I did not realize we had become a family of coneheads.  I saw my blog on another computer and realized that the images were all distorted.  If we ever appear really long and thin with cone shaped heads…just let me know.  It means that I’ve hit the wrong key on Wordpress.  Hope you had a good laugh.  I know I did.

The blue chair has found a home in the sun room…perfect for an empty corner.  Thankfully I had two tiny pillows that perfectly suited this tiny chair.

Through pictures I am realizing the chair is a little crooked…but doesn’t look so bad in reality!

I also decided to buy some Gerber daisies for this table.   They are such a happy flower!

Don’t you love the electric cord in the background??? Call it an added touch.

Are anyone else’s allergies killing them?  This is the worst year I have ever had.  I wake up every morning at 4am and toss and turn.  I blow my nose, clear my throat, scratch my itchy eyes, and feel like I am going crazy!  My eyes are so swollen I can barely keep them open.  It’s supposed to rain Saturday so maybe there will be relief.  I sure love spring but I despise pollen!

Oh…and one more random little thing.  Look at teeny tiny (Susanna, that is my nickname for Amelia) between her two siblings.  Did my brother-in-law not capture a winner?  Oh goodness…there is nothing like a brand new baby.  Might I just add it is torture living so far away from two sets of siblings?  Every joy the Challies or Rose’s experience…we have to watch from a distance.  You know what they say “Absence makes the heart grow fonder!” So true, so true.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

There is something I’ve been keeping a secret.  It’s a somewhat sad, somewhat exciting and somewhat painful secret.  One that has caused a lot of anxiety in our home.  We have our house up for sale.  The home that has been in Justin’s family for generations, a home many people have poured love into.  A home full of memories…and home that has always been a home.  A place that has a little bit (or a lot) of many people’s hearts. There are visible remnants of the past throughout our house…shelves built by his uncle, flowers in our garden planted by his aunt…the same front steps where Justin’s mom played “Rock School.”

There are many reasons why we are wanting to sell our home…it is very small for a family that is just beginning to grow, (2 bedrooms, 1 bath) we would like a newer home…and a different location.  We would especially like to be closer to Justin’s work.  This is a huge decision for us.  We both like comfort, we are both home bodies…and we both hate change.  We have gone over all the possibilities..adding on an addition,   putting all future children in one small room, renting the home, etc, etc.  All of which make sentimental sense but do not make logical sense.

Now we have to sit and wait.  Wait and see if our home can sell in a market like this.  Wait and wonder…look at homes we like but try not to get our hopes up.  Plan where we might live, if we can sell.  As you can imagine (or know from experience) this is not a fun situation to be in.  But it’s a time for growth.  There is not some guarantee we will move because we may not sell this house.  If we do not sell this home we will have to be happy with what we have!  Put dreams aside of a different home and live contentedly here.   I do not want to be selfish…thinking I deserve more than what God has given me.  We are blessed. We have plenty.  We could make this work.  We have our little dreams but they not might be God’s plan for us.  So this is our secret…something weighing heavily on my heart these days.  A time for learning to wait and cast my cares on someone far bigger then myself!

Whatever the future holds I am going to continue putting time and energy in our little home because it deserves to be loved.

This weekend was busy.  So busy it may take me a couple days to recover.  Saturday morning I woke up the the exciting news that little Amelia had been born!  Instead of getting ready for our trip to Atlanta I spent the morning calling different family members.  We could not get a hold of my sister and still did not know if she had a baby boy or girl!!!  If you know me, you know I cannot stand waiting for details as important as this!  Thank goodness for mom spilling the secret or I might have gone crazy!  (To read the whole story of Amelia’s birth you can go to my sister’s blog mommyinc.blogspot.com.)

Around noon we sped of to Atlanta.  Justin and Cora were dropped off at Maryanne’s house and I headed to help host my friend’s lingerie shower and bachelorette party. Since I was coming from such a distance all my contribution amounted to was lots of food.  The bridesmaid I hosted with did not need help!  She did such a wonderful job decorating, preparing food, and organizing the entire day.

Before the table was filled with gifts

For the bachelorette we went to a place called “Just Kiln Time.”  We spent the rest of the evening painting pottery.  Of course I was one of the first to leave and go home.  I have never been one to stay up late and since having Cora it is almost impossible for me to last past 9 o’clock!

Three more weeks ’til she’s married!

The rest of the weekend was spent with the Helms.  It is always nice spending time with all six of them.  Nothing too exciting happened except for my brother-in-law singeing his eyelashes, eyebrows, and arm hair…never light a grill where the gas has been running a very long time.  A loud explosion will occur and you may be left with a couple bald spots…once you are discovered to be just fine, your wife and sister-in-law will spend the rest of the afternoon laughing at your curly, brown and crusty eyelash tips, hairless arms…and heat  induced highlights.

