How I feel Today.

I stumbled upon this blog a couple years ago, and she writes beautifully. Her post this morning is how I have been feeling the past couple weeks... tired. Sleepy. Putting one foot in front of the other and taking care of things. And then going to bed guilty that Caroline is growing quickly and I am just going through the Mama motions.

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And I only have one babe... and I want 4... will I make it? I feel like this dog sleeping in a wayyy too small space when I only get a couple hours of uninterrupted sleep. When the baby monitor awakens me to a little one with a stuffy nose who is struggling to breathe or who has decided she needs a middle of the night snack.

There is such joy in her snotty nose, sleepy grins. There true delight in giggles from her crib when her naps are way short. Caroline honestly is worth every moment of sleep deprivedness. She is and so will the other babies {when God gives them to us} because as I was reminded in Erin's post this morning, they will grow fast, and our house will be empty and I will have days on end to sleep. And I will miss the midnight nursing and the 6:00 wake up smiles. They are precious. SO precious.

God, remind my heart how precious they are when my 3:00 AM exhausted self wants to stay in bed forever.

Mama nights are long, but I am finding out how extremely short the months really are. 

Being Mama is priceless. Every single moment {even those spent awake in the night} are part of the journey of being mom. God, I am thankful for this adventure you have called me to.

Thankful November: Week # 2 & 1/2

Caroline has her first cold... a nasty sinus infection and it has been awful around here this week. Not much sleep, lots of fussy moments when just nothing seems to do, and lots of snot! Yuck, I know. None of those things make me even the least bit thankful...

But, I do have lots of things to still be thankful for. Its all in the perspective :)

"Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world." 

- Sarah Ban Breathnach 

Thankful for this girl's JOY! And her big milestones like pulling herself to standing! 

 Thankful for sweet cousins who love playing together. 

Thankful for Operation Christmas Child and the huge blessing that filling these shoeboxes are every year.

 Thankful for this man who is an amazing Daddy. And Thankful for the opportunity to go on a real grown-up people date with this man last weekend. It was so nice to go to dinner and a movie and just be us for a couple hours. 

Thankful for the HUGE honor it is to Vote in this country. That is about the only thankful thing I have to say about the election, but hey, I am thankful that I got to take my girl to the polls and vote for the candidate of my choosing. Thankful to be an American, and thankful that as much as I love my country, this is not my Kingdom, and my God is a BIG God. 

Thankful for this Bella and her snuggles. 

Thankful for a warm sunny Saturday to play outside {and eat leaves!} 

Thankful for 7 Months of being Mama. 

What are you thankful for? 

SEVEN Months!

Seven months. SEVEN MONTHS....SEVEN MONTHS! I have to keep reminding myself that Caroline turned a whole 7 Months on Friday. And I have to keep reminding myself that I carried her in my belly longer than she has been out in the world... for some reason it makes time seem slower? Maybe because being pregnant seemed soooo long? Anyway, I'll be sad when I can no longer say that.

SO... Seven months! This past month has been a blast. So many Caroline firsts including her first Clemson football game, first Halloween, and her first time crawling. Thats right, we're on the move! Its more of an army crawl, but she sure can cover some ground quickly, especially if its in pursuit of Bella!

Caroline- 

You are such a joyful girl. You have a huge two-tooth smiled. You are ticklish and make the sweetest giggle. You are also busy, busy, busy! Always looking for something to "explore", and reach for, and throw on the ground, and put in your mouth. You also love to climb all over our laps, and all over pillows on the bed. You even have started to pull yourself up on the coffee table. {You're welcome to slow down if you want!?!}

Bathtime is still your favorite. You love bath toys and lots of bubbles. You like music and gigglebellies videos. You also love all your toys that make noises, and your babydoll. This past month we have started putting you in highchairs at restaurants and riding in the front of shopping carts. It makes you feel like such a big girl. You also have discovered Bella on a whole new level this past month. You smile and call her "Ba-Ba", and "chase" after her as fast as your little arms and legs can take you. Bella loves to lick you and it makes you giggle. 

