Heart of Worship music service

this is the close of will's "singing" at church last sunday night. it was his first time doing anything like this. as you can see he sat down in the middle of it. but, i thought he did wonderful!!! and i know God was pleased.

God is Love

Wellspring Upscale Resale

okay, i love shopping for little girl clothes!!!! here are some clothes i picked up for phoebe at the local Wellspring consignment store. it is in duluth next to the publix at old peachtree and buford hwy. i think i paid $5 total. they were super cute, in great condition and the money goes to benefit a girls home and a women's recovery home here in georgia for victims of sexual abuse, forced prostitution, and human trafficking.

here is more info on Wellspring.

PLEASE NOTE - THEY MOVED LOCATIONS TO ACROSS THE STREET (BUFORD HWY) AND NO LONGER SELL BABY CLOTHING. SAD! BUT STILL A GREAT STORE! JANUARY 2011

baby's growing up

i was looking through a lot of old pics last night. this one was taken exactly a year ago. made me cry! he was such a little baby then. i'm finally realizing they do grow up fast.

tractor bye bye video

will at 27 months

will is a talker! he talks in sentences more now. but, here are some of the cute things he says:

wash disher - dishwasher
wes her - yes sir
wes mant - yes ma'am
my welcome - your welcome
aint, are you? - train, where are you?
my wuv you - i love you
hee ya - see ya
have ood day - have a good day!
baby phoebe - baby evie
woorm - room
bottom - bottut
acket and ill - jack and jill
bite a one - vitamin


he also sings a lot - loves his Bible songs and nursery rhymes. he loves Bible school (church) and small group (my Bible study time at a different church). he loves going to the library for toddler time. i can take him in certain stores now without the stroller or buggy and he does okay - not great, but okay.
he is almost obsessed with his counting floor puzzle - he has to do it almost everyday and is needing less guidance with each try. the other toy he loves right now is his dump truck from uncle ben that makes noises and runs automatically. he loves his books and can "read" some of them like ten, nine, eight, goodnight moon, moo, baa, lalala, and his abc book. oh, and of course his nursery rhyme books - he knows some of those that he tries to recite. he also loves riding down the hill below our house on his "bike". he loves picking up sticks and pine cones and putting them in his wheelbarrow. he sits on the potty almost every night and sometimes a little pee comes out. he has all his teeth except the top molars in the way back. he weighs 30 lbs and is about 35 inches tall. he doesn't always take a nap - he just started getting out of his bed in the afternoon and playing in his room occasionally instead of taking a nap - but, hey, at least we still have our "alone" time. he sleeps 10-11 hours at night and takes a 2 hour nap 50% of the time. eating is not a problem if i do my part with planning mostly healthy meals. he doesn't always like to get dressed to go somewhere. he often runs away when it's time to brush teeth or change a diaper or get dressed.

what else, lee?

i think we both agree - he's a keeper. :0)

homemade cards

i've had the urge to be crafty lately. these are some cards i made using recycled greeting cards, magazine clippings, and stickers. oh, and some embellishments a friend gave me 3 years ago. finally sitting down and putting some stuff together, even though my house is not clean.

21 weeks in the womb

it's a GIRL!!!!

heartbeat!

phoebe

asheville vacation babymoon

how could anyone resist that???

or this??
on the way up, we stopped in saluda, sc. i love this restaurant there called The Purple Onion. we ate there on our honeymoon also. they had the most amazing salad, i had to take a picture.

lee and i had a wonderful 2 day getaway to asheville, nc this past weekend. it was the first time i have ever left will overnight or really been away from him for more than half a day. the report from my parents was that he never even mentioned our names.

we stayed at the sweet biscuit inn. it is a beautiful and laidback B&B. i would love to stay there again. next time, i think we would pay a little more and get a room with a shower and not the handheld shower. breakfast was wonderful each day and the innkeepers were very helpful with maps and places to go.

some of our favorite places - blue ridge parkway, chevron bead store, tupelo honey cafe. okay, maybe they are my favorite places, but lee does love driving on the parkway. they had a cool drum circle going at one of the city parks across from tupelo honey on friday night. and really lots of musicians playing on the streets. i didn't get a picture, but there was also a flying nun. when we got out of our cars for the first time going downtown there was a guy riding a very tall bicycle wearing a nun costume.

it was so nice to get away. will has started to talk a lot so the quietness was wonderful. at the same time, i missed will A LOT. he's my buddy, and i missed seeing his sweet little face.

quotes to remember - "asheville - full of hippies, hillbillies, and hikers" and me when i almost backed out on buying a vintage looking hat "i think i've been in middle class suburbia way too long".

psalm 4:8

"I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety."
Psalm 4:8

thank you, God, for reminding me of this verse through a friend recently.
you are my refuge and my peace.

faces of will

will's "silly face". just a funny face he likes to do.

lookin cool in his shades at the parade

will's spikey hairdo. he calls it his bikey hair.

