Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Sarah Kate lately...

Well, I thought it might be about time for an update on Sarah kate and what all she is up to. She is growing up so quickly and I am horrible about writing down what she is doing at certain ages, so here is my effort at remembering what all she is up to at 2 and almost a half.

She is definitely a determined 2 year old. We have great days of her playing nicely and eating all of her food and obeying her mommy and daddy, then we have days of that not happening so much. She is so funny how she tries to push her boundaries. Her line lately has been, "Just 1 more, mommy?" Which can be used for 1 more book before bed, 1 more cup of milk before bed, only 1 more bite of food, 1 cookie before dinner, I think you get the idea. She is awfully cute when she asks, but Mommy has to draw the line somewhere and be mommy :).

She is starting to get more and more imaginative. She loves playing dress up and prances around the house saying, "I a princess, momma!" or "I a ballerina!" She also loves to put on makeup, which has caused quite a few messes when she has openned up my makeup without me present and spread loose blush all over her face, shirt, dresser, ect. And, we LOVE, LOVE lipstick (that would include chapstick and lip gloss), which has also found it's way all over the carseat and her face.

She loves playing outside, but what kid doesn't. By far, her favorite thing to do at the park is swing. She would swing all day if we let her.

She is taking 1 nap in the afternoon, which last for about 2 hours most days. Mommy loves this down time :) She goes to bed around 7:30/8:00 p.m. depending on our evening activities.

When we go to get dressed in the morning, Sarah Kate loves picking out her own outfit. Sometimes if I am quick enough, I can narrow down to a couple choices for her, but she has to have imput into what she will wear or we will more than likely have a meltdown.

She is singing more and more songs lately, which is so fun. Songs she likes to sing songs including: "Our God is a great big God!", "Jesus Loves Me", "ABC" song, "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Row, Row, Row your boat", and then there are the completely made up ones that are just as cute too :)

For fall festival tonight, SK was a ballerina (momma is so creative, right). She was so cute with her little ballerina tutu, ballet shoes, and a bun to top it off. Here are a few quick pictures of our evening:

Two very excited little girls :)
**Cousin Haven came as tinkerbell to join in on the fun with Sarah Kate!


First game of the night with Mr. Steve.


A little excited about the candy and prizes --so much so that she wouldn't trust mommy to hold onto it for her.


Haven all excited about her prizes!


Twinkies! Unplanned, Sarah Kate ended up matching Gracie! That is 2 pretty ballerinas I must say!

Getting all dolled up by Mrs. Bonnie. I think this must have been SK's favorite part of the night. Getting beautified :)

Checkin' out the final product. Little diva look into the mirror and then off to show her friends.

Monday, October 25, 2010

New Look

Well, it was time for another blog update. Life continues to be crazy around our house. We are transitioning from Michael working in Anniston to now being in Birmingham for the rest of the year until we head up the St. Louis. He is now working second shift, which means we get more time with him in the mornings, but he doesn't get home until at least 8:30 or later. We are adjusting, but I keep reminding myself, "It's only 2 months!" Dinners are harder since SK and I eat earlier and I get her to bed, then when he gets home, he has to eat dinner (a really late dinner). We are staying up later at night, but SK is still the early bird in the house. We will adjust and be fine. It is just another transition on our path. I am sure we will continue to see many more.
On another note, Michael and I have been discussing trying to make this blog about keeping friends and family up to date on our fun times ahead in St. Louis. We want this to be a place for a multitude of things including:
*SK updates and pics and sharing what she is up to.
*How you can pray for us and what the Lord is doing in our lives as we dive into this journey of seminary.
And I still want to continue my posts on frugal fun stuff and sewing and such
And, we are thinking we will now have 2 authors :) Michael is going (I think he will have fun with it too!) to be joining the blog and posting some too. I love this idea myself, we shall see how it works, but I am thinking how cool it would be to have this as a place he can share some cool stuff he is learning and how the Lord is growing him through all of our craziness for the next however many years (well really we are going to be growing the rest of our lives, but you know what I mean).
Well, that is new news around our house. We are gearing up for our St. Louis trip next week to hopefully find some housing and do some job interviewing type of stuff too. CRAZY!! Time is flying by and we are excited, anxious, (*insert any time of emotion possible and we are there).
I will hopefully get to another blog about this last weekend! We had a great weekend spending time Sat. with Mimi, Johnny, Jamie, and Mackenzie at the pumpkin patch. SK had a blast riding on the tracker, picking the pumpkins, and seeing all of the fun animals in the barn. Sunday we got to have some fun too with Nana and Pop hanging out at their house. SK passed out in the swing by late afternoon then had a yummy dinner and headed home to get to bed.
I know it is just wrong to post without a picture, but I have to upload all my pictures off my camera and I am just too lazy right now to do it. Sorry, but hope to get some up tomorrow!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

