Christmas Snow...

 It was a white Christmas night.  Last night it began to snow. The snow kept falling throughout the night and the prediction was for us to get about 2-3 inches. We woke up this morning to a Winter Wonderland. When I measured the ground we had 7 inches and it was still falling. It has been flurrying off and on for the day. It is just beautiful.

 Izzy loves the snow too!

A little snow day video:

Merry Christmas!!

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas!

Izzy and Santa...

I took Izzy to see Santa at Petsmart today. She was not to sure about him but finally she looked at the camera and we got two really cute pictures.

They let anyone take a picture with Santa for $10 and $5 of that goes to homeless pets. You get two digital prints and picture frame. I think next year we may just have to go back with the boys and Izzy it was a lot less chaotic than the mall and a cost a lot less. Sorry the picture is poor quality it is a picture of a picture since my scanner will not work. 

Book Review: Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball

As you may know I am part of Waterbrook Multunomah's Blogging for Books program.  I absolutely love doing this since I am an avid reader of Christian fiction. They have recently revamped their program so it has been a while since I have had a chance to review a book. Since it was almost Christmas I decided to review Donita K. Paul's Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball. I have never read one of Mrs. Paul's books before and I am always looking for new authors.

This was a charming and entertaining story of two people who have been around each other for years but this holiday season they are brought together by unexpected encounter at a peculiar bookstore. After their encounter at the bookstore they each find themselves in possession of a ticket to a very special Christmas Ball thanks to some very unconventional matchmaking booksellers. This spurs on an interesting series of events that will leave Cora Crowder and Simon Derrick with a holiday season they will never forget. 

This was a very different book for me to read. Mrs. Paul intertwines faith and fantasy in a way I have never seen before and I quite enjoyed it. I would encourage you to give this book a try. It was very entertaining in it's quirky narrative. Even better throughout the narrative Cora is able to truly catch the Christmas spirit reminding us all of the reason we celebrate this time of year. Grab a cup of hot chocolate and cozy on up in your favorite reading chair and dive in to this delightful book. 

Here is a link  for you to download the first chapter of "Two Tickets To The Christmas Ball"

You can also purchase this book at Waterbrook Multnomah 's Website in hardback or ebook format. 

"I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review"

My Ultimate Christmas Wish List...

1. Cannon EOS Rebel T2i 18.0

2.Keurig Coffee Maker

3. The Nook Color

4. Cricut Expression

5. 2011 Honda Odyssey

6. Two Toned Hand Stamped Necklace by Etsy's HannahDesign

(I said it is a WISH list)

A Snowy Weekend...

My mom came up to visit this weekend, well actually she came to pick up Nana who has been staying with us. I think I forgot to mention that on the blog. You see the week before Thanksgiving my mom, Nana, and Bob's mom came for a visit. They were coming for my ultrasound. Sadly it was rescheduled but they decided to come anyway. We had a fabulous weekend and on Monday while they were getting ready to leave Nana fell. We took her to the ER where I work and she had multiple fractures to the ball of her humerus and dislocated her shoulder. Needless to say she was not going home. In fact she had surgery the next day. She has been recovering at our house the past few weeks. She is now doing much better.

Now that you are all caught up back to this weekend. Friday after I got off work I picked up dinner for mom, Nana, and I. We put up the Christmas tree, hung new bows( my wonderful dad made) on the wreaths and our tree. All this was done while of course watching Christmas movies.

(Our almost finished tree we just need to add our finishing touches)

 Overall a wonderful night. 

On Saturday we had a slight chance for snow flurries/ mix that night but there was to be no accumulation. Mom and I set out Saturday early afternoon and lo and behold the snow flurries started. It was not much of anything but it began to pick up as the first hour went on. We stopped to eat at Mexican restaurant and came out to see it sticking to cars, ground, trees, and was really coming down. As we continued to shop it continued to pick up, so much for no accumulation. It snowed for almost 5 hours. It was beautiful and I am glad my mom was able to see it. 

This is the beginning of the snow flurries

This is before we went into the restaurant

 This is when we came out

 It had come down alot in 45 minutes and just kept coming

 It made a beautiful winter wonderland

We did lots of fun shopping on Saturday at Carolina Pottery and Lowe's for Christmas decor and then we went shopping for the boys. Babies"R"us was our first stop were mom got some really cute outfits on clearance. We also looked a bedding and such, it was a blast! Next we went to Pottery Barn Kids, I LOVE that store. I actually bought a sweet hippo which plays sounds for for the boy's nursery. It play nature sounds, waterfalls, and womb sounds.  

