Snowman, Cupcakes and A New Picture

I thought I would finally give an update on what's going on in our world. My husband is very close to starting his new job. The red tape has been awful! We are also about to put the For Sale sign in our yard. I would love for it to sell fast so we can hurry up and move. I would like to be moved before the new baby comes at least. Speaking of the new baby, I went to my first OB-GYN visit this past Thursday.

That's an arm sticking up in the picture! Isn't that so cute!:)

My due date is August 23rd. My doctor doesn't think I'll make it to my due date because he thinks I'll have gestational diabetes again, the baby will get big and we may have to induce early. As long as we have a healthy baby, I'm ok with whatever happens.

I'm also posting a few miscellaneous pictures as well. About a week and a half ago, we got a short snow. My husband and oldest built a very small snowman.

And here are my girls woofing down cupcakes with green icing as fast as their little mouths will let them.

My oldest kept me up on and off all night throwing up. About every hour she would wake up, throw up and go back to sleep. It sounds to me like she may have caught a virus. I'm praying that she doesn't do that all day!

Until next time...

Have a great week!

Waiting on Results and Making Decisions

We're waiting on my husband's board results....and, it's torture! We know the package is suppose to be delivered sometime before 3 pm tomorrow (Monday). He was fine until he got a call from a friend with news that she and another classmate had not passed. Now he's concerned and cannot get his mind focused on anything else but getting his results! I really feel for him but there is nothing I can do other than be supportive.

My boss (a speech therapist, too) went on maternity leave so, for the next 10 weeks, I will be working 4 days a week instead of 3. I don't really want to but it has to be done. In the meantime, I'm contemplating turning my notice in and staying home with my children after I have the baby in the late summer. This has always been my and my husband's ultimate goal and this was one reason why he went back to school...for us to be able to afford for me to stay home. I'm going to start really praying about this. I want to be able to let my boss know by early summer if I can.

I've been feeling some general nausea and fatigue lately. I'm blessed that I have never had to deal with severe morning sickness! I'm looking forward to my OB-GYN visit on the 24th, seeing the ultrasound and getting a due date!

Please keep us in your prayers as we wait for board results and make important decisions! Have a great week!

Time Alone This Weekend

My mother blessed my husband and I with a weekend alone. My dad was gone hunting so my mother came to our house, kept our girls and let us have their house to spend the weekend together! We went to see Dan in Real Life. It was funny! The next day, we went to our friends' house to watch the Alabama vs. Mississippi State game and play corn hole. That night we watched The Ultimate Gift. What a great movie! I recommend everyone rent it!! We went to church the next day and then to lunch with more friends! We had a great time visiting with everyone and also enjoying some quiet time together!! Thanks, Mama!!:)

We're Getting Closer

Well, we're one step closer...to a life without school! Yesterday was my husband's last day of clinicals. He's spent a year and a half at this hospital so leaving was a little melancholy for him, but, by no means was he sad about leaving. We've been married for 9 years and have only had 1 semester when one or both of us were not in school! We're very excited as to where we are headed in the upcoming months! We got his official graduation date--December 15th! After graduation, taking boards and celebrating the Christmas holidays, we will start working on our house to get it ready to put on the market! We are looking forward to moving back to our hometown and being closer to our family and friends!

This weekend, we're planning on relaxing....watching the Alabama vs. LSU game (ROLL TIDE!), spending time with friends, and eating game day food.

I hope everyone else's weekend is relaxing and pleasant!

Busy, Busy, Busy

Wow--have we been busy! Here's a short (or long) run down of the last couple of weeks...

It started with a family reunion (my Papaw's side). This family reunion always includes lots of music! This is my dad and Papaw pickin' and grinnin'. (That's a southern sayin from Hee Haw in case you didn't know.)

Here is my Papaw and his brother. They are the only 2 left of all their brothers and sisters.

Here is my husband and nephew playing around.

Me and my youngest

After the reunion, it was back to Papaw & Mamaw's house for some fishing fun!

On Thursdays, my oldest goes to the library for story and music time with Mother Goose. Mother Goose is a lady from our town who dresses up, reads stories to the kids and has music time with them! My daughter ADORES going to see Mother Goose! Last Thursday, the children dressed up in their Halloween costumes. We don't celebrate Halloween but thought it would be fun to dress up anyway. Here is Tinkerbell!!:)
Here is Tinkerbell...along with a fireman, Thomas the train, a cheerleader, a football player, a ladybug and Mother Goose (in the back)!
Then, this Saturday, we went to see the Doodlebops in concert! This was my oldest's first concert! It was a lot of fun!

