We move today!

We move today! We're so excited! I can't wait to share pictures with you. Also, expect a "tribute" to our first home. As excited as we are, we're also a bit sad. This has been such a special house to us with lots of hard work put into it. We'll miss it!

Packing Up!

I've been spending the day packing our house!! This is a messy job! My house looks like a tornado came through. We move on Thursday and Friday. Pictures to come!!

Wish me luck on packing....

We're moving right along!

What the outside used to look like...


As of yesterday!

The outside paint made a huge difference - especially in person. We are putting new shutters up that will be a deep black color and a black storm door on the front of the door. I think the new "warm" color looks much better with this brick than the old "cool" color.

Behind!

I know I'm really behind, but I promise I've been really busy! We officially have a move-in date that is 15 days away! AH! We're moving the Friday before Memorial Day and I've been running back and forth from this house to the new house making sure everything gets done. They're putting down the bathroom tiles today and hopefully the floors will be put in Friday or Monday. The outside of the house is being painted today and the inside is finished (except for the master bedroom...ugh...I just couldn't be happy with a paint color but I finally picked one!) We're getting so excited and it's really creeping up on us!

My parents are coming on Thursday or Friday (I think Mom is coming a day early) and bringing our bedroom furniture, fridge, and washer/dryer. Then Friday we're moving everything! We'll be loading up the U-Haul and leaving! I have about 6 boxes packed total. But it's just too difficult to pack things that you might need in the next 2 weeks. I'll start packing that week and we can eat off of paper plates and plastic cups.

Either way, there's my excuse for my blogging hiatus. I have tons of pictures from my weekend at home to post but I simply don't have time right now! I'll do my best! Be patient with me during our move!

My 1st Blog Award!

Today I received my first blog award from Audra @ Little Moments with the Laneys. I've never gotten a blog award before! How fun! Getting a blog award comes with instructions.

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award and link back to their blog.

Obviously, I'm sure most of you know that Audra is my wonderful sister. She's my best girlfriend ever and we usually don't go a day without talking to each other! Actually, Audra is the reason that I blog! Before Judd and I got married Audra told me I needed to start one to keep up with house renovations (on our current house!) and wedding stuff. I started one then and have been doing it ever since! Audra, I don't have to say anything else - you know how I feel about you!

2. Pass the award on to 7 other bloggers who have a beautiful blog.

This will be hard to do. I LOVE reading blogs so I have a lot to pick from!

1. Nathan & Koren - Koren and I have babies only 2 or 3 months apart! She has an adorable little girl, Avery! I actually went to church with Nathan and Koren and I have met through facebook and blogging. It's funny - I've never met her but I feel like I know her so well! Nathan and Koren are living in Indiana...hence the blogname, "Indiana Seagos". Head on over there now!
2. The Powers - Laura and Wade are some of our friends here in Cleveland. We met them while they were visiting our church and Laura and I quickly became great friends! She's an RN in Greenwood, and Wade is currently in school at DSU majoring in sports medicine. Wade was also a Marine! He and Judd went duck hunting a lot this past season and Laura and I hung out at the house and played with Caroline! Laura just recently picked up blogging from a hiatus and has such fun, quirky posts! They also added a new "baby" bloodhound into their family named Gunny! Check them out!
3. Ashley & Hunter - Hunter has been one of our best friends throughout college! He recently moved to Georgia and met the love of his life, Ashley! I was so excited when I found out that Ashley had a blog! I love fellow blogger friends! Ashley and I have actually never met, but I feel like I know her pretty well...and because of this blog - she probably feels like she knows me MORE than she'd like to! Visit her blog and get to know her!
   
4. Shannon - Shannon has two of the most adorable little girls I've ever seen! She lives in Texas and has an out-of-the-home business called Jelby's! I can personally vouch for Jelby's clothes and burp rags! They are so cute! Shannon is extremely talented. Her blog is called "50,000 Words a Day," and if you want to know what that means, you'll have to go to her blog to check it out!
   
