A few favorites

Williams Sonoma Fleur de Sel soap and lotion. Love how the fragrance lingers on after you wash and the color adds to the bathroom too.

The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan. Story is inspired by Edgar Degas's Little Dancer Aged Fourteen. An easy read set in Paris that brings the painting to life.

Another book I just finished is The Promise of Stardust by Priscille Sibley. Be prepared for lots of tears if you read this...Mom didn't suggest this book until recently because the plot in addition to pregnancy (pre or post) hormones would have made me overwhelmingly emotional. With that said, it is an outstanding story with a courageous dad that has to battle with taking his wife off life support and keeping hope for the future.

Gucci Flora Garden Fragrance Collection is amazing! Currently wearing the Gorgeous Gardenia. 

One of Denson's toys that I'm loving lately is the Whoozit. We take this everywhere and it keeps him entertained. Now that he's grabbing things and pulling, it's more enjoyable. 

Life in fast forward

Ephesians 2:8-10 

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

The greatest lesson Jonathan and I continue to learn is that God IS in control and will take care of everything. We get busy, stressed or distracted and forget that our Creator is handling every minute detail of our lives. It doesn't mean we can expect things to always be easy or workout how we want; we simply learn to trust Him. Selling our house, buying a new home, handling Denson's needs, working through struggles, dealing with finances, working on our marriage etc. Life has been a whirlwind lately...finishing touches to stage our house, trip to Georgia for house hunting, trip to west Alabama for a family reunion, killing time while our house is being shown (LOTS of circling the neighborhood), visit with the in-laws, pool time, Father's Day, multiple doctor visits, turning 4 months old and trying to keep the house clean. It's been fun and exhausting but things are falling into place. We received an offer on our house four days after listing and found a house in GA that we put an offer on last week. I am thankful to wake up each day and see Jonathan and Denson's sweet smiles...it's not always roses around here though and it's okay to struggle. 

Quick recap on Father's Day: we had a relaxing morning sleeping in, having coffee and orange rolls in bed and playing with Denson. He took a solid two hour nap at 10 so Jonathan and I laid out on the deck and read. We made a quick Target trip and headed to the YMCA to swim. Aunt Lacy was working so we got to see her too. Later, we had another nap and got ready to go to an early dinner at Slice with Dad, Kathy, Zach, Ethan and Lacy. We missed Eric who is traveling for work in Malaysia! I am blessed to have two incredible men in my life. My husband, who is the best dad to Denson and my dad, who is always there for us and has taught us so much. We love you both!

With little time to blog lately, I'm turning my posts into iPhone dumps. Hoping the last details and paperwork of our homes are finalized this week and we will officially have sold our house and have an address in Georgia! 

Road trips

We've been quite busy the past two weeks. We made our first trip to Vidalia Ga to house hunt and with Denson in tow, it was a 7 hour drive. We were pleasantly surprised as to the options of homes and attractive neighborhoods. We were only there one night and it was a whirl wind...especially for Denson. We were in the car for 7 hours but that doesn't include the other hours spent driving around to look at homes. He pooped almost every outfit we brought...or maybe just each time we stopped to look at a house; I lost count...I'm thinking this means he doesn't want to move. As Jonathan discussed potential offers with our realtor, Denson spit up all over himself and J. Of course the burp cloth was in the car at this time. I think this two day trip completely messed up our routine and the time change didn't help either.

We celebrated Memorial Day at the lake with dad, Kathy and bunch of other family. The weather was p-e-r-f-e-c-t. We even took a boat ride over to see mom who was also at the lake for the weekend. Denson loved rocking on the porch, the cool breeze and all of that attention. [Lacy & Eric] It's about time for a cousin so Denson is not the only great-grand child and grand child on both sides. No pressure ;)

In between, I've tested out new recipes, taken Denson to the doc, J has worked on the house (which has taken up most of our time), watched the braves and survived the no-nap strike which has thankfully come to an end. House hunting also continues and we will be making another trip soon. I'm thankful for the time we've been in Birmingham and look forward to making memories in Vidalia. Jonathan and I agree that "home" is really just us three being together so it doesn't matter where we live or what material things we have. We're ready for God to show us the way to our new house and friends...we ask that He teaches us to embrace the distance from family by learning to better appreciate the time we spend together. 

I'm sure there will be lots of face-timing and more frequent blog updates with pictures of Denson. We are having a blast with him and love watching his personality develop each day. He entertains himself now and if we are walking by doing chores, he glances up but then goes back to his business of drooling, hand-chewing and grabbing toys. We spend so much time just staring at Denson's little face. I couldn't have imagined how much love I would have for Jonathan and our first baby...my heart is full.

