Forever Young...

 May God bless and keep you always 

May your wishes all come true

May you always do for others 

And let others do for you

May you build a ladder to the stars 

And climb on every rung

May you stay forever young

Forever young, forever young 

May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous 
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth 
And see the lights surrounding you
May you always be courageous 
Stand upright and be strong
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young 
May you stay forever young.

May your hands always be busy 
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation 
When the winds of changes shift
May your heart always be joyful 
And may your song always be sung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young 
May you stay forever young.

So, if you were wondering, I recently started watching Parenthood.  Because of this, I have found myself singing this beautiful Bob Dylan song.  I tried to download it on itunes and found this beautiful version.  I'm pretty sure if you listen to this and look at pictures of your children as babies it will be a sure-fire recipe for tears!  Enjoy! 

Monday musings

"Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom."  Isaiah 40:28

So, it's Monday, and on to week 2 of the scripture memory challenge.  This week's scripture is so comforting to me.  Just to know that whenever we get tired or weak, whatever our struggle or hardship might be, God's strength is immeasurable. 

We had a super lazy weekend.  Friday night, after the kids went to bed, Mark and I had a picnic in our living room and had a movie marathon.  We made it through a movie and a half before I fell asleep.  We are a wild and exciting couple to say the least.  Last night, I was so excited about the premiere of one of my favorite shows...

If you watch this show at all, then you know how instantly you get sucked in and start really caring about the contestants.  This season they are tackling childhood obesity, and even have teenagers participating.  I'm already rooting for Biingo! (and no, that was not a typo, he spells it with 2 i's!)

So, I thought I should clarify what I meant in my last post about continuing to eat healthy.  I had someone ask me what kind of diet I was on based on what I said.  I don't really consider myself on a diet per se.   I consider the way I've started cooking and eating more of a lifestyle change.  Let me just add right now that I am certainly no expert when it comes to eating healthy.  Far from it, actually, but I try.   My sister is the one who actually transformed the way our entire family started eating.  If I'm being completely transparent, I originally started cutting out processed food for the sole purpose to lose weight.  Slowly, I've realized that the point of food is to fuel and heal our bodies, and I have gone from "wanting to lose weight," to "wanting to be healthy and live for my family."  I have found this website to be very helpful as well.  I love all of her ideas and recipes.   I would love to say that I eat the way this girl does every day, but I'm not quite as extreme.  It's super hard to eat strictly organic living in a small town that's about 90 miles from the nearest Whole Foods, but I try.  I've made little changes here and there.  For instance, this recipe is one that I'm DYING to try!  I'm not sure I would consider it super healthy, I would probably use dark chocolate and honey,  but let me just say, six months ago, I would not have considered making it, period!  I'm going to try and post recipes as I try them in case anyone else wants to try them, too!  

And, just because I love posting pictures of my babies, here are some from the weekend.  Hope everyone has a great week. 

 Harper LOVES her chair

 Henry and his lion

 Telling me, "I'm ONE!"

 Can't you just see this face when she's a teenager!  That's going to be fun!

We love strawberry smoothies, and Harper decided to dump hers out on the way home.  Not my proudest, or smartest, mommy moment!

Happy New Year!

Welcome 2013!  This past weekend Mark and I headed to the Mississippi Delta to celebrate the wedding of one of my college roommates.  We had a blast, but we missed our two sprouts like crazy.  It was funny, on Friday night, after the rehearsal dinner, I looked over and saw Mark showing my friends pictures of the babies from his phone.  Needless to say, we were BOTH so happy to see them when we got home.  We celebrated the end of 2012 with our two babies and our families.  There was nowhere else I would have rather been.


2012 was a very good year for us.  There were so many things that happened that I don't want to ever forget.  Over at Kelly's Korner, a blog I love to read, she is doing a look back at 2012, so I thought I would copy her.   She asked and answered five questions.  Here goes...


