Miracles DO Happen...

Take a good look at this picture below....do you know this man?  Sometimes I think I do, but then he goes and does something completely out of character...like this day when he put two...yes, count them....TWO different vegetables on his plate and ATE them and LIKED them!   WOW! I love him a little bit more every day.  I know this may be a little dramatic, but even small miracles matter! 

For the record:  those are green beans and sweet potatoes.  :)

Home Updates

We've been working really hard at getting the house landscaped and decorated. We're finally at a place where we can relax a little bit....at least downstairs. The upstairs is still all white and empty, but we keep reminding ourselves that small steps are the key. We will get there eventually. Here are a few pictures...

 Below: These flowers are called Lantana.  They're a perennial bush in the South that mounds and blooms all summer, also drought resistant! 

 Below:  These bushes are called Loropetalum, and you can kinda see the bright pink flowers they have if you looks really closely.  They'll stay green/purple all year which was important to me!

 Below:  These are the blooms on our new Crepe Myrtle trees that we planted on both sides of the house.  Maybe next week we'll have some flowers! 

 Below:  The two Red Maples that we planted in the back yard.  Our grass is still struggling, but it's not ALL brown like it was when we moved in!  We plan to make two big landscaping area in the backyard around the trees next spring. 

 Below:  Here's the den and dining room...finally with a dining room table and some curtains up!  yay!  We still have a ways to go....we're going to make some wine racks to hang on the walls, and I'm sure we'll put up some more artwork, but for now at least it has some personality!

 Below:  The new pub table in our kitchen with my awesome paisley curtains (love love love).  It's counter height which is nice when I need some extra counter space to cook! 

 The new TV we bought using the money we got for using the USAA Mover's Advantage Program!  Notice the awesome TV stand that Steven made this past Saturday....he's so handy!  He even came up with the idea for the curved sides!  He's a keeper!

Four Years of Fun

Steven and I celebrate our anniversary this weekend!  Four years ago on Memorial Day weekend we tied the knot and have been on a whirlwind of a ride ever since.  We're now living in our third home in 4 years, have been stationed at 4 different posts (Benning, Campbell, Knox, Stewart), made it through one deployment and are gearing up for another one in November, had a pretty awesome kid :) and are still in L-O-V-E ....most days :)  hahaa.  We love our life together and feel blessed to have found each other. 

This anniversary has been fun so far, and we still have a few more days in our weekend!  On Friday, we packed the car, sunscreened up, and headed to Tybee Island for a day at the beach.  We all had so much fun!  James loved the waves, the little pools the outgoing tide made in the sand, and making sand castles.  Then on Saturday, Steven and I finally finished landscaping in the front and planting the trees in the back.  We got a truckload of mulch and probably still need another one to completely finish...but we're done for a few days.  This heat is NO JOKE!  I'll take some pictures of the new pretty trees and plants and get them up here next week. 

Today we're going to church and then going to hit the neighborhood pool.  Should be a fun and relaxing day! 

Sprinkler Fun

Steven and I have been working on landscaping these last couple weekends, and James loves to be right there "helping" us out.  Unfortunately, it has been super hot outside....90 degrees and 90% humidity...yikes. We've been turning on the sprinkler and letting James play while we work, and he's had a blast.  He loves to run from sprinkler to sprinkler and stand right over the top of them.  At least he's staying cool! 

 Below, James has been working at stacking his blocks, and he made this tower almost completely by himself!  I only straightened out two so it wouldn't fall over!  Then he likes to completely demolish them and throw them all over the room!

 He's also been doing double time with his toys lately.  The train or truck alone are not enough, he has to pull them together!

 Loves his mommy's shoes :)

 This may be good leverage down the road.  i took off his pants to change his diaper and he refused to put them back on.  Then he wanted to put on his sandals....yes, with socks.  yikes.  This is Steven's son....... :)

Wedding Showers

Two of my best friends from high school are getting married this summer, and we had a "Roots and Wings" shower to celebrate!  Roots and Wings is what we call ourselves...I know, you may think that's kinda cheesey, but it's unique that there are 11 of us from high school that still make the effort to stay connected.  Our "wings" have taken us all over this country for college or careers, but our "roots" keep us coming back together once a year (or every other) in Ft. Wayne.  We were missing Megan and Danielle, but they were there in spirit!  :)

Congratulations Janelle & Justin and Angie & Steve! 

 Angie, Janelle, Jenae

 Top L: Angie, Lyndsey, Janelle, Nicole, Jody, Jenae, Mandy.  Bottom L:  Heather, Zehra

 Lyndsey and Heather

 Jody and me

  They both received these aprons that I thought were very cool...I want one!  :)

Angie's mom thought her bow-bouquet would look much better as a hat!  Angie can make just about anything look good!  :)

Unpacked....

Wow, it has been a long time since my last post, I'm so sorry Grandmas and Grandpas who are counting on pictures.  It has been a crazy CRAZY crazy fun stressful whirlwind of a couple weeks!  We moved into our new home in Savannah and are FINALLY completely unpacked!  Yesterday we finished organizing the garage and cleaned out the extra bedroom, which was has been the "catch-all" since we moved.  WhooHoo!!  it feels so good to be done.  Now we can start decorating these white walls a little bit. 

We want to say a special "Thank You" to my mom who helped me drive the 16 hours from Ft. Wayne to Savannah with James and our dog.  I can't imagine the drama it would've been without her.  She is such great company and help!  She not only took time off work to drive (which isn't fun), but worked her little tushy off to help us unpack so much of our house.  We couldn't have done it without you, mom.  Thank you so much! 

James LOVES all of the space in this house.  He's driving his train and trucks all around, making laps around the kitchen and living room!  There is so much room for him to run a play!  We also took our first trip to the beach when my mom was in town, and James had the time of his life!  He ran into the waves, played in the sand and just had a blast.  Of course, his extremely prepared mother did not bring the camera...ugh...I'm still kicking myself.  It will be attached to my hand this coming weekend when we venture out to Tybee Island again. 

As for getting some color into this white house, we're waiting for our dining room table to arrive, as well as a pub table for the kitchen, then our downstairs won't be so bare.  :)  We did get two chairs and an ottoman for the den which we're loving already!  We'd like to get a different rug for the den but haven't found one we love yet.  As soon as we do, I'm hoping it will be easier to take the jump into painting and decorating.  Until then, I'll be shopping!  :) 

Aunt Jan, James absolutely loves the train you got him for Christmas.  He plays with it non-stop all day, and says "choo-choo" while he pulls it around!  Thank you!

Easter Fun

James and I celebrated Jesus' Resurrection on Easter Sunday with my family in Ft. Wayne this year.  Our big extended family all got together for fellowship, food and fun after church, and James had a blast hunting for eggs with his 2nd cousins, Josh and Ellie.  I was pretty surprised to see how well James was able to find them!  He wasn't too excited about the candy inside, but he sure had fun shaking them and putting them in his basket!