Sunday Special

Confession....I am obsessed with kids clothing and all things smocked....like to the point of maybe needing an intervention!!!!  Today, my sweet little girl wore one of the most treasured pieces of clothing that I have for either of my children.  When I was pregnant with EK, I was digging through my Mamaw Porter's dresser that was filled with fabric.  She had quite the assortment of prints including an enormous amount of cow print.  Anyway, I happened upon this umbrella fabric and I don't really know why, but I was completely in love with it.  She had a ton of it, so I asked her if she would make a dress for EK out of it.  She agreed and got to work.  She always had tons of projects going at once, so she would always joke with me about it and say she would have it ready before Ella Kate turned three.  Mamaw finished the dress and a few months later went to be with Jesus.  Tears filled my eyes as I got my baby dressed today in one of my favorite dresses made by one of the most precious people I have ever met.  When I told EK how pretty she looked she said, "I know! It's because my Mamaw made my dress!"

What We've Been Up To These Days

We are loving life these days!!! The sun came out for the first time in what seems like forever the other day, so we bundled up and hit up the park.  (And yes, I realize that the sun is crazy bright in half of these pictures, but I wanted to really remember how thankful we were that day to see the sun after all those dreary, blah days!)

Nana gave Ella Kate some make up for Valentine's Day.  EK has been obsessed with "getting pretty" ever since!

Walker loves to play in his room by his window.  He is kind of like a little dog standing there watching the world go by...but at least it keeps his busy little boy self out of trouble!!!! He has also become quite the fan of books.  He pulls them all out and drags them all around the house.  He will actually sit still long enough for me to read to him...short books, that is.

Last weekend, I tackled a project that I have wanted to do for some time.  I painted our bedroom furniture and I am tickled with how it turned out! and a huge thanks to Meaghan for the canvas drop cloth curtain idea!!! They are perfect and didn't break the bank!!!!

Happy Thursday!!!! 

Happy Love Day

Ella Kate had her little party at school today and she was so very excited to take her Valentine's (goldfish since the child refuses to eat candy) to all her sweet friends.  We snagged a couple of pictures with Walker before we shipped him off to Mother's Day Out.

 They had quite the spread at the party.  Pizza, cheetos, yogurt, fruit, cupcakes, capri suns...who could ask for anything more????

silly, silly, silly...

It was so fun to get to spend a little bit of time with Ella Kate and see her with her friends.  

From My Phone

We have been in Jackson the last couple of weekends, and here are a few pictures of what we did.

We went to visit Papaw, played and played and played with Aunt Haley (she is responsible for the lipstick on EK in the picture above), went to the park, ate ice cream, and just had a great time enjoying each other and the nice weather.

I was able to be a part of a baby shower for my sweet friend Courtney and baby Tate.  I am so blessed to call these girls my friends!!!!

J and I had an adoption meeting at Bethany and we went on a date to our favorite Jackson eatery Keifer's...sooooo good!!!!!

We have been doing a lot of playing at home too.  Walker's favorite place to play is in his room.  I love to watch these two play together!!!  Oh and the reason for the legs in the window....EK was cleaning the windows....it's her favorite pass time while playing in his room!!!

And please look at these adorable towels Robert's mom made for my kids.  I mean seriously...could those be any cuter?????  Thank you Mrs. Henshaw!!!!!!

February 10, 2013

It is amazing how quickly things can change.  Yesterday was one of those days.  We had an amazing morning at church. It was probably the most powerful time of worship for me at Heritage in the 3 years we have been in Hattiesburg.  We came home, ate lunch and then got ready for our beloved Sunday naps.  I was sleeping so well but was awakened to the weather radio on my phone screaming that there was a tornado.  Awesome.  So, we hunker down in the bathroom for half an hour.  This is super fun by the way with a 3 1/2 year old and a 9 month old.  The warning lifted and life went back to normal.  J headed to church to prepare for Sunday night activities and the kids and I went on to playing like normal.  At about 4:30, it started up again.  So, into the bathroom the kids and I went.  I set up the laptop so Ella Kate could watch a movie because I didn't want to pass on my complete terror to her.  You see, the tornado had been spotted right down the highway from where we live and was headed straight for us.  We had about 15 minutes to sit and wait.  Then, the power went off.  Great.  No more movie for EK, and panic set in with me.  About this time, Walker had a blow out diaper.  Fun, right?  Poop in the dark...not a good combo! Anyway, I was able to talk with J but he had to stay at the church with the students who had already driven up there for church.  We sat for what seemed like forever until I saw the warning was lifted.  We were safe! Praise the Lord!!! J came home and got us and took us to the church.  They had emergency lights which was better than being in the pitch black with my 2! Then the truly terrifying part took place....the footage of the tornado.  The tornado followed the path of Highway 98.  We live on Highway 98.  With the wonder of facebook, we were able to see the tornado on video within minutes of it passing right by our house.  Crazy.  Scary.  Surreal.  We began texted, calling, anything we could do to find out if everyone was safe.  Several people in our church lost everything, but EVERYONE WAS SAFE!!!! God is so good and protected the lives of EVERY person in Hattiesburg.  In the midst of a truly horrific afternoon, God saw it fit to spare the lives of the people of the our city.  Things could have been much worse.  USM got hit really badly.  Thankfully, the students were all gone for Mardi Gras break.  Oak Grove High School was hit really badly.  Thankfully, it was a Sunday afternoon and not a school day when so many activities would have been taking place.  Yesterday serves as such a wake up call and reminder that life is fragile.  We aren't promised another day.  The Lord is going to use this for his glory.  No doubt.  Praying that in the midst of these hard times, we will truly rely on Him.

Walker is 9 Months Old

 Happy 9 Month Birthday to our sweet boy! Life is VERY busy with Walker these days.  He is in to EVERYTHING and on the move from the time he wakes up in the morning until he lays down at night.  He is the happiest little dude ever.  His smile and laugh are just too cute and just melt my heart. This month, Walker has started to let go while standing.  He's not quite ready to take those first steps but his balance is getting much better.  He is doing great walking behind his push toy walker.  He has 6 teeth now! Unbelievable!!! There are 4 on the top and 2 on the bottom.  I am thankful that they are in so hopefully the drooling will settle down a bit.  Sweet boy has some sensitive skin and the drool mixed with the cold weather make for a chapped little face.  He is still sleeping great....a 30-45 minute nap in the morning, a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon, and then 7pm-730am! I am beyond thankful for good sleepers! He takes 4 6oz bottles a day and eats a jar of baby food at lunch and at dinner time.  He is loving the chicken and apple combo which makes me want to throw up...it smells so terrible, but I am glad he likes it.  He loves his puffs and Mum Mums! I am about to move him up to size 3 diapers once we use up the rest of the size 2 box. It makes me sad to see how fast he is growing, but it is super exciting and fun at the same time. He is wearing 6 month clothes still and a size 1 shoe.  One of Walker's favorite things to play with would be the shoe laces on his church shoes.  He is also a big fan of the screws from the Melissa and Doug wooden tool set. He loves to be outside and he loves any type of riding toy. He says "DaDa" ALL THE TIME,  "Mama" and "YaYa" when he wants Ella Kate.  EK and Walker are still the best of buds.  She is all over him.  It will be nice when he is a little bigger and can hold his own a little more. :)  I just can't believe we are on the 3 month countdown to the 1st birthday! Slow Down!!!!!