Sunday, May 20, 2012

New House

Here's a picture of our new house

I'll post more details soon. I love it! But it's taking some getting used to. It's a little bigger than the town home and requires a bit more maintenance and day-to-day chores. I'm so glad we have a bigger place to raise our family. Can't wait to share details... :)

Saturday, May 19, 2012

I love taking pictures and am attempting to leave the comfort of the "auto" button. Thursday night Jackson and I piddled around the yard and shot files in RAW format for the first time. That was fun! I love how Aperture lets me modify the pictures as I wish. Here are a few of my favorites from our afternoon.


All of these flowers are in our new yard. Let's hope I don't kill them!

Friday, May 18, 2012

Memaw & Papaw's Visit

Jackson's Memaw & Papaw came and stayed the weekend back in April (yes I realize it's MAY and I'm just now blogging this). I love that my little man has his Great-Grandparent's around to make memories with. Jackson loves company and Memaw and Papaw are some of the best :) 

Porch conversations...precious...
"Hey Pap I'll grab your face"
He LOVES them
Feed me Memaw!
Man those were some goooood sweet 'taters
Jackson is his robe after bath time

The new house is really great for visitors. We love having family come and stay.

COME BACK SOON <3 <3 <3

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Playing with the Camera

Last Wednesday afternoon my good friend (and old neighbor) Ms. Margie came over and we tested out her fun camera lenses on Jackson. Margie is used to film photography and is really good at it! I'm trying to learn how to maneuver her neat lenses on my digital camera. Of course we had to use Jackson as the subject.

I was practicing depth of field with him. It was hard because he doesn't sit still!! I can't wait until Margie and I can get Jackson out in a field and snap, snap, snap his pictures :)

Here are a few of the pictures Margie took over the last few months. It's hard to believe how much he's changed in such a short amount of time...
and then one of her pretty flower
(I think I'm going to make that my computer background)

Hope everyone had a Great Mother's Day. I promise to *try* to re-cap the last few weeks soon.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Book Review

#51 on my 101 in 1001 list is to read 10 books for fun. Here's a list of what I chose and what I thought about each. Who knows, maybe I'll blow right past my goal of 10.

 1. Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin. This book kept my attention until the very last page. It's about a newlywed who wonder's what her life might have been like if she'd only made a few different decisions. The characters are easy to relate to and it's a fast read. This is a great book to read at the beach or on your lunch breaks (as I did).        
   
My rating: ****/ 5 Stars 
official website: http://www.emilygiffin.com/


 2. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer. This was the second time I read this book. Yes...it's THAT good. I love all the Twilight series but this one was of my favorites. I love the banter between Jacob & Edward. (I read it so I'd be refreshed before seeing the movie. I originally read it in January 2009)

My rating: *****/ 5 Stars


3. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer. I had to buy this and read it since it was her take on a character other than our favorite vampires and werewolves in Eclipse. All in all it was just okay. I didn't really like the gross blood sucking demonized way Vampires (besides our loveable Cullen's) act. It was an easy read- no chapters.

My rating: **/ 5 Stars


 4. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. I had to buy this book because my book club chose it as our first assignment. I had seen the book but never paid much attention and honestly never thought I'd read it. I must say I enjoyed it. It's a murder mystery with tangled up love and emotion throughout all 590 pages. It wasn't as fast of a read as I'm used to but I will definitely be picking up the next two books from the series. 

My rating: ****/ 5 Stars
official website: http://www.stieglarsson.com/


 5. The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson. Luckily I was able to borrow this book when book club announced that it was #2 on our list. I enjoyed the book but liked the first book of the series much better. This was another murder mystery and had less love and emotion than it's predecessor. It was harder to read than most chick-lit books I read (due to the language barrier) but was an interesting book.

My rating: ***/ 5 Stars


 6. Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks. I loved this book! It's the first book I read on my new Nook that I got for Christmas. I usually love all things Nicholas Sparks but this was one was especially sweet. With Nicholas Sparks you always expect a tragic heart wrenching ending. This book does not steer far from his previous path but that's all I'll divulge regarding the ending. If you're up for a quick read this is the perfect summer beach book.