just a cute boy. he loves sitting at the bar now that he can climb up on the stool. i think he's saying, "cheese" here.

will's "watching elmo face" elmo is so deep.

will's wheelbarrow

he loves picking up.

we're gonna get him a rake next.

feel like 19 again

this is an old cereal coupon i ran across that i found very intriguing. "feel like 19 again". hmmm. it's funny that they choose 19 - like 20 is when it all goes downhill. i think i would have chosen something like, "feel like 23 again". i was out of school, met my husband, and my body was prebaby. haha.

even though my bones (and for that matter, skin and hair) were younger at 19, i think i was the same weight i am right now at 4 months pregnant all thanks to the freshman 10. 28 isn't so bad.

graham cracker recipe

here is the graham cracker recipe - finally got it typed up. i got this recipe from crystal miller's website the family homestead.

Graham Crackers

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup honey

¼ cup milk

2 T. molasses

1 t. vanilla

2 ½ to 3 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 t. baking powder

½ t. baking soda

¼ t. salt

1 t. cinnamon

in large mixing bowl using wire wisk, combine first 5 ingredients. In a smaller bowl combine 2 ½ cups pastry flour and last 4 ingredients. At some point you'll want to switch from wisk to large spoon. Add extra ½ cup flour if dough is sticky. Although a little sticky is okay. Begin to mix with hands.

Preheat oven to 300. divide dough in half. Spray large cookie sheet (one without sides is best) with Pam. Roll out dough on cookie sheet. Use pizza cutter to cut into squares and poke with fork. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

my babies

will saw a commercial for mcdonalds the other day and looked at me and said, "E I E I O".

he's been sleeping in his big boy bed for over a week now. today he realized he could get down out of his bed and play during naptime. i went in his room and told him to get back in bed. amazingly he obeyed and in a timely manner. he's not asleep yet, but i am hopeful. sounds like he is reading one of his tractor books. he just said "backing up now".

he sings several songs now and they are somewhat recognizable. wheels on the bus, twinkle twinkle, do Lord, and if you're happy and you know it. he says "happy know clap hands!" except it sounds like "hoppy know ap ands!"

he loves to race mommy and daddy around the island in the kitchen. he loves to push me with his feet while he's lying down and for me to pretend i'm falling down.

he repeats everything.

baby number 2 is growing and wearing me out. most days are okay. some days i have no energy. i nap with will and get 10 hours of sleep at night and i'm still moving slow. can't wait to find out the gender in a few weeks!

daddy's boy

for awhile i wasn't sure, but now i am. will is a daddy's boy. he loves to be a part of anything daddy is doing. you can't see very well in this picture, but will has a little wheelbarrow and he is helping daddy move wood from the yard to the wood pile. he loves to "work" and "help."

walking in daddy's shoes - he put these on himself.

weekend

had to get out some maternity clothes today. i guess it's starting to feel real.

we also moved some bunk beds into will's room (his crib is still in there). and we moved the bed out of the guest room to work on making it the baby's room. will went to sleep in his big boy bed last night but fell out a few hours later even though we had a side rail on. we didn't realize how easy the side rail would be for him to move. he likes putting his feet up on things and pushing. i felt really bad that he fell - now we have it more secure. maybe we'll try it again tonight. i'm keeping the crib in there for awhile at least for naps. i encourage independence with him, but with certain things it's hard to release control and let him grow up. i want to keep him in a crib forever. hahahaha.

i got to see lots of family in the past week - actually my whole family. everyone was in town (except for ben and his crew) to help paul move stuff out of his apartment and to make wedding plans. they were nice enough to help lee and i rearrange our house as well. then last night my friend for life, carla, and her family got to stay with us. yay! so thankful for time with family and friends that live so far away.

Tennessee adventures

this week lee is on business in murfreesboro, TN. will and i decided to drive up with him. we get to stay in a nice hotel with a pool and free breakfast. not to mention my brother and his family live 10 minutes away from the hotel! plus there are tons of cool things to do here and on the way.

above you will see will at the train table/city at discovery center in murfreesboro, TN. this was only 6 dollars to get in and had so many cool things for will to experience. he loved the antique fire truck especially and the little motorized train room... kept him busy for over 2 hours - we had to leave because it was lunchtime. this place was awesome and aunt laura got to come too!

kid castle park
murfreesboro, TN
lookin cool! he loves wearing his sunglasses now and his cap.

chattanooga carousel
first time riding on a carousel. this costs one dollar per person (free for little ones). it is the coolest carousel i've ever seen. all of the animals were handmade by an artist in TN i believe. will LOVED it.

