Halloween

The mermaids had the best time at Trunk or Treat this year. They looked adorable and had more fun giving out candy than going around to collect.  So we've had...Wonder Woman, Richard Simmons, a Kitty and Mermaid.  I'll have to be thinking of something cute for both my girls next Halloween...

Full Circle...

So I never forget...

We decided to 'try' and have a baby on a Sunday in May of 2007.  I remember the conversation in the car like it was this morning.  And I thought that surely I would be pregnant the next month.  4 months passed by and I was starting to wonder if God's will was for us to have a family.  Month 5 came and went and I remember one night being so discouraged.  I have made too many mistakes to count in my past and I thought that maybe just maybe, a few of them were now coming back to cost me what I so desperately wanted.  I opened my bible to Psalm 30 that night and poured my tears and soul into the promises of these verses....

I wrote that date in my bible because for some reason I felt like God going to use that night and that child to show just how far His forgiveness goes.  And indeed, I conceived Georgia Marie that very day. Joy came in the morning and it hasn't stopped showing up since. Fast forward 3 years...  

Summer before last (so 2011) Harold and I had a conversation one night while giving Georgia a bath.  Both of us had felt...ummm...indifferent and "off" for a few weeks.  One the many benefits of living in a small house and not having TV is the inability to hide your emotions.  It is a blessing that I don't take for granted.  You have to communicate with each other unless you want to be seriously bored. :)  Anyway, we talked and I put my finger on what was the matter.  We had gotten out of the habit of giving thanks.  Truly being thankful.  For all that we had...our home, our health, each other, our family, his job, our church.  It's so easy to get to the place where it all just happens.  Days are lived out over and over again without stopping to give thanks for what is simple, beautiful gifts.  All from Him.  We both agreed our perspective would be changed with a lot more intentional gratitude.  And it was.  Fall came...then Thanksgiving...then December.  December brought a surprise pregnancy and even though we were beyond surprised, we gave thanks.  In fact, we concieved that child on Thanksgiving.  I know that because we were VERY...um...protective every other time.  My "Thanks - giving" baby. So Christmas came and then the New Year.  Our appointment to see the baby for the first time at 11 weeks was on Jan. 19th.  That day is and always will be significant because it's the anniversary of Keke's death.  It also became the day we found out about the death of our baby.  I remember thinking in those days following that I must give thanks.  Once again.  Regardless.  And it became so very easy...not in that it was easy to lose what was so precious to us, but that it was so easy to see how His goodness and mercy had indeed followed us all those days. So we gave thanks.  The days turned to months and the month before our Thanksgiving baby was due we found out that we were pregnant again.  One of my initial thoughts was how very gracious and sweet it was of our Creator to allow me to be pregnant again when August 14th came and went.  I could think of what was and then celebrate what was to come.  So our first appointment came and they told me our baby would be due March 30, 2012.  Perfect spring baby I thought.  I got home that night and opened my bible.  I decided on the Psalms again and thought Psalm 30 would be good since the due date was the 30th, not making the connection from 5 years ago.  And there in the pages of His living and active Word, He so sovereignly brought my all my babies full circle...

Only a God that is real and present and loving can do that.  Dare we ever forget how tenderly He loves us.  He is so willing to reveal Himself and His sovereignty if we just slow down and look for it...

I am halfway through this pregnancy.  Word from the doctor yesterday said that we have a healthy baby in the making.  I cannot wait for Spring and the newness it will bring. 

O Lord, My God...I WILL give thanks to You forever! 

To the King...

4K Open House

Open house for 4K was last week.  We are very thankful to have a church that provides preschool and Georgia couldn't love being there each week any more than she does now.  To top it off, she gets to be in class with who else besides Sarah Avery which makes school all the more fun...

Sweet teacher Ms. Wendy.  It is so easy to love & appreciate someone who loves and shepherds your child's heart and mind...

