February Favorites: Coffee

Dunkin' Decaf...french vanilla creamer...
cinnamon sprinkles...
this is a cup of hot delicious-ness.  :)
What's in your cup?

February Favorites: Rollerball Fragrance

When Dan and I lived in Memphis, Tennessee, there was a great little shop that carried essential oils and such for aromatherapy.  They had a create-your-own rollerball fragrance station!  You could mix oils together to come up with a personal scent...mine was cucumber and rain.

Well, since then I found something I like almost as much...B*th & B*dy Works has a line of roll-on aromatherapy that smells wonderful, not-too-strong, and they're portable-I can toss it right in my purse, without worrying about leakage.  Best of all, I love that I can roll it on and not feel like I'm going to knock someone else over with the scent...I love the stress-relief aromatherapy.  Hannah Reece loves to dab a little on her wrists, and even my perfume-hatin' hubby thinks they smell good.  :)  

My mom, Santa-put a "Sweet-Pea" scented roller in my stocking....so I guess B&BW is extending their roller-fragrance line...oooh, just g**gled it and they're on sale for $2.00 each!!!!  Now that's a fragrance I can afford y'all!!!  What's your favorite fragrance?

Valentines Day Fun

I don't usually "decorate" for Valentines Day...but this post inspired me to create a little Valentine's day somethin' somethin'!  Decorating projects that involve the kiddos always excites me...isn't it neat to see the pride on their little faces when their handiwork is displayed for all to see?  ;)

I cut out some big hearts with my old Creat*ve M*mories Cutting System, and then some little ones by hand.  Gave the girl some glitter glue pens and punches and let her loose!  ;)   She had the sweetest smile on her face the whole time I was hanging them.  Here's the finished product:

February Favorites: Marshlands

With all of the memory-keeping catch up going on at my dining room table, I've completely fallen off of the blog-wagon...   although, I'll admit, it's been refreshing to have a little techno-break!   ;)

So....I was thinking it might be fun to get back at it with a little series of blog-posts "February Favorites"...where I'll post some of our favorites....places, products, foods, events, etc.  Maybe some of you who also blog will join me!?

I LOVE the marsh/wetlands....most folks have one thought when they think of marsh "STANKY!"

I think this little love affair with the marsh began during my last year at FGCU (Fl*rida Gulf Coast Univ*rsity) during a required course (SW Fl*rida Colloquium).  We took fieldtrips every other week to immerse ourselves in the environment that is so unique to Florida.  Did you know that the Florida Everglades is the last self-sustained natural environment left in the continental U.S.?  I thought this class would be SO boring, but it actually turned out to be one of my favorites.  I'm hoping to pass my little fascination on to the kiddos with outings like this one....but they may think the marsh stanks just like their Daddy does. :) 

Now, my most recent marsh/wetland fascination is between Florida and Georgia on I-95 North...and trust me...we've driven through it PLENTY in the last few years as we make our regular journey between Florida and North Carolina.  We've driven this stretch during all hours of the day and night...and we can always "smell" it coming!  :)  It's kind of a joke in our family now...one of the kids will say "somebody pootie-tootied!!" and Dan will say, "nope-it's just mommy's marsh!" and they just laugh.

My favorite time is at sunrise and sunset... it looks so calm, peaceful...but under all of that water and grass-it's positively TEEMING with LIFE!  I guess in a way, it's the state of mind that I hope and strive for in this season that is so full of life.  Peace amidst the activitiy.  Beauty among the stank ;) sorry, I just couldn't resist! ha! What is your favorite natural environment?

 

Rx: EAT!

Results of bloodwork came back, no anemia....guess what I'm PREGNANT!!   Just kidding.  :)   Dr.'s orders...add a few extra meals, get a few more calories and add some protein.  Ummm....okay! 

Only in the 3rd pregnancy y'all, because trust me-I did NOT miss a meal while I was prego with Graham and Hannah Reece.  You moms know how it goes...busy. busy. busy.  I feel like I'm in the kitchen all day, so that means I've eaten, right?  Not so much.  A little nibble here and there does not constitute a "meal" at this stage of the game.  Spent yesterday doing a little meal planning, making sure to add some large healthy snack option to our meals.  Here's to eating for two!   :)

Project Life ROCKS!

Can I just tell ya how SO super excited I am about this do-able solution for our family album...and a digital version is now available too! I decided to use the paper version this time, mostly because I like incorporating my own handwriting, little bits of memoribilia and printed photos into our family album.

Here are a few samples of our POTD's (Photo of the Day) that are makin' me smile:

I {heart} packages!  Hannah Reece and I sorting through a box of baby and maternity provisions that my friend Caryn sent for Camille and I, so much fun!

