The Dearmans

Happy Valentines Day

2012-02-15T09:05:00.002-05:00

Ellison's Birthday Weekend

2012-02-13T10:07:00.000-05:00

We had a great weekend celebrating one year of life! My parents, sister, aunt and cousin where able to come and celebrate with us for the weekend! Love, Love, Love some family time and a full house! Friday, Michael took off work and we took Ellison to the aquarium with my parents. Chattanooga has one of the best aquariums in the US and we have been wanting to try it out. It was super fun. She just stared wide-eyed the whole time and did great. We actually went through every exhibit. Super fun!

Friday evening the rest of the family arrived.

With Aunt Kayla

And Aunt Kayla being well Aunt Kayla. :)

Ellison with her Nana and Grandpa.

All the girlies on the couch!

And the other thing we do...cook, cook and cook.

o and eat! We are good at that too :).

With Cousin Faith

Ok so for decor, food and birthday fun...I made everything based upon her first year of life because well that is what we are celebrating! I even made a "How well do you know Ellison game" with a Starbucks reward in the end just to make things interesting! Here is a picture of her cake. My first attempt at fondant. I have always wanted to try it, but I have just never had a great reason. I think it turned out pretty great for the first try. The cupcake was for Ellison. I made it out of a sugar free banana cake recipe I found online, but for the icing, well that had sugar. It is her birthday right? Gotta have a little fun! Ps...have I mentioned that I love parties!

Wall decor was just a string with pictures, one from each month of her life. I made frames out of cereal boxes and covered them in fabric.

The food I themed around her life (I got this off of YHL)I printed off some pictures made on picnik and folded them in half. Cost me about a buck, but added some super cuteness!

Mini Pizzas - What I craved during pregnancy.

Mini Hamburgers - Last meal, Michael and I had before heading to the hospital.

Fruit Kabobs with Vanilla Yogurt - All of Ellisons favorite fruits (Bannana, Grapes, Pear, Blueberries)

Love&Hate - Carrots (Love) and Broccoli (Hate - only baby food she refused to eat)

Quacamole - Avocado was her first food

Cake - Her first birthday cake

And of course, I decorated her high chair with some craft supplies I had left over. Kinda cute for spur of the moment. Just streamers, string, cloth, and letter stickers. O and you can't tell but I made a cute birthday shirt for Ellison to match the fabric frames. Hmmm...I need to get a better picture of that outfit!

And can you handle this...here we go!

What is that...

You want me to do what?

You sure I can eat this mom?

Ok fine. I got this.

No she didn't eat the whole thing. I did take most away once she started digging in because let me tell you, she could have! haha.

YUMMM

I hope these made you smile!

Dry Wall...Semi Fail

2012-02-12T10:48:00.000-05:00

So this was a good learning experience. We are terrible drywallers, well kinda. I think we would do a ton better next time, but at least it was a closet, which I think had a large part to do with this not turning out perfectly. I mean we chose a slanted ceiling in a 3 foot wide closet as our first attempt. I would call us overly confident. Plus most of the drywalling we can't take credit for because we were not the ones who did the walls. Thank goodness for wall decor ;).

Just in case you forgot what it used to look like.

What we learned while drywalling...
1. Do not try to be cheap on the amount of putty you use. Slab it up there. You can always sand it back.

2. When doing drywall, make sure the pieces are as close as you can possibly get them.
3. When doing the taping/paper, put a ton of putty underneath so that it sticks well. Once dryed, if it doesn't look flush with the wall, then rip it up and do it again. Worth try two.

Ok so here is a picture of the roofing with the lights in! Not perfect (I secretly hid the imperfections with this camera view...ahhhhahahah), but a good play space and safe. Apparently, she even knows how to turn the lights on and off! The light switch is actually just a perfect height for her to reach. Love it!

Michael put down the tiles a few days ago. We will give you guys a better picture later on, but we have to say that we are huge fans of carpet tiles. Cheaper than regular carpet, plus you just peel and stick. It can't get easier than that!

Hopefully, we will completely finish it in the next week or so. It is hard getting stuff done in the place that she needs to sleep. Usually, one of us works and the other watches her, so we don't have a ton of open time to get stuff done in there. No rush though.

The Collins

2012-02-09T20:28:00.000-05:00

This weekend our friends from Statesville came to see us! It was such a great time to spend with them. We are truly blessed to have them as our friends. We grew up with these two, started dating about the same time, got married a few months apart, and now they are about to have a baby girl! Just love it! Just wish we lived closer though! Here is a trip down memory lane from our wedding.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a picture of just Meredith and I. Always group shots or someone randomly between us. I guess this counts. Also, I did wear white, this was just taken before I changed. Ps....Meredith if you have one you should send it to me!

And this is the only picture I have of just Andrew and Michael. ahhhh haha.

And this is their wedding. Photos made a little more sense here.

Ok here are the pictures from this past weekend. We had a blast with you three :)!

Yeah we had a groupon for a round of mini golf and a waffle cone. Best groupon ever!

Me and the hubs. Notice the beard! ITS BAAAAACK!

I think this is a better "family" photo than we even have!

Love their faces. Cracks me up!

Thanks for coming!

1 Year Old

2012-02-08T19:46:00.000-05:00

It is here....she is one! Happy first birthday to my sweet girl!

I just seriously can't believe it. Weren't we just here?

I have loved getting to see her grow this year, explore new things, learn and just live. It has been one of the most beautiful and humbling experiences of my life. I am beyond thankful for this sweet girl. Here are some pictures from our day. We started with banana pancakes and a side of eggs. And of course a play date outside. Don't worry, we will get to smash that cake this weekend!

What we have been working on...

2012-02-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

Ellison's birthday is coming up which is crazy and scary and exciting all rolled up into one. And of course, the question pops up what are we going to get this awesome little person for her very first birthday. Well, my practical mind said "she won't know any different. lets just get her the new car seat." Bore. Then my thought was toys, but I think someone got a little spoiled at Christmas from family and well, we don't really need any. There was this little closet in her room that was underneath the stairs. It was mostly unfinished, but you can tell that the previous owners kids used to play in there. If she was older that would be great, but not for a toddler. So we decided to refinish the closet and make a fun play space/reading nook/fort all-in-one that she and the other kiddos can play in for years to come!

This is the current closet.

Things that needed to be done:

1. Take away outlet (not kiddo safe) and replace with a light switch. Complete the electrical work for ceiling lights.

2. Finish dry walling the space. Re-mud the existing drywall.

3. Connect ceiling lights.

4. Paint

5. Rip out old carpet, and add new carpet.

6. Accessorize :). Shelving/cubbies, floor pillows, etc...

So far, we have completed ripping out the old carpet. It was nasty and had probably never been cleaned. That took all of 10 minutes.

Also, we completed the electrical work. We knew in advance that the electrical would be the most time consuming and tricky of them all. Good news is that Michael's dad is a licensed electrician, so he grew up knowing a good bit of electrical stuff. Plus if we have questions, then we have a licensed electrician on speed dial :). I will say that this process took way more time than expected. It was definitely a learning experience, and a little bit of trial and error. I know way more than I did before, but honestly, I would only make a 50 if I was tested, so the details won't be mentioned here.

Before.

After.

It worked!!!

We have also cut the drywall. It goes up tonight!

Hopefully by the end of the week, we will have the drywall up, painted walls, carpet on the floors(if it comes in on time), and lights connected! We are kinda falling in love with home improvement projects these days, especially fun ones like this! Stay tuned for the final product!

January Picnic

2012-01-25T13:49:00.000-05:00

Today, we have a family lunch date at the park! I just love these moments. I made us a fun lunch of spicy turkey rollups (santa fe cream cheese, chopped shallot, red pepper flakes, turkey and lettuce), grapes, and two cadberry caramel eggs! YUM!

Man...Ellison just loves to eat.

