Construction Complete!

For the past year of our lives, we have had a front row seat to the major reconstruction of Redeemer's sanctuary & educational wing (seeing as we live behind the church). It's been exciting to watch (and hear), and Evan now thinks that any construction he sees around town is for a new church. I often hear him call out from the backseat, "Look, Mommy, they're building a new church over there." A typical PK response I suppose...

This is the demolition a year ago of part of the educational wing.

We have been worshiping in our new sanctuary for a little over a month now. Our old sanctuary seated about 350, and now we seat about 650, but since we have over 700 each week, we still need two services to accommodate everyone (hallelujah, not a bad problem to have!). It's very exciting to witness all that God is doing through Redeemer in our community. Can't wait to see what else He has in store!

This is our newly expanded sanctuary during our dedication service!

Also, I couldn't blog about our new sanctuary without including a link to the song "Son of Man" that Ryan & Redeemer's choir performed at our dedication service (I posted this on FB last month). It was a special time of worship for everyone there. If you have a free moment, be sure to check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksoEHo5ozE0&list=UUPbTgAzzqZ2HSOfURVEAXzQ&index=1&feature=plcp

Getaway to Rosemary Beach

I keep meaning to share pics of our recent (er, a month ago..) beach trip. We were blessed to get an early spring break in February thanks to a sweet couple in our church who let us go to their place in Rosemary Beach, FL, which is on the Gulf coast near Panama City. We had an amazing time, and my mom was able to join us too, which was a nice treat to have so much time with her! The boys love their Grammie, and Ryan & I got to go out on our own several times that week, be it a bike ride, dessert somewhere, or a nice dinner. We definitely came back relaxed & refreshed! Thanks to the mild winter, we even got to play on the beach a few days, but not the water, it was way too cold!

Levi loved the beach!

We were shocked Evan let us bury him (he hated getting sand on him last summer!)

Soaking up some rays!

Levi chillin' with Grammie

Loved the walking community at Rosemary!

The boys LOVED our daily wagon rides around town.

My Sweet Levi

This week Levi turned one year old! We celebrated with a birthday lunch with our immediate family & a couple of friends. We're going to have a party with our extended family in Georgia the end of this month while we are in town for a youth pastors' conference. Can't wait to celebrate Elmo style with party hats (per older brother Evan's request) & of course, a smash cake (wouldn't be a first birthday party without it)!

So a little over a year ago, I was a week & a few days past my due date when Levi made his grand entrance into the world. Before he was born, I had a fear that seems laughable now, but was a legitmate concern of mine. I wondered if it was possible to love another child as much as I loved our son Evan. For some reason I was afraid that it wouldn't be the same the second time around. Boy was I wrong! I love this little boy Levi with all my heart!

In case you don't get to be around him much (which is most of you, since he's pretty much always hanging out with me!), let me tell you a bit about this awesome baby boy. Levi definitely looks more like me than Evan does for sure, but I think he's going to have his daddy's outgoing personality. Whenever we're in the grocery store or out and about, he's always looking around trying to catch other people's eye. When he does, he gives them his cutest, big, open mouth smile and waits, expectantly, for their reaction, which, undoubtedly, is a big smile in return. And he's persistent about it! If at first they don't notice him, he tries again, and if that still doesn't work he'll use a cute squeal to get their attention. It really is hilarious to watch.

Other facts/milestones you should know about Levi:
1) He's very snuggly (my favorite thing!)
2) He has 6 teeth already, with 2 more on the way!
3) He's a fast crawler, but not too interested in walking yet.
4) His favorite snack is miniature Goldfish (he gets giddy when he sees the bag).
5) He wants to play with whatever toy Evan has (makes for interesting play times).
6) He loves to scream at the top of his lungs whenever he gets really excited.
7) He loves his family & life in general

What a blessing to have him for a son!

Bathroom Reno

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the house we live in, our church's parsonage, has been getting a bit of a face lift this year. After having the exterior repainted and some minor repairs made, our house's sole bathroom was next on the agenda.

The Before:

As you can see, it had a lovely mauve countertop in a unique swoop design and a huge mirror. Also, it might be hard to tell from the pic, but the counter/sink, it seems, was designed for the vertically challenged. Ryan and I had to squat to wash our face (although it worked out nicely for Evan, our 3 year old).

And now...ta-da!
The After:

Quite a change, huh? It doesn't even feel like the same space! I feel like I'm in a spa now :). The new vanity and wall cabinet came from Lowe's, and I was super excited to find the mirror at Kirkland Home for only $39! I think the mirror totally makes the room and it coordinates perfectly with the fabric i picked out from a local fabric store to make some curtains. Check it out:

Now to learn to sew or research a way to fake it :). After that, I'm going to try to create some artwork to go on the wall when you first enter the bathroom. I'll post a pic when all that's done (and I have no idea when that will be!). A big thanks to the deacons of Redeemer for approving all this work to be done on the house. We are definitely enjoying the upgrades!

Ur & Whobody

You probably haven't spent much time thinking about pronouns & how useful they are, unless you're in the habit of watching Elmo, who always refers to himself in the third person (which can get kind of annoying after awhile-no offense, Elmo). Around our house, pronouns are all the rage with our 3 year old. And not just any pronouns, mind you. No, Evan has created his own that have proven themselves to be quite useful. They are, respectively, "ur" & "whobody".

ur: a contraction formed by the pronouns we or you and the verb are; "Where ur going, Mommy?"(are you); "Ur going to Target after naptime." (we are)

whobody: pronoun used when you don't know who the person is you are referring to; can be singular or plural. "Whobody going to cut down that tree, Mommy?" "We are going to give that candy to whobody." "Whobody's car is that?"

Go on, try them out. You might find them to be quite helpful! We've certainly caught ourselves starting to use them :).

Extreme Home Makeover

Okay, so maybe our house in Jackson didn't get leveled to be replaced by a four story on our half acre, but it did get a facelift with new windows, paint, & shutters! Thanks to the deacons for approving some much needed home improvement projects on our house (which the church owns and is located right behind the church's property). I had fun picking out the colors and am quite pleased with the results!

Who doesn't love a little before & after?!

Before (taken in the fall when we first moved here):

After (gray paint & new shutters!):

Next week the bathroom is getting a facelift, so I'll be sure to post pics of the transformation!

Another year older

I am one of those people who happens to have a birthday close to the holidays. I have often been pitied by those (ahem, my husband) with coveted spring or summer birthdays, but truthfully I've never minded the fact that my birthday is just a few weeks after Christmas. I can probably attribute this attitude to the fact that my parents always did a great job of still making a big deal of my birthday, so I never felt "cheated" out of attention :) (heaven forbid!).  In fact, my mom still makes a big deal of my birthday by having a shopping & lunch out day with me and my sister while I'm home for the holidays. That tradition has become one of my favorite days of the year!

Thankfully, my husband and boys (with Daddy's help of course) still make me feel cherished on my special day. This morning I was treated to banana pancakes (yum!), and have received a present at every meal!

Today I am 31 years old (safely still in my EARLY thirties) and I cannot adequately express how thankful I am for the blessings in my life. I have an incredible, loving husband, two adorable sons, a wonderful extended family, supportive friends, and an awesome church family. I don't deserve any of these blessings but am so thankful that my heavenly Father has chosen to give me so many wonderful gifts.


Speaking of wonderful gifts, here are two of mine (taken at Nana's house at Christmas):