Quilting

Do I ever love this little guy!!!!!!!!!!

Some ladies from our church made this quilt for Holman at the Memphis baby shower. They all used fabric markers to draw/write on the squares, and the amazing Amber Fournier put it all together. Holman LOVES it. I intend to learn how to make a quilt. Soon. Another one of my domestic goals.

:)

To love their husbands...

I do love mine! We have been married 3 years today, and I am enjoying looking back at all of the fun memories we've already made. I am so blessed to be married to this wonderful man.

Our wedding day was perfect in every way. Some things I loved about him on our wedding day... He got me a special gift and flowers. He teared up when I walked down the aisle. He was a great dancer (still is!). He thought I was beautiful. He treated me like a princess.

Year one, some things I loved about Ryan were... moving to Memphis with him. Watching him start his first "real" job at Schneider, and how everyone loved and respected him there. His new beard. Finding a church with him. Going on random trips with him, to Georgia mostly. How he encouraged me with my schoolwork. How he was proud of me when I graduated. How we fit so nicely together in our little one-bedroom apartment.

Year two, some things I loved about Ryan... How he took me on outdoorsy trips. Snuggling. Going to New Orleans with him. Doing fun things together, like the Grizzlies game. How he stood strong for me when we miscarried our first pregnancy. How he thought I was pretty even when I chopped my hair off. :)

Year three, some things I loved about Ryan... Going through the pregnancy with him. How outdoorsy he is- he accomplished quite the feat at Long's Peak. Doing fun things with him. How he became a runner! How he grew in the Lord. What a great leader he is of our small group, at work, and at home. How he humors me with tons of pictures. Watching him become a daddy! Watching him fall more in love with our little boy as the days go by. How he loves me and how patient he is with me.

These are just a few reasons I love my husband. He is wonderful! Happy Anniversary to us!

My to-do list...

A quick run-down of my to-do list from today...

1. Priority time- check! A great one about intercessory prayer!
2. Run/walk with Holman and Bailey (I am training for a 5k!)- check! A great one, definitely improving!
3. Prepare the house for Small Group- check! We had an awesome time!
4. Trellis my peas- nope! gotta push this one back.
5. Ironing- check! I even tried to enjoy it more by thinking about how God "irons" our character, making us like the Ephesians 5 bride, without spot or blemish.
6. Cook "killer beans" and corn on the cob to go with our cheeseburgers for small group. I got the recipe from my grandma! I will share it sometime soon.- check! yummmmm...
7. Work on invitations for Sara Gentry's baby shower. They're expecting baby #2! - still a lot of work to do, but I got some stuff at the store for it...
8. One load of laundry, start to finish- partial check! just gotta go fold the clothes and put them away!

Motherhood is hilarious

I laughed out loud today at my baby.

He's been a bit "irregular" for a couple of days. He really needed to go potty this morning but couldn't....

When he woke up from a nap to eat lunch, I got his bottle and sat at the computer to feed him. Pretty soon I could tell that he was having some luck in the diaper department.

Then I picked him up.

He had wiggled so much that he had accidentally unloaded onto my dress.

l.o.l.

I got us cleaned up and really couldn't do anything but laugh. Man do I love this little boy.

Only a mom could find this as funny as I did. Motherhood is hilarious.

Hyper-Productivity

Last week was an amazingly productive week. My hubby said that I was scarily productive- intimidating to him, actually. Ha! All I have to say is that it was the Lord!

The biggest change in my week last week was that I got up each morning to be with Jesus before my day started. Since Holman usually wakes up around 6:15-6:30 for the day, my day had to begin earlier. My sweet husband took over getting the baby out of bed and visiting while I finished up... So I started my priority time around 5:45.

Let me just say that it wasn't easy... and it wasn't by my own strength. It was the Lord, faithfully sustaining me and giving me energy for each morning devotional. The time with Jesus made a marked difference in my attitude, time management, and productivity. Just ask Ryan!

The Lord blessed me in such a special way because of the time I spent with Him. I noticed such a huge difference in myself. The other huge difference in our week was that we intentionally spent much less time watching the television. You simply do not realize the hours that are sucked away by that t.v. until you intentionally do not watch it. We purposed not to watch TV except if we were really sitting down to watch one thing. We had so much more time!

This week is off to a pretty good start, but I am hoping tomorrow will be even better and more productive. On my to-do list:

1. Priority time
2. Run/walk with Holman and Bailey (I am training for a 5k!)
3. Prepare the house for Small Group
4. Trellis my peas
5. Ironing
6. Cook "killer beans" and corn on the cob to go with our cheeseburgers for small group. I got the recipe from my grandma! I will share it sometime soon.
7. Work on invitations for Sara Gentry's baby shower. They're expecting baby #2!
8. One load of laundry, start to finish

I figure if I write it out, maybe it will keep me on track tomorrow! I will report in on how I did.

Thanks for reading! I am so excited about what God is doing in my life, especially in energizing me for my home. I praise Him how He is able to refresh our spirits and remind us of our callings. My calling is here at home, and boy do I love it!

Adventure in Homemade Pizza Crust

I did it! I made my very own whole-wheat, homemade pizza. And do you know what? It was TASTY! I got the recipe from one of my favorite Titus 2-type blogs: www.passionatehomemaking.com. Check out the recipe here.

Here are a few photos of the pizza extravaganza:


Baby sleeping, got the monitor, got the ingredients, got the recipe... here goes nothin...


The batch made four crusts. I made 1.5 batches because I found out I was having more friends come for dinner! What a joy!


Mushing the crust onto the cookie sheets. 6 in all.


This one was actually pretty yummy: peppers, mushrooms, ham, pepperoni, and spices. And I don't even like mushrooms.


We had all different kinds. This is going to become a weekly tradition for us, I think. It was delicious and healthy (as pizza goes). The fun part is that you can put literally anything you want on top.

This week has been wonderfully productive. I am feeling energized in my passion for the home, and new adventures like the pizza make it all the more fun! Oh, and by the way, the pizza was a BIG HIT! You should try it!

"...To love their children..."

Especially when they are sick. We need to love ON them.

Bless his little heart, Holman got shots yesterday. Today he feels about like this:



Yesterday wasn't so bad, since he just spent most of the day in a vegetative state or sleeping. Today, however, has been a different story. He woke up with a pretty high fever (102) and obviously felt horrible. He is such a trooper, he was even trying to smile, but one could tell things weren't quite right.

I think about how God the Father loves us so tenderly. I think about times when I've been sick, or spiritually sick, and how He has nursed me lovingly back to health. And in all truth, I rather enjoy the opportunity (as bad as that might sound) to pay extra special attention and love to my little guy. He is a lot more snuggly today than usual, and I'm not complaining about that. (My mom confessed to me some time ago that she used to relish times when my brother got sick, because it was the only time he would let her snuggle and rock him. Now I know what she means.)

I am certain that he will be back to his smiley self in no time. For now, I will spoil him, rock him to sleep, check on him constantly, and do whatever I can to make him feel better. Because that's what mommies do.

Reasons for new adventures in blogging

I decided to start a new blog (crazy, I know, since I have trouble updating my other one). I still intend to update the other one with stuff on our life, our adventures together, and our SWEET baby boy Holman. That blog is such a fun way to tell others what is going on in my life.

I wanted to start a new blog as an outlet for all of my domestic/creative/homemaking ventures.

Here is why:

There are several blogs that I follow which pertain mostly to keeping the home, serving in the home, supporting and loving our husbands, training our children, becoming godly women... Titus 2 blogs, if you will. I love these blogs.

And part of what I love about these blogs is their narrow focus. I know that I can go to these blogs for inspiration on a number of topics, but all of them relate back to the main subject of being the kind of women God wants us to be.

So this is my Titus 2 blog. Welcome.

"...train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God."

Titus 2:4-5