1. In 2012, what were you most thankful for?
     My family, my children's health, and God's grace and mercy.

2. What were the highlights of 2012?
     - Celebrating Harper and Henry's first birthday
     - Harper and Henry's baptism
     - Both the babies started walking
     - Selling our house
     - My 30th birthday
     - Our first family beach vacation
     - Harper and Henry starting day school
     - Buying and adding-on to what we pray will be our "forever" house
     - My sister's wedding
     - Changing the way we eat and actually liking it!  (i.e. being healthier)

3.  What are you hoping for 2013?
      I'm hoping for more normalcy.  I'm hoping to attend church more regularly now that I feel more comfortable getting the babies out.  I'm hoping to continue to cook, eat, and live healthier.  I have chosen 52 bible verses, one for each week, that I hope to memorize.  I hope to be a more patient and fun mom and wife.  I hope to see more of and entertain our friends and family once we move into our house.  Oh, and I hope that we eventually move into said house!  I'm hoping to find more time to read in 2013.  I'm hoping that God will remind me daily to cherish each moment with the people I love.  I'm hoping that I will always remember the things in this life that REALLY matter and let go of the things that don't!

4.  What were some of your "Favorites" of 2012?
      - Black yoga pants from Old Navy ( I lived in them!)
      - Downton Abbey, The Walking Dead, and Homeland
      - The Hunger Games series
      - The Obagi skin care line (for the first time in my life I'm not sleeping in my make-up)
      - Sleepytime tea with a splash of lemon and a little honey
      - JT's greek salad with chicken (I'm ashamed to admit that I eat this weekly!)
      - Instagram (I'm addicted to taking pictures of the kiddos!)
   

5. Who was God to you in 2012?
     God was my peace and comfort.

If you are reading this, I wish you lots of love and peace in this new year!   I would love to hear from YOU!  How would you answer these five questions?  What were some of your highlights from 2012?

 Roommates and life-long friends

I love him!

 My two New Year's Eve dates.  It was a wild and crazy night!

And just in case anyone would like to join me in my 2013 scripture memory challenge, I'm going to attach the list.  I would love some accountability!  I must add a disclaimer that I stole a lot of this list from a pin on Pinterest!


Week:

1. Isaiah 9:6
2. Isaiah 40:28
3. Genesis 1:1
4. John 3:16-17
5. Romans 3:23
6. Romans 6:23
7. Revelation 3:20
8. John 14:6
9. Ephesians 2:8,9
10. 2 Corinthians 5:17
11. Romans 8:28
12. Isaiah 40:30-31
13. Romans 8:38-39
14. Matthew 11:28-30
15. Psalm 27:1
16. Jeremiah 29:11
17. Hebrews 13:8
18. 2 Peter 3:9
19. Lamentations 3:22-23
20. 2 Corinthians 12:9
21. 2 Corinthians 4:18
22. Psalm 37:4,5
23. Proverbs 3:5,7
24. Philippians 4:13
25. Galatians 2:20
26. James 1:22
27. Colossians 3:23
28. 1 Corinthians 15:58
29. James 4:7
30. Luke 16:13
31. 1 John 4:7,8
32. Galatians 5:22-23
33. Hebrews 12:1-2
34. Acts 1:8
35. Romans 12:1-2
36. 1 Thessalonians 5:18
37. Psalm 19:14
38. Philippians 4:6,7
39. 2 Timothy 3:16
40. Psalm 119:105
41. Psalm 119:11
42. Hebrews 4:16
43. 1 John 1:9
44. James 5:16
45. 1 Corinthians 10:13
46. Micah 6:8
47. Matthew 25:40
48. Matthew 28:19-20
49. Matthew 5:16
50. Ephesians 6:12
51. Psalm 147:3
52. 1 Peter 2:1

Christmas 2012

We were a little under the weather for Christmas this year, but we had a wonderful one all the same.  We hope you and your family had a Merry Christmas, too!

Christmas Eve.... Santa's Elves left new pajamas

 Henry being sweet to Harper.  Baby girl was running fever and felt bad.

 Sweet babies

 Pretty sure Harper had an ear infection.  This is what she did all day and night.  Still smiling, though!

Santa stopped by our house AND Gangan and Granddaddy's house!