Snow, snow and more snow!

Well it happened again. It snowed several inches and everything outside our window looks like a beautiful winter wonderland. :) Where was all of this snow when I was growing up and longing for snow days? Anyways, I have informed our sweet son that not all of his days will be filled with snow, despite the large number of snow days he has experienced in his short two months of life. He doesnt seem to mind the snow with the exception of the time we took him out quickly for a quick photo shoot right as he was waking up from a nap. I love the "permission" the snow seems to give us for staying in our pjs and simply snugglin up and enjoyin each other. It is nice to have a few more layed back days. Speaking of layed back I think its nap time for this tired momma as well.
Coming soon more pics of our little one :)

Our first baby shower and a few pre baby thoughts

A few weeks ago we had our first baby shower. What a sweet time with family and friends. Christal did an excellent job putting everything together. We were blessed with many sweet gifts and an even sweeter time of prayer for our new little family and our little one. I know it is because of friends like these praying for us that we have had such an excellent pregnancy. We both feel very blessed to have such an amazing support group around us. (I have some excellent pictures but just not the time/energy to put them up at the moment)
While we have cut back on many activities in efforts to prepare for our little one we have also managed to stay busier than I could have ever imagined. My days lately have been busy preparing for a bridal shower and a separate reception for two of my cousins. I have also started to make sure that all of the "little" things are taken care of before baby comes, or at least making a list of what still needs to be done. My nesting is definitely beginning to come in spurts~mostly as I have the free time or energy to do so.
This past weekend Aaron and I went and served on a Mountain Top Chrysalis weekend. It was a great weekend full of the Lord working in awesome ways. Even at nearly 35 weeks pregnant I was blessed to be able to serve on the weekend. God is so good!
I am coming to realize that growing this little one is taking more and more of my energy each day. I continue to rest well most nights and am trying to take it easy but definitely feel every bit of the 35+ weeks of this pregnancy at times as well. I cannot wait to see this little one and yet at the same time I find it hard to believe he will be here in just 4ish weeks.

Lovely day

Today has been such a fun day! When we woke up today the only thing we had on the agenda was to go downtown to the Folkmoot International day festival. Folkmoot is a wonderful international festival that takes place in Waynesville every summer. I love getting to go and see the different countries and enjoy their music, dance and costumes. I love watching how open and friendly people are. Things looked great when we got there today, outside of the lack of parking. It was slightly overcast and there were a lot of great food and craft vendors set up. We had a blast walking around looking at everything. We were able to watch France dance/sing before the rain really started to come down. What looked like a great overcast day quickly turned into a very rainy one. We hated to only get to see one group but we knew they wouldnt be able to perform in the rain. Since we were already wet we continued to look around at the crafts buying a few Christmas gifts and then started the trek back to the car.
Once we got home and dried off we each curled up with a book. I flipped around and found out the Braves game was on, something that just doesnt happen at our house. What a lovely day~my husband, good books, a nap, and a Braves game :)
It has been nice to have such a relaxing day with my sweetie.

July

I find it sad that I am having to sit and do a catchup post on nearly a whole month. My biggest blogging hurdle has been moving the computer to the desk in the other room so I only make it in their to check facebook or read a couple of blogs I follow. My time away from the computer has been great for spending time with my husband and friends but sad for my blogging.
July was a busier month than I thought it would be. It seemed like everytime I thought things would slow down or ease up I found myself busier than ever. At the beginning of the month we had a group of friends over for the fourth. We had a great time cooking out, fellowshiping, playing corn hole, and watching fireworks. The rest of my weeks were busy keeping my cousin's little one three days a week and then meeting with other friends on my "off days". I was also able to squeeze in some Turner kiddo time since they were in NC for nearly two weeks. I have really enjoyed being able to see so many of my friends this summer. Aaron and I have also spent some time cleaning up around the house and getting projects completed. It feels good to finally see things getting accomplished.
Just this last weekend I went down to the beach with my mom, her best friend and her best friend's daughter. It was a great girls weekend and we managed to do a lot in just a few short days. We enjoyed a day in downtown Charleston complete with carriage ride, shopping, lunch, and lots of walking. We also spent time down on the beach and at the pool. On our down time we attempted to watch a few movies although someone if not everyone ended up falling asleep in just about all of them. Overall we had a great time and enjoyed our mini getaway!
For the last few days in this month I am at the Turners house hanging with the kiddos while Matthew and Amy work. We dont have a lot planned but have just been enjoying our time together. While the kids play I have been getting to a lot of work I need to do on the computer including blogging and baby registries.
Hopefully life will settle into a more settled pattern (haha) and I can get back into blogging more. The next couple of months will be our last ones without a child so we will be trying to make the most of them while at the same time not wear ourselves out.