           Daddy/son time after work

           One of our fav houses in GA

              First boat ride at Dad's

        Boat ride (we missed you Ethan)

           Poppa & Great Uncle Glenn

                        Uncle Zach

   Mom aka BeeBee with Denson at Doc

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Mediterranean Chicken & Brown Rice Casserole

Submitted by: JULIAKELLY 

Courtesy of: Spark Recipes

Introduction

Easy to make casserole that's healthy!

Number of Servings: 14

Ingredients

2-3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts or 6 small ones
1.25 cups feta cheese, crumbled
6 cups cooked brown rice
1 10 oz package frozen spinach thawed and squeezed of excess liquid
1 28 oz can tomatoes, diced or whole with juice (if they are whole you will have to break them up yourself)
 


1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
 


4-5 garlic cloves, chopped fine
1.5 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup grated romano cheese
salt, pepper, basil, and oregano to taste

Directions

Put olive oil in large pan, cold and add garlic. Turn on heat to medium, this way the garlic flavor really comes out if you start it in a cold pan. When the garlic has started to soften, add chicken and par cook, about 3 minutes. Add can of tomatoes, turn heat on low, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes or so. Remove chicken breasts and set aside to chop up into rough bite sized pieces when they've cooled off a little bit. Add sun dried tomatoes and herbs. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the romano and mix thoroughly. Place in a large baking dish and sprinkle with grated romano. Bake for 25 minutes or until cheese is brown on top.

Weekend happenings

We had a fairly low key weekend but even with Jonathan having the Friday off, time flies and before we know it, it's Sunday evening. I'm proud to say we mostly ate leftovers aside from Ashley Mac's for lunch one day and iCantina Saturday night. I'm picky when it comes to leftovers (while Jonathan will eat anything and almost prefers leftovers) and thanks to one of my Spark Recipes, we had Mediterranean Chicken and Brown Rice Casserole for three different meals. I'll share this recipe in case you want to try it out and see how delicious it is heated up :) 

Saturday morning we helped a special couple, their baby Charlie and dog Bessie pack up and move to Nashville. We are grateful that we got to spend a year getting to know them and share life with them in our small group. They were the first couple to become parents and have been a support system for us which we truly appreciate. Their son Charlie is a handsome little fella and already a Yankees fan just like his mom and dad. We will miss seeing them but have plans to visit and keep up with their life in Tennessee.

Jonathan worked on the master bath some and will hopefully finish within the next two weeks. All he has left is sanding and painting. We met with a realtor on Friday and I started to get in let's get organized and clean mode, realizing we will be on the market soon and hopefully having lots of potential buyers coming to see the house. I did have a panic moment, realizing that staging our house means hiding all of Denson's toys and accessories which will be frustrating considering we use them ALL everyday. I trust God and have to rely on Him to take care of everything but it's difficult in the moment feeling like I have to make everything perfect. 

Saturday evening we met my mom and step dad at Hop City and sampled some interesting beers. This place is like a Total Wine store with a bar in the back. Denson was a hit, drinking his bottle at the bar. Sunday we went to church and Jonathan finally got to have some 'guy time' and play golf. It turned out to be a beautiful but humid day. 

Denson's latest and greatest tricks include sticking out his tongue, "talking on the phone" and his hobby is watching the Braves with his daddy. My heart melts watching him as he discovers what he can do and the world around him. 

    Hop City

Celebrating three years and a three month old

Happy Anniversary to my handsome hubs that won my heart 7 years ago, proposed to me 5 years ago, married me 3 years ago and had a baby with me 3 months ago. Whew! It feels like time has flown by while it feels like yesterday we were getting married and heading to Costa Rica. Today we celebrate three years as well as having our three month old, Denson. I know they say 'Time flies when you're having fun' so I guess that explains it. Jonathan doesn't usually read my blog but I will request he does so he can find this sweet love letter. :)

Jonathan, compassion and patience describe who you are in two words. Those are my favorite qualities along with your sense of humor (and understanding mine). The way you live and work exudes God's love and inspires me to be a better person. One of my favorite things we do is the "fake laugh" for the picture where we start out pretending to laugh and eventually crack each other up and laugh so hard we can't stop. This has happened a lot since Denson was born. You encourage me to take time for me and you always support my decisions. We don't always agree but you're the first to try and understand where I'm coming from and find a compromise. You only get heated when I've pushed your buttons but you get mad in the most respectful way. I love you more each day and seeing you become a dad has been a blessing to me. We have the most adorable little boy and I hope Denson grows to share the same qualities and characteristics as you. Happy three years to you and a lot of fun as a family of three. I love you.