And then we went swinging.

We are certainly in enjoying this nice weather these last two days. How about you guys?

11 Months

2012-01-18T14:53:00.000-05:00

Can you believe it? Because I sure can't. In less than a month she will be a year old and that blows my mind! She is all over the place now. Laughs constantly, smiles at everything, acts bashful around strangers, cuddles, crawls like a champ, taken a few steps, baby babbles for hours, eats a ton, thumb sucker, takes two naps a day sometimes three short, sleeps 10ish hours at night. She is awesome. I kinda love her :). Ok so for the photos...here ya go. These pictures are getting difficult to take by the way. She is an active one!

She loves blowing out her lips. haha

She has 6 teeth!

One with mommy :)

Kitchen/Dining Room Paint Change

2012-01-15T16:02:00.001-05:00

Christmas right??? Not anymore!

What do you think? Kitchen Color: Thin Ice Olympic Dining Color: Simply Grey Valspar

Front Yard Play

2012-01-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

The other day it was beautiful. I got a picnic blanket and a box of toys, then we headed to the front lawn which we actually have now! Super fun! Love each moment with this girl!

Look at our new bench for the front yard. I think Ellison likes it! Thanks Grandma!

Goober face.

She is a studier. She will spin something over and over in her hands.

Love her.

Finger Foods

2012-01-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

Yes, it is that time! I have been feeding her finger foods, occasionally for about two months now, but all of the sudden she hates the spoon. So I said why not just see what she can do. I have been experimenting this week in making recipes for the whole family to enjoy. These are two of the meals that were completely finger foods. We still give her "baby food" a lot because it is just easier. It makes me happy being able to serve one meal to my whole family!

Lunch: Half a Grilled Cheese and Turkey (made with olive oil) with a Banana.

Yes, we still feed her naked for the most part. Just easier and she is free. She looks old here! Weird!

Dinner: Homemade Fish Sticks (Tilapia breaded in Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix), Asparagus, and Sweet Potatoes

She ate it all! She also loves peas, broccoli spears, cauliflower, avocado, toast with cream cheese and cinnamon, cheese, pasta, and rice. Any other finger foods for babies with only front teeth that you would like to share? I could use some more ideas! Thanks!

2012 Goals

2012-01-03T08:51:00.000-05:00

Ok, so Michael and I are list people. Probably because we are math nerds, but we made a 2012 spreadsheet of goals with four categories: Financial, Spiritual, Physical, House Stuff (This doesn't really fit, but this is kinda our fun one. We like to play house.). It is pretty intense, but we think doable.

Financially -

1. Pay off all none mortgage dept, school loan and car loan. This one will be a stretch, but I think we can do it.

2. Save set amounts each month for rainy day fund, retirement, next car, future kiddo.

Spiritually -

1. 12 verses a year. I'll post more on this later, but this is a new family tradition that we are going to implement.

2. 365 days in the Word. We are seeking holiness (to become more like Christ).

Physically -

1. Run a post/pre :) baby half-marathon in the fall and no, there will probably not be a baby this year. This one may be a bit more of a challenge in the mountains as opposed to flat flat Texas. We will see.

2. Complete P90X.

3. Regain lost muscle from pregnancy. Weight, I am happy, but I still do not feel as strong as before.

House Stuff - (Making a home)

1. Paint dining room(dark grey)/kitchen(light grey)

2. Transplant rose bushes and mulch yard

3. Add a few plants and grass to needed areas in yard

4. Sew curtains for living room, play room, and dining room (ps...my mom and dad got me a sewing machine for Christmas and I am pumped)

5. Toothbrush clean the remaining tiles in our house (backing soda with vinegar then toothbrush and go = beautiful grout...cheap just time consuming) We will probably make this into a pizza party.

6. Turn Ellison's closet into a play space (She has a mini sized closet in the side of her room that is unfinished. Our plan is to get it done for her birthday which is just over a month away...can you believe it! Stay tuned.)

7. Fix the major draft in the laundry room.

2011 to 2012

2012-01-01T14:04:00.000-05:00

2011 was a COMPLICATED year. From the outside it seemed perfect, but there were a lot of trials that were honestly extremely challenging. I'm gonna put it all out there.

January - I had just been admitted to the hospital for a day for high blood pressure. I was 50 pounds over my normal weight and still had a month to go. (fat) I was vomiting 1-4 times a day. (sick) I was late to work practically everyday. (o well) I was huge and had little bladder control while getting sick.(Gross) Mentally, I was spent. Anxious about being a mom. (Stress/Scared) Put on bed rest with 3 weeks to go. (Bored and fat)
February - We had 4 doctors visits. My body never prepared for delivery. February 5th was the due date...nothing. February 7th we were told to check into the hospital at 3pm!!!!(Woohoo) I was 60 pounds over my prepregnancy weight. (Super fat) I was put into labor. February 8th 9 am...I had dilated only a 1/2 inch, I puked twice, I took a shower, then was sent into surgery for a c-section. (Shakey, painful, awesome) Ellison arrived at 9:41 am. (Amazing) Praise God. We were a family of three. I felt awesome no more sickness. (Happy) Praise God. C-section recovery was great. Michael had 3 interviews!!! (Whew)
March - No news from any of the interviews. (Stress/Trusting.) I was staying home with Ellison on maternity leave. (Perfect) We hardly slept. (Exhausted) It was beautiful.
April - Michael got offered an internship in Chattanooga for the summer. (Woohoo) There was a backup plan. I went back to work. I cried and cried and cried some more. (Sad) I coached softball. Ellison slept through the night. (Rested) She smiled at us. (In awe) Michael had more interviews. (Hope)
May - No news from other interviews. (Stress) We started prepping for Chattanooga. (Really, the train town?) Michael finished his master's at A&M. (Yeah!) Ellison stayed home with Michael for three weeks while I finished teaching. (Priceless) We began to pack. (Sad) I finished teaching at Snook. (Sad/Happy)
June - We said goodbye to all our friend's in College Station (Cried/Sad/Thankful). We took our family of three on a two day roadtrip to Chattanooga. (Nervous) Ellison was awesome. (Whew) We moved into a one bedroom. (Fun) Ellison slept in the living room. (Minor but important detail to me) Chattanooga was beautiful. Ellison and I spent a week in Statesville away from Michael. First time Michael and I had been apart. (Sad but good) We applied to jobs and jobs and jobs. (Tiring) Nothing. (Stress) We worried, we prayed. (Peace, stress, peace) I spent an entire night in the bathroom because I couldn't sleep over anxiety. (Stress)
July - Family time. (Perfect) We explored Chattanooga. (Fun) We looked for jobs. (Sucked) We applied for jobs. (Uber sucked) I got a job in Raleigh, NC. (Yeah, kinda) Two weeks later, Michael got a job in Chattanooga. (WOOHOO) I quit my job. (Booyow) Michael got a job...can I say that one more time...Michael got a job!!! And a real job, one that he loved. (Thankful, Peace) Praise God. Ok...we are staying in Chattanooga. (What?) We started looking for churches. (LONG)
August - Hey, lets buy a house. (Fun) Ok. House hunt. I started to nanny for a family in Chattanooga and was able to stay with Ellison during the day. (The best) Michael passed his 2nd actuarial exam. (Raise) Ellison started solids and had her first belly laugh. (Humbled, Love)
September - We found a house. (Happy) We put in an offer. (Nauseous) They rejected. (Poop) Counteroffer. (Bam) Accept! We bought a house. (AHHHH!)
October - We moved into our house. (Yeah) Still church hunting. (Uhhh) Lonely, but enjoying family time. Ellison is beginning to crawl. (Proud) Painted Ellison's room and did a ton of yard work. (Fun)
November - Thanksgiving with the Dearman family in Statesville. (Good) Ellison is crawling like a champ.
December - Christmas in Statesville. (Perfect) Still kinda lonely, but we are working on it :). I hit my prepregnancy weight...actually 2 pounds lighter! (Booyowza)

Overall, our year in a glance looks perfect. We had our first baby, Michael got a job, and we bought a house, but it was far from that...there were trials, hidden trials, emotional trials. I only touched on all that we experienced this year. Yes, these awesome blessings from God were ever so present, but deep down there was intense anxiety and fear. We were stretched and challenged. We spent hours on hours praying for provisions for our lives; financially, physically, and mentally. Did we handle every situation perfectly? Far from it. We are sinful people, but thankful for God's grace and provision. I think this may have been the hardest year of my life thus far, but there is one and only one underlining theme that is consistent throughout it. God. He knew the plan (it wasn't mine), it was His plan (it wasn't mine), it was His perfect plan (it wasn't mine), I am thankful for His plan (because it wasn't mine), I look forward to His plan (can't even think it), I will trust where we are placed (because He is Lord).