I also took my mom to the Apple store, she had never been so she could play on an Ipad needless to say she made my dad a little jealous! Saturday night Bob was off so we all went to Olive Garden for a wonderful dinner to top off a great weekend. 

Outside our apartment after the Saturday snowfall

 Mom and Nana left Sunday and boy was the house quiet. It was very strange after having Nana stay with is these past few weeks. Izzy has been really sad she misses her buddy. She was the ultimate lap dog while Nana was here and even woke up today looking for her. We had a great snowy weekend and I really wish our family lived closer to us. 

Oh Boy..

In case you missed our update on our pregnancy blog we are having identical twin BOYS!!

Have you voted?

Have you voted on our pregnancy blog? 

 If not head on over and vote on what you think our twins will be! Then become a follower so you won't miss the reveal!!

http://twojellybeans.blogspot.com/2010/11/pink-or-blue.html

Pregnancy Blog...

 I promised this link a month ago so here is the link to our pregnancy blog: Two Little Jellybeans.

 I started it as a private blog to serve as our journal. Later I made the blog public when we told everyone we were pregnant to keep our families and friends updated on the pregnancy.  I hope to one day merge the blog with this one but that may take a while to figure out. I may simply wait until the twins are here to merge them so I can have a dedicated pregnancy journal. So please if you follow my blog add the new one to your blog roll to stay updated our journey to becoming parents!

The Secret Is Out

Sorry I have not posted in awhile but every time I got on to blog I wanted to tell you guys my secret. Well the secret is out! Bob and I  are expecting. We will be the proud parents of twins in the spring! 

That is right 2 babies!!

  We are ecstatic, nervous, shocked, and overjoyed! Please be in prayer for us over the next few months as were are on this exciting new journey. Look for a link in the next few days to my new private blog I started when we found out we were pregnant we are making it public. There is so much to be thankful for this wonderful Sunday. Bob and I will be spending this week at home in Georgia with our family! I am overjoyed and so very blessed!

Football Season!!!

It is football season, my favorite time of year!!! I sure do wish we lived closer to Auburn, Alabama. Football is not the same here in NC, this is basketball country. 

I will still be cheering on the Tigers from here! 

(these are from my first Auburn game a few years)

War Eagle Baby! 

Gardening

This summer I decide I would try my hand at a little gardening. My mother and grandmother are fabulous in this area, I was praying I inherited their green thumb. I used to hate it but now that I am older and I really wanted some pretty plants on our screened in porch. So I decided to give it a try and off to Lowes I went. I started off with a few ivy plants and geraniums. Then for our anniversary Bob bought me some impatients and a hydrangea plant (which is my favorite flower). I also planted some herbs which have been wonderful especially the sweet basil.

The geraniums and ivy

Impatients and ivy

Hydrangea

 

My escape is our screened in porch. We recently got some new chairs and I bought some fabric to make some pillows and such for the outdoor space. I can not wait for fall so that it is a little cooler and I can enjoy being out there longer than these hot days. For most of the summer these flowers were beautiful but sadly I think combined with the intense heat and possible overwatering they are not as pretty now but for a while I had my first little flower "garden". I really enjoyed my fist gardening expirience but sadly I am not sure I inherited the wonderful green thumb. We will see next year.

Summer Days:

One of my favorite things about this summer was my beach trip with my family in June. It was so nice to get away for a week and be surrounded by the ones you love. Sadly Bob couldn't join us due to his work schedule. I went to Panama City Beach with my parents, sister, cousin, and Nana. It was beautiful despite the reports of oil washing up on the west end of the beach. We saw no oil just sunshine and beautiful white sandy beaches. Another great part of this trip was a visit from one of my best friends Becca who drove over to spend the night with us. On father's day Erica, Brain, Aiden, Mrs. Judy and Mr. Wayne came down. Overall it was a WONDERFUL trip!

I just love my family to pieces! What a great summer memory. What was you favorite thing from this summer?

Pray for the Millers...

Tonight is visitation and tomorrow is the memorial service for the Miller's parents. Please be in prayer for the Miller family.

Miss Us?

