Stop the complaining.

Of course I miss the second day of November blogging. 

Maybe it was because I spent over 8 hours straight on accounting homework. 

Eek!

Guess why it is important to graduate college before having a family. 

This weekend was the first weekend in a LONG time that we had no plans.

Yes, zero plans! 

It felt wonderful. 

Waking up on a chilly Saturday morning lounging around the house, drinking coffee, and spending quality family time was honestly on of the best mornings in a while. 

For the record, I'm not really a coffee drinker, but ever since I spent money on a Keurig, I love the Cafe Mocha coffee, drowned with almond milk and french vanilla sweetener.

soo yummy! 

Needless to say I drink coffee on average about once a week. Growing up I always thought coffee was for mommy's so I guess I have hit that stage. 

Anyways, spent the early afternoon with my sister, Lauren, running errands. It's always nice to sneak out of the house for a few hours of girl time. My sister is the most loving, encouraging, God seeking woman I have ever met. She's so positive and you can always see the light of Christ shining through her. She's in her first year of teaching which makes "girl time" a little more difficult, but we seem to cherish every little bit we get. 

After we got back the dreaded accounting homework started. It was pure torture. 

God bless accountants.

I don't think I will fully understand these problems. 

That evening we got to go visit my in-laws, and my husbands grandparent's who were in town from Ohio. 

Which meant we got a very delicious italian homemade spaghetti dinner! 

Unfortunately I had to continue homework over there, but Sophia got to have play time with her cousin Lawson. 

(He is a month younger than Sophia.)

We got home last night and enjoyed the night relaxing.

It was so nice. 

Time changed last night so they say you should get an extra hour asleep, but for some reason our child didn't get that memo of the EXTRA hour of sleep, so she was up at 7 am. Her normal time is 8 am anyways. So I am wondering does it take babies some time to adjust to this time change?! 

Ehh I hope not! 

We were able to get up and enjoy the morning before church. 

It was nice. No rushing this morning, guess we were up in plenty of time. 

I think I have mentioned before my husband and I assist in Children's Church; therefore, we have to be there early to get everything ready. 

This morning we learned about complaining and I thought of how many times we as adults complain for our children to see. I wonder if we stopped complaining so much, how our children would react? 

"Do everything without complaining or arguing." 

-Philippians 2:14 

Just a little food for thought. 

After a wonderful service, we got to go to lunch with my best friend and her friend. 

It's always good to spend time together. 

Thank God for the friendship we have. 

We also got to visit at my parents house today for a little while and eat dinner. Really enjoy being close by my parents and in-laws. 

This time change is really affecting me. I don't like the whole getting dark at 6 o'clock thing. 

So when it got dark I took a 30 minute nap. 

I think it confused Sophia too, since she took an hour nap. 

First of all, she never naps, and secondly especially at 6 PM.

Hopefully, she sleeps well tonight. 

I have a busy week ahead with school. 

3 more weeks. 3 more weeks. 3 more weeks.

I think I can... I think I can... I think I can...

Onto my thankful days. 

Which I am SO glad that I chose to do this. Not only do I just write about this, but I pray for these people a little more. This posting has made me sit back and cherish these moments, and realize how blessed I am to have them in my life. 

November 2nd: My husband.

Thankful for my husband. God has truly blessed me with a man who I don't even deserve! I am thankful for his love for our family. He's encouraging when I am feeling discouraged. He's positive when I am negative. He continues to let the love of Christ pour through him! And he is by far the best father ever!

November 3rd: Our daughter, Sophia.

I am thankful for our little girl, Sophia. I am thankful that God chose us to be her parents. She's such a beautiful, healthy, blue eyed, crazy haired girl! I never knew that such a little baby could bring so much joy and happiness! I'm thankful for all the smiles, laughter, and cuddles that she brings us! She is definitely our world and not a day goes by that I don't thank God for her!

The Thankful Month

It's hard to believe that yesterday our little girl dressed up for her 1st Halloween! Time has flown by! It was such a busy 10 month, but October was DEFINITELY filled with tons of fun. I thank God for His many blessings!