Here is Grandpa and Grandma (my parents) with my oldest at the concert!

Here's my husband, my oldest and myself!

Yesterday, while home by ourselves, I decided to take my girls to a pretty part of the subdivision and get some pictures.


It's been a fun couple of weeks!

BTW, I posted a new recipe on my recipe blog. My family really liked it! It's a keeper!

I Will Get Better!

My dear IRL friend, Jenna, made a point to tell me tonight at church that I was seriously slacking on my blogging lately. She's not the first to make this point! The fact is, I'm having trouble finding time to blog. I drive over to my parents house during the week to work and lately we've stayed there during some weekends for various reasons and have been out of town during the rest! Due to all the stuff going on in our life, when I can sit down to blog, my mind goes blank. I will get better, I promise. I'm still in a blogging slump! Don't forget about me! I will be back--posting and commenting soon!

HELP--I Wasn't Prepared for This!

This may be the grossest post I ever write. If you have a weak stomach, I suggest you run away....quickly. Let me start by saying that I love my children and I love being a mom. However, there are some things that I don't handle well....and this is one of them. Remember, I warned you! Proceed with caution and don't blame me if you hurl in your bowl of cereal!

I laid my youngest down for a nap and, being the scatter brain that I am, forgot to put any clothes on her except for her diaper. If you have children, you already know where I'm going with this.

When I went in to get her, IT was all over everything!

It was all over her bed, sheets, blankets, teddy bear, fluffy pink elephant, etc.

Yes, it was all over her face... (including in her nose)

All over her feet...

All over her hands...

And, my favorite, all in her hair...but I'll save you a picture of that!

Perhaps she looks so distraught because I screamed, "*YOUNGEST*, YOU HAVE POOPED AND GOTTEN IT EVERYWHERE!"

Perhaps she looked so distraught because I scrubbed with such intensity!

Perhaps she looked so distraught because I washed her hair THREE times!

Perhaps she looked so distraught because I made her sit there until I could empty out the poop water and fill it up with clean water so that I could bathe and rinse her off again!

Perhaps she looked so distraught because I kept saying, "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU GOT POOP EVERYWHERE!"

Or, perhaps she was so distraught because I kept taking pictures during the whole thing!

So, after the initial shock and intensified bathing, I got this...

And I tried to tackle this...

And this...

Oh, in case you're wondering, I'm ok now. I cleaned the poop, resolved my frustration by taking some deep breaths and am continuing to have a great weekend!

And my youngest is ok, too!

Just This and That

Well, this has been a busy week. I'll leave the details for my Weekend Reflection that I'll post tomorrow. Because we usually stay at my parents house on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, I don't get to blog during the middle of the week. Most of blogging is done Friday-Monday (my off days). My husband started back to school and this will be his last semester (YIPEEEEEE)! He just bound his 17 page research paper so that is a relief to him. All that's left is clinicals, a class or two and taking boards. I'm so proud of him! He sure has worked hard!

September is going to be a birthday and dedication month for us. My husband's birthday is on the 15th (He shares the same birthday as my dear friend, Jenna ). My youngest daughter will be turning "1" on September 26th. We're having her dedicated on September 16th. I'll post pictures of all of this when it happens!

Tonight, we're traveling to our hometown because some of my husband's family from Louisiana is coming into town and we're meeting at my MIL's house for dinner. It will be nice to see them.

Until next time....

100 Things About Me!

It's my 100th post!!!

