3 important things

This morning, (early, I might add), I sat down to drink my coffee & started thinking about all of the wonderful blessings that the Lord has given to me in my life. I never have much of a moment of silence to myself these days so I got up before everyone else did to breathe. Sometimes in the comfort of SILENCE you can find so many answers. I made a list of all the good things in my life & WOW... blessed is right.



I think sometimes too many of us fight the "bad verses good" in our lives. We tend to only see the worry, the negative, the evil... Have you ever stopped to just sit & write all the GOOD things going on?

...My husband & I have had the great opportunity of taking 2 nice long drives this week, alone. It NEVER happens but I think God knew my heart & that I needed a good word. My husband asked me what the 3 most important things were to me in my life when we were driving around. I said, "God, family, & health." He challenged me & said, "I thought you would say that." Now let me ask you, do you APPLY these things 1st in your life?"

I had to stop & think about it because yes, I do on family & health, but where has God been in the picture? Where have my quiet times gone? He has seen the worry in my heart & at times my frustration after a long day of being home with Avery & it tends to be a cycle. I mean, I have made time for the gym 2 hours a day, where is my 10 minutes with God?

"Instead of letting it be that way, why don't you just give it to God, & MAKE the time" he said. I have been so out there lately I haven't even been able to see how WONDERFUL my husband is... WOW!

. . . .

I opened my Bible this morning to enjoy a quiet time that I was way overdo on. It is so easy to slip 5 minutes of your day with the Lord because other things pop up, like taking care of your baby! Here lately I have felt away from God in a sense. Not completely but in the sense of the business of life. I haven't taken the time to slow down & just listen to what He wants for my life. I have felt attacked by the sinful world at times & sucked into things I don't need to "clog" up my life. I am the happiest I have ever been & want to enjoy these moments without clutter.

I opened my Bible to Proverbs & started reading about "Trusting the Lord". Most all of us know this verse but, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all of your ways. It's so powerful to me because like I stated above, I tend to let worldly sinful nature creep into my mind & take away from my focus of trusting God in everything.

I am a happy person. It takes a lot to get me down, ALOT! Not a lot bothers me; especially these days. I am just going with the flow of life, and embracing EVERY moment of these young years with my first child. I also read about how wisdom brings happiness. So true! I loved in Proverbs 3 how it says, "Her ways are pleasant, & all her paths, peaceful. She is a tree of life to those who embrace her & those who hold on to her are HAPPY."

It made me feel so complete to read this verse. I read it over & over again 10 times. I found content in the fact that I truly feel this way. Im not always peaceful but that should be all of our goals. We only have 1 life & I don't want to live it frustrated all the time & not pleased. God calls us to be pleased in this verse & so should we in our lives.

I hope I was able to plant a seed in your heart today. Slow down, breathe & enjoy life this weekend. Open your Bible for a few minutes & thank God who gave you your weekend for all He has blessed you with.

Melissa's BDAY & Date Night

Happy Thursday!!!

Avery looked so adorable before we left the house today! We started off the day with a few errands.



When we got home I let her play in my bucket of ribbon.. oh my do I have a mess to clean up! What was I thinking?



Today was my girlfriend Melissa's Birthday! She turned 31! We went over to Melissa's to see her & Grayson this afternoon. This is what we got Melissa for the first part of her Birthday present. The rest comes when we all go out to dinner to celebrate!

(Don't laugh at this bag... it was seriously the only one I had that didn't have baby stuff all over it, HA! We made it work!)




She loved her new ring!



We enjoyed hanging out catching up on things & playing with the babies! We took a few pictures of them together... they were so sweet! We always joke that Avery & Grayson are going to get married & I found it funny that Avery was holding her future husband... hehe!







Avery enjoyed playing in Grayson's chair! We are going to order one for Avery soon. She kept jumping into it! It's from Pottery Barn.



And doesn't my girl Melissa know how to style a room? This room could not be more perfect. LOVE IT. The picture doesn't do it justice!



Every Thursday night my Mother & Father in law take Avery for the evening from 5 until 9. It is so nice because it allows me & Chad to have some time together. Tonight he decided to take me on a nice little date. We enjoyed a drive afterwards & saw some pretty deer.

Knobs & Light Switches

Ave absolutely loved her new tree- thank you for the sweet comments! She looked at it a billion times today & would talk to it through the window. It melted my heart. I loved this picture...



This morning was the perfect morning. I love getting up to Avery and seeing her play. We started off with COFFEE! Well, I did! HA!



We made our way into her room & read some fun books & played in her house.






After we had breakfast, I got a shower & got Ave dressed. While I was getting ready in the bathroom she enjoyed playing with my bracelets. She has been so cute lately playing with them & putting them on her arms! She mimics everything I do!




We enjoyed some MESSY lunch & then she helped Mommy do the laundry!




I get bored easily with my stuff. To keep things interesting on a tight budget, you have to know how to change some things up! I was tired of looking at the same old black knobs that I had on this pretty little piece of furniture. I love crowns & have them everywhere throughout my house. So, I decided to change the knobs out to crowns. I love this new look! It looks completely different than before!