This past month both Austin and I have really learned the value of family. With both of us working full time jobs, being full time students, full time children church assistants, and best of all full time parents, the struggle has been real. Some days it's harder to stay positive more than others, but together we make it happen. I definitely think I've married the most encouraging man I've ever met. When we don't understand life, he says, "Let's Pray." It's wonderful! I'm SO incredibly blessed that I get to spend the rest of my life with a man that is selfless, like Christ. He is a man who ALWAYS focuses on the Father then his wife and family. Love my husband SO much!

Okay, enough of the sappy post.

 

Throughout this past month, we managed to find time for family and friends every weekend! We enjoyed watching UGA vs. Tenn game with some wonderful church friends.

(Our house is divided. My husband is UGA and I am for Tennessee, so it's always fun!)

Sophia turned 9 months old!

My wonderful SIL and her husband flew in from California for her gender reveal and baby shower. We had such a great time! Couldn't ask to have married into a better family!

We found out we will be having another nephew come December of this year!

That will make 5 boys and 2  girls for nephews and nieces!

We conquered the horrible midterms.

Spent a weekend in Elijay at the Apple Festival with my parents, sister, best friend, and her mom!

Made our way to Dawsonville to Burt's Pumpkin Patch.
Sophia absolutely LOVED the pumpkins!

Lastly, we celebrated Halloween last night.

 

 

Burt's Pumpkin Patch

 

 

Sophia's 1st Halloween

 

 

Trick 'or Treating at Grandma Bowers and Papa's House

 

 

Cutest Little Pumpkin Ever!

 

 

 

Love my family!

 

It's November 1st. The countdown has now begun. It's the countdown to Thanksgiving, Christmas shopping, holiday baking, family gatherings, and to Christmas. It's the beginning of, "The Thankful Month." It's the month we cunt our blessings that we tend to pass by on the other 11 months. This month I am going to challenge myself to concentrate on writing something I am thankful for each day at the end of each post.
Let's see how it goes!

 

We are looking forward to Sophia's 1st Thanksgiving.

Unfortunately my husband has to work on Thanksgiving, but thankful he will be off for Christmas.

Guess hospitals can't really close on holidays.

 

One thing I am most excited about is getting to cook Thanksgiving dinner.

Last year was my first year cooking it and I loved it.

Something about family coming together to celebrate our blessings!
It's a God thing.

 

November 1: Thankful for the love of Christ.

He loves me unconditionally, more than I deserve, more than I can comprehend, and more than I could ever return. "Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end." -John 13:1 We are "His own" We are his family. He loved us from the beginning. He loved us before He left us. The extent of his love was SO deep that He couldn't be separated from us, so instead by him dying on the cross, he enabled us to spend forever with him. We always want our friends to show unconditional love to us; however, we say that most people aren't there when we need them the most. Christ love is constant, he loved us when it was painful, he loves us unconditionally. As humans we long to be loved deeply, passionately, and radically, and I thank Christ for showing me this love.

Needing Some Sunshine

What a dreary dreary summer!

 

I think I might be able to count on my fingers how many days it HASN'T rained this summer.

 

Throughout, the rainy, stormy, lack of sunshine days, I find myself being reminded over and over again that even when our days are dark or grayish looking that we have the ultimate light. Through our Lord we have unending light.

 

"O Lord, you are my lamp.

The Lord lights up my darkness."

-2 Samuel 22:29

 

What an amazing feeling whenever troubles come our way we have the ultimate light to help shine our path through life.

 

Despite the rain, we have added two WONDERFUL babies to our family.

Jax and Max

I guess you can call them "Cousin Twinsies."

 

They are super precious.

 

Next week, we head to Michigan for my cousin's wedding.

 

2013 is full of weddings and babies!

 

LOVE IT!

 

So a 12 hour road trip with a 6 month old.
Most people think we are insane...

...but she's a pro!

 

This will be her 3rd road trip to Michigan.

 

Time for an updated look at our family.

 

 

 

 

Past Due

It’s been over a month.

So much for starting to blog more.

Throughout the last month we’ve rarely even been home.

House sitting for my parent’s for a week while they were vacationing in Hawaii.