1 Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

2 I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

Psalm 146

Belk Bowl

2011-12-31T10:21:00.000-05:00

Yeah, we won...WHAT!!!!

Love me some State girls with Christina and Natalie.

Greg and Michael

Me and the hubs. He is kinda the BEST.

I can't get over his face!

*Remember to sign up for the 21 Day Challenge...Last Day! It will be FUN!

Christmas

2011-12-30T09:09:00.000-05:00

A few pictures from our Christmas in Statesville. My mom's sisters and their families joined us, along with my grandparents. It was a super fun visit with everyone.

Cuddling with Nana and sucking her thumb. She does this alot now.

Opening my first Christmas present from Nana and Grandpa.

Ready for the Christmas Eve service.

The girls...because everyone else came home and put on PJs.

Sisters = Love

Aunt Lisa and Cousin Jacob

Family photo in our PJs on Christmas Eve.

This year, we started a new tradition to do a White Elephant gift exchange on Christmas Eve.

Stocking and Present from Santa.

Cuddling with Grandpa on Christmas morning before opening presents...my parents slept next to the tree.

The Tree on Christmas morning...we had a lot of people and gifts.

She loved her present from Santa. Notice the pure joy...hah...this has been constant since Christmas morning.

Family walk around the block.

Out to eat barbeque.

Meeting cousin Mallory and Addison (Michael's family)...Ellison loved them.

Her kitchen from the Dearmans.

*I have tons more pictures but they are not showing up right now. Family...I'll put them on snapfish :).

O and for everyone else...don't forget to sign up for the 21 Day Challenge by January 31st!!!

21 Days to Start off the New Year

2011-12-27T11:47:00.000-05:00

This time of year, most of us tend to think...ok, starting January 1st, I'm going to loose ______ pounds, eat healthier, take time for _______, do this and that. I think that there is nothing wrong in any of those things, especially in setting goals for yourself. That is why I wanted to pose a 21 day challenge that we could get started together as a community. Doesn't that sound like a fun way to start off the new year. We can all do 21 days...that is only 3 weeks!

First and foremost, to start off our new year, we need to seek our Lord. This past fall, I went through the book How to Pray in 28 Days by Kay Arther. I highly suggest it if you have never read it. It had me thinking of the importance for us to pray, pray specifically, pray correctly, and pray together as believers. I have formed a group through youversion.com that I would like you all to be a part of. It will include 21 days of scripture that focuses on prayer, whether through examples or by what Christ has to say about prayer. I can't think of a better way to bring in 2012 than through praying specifically for our walks with Christ, our family, our friends, our nation, and for others to know Him.

Secondly, lets get our bodies in check, physically and nutritionally. I'm not asking you to loose a pound or stop eating _______, but to serve the Lord in this aspect of your life. Whether you are a mom, sister, friend, wife or whatever, we all have a reason to live a healthy lifestyle. We will be using myfitnesspal.com. You can set your own goals whatever they may be and make it a priority to be healthy. *If you are pregnant or just had a baby you can still participate and be healthy, but obviously what doctor says comes first. You can still be included in the drawing at the end of the challenge. The most important thing for you right now may just be to pray for that sweet new baby.

Who knows maybe we will be one strong accountability community!!!

Ok...so you are in right???

All you need to do is leave a comment including your name and email address. Feel free to list this on your blog as well to get others involved. No matter where you are in life, lets bring in the New Year together after all it is only 21 days :). I will send you all an email on December 31st with links to join our groups. Woohoo!

*Partnering with Amy at Fit New Mama and Christina at Brown Town.

DIY NCState Backboard

2011-12-22T13:05:00.000-05:00

Yes, you heard right! We loved on our backboard. You know because we are the two most awesome basketball ~~players~~ ~~fans~~ alive, ok well we inherited one with the house. It was basically just black and old when we got it until we looked closely. Notice the color, black and baby blue. Yeah, not happening. Plus, I got Michael a basketball and net as part of his Christmas presents.

We started by taping what was going to be the white accents. Then spray painting the rest of the board red.

This is what it looked like when we removed the tape.

Of course, we had to make the attempt at adding our Block S. I printed a block S then thickened the lines with a permanent marker. I used a box cutter to cut out what I wanted to be white.

Finished product.

Now, we taped up the red. We used cardboard and painters tape.

Dang, the cardboard didn't work. I think plastic may have been a better choice. So we waited for it to dry, taped the white again, then repainted a layer of red. After, we covered the backboard with a clear sealant for extra protection.

Reassemble and....

o yeah, we know you want one.

Christmas Traditions

2011-12-21T11:12:00.001-05:00

So we live in Chattanooga. That much I know. With both our families in the same town that is not in Chattanooga that means that holidays will most of the time be spent on the road to see family. That is perfectly alright with Michael and I. We prayed when searching for jobs that the Lord would put us within a half days drive of our families, and well 5 hours is a half days drive and for that we are thankful. I know that seems crazy to pray for that, but if you would have been my baby doctor and told me when I was pregnant that I could not go home for the holidays then I break out in a crying fit to which I couldn't even control then you would realize the importance for me to be ~~home~~ with family for the holidays. haha o the memories. My poor doctor. He felt terrible. I wish I could apologize and tell him I'm normal, but in reality he was my baby doctor and besides that well awkward. ok back to the post Dearman! Ps...we went home last year. Yep, 35 weeks preggo and we made an 18 hour road trip from NC to Texas. I don't recommend it. I was admitted into the hospital two days later for high blood pressure then put on bed rest the next week. Man, I'm stubborn and had crazy hormones.

Which means that, we need some family traditions that can be for just our family of 5 3 (wishful thinking :)) We are going to start having a family Christmas day before we travel each year. We had our own family Christmas this past Saturday. It was super fun. The first time that Michael and I have actually exchanged gifts since we have gotten married. We have tried to be financially wise the past few years, and gifts did not fit into that category. I used our Christmas as an excuse to make some yummy stuff from pinterest as well!

For breakfast, I made mini cinnamon rolls with sausage. For Ellison, instead of the brown sugar mixture, I added a small layer of cream cheese with a sprinkle of cinnamon. She had the healthier option for sure. Then we opened presents. I've always kinda thought opening presents was awkward in front of a lot of people. I enjoy it, but still awkward. The mom end of things is wayyyyy funner!

Mini Cinnis (Highly Recommend and super easy) with Sausage

I cut these up in small pieces after the picture.

Ellison trying on my scarf in her Christmas PJs from Nana.

For lunch, we took a walk downtown and grabbed some subway. O and grabbed a few cans of spray paint. I'll post that later!

Before dinner, we headed to the Saturday night church service. Afterwards, we made appetizers and watched Elf. It was a wonderful day to just relax and spend together for the three of us.

Coconut Chicken Tenders (alright) with Jalapeno Poppers

Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte - Awesome

"Smiling is my favorite :)."