Tomorrow I will post part II of my weekend…

Today is going to be another ordinary day.  Cora will wake up from her nap and we will go running.  We’ll come home and she’ll eat.  I’ll plunk her in front of Baby Einstein so I can take a shower, undisturbed.  I’ll finish whatever cleaning I have not accomplished…we’ll play, I’ll eat lunch…she’ll go down for another nap.  She will wake up and we’ll go to the grocery store.  Come home and I’ll start dinner.  While dinner is cooking I’ll take her outside.  We’ll play.  Daddy will come home (yay) and she will play with him.  While they are playing I will do the dishes and laundry.  We will bathe her, dress her and feed her.  She’ll go to sleep.  (of course during the day there has been the diaper changes, nursing, feeding, etc)

Cora adores Baby Einstein

As soon as I close the door to her room my body will crash. I will feel like a zombie.  It may not sound like a very busy or tiring day but I have never been so exhausted as I am caring for my little girl.  The alarm buzzes in the morning and all I want to do is roll over and sleep.  I try my best to pour all my energy and love into caring for her.  I try to meet her constant needs and demands.  I can’t imagine how tired I’ll be when we have more.  All this being said, every smile, every slobbery nuzzle, every cuddle, it makes it all worth it!

Today I will add a little something else to routine.  I am dying to do something creative.  It’s going to be another sunny and hot day so I intend to take advantage of the weather and work outside.  I have two chairs to paint and refinish.  I’ll plunk Cora on a blanket, in the shade, and work on finishing the chairs.

On another random note…A couple months ago I found this amazing workout on Exercise TV.  It’s called Bikini Body Workout (Not so sure about the name but the workout is awesome).  I thought I would share the link.  The woman may look a little manish but she sure does help tone flabby buns!

http://www.exercisetv.tv/workout-videos/bikini-body-workout-4487

Yesterday I spent my morning cleaning.  Baby decided to take a 20 minute minute morning nap.  Poor thing has a bad cold and could not breathe.  She woke up for a couple hours and went down for her second nap.  I found myself wanting her to wake up from her second nap as the sun was shining and I could not wait to get out and run.  I am delighting in this beautiful weather!

We go on the same run every day.  The best part of the run is a short trail that winds alongside the river.  It makes you feel like you are in the middle of nowhere when in reality the road is just beyond the trees.

The dogwoods are in full bloom.  They might not be the best smelling tree but they are lovely.

When we got home I plunked Cora down in the grass and we continued to enjoy the warm weather.

Who knew grass could be so fun?

My heart could burst with love for her.

My friends always get a kick out of me calling her my buddy.  But she is my sweet little friend….or appendage (as Maryanne calls her Will).  Yes, she may demand a lot of me and cry when she wants something.  She may have kept me awake many many nights but she’s worth it.  I can’t wait to continue getting to know her.  Her ever growing and changing makes life interesting!

This post is going to be total randomness.  First of all, I have been thinking a lot about summer rolling around.  Last summer I was so miserable as I looked like this.

Don’t I look like I want my picture taken?  This picture makes me laugh!  Not only am I a scowling and large pregnant woman but I also have a stain on my dress.  The “I can’t get my fork over my belly and to my mouth in time” stain.  One of the many glories of the third trimester.

The reason I was looking at pregnancy pictures is because I happened to stumble across them.  Then I got to thinking.  I was not happy having a tummy that large.  I am ashamed to admit that I could be so silly.  I seriously hope next baby I will have a better attitude.  After all, what is more beautiful than the gift of a baby growing inside me?  To any pregnant woman out there…you are beautiful.  Oh, and might I add I actually miss being pregnant?  The grass is always greener on the other side, right?

Now something totally unrelated.  Over a year ago our church decided to purge of the old books in the library.  Our church was remodelling and needed the library for a classroom. My pastor told the congregation to take any books they might like.  Justin and I found some treasures!

I adore children’s books.  You may not believe me but I will read these to Cora.  My future little nerd.

My Book House is a series of 12 books but unfortunately I could never find book #1.  I need to search for it on Ebay.

My favorite is Cranberry Thanksgiving.  It has lovely illustrations.

And of course a post could never be complete without baby yum yum.   Oh my goodness her daddy and I love her.  All day long I find myself calling her the strangest things such as “Midge” (for midget…she used to be in the 10th percentile for height), “Little Love,” “Baby Girlie,” “Cora Dora” (I know. Weird.), “Fatso baby” (Daddy’s term of endearment) and many more.  I did not know I would love this little thing so much.

Have a good weekend!

My house is in shambles.  Everything that was in the side room is now in the living room or kitchen.  I can’t wait for the floor to be tiled and the rooms back in order.  Have a good weekend!

Sunday morning Justin, Cora and I are leaving on a very last minute trip to Houston, TX.  Imagine my surprise when the day trip Justin and I planned for Monday (my birthday) turned into a trip to Houston!  His boss is sending him there on a last minute business trip and we are lucky enough to accompany him.  I cannot wait to check another state off my list!  I’ve never been to Texas…maybe we can drop by and visit with George and Laura Bush (probably a rather long drive from Houston to Crawford).  I’m sure Cora is cute enough to get us through their gates.

Now on to art.  We have a ton of beautiful art in our home.  My great grandparents, great aunts and uncles (?) on my dad’s side of the family were all artists.  My parents inherited enough art for a museum.  They have given some of these paintings to us kids.  Justin’s dad is also a talented artist.  Much of his art can be seen in galleries all over Chattanooga. Here are a few pieces we have in our home:

Christmas gift from Justin's dad.

For Cora's first Christmas

This weekend we picked up these:

To put in this:

And this:

But of course I had no extra potting soil…I plan on picking some up today.  Maybe this afternoon I’ll have these pretty pansies in their new home.  Or maybe I’ll wait.  After all, who wants to plant flowers with another inch of snow on the way.

Repeat to self “If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant” -Anne Bradstreet