a very special day....

4 years ago today, I married the man of my dreams! Our wedding was perfect! I’ve loved looking back at our pictures and wanted to share a few with you!

Happy Anniversary, my sweet Kaz

my husband....

I thought I would tell you just a few things about Kaz that I LOVE oh so much!

1. I love how he pretends he doesn’t like watching tv shows with me….BUT I catch him secretly watching! Lately, I’ve been hooked on Who’s The Boss. Kaz started out saying, great another show! But I came home last night to find him watching it without me! We have been watching anywhere from 2-3 episodes a night and I LOVE it!

2. I love how he’s a morning person and I AM NOT! It actually gets quite irritating in the morning if I’m sleeping and he’s touching me. Like yesterday morning for instance….I was sleeping so good and he was sitting on the floor with his hand on my shoulder. I got annoyed and told him to move it…His reply “I’m sorry miss[that’s what he calls me]. I was just sitting here praying for you and wanted to touch you.” Now really, how you be mad at that! I LOVE that he gets up early in the mornings to pray for me. I only wish I could do the same for him…

3. I love that HE can eat whatever he wants and never gain a pound! Really, I’m glad he can do that because I surely cannot! Last week, I ran 4 days, 15 miles. I did really good! He made pumpkin bread and I ate WAY too much. BUT I woke up Sunday morning and had lost 2 pounds! :) Sunday morning we ran 5 miles together. He made brownies that afternoon, bought 2 candy bars the next day, and what happened…I weighed yesterday morning and had gained 3! Oh how I love my husband. Gaining 3 pounds was worth getting to spend the time I had with him. Really, there is no sarcasm meant here!!! He usually doesn’t eat bad BUT he has quiet the sugar tooth:) He runs WAY more than I do, so he can handle the sugar:)

4. I LOVE how excited he is about the adoption….We went for a walk last night, and he told me how he thinks about it every day. He thinks about the phone calls we will be able to make once the baby comes. He thinks about names and he’s so ready to be a dad. He could have melted my heart right there:)

5. I LOVE how much he takes care of me and Miley. Every morning he fixes my lunch and snacks for the day. Yes, it should be the other way around but remember he gets up so much earlier than me. He wakes me up, I get ready, and he patiently waits for me until I’m ready to go. He even waits to leave with me at the same time…

He also takes really good care of miley even when she’s in the NOT so fun stages of being a girl. She’s been in heat this week and he was home alone with her ALL weekend. It’s not fun, kind of annoying, and she really is a different dog in this stage. BUT just as always he has taken really good care of her and hasn’t complained once. I HAVE to show you a picture….She looks so funny. Since she’s kennel trained but roams free when we are home, she has to wear a diaper when she’s not outside or in her kennel…HaHa!

These are just a few things that I LOVE about Kaz. Trust me, there are WAY to many to write about:)

the winner is....

The winner of the Woombie Swaddler is Liz! Liz left this comment:

 

 Congrats Liz!

He is GOOD...

We know that all things work together for good to those who love God . . .
—Romans 8:28

I have been convicted lately of my “lack of faith and prayer”. The last month I’ve been going through a really hard time…I have had ZERO motivation except for photography. The cause could be several things, but I just have not wanted to do one thing. In the afternoons, if I’m not working I just sit on the couch. If I go to a store, I feel like I just wander around looking at who knows what…. I have been unbelievably tired all the time….I have been sleeping A LOT….

Something [I know it was the Lord] changed my heart on Friday. It’s like I’m a completely different person than I have been this last