Letter to Little: 6 months old

Pictures: At our friend Neel's birthday party last night. 

My dear Ellery,

Six months ago, we were meeting for the very first time. I was holding your soft and sweet body close to mine and inviting you to experience this life with us, as a family. You nursed, you cried, you slept. You were a newborn, innocent and delicate.

To watch you grow everyday is something so special. A miracle that can only be understood when you're a parent yourself. Watching you learn and reach new milestones have been some of the best times in my life.

In the past month you have practiced your rolling non-stop and you can sit unassisted. You have a giant smile and two bottom teeth to accompany it.   Your interest in everything is increasing daily and you show it by reaching. You reach for my face, my food, your toys, and anything else in your line of vision. 

Your daddy and I often find ourselves just siting and staring in awe of the personality you are becoming. Your cute, happy noises and your chubby thighs keep smiles on our faces and a glow in our hearts. 

You are our sweet love, and we are thankful everyday for the blessing of you.  

Love upon love,

  

     Mommy

Power and Strength and Grace and Guidance.

'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord. 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans for hope and a future.'                                                                           
                                       Jeremiah 29:11


Lately I haven't felt like blogging. Not that we don't have tons to share, it's just the stories that currently captivate my thoughts and uncover the worrisome nature that I have tried hard to suppress wouldn't make for very inspiring or uplifting reads.

These past two weeks have put a test on our patience and our ability to deal with stress in a Christ-like manner. Turning our eyes on the One most Holy has been the only way to calm my weary and restless mind and to rest assured that He has our best interest at heart.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
                      Colossians 3:15

Some days it is easy to see only the bad. Like when you run over your dog. And get the $250 repair bill for your DSLR camera. And you have a clogged milk duct. And your husband gets a speeding ticket and just may have a case of Lyme disease. All in one week. All while trying to trust God for guidance and grace and strength to get through a stressful personal situation.

But in and through it all, we are trying to take a step back and look at it from another perspective. We choose to take the perspective of the blessed and see that the Lord is good. How often do we come to expect the niceties and forget to thank the One who gave them to us? How often do we take our  families and friends and the ability to have a healthy, beautiful baby for granted? These are the things that matter.

As much as our world tries to tell us otherwise, material things don't matter. Money doesn't matter.   Maybe these trials are teaching us something.  Maybe this time in our young married life is preparing our hearts for something greater, for something far bigger than ourselves. Maybe He is just making us a little more humble. I am not sure. All I know is that He never fails us.  His love never fails us. For this is what calms my heart.

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. Psalms 34:8

It is amazing to me how intimately God speaks to us in his perfect timing. One morning in the past couple weeks I decided to just bite the bullet and purchase a devotional I've had my eye on for quite a while. But while I was looking at it on Amazon, I came across another book written by the same author, 40 Days with Jesus: Celebrating His Presence. I read the introduction and noticed the Kindle Edition price was only $1.99, so I jumped at it.

I put Ellery down for a nap, left the dirty dishes in the sink and the laundry still in the dryer, while I curled up on the couch for a quiet moment. As I began to read, my body was suddenly covered in goosebumps. It was as if my heart was being spoken to directly, as if this passage was written just for me.

"Sometimes my blessings come to you in mysterious ways: through pain and trouble. At such times you can know My goodness only through your trust in Me." 

How powerful and mysterious our God is.

Sarah Visits Mississippi.

One of my best friends, college roomie, and pretty much one of my favorite people on earth, came to visit us this past weekend. She flew from Charlotte to Atlanta and from Atlanta to Jackson, Mississippi! 

It has been two years since we've seen each other, and the last time was when she was standing next to me, as one of my bridesmaids, when I said 'I do'. So, we had quite the catching up to do.

The time she spent here was wonderful. We stayed up late, laughed incessantly, and used the phrase 'remember that time' at the beginning of most of our sentences.  With two years and so many life changes between us, it was incredible to be able to just pick our friendship up from where we left off and remember so many of the good times we've shared. 

There wasn't much to do in our sleepy little southern town, but with all that we had to catch up on, we didn't need any of the extras. We did a lot of playing with Ellery and hanging out with friends. We shared a few recipes and even made a day trip to New Orleans. 

It was fun and relaxing and nice to have a change from our daily routine!

  

 New Orleans was fun, even with a baby.  The weather was perfect and Ellery couldn't have been better! When she was strapped into the Ergo, it was almost as if she wasn't there. She slept on and off most of the day and enjoyed taking in the sights when she was awake.  It was fun hanging out with friends and doing the touristy thing for a day.

Wearing Hats and Sitting Up.

It's been a porch swinging,

hat wearing,

park visiting,

walking to the library,

and playing with blocks

kind of week. 

And it's only Wednesday.

While we were gone...

 Ellery:

- rolled over from her back to her tummy for the first time.
- started cutting her bottom two teeth.
- got pretty proficient at the whole sitting-up-by-herself business.
- turned five months old.
- and made her first trip on a train.

It was a pretty busy week for my little love.

Friends and Thoughts.

It was a last minute decision, one that led me to hop in the car with my 5 month old and ride 14 hours to the east to spend a little more time with my sweet parents. 

From the time we made it to Georgetown, Ellery and I didn't stop. We were able to spend much needed quality time with some of our favorite people, family and friends who live incredibly too far away.

While I was home, I met up with one of my best friends from high school and another one of our good friends from the college years, Briana (who just so happened to be in visiting from NC with her sweet family). A wonderful surprise!