Sweet boy walking Charly...or maybe Charly's walking him?? ;)

Kiddos happily transforming our bedroom window into an beautiful art gallery ;)

Hannah Reece left this sticker on the monitor, it makes me laugh every time I see it! You always know where Reecie's been because there's a sticker trail :)

This is how she left her art table one night before bed, it's set up just like mine. :)  Nothing like a blazing fire on a cold winter night!

Graham's just beggin' Daddy for his after-school butt-whoopin'   "c'mon... let's fight, Daddy!"

Graham didn't have school on Monday.  He sat at the dining room table drawing action scenes (mostly Star Wars themed) for almost an HOUR!  I love watching him think, and write, and draw.

Big sister posing with baby sister...

A Cool Tool and Family Update

Up until the last few days I've been feverishly working on scrapbook catch-up for Hannah Reece's baby album.  I'm motivated by the thought that the details of her baby-hood are only going to grow foggier with the birth of a new baby. 

I must say, this blog has been a very useful tool in my endeavor to "catch up", I've been able to copy some of the journaling right into her book from here!  My two favorite things about blogging are:

1. sharing of  ideas: a few of my own and many from others that inspire and encourage
2. remembering/memory-keeping:  I have a feeling in the next few months it's gonna become heavy in the memory-keeping department around here, so bear with me!  ;)

Speaking of catching up...this year I've decided to participate in Project Life, or what some call Project 365 (P365)  If you g**gle it, you'll see some ideas of what I'm referring to.  Basically, it's taking a photo-a-day and using this to tell you/your family's story for the year. 

There are so many aspects of this project that excite me.  In a few words:

• Simple
• Concise
• Easy-to-Maintain
• Authentic story-telling

I will use this method to tell my family's story, it will become our 2010 family album.  I've chosen this tool (thanks mom and dad, for the b-day gift!) created by this uber-creative lady to tell our story this year.  Can you tell (photo below) that I'm just a little excited about it?!  I even used this for my P.O.T.D. that day! Hannah Reece has her own little art area next to me and I love to watch her punch and sticker and write and cut.  :)  I'll be posting our P.O.T.D. (photo of the day) every now and then, and maybe even a page here and there to show you how the album's coming along.  My goal is to print and work on this album once a month.  I just finished setting up the album, and completed the first two-weeks and y'all-it only took 2 HOURS!  Now that the album's all set up, I feel confident that I could easily complete a months worth of photos (1 per day) in 2 hours (or less).  That's do-able for me in this season.  Also, very excited that with the contents of the kit, all I need is a pen for journaling, my photos, and maybe some adhesive and a trimmer. Love that.

A little update:

30 weeks along now...nesting and exhausted...simultaneously.

Went to the doctor today because my heart is just pounding and I've been feeling very light-headed for several days now...had a little blood work-up, but he's pretty sure it's only anemia....relieved.

This part of pregnancy is exciting...

The four of us talk about Camille throughout the day. Both kiddos have many questions about all things baby, including our big winner for this week courtesy of Graham (at the dinner table): "Mom, I need to know how Camille's coming out of your belly, right now."

Hannah Reece loves to look at our growing stash of baby girl clothes and carries around the little sample diapers and wipes with such love and care. It just warms my heart! I'm so excited to see her in the role of "big sister"...she told me tonight "I want to hold Camille right now, can we have her now, Momma?"

This part of pregnancy is challenging...

Physical limitations, low-energy and waiting...these are not fun for anyone. For me these are character-building times because I am typically a busy-body and impatient! A word that God keeps bringing to mind in prayer is SURRENDER. Surrender to the process of pregnancy, delivery and after. Surrender to the fact that there will be projects left undone, maybe even goals unmet...and that's okay.  Surrender to the idea that we will need to ask for help, especially difficult being away from family and familiar, faithful friends. Surrender to God, that He alone knows ALL of our needs and our future, that he is willing and able to meet every. single. one. It's all very humbling, really. Knowing that I'm in control of so little in the grand scheme of things. Nothing in life has lead me to trust Him more fully than being entrusted with these little ones that ultimately belong to the Lord.

Dan's classes officially begin next week, for the new semester. But he's been a busy bee studying for his Ordination exams. These exams are comprised of 5 individual examinations required by the denomination that we belong to. He's already passed one of them last year, church "Polity". Today, he took the "Worship" and "Theology" portions and that leaves "Exegesis" (translating passages of scripture from the original language, Greek and Hebrew) and "Bible Content" examinations. These exams are only offered twice-a-year and are in addition to his Masters of Divinity program requirements at Gordon-Conwell.

Dan is one of the most self-disciplined individuals I've ever known. I can tend to be lazy at follow-through with things that I say are important to me. His character in this area is an example and inspiration to me on a daily basis...not to mention that he "carries the team" in just about every other area of life these days...and I'm one very grateful woman.  :)