Hey Y'all! Did you miss us? I know you missed Izzy's sweet face, right? We took a blogging vacation this summer but we are back. Things have been busy around here and we had a wonderful summer. I went on a ladies retreat, we celebrated our anniversary, and  I headed south for a beach vacation just to name a few things that went on. This summer was also filled with a lot of work. Summer is coming to a close this week as Bob resumes classes at Southeastern Seminary. He has another full load so please pray for him as he begins this semester. I really wish it would cool off here it has been hot! Has it been hot where you are? I am so excited about the things going on in our life right now. We are trying to settle in to the back to school routine which is always a little crazy and I happy to be blogging again. I really missed the blogging world the past few months. On this happy update there is also a sadness. A family very close to us is dealing with tragedy. Last month they delt with the death of one set of parents and a month to the day they are dealing with another. Our hearts are broken for them and we ask that you please lift up the Miller family. We know God is the great comforter and although we do not understand He is still on the throne and by our side.

Happy Birthday Victoria!

I wanted to give a birthday shout out to my sweet friend Victoria! We have been friends since we were kids. I love that no matter how far apart we are or how long we go without chatting when we do chat it is like no time has passed at all! 

She is wonderful friend! 

Happy Birthday Victoria!! 

I hope today is fabulous!

ONE YEAR...

Hello All! It has been a while, June has been a little crazy! I am shocked that is has been so long since I have written I am so sorry! It is time for a celebration, of what you might ask! One year of blogging! I can not believe it. A year ago I began to explore this wonderful world of blogging. I began this blog to keep our families updated mainly when I was sick last year and then to document this wonderful adventure called marriage. I have really enjoyed it and the friends I have met through it! So happy we made it a year and I enjoy looking back on the past year and cant wait for the years to come! 

Hope...

I am going through a study called No Other Gods: Confronting Our Modern-day Idols by Kelly Minter. Today was a reflection of times when we feel powerless like the Israelites while captive in Egypt. They were faced with a situation that was totally beyond them and they recognized their powerlessness and cried out to God. God heard their cry and delivered them which gives us hope. Hope in times when we  say "I can't do this" or " I have no idea what to do". I love the question Kelly posed about times when we feel this way,  "Could this be exactly where God wants us, in order to show Himself strong on our behalf?" Why do we struggle to conquer things that are beyond our control? We must recognize our powerlessness not to be discouraged but encouraged that through the power of Christ we have hope. If we can accept the truth of our own weakness while accepting the gifts of His strength, He will accomplish it. I love 2 Corinthians 1:8-10. In verse 8 Paul was explaining in his letter the afflictions they were facing. He describes them as far beyond his ability to endure.  The hope come in verse 9, after speaking of the afflictions/trials he says "BUT that (the affliction) was to make us to rely NOT on ourselves BUT on God who raises the dead". How amazing despite how terrible or horrific the afflictions Paul was faced with he had hope in one who's strength is made perfect in our weakness. He goes on to say in verse 10 "He has delivered us and He WILL deliver us. So on Him we have set our hope for Him to deliver us again". Paul was faced with numerous situations that were far beyond his control yet he had hope. Hope not in himself but a faithful God. Be encouraged today that no matter what you are struggling that makes you feel powerless. Recognize the hope that is found in His strength and faithfulness.

A book giveaway from the nerds wife...

A signed book giveaway from the author of series that True Blood is based off! 

Weekend Excitement...

I am so excited about this weekend and not for the same reason as most people. This weekend is exciting due to Memorial Day. However even better this weekend I will celebrate a year of marriage to my sweet husband! I am so blessed. Sunday is the day and I can not believe it. Time has truly flown by! After 7pm tomorrow (when we both get off work) it is officially anniversary weekend! So needless to say I am ready for the weekend!

More for Home....

I am way lat on this post but things have been busy around here. A few weeks ago Bob and I had the opportunity to go home to visit with family and friends as well as celebrate Jamey's marriage. I posted a sneak peak from our trip right before our move but I wanted to show you a few other pictures from that trip! So here they are.

Kaitlyn, my precious little sister, and I at the reception

Nana, Mom, Kait, and I

Bob and I with my sweet Nana

Mom, Dad, Me and Kait at the rehearsal dinner

My sweet Grandaddy and I 

Erica and I, at this point we were anxiously awaiting Aiden's arrival

Rachel, one of Bob's younger sisters, and Bob

Bob with his parents

Kait and I again

Bob and I stopped outside of Atlanta so I could meet one of my best friends little girl. This precious little girl is Logan, isn't she a doll!

This is us with Logan, Izzy loved her

This is Logan's mom Victoria, we have been friends since childhood. It was such a joy to meet her daughter! We can not let that much time pass again before we see each other again! You should check out her blog it is full of beautiful pictures of Logan (taken by her incredibly talented momma) as well as Logan's story, she is such a fighter who made her arrival to the world 8 weeks early.

We had such a wonderful time and the visit was way too short!