Outdoor Christmas Decor

2011-12-20T16:37:00.000-05:00

I thought I would put a few pictures from around the outside of our house of Christmas decor. Michael and I love Christmas waaayyy too much.

Michael putting up icicle lights on our house.


Ellison watching Dad and eating Cherrios. hehe

Poor guy is kinda bare right now. Bush transplanting coming in the spring!

And these two pictures are for my Dad so that he can see all our awesome grass! He helped us do some major yard renovations a few weeks back. See before and after photos here.

Hey Dad, notice the grass! Those are the bushes that will be transplanted. Then, we will have a yard!

Again with the grass! Remember those 4 huge bushes! Looking so much better!

Christmas Decor

2011-12-15T09:42:00.001-05:00

Christmas decorations, yep, we love and obsess. If it were up to me, we would push back Thanksgiving, so that we could have them up longer. It is a mutual love for Michael and I. He has about 5000 Christmas songs, we love lights, ELF, food, family and friends. It is our favorite time of year, and I think that now that we have a kiddo, we are going to have even more fun with it. I never thought I could have so much fun in a toy section!

Anyways, we are a little limited on the amount of decorations that one can buy, and this year, we decided to put our money towards the tree and a few outdoor lights (I'll post pics of this soon). We did the tree on a budget. The tree came from Walmart. It is 7.5 ft and full! I wasn't too happy about a fake tree, but it is financially and alergenically (I know you all love my made up words...don't lie) the best decision for our family. O and to make it smell real, we put a Glade Evergreen wall plug behind it. It actually has deceived me once or twice. The ornaments are a mixture. We have a ton of filler balls with a few random hobby lobby ornaments scattered. We also threw in some snowflakes, ribbon, and twiggy twigs (Michael's word) to pull it all together. I am super excited how it turned out. Kinda themed, but natural enough to not be in a mall.

Our tree

Snowflake

We also made an ornament for Ellison's first Christmas. Of course, a pinterest special. See tutorial here. I'm not sure how well this will last from year to year. I'll let you know next year.

And our mantel which I did from stuff we already had except for the mini stocking. I couldn't resist! The lanterns were from our wedding, and so are the candles inside. I used a toilet paper roll as filler in the lanterns with the bulbs.

So with the rest of the house I had to be creative. We are trying to figure out the color of the dining room and kitchen. The fiesta red and yellow ceilings are just not doing it. We have collected every bluish gray paint sample in the Chattanooga area. We are thinking a darker shade in the dining room, and a very light almost white shade in the kitchen. Anyways, we used our paint samples as decor to spell JOY and we love it! You can see it when you walk in the front door. Just thought I would share some Holiday cheer. Anyone have a favorite shade of gray that they would like to share? Any suggestions would help a ton in this decision.

At least the red and yellow are festive right?

Ornament Exchange

2011-12-14T07:08:00.000-05:00

This is our first year with a tree, so we had to get quite a few ornaments to fill it up. I like a tree that is sentimental but still flows. No, most of our ornaments don't mean anything, but I'm sure over the years several will.

Last Thursday was one of the best days I have had in a while. Not to be a downer, but with moving and trying to fit into a new town it can get lonely and draining. I've been spoiled most my life with amazing friends and well, I don't live in the same town with well any of them. Yes, we are starting to build relationships here, but it is a slow process. For now, I am enjoying my sweet family, but I do crave Christmas parties with friends.

Anyways, I signed up for the ornament exchange over at Macky Madness and The Smitten Mintons. At first, I just thought this would be a fun way to get some new/different/fun ornaments for our tree, but little did I know how awesome my exchange buddy would be. I signed up for the exchange after seeing it on Leisha's blog and guess who became my buddy...yep Leisha. There were tons of people participating, but I think our first names brought us together and I'm sure glad they did! She sent me not one but three awesome ornaments.

ONE... a cute little penguin! Too adorable. If I ever put anything lit up in my yard it will be a penguin, but I am holding out until I find the cutest one!

TWO...she sent Ellison a sock monkey. She loved it! Sorry for the video being sideways. Just turn your head to the left and enjoy :).

THREE...my favorite. She made a homemade photo ornament of our family, and I love it. My favorite for sure, and this will be on our tree for years to come.

Front

Back

Thank you for these sweet ornaments. The thought behind them means more than you can possibly imagine. The Lord knows what we need even if it comes in the form of an ornament. I love the fact that even though we are what seems in the middle of nowhere, we have amazing friends that care and love us. We miss you, Texans, Raleighins, and Statesvillians, especially this time of the year! So in short, Thursday was awesome, and you made my day with an ornament! I was in such a good mood that I went and got a chocolate milkshake. Shhhh it is our secret! I just LOVE Christmas! Check back later, maybe tonight, for the rest of the Christmas decor around our house!

Check out the snowman I sent her here.

Twelve Dollars

2011-12-10T13:36:00.001-05:00

That is how much this cost us. :) Yep, we are those parents.

Christmas Photos

2011-12-08T15:59:00.001-05:00

10 Months Today. Good excuse to get those Christmas pictures taken. Enjoy the expressions. They are 100% Ellison, and I love it.

I love slapping my hands.

Goober!

Excited face.

If only this was a video. I was dancing.

hahahah

Talking.

Hah...not always happy about taking pictures.

Trying to eat the camera.

Mom finally let me touch the tree!

I know it is blurry, but she is just so happy.

I knew it would taste good.

Just love Frederik...yeah he is a polar bear.

Ummm...I think I look like Aunt Kayla!

Stinker.

Had to put this up! That is a pure Ellison face.

So happy.

I love these. She wasn't the happiest, but they are beautiful.

I hope you enjoyed. The momma in me had to put them all up :).

Moments

2011-12-07T09:57:00.001-05:00

Sometimes there are these moments that happen so quickly, but they are perfect and make you smile. Michael was leaving for work today, and Ellison and I were in the sun room playing. Michael kissed us and told us bye for the day. As he walked out the door, Ellison turned and did what I call her sprint crawl. She stood at the door, slapping the window. Michael turned and smiled at her. She got a huge smile and stood there slapping the window and saying dada until he pulled out of the driveway. Today, that was our moment, and I am forever grateful for each one we are able to share as a family.

Thanksgiving

2011-12-06T17:06:00.001-05:00

I know, I know I am way behind in the blogging world, but be prepared to be Dearmaned out by the end of the week. Yes, that is right I made us a verb.

We spent this Thanksgiving with the Dearmans. It had been two years since we had been with Michael's family on Thanksgiving due to Texas/being preggo. We had a great time with tons of extended family.

Playing the bongos with Grandma. I wish I had a good video of this. Just smiled the whole time!

I made Ellison Turkey and Pumpkin for Thanksgiving. I used a can of Pure pumpkin and mixed it with a piece of Turkey that I ground in the food processor. Add a pinch of garlic, and Ellison had Thanksgiving with the leftovers for the weekend. I got to get into the Turkey early because I had the baby :).

She loved it :).

Ellison got to meet her older cousins.

She loved them.

or at least their hair.

Those girls were so sweet to her. It was fun watching her interact with some other kiddos. More pictures coming probably tomorrow about the rest of our Thanksgiving. Hint..the PACK!

Hand Print Turkey Coasters

2011-11-21T06:31:00.001-05:00

I have been seeing people make coasters for a while now, and I have wanted to try them out. I came across someone on the internet who had the idea of making hand print coasters. I can't find them now, but I will say this idea wasn't completely my own. I just love how they turned out and they were super easy! All I did was cut the pieces that you see below after tracing the little girls hands and I used Mod Podge to put them on the coasters. I used 99 cent stickers for the letters and eyeballs. After all the pieces are glued on, I put about 5 layers of Mod Podge over the top to give a glossy look. I also put small pieces of leftover felt on the bottom using hot glue to put them on, so that I would not hurt the furniture.

