Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year~ This was Matt and I's first Thanksgiving to be in Ohio, away from Memphis. He only had 2 days off, so we knew it would be best if we stayed here in Ohio. Matt's parents, and his sister's family came to us..which was great! We were super excited to see them, since the last time was last Christmas, and to see the girls play together. ( they have a little girl, Elise that is two days younger than Presley) We stayed entertained, watching the two of them. Presley was excited from the moment they walked in the door, showing her all of her toys..Let's just say she was all smiles! It was so sweet to see her being so kind, it is something that I pray for her.. that she continues to show kindness to others, and put them first.
We had a great dinner, we got a Honeybaked Ham ( THE BEST) and a turkey from HBH.. then we made several casseroles..well, I assisted, along with Granddad. We had plenty, and it was kindof nice to be able to stay at home, and just enjoy the holiday. I really enjoy to cook, and I hope to one day take the entire thing on, like my mom, or grandmother...Hopefully, it will be a long time from now.. but, I truely enjoy it! :) I really think I was cut out for homemaking, and so blessed I get to be with sweet Presley..can't dream of any better job..so THANKFUL!!
I took some pictures with my little camera.. of the girls playing..and of course, Dora the Explorer was a must for P that night! I think that would be what she is thankful for at the moment! lol
I on the other hand, and thankful for many things.. Very thankful for my parents on many regards, but, mostly for not just taking me to church, but, teaching me what a Godly life should be, a true relationship with Jesus, and always striving to put him 1st~I pray we can be the same parents for P, of course my sweet husband..we have been together total of 10 years in April ( dating+marriage) and i can't imagine life without him!, also my all of my extended family, I really have the BEST, and all of my great friends.. I have 3 I count as BEST..  Paige, who has been in my life since the 6th grade..my nurturing friend who is always levelheaded..and loves me for me, love her! Court, my sweet friend, who I share everything with, have been through so much with, and love to pieces, and Laura, who is my deep, loyal, and fun friend who I always have fun with, regardless the situation..we laugh!
I am also thankful for God bringing us to Ohio, as hard as it was and can still be, I know we are where He wants us, and am thankful for Matt's career with Carmax.
I am blessed.
Can't imagine life any other way.

Uncle Steve with the girls

Ha! Look at Presley's face..like PUSH me already! :)

Hello? lol

How about a hug? :)

Gotta love bath time with your cousin!

MY FAVORITE!

   

So sweet, Aunt Wanda sent them matching PJs! :) They looked adorable, ignore Presley's shiny lip..think its vaseline, lol

One very happy girl..showing Elise how great Dora the Explorer is! :)

Grandmommy and the girls watching Dora

Shutterfly~ FREE Christmas Cards

Who loves FREE? I was skeptical at first, then I went to the entry site to see for myself..is this real? and YES, it is a real promotional! If you blog about them..you can also get in on the deal!

I love getting personal Christmas Cards.. it is so sweet seeing "the new Family photo" and Shutterfly has an AMAZING selection..They have so many to choose from, that its actually kindof hard to make the right choice! I looked over and over..and still am not 100% on which card we will choose this year. 

Here is what to do :

I visited Shutterfly's site..and you can click on each card to see it enlarged..also, there are several categories on the side, to help with narrowed the decision down.Here are a few of my favorites:

Card #1  Love the plaid.. and red/green

Card #2  Love the design..and my favorite color is red..so that helps
Card #3  One of my favorites..love the ones with Merry Christmas :)


I also love these custom desk calendars :
desk calendar


They are also very affordable, which is a huge plus.. Now, get over to Shutterfly, and pick out your Christmas Cards.. we are running out of time.. Christmas will be here before we know it!! :)


Loved this one below, sweet and simple.. LOVE it! :)

My 22 month old

Wow..has this year FLEW! I thought when I moved, it would go slow.. but, I think this year went even faster than the first! I am loving this age, in so many ways. It is hard, too..but, so worth it! She is talking up a storm, I think her vocabulary doubled in the last month. She loves to climb.. she sees our dog, Daisy on top of the couch, and thinks she should join her.
Her favorite show at the moment is Dora the Explorer..and at 7pm, she throws a party every night. :)
She loves being outside..so the park is one of our favorite places to go. Although, that will be changing in the colder months. I guess we will have to get creative and start coloring or playing with playdough.lol

