Mia's Cookie PJ Party dedicated to my MOM!

A dedication to my Momma…..

I have so many great memories with my parents at Christmas time. However, one of my favorite memories is making homemade sugar cookies. This is just not a quick event; it is all day process that involves a lot of family. The best part about it is decorating the cookies. By the end there is flour everywhere and sprinkles all over the place. However, it does not really matter to my Mom. She is amazing about letting us have fun and embracing the idea of a big cookie mess. We have a table called the Old Wood Table that we use ever year. I am sure there is permanent flour stuck in the wood details. We will continue this tradition next week when I am home for Christmas. However, I decided to do a trial run with Mia this year with her Play Group. Man did we have a ball, there was a lot of mess to clean but it was worth every moment. I actually tried my Moms recipe this year and it turned out good, Imagine that!!! Please enjoy the cookie fun!

I also wanted to tell my Mom that I want to be like her in so many ways. I hope that Mia has a mom that allows her to be a kid, to get her hands dirty and to value what means the most, and that is the precious time that you have with your kids. The house can be cleaned later, but the years will go by quickly, and I plan on making a ton of cookies with Mia. Gammy we can’t wait to do the real deal next week, love MIA!

These first pictures are of previous years... And then the cookie fun from this year!

Here comes Winter

Getting Ready for Mia’s First Christmas….

Reed and I decided to decorate really early! The reason for this is because we have not decorated since our first year of marriage. The reason for this is because of our college style life style, which was very mobile and on the fly. Not to say that we are not spontaneous now but we are determined to decorate our house and to actually get a tree. There is something great about mixing old traditions with new ones!!  Reed and I both have old traditions which are listening to Alabama and Amy Grant Christmas CD’s which we played for Mia many times this weekend as we decorated the tree. Another great tradition is the Chocolate Advent Calendar! Yum, Yum, Yum! However, we realized that we needed to make some new family traditions. One of the things that Reed and I enjoy is breakfast for dinner, so we decided that when we decorate we will have breakfast for dinner. Another thing that Reed and I plan to do is to focus on the Christmas Meaning and the great blessings that have come upon us. Last year, my mom purchased an advent calendars that explains the Christmas story each day. After you read the story you hang it on the tree! We can’t wait to start on December 1! However, there is something special that happens first and that is Thanksgiving. I have a big idea for thankfulness, but that will have to wait until next time!

My little nephew!

The last couple of days has been a rush of emotions and feelings. Late last week I rushed out of town because my sister was in labor and I was convinced that I was not going to make it for the birth. However, Little Clay had other plans and I made it there for every thing. It was amazing, and I was able to witness my sisters strength and courage. My love has grown for her and I am so proud. We are so excited to have little Clay here and Mia is especially excited to finally meet her cousin Clay. God has blessed our family and we are loving every moment!!

Hello Daddy....

Dear Daddy,
I miss you so much, here are a few pics of my adventure to VA!!

Afternoon Tea, on a Thursday??

I woke up this morning very early and started right to work, Make Bed, Feed Mia, Play with Mia, Make Reeds Lunch, Watch a little bit of news, eat breakfast very quickly, Put Mia down for a nap, Start the Laundry, and Then Clean the house…. Now it is 2:31 and it has been a very productive day. Mia is back down for her afternoon nap and only a few loads of laundry left. House is clean, car is clean, even the dog is happy. After all of this I thought to myself, I would love to sit down and have a hot glass of hot tea, light a candle and put on some low music, read a magazine and have a time out….. Then I thought oh wait I can’t, it is Thursday, I can’t relax, it is not allowed. Then it dawned on me, why not, when did I start thinking like this. I am one worn out Mommy who gives herself all day to her baby and home, why can’t I take a breather. This is my very long intro into my new life study. As many of you know I am a Christian and love God very much. I have had very sweet moments with God, allowing him to lead my life, even up to this very day. However, I am in a very new season in my life and I am asking God to teach me how to live in this season... Many women know the famous verse found in Proverbs about how to be a great Mom and wife, and how to lead your home as a woman. What I have decided to do is to study these verses very closely partnered with other topics like, being a great friend, wife and mother. I will be blogging my journey on what I discover. I am excited to jump and see what I find. However, to start this off, I just spend a few minutes thanking God for my day followed by a great peace and love to light my new wood wick, Anjou Pear Spice Candle, and make myself my hot tea, followed by a good magazine. I encourage anyone to join me on this journey, comment and give feedback….

Five years today!

Reed, It has been such a amazing five years. You truly are my best friend. You have been with me through the worst times and the best times of my life. Your compassion and courage the last five months since having Mia, has shown me your true character, WOW you are such a good man. Thank you for loving me through everything. I love our relationship and being able to kiss you everyday. You are my soul mate!! Happy Anniversary...

Mia and her Daddy..

This is really funny parenting!!! I am sure we are going to love this video for years...

More Summer Pictures....

Our First Summer with Little Mia....

Whoever says that your life changes when you have kids, they are right! However, whoever says you cannot travel with an infant they are wrong. I think Reed and I have set a world record for traveling with an infant. We have traveled almost every other weekend the whole summer. Where are we going you might ask, well everywhere. We have gone home to visit family in Virginia. We have gone to beaches in North Carolina, and traveled to Virginia and Richmond for Weddings. We have thrown a baby shower for my Baby Sister, who is having her baby in September. We also have spent a week at Nags Head, and have been so refreshed. It has been so much fun spending time together and watching Mia blossom this summer. She is starting to roll over, laugh out loud, which melts my heart every time, and even roll over and push right up off the ground. She loves tummy time, and loves to be little Miss Independent! She has found her feet and loves to eat her toes like they are teething rings! We have found out that Mia is very social like me, loves people, loves to talk, however, like Reed Mia likes to think through things before she does things, she want to figure out how it works. We love this very neat combination in her. We are very excited for the rest of the summer as we continue to watch Mia grow and enjoy not traveling!!! The next time we will be going out of town will be when my first nephew is born! We cant wait until Baby Clay is here!! We love you little one!