Stylish Blogger = Friday Fun

First of all, a big thanks to one of my favorite bloggers, Ty, for awarding me with the [new and improved—looks so pretty] Stylish Blogger Award!  It’s always so fun to ‘win’ blog awards and I am happily receiving this one!

Rules of the game are simple, I have to share seven random facts about me and then award this to seven other bloggers.  

[1]      If I do not make my bed in the morning and let’s face it, I rarely do, I will make my bed before I go to bed.  I like crawling into a bed with the sheets pulled up tight, rather than scattered everywhere.  Does it make sense, nope, but it makes me happy.

[2]      I recently chopped my hair.  I will provide a picture when I actually style it and not just throw it up in a ponytail soon.

[3]      Not so random (at least to any loyal readers), but I am obsessed with my nieces and nephews.  As in, I pretty much think they are the coolest kids ever and brag about them as if they are my own.  Did I mention I love being an aunt?!

[4]      I hate it when shampoo doesn’t lather.  Case in point, last week on a business trip I opted to use the fancy hotel shampoo and I HATED it because it did not lather well.  I ended up using about 4x the amount I really needed in my hair, in hopes that it would foam up.  It didn’t.  Fancy Schmancy—I didn’t like it.

[5]      Thanks to my new job, I have tripled the amount of caffeine I drink in a day.  Fresh brewed coffee all day long, plus a QT or Mickey D’s within .25/mi for iced tea.  Holy smokes, this is not good for my system!

[6]      For six years I was a loyal American Idol watcher and when they announced all of the changes last year I said I would not watch knowing this would not hold true. I can honestly say that I did not watch one entire episode all year.  It felt like I was betraying a friend at first but now that all is said and done, I was happy to have one less show to watch.        

[7]      I love milk; skim, whole and everything in between.  I only buy skim (and sometimes 1%) because I will literally drink huge glasses of it if I have anything else and it is just not worth the calories, in my opinion. 

So there you have it—seven [very random] facts about yours truly.  It is now my honor to pass this award along to some other bloggers:

Brynn at Wicked Sweet Tea 

Leigh at All You Need Is Love 

Julie at The Smitten Mintons 

 

Ashley at Hutson Happenings 

Elizabeth at Burfitt Beginnings 

PS, go read Henry Tate’s birth story!! 

 

Candra at Curious Georgi 

 

Liz at Just a Girl…and a Boy

 

Pure Joy

 excited big brother waiting for the little guy!

For some people, the thought of watching a baby make his debut into this world is scary, weird or gross.  For me, it was pure joy.  Before my little sister even became pregnant she asked her hubby if her mom & sisters could be in the room for her next delivery.  Luckily, my BFAM [brother from another mother ;) ] gave us the green light.  Needless to say when she became pregnant with baby #2 we were all excited to witness such a miracle.  

....fast forward 7+ months....

New rule at the hospital is that the mom can only have three people in the room with her, including her husband.  This was a huge disappointment for the sisters because we were all excited to witness this miracle.  Ashley & I both told Elizabeth the same thing, 'either we both go or neither go'. We all said we would just pray that somehow, it would work. 

....fast forward to this past Thursday....

Elizabeth and hubs are checking into the hospital and have to sign a form agreeing to the '3 person' rule.  She texts me and says we won't get to see, so I head to the hospital to sit with my daddy in the waiting room.  Upon arrival, my sisters tell me Elizabeth's nurse is a rule breaker rock star and she has agreed to let both Ashley and me stay in the room.

HOOORAY :))))

I was so excited to know that I was going to be able to see Henry born, and let me tell you, I was not disappointed!   Elizabeth was a champ and pushed that baby out with a mere four pushes (Henry was ready to meet us!).  Watching my little sister bring life into this world will always be one of my most cherished memories.  I was so proud of her and also so in awe of our Creator.  Childbirth is a beautiful miracle.  

Ster, thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of such an intimate moment for your family.  I will forever be grateful. 

And now let me introduce you to Henry Tate....what a cutie!

look at those wrinkles!! 

beautiful family of four!

proud Aunt Sis :)))

oh where, oh where did my little post go?

Did anyone else have posts from yesterday just disappear?!  If so, do you know how to recover it?  

Bummer dude....

So What! Wednesday

I'm new to the So What! Wednesday scene, but it's one of 'those' days and this just seems fitting....

SO WHAT if....

- I am really pale and super jealous of anyone with a hint of a tan or my beautiful chocolate brown skinned husband.