This only cost $4 total (and I also made a set for the little girl that I nanny). The tiles came from Home Depot, stickers are from Target, and the paper was just some pieces that I had left over from other projects. What do you think? I am excited that we will have these for many Thanksgivings to come.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Because today the tree goes up

2011-11-19T09:13:00.001-05:00

Dancing Santa Baby

Rainy Monday

2011-11-14T17:09:00.001-05:00

It is a rainy Monday...

even the mailbox is having a hard day.

He had a hit-n-run Saturday night. Still feeling it. :)

On a brighter note, I am loving fall.

1. Look at the tree in our front yard!

2. We bought new chairs for the living room. I've been eying (is that how you spell that?) them for a while, and they went on sale for the month of November. They make me smile.

Anyways, I hope your rainy Monday is joyful!

9 Months

2011-11-08T17:05:00.000-05:00

Happy 9 Months Old to our sweet baby girl!

She is 15 pounds, 4 ounces and 26 inches long. We are in the 5th percentile, but the doctor is not worried. He thinks she is just going to be tiny. She is now crawling pretty well, pulling herself up on everything, able to sit on her own, and talking up a storm, well at least baby blabble. She definitely knows what mama means though, and that makes me smile. We had no idea that we could love her as much as we do! We thank the Lord each day for our family He has created.

We love you! - Mama and Dada

Ellison's Nursery

2011-11-07T20:10:00.000-05:00

That is right...after a long awaited place to actually live, Ellison now has her very own room! It seems silly to think that this would be such an important aspect, but it was harder than you think to not have an actual place for your baby to come home to that was set aside for her. I mean I guess she had a corner in the office for a while and a spot next to the TV for a while and half of the dining room for a while. I actually felt guilty having her sleep for the first few months in a room with computers and wires and such. Then living next to the TV for quite a while in the living room. Not that I wanted this perfect little nursery, I just wanted a place that was quiet and peaceful for our little baby. I guess that is what they call the nesting instinct and I got it...BAD. Not that she will ever know of all the funny places she has slept (office, living room, dining room, closet), but it was more of a fact that I wanted to provide the best for her. I've dreamed of what her first room would be like and I am happy to say that I got pretty close to that dream. We are super proud of all the work we put into her room.
Here is the before picture. Notice brown walls, brown ceiling, spacing between the molding and the ceiling, huge hole for a ceiling fan that ran by remote.

Our first step in completing her room was to fill in that gap between the molding and the ceiling. It took about 5 tubes of putty, but I think that the final project looks worlds better than before. None of the other rooms in the house have this issue, so we are not sure why this one did. Hmmm...o well, fixed now.

As for color, we went with a bright light blue. I knew that I wanted to incorporate that color along with the pink bedding that we received. I considered gray, but I am wanting grayto be used throughout our house and I wanted to mix it up in her room.

The light fixture was quite the issue. The ceiling fan that was originally in there looked nice at first glance, but after some time, we realized that the motor wasn't the best and that it was run by remote. Yes, you heard me remote. Personnally, I think tacky. And there wasn't a way to not make it not generated by a remote. That is just how it was made. So we said bye to the fan, and we are hoping to find another home for him soon. I started looking for cheap ceiling fixtures, so I started with looks that I loved. So yeah, I went to West Elm. This one is currently $119. Well, that is out of the picture.

For a while, I decided that I was going to make my own drum pendant light in white, but it started to get expensive when we had absolutely nothing to start with but an empty hole. One day, I was in Target just walking around, and I saw that they had drum pendant lights for just under $40. So that is basically a steal for a modern look! We love it. Did you all know that Target made light fixtures because we sure didn't.

Next, we focused on curtains. With high ceilings, it looks best to hang the rods high, which meant that we needed 96" curtains. I considered making my own, but ended up deciding to go with all white which I was able to find at Target as well. The reason I didn't go for making my own patterned curtains was simply for the fact that it would be overwhelming in a room made of two large window walls. O yeah...we also hung up faux 2" blinds from lowes. *These blinds smell like gas when you open them. Do not worry and take your family outside to wait on the gas company to come. It will go away. Not that we did this just saying. :)

Next, was wall art. I made these pictures a while back (see link here). I ended up putting them in white frames. 5x6 frames are relatively expensive, so I found some plastic brown frames on sale at Target for $1.73 a piece...clearance baby! With a little sand and white spray paint...I ended up with this cute look. Also, I used the monogramed letter above her crib as well. Also, I made the flower balls above her bed. I used the tutorial found here from the House of Smiths. How did she know my color scheme? Yes, I had already decided the colors before I found this tutorial. Good minds think alike :).

We finished off the room with a white shag rug, an old chair that was in my room in high school, and a cute little duck that Ellison received as a gift when she was born. The colors in the duck go great!

We do plan to eventually get a dresser in here, but for now, we are happy. Plus, I want to add some art work/possibly pictures above the chair. Hope you enjoy!

Grandma and Great Grandpa

2011-11-04T12:54:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, we got a visit from Grandma and Great Grandpa Frank. It was wonderful to have them both in our home to just relax and enjoy the fall weather with some walks in downtown Chattanooga. Enjoy the pictures.

These pictures make me smile :)

Cindy Lou Who

2011-11-01T19:27:00.000-04:00

My little Cindy Lou Who...

Can you tell Christmas is actually more favorite? Yes, we bought the new She&Him Christmas Album. It is wonderful.

We like dressing up too though. Secretly tried Baby Einstein but her hair is too curly even with gel.

Love those eyes and the sweet girl attached. We didn't have a single trick-or-treater, but that's alright with me. I got to spend time with this sweet girl and the hubs.

Happy Halloween!

Yarn Wrapped Monogram E (Pinterest Challenge)

2011-10-31T20:22:00.000-04:00

We are drinking pumpkin spiced lattes and waiting on Trick or Treaters, so I decided to post my Pinterest challenge. And if you don't know what pinterest is, well you should find out now. Google baby.

Ok here ya go. I wanted to monogram Ellison's room in some way. I know...corny, but I don't care. I did it anyways. I have fallen in love with some yarn wrapped monogrammed letters on Etsy, but they were either too small or just not what I was looking for, so I created my own.

Here's the tutorial for you...Find a big letter. Mine was originally gold, but I got it for about $2.50 at Hobby Lobby. I decided to use some leftover white spray paint just in case any color showed through the yarn. Honestly, I probably could have skipped this step, but I wasn't sure and I had some laying around.

Then, I started wrapping with pink yarn that coordinated with Ellison's nursery. I began with all the wierd corners. I used hot glue on the back to keep the string in place. Don't worry if you get any glue on the front, it will dry just fine. I tried to keep a pattern going, and as long as I stuck with something it looked pretty good.

Then, I kept wrapping more corners and edges. Wrap the long sections twice so that the edges will be covered completely.

Then, more corners.

Then, the sides.

The ends were the hardest, but I just used a dab of hot glue, and tried to keep the circular motion going.

It isn't perfect, but I was happy. Well, kinda. It needed a flower, of course. So I hit Pinterest again, and found this great tutorial found here. I used a button in the middle. I thought it added a cute touch.

Project complete. I spent less than $10 on supplies, so I am pretty happy.Did anyone else follow the challenge? What did you make? More updates on Ellison's nursery coming very very soon to a blog near you! Have a Happy Halloween.

*See the finished nursery here. 11/7/11

2011-10-26T10:01:00.000-04:00

This weekend our family came down for Kayla's fall break. We had a fun time enjoying the fall and completely overtaking our overgrown yard. We hauled away over 1600 lbs of debris! We couldn't have done it ourselves and we were extremely thankful for the help! Here are some pictures from our weekend.

Love this one!

That is where Grandpa spent the majority of the weekend!

OK so we do clothe Ellison but she does eat naked because she was ruining way too many clothes.