Bananas are your favorite food so far. You are also really starting to embrace applesauce and sweet potatoes {Thank goodness!}. Thanks for working with Mama and Daddy on this solid food thing. You are finally starting to get the swallowing-with-a-spoon thing down. 

You hate getting in your car-seat and you strongly dislike getting dressed. If your aren't tired, or hungry, or stuck in your car-seat you are a happy girl. You're an easy-peasy baby, I tell you! You sleep well - about 8 or 9 hours a night, and usually only wake mommy up once to eat around 5 or so. Thank you! 

Your hair is getting longer, and thicker, and more blonde. You're still in size 3 diapers, and we are still loving cloth diapers while we are home. {They look so cute on you, and daddy likes how much money they save us!} You are wearing 6 month clothes and some 9 month clothes. Your legs are so long, and you're quite long waisted, so you have a couple of 12 month pants for the length. You're such a beautiful girl, and we are head over heals for you!

 I was cramming too many things into Friday afternoon, and with daylight savings time, I missed some of the good daylight when we headed outside at 5:15pm, but I do actually love how these pictures turned out. Caroline was loving being outside and playing in the leaves, and the sun was setting so beautifully in the background. 

Carolne, you were singing Mommy a beautiful song, and I loved it. Your noises are precious!

 Pure Joy.

 Discovering the leaves. Thinking about putting them in your mouth...

Not too tasty, my love. 

 Cute pouty face.

Caroline, Thank you for another great month of being your Mama and Daddy. We love you. We are blessed to lead and guide you as you grow. We are thankful for the joy you bring to us daily. Keep up the good growing sweet pea, you are precious. 

Caroline's 1st Clemson Game!

Several weekends ago Jay and I made the trek down to South Carolina for our annual College Friends reunion weekend. This year was different though because Miss Priss got to join in on all the fun.

Let me just tell you that I was pretty darn excited for her to experience her FIRST EVER football game {I am fully aware she won't remember it, but I will!}. It was a big "Caroline's First Milestone" for me because I love football {clemson football in particular} so much, mainly because of all the family memories that we made centered around football over the years. My sweet Daddy loved adored Clemson football, and I know he would have been thrilled to take Caroline to her first game, but I am pretty confident he had a front row seat looking down on our joy-filled weekend from heaven.

We rented a lake house for the weekend, and enjoyed lots of yummy food, went hiking, had the most perfect weather, and pulled off a Tiger Victory! It really was such a refreshing weekend. Just something about catching up and laughing with dear friends, and enjoying God's beauty in a place that we love that just makes things close to perfect.

On our way down to Clemson we stopped in Charlotte to meet precious 3 week old Baby Braston! Caroline wanted to get her hands on him so bad. It is always special when the three of us Roommates can get together.

This beauty LOVED her day outside hiking to Whitewater Falls. 

 {In case you're wondering, that is sweat on my shirt. HA! Not even going to try and deny it. I wore Caroline in her Ergo carrier the couple miles there and back, and it was hard work!}

 My stud of a husband. Man, I am blessed. 

They were doing search and rescue training at the falls while we were hiking... These helicopters were flying around the whole time. It was great hiking entertainment! 

The morning of the game was chilly, and the perfect excuse to wear her Clemson Hat from Rachel! 

 Caroline's first Tailgating experience! 

And C got to hang out with another friend Tillman! 

 Cheering for the Tigers with the Spanglers!

Death Valley on a perfect Fall day! 

Great Fall memories for our little Family and lots more fun {Adventure?} ahead at next years Clemson Game weekend when Caroline will be running all around!



{All pictures are thanks to my trusty iPhone, and our great friends Adam, Leigha, and Spangler! Jay and I decided keeping up with Caroline and all that involves was more than enough, and there was no need for a camera bag too! Thanks friends for great pictures of our girl!}