I have also been really bored with my light switch covers. I don't want to get too crazy with them but I think it would be fun to add to a few rooms to spice it up! So I added one in my breakfast room...




Both of these little projects cost me $11.00 total! What a deal, & a fun new look!

Avery's fun window tree!

My Mom had this old tree years ago that she was going to throw out. I have been telling myself forever that I wanted to do something fun with it & never have. It has sat on our back porch for about 4 years. Ridiculous!

Avery loves looking out the window. Her favorite thing to do each morning is for me to raise our blinds so she can see outside. This old tree has always sat in front of the window; so boring & no fun to look at.

I decided to get crafty & decorate it with a ton of ribbon & lots of bright colors. I was trying to think of something that I had, that would blow with the wind & excite her when she looked at it.





Now she has this to look at when she looks out "her window". . .

A July Weekend

The weekend started Friday when we enjoyed a nice big dinner on the lake with Chad's family. His Uncle & Aunt as well as his parents were there, it was so good to see everyone! They were camping! The babies had a ball playing!




Saturday mornings are the best. We don't like to sleep in too much & waste our day away so we get up early and get started with a nice breakfast. Avery enjoyed cinnamon rolls & strawberries for her breakfast.

Chad & I have been eating every meal with her at the table & praying before we eat with her. It's so adorable. I can't wait until the day she puts those little tiny hands together like she is praying & knows what she is doing.





After breakfast we decided to go out & about on a nice long drive so we could catch up on talking; something we haven't been able to do too much lately. Something that I whole heartedly adore about my husband is his gentle yet warm nature which is sometimes hard for me to see because I am so loud & expressive, always! We are complete opposite so it's so nice to have him bring me down softly into reality. I have the "we can do anything" mentality in life at times & forget that life doesn't always consist of doing "something" or going "somewhere". Sometimes those quiet peaceful people get overlooked, but there is truly something to be said about that kind of spirit. I have taken advantage of that & I am truly thankful to God for Him showing me that side of my husband lately & reminding me of what a wonderful Godly man that I married 5 years ago. I am sure he equally enjoys seeing my quiet side & me being still in the moment... (hehe)!

...I love that we were just in the car talking about everything imaginable in life and where we want to go with our relationship, how we can get there, & the things that make us, well- US! I feel so blessed. We have really needed this moment.

We were talking about how "sometimes when the dead flowers in the flower bed die, it's time to plant new one's & grow new life." I love referring to that phrase as to where I am in my life right now because it's so true. Life has truly changed since I have had Avery & become a Mom- but I wouldn't have it ANY other way.

Avery was so sweet in the back seat while we took a long 2 hour drive.



I actually caught this picture on my camera in the car while driving. I just love my camera! It takes the best pictures, even when we are moving.



We always tend to migrate to the same places when we go out to eat. So we ended up a town over from ours at this adorable little place called "Joe's" where they served Italian. It was delicious. One of my favorite new Italian places to go now. We have heard about it for awhile & have been wanting to try it.

I loved the setting. It was so pretty inside & the music was so soothing & relaxing.








After our long drive & date with Avery, I decided to make some no bake cookies, my favorite! I wanted to have them for our boat ride Saturday night! They turned out delish!

The recipe can be found HERE.







After resting we decided to head over to my parents for dinner & an evening on the lake watching the sun go down. My parents ordered pizza & the girls made some blackberry cobbler. We picked up some of my parents best friends while we were out on the lake & they took a nice cruise with us. I loved resting & watching the sun go down & being near the people I love most.

Avery was a hoot in her life jacket. She was starting to get cranky because she has either developed a cold or an allergy so she wasn't having that big ole' life jacket on. She enjoyed the boat ride though.

























Saturday night was horrible. Avery was stopped up, restless, & not wanting to sleep. Chad & I tossed all night taking turns tending to her. She wasn't going back to sleep very easily. It reminded me of when she was a new born, WOW how I don't miss those restless nights. We had to miss church this morning due to lack of sleep & Avery's snotty nose. She wasn't running fever but I couldn't bare to let her in daycare looking like that. We gave her benadryl & stayed home the entire day. Chad & her took a nice long 2 hour nap & it was the sweetest thing.



After they woke up it was time to head to Chad's parents for our brother in law's Birthday dinner. We enjoyed hotdogs, hamburgers, baked beans, potatoe salad & some sweet treats!

Birthday boy & wifey!



While we enjoyed dinner some of Chad's family friends dropped in. Kendra is the daughter of my mother in law's best friend, (hopefully that makes sense)! Anyway she was in town visiting with her kids & dropped in to see the family. Chad & her have been friends since they were little. I loved capturing pictures of them & the kids. It was neat to see her and finally meet her because we have never met since Chad & I have been married & we have been following each other via FB! I have met her sweet mother Gail who is my mother in law's best friend so it was neat that the pieces were finally connected!













Tomorrow brings a hair cut & color for me, a doctor's appointment for Avery, & the gym!!! Happy Monday!