God to make him to be. It just amazes me.



Weekends are for ...pj's and popcorn and movies and mowing the lawn and going to the park as a family and church:)


My favorite childhood food was...kraft mac and cheese.

Thank You Tuesday....Living Locurto

So it's "Thank You Tuesday" again where I get to highlight some other blogs and/or  people I am thankful for!
What is super cool about this is that I just found out I won a giveaway from this site as well!!

Living Locurto is an awesome blog site! She has tons of freebies for your blog as well as dozens upon dozens of Free Printables! And they are some of the cutest out there!

She is always doing fun giveaways and from her page you can link to tons of other awesome blogs!
She also has Weekly Meal plans you can print off and Party Ideas galore! I look forward to using many of them!!

Go ahead and click the link above to get right to it!

Update on "Operation Fix Husband's Broken Cereal Bowl He Painted"

In an earlier post I talked about wanting to "save" the broken bowl of Trev's. I finally told him what happened and we agreed to just say good-bye and paint new one's together!
All this time I thought he'd want to hold on to it somehow and he was like, "it lasted almost 9 years!!"

And the popcorn bowl I broke of his a couple years ago (again, one that he had painted :/ ) that I thought he wanted to hold on to........he said he thought I wanted it. So that went bye-bye too!!
So, I'll have to get crafty some other way. It will happen I'm sure :)

For my Mother...

Each night I get to put Jack down to bed we always pray first and then I sing to him the little song,

"You Are My Sunshine"

Tonight I did the same, and then thanked him for making me a Mommy.

I remembered why I sing that specific song to him. It's the song my Mom always sang to me.

I (like my Mom) can't carry a tune. That's his Daddy's job.

But I (like my son) didn't care. It is a very special memory of mine and I cherish the thought that Jack will carry that memory of us as well.

So many things change when you become a Mom. And each year you are a Mom something new changes because our little ones change and we change as well. And this Mom thing is hard.

Yes it is amazing

Beautiful

Fulfilling

Challenging

Encouraging

And

On and on.

But it is down right hard. And no one will tell you different. And it doesn't change darn thing about how much you love it. It's just a fact, it's hard.

And I didn't know this until I became a Mom and I could never really understand how to appreciate my Mom until I became a Mom.

Boy was that eye-opening!

So, instead of a card that I will seal into an envelope for only my Mom's eyes to see....

I'm putting it into my blog so the entire world can read what my Mom means to me. And no, I won't be able to put it all on here, it would take days. But these are just a few of the things I want to say:

Mom, thank you. Thank you for....

Teaching me about Jesus

Teaching me about tithing

Teaching me how to share

how to be a friend

how to have compassion.

Thank you for sacrificing time for yourself

money for yourself

new things for yourself

so I could have what you felt I needed and or wanted.

Thank you for amazing home made food

Thank you for letting me be a vegetarian and making separate meals

I now know what that took

Thank you for having us sit at the table and eat together

Thank you for bringing me my books and homework to school when I forgot

Thank you for coming to every volleyball game I ever played in

(you say you missed one, but I don't remember because in my mind you were always there and you were the only Mom that was)

Thank you for letting me make mistakes

For putting up with my nasty teenage daughter attitude

For listening to me cry when some dumb boy broke my heart

For listening to me gush about the man I fell in love with

Thank you for praying for my future spouse all those years

Thank you for your example, along with Daddy's, about what a Godly marriage looks like

Thank you for kissing each other

and loving each other

and respecting each other

Thank you for being willing to drop everything to be with me when I need you

You are still the first person, after Trevor, who I go to

You are my sounding board

My constant

You give and give and give

and I just don't know how to repay you

I have tried by giving you a grandson...and hopefully someday I can give you more grandchildren

Because you are the best Grandma in the whole world

And I am so thankful that I had you as a Mom to show me how to be a Mom

You are the perfect example

in my eyes

And I will always come to you for your advice and want it

because, hey...I turned out good! :)

I love you more than I could ever, ever say. And now everyone else knows how amazing you are too!

Happy Mother's Day Mommy. You are truly the best.

Fill in the blank Friday!

1. My favorite book growing up was probably the Little House on the Prarie series....although it's so hard to pick since I loved books so much! But I remember pretending as I read that I was Laura.