This one's for you Keisha...........honeymoon pictures :)

Our honeymoon was nothing short of fantastic. We had absolutely fantastic weather and enjoyed a mix of sightseeing, stamp getting, and relaxation in the sun. While I could go on and on I wont. I will just leave you with these wonderful snipets of our week in paradise.

We're back!

We are back from our honeymoon which was as fantastic and wonderful as the wedding! We have unpacked, washed clothes, and managed through our first days of married life together. Hopefully before long I can sit down and blog a bit about our wedding and honeymoon, complete with pictures. For now I leave you with the knowledge that we are back and doing well. We are enjoying figuring out married life one day at a time.

Turners day two

Today was not quite as busy, in its own way. The kids and I all slept late and enjoyed a quiet mid day around the house. Bradley and Megan played on the wii for a bit while I read. After awhile we decided to head on down to the pool. There are two pools here in their development--the "big" pool and the "little" pool. The "big" pool is slightly larger and has a water slide. Yesterday we spent our time at the "little" pool so today we ventured out to the "big" one. After several hours of splashing around we headed to Target for some pool toys, goggles, and snacks. Once we were finished shopping we headed straight back for some more pool fun. Around 8:30 Amy called to see if I had left town with the kids and to tell us that supper was ready if we were interested in coming home to eat.
These kids bless my heart so very much. When I finished eating Megan looked at me and asked me if I wanted to color some more. She said "I just want to spend time with you". Never mind the fact that we have spent every waking moment together for the last two days. How sweet it is to be loved like this!! (Anyone else just start singing?)
We ended our evening by watching National Treasure 2.
Now I'm off to spend some time hangin out with my late night gal.

**Sorry about the lack of pictures today. Most if not all of the pictures that I took today were with the water cameras we bought at Target.

Turners day one

Since I knew I would have lots of pictures to share with you I thought I would try to post a bit each day about what we are up to on my visit down to GA.

I was LONG overdue for a trip down to visit with the Turners. It had been nearly two years since my last visit.......wayyyyyyyyyy too long.

After a quick visit down to the gift mart with Mom earlier in the week it worked out for me to be able to bring Amy back down again on Saturday evening.

This morning we woke up and went to church then lunch. After lunch we came back and chilled out around the house for a bit before heading to the pool. The evening was spent inside due to a thunderstorm. Since we were inside we passed the time by eating, coloring, and watching tv.

Here are a few of the highlights from today in pictures.

These pictures are from Bradley's "state" championship games (ended up being a double header). He played so well! I was so proud of him.

4th of July

The fourth of July was full of great fun!

To celebrate the day we went over to Spunky and Keisha's for a wonderful meal with friends. After a fantastic time of fellowship and food we all loaded up and went over to the lake to watch the fireworks.

Thanks Spunky and Keisha for a great night!

These two were such sweeties--and super cute too!

Fun with Friends

I appologize right now for the crazy pictures, I couldnt get them to go straight for me for some reason.

Since I am no longer working and the construction/remodeling at Grandmother's is slowing down I have finally had a few moments to spend with friends.