My favorite time with P, is at night when we turn off the TV, and read. She LOVES books, and I that makes me a pretty happy mommy! Last few nights, she has said, "Mama, read Bible." and that is just PRICELESS. My prayer is that she continues to desire God's word..and like it says hide it in her heart. I am so blessed to have this sweet little girl! Here are a few recent pics.. ignore the bad lighting.. and the inside ones were auto..it was nice to snap away and not have to think for once!

This only lasted 10 seconds.. this age is so hard to photograph..she is so fast! :)
Also, something I have been praying for a while now, is in the works..I am going to start doing photography on the side..mostly for fun, and it will be nice to have a little spending $. I realized I am still new to photography, that not everyone will love my pics, and that I am NOT making this a career..but, I have several people who have been such an encouragement to go for it, I say..Why not?   A good friend here, Jennifer is working on a logo for me this week..so this blog will look much better when I get that up. When it happens, I will let you in on the site :)
I have my first family shoot this Wed..says some prayers! :)

She makes me smile :)

This girl.. with what we call her "Elvis look"

Could she be anymore dramatic? :)

~ For the record, her eyes are very much BLUE, unlike what these photos show.. just me having fun editing..made them look green.

We have been having a few lazy days...nothing too exciting around here the last few days..which has been kindof nice...Although, I have been trying to plan out the next few months..b/c they will be pretty busy..and of course, have been researching toys online for what to get Miss P..for Christmas and Bday.


             I am looking forward to Sunday, though--Matt's next day off..we love days with Daddy! I love that he knows me so well.. The other night, he made me some Crystal Light ( my fav.) and brought it to me in bed ( what a sweetie) and it was half full with ice..I looked at him, like, going a little cheap on the CL, huh? He just smiled, and said its not like you would actually drink a whole glass anyways..Ah, he's right..so true.. Knows me well! :) Love him! He is the BEST daddy ever, and such an  AMAZING husband, God has blessed me.. And I thank him..DAILY!

My favorites:

Like I said, She makes me smile :)

Prayers for Presley

I saw this a while back, and have been meaning to share.
Matt and I have prayed for our sweet Presley from before she was born.. and it is so GREAT to see her help say the blessings at meals, and help me with her prayer before bed- I thought this was so cool to pray scripture-- I have seen sooo many blessings in my life through pray, and even though my life hasn't been perfect, or always the way I want it to be.. I can say 100% that HE has ALWAYS been FAITHFUL!
 "Sometimes we don't feel like praying. But if there is ever a time that we need to pray, it's when we don't feel like it. We need to pray until we do feel like it." Dr. Rogers