My family :)

Ok so here goes the before and afters...

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

What there is actually a house there?

BEFORE

BACKYARD

AFTER

We plan on grassing the front. Moving those pretty roses closer to the front of the house in the spring. We were able to transplant several items and save a bit of money that way.

Have I mentioned that I love fall!

Happy Fall Everyone!

Clean House

2011-10-10T22:06:00.000-04:00

We have been in our house for a little over a week now. We absolutely LOVE it! We are super thankful that the Lord has provided us with this place to live to the next several years. The last time I posted on the house the pictures where random, blurry and had another person's stuff, but tonight I will show you our blank slate. The week before we moved in, I came to the house everyday and scrubbed during nap time. I turned an $4 pack of 18 washcloths completely black by the end of the week, but we got there and now we are moved in. I will post pictures of the rooms as we get them going. We plan to love this house and make it our own. I posted a few things that we plan to love on in each room.

Dining Room:

Love - the size and location (between the living room and kitchen)

Needs love - Ceiling and Walls...need I say more o and a huge table for our families

Downstairs Bath:

Love - Quaint, Currently Clean, Beadboard, Flusher (it pulls up)

Needs Love - Glass to come down, White walls need color, Vanity has a small crack

Guest Room/Future Kiddos Room: (Ellison's room is very similar. We are working on it now, so we will post pictures of her first nursery soon!)

Love - Huge room, Tons of light and storage, Original front doors to the house

Needs Love - Doors need to be scrubbed, Brown walls and Ceiling need a color change

Sunroom:

Love - Love the light, fun play/family space, beadboard ceiling, floors are in great condition

Needs Love - Front door is way too open, not a fan of the color peach

Living Room:

Love - Um....all of it! Fireplace, windows, huge, gold features? (never thought I would like gold, but the antique look has me intrigued)

Needs Love - Paint touchups, but nothing big

Kitchen:

Love - Large space, great layout, tons of storage

Needs Love - Color, color, color (we both had a headache after spending the day getting our kitchen together. i mean yellow is my favorite color but come on!), o yea the big one...appliances

Master Bedroom:

Love - the size, the angles, the windows, the nooks

Needs Love - color again, fixtures (there are only two recessed lights on the right half of the room, but a ceiling fan in the middle with no light)

Master Bath:

Love - the size, connected to the master, only for the masters :) haha.

Needs Love - Honestly color to match the master only in the room with the vanity

Master Closet:

Love - Size, Layout

Needs love - Carpet (pretty sure their dog used to live in that room), Organization

Love them :) My lunch dates.

While my husband was at bowling league, Ellison and I had butternut squash and apple soup. Hers had a hint of cinnamon, mine had pepper and bacon. Yummm!

O yeah...look what Michael found in the crawl space. Time to get crafty.

Video Dump

2011-09-22T22:38:00.000-04:00

Baby Food

2011-09-20T14:02:00.000-04:00

I mentioned a few posts back that I have been making my own baby food (I guess in two ways), but I am going to share how I have been making solids for Ellison. I have mostly referenced http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/ when choosing foods to prepare and if I am unsure of how to prepare a certain food. That site provides when to introduce certain foods and all kinds of tips, so I would definitely check it out if you are interested. I know that I am not the only one who has done this, but honestly before I had Ellison, I just assumed you have to buy the baby jars in the store. Soooo I thought I would share with all my soon to be moms or future moms out there that there is another method besides the pink banana jar. Why is it pink by the way if the only ingredients listed are banana and water? Because I will tell you my banana food is slightly brown. Just wondering.

Anyways...1. Cut/Peel/Dice food.

2. Boil food or roast food with a little water in the pan. Most veggies take about 5-8 minutes to boil.

3. Puree until smooth or desired consistency. Add water or milk to make it smoother as needed.

Whala.

4. Scoop mixture in ice cube trays to freeze.

5. Wrap in Plastic Wrap and freeze. I normally let it freeze over night..

6. Place in freezer bags. Every night I pull out her food for the next day and place it in containers in the fridge. It is completely defrosted by the next day ready to go. If we plan to eat out or be out for a while, I will take a frozen cube. By lunch/dinner, it is defrosted and ready to serve.

7. Clean kitchen. I make a mess, but good news is that I usually only make food once every 2 weeks. It usually takes me about one nap time.

So is it worth it to make your own foods or am I just one of those hippy/organic peep. Well, I would like to say that I am a hippy/organic peep but usually I tend to be more of a penny pincher, but when I realized that I could feed my baby healthy food and save money...well I smiled :).

Financial breakdown for carrots.

Cost of Whole Bag of Carrots - $1.98 (I used half and saved the rest for myself with hummus for snack) so basically $0.99.
This made 16 large ice cubes or about 16 ounces of food.
Total for 1 ounce of carrots = $0.06.

Gerber comparison - A 2 ounce jar of carrots is $0.68.

Homemade Carrots (2 oz) - $0.12

Which means I am saving $0.56 per "jar" or $4.48 for 8 jars of baby food. I would say that this is fairly comparable between different foods. Some are more and some are less, so this is a good average.

Each week. Currently she eats 2 "jars" a day. In one week, we are saving $0.56*2*7=$7.84. Plus that is for stage one foods, it only increases the older they get.

Personally, that is worth it for me. Plus, I get to pick all the ingredients and foods that I want her to eat. I know how watered down it is and how much actual food is in a serving. Plus, I will say making things mini is always fun. Hope you enjoy

Fall

2011-09-14T08:06:00.000-04:00

In case you havn't noticed..it is FALL. Well not technically says the official calendar, but after Labor Day equals fall for me. We are actually getting trees that turn colors this year, and Michael and I are in love. Plus, what else does fall mean except football, right? This past weekend, Michael and I got to go to our first STATE football game as alumni. We got tickets as a going away present from my athletic girls in Snook. Even though we aren't having a great season, we still love watching our Pack. Plus, it gave us a great excuse to head to Statesville for the weekend to see family and friends. I didn't take as many pictures as I should, but here ya go. (Blogger is being dumb right now, so sorry for the out of order pictures)

You know that I had to throw in some bath time shots :)

This is the scrunch face. She does it alllllll the time!

Michael holding Miss Adair Collins.

She wanted to take off after Knox.

Family night on the couch. That face is normal.

With Auntie K!

Cuddling with Andrew.

Notice the crowd. Kinda red...this was an away game. That is why I love the PACK!

We also got to celebrate Laura's birthday with the whole family, but I forgot my camera. Love you all and thanks for a great weekend!

6 months

2011-08-31T13:45:00.000-04:00

Ellison is now 6 months old, well at least she was 3 weeks ago. I am a little behind. She did great with her shots. She was 15 lbs 2 oz (25%), 25 inches long (25%), which is great and still considered average. But get this, her head size is in the 90 percentile. haha. She is our child.

We have started solids. For the first week or so she hardly ate anything, but now she is grabbing the spoon and eats everthing we are giving her. So far she has had avocado, pear, banana, apple, green beans, squash and zucchini. butternut squash and broccoli. I have been making it myself and it has been working out great. I'll post more on that later.

She is turning into such a person and I love it (for the most part...this past week has been difficult), but other than some fussiness recently all is good. She is rolling, and can sit if she feels like it. She loves to walk with you holding her hands, but crawling, well, we need just a bit more time in that department. Enjoy the pics below! It is getting hard to take photos, but I tried. She was grumpy that day, so that is all I got.

This will make you laugh

2011-08-24T09:02:00.000-04:00

About a month ago, I sneezed while holding Ellison. She looked at me and then screamed as if I had just scared her to death. Since then, I have avoided sneezing at all costs while holding her. Yesterday though, I just could not help it. I had just a little different reaction. Sorry for the terrible filming. I grabbed the camera as quick as I could.