2. The funniest book I've ever read was probably the Ramona Quimby series. I just love her.





3. The one book that has truly changed my life is (other than the B.I.B.L.E)...."Believing God" by Beth Moore. Took things to a whole new level of trust for me.





4. If you're looking for a real "tear jerker" you should probably read  "Redeeming Love" by Francine Rivers. Almost anything by her actually, but I'm an easy crier, so I might not be the best suggester :)






5. If I could meet any author living or dead I would want to meet Beth Moore. I know several of my blog readers have, but I haven't...YET! I can't think of any other author that God has used more in my life.




6. The next book on my "to read" list is some Karen Kingsbury books a friend is going to lend me!




7.  If I was snowed into remote cabin in the woods and could only choose three books to bring with me I'd bring  "Redeeming Love" "Pride and Prejudice" and the last Harry Potter book, "The Deathly Hallows"
 
*And since I still haven't figured out the McLinky thing....click on this to link back to Lauren's blog....the little things we do*

The Design Girl teams up with Lisa Leonard!!

How bad have I wanted to win something from Lisa Leonard Designs?!?!

So bad!

The Design Girl has teamed up with Lisa again for an awesome $75 giveaway to her site!

I am hoping to win this time...although if I don't, I might just have to start saving up to buy one!

Check out Lisa's site here: Lisa Leonard

And also check out the Design Girl's site The Design Girl Blog  (I also have her blinkie button you can direct link to on the right!)

Wordless Wednesday

ATTN: Calling all "crafties" and "upcyclers"!!

Help

I need your ideas!

I broke my hubbys bowl that he painted at Hot Pots several years ago!

He loved it and I loved it

He spent lots of time on it

I broke it :(

I am looking for ideas and what to do with it!

It's cereal bowl size.

Post some ideas or links to 'how to' sites that would be helpful!

We may not be able to use the bowl again, but I still want it around somehow!

(Mom: I set the bag on the table and the two bowls crashed together....of course his broke...)

Thank You Tuesday!

Happy Tuesday everyone! It's our first real day back to normal, had to send my hubby off to work :( The little guy wasn't feeling too well yesterday, but seems to be back to normal today!

For the next several Tuesdays, I am going to highlight a blog/website that I have been thankful for. Either for an idea, inspiration or just for making me smile! Today's "Thank You" goes out to.......

Leelou Blogs! 
This is where my awesome blog look comes from! She designs all sorts of fun templates, backgrounds and headers! And guess what....a lot of it is free!!! I haven't found another site that does such awesome freebies! These are top quality looking! In addition to these freebies she also can custom design things for you as well for a very fair fee! She also designs for twitter!Her blog is super cute and I encourage you to check it out and maybe download some stuff! Make sure to add her button to your blog to spead the word!! You can click on the link in this post, or over on your right is her direct link button!
Thank you Leelou Blogs for my awesome layout.....maybe someday I'll have her custom design me a header!!

Vacation pictures

Our View

 We had an amazing time in Newport and we feel so blessed to have been able to get away together! Vacations are different than they used to be, but different isn't bad....it's just different! We enjoyed the eating out, eating in, movies, walks, the aquarium, Nye Beach, Historic Bayfront, Ice Cream, Depoe Bay, Lincoln City and more! Enjoy the pictures!

Sharks and Eels and Sting-Rays Oh My

Super cool shot

Love his face

He loves it

Aquarium

Freedom!

Exploring! He got to touch lots of fun things!

A lil treat :)

NOT happy about leaving :(

Super excited!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I'm SOOO excited to say that I now have a Grab Button!! Over on the right side of my blog there is a a button with my "logo" and a grab box! If you like my blog and want to put a direct link on your blog, then grab it! Copy and paste what's in the box into an HTML code on your layout page! Now you can promote my blog too!! :)
I am proud to say I figured out how to do this all on my own! ( it only took half a day haha!)

So show some love!! :)

ugh.....

Really want to upload some new pictures. But this thing is being really really awful! I am so tempted to switch to Wordpress right now.......

Also, I really want a nice blog layout. Any suggestions from those of you out there?!?! :)

Found one!!!!!!!!!