My rating: *****/5 Stars
official website: http://www.nicholassparks.com/


 7. Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin. I loved this book! It hooked me from page one all the way to the end. I read it with the intentions of finishing it prior to the movie release. At this point I've still yet to see the movie! This is definitely a quick, girly book to read. I'm thankful that my friend Candice loaned it to me! 

My rating: *****/5 Stars
official website: http://www.emilygiffin.com/


 8. Something Blue by Emily Giffin. I liked this book but not as much as Something Borrowed. I won't give it away but I prefer the character that book #1 revolves around more than the character in this book. It was an easy read and I tackled it on my Nook at the beach. It started slow but had me hooked by the end.

My rating: ****/ 5 Stars
official website: http://www.emilygiffin.com/


 9. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. I took entirely too long to get into this book. I started it then put it away (on my NOOK) to read a few girly books. I picked it back up at the beach and couldn't put it down. I loved the idea of Robert Pattinson as the main character in my head. I still haven't seen the movie but it's on my to do list. This was a great book and I think people of all ages and genders would enjoy it. 

My Rating: ****/ 5 Stars


  10. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I put off reading this... I was afraid to join the rest of the obsessed following. I truly enjoyed the book. I will read the rest of the series as soon as I have time. I found a way to finish the book in a few days (which says a ton since I now have a 6 month old!).

My rating: *****/ 5 Stars

 note: This list was created a LONG time ago...took me a while to read 10 books!

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Introducing Baby Grady

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4 NIV

Grady was welcomed to our world on April 11th. Things didn't exactly go as planned. I can't tell you how grateful I am to see the pictures below. I rejoice in knowing that we serve a mighty God who is still in the business of performing miracles. This picture is a constant reminder of how great HE is.


Without divulging too much detail I can share a little of what happened. Jessica's planned c-section didn't go as smooth as it should have. Mom and baby were both doing great until Jessica's uterus failed to contract and stop bleeding. My sweet best friend ended up spending her first days as a new mommy in the ICU. There was a period of time when all every one could do was pray. Pray for Jessica and her strength and for those around her who were staying strong and believing in God to heal her.

Being the stubborn/ brilliant/ beautiful ( yes, those should be in reverse order) person she is she came out on top like a champ! She was able to go home with her sweet baby several days after being released from the ICU. I was able to meet her precious man when he was 10 days old. 

He's adorable... and Jackson's best friend :)

best friends & babies
 precious Grady loving on his mommy

and of course Jackson had to ham it up in a few photos. He and Grady made a goal post sign...
Looks like Grady is shouting out "roll tide" and Jackson's pumped about a touch down!

15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:15-16 NIV

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Happy 6 Months Jackson

I can't believe my baby boy is 6 months old. This year needs to slow down. I do not want to start thinking about a birthday party yet! Jackson's all over the place now. He's able to sit up as long as he props his hands out front near his knees (like a tripod). He does really well but still topples over to either side once he's tired. I hope he's able to sit up good for his 6 month pictures this upcoming Saturday.

Jackson can do 3 consecutive rolls. It's like he's looking for someone to roll over! He also started wrinkling his nose this past month. He continues to laugh very loud and babble on and on to himself. I wish I knew what he was saying.

Jackson still doesn't have any teeth. He's still drinking an 8oz bottle every 4 hours during the day. His night routine still consists of a jar of baby food followed by a bath then a bottle before bed. His routine starts around 7:45pm and he's usually down for the night by 8:45pm. We usually don't hear from him until around 4:30am. It seems that once a week he can make it until 6am and the rest of the time the monitor goes off with his cries.

The new house makes getting to him a bit harder. I'm not used to being more than a few steps away. We are all adjusting well though I'd say. Jackson is spending more and more time in Mommy & Daddy's bed for the first time though. I just can't leave him in his room when he wakes up during the night. I sneak cuddle time and listen to Brent mumble about how "we need to sleep".

Jackson's Stats

20lbs 6oz
27 3/4 inches long 


 

Drama King???
10 seconds after the above picture...

and of course I had to take a picture before he headed off to school

I love you so much sweet boy!