Sneak Peak

2011-08-15T21:04:00.000-04:00

Here is a sneak peak into our new home. Final stuff has not happened yet, but we have accepted an offer so now we are just going through paper work, etc... The house was built in 1930. The upstairs is a master suit that was renovated in the early 2000s. The sun room was also an addition, but we are not sure exactly when it was added on. The house is in a cute little "trendy" area near downtown. Michael will have a 5 minute commute!!! Which I love because I am a time person, and I would hate to miss any time due to driving. One of those me things :). Anyways, it is just a few houses down from a park with a huge playground. It is 3 beds and 2 baths...so you are officially invited to visit everyone! The homeowner before us really did not do any home staging if you can tell from the pictures, but once it is cleared out with fresh paint and a little yard work it is as good as new...except for the 1930 aspect ;). We are super excited and completely in love. We drive by it about 5 times a day. Hopefully we will be in there in the next few weeks!

Long drive way for kiddos!!!

The flag will go..don't worry!

Sun Room

Dining Room

Kitchen with gas stove!!! Major plus for me.

Backyard...needs some TLC.

Bedroom number 1...Insert Name Here's Room

Bedroom 2...Ellison's Room

Master Closet

TUBBBBB

View from the back

I love this stinking cute fireplace

Master Suite

We will post better pictures as we decorate our place, but there is a little sneak peak. Good bones just needs a little TLC. Beyond excited to settle down for a while. And Ellison gets a room!!! Woohoo!

Eating, Swinging, Singing

2011-08-09T21:31:00.000-04:00

Why am I in this chair again?

No I do not think that green stuff is going down.

Hmmm...


What are you thinking mom!

Yummy Yummy Yummy!!!

Happy and swinging.

Love These Girls

2011-08-02T13:53:00.000-04:00

This weekend, we went to Raleigh to see well Raleigh people! It was super fun and worth all the driving and worth the two hours of screaming Friday night and worth the only 4 hours of sleep because we all know that someone is going to wake up no matter what at 6:15. No complaints...all worth it.

Yeah...I love these girls!

I promise she was excited about seeing Aunt Jordane!

Lady Dearmans Visit

2011-07-28T17:13:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, Linda and Laura came to visit us up here in Chattanooga. We had a wonderful weekend. We even got everybody in the creek. They came not only to visit, but to watch Ellison so Michael and I could go to Whitney and Nate Ford's wedding. It was a much needed date night away! Love to get dressed up, love weddings especially with two sweet people as the Ford's, and love a good night drive through the mountains.

Have I mentioned we have a thumb sucker.

Changes

2011-07-22T08:50:00.000-04:00

Hello all!

So as most of you know we have both been looking for jobs, and trying to figure out where in the world we were going to live and work once Michael graduated. This has been a long and challenging process for Michael and I. Sleepless nights, crying (that would be me), stressing out (both), and frustration.

Here is the story, back in August we started talking/praying about this. We prayed specifically for open doors and closed doors, and a way to provide for our new family of three. We also prayed to specifically be closer (1/2 days drive) to family. Michael worked (perfected) his resume and started applying for jobs. How hard could this be right? Well, he had his first bites February 9th. Notice that was the day after Ellison was born, and we were just chilling in the hospital. I think this was God's way of comforting us. I was on drugs and Michael was talking with interviewers in the hospital bathroom. haha Just picture it! Well, all of those conversations plus the combination of job fairs led to 3 possibilities, Atlanta, GA, Plano, TX and Chattanooga, TN. Tennessee was our backup plan because it was "only" an internship. But after no calls back after 2 interviews with each company, we realized that the "backup" plan was becoming reality. (Really, you aren't even going to call after two interviews...just make us wait!) Talk about closed doors.

Anyways, we continued to pray and trust. A few other possibilities arose, but they never went through. Door shut. Well, once May got here and the "backup" plan was ending in August, I started to apply to schools in Raleigh. That is where we decided would be a good place. We have tons of friends, two hours from our families and great schools/churches. So Michael and I began to narrow our search. I got a job, a really good job, in early July...woohoo! But is that really what we wanted....no. Not that I wasn't excited or extremely grateful; we both wanted Michael to have the job first. So to our knees we continually went. Two weeks after I accepted the job, Michael gets called in by his manager letting him know there was possibility of a job. A week later, there is a contract in the works. It looks like Michael is going to be an actuary for Blue Cross Blue Shield of TN. I did have to back out on that school that I accepted. It was the first day that I felt like I was going to hurl since the morning I gave birth to Ellison. I never would have accepted if I would have known, but what was I to do.

I personally am much happier with this situation. Michael is much happier with this situation. We are sad about not having well any friends here, but it is still close and obviously this is where the Lord wants us to be. He gave Michael a heart to provide for his family, so this is the right choice as for now. We are trusting that we will soon find a good church body to plug into. As for me, I may actually get to stay home. What Leslie not work??? Well, I will probably get a side gig of some sort (nanny, tutor, etc), but yeah, I no...surprise, but I have had a change of heart since this little one braced us with her presence. I am thankful for the opportunity to focus on being a mom. It is kinda my favorite right now. Working those two months back in April and May let me know how much I just wanted to be with my sweet girl. And lets be honest is a teacher's salary worth paying for childcare? Hardly. Plus, we have fallen in love with it here. I mean I know you've seen the pictures! Kinda great right!

Through this process, we have had to rely so much on our Lord to provide. We have felt completely helpless, and we are thankful to know that we are not the ones that are ultimately in control. We are excited about what is to come. Life is certainly not what you expect, and I could not have planned it myself if I tried.

5 Months

2011-07-17T19:40:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures from the past week. So this first video is kinda long, but it shows so many new expressions. She has a new nose scrunch/smile, always has a foot in hand, she is starting to enjoy sounds, and loves sucking in her bottom lip. Grandparents enjoy :)

We also went to a watering hole last weekend. The water felt amazing and was so clear.

I love a good sleeping baby! Booty in the air :)

Ellison was out and Micheal was studying. Wonderful Saturday Morn.

We took a two hour hike this Saturday to nothing. We were supposed to go to a waterfall, but it was covered by trees so we never saw it. But there was this great overlook along the way. It is so gorgeous here.

This is how we eat dinner now. We usually only see eyes and hands. She grabs, throws, then grabs again. It is a "fun" game we play.

Big life decisions will be made in the next week (we hope) aka where we are going to live, etc... Please pray for wisdom, patience, trust and a calm and rational Leslie. We will update more very soon.

Cow Day 2011

2011-07-09T09:15:00.000-04:00

Cow Day 2011! Of course we did!

We tried to get a family pic before we left...

There ya go!

Someone was the center of attention!

I just had to post this one!

Khaki Shorts

2011-07-08T14:38:00.000-04:00

So Fridays, I do laundry. During her morning nap, I separate all the clothes from the week, and put them into separate NCState reusable grocery bags. I get them in the car with a baggie of quarters. Ellison wakes up, she eats, and then we go the apartment laundry room. When we moved in, I was dreading doing laundry because we didn't have our own, but honestly, I don't really mind. It gets us out of the house, and in one hour 10 minutes all my clothes are washed and dried just ready to be folded. I actually like doing laundry. There is nothing like a warm load just out of the dryer. Well, out of the dryer came three pairs of khaki shorts. It made me smile so I thought I would share. There are a lot of things that I do not know in my life, but I do know that I love this family thing going on! God has a plan for each of our lives that we could not have guessed if we tried. It is exciting and scary that is for sure.
Guess what??? Ellison is going to get a nursery soon!!!! We will be moving to a 2 bedroom soon, and she will get her own room, which means I have plenty of summer projects to work on now. Here is her mobile. I painted all the animals (with a stencil). Put on a little ribbon and bam, mobile. Michael actually gave me this picture mobile back in college, so I am just transforming it for Ellison's room.