I LOVE this picture from Georgia's journal.  It's a picture of herself...standing on the top of a mountain.  With big hair.  God LOVE her!  

note to self...

you should TOTALLY not go to the grocery when you're hungry and tired.  the only redeeming quality about this is the Kashi and that belongs to my husband.  although if i should be honest...my little Kashi husband ate the Reeses and cupcakes will almost NO help.  i'm guessing i should thank him for that...

7 post in 1 day...phew

and just cuz this is my current favorite picture and my baby looks like the most beautiful child in the world and i know that's cuz she's mine but still...

rosemary beach

we just got back from a week at rosemary beach with the dede and sarah avery.  that place is like a little slice of heaven i tell ya.  didn't carry my camera much {what is wrong with me} but here's a few pics from the trip...

first day of school

i dare you to tell me that she doesn't look every bit of 6 years old!!!!  and please take notice of the outfit.  harold tried to get her to buy some light up twinkle toe shoes for school.  but no...she said she wanted "nikes like mom".  

first girlfriend road trip

sarah avery went to auburn with georgia a few weeks ago and it was so much fun.  these girls are something...they are so much like sisters it's crazy.

they were is dress up clothes within 10 minutes of being in auburn...

we took sarah avery to the arena and they sang the war eagle fight song to the workers there.  super cute!

riding around with chief...

snugglin on the top bunk...

and cissy's yogurt mountain. i have a feeling that these girls will spend lots more weekends in auburn together!

south carolina trip

the twins {georgia's cousins} turned 4 and we headed to south carolina to celebrate.  my aunt and uncle live in the country on some acreage and they have a pool, golf cart, zip line, junk yard...you name it.  they really need to charge admission.  anyway, the alabama cousins could not have had more fun..

the big 40!

here's just a few pics from harold's 40th bday...we celebrating at home and then went for a quiet weekend to gorham's bluff, alabama.  it was just the three of us and we had such a good time together...

i hope you can read this questionnaire...it was so sweet.  and she was so happy and surprising her daddy with a cupcake when he got home from work.  god love him for always being so excited and playing right along with her...

this was the last picture i'll have of the three of us...found out the next week that our family was growing!!

i didn't take many pictures in gorham's bluff...was too busy enjoying my peeps and beautiful place.  but here's one picture of the porch where we ate all our meals.  we all agreed that we could get used to that view everyday.

i'm a hustler baby...

if you don't know who JayZ is then the title of this post went totally over your head...anyway, georgia is quite the lil' body.  i can't decide is she really like making money or if she just gets bored and wants to do something fun.  nevertheless i concur and we've had our share of funny experiences...

so first it was a lemonade stand.  she made the sign...made the lemonade...set the price and set up her little table outside.  the only problem is that when a customer arrived she won't say a word.  she'd scream 'lemonade for sale' when no one was around but when somebody stopped to buy...no words.  she talks a big game...

next it was a yard sale.  she wanted to have her own yard sale.  this was so darn hilarious.
i have a video of her pricing the items that i'll add when i upload it to youtube but here a picture...

but to give you an idea...the gas can was $35 and the carseat was $1.  too funny!!

let's pretend...

i have an idea...

let's pretend that 4 months hasn't gone by and that you still remember who we are and what Georgia looks like (and if not, here's a self portrait for you).  sooo...I am gonna do my very best to get the summer happenings caught up and there's so much to blog about and i better hurry it along cuz we're having another baby and oh my gosh will i ever have free time again in this decade and it's gonna be great....sooo....stay tuned...

Charleston

Harold had a conference this summer in Charleston and Georgia and I tagged along.  Beautiful city!  Beautiful, beautiful city.  We ate well, playing well and I did not take pictures well.  So here's what we got...

Trip to Battery Park is a must...the view is beautiful!

And whatta know...Georgia's favorite place in the world was just a few steps from our hotel.  Lucky her!

Jumping on hotels beds to make sure they're worthy...

Big girl at dinner.  Brought cheezeits and gatorade in case she wasn't digging shrimp po'boys.  Which she wasn't...

Buried by daddy in the sand.  It was nice not to have sand stuck everywhere but I still prefer the sandy beaches of the Gulf instead...

Happpy beach girl = Happy beach parents