31 Biblical Virtues to Pray for Your Children
1. Salvation -- "Lord, let salvation spring up within my children, that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory." Isaiah 45:8, 2; 2 Timothy 2:10
2. Growth in Grace -- "I pray that my children may grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 3:18
3. Love -- "Grant, Lord, that my children may learn to live a life of love, through the Spirit who dwells in them." Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 5:2
4. Honesty and Integrity -- "May integrity and honesty be their virtue and their protection." Psalm 25:21
5. Self-Control -- "Father, help my children not to be like many others around them, but let them be alert and self-controlled in all they do." 1 Thessalonians 5:6
6. Love for God's Word -- "May my children grow to find Your Word more precious than much pure gold and sweeter than honey from the comb." Psalm 19:10
7. Justice -- "God, help my children to love justice as You do and act justly in all they do." Psalm 11:7; Micah 6:8
8. Mercy -- "May my children always be merciful, just as their Father is merciful." Luke 6:36
9. Respect (for self, others, and authority) -- "Father, grant that my children may show proper respect to everyone, as Your Word commands." 1 Peter 2:17
10. Biblical Self-Esteem -- "Help my children develop a strong self-esteem that is rooted in the realization that they are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 2:10
11. Faithfulness -- "Let love and faithfulness never leave my children, but bind these twin virtues around their necks and write them on the tablet of their hearts." Proverbs 3:3
12. Courage -- "May my children always be strong and courageous in their character and in their actions." Deuteronomy 31:6
13. Purity -- "Create in them a pure heart, O God, and let that purity of heart be shown in their actions." Psalm 51:10
14. Kindness -- "Lord, may my children always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else." 1 Thessalonians 5:15
15. Generosity -- "Grant that my children may be generous and willing to share, and so lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age." 1 Timothy 6:18-19
16. Peace-Loving -- "Father, let my children make every effort to do what leads to peace." Romans 14:19
17. Joy -- "May my children be filled with the joy given by the Holy Spirit." 1 Thessalonians 1:6
18. Perseverance -- "Lord, teach my children perseverance in all they do, and help them especially to run with perseverance the race marked out for them." Hebrews 12:1
19. Humility -- "God, please cultivate in my children the ability to show true humility toward all." Titus 3:2
20. Compassion -- "Lord, please clothe my children with the virtue of compassion." Colossians 3:12
21. Responsibility -- "Grant that my children may learn responsibility, for each one should carry his own load." Galatians 6:5
22. Contentment -- "Father, teach my children the secret of being content in any and every situation, through Him who gives them strength." Philippians 4:12-13
23. Faith -- "I pray that faith will find root and grow in my children's hearts, that by faith they may gain what has been promised to them." Luke 17:5-6; Hebrews 11:1-40
24. A Servant's Heart -- "God, please help my children develop servant's hearts, that they may serve wholeheartedly, as if they were serving the Lord, not men." Ephesians 6:7
25. Hope -- "May the God of hope grant that my children may overflow with hope and hopefulness by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13
26. Willingness and Ability to Work -- "Teach my children, Lord, to value work and to work at it with all their heart, as working for the Lord and not for men." Colossians 3:23
27. Passion for God -- "Lord, please instill in my children a soul that "˜followeth hard after thee,' one that clings passionately to You." Psalm 63:8
28. Self-Discipline -- "Father, I pray that my children may acquire a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair." Proverbs 1:3
29. Prayerfulness -- "Grant, Lord, that my children's lives may be marked by prayerfulness, that they may learn to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers."
30. Gratitude -- "Help my children to live lives that are always overflowing with thankfulness and always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:20; Colossians 2:7
31. A Heart for Missions -- "Lord, please help my children to develop a desire to see Your glory declared among the nations, Your marvelous deeds among the peoples." Psalm 96:3

The best Halloween EVER!

This year was my very fav. Halloween-- It is so much more fun as a parent!
WHY? because I got to see my little angel as a bumblebee..but, not just any bumblebee.. One that stopped to smell the flowers, roll around in grass, and said, "trick or treat" and " thank-you" to everyone handing her candy. It was hilarious seeing her toddler down the street, at times she tried going back to the same house we just came from. Oh, and even better.. her sweet daddy got to be there with us! He usually has to work, so this was a special night for us!
The McKowns' invited us over for pizza..and yummy pumpkin chocolate chip muffins..and we took Presley and Greyson out in the wagon.
It was so much fun..a night I enjoyed from start to finish!
I am getting super excited for Christmas this year- it is going to be so much fun!!! I just love this age..which I could make time freeze sometimes!

Enjoy the pictures of my little girl..who is not a baby anymore :(

Getting ready to sting! :)

Hugging her friend, Greyson

My sweet friend, Lindsey and Greyson

One of my fav. pics of the night..Daddy going in for a kiss

Trick-or-Treat

My little bee :)

Getting into her costume...lol

My sweet family :)

And the greatest pic. before we left--

Of course bees read B, B, and B!

~Did this all by herself, I just happen to have the camera ready! :)

Our family vacation to Gatlinburg

Presley seeing the mountains for the first time :)

She LOVED the apples at Carver's Apple Barn

Grandmommy and Granddad's cabin :)

Grandmommy and Granddad :)

She LOVED throwing rocks into Greenbrier Creek