1. I am a believer.

2. I was saved at a young age.

3. I met my husband at church camp.

4. I met him when I was 17.

5. He was 21.

6. I married when I was 19.

7. He was 23.

8. We were married in Greenwood, MS.

9. My anniversary is August 1st.

10. We will be married 9 years this year.

11. My birthday is March 2nd.

12. I am short--5'3''.

13. My husband is tall--6'2".

14. I live in the DEEP South.

15. We were raised in Pentecostal churches.

16. We attend an Assembly of God church.

17. I am a speech therapist.

18. I work with children and adults and like my job very much.

19. I found that having children gave me much more compassion for my patients.

20. I have 2 daughters.

21. My oldest was born with a hemangioma on her nasal tip.

22. She has undergone many laser treatments and one big surgery to correct it.

23. She still has some abnormal coloration.

24. It is 300 times better than it was.

25. She still has more treatments ahead.

26. I lived in Memphis, TN for 8 years.

27. I never went to Graceland.

28. I did sign the wall in front of Graceland.

29. I use to live just a few miles from Jerry Lee Lewis.

30. I use to play in the band in Jr. High and High School.

31. I played the saxophone.

32. I don't play it anymore.

33. I played softball most of my life and also played in high school.

34. I love to play softball.

35. I never learned how to play fast pitch softball (but I wish I had).

36. I play the piano a little.

37. I like to sing and use to sing at church.

38. I thought about doing it again but I don't like to be in front of people (even in a group).

39. I always got really nervous before going on stage.

40. I am an only child.

41. I always wanted a brother/sister but being an only child has its perks, too.

42. I will be glad when my husband finishes graduate school.

43. I love going to the mountains--Pigeon Forge, TN is one of my favorite places to go.

44. My husband and I want to travel one day.

45. I really love my husband.

46. I think he's hot!!!!;)

47. I love diet coke.

48. I love chocolate.

49. I love to shop.

50. I drive a Honda Accord.

51. I live close to most of my immediate family.

52. My whole family prayed that we would live close to each other for 8 long years.

53. When it happened, I considered it a miracle from God.

54. My favorite book is "Redeeming Love" by Francine Rivers.

55. I love recipe books.

56. I get this from my mother. She collects recipe books.

57. The name of my blog, Grace & Hope, are combined parts of names of people in my family.

58. I had gestational diabetes with my last pregnancy.

59. Since then, I have quit drinking anything containing sugar.

60. I have trouble cutting sweets from my diet.

62. I have a serious sweet tooth.

63. I love to go to the movies!

64. My husband go to the movies any chance we get!

65. The last movies we saw were Transformers and Oceans 13--both in the same night!

66. Right now, my favorite place to eat is a local restaurant in our hometown and I love their Asian Chicken Salad.

67. I eat most things plain.

68. Sonic is my favorite fast food place to get a hamburger!

69. I am IRL friends with Jenny and Jenna.

70. My husband is also wonderful friends with their husbands and my oldest thinks they all hung the moon.

71. The hubs and I had dinner with Jenny and her husband last night. You can read about it here.

72. I work at Baptist Memorial Hospital .

73. I love my job!

74. I want more children.

75. I've always said that I wanted 4 children. I have 2 now and we'll see how 3 goes.

76. I like to send packages to soldiers overseas who are fighting in the war.

77. I (and my husband) correspond with one and send him boxes of goodies as often as we can.

78. I don't watch much TV.

79. I don't like how it consumes me.

80. If I let myself, I could watch hours of TV at a time.

81. I find that I'm much more productive and don't struggle as much with negative thoughts when I don't watch TV.

82. However, I do see more than my fair share of Veggie Tales, Elmo, Doodlebops and Barney!

83. I like to exercise while listening to my IPOD but I don't get to much right now.

84. I am trying to change this!

85. I have a dog named Molly (a jack russell mix).

86. I found her at Walmart.

87. I have a cat named Sox.

88. I named him Sox because he is gray except for his white feet.

89. I LOVE Christmas!!

90. I will be spending the Christmas holiday with my entire family in the Smoky Mountains!

91. I love the snow but we don't get it much here in the deep South.

92. I would love to be a SAHM one day.

93. I have to keep working until we are through correcting my oldest daughter's nasal tip hemangioma due to insurance reasons.

94. I don't mind working. The Lord has blessed me to only have to work 3 days a week to keep us on that insurance.

95. I will be married 9 years on Wednesday! UH-OH, I think I've already said this. I'm running out of things to say!!:)

96. I would marry my husband all over again!

97. I love to cook.

98. I have missed out on meeting some blogging friends.

99. I would really like to meet you someday!

100. I am blessed to have a wonderful Savior, fantastic family, and great friends!

Mommy's Two Girls

The South and BBQ

I don't know if everyone knows this or not, but we Southerners love our BBQ. Now, Deep South BBQ is different than BBQ you might get in North Carolina. North Caroliners (and others I'm sure) like a vinegar based BBQ sauce. You don't get that as much in the Deep South. We like a sweet or tangy BBQ sauce. Tomorrow, we will be enjoying such BBQ at a famous Southern restaurant in AL called Dreamland.

When you sit down, they bring you Sunbeam white bread and their BBQ sauce for dipping. That's it. That's your appetizer.

Their menu is rather simple. Ribs, pork sandwiches, smoked sausage and chicken. You can also order french fries and their WONDERFUL banana pudding.

I will be trying to watch what I eat, but I'm looking forward to enjoying a nice lunch with my family!

