life lately

so here are some updates:
-we can't shake sickness. emma passed a stomach virus onto to me which led my pregnant self to the emergency room. so/not/awesome. luckily it has skipped blake and wyatt and i'm praying so fervently that it does not come back around.
-wyatt is pulling up and walking around on things. mostly around the coffee table, but it's a start! and boy is he a mess. he leaves me so exhausted at the end of every day. but then he gives me that slobbery toothy grin with his scrunched up nose and i'm a puddle. that's motherhood for ya.
-we saw santa! and emma did much better this year! but wyatt was not a fan of everyone trying to get his attention. such a sensitive bubba..
-emma has been so precious lately. i've prayed over her for a good attitude and for her to be able to make good choices with her behavior and God is really blessing that lately. she has been so sweet and i haven't seen a whole lot of fits from her lately. my sweet girl :)
-i FINALLY feel like working out. i don't feel so sick and nauseous anymore so i'm getting back to walking and jogging and man it feels awesome. i've also been more cautious of what i put in my body, so i think that helps a lot too.

sunday we took emma to see disney junior live! we left early to do some last minute christmas shopping and we told emma we would stop and get her an amulet to wear for when she saw sofia. my sister got her one for christmas but in typical toddler fashion, it's already broken/got thrown away. we ventured into the disney store and i can't tell you who was more excited, me or emma! so magical. glad we stopped there too because our $9 necklace was $24 at the show.

i had some strong opinions towards letting my kids watch princess junk because i fear so much of it leans towards sassiness and being disrespectful, plus entitlement issues. but emma and princess sofia have softened me up big time. sofia is all about learning lessons, treating people kindly, and respecting your parents. she is precious, and emma loves her.

Emma gets super reserved and quiet in big situations (i think she gets that from me). so she was blown away when sofia came on stage. and when i didn't think she couldn't be any more excited, CINDERELLA made an appearance. the look on emma's face was pure joy. i cried. seriously, i did. seeing my daughter so happy and in awe was heart warming for me. i pray she one day finds that same joy in Christ as her daddy and I have.

here are some pictures from sunday!

Thankful

Today, I am thankful for a tiny heartbeat. I will be 13 weeks on Friday and had an appointment today. After several tries of not being able to find a heartbeat, I just held my breath and prayed: "God I know you give and you take. If this is one of those times, please be with me to get through this. I know you never leave, but please let your presence in this heartache be tangible." She sent me down for an ultrasound and thankfully I was able to go right in. After only a minute I saw it and heard it. The tiniest of thumps. The slightest little wiggles of my precious and safe babe. Praise God.

We were not planning to get pregnant this soon after Wyatt. And at first, I struggled a lot. But in the good and bad, God is always faithful and He is ALWAYS good. I've already heard the comments, seen the faces made, and I get it. But children are NEVER mistakes. They are always blessings. Blake and I always said we wanted a big family, and we are well on our way to achieving that. Though the timing doesn't make sense to us, we trust a God who knows it all. Not only do I have faith in Him, but I trust the faith He has in my ability. I will boast in Christ.

So, happy thanksgiving! There is always so much to be thankful for. 

Love somebody.

Clear eyes, full hearts...can't lose

It's very rare that we keep up with shows. But Friday night lights, we were straight up obsessed with. When I was pregnant with Emma, Blake would get home from work and we'd eat dinner then get in bed and watch it for the rest of the night. So lazy and it was awesome. So there's a little random reference for you.

This post has nothing to do with tv, and everything to do with the opposite of tv (if that's a thing?). Anyways.... We got out for a little fresh air today. I've been itching to get out of the house but my car is in the shop so I guess I'm stuck. No worries though. The littles and I took a walk, rolled around in the leaves, and played on our swing set. Some days you just gotta clear your head and quit telling your kids no, ya know? Whatever Emma wanted to do outside, we did. And Wyatt just wanted to lick leaves. I let him try it, however, he was unimpressed.

Happy Wednesday! Tell someone you love them today!

Gatlinburg!

I can't type gatlinburg without laughing! my friend and i were texting about it before we left and her phone corrected it to garlic burg. how awful would a city of garlic be? i'm weird. but that's ok.

anyways. late in the game, but better late than never! we had an eventful trip to gatlinburg. got stuck in a mcdonald's parking lot (we eat at McD's?! yes..we do. oh the horror.), and on our way home we stopped at a super nice store for blake to do some christmas shopping and emma puked all over me and the store. so awesome. i know i've hit a new stage in life where i can deal with puke. that was probably the scariest thing about venturing into motherhood for me! haha..

so we went to dollywood! i think it's the first time i've ever been? but it was AWESOME. already decorated for christmas (did everyone forget about thanksgiving this year?) but we didn't care a bit. we had a blast! emma absolutely loved the rides and getting to run around. wyatt did a lot of riding and napping but i think he had a good time ;)

it was freezing in tennessee and i loved it! nothing like putting on your boots and your coat when you take a stroll at night. so cozy!

for anyone who knows us, you know how bad blake was wanting to pick up that mallard? i love my hunter.

She'll be comin 'round the mountain!