5. Maryann @ Domestically Speaking - This is your trash-to-treasure queen! She is so crafty! She honestly inspires me to buy everything at a yard sale and spray paint it. Ha! She's a God-loving mother and in her own words, "wants to spend God's money wisely" which I think totally sums up her blog! Her ideas are so unique but really add "homey" touches. Visit her blog and start crafting!
6. Leah & Ian - Leah is one of my best friends that I met while living in Starkville, MS. She was actually my boss! Ha! The days when I got to work with her were always my favorite because we spent the entire time laughing! Even if our shifts weren't together - we always brought each other Sonic Diet Cokes through the drive-thru window! She was a bridesmaid in my wedding and I was one in hers! She now lives in Boston (sad!) and manages her own coffee shop! Oh yes, her husband strikingly resembles a young Richard Gere. Go see for yourself! Love you, Leah!
7. Shellaine & Nathan - Shellaine was my roommate for part of my stay in Starkville. She is SO sweet! Shellaine married a wonderful man, Nathan a few years ago and has moved up north! She is a veterinarian and worked very hard to get where she is now! Her husband is currently in Afghanistan serving our country. I can't say enough for our military husbands and wives. The sacrifice that they make for our country can only be understood by them! I can't imagine my husband leaving me for months or years at a time. Visit her blog and keep up with Nathan and her new life up north!

3. Notify each blogger of their nomination.

4. Write 7 things about yourself.

• I wiggle my toes while I'm trying to fall asleep.
• I don't even attempt to eat healthy foods. I should really work on this!
• I'm trying to learn to sew.
• I really, really, really miss playing cards with friends. Any takers?
• I hate feet. Everyone's feet. Including my own.
• I recently quit biting my fingernails for the first time in about 20 years.
• I would rather have the cookie dough than the actual cooked cookie. Unfortunately, my husband would rather have a crunchy, half-burned cookie so I still have to cook them! Blech!

Wow! This was a long post! Hope you enjoyed reading all of this because it sure took a long time to type. HA!

Book Review: "I Will Carry You: The Sacred Dance of Grief & Joy"

I've never done a book review before (probably because Mary Higgins Clark is still my favorite author and no one really wants to read that review...) but I thought this book was worth reviewing.

First off, let me start by making this disclaimer: If you are pregnant, recently post partum, menopausal, or in any other way hormonally imbalanced - you will have a really tough read.

If you've ever read the blog Bring the Rain then you probably already know all about this book. But if you haven't ever read her blog, I'll give you a rundown. Angie Smith is married to Chris, who is a singer in "Selah," a popular Christian band. They have 3 girls with another now in Heaven (and she's currently pregnant with another little girl!). This book is about Angie's journey through a pregnancy that she was told would never produce a living baby. Her sweet baby girl was deemed "incompatible with life" at 20 weeks gestation and she was advised to "terminate" the pregnancy to spare her emotions. Unwilling to do so, Angie carried their little girl (who they named Audrey Caroline) throughout the entire pregnancy. The rest of the book deals with her loss and how she and her family coped, largely focusing on her love and faith in Jesus Christ.

I really enjoyed this book. I read it in 1 full day. I sat on my couch with a box of Kleenex and sobbed like a baby while reading it. It is a sad book. But at the same time, it's a happy book. Angie and her family wanted to make sure that Audrey's illness and death had some "higher purpose" in this world. And it certainly did. The book does a lot of comparing between her loss and the loss that Jesus felt at Lazarus' death. It's hard for me to explain because it literally took her the entire book to pull the two together - but she did it wonderfully. She's a very witty writer, and holds very little back. She refers back to blog posts that she made at different times through Audrey's life so if you've read her blog before, you'll recognize some of her posts in the book. I truly have no complaints about the book. I enjoyed reading it, despite the huge pile of Kleenex that it required to finish.

So - I DO recommend it...just not if you're hormonally imbalanced in any way. If you are pregnant, please, do yourself a favor and wait until a while after your baby is born (it'll probably be a while before you have time, anyway!) to read this book. It will have you worried sick your entire pregnancy. If you do choose to read it even though I've warned you, try to see her main point for writing the book - even something so horrible as the death of a baby can bring glory to God, even in the most bizarre ways.

We Have Teeth!

Click on the picture to make it bigger!


You can see the one that punched through today clearly in this picture.


And just for the cuteness factor...


When we sing "Don't let Satan *blow* it out..I'm gonna let it shine..." and you blow in her face!


My 2 teeth baby girl!