My Favorite Things

I have stumbled across the best thing since sliced bread.  And I really mean it this time!

I am a busy woman.  But my hair requires a washing EVERY.SINGLE.DAY!  I do not have time for that.  If I wash it at night, I have to blow it dry because it will be a hot mess the next morning.  And I do not have the time to wash and blow dry my hair every night.  If I wash it in the morning and let it air dry, it is “flat as a flitter” as my grandma would say.  However, I have found the solution to my greasy, flat, lazy hair woes.

Everyone tells me that hair products make all the difference.  Y’all…I AM CHEAP!!!  And if I’m gonna splurge, it is not going to be on a hair product.  This product is both wonderful and CHEAP!

Dove Dry Shampoo:

The can says “invigorating.”  I’m not so sure what it is supposed to invigorate.  But I will tell you that I am now on day 3 without washing my hair.  And the funny thing is, my hair has looked better each day.  Go figure.  This stuff is easy to use.  You spray the roots, then massage it in with your fingers. 

There were some brands that were upwards of $20, but this was $3.94 at WalMart.  That is cheap, my friends. 

(I am not getting paid to endorse this product.  This is something I wanted to try.  I tried it.  I loved it.  I’m telling you about it.)

Emmy- 2 months

This precious girl turned 2 months old.  I.CANNOT.BELIEVE.IT!!  We went to the pediatrician yesterday, and poor baby had to get her shots.  I felt terrible for all of my children, but yesterday seemed even harder.  I think I must be getting softer in my old age!

Here is what Emmy is up to this month:

• 11 lbs, 6 oz.
• 22 3/4” long
• She in the the 75th percentile in all areas, which is funny because we have never had a kid get out of the 10th percentile.  Cade and SaraGrace are both holding steady in the 5th!
• She is in a size 2 diaper.
• She eats 6 oz at a time, every 3-4 hours except at night.
• She is sleeping through the night EVERY night (Hallelujer!!!)
• She is the happiest baby!  She is always smiling and laughing.  She was even happy yesterday with a bow in her hair.
• She coos and makes all kinds of noises which is absolutely adorable.
• I started using the sling to carry her around and she loves it.  So do I!

What a joy Emmy is to us!!!  Her brother and sister think pretty highly of her too:)

Red Box Review

I haven’t done a red box review in a while, but we watched a few movies this weekend that are worthy of a shout-out!

I had heard so many wonderful things about “The Odd Life of Timothy Green.” 

Let me tell you…this was one of the BEST movies I have seen in a while.  It was so heart warming and refreshing.  It made me appreciate my children so much more:)  A very sweet movie.

The kids’ favorite was Ice Age: Continental Drift. 

I have never been a huge fan of these movies, but this one was HILARIOUS!!!  Sid’s granny makes this movie a must see!

My favorite movie from the weekend was Pitch Perfect!

I love a good musical, and this one does not disappoint.  It has great music, a good story, and a lot of great laughs.  Fat Amy is my favorite character!

Red Box always provides great entertainment in our house since we do not have cable.  I’m so thankful to have a few kiosks nearby.

The Difference between 1 and 4

This little girl has brought so much joy into our lives.  We have enjoyed every minute with her.  She has even slept through the night the last two nights!!!  We laugh at how differently we do things now compared to when Cade was a baby.  Here are just a few:

• Cade was a Pampers only baby.  Emmy gets whatever is on sale.  (Publix brand diapers are actually pretty good.)
• Cade had every piece of baby gear known to man.  Until recently, Emmy only had a pack and play, a stroller and a car seat.  We just borrowed a swing and bouncer from Aunt Beas.
• Cade was dressed to the nines each and every day, down to shoes and socks at all times.  He NEVER wore a onesie unless it was to sleep.  Emmy is always in a sleeper or a onesie, and the girl has only worn shoes twice!  Hey…you gotta be comfy!
• SaraGrace (she is not Cade, but our first girl) always had a bow in her hair-even if we were just going to the grocery store.  Emmy HATES a bow, so she rarely wears one.  I don’t have the energy to fight with a bow.
• Cade wore a new outfit every day, rarely wearing the same thing twice.  Emmy has a few favorites, and we are wearing them out!
• If Cade cried in the car, we would pull over, feed him, change his diaper and do everything we could to pacify him.  Poor Emmy!  She has to cry it out until we get to where we are going (within reason, of course!)

My point is…I used to worry about all of the unimportant little things that I thought made me a better mom.  Because you know that using Pampers makes you the best!!!  With baby number 4, we are learning to enjoy every minute of every day with her, and not get caught up in the little things.  Maybe it’s because we are older.  Maybe it’s because we’re wiser.  Or maybe it’s because we are too dang tired to worry about any of it.