Which by the way, Hawaii is absolutely beautiful. Honeymooned there and had the most amazing time! Never met someone un-friendly there, everyone was so welcoming and it was like you were in a completely different world.

Anyways, they had a fantastic trip. Us? Not so much. Actually, it wasn’t that bad. My darling husband absolutely loved it! He was able to fish every day and be outside 24-7. During this I didn’t get much chance to work. Darn! My mother (who is a bigger blessing than she will ever know) always watches Sophia during the day while I work, so when she is gone it’s a tad difficult to get anything done with a 5 month old.

June 22^nd we left for the beach. My husband and I had never gotten a chance to have a beach trip together (minus Hawaii) and he had never been to Panama City Beach, so this was such an exciting adventure for him and our family. We decided to spend a week at a wonderful beachfront condo with our family, my parents, sister, and sister’s boyfriend. Total of 7 of us, which does not even compare to Austin’s family size on family vacations.

I absolutely love being surrounded with such loving families.

God has extremely blessed us.

Getting ready for the beach… well… let’s just say I wasn’t sure where to begin, but with the help of Pinterest I learned a lot!!

Like, whoever thought of taking a baby bath down the beach was a complete Mother Genius!

This was the best thing for Sophia.

We had beach chairs and an umbrella and were able to sit the bath right in between Austin and I. We also had a battery operated fan, water bottle, hat, sunglasses, and PLENTY of liquids.

Our little water bug, Sophia, had the GREATEST time! I have no complaints.

Throughout the whole trip I can only recall of one major fussy time.
This happened at Wonderworks, we thought what a great thing to hold her up in the astronaut space suit and take a photo of Sophia as an astronaut, well needless to say, Sophia does NOT want to be an astronaut.

A week with family creating numerous memories was the best thing for us this summer.

Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.
~From the television show The Wonder Years

We arrived home Saturday afternoon.

Since then, it’s been go go go go GO!

From working on Children’s Church Lessons to Cleaning to Work.

Blessed for another day.

Tonight, consist of dinner with Austin’s family at Scalini’s hoping to start the process of the arrival of our new nephew, Baby Jax.

This will make 3 out of 4 little ones due in 2013 for Austin’s side of the family!

Children are such a blessing and wonderful gift from God.

 

“See, children are a gift from the Lord. The children born to us are our special reward.”
-Psalm 127:3

Life's Changes

I've always wanted to blog, but the fear of where to begin kept me from starting. So many changes have happened/ are happening in 2013 that I figured what more perfect opportunity to begin that May 23, 2013.

So here's a little about my family and I. 

I'm a 24 year old wife to an amazing God-fearing husband who shows more encouragement and support than I could ever even imagine! Married April 21, 2012. On January 8th of this year we became first-time parents to a beautiful brown haired (that is lightening up everyday) blue-eyed girl! God has truly bless us with a sweet bundle of joy who is constantly bringing us smiles. 

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change life shifting shadows." 

-James 1:17

I always said that I wouldn't be one of those big bragging moms, but then I became a mother and want to share everything that happens involving our little girl. 

My husband and I had both chosen careers in the medical field, that's actually how we met. It's one of those cute little love stories that every little girl dreams of having. 

Until recently I just left my 4 year job at a hospital, to strive to come the Proverbs 31 wife and mother that God has chosen me to be. Leaving my job was definitely bittersweet, I worked with some of the best co-workers who I could always count on, yet I was super excited to be home every night with my family. (Eek I worked night shift.)

"Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

-Proverbs 31:30

While the medical field has been so wonderful, and full of the sweetest, funniest, nastiest stories possible I've chosen to start a career learning how to work for my father's construction company. 

No worries I'll be an office woman no building for me. 

So thankful for my family, friends, and previous co-workers support in these changes.

"Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." 

-1 Thessalonians 5:11

While on this new journey as a new mother, a fairly new wife, a new employee, I am hoping to fall into a much deeper relationship with My Eternal Father, and become the woman He has destined me to become. 

"Brothers and Sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do is forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize to which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

-Philippians 3:13-14

Sophia Grace Baby Dedication