"horsie goes round round round, raff dose round round round"

fountains in chattanooga
these animal statues randomly shoot water from their mouths or so lee says. this lion got me, but it was 99 degrees so i didn't mind.

so as you can see we have had a lot of fun. it was an added bonus to see family too!

but, just to keep it real, we have had 3 or 4 major tantrums. i have to consider we are staying in a hotel, he was off his routine for the first day, and he is definitely 2!
note to self - next time traveling and staying in a hotel, bring napkins, camping chair, microwaveable plates, and dishwashing detergent.

the smallest shopping cart

last night i went to the grocery store after my 2 year old went to bed. i got the smallest shopping cart. there was a moment when i just stood in the cereal aisle and stared. i remembered all of my coupons. i got the smallest shopping cart...

what freedom!

will news

what's will doing these days?
he's talking a lot more. and he's testing his limits with the word NO.
he has a slight obsession with my dental floss. i had to start giving him the cheap stuff that my dentist gives me that i hate to use anyway. he pulls off a long strand (like 3 or 4 feet), i cut it off for him and then he acts like he's flossing.
his word for ice is "nice".
whenever he wants us to come with him he says "daddy coming, mommy coming". except it sounds like "daddy omin, mommy omin". he loves to listen to his c.d.s which he has always called d.d.s. whenever the c.d. is between songs he always says, "d.d. omin, d.d. omin".
he loves to push the button to open the garage door.
he gets very mad when we start praying and he's not ready.
he gets very mad if you take off his shoes and pull down his pants before bathtime because he is supposed to do it. it also kills me to see how hard it is for him to pull down his pants. who knew it was so difficult?
he loves music and he loves to dance. he dances like a very uncoordinated horse.
the cutest thing he does lately is he will carry his toy camera around on his wrist and say "will will has go bye bye, will will has go bye bye". i'm fairly certain this is his imitation of grandma who always has her camera hanging on her wrist when she's about to leave our house and says "grandma has to go bye bye". hahaha - this cracks me up - i love it!
he is getting better about holding hands in the parking lot. that was very painful for awhile for both parties.
oh, and he has started singing the elmo's world song. i shouldn't say sing. he yells it. "DA DA DA, DA DA DA, MO MO'S WOLD"
sharing is still a struggle at times. he hears "be a nice boy" a lot. and he repeats it a lot, "be nice boy, be nice boy". i think he tries and he is getting better.
last week there was a big storm that came through. when we were thanking God for our food, i thanked God for the rain and a few seconds later will chimed in with "thank you, thunder". so, we thanked God for the thunder. i was proud of myself, i did not laugh until later.

Round 2

another one of God's miracles. only 6 or 7 cm. long with a strong heartbeat and lots of movement.

12 weeks and 1 day old (womb age).

looks like the baby is striking a pose here with it's hand on it's hip. maybe it is a girl! we'll find out for sure in about 2 months.

see ya later!

i will not take these things for granted...

a healthy, happy baby boy
a backyard
hot as heck sunny days
air conditioning

naptime

being a stay at home mom

the Lord is sweet

best salsa

i'm back in the kitchen and it feels great!!!

i made the best salsa in the whole world last night. the main reason i wanted a garden was so that i could have roma tomatoes and jalapenos to make fresh salsa. oh my gosh, i got it so right last night. it was so good, who needs the chips?

i got this recipe from my big southern living cookbook. this is my version.

5 roma tomatoes, quartered
2 or 3 cloves of garlic - i like garlic!!!
1 jalapeno pepper, quartered and seeded
3 T. lime juice (1 really juicy lime does it)

put in food processor and chill and there ya go!!! a taste of heaven on earth!

the recipe from southern living calls for a dash of salt and pepper and a small amount of cilantro, but i didn't add any of that and it was still divine! if you want it really hot, keep the seeds from the jalapeno in there.

i was also craving some cream cheese and chocolate something or another so i made a fudge brownie recipe with a cream cheese and butter layer with frosting on top. yummy!

family

my dad's dad and his wife of many years - my mema.

nana and will reading on the swing.

lee and i were headed to a wedding. will was gonna stay at home with grandma - that's why he was still in his pjs. this was the day i found out my little brother was engaged!

this is the Brown crew on the day of will's 2nd bday party. this is a fun group. love em.

this is how we do it

okay, so this is just a really cool pic of will and his friend n. his mom was taking a picture right at the same moment i was, so her flash gave some awesome lighting.

and this is how we do it - shopping that is. well, most of the time. sales, gift cards in the mail, bogos, coupons, etc. i got will two pair of shorts for $2.10. and below is an example of publix bogos coupled with coupons including their $5 off $30 that they occasionally mail out. on one income, gotta do what you can.

will's first bicycle ride

we found this child seat on craigslist and thought will might like to ride with us. if you listen closely, you can hear will say, "ride bicycle mommy".

it's getting really hot here in atlanta. i think we might be visiting pools instead of playgrounds for the next two months.

4 roses for 4 years

outside of a georgia tech dorm where we first said, "i love you" almost 5 years ago.

view from the Sun Dial restaurant and lounge. we ate some cheesecake there. i forget we live so close to this big city.

this is the only picture of us that night. we were foolish not to get our waitress or some of our friends who helped us have this date to take our picture. we were looking sharp.