Last time we were all together, there were no children; we were free to go, do, see everything, anything, anytime we wanted, only college classes stood in our way. Things were definitely different then; Ellery and Mak have changed the game a little bit.

 Mak is Briana and Jake's 7 year old daughter. Their big hearts were led towards adoption in the latter part of last year, and God blessed them with this beautiful and spunky little girl, who now brings so much joy to their lives. 

This visit, there were car seats and schedules and driving separate cars.  There was no cramming all of us in one vehicle, even if we didn't all have seat belts. It wasn't as go with the flow, either. We revolved around feeding hungry tummies and entertaining pretty little girls. Even though our time spent together is drastically different than the last time we were all in the same place, none of us would change it. Not a thing. We have boyfriends and husbands and children and everything we used to talk about and hope for in those earlier years when we would stay up late, talking about our future; conversations that were usually perpetuated by tears and broken hearts.

Now, we have our dreams and are living in the future that was once so cloudy, and it is nice to know that our friendship extends through all of life's changes, through different time zones and long separations.




*more to be said about my time away in another blog post.

Just what we needed.

Oh the joy!

Last Sunday, my parents made the long 13 hour trek from Georgetown, SC to join us for an Easter dinner and a little bit of family time. It had been a while since they had their snuggle time with Ellery, so that is what they intended to do for most of their visit. 

They were only able to stay from Sunday night to Tuesday morning, but we made the most of every minute we had with them. Family is beautiful blessing, and it was so wonderful to have their love join us for a couple days.

 

An excuse for my parents to have more quality time with Ellery was to let the husband and I go out on a date. Just the two of us. It has been quite a while since we've done anything without a baby attached to our hip, and we needed some alone time to simply relax and feel like us again.

Justin thought our dear friends' river property would be the perfect setting for our night out. So, we called, got permission and the key to the gate, kissed Ellery goodbye and were on our way. With takeout from Broma's Deli and a slice of homemade strawberry cake for the both of us, we sat by the river, enjoying the sunshine and each other's company.

After we finished eating and were carrying the canoe towards the water, Justin suddenly became giddy with excitement as he took a closer look at the vines growing over a fallen tree. Smiling, he motioned for me to join him. There were blackberries. Everywhere.

We ate and ate, and then remembered that we had two to-go boxes that would be great for taking a few home with us, too. So, with the sun still a good ways from setting, we spent the next little while picking berries along side each other, occasionally stealing a kiss or two.

After our containers were full and the sun was sinking lower in the sky, we put the boat in the river and let the water slowly drift us down stream.  We floated and talked and paddled and listened to the frogs as our minds relaxed and our hearts remembered the dear love we share.     

We got just what we needed; time alone to talk, laugh, and simply enjoy the outdoors for a little while. And at the end of it all, it sure was nice returning home to our sweet Ellery who greeted us with a smile.

Easter: The Seersucker Edition

You know the family that matches, all matchy-matchy like, that you secretly judge for their corniness? Well, that was us this Easter, dressed in our best southern attire, blue-stripped seersucker.

 

Good Friday.

It was a good friday indeed. 

Ellery and I lazed around in our pajamas all morning. We sang and rolled and played until we were worn out and ready for a good morning nap. When EK woke up, we decided it was time to go check out the opening of District 51, a cute local shop that has all of the things we women dream about: shoes, clothes, jewelry, and home decor. It so happens that our friends are part owners of this adorable shop and are  responsible for providing it with jewelry - so obviously had to go and show our support and make a few purchases while I was at it.

We later headed out to the country to join some lovely people from church to help celebrate a sweet little girl's birthday. Ellery enjoyed watching all of the commotion going on around her, as others swung at the pinata and played musical chairs. Lots of laughing and smiling went on as we enjoyed this wonderful fellowship.

We came back, kissed on daddy as he worked on the remodeling of our bathroom, and took bunny ears, a blanket, and the camera outside to enjoy the rest of the evening.

  

 

 

How did you enjoy your Good Friday?

Cupcake Happiness.

Just thought I would share last night's creations. This was the first time in five months that I've really been able to bust out the piping bags, mix up the colorful icing, and transfer my creative juices onto the beautiful blank canvas that is a cupcake!

Oh, the joy it brings. Simple stress relief. 

These were made as a little happy for our friends who had a super cute new shop (District 51) open today. Don't the colors just make you happy?!?

Happy Spring!  

Wordless Picture Post.

Storms and Triumphs.

 

 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.  

John 16:33

Weather sirens echoed throughout town, thunder rolled on for minutes at a time, and lightening illuminated the night. The past week has been like this. Storm warnings, tornado watches, and rain. A whole lot of rain.  It was all enough to make me a little nervous. 

But, although the clouds still hang overhead, parting slowly, the rain is gone. The birds are chirping outside my window, as if signaling that it is safe to come out again. Come out and enjoy the beauty that surrounds us more vibrantly than before. 

As the rose blooms captivate my senses as I walk onto our porch, I am embraced in a wonderful feeling of spring. The crisp morning puts my nervousness to rest, and I am calm and joyful.

After reading my sister-in-law's latest blog post, I am reminded of how similar the weather is to our personal lives.  We  all have struggles; some that seem stronger and mightier than anything else we have in us. 

Thankfully we have One who is greater than our struggles. One who provides peace and comfort when our plan and His plan do not align. 

I often have to remind myself, to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.* When we lose focus and get caught up in our daily desires, it can be discouraging when we don't get our way. But remembering that God's plan is bigger and better than anything we could begin to imagine is enough. More than enough for my weary heart. Isn't faith a beautiful thing? Isn't God amazing?

*Ecclesiastes 3:1