By Hand Boutique

So our church is gearing up for a great event the second weekend of November called "By Hand Boutique". If you don't already have plans to come, make your plans now! It is giong to be so much fun and I can't wait to see all of the creativity and cute stuff! If you haven't checked out the blog, HERE is the link. Each day they are spotlighting different artists that will be there. Today's artist: me :) Crazy! It's fun and weird to see my stuff and all on another blog. If you haven't checked it out, go to the blog and check out the facebook group. I have been sewing up a storm and can't wait to share what I have created and even more than that see what other's have created. So far I have made diaper/wipe holders, burp cloths, onsies, pillowcase dresses, paci clips, pillowcase dresses, and oodles of different hair clips. I hope to work on even more if time permits, we shall see! Here are a few pics of some of the things I have made so far:


Once I get some time, maybe I will get some more pictures up of the hair clips. I am quite excited about how cute I think they are going to be :) Today's agenda though: play with my baby girl outside. She requested and today I think I will put other stuff aside and just play. I need days like that more often, just to enjoy life's blessings.
Thanks for checking out my work and I hope to see you at the Boutique!

Monday, October 18, 2010

"it's alright"


So this weekend we had the pleasure of getting to hear Mo Leverette twice. Saturday we headed to the grand opening of Charlie's bbq and hear Mo out on the "pig sty" and then again Sunday night we got to have dinner with our church family and then enjoy Mo some more. The lyrics to one song last night (well, really there were others too) really hit me. The title, "It's Alright". How it translated for me: Stop moping about hard times, Christ has already handled it all. That seemed to be the theme for me yesterday, even with the sermon yesterday morning and Sunday School. Christ has already paid the ultimate sacrifice and He paves the way for us, but I struggle so much with wanting to handle everything myself. Then when things get hard, I don't truly trust. It is hard. I want to sing out "It is alright!", I want to believe that, I do. But instead so many times I feel in my heart, "This isn't alright. This isn't fair!"

Yesterday morning Scripture was Matthew 26:36-46. Even Christ felt human emotions. He prayed that if it was possible to let the cup pass that He was about to have to endure. What an encouragement that Christ has been where I am emotionally. And I look at my tribulations, then at what Christ knew he was about to face as He prayed that night. Christ has taken it all and paid for it with His own body.

I want to trust the Lord. So many times my unbelief gets in the way.

So if you are following our craziness with our move to St. Louis and are praying for us. Thank you. I feel your prayers. We need them. I know there is so much going on around us. Pain. Hurt. Struggles. I pray that we all can trust that He is near, and cares so much.

New ways you can pray for us:
*Michael found out last week that he has been transferred to the Birmingham branch to work the second shift in the warehouse. This is a blessing and great for many reasons. He will not have to leave so early in the mornings (most mornings before he didn't get to see SK before he left in the morning). He won't have to drive so far (almost half the distance). But he won't be home until 8:30 or later at night. You other mom's can relate I think to the late afternoon into evening times that we sit and just can't wait for daddy to get home and help out.
*We continue to wait to hear about scholarships. That is all I will say about that. Pray that we hear this week.