- I haven't gone for a real hard run in a while / feel like a sloth these days

- I can't stop playing Adele's '21' CD!  Having a CD on non-stop repeat makes me feel like I am 14 huddled up in my room with my first N'Sync CD!  PS, who buys CD's anymore?  This was my first in a long time!

- I'm using my new job as an excuse to buy new clothes (going from working at home to working in an office!).

- I'm wearing workout clothes to the lady doc (I always feel like I should dress up for this appointment so they don't think I am a slob...anyone with me?)!

Your turn ... link up!

Thankful Thursday [5] ... here's to mom

It's Thankful Thursday over at Curious Georgi, and I wanted to join in this week and celebrate my mom.  When you're done reading, make your own list & link up!

I am sure you've seen me write 1,000 times how much I love my mom, and I will only continue to do so, so get used to it! Momma Mel, you are the best ..... this one's for you!

1. Your skin - you have great skin.  I know it's silly to be 'thankful' for skin, but hey, I am your daughter and a girl should be thankful when she comes from a family with good skin!

2. Showing your children the world - OK, maybe you didn't show the whole world to us, but you certainly showed us that there was a vast world with all sorts of people and cultures to appreciate.  You not only taught us to live outside of ourselves and our little lives, but you showed us.  Thank you for instilling in me a heart that longs to see - and help - the world.

3. Your sense of style - You threw out your 'mom jeans' long before the SNL skits!  You are a classy and beautiful woman.  You've taught us that it's ok to have a uniform an outfit you wear a lot ;) as long as it's cute & comfy!! More importantly, you instilled in your daughters to have our own sense of style...don't wear what other people wear - where what you want!

4. Your passion for fitness - let's face it, a lot of people over the age of 40 don't care about being 'fit'.  Sure, they don't want to be fat, but they don't care to stay fit.  You, Momma Mel, love being fit and it shows!  To say you look fabulous and in shape would be an understatement.  

5. Your unbeatable ability to take self portraits - No one does it better, and that's a fact :)

6.  Your love for your daughters - really all of your kids, but the picture above is just us girls, so I thought I would focus on that .... you worked hard to instill excellent values in your daughters.  You taught us to be strong, godly women and wives.  I am so thankful you continually showed us unconditional love.

7. Your blue dress - SO MANY people have told me how much they loved your dress at my wedding!  It was stunning and perfect for you.  Again, some may say this is a silly thing to be thankful for, but I just loved it!  Even more than just the dress, though, was the support you gave me throughout the entire planning process.  You were the best and made planning my wedding a piece of cake! Man, I would love some wedding cake right now!!

8. Your sense of humor - the picture above is one of my all-time favorite with you.  Your sense of humor is so genuine and being silly with you is so much fun.  25, 25, not 30, 30, 30, 30 ....;)

9.  Your heart for the Lord - ^"Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate." Prov 31:28-31

10.  You.  Although you may think these words have been able to capture how I feel about you, they are merely the tip of the iceberg, with its larger bottom half hiding underwater.  You are the very best and I am beyond blessed to call you my mother, my sister in Christ, and my friend. 

What I'm Loving Wednesday #2

My newest niece, Charlotte Grace, or "Charli" as they call her.  Yes, you do see that correctly, she is Charli with just an 'i' ... makes her Aunt Chrissi happy :) She is an absolute doll & looks just like her brother!

New friends from our awesome Sunday School class The Union, like the Petersons & the Augestads ("Hiii, Tanner & Mason/Brooke & David if you're reading this!) ...not sure of any others who read this blog but let me know if you do!  We love this group of people!  God is so good!!

 

Suave Dry Shampoo .... hellooo new favorite product.  It's probably not the very 'best' dry shampoo on the market but with the great cost (under $3) and the amazing smell, I love it!!

My safety ... so many people were affected last week by these crazy storms here in the southeast and I am so thankful that we are ok.  I have read and heard so many stories about houses gone and loved ones lost; I can't even begin to imagine what some people are going through and my heart breaks for them.  

Are you loving something?  Link up ... share your joy with the [blog] world!

Life is short so make it a great day and choose happiness :)

from big city to big horses

As I mentioned in my last post, BL and I went straight from the big city of New York straight up to the North Georgia mountains.  Quite the contrast of locations in just four days but we loved it!

BL loved the fishing even though they didn't bite...


I loved the view...




We even took some time to go ride some horses - this was so much fun!









Needless to say, I had a fabulous time with BL and I am so glad we were able to see two very different and very wonderful places.