Christmas Vacation 2012 (a little late)

We were so blessed to get an extended vacation at Christmas this year, thanks to Christmas falling in the middle of the week.  Of course, we all packed up and headed to the Hun-Tin House for 10 days of rest and hunting.

Our trip started off a little scary.  We got 2 minutes down the road and we blew a tire.  It sent us into the ditch and scared this poor momma to death!  It happened to be freezing cold which only added to the drama.  We unloaded the back of the car, changed the tire, reloaded the car only to drive back home.  We then unloaded again and reloaded in Rob’s truck.  Whoo!!!  That was a lot of work.  But we got back on the road safe and sound, thankful for God’s protection.

Mom did a fantastic job of decorating for Christmas.  I wish I would’ve taken more pictures, but it was really neat to see all of our stockings hung by the chimney with care.  It took both sides of the fireplace!

 

We had an extra blessing this Christmas.  Rob’s dad, Grandpa Andy and Grandma Karen came to spend Christmas with us.  What a blast!!!

I started the hunting off right and in style with my new hat from Grandpa Andy.  It was so warm!

The kids enjoyed hunting too! 

Christmas day, we split up and hunted with our dads.  It turned out to be a 5 hour hunt in the pouring rain!!!  But it was such an adventure. (But didn’t kill anything.)

Speaking of long hunts, we had a marathon hunt one afternoon.  We hunted for 6 hours straight.  I was hunting by myself so I was so bored. 

 

But I did get to kill a hog.  (The only measly thing I killed in 10 days.)

One afternoon, Rob and I each took a child.  We had lots of fun. (But didn’t kill anything.)

When we weren’t outside hunting (which I stayed in every morning) we found plenty to do to keep us busy.

We dressed up and rode the tricycle inside.

We slept!  We did a lot of this!

Friday was Rob’s birthday.  SG baked him some cupcakes in her easy bake oven.

 

We also found time to play with our FAVORITE Christmas gift.  Sorry for the sound.  My speaker phone is broken, but this girl can get it!!!  She must get it from her Daddy!

 

We had an amazing Christmas, and spent time thanking God for all of His blessings in our lives. 

2013- OBEDIENCE

 

As I have read all of the New Year’s posts at all of my favorite blogs, I have fallen in love with the idea of having a word to live by in the New Year.  However, I am terrible at resolutions and I couldn’t think of a word.  But when I had some time to myself (soaking in the bath tub, Hallelujah!) the Lord gave me the word- obedience.

Samuel 15:22-23

²² And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

²³ For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

This is something I struggle with.  He has asked some things of me that I have been too lazy or stubborn to do.  They just seem so overwhelming, yet conviction has fallen upon me.

I sang a song Sunday night called “Completely.”  The message is about giving yourself completely.  Laying everything at His feet, and letting Him do a work in you.  That’s who I want to be.

I don’t want to miss out on the things God has planned for my life because they seem too hard.  I just want to be obedient and trust Him to do the rest.  So here are some things I am committing to this year:

• Finish my book.  Time and time again, He is showing me I need to do this.  It is hard.  I’m scared of rejection.  I want it to be perfect.  But it isn’t about me.
• Spend more time in prayer.  I am busy, no doubt.  But my relationship with Jesus should be first and foremost, and until it is, I will never accomplish what He has for me.
• Spend more time reading my Bible.  I need direction!  The best place to find counsel is in the Bible.  If I’m not reading it, I’m not getting it.
• Use my talents.  God has given us ALL a talent.  Some of us choose not to use it because we are scared.  I am going to lay my fears and insecurities down at His feet.

Are you obedient to the calling He has on your life?

 

 

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Sister Sister

SaraGrace and Emmy love one another.  I just know they do!  Last night, SG wanted to hold Emmy and it went from great to disaster.

They were laughing and having a good time one minute…

which came to an abrupt end.

At least for Emmy.  SG is still smiling.  Can we say rotten?

The Best Gift Ever

We draw names each Christmas for my family.  It’s just easier (and cheaper) that way.  Everyone buys for all of the kids.  This year, I drew my Mom’s name. 

She gave me a list, but I knew exactly what I was going to get her.  She has been wanting a picture of all of her grandkids, but the babies had us waiting until the last minute to get it done.  Thankfully, we were able to pull it off.

I knew that orange and blue was going to be the dress code.  The next best thing to  Gamma’s grandkids, is her Gators!

Tony and Heather Raish came out and did a wonderful job!

Here is Gamma’s picture.

Though the pictures were for Gamma, I ended up with the BEST.GIFT.EVER!

We had some pictures made of our kids, and I wanted nothing more than to have all 4 of my children in one picture.  Tony did it!

This picture is one of my greatest treasures.  Needless to say, we got this in a 16x20 for our mantle.  I LOVE IT!!!

They also took some newborn pictures of Miss Emmy, and they turned out great.