I hope everyone else has a wonderful weekend!

Molly

The Lord has answered a prayer for me. I know that not all people are animal lovers, but I am. We have had our dog, Molly, for about 8 years now. The hubs and I found her at Walmart early in our marriage. In fact, my husband wasn't too thrilled to take her home. Especially when she jumped in his lap in our car and leaked milk all over his pants. (She had obviously been dropped off after having puppies). I don't get to spend as much time with her as I use to, but I love her nonetheless.

She went missing about 3 days ago. My husband left our fence gate open and she escaped. She's done this before but has always come back. My husband printed fliers and posted them around the subdivision and has driven around calling her for the last 3 days. Tonight, he went to the Humane Society and actually found her there.

I wasn't a good owner and did not have a collar on her. Anyway, they won't release her to us until we show them a picture of her to prove that she is ours. That's ok. I have one and we will go get her on Thursday. (They are closed tomorrow).

I've been praying that the Lord would help us find her. I actually fell asleep praying for that last night ! I'm so thankful the my Lord answers prayers. He even cares about the stuff that some people would think as foolish! He knows MY heart and cares for MY hurts. He is a good God!!

Snot--The New Hair Gel

I was in my bathroom the other day getting ready when I heard my oldest say, "Look, Mommy, I'm making her pretty"! I looked down to find my oldest wiping snot from her nose and putting it on my youngest daughter's head and then "fixing" her hair with it!

A Little of This and A Little of That

Thank the Lord it's raining. We've been in such a drought down here and this shower is a blessing from above!! We had a great weekend at my parents celebrating my grandmother's birthday. I made her a photo album of her great-granddaughters on Shutterfly . It almost brought tears to her eyes. My grandfather was sitting next to her and I could see the envy in his eyes (good envy, of course). He loves to have pics of his great-granddaughters. Unknown to him was that we had made him one for Father's Day as well and presented it to him right after that. He was so pleased to have one of his own. He always takes pics of my girls to church to show them off so I know that he will take his photo album on Wednesday night.

We had a rough night last night. My oldest was sleeping with my parents and woke up from a bad dream about 12:30 am this morning. I went and got her (my dad had to fly to Miami today and needed his rest) and held her on the couch just as she stated she wanted. She was so restless that at 2:00 am I had to lay her in the bed. Needless to say, I didn't get any rest between 12:30 and 2:00. I'm thankful I was at my parents' house because they watched the girls and let me rest until 10:00 am this morning. I had planned to go to church but didn't make it in light of the circumstances. I wanted to stay and see my dad and grandparents off as well.

I'm looking forward to a great week. I'm going to really enjoy dinner with my two wonderful friends, Jenny and Jenna. We are going to travel about 30 minutes away to eat at Ruby Tuesday's. I wasn't in on the decision making process since I didn't make church this morning. Jenny called me this afternoon to inform me that they had made an executive decision on my behalf. Since these are two of my favorite people in the entire world, I didn't mind not one iota!!:) (Has everyone heard the word "iota" or is that a Southern term?) I love Ruby Tuesday's and am looking forward to some "girl time". My husband and sister-in-law are also going to keep my girls at my house and let me spend Monday and Tuesday night at my parent's house. It will just be me and my mom and I will enjoy the quiet time. I will begin my work week on Tuesday but I think my mom and I are planning on going to a movie Tuesday night. Jenny told me that she and dh saw Nancy Drew and really liked it.

I hope everyone has a great week!

OK--I'm Better Now

Well, I don't feel like this anymore!

Last night was not a good night for me. In fact, this last week was really hard. The closer my husband gets to graduation (December), the harder it seems to be getting. We've been living here and I've been traveling for the last 20 months and I think I'm just giving out! My body feels worn out much of the time and I know my mental strength is running out! I'm just trying to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I had a great night's sleep last night and that helped me greatly! The Lord also knew what I need this morning and that is a morning at home with my girls! They both woke up in great moods and we've been having a good time together.

Now, I'm off to clean my house before we leave to go to my parents' house. My grandparents are coming today. We're going to celebrate my Mamaw's 76th birthday!

I'll post some more later! I hope you all have a great weekend!

Excuse My Complaining

I try to be positive in my posts, but, the fact is, I'm tired and frustrated. I feel like all I do is travel, work and travel some more. I'm craving time to myself just to relax. One thing I haven't gotten to do lately is blog--and that is something I really enjoy. I will have some blogging time this weekend...I'm determined!

I will talk to you soon, my blogging friends!