Several nights ago my friends Brandon and Jennifer came over with thier girls to play in the sprinkler and hang out. We had a great night of fun together!

On the last weekend in June we drove down to Old Fort for Jonathon and Rena's wedding. We had a great time and enjoyed getting to see our Chrysalis friends!

This past weekend my former college roommate, best friend and "sister" came up for a visit. We had a great time catching up, wedding planning, and hanging out together. I can't wait for her to come back in just a couple of weeks!!

Tomorrow I am looking forward to a fun day of family and friends as we celebrate the Fourth of July! The coming weeks will also be filled with many visits with friends. I will be sure to post often including pictures. Happy Fourth of July everyone!

a look at the numbers..

As of today:
*20 days until my birthday!
*33 days until Aaron's birthday!
*195 days until our wedding!

a bit of snowday stress relief...

This afternoon I took some time, stepped away from my work and went outside to play in the snow. It is amazing what some peaceful white snow and an amazing fiance can do for you! Here are a few pictures of our fun outside in the snow!

Here is a quick glimpse of our feet next to each other. Aaron was surprised my feet are so big...guess he is still learning new things about me!

I love this pic! Isn't he handsome!?!

hangin with mr. cooper!!

A couple of weekends ago I was blessed with the opportunity to go down to Winston and visit with some of my favorite people. I left that Saturday morning and drove down the mountain. The main reason for that visit was not to spend time with my bestest friend but to spend time with the most wonderful nephew one could have!
Awhile back I mentioned to Sean and Christal that I would love to come down and stay with Cooper one night so that they could go out on a date with each other. As I talked more and more with Christal, defining plans I could tell how excited they were for the opportunity. While I know that they genuinely appreciated the offer and were excited by it, it was I who received the blessing. I LOVED having the opportunity to love on them and spend time with the ever adorable and heart stealing Cooper man.
While Sean and Christal went on their progressive date I spent precious time with Cooper, soaking in all of his sweet smiles and new developments. We ate, sang, played, read stories, and simply enjoyed each other. I was so blessed to have the opportunity to spend time with him. To be trusted with his care. After he fell asleep I spent a few moments watching him sleep and thanking God for the blessing of such a sweet young man.
The rest of the weekend was filled with wonderful Giese conversations and some Abby time!
I cannot even begin to express what a blessing this trip was for me!!! I loved having the opportunity to love on those that I love. Ain't God good?!

Snow day!

After many days of snow forecasts it finally looks like today might actually amount to something white for all to see. Hooray!!
I was very unproductive at work today as it was VERY cold in my room and I could see the snow falling off and on from my door. The only thing I can successfully say I completed was my parent conference at 3:00 this afternoon. After that was over I put on my jacket, loaded my stuff up, and left. Driving home was like riding through a Winter Wonderland. Snow was falling very quickly all around me. Things just seemed quieter and calmer.
I felt the anticipation of a day off building. Fortuanately Haywood County schools did not make me wait long and called me before 7:00 tonight letting me know that I could sleep late tomorrow!!

Thank you Jesus for snow!

It's been a good day...

This morning Aaron, Zach, and I loaded up the car and set off for the Big House. We got there right as they were working on creating the prayer vigil banner and agape bags. For the first few minutes we walked around enjoying those that we had not seen in a LONG time and trying to find our place again amoung the happenings. Within minutes I turned to see the two men I brought and whom I love dearly, down on their hands and knees drawing on the banner. Ah, I know that my smile could not compare to the one my holy Savior was giving at that sight. I had a wonderful day serving others and spreading the love of Christ. After lunch we made about 7-10 different agape items to share with these 4 caterpillars over the weekend. Thats a lot of love for 4 men. Exciting to think just how much God loves us--that he would put together a whole weekend for just 4 people!
On our way home tonight I got a call from Mom saying it was snowing at home and for us to be careful. I felt like a little kid when I saw the snowflakes start hitting my car right as I got off of our exit. The only thing that could make it better would be the forcast--snow for the next 3 days!!