Thank you for your prayers. I pray that you are renewed this morning and with me can say through whatever you might be going through, "It's alright." It truly is. God is good and I know He is bigger than the struggles we face.
To end, here are some pics of life around here lately!
Weekend before last we took a day trip with Nana and Pop to Chatanooga, TN. We took lots of pics, but I loved this one. Sarah Kate was passed out and snuggling on Pop and he climbed up on this rock and we snapped this picture. It was a beautiful view. The day was gorgeous and we had so much fun!
Mimi kept SK and her cousin Haven last week. The girls had a blast playing together outside and decorating a pumpkin and then had a little slumber party on SK's rug taking a great nap laying next to each other.

Sarah Kate went to visit Daddy on his last day out at Anniston. We ate at her favorite place, Chick-fil-A then piddled around the mall. SK found this little carousel and decided to ride the horsey for a bit and of course pose for a picture :) *Isn't she cute all dolled up in her fall outfit!

Monday, October 11, 2010

Family Pics

We met the amazing Jessica Wright last weekend to take some family photos at Botanical Gardens. Jessica did our pictures last year and I knew I wanted her to take more this year. She did a great job and I am so excited with how they turned out! So without further ado (how do you spell that???).....brace for lots of pictures :)

If you would like to see more Here is the link for all of the amazing pictures taken!







Thursday, October 7, 2010

Update on Life around here

Well, life is definitely changing around our house in the next few months. So here is a recap of our last year and where we are headed. Brace for a long post:

Last year Michael began taking seminary classes here in town. He felt led to take the classes not exactly sure where it would lead to, but knowing God was at least calling him to take those classes. Well, he loved the classes and felt the desire to go for his MDiv (Masters of Divinity). For some reason, (We feel the reason being God's calling), Michael began getting interested in two schools. After approaching me (to which I responded "I don't think so") we decided to visit both seminaries. To recap how I felt, nervous and anxious. I was okay with him taking just a couple classes here in town and not quitting his job, but now things were getting a little too uncomfortable for me. He was interested in RTS in Jackson, MS which I was learning to get okay with, since it was still in the south and not too far from everything we know in Bham and then he was also interested in Covenant Theological in St. Louis, MO. I was not happy about that one to begin. Thoughts that ran through my head include, "Have you lost your mind", "Heck NO", and "Absolutely not!". I didn't really even want to visit this school, but finally being the good wife (hehe) agreed to take a trip there. We liked RTS and it was a great school and we had a great visit there, but then came the trip to St. Louis. Before the trip even began, I could feel the Lord changing my heart. I started to feel excited about getting up there to see it and then thinking "what is wrong with you, don't say that!" So we get to St. Louis and love it. Absolutely loved it and for some reason, it felt like we were going to call this place home at least for our seminary years. Michael ended up sick while we were up there, but we still were able to leave there saying, that's it. Oh, and forgot to mention, that after coming back from Jackson and before leaving for St. Louis, we up and decide, "hey! Let's put our house on the market!" We had decided that if the Lord was truly calling us to one of these schools, then we would put our house on the market and wait on the Lord. We prayed that if the Lord wanted this, then He was going to have to do the work. Well, 2 and 1/2 months later, our house was sold. We were shocked. It did not make sense at all. Why did our house sell before other houses. All we could say was, "but, God!" The doors then opened for a rental house by some sweet friends of ours that we would be able to rent for as long as we needed, be it 6 months or a year. After selling the house, we then decided to apply to Covenant to start in January and were accepted.
We have wanted to sing from the rooftops of God's grace and provision through all of this, but have also wanted to be very careful with how to handle Michael's job. Financially, we need his job until it is time for us to move, so we have had to be careful on how to handle. Well, Michael meets with his boss today. I guess you could say the "cat is out the bag".
Why do I tell you all of this?
For one, I wanted to have this written for something we can come back to look at to remember how the Lord provided and paved the way for us to get there.
2, We desperately need your prayers. There is still much to work out for us to get there in January.
We hope to use this blog as a means to keep everyone up to date as we make our move and get settled in St. Louis. We want this to be a place where we can come to get our prayer needs as we go through this journey of seminary. We know it won't be easy, but we want to do more than just survive these years up there. We want to thrive during this time.
So, with that all said (hope you are still with me, I know it's a long one)... here are some things you can pray for us about:

*Pray for Michael as he meets with his boss today. Pray that his boss will be willing to let Michael stay until Dec. 31st. Pray that the Lord will be glorified through the meeting and Michael will have the right words to say.
*Pray for Michael to be at peace about leaving his job. He knows that the Lord has called him, but struggles with the unknown of how the Lord will provide while in St. Louis. Pray as Michael begins to look for work up there. He needs to find part-time work that will not be stressful on him.
*Pray as Michelle looks for work too. She is looking for something that she will be able to do and keep Sarah Kate with her.
*Pray as we look for housing. We are taking a trip Nov. 3-6--pray for safe travels and the doors to open at a rental that would be safe and affordable.
*Pray for our families. We are moving their grandbaby 8 hours away and I know it will be an adjustment for them, as well as us.

That's enough for now. If you have made it this far reading, thanks for sticking with me :)
We truly appreciate the prayers right now.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Laundry Soap

I know I have shared on here how we have made our dishwasher soap, but I haven't shared about our laundry soap. I found this blog about how to make it, which is just about the same as how I do it, so check it out. I use the same ingredients and spent about $10-$12 dollars to begin (but these boxes of washing soda and borax are going to last me a while). The second batch I made didn't cost me a thing since I already had the ingredients. If you made the dishwasher detergent, then you will have the ingredients already on hand!

Things I did different than the Tip Junkies post---
*I use only about 2/3 of the bar of soap, just got out a medium size pot and dissolved it (after grating it) in some water, then added 1 cup of borax and 1 cup of washing soda in the pot to dissolve. When everything seems pretty well dissolved, pour it into the 5 gallon bucket and fill your bucket up about to the 4 gallon mark.
I have saved so much money doing this! I have found it easier for me to use an old detergent bottle to fill with my detergent to be able to give it a good shake before each use. And, I use about 1/2 a cup each time.

Another thrifty thing that someone recently taught me was to quit using fabric softener. Instead, use a cup of vinegar in the rinse cycle--works like a charm and nope, my clothes don't have a vinegar scent on them at all :)

We are already halfway through our week, but just in case you are interested, here is what's cooking at our house this week:
--Monday--we had a throw together, Stouffer's french bread pizza night.
--Tuesday--Aunt Lala and Jeremiah came over and we had Cheesy Chicken and Rice casserole and homemade bread with blackeyed peas.
--Wednesday--We are having Fish (baked with breadcrumbs coating), alfredo pasta and some more blackeyed peas (and we have leftover bread)
--Thursday--Rice bowls with black beans, chicken, salsa, and cilantro
--Friday--Taco Salad night

Finally, just thought I would share a couple pictures of Sarah Kate. I have been a poor picture taker lately, but Sarah Kate has been enjoying her football season so far. She took a trip to Tuscaloosa few weeks ago with Mommy and Daddy and ended the day at Nana and Pop's to watch the game:

Sarah Kate had a blast last weekend with her cousin Haven and uncle Michael at Homestead Hollow, but of course, I forgot the camera. Monday, Sarah Kate played with Mamie while Mommy, Mimi, Jamie, and Mackenzie shopped at Kid's Market. After finding some cute stuff for all the girls, we all had lunch at O'Charlies! Sarah Kate is having a great fall so far! Hope yall are too!