We're off to gatlinburg for the weekend with the littles. So thankful to be getting away for a little bit. These past 2 weeks have been hard on the heart, so I'm looking forward to being with my man who always restores my heart (and attitude). I'm sure I'll Instagram a little ;)

Happy weekend!

halloween recap

so it's a week into november and i forgot to post about halloween. whoops...

in typical fashion, neither of my littles felt like cooperating for pictures. emma was too worried about the candy drop (my parents live in a fly-in community) and wyatt was more concerned with, well, anything else other than taking pictures. so here are what little ones i have to choose from. the most adorable panda and lion, if i do say so myself!

scrub a dub, two littles in the.....sink?

so our house is officially no longer our house. it's sold, and we are moved in over at camp ladd. so far, so good! i am the least organizationally minded person like ever, so i'm sure blake is not pleased with my progress in unpacking. thankfully, he doesn't voice it but rather instead helps and gets the ball rolling. i'm grateful for his type a personality ;). we'll get it together eventually. i really mean I will get it together eventually.

saturday we went to the pumpkin patch with some of our friends and their littles. it was rainy, and due to that awful misty/funky weather i looked a hot mess. and i forgot my camera. so once i get a hold of some of those pics, i'll blog them. but for now, these cuties will have to suffice.

wyatt got a spontaneous bath in the sink last night, so naturally, emma wanted one too. in she went. and they LOVED it. he was so excited that she was next to him! they're such a mess, those two.. but they're my mess and i couldn't be more proud to be their mama.

so here's to our new chapter! hope y'all have a happy tuesday!

Up all night

Writing this with such a heavy heart. A lot of times I get caught up in all of our happies and forget so many that only live in the sad. Every day there are a large amount of people who feel the need to steal from, yell at, cut down someone else because they can't find the vice to fill a void in them. So they steal more, yell more, drink more. 

I'm not sure why but I can't sleep. This hasn't happened to me in a while, seeing as I have an almost 8 month old who refuses to be put on a sleep schedule. So usually I'm exhausted by the time I get into bed. But not tonight. I'm just plain bogged down. I found myself praying over Emma as she lies next to me. I prayed she finds her worth in Christ. That He will consume her goals and character. That she will aim to be a woman of biblical stature and find joy that only Christ can bring. And all of this from an early age, too. I don't want her to ever feel the need to be of the world.

The world is dark, it's mean, it's ruthless, and corrupt. I believe God "allows" this to bring us back to Him, to show us that our life/lives are bound for pain and destruction without Him. He is not a set of rules, but instead, a freedom. And our choices are not made without consequence. This is because of our sin. And that is in the bible. It's not that bad things don't happen to Christians, because they do. But honest/true Christians find their hope in eternity knowing that Jesus paid his life for us. It's the faith in His faithfulness that He has a plan and will (not just can) get us through.

I've found myself struggling with attitude again, and that bugs me. And I know it's because I get too much slack in my time in the word. My attitude is the first thing to be affected when I'm not disciplined and it's been getting me good lately. I don't want to be upset/mad/angry with people, mainly because it's not productive in my walk with Jesus. I'm not higher than anyone else. 

Emma's favorite cartoon right now is Henry Hugglemonster. We watch A LOT of it around hers. Anyways, they go camping, yada yada yada... Turns out Henry's friend is afraid of the dark, so Henry tells him, if you can find just a little light, then the dark isn't so scary anymore. Truer words have never been spoken my friend. Darkness swallows up a lot. It overtakes confidence and hope, Nd replaces it with fear and solitude. But the bible says that to God, even the darkness is not dark to Him. He is able to be light at all times. Wherever you are, He is there with light, bringing hope, confidence, and faith along with him.

I guess my point to this post is: don't let the darkness of the world swallow you up. Sure the world comes with "fun" but it leaves you with regret and shame. Psalm 34:5 says "those who look to HIM are radiant, their faces are never covered with shame." Another reference to light in company with God. Coincidence? Not hardly.

lions, and tigers, and (panda) bears! oh my!

WOO life has been pretty crazy for us lately. there's a post coming on all of that soon enough... but more importantly, on sunday, our sweet friends emily, rico, and their precious little boy cole, invited us to the zoo with them! emma was beyond excited if you couldn't guess. she is obsessed with pandas these days and getting to be up close and personal with one? toddler heaven.

we had such a good time and emma always loves being with cole! all week she has told me about "going to the zoo, see pandas with my cole!" her cole. if this is any indication of her teenage years, Lord help us. i kid.. we know blake will scare away all the boys. and we'll arrange her marriage, when she's 75. ha! i love getting to spend time with other couples and their kids. so sunday, you were a good day.

this week, both kids are sick. and i am beyond worn out and it's thursday. it IS thursday right? ;)

here are some snapshots of our day at the zoo! (shutter speed is really kicking my tail in picture taking. i'm sure you can tell by the blurriness)

i mean.... how stinking cute are they? and wyatt, always going with the flow, that one. precious baby man.

tea parties and panda bears

it was such a blessing reading everyone's sweet encouraging comments about the last post. a lot of times i don't feel like anyone actually reads this, and that's ok if they don't. but it truly means so much to me to know that some actually do. i value people and relationships, and mostly conversation. so this blog is such a fun way to have all of those things in one!

today was a fun day! i got to snap some photos of emma having a tea party with wyatt and nanny. it was the sweetest thing. then we took a little break from the fancy festivities to let baby man swing. he is so joyful, that boy. and they are both so stinkin funny together.

after naps, we played zookeeper. emma is obsessed with everything panda lately, and one of the tea sets she plays with is noah's ark which has 2 pandas in the window. so after she put on her costume, she kept babbling in her tiny precious voice about pandas. mommy to the rescue with the panda cam at zoo atlanta! her. day. was. made. seriously, the happiest two year old i ever did see.