Hope you like!

America

2011-07-04T21:16:00.000-04:00

This weekend my parents came to visit! We walked the river, went hiking, ate dinner in the art district, and just spent some time on our patio. It was a great restful weekend especially for Michael and I. After my parents left, we went to the art museum downtown, and then to hear the orchestra and watch fireworks downtown. Ellison did amazing with the fireworks. She didn't look away the entire time. Afterward she went to sleep and slept in an extra hour the next day! YES! :) Here are a few pics!

Thankful for my country and my family and the time the Lord has given us here in Chattanooga!

Fish Tacos

2011-06-30T10:04:00.000-04:00

Ok so Fish Tacos. It is the new thing. Well maybe not new, but lets be honest they are everywhere now. To try or not to try. Basically, everyone says they are awesome. Well, I say that I'd rather have steak. I have at this point refused to pay for a fish taco because I'd rather have steak if I'm going to pay for a taco. We do not eat out a lot and if we do eat out it is going to be something I really want. So I usually cook fish once a week, and I decided to make them myself. Ummmm...they are amazing!!!! I did it right too! No store bought salsa here. I knew that I was going to give these guys one chance. They are my new favorite! We are probably going to be eating them all summer! Here ya go...easy, easy, easy and soooo yummy! Plus, not too bad for the waist line if I say so myself. :)

Fish Tacos:

1 Tilapia per person

Fresh Salsa

Sour Cream

Cabbage

Cheese (optional)

Two Tortillas per person (I used Carb Control Tortillas)

Cut the fish into about 1" pieces. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Broil for about 7 minutes (adjust depending on thickness).

Fresh Salsa: *This cost less than if you were to buy fresh salsa, plus you get more!

Handful of Cilantro leaves

1 Clove Garlic

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1 bunch of chopped green onions

1/2 Jalapeno

Juice from 1 lime

Salt

Whip out that food processor! Ya know that thing you got as a wedding present that you rarely use that you had great intentions of using. Ok first food process the cilantro and garlic. Scrap the sides, then add the rest of the ingredients. Food process using the pulse again until well you have salsa! Don't food process too much. Leave slightly chunky. Super easy and super tasty. I suggest starting with a little jalapeno and adding more depending on how spicy you like it!

Back to the recipe. Take about 2 spoonfuls on the salsa and mix with the sour cream to make a spicier cream. This little step adds a lot of flavor.

I warmed my tortillas in a frying pan for just a few seconds before building my tacos. Microwave works fine too, but we just don't have one right now. Layer tacos with sour cream, salsa, fish, cabbage and cheese (optional). We served it with an ear of corn.

Spice up your corn with butter, salt, pepper, and chili powder. It adds just a hint of an extra kick!

Lookout Mtn

2011-06-25T16:53:00.000-04:00

Here are a few updates from Chattanooga! This Saturday we spent the day up on Lookout Mountain which is definitely more touristy, but once on a trail it seemed to be just the locals. It was absolutely gorgeous and it overlooked the city. Ellison survived her first hiking experience. We had a few minutes of fussiness, but overall she did awesome!

Sunset over the river.

This is our view walking into our apartments. LOVE it.

Michael took me up to his office to watch the sunset.

Views from the office.

So we changed how we sleep. Booty in the air!

Top of lookout mountain.

Gotta eat.

Chattanooga

2011-06-21T08:24:00.000-04:00

Let me just say one thing...Chattanooga is not just railroads (yes there is a lot of them), but tons of other stuff to do. The city is next to a river and it is surrounded by the mountains. Basically, Chattanooga is absolutely gorgeous. It has a great downtown with more local businesses than chains. There are tons a walking/running paths downtown near the river. It is probably the safest large city that I have ever been in. I have been going walking down there during the week with Ellison, and there are always tons of moms with their kiddos, kids off for summer break, or older couples just taking a morning stroll. Also, everyone talks to you here. Eye contact with almost everyone you meet, and about half the time a small conversation is started, which I LOVE! Hey south...I've been missing you.

Anyways, we have decided that since we may only be here for a short time, that we should do something fun every weekend, but with not a clear outlook on jobs, we are doing it as cheap as possible. This weekend cost $6! It looked as if it was going to rain, so we thought taking Ellison on her first hiking trail should wait. We packed up the stroller and headed downtown. We paid for parking ($3), and headed out. There was a small market near the river that we walked through. We walked across the river on a pedestrian only bridge (largest one by the way), and then just explored some of the local shops, restaurants, and parks. After a quick lunch at home and realizing that the rain was going to hold off, we went up to Signal Mountain, which is the mountain off of our exit. We just went to the overlooks and looked at the houses. Every house here is unique, and kinda reminds me of downtown Statesville for all of you Statesvillians! They are tucked away in there own little mountain retreat. After 3 weeks of bed rest watching HGTV all day, I am kinda in heaven. :) I will post Signal Mountain pictures another time. My camera died. Along the drive, we had to get icecream (of course) and that was our other $2. That night we stayed in because of the storms and watched a movie ($1). It was a great first weekend and a great first father's day for Michael!

Ellison posing in her Father's Day outfit!

We just love all of the new expressions!

This is the building where Michael works. You can see it from anywhere downtown.

Passed a group of teenagers. People think we can't hear them talking about our baby. Quote "That baby is laid out!" hahha

Art Museum

Texas to Tennessee

2011-06-18T08:58:00.000-04:00

Well I guess it is about time for an update. We have been just a little busy over the past few weeks. Michael finished his masters at A&M. I finished up work at Snook. We moved to Chattanooga, TN for the summer for Michael's internship. Ellison got to meet basically every one else in her family! Michael has now worked two weeks for Blue Cross Blue Shield. Many, many firsts happened in the last few weeks! We are loving Chattanooga! Maybe we will live here? As a heads up...these are not in order and very random.

First trip to the pool! Every time we have been, she just falls asleep.


O yeah...I'm teething. Just yesterday, I think we may have had a breakthrough!!!

We used diapers as padding for our boxes! We are kinda resourceful :).

Ellison's ready to go.

Naptime in Chattanooga! Just a glimpse of our backyard view from our apartment. I'll post more pictures of Chattanooga later.

She found her feet. It is her favorite toy now!

This is how she sleeps. Is this normal with the head whipped back? It kinda freaks Michael and I out. Comments much appreciated.

Nothing better than a slepping baby! I love these times.

Taking a break from laundry.

Grandpa Steve!!!

First time! Almost....

There it is!

Yeah!

Aunt Laura!

Uncle Carson!

Great Grandpa Frank and Grandma!

Cousins!

Uncle Brad!

Great Grandma Dorothy!

Aunt Christy!

Aunt Lisa! Gotta love the matching outfits!

Cousin Jacob!

One more foot picture! Just love it! PS...this was at the dinner table!

Prayers for future plans would be great. We have no idea where we will end up next come August. We are kinda fun if you want to hire us. :)

Snook Talent Show

2011-05-25T22:09:00.000-04:00

Snook Talent Show! Teachers won! Enjoy! (I am back right)

Updates

2011-05-21T17:25:00.000-04:00

Videos!

2011-05-01T22:01:00.000-04:00

This week, I was cooking dinner, and when I went to check on Ellison, she was holding the giraffe!

Two things to notice...one she apparently loves looking at herself in the mirror and two that's where she sits during dinner. It is easy to entertain a centerpiece! :)

Risen

2011-04-24T21:41:00.001-04:00

This Easter we were able to go celebrate our Savior with our Texas family in Dallas.

Remember Thanksgiving....

We are just a tad happier now...:)
Cousins!!! These pics make me laugh.

bluebonnets...

2011-04-17T15:08:00.000-04:00

because we may only be Texas parents for a little longer. We just had too! This may not be the best field, but it was the only one we could find. Such a fun family date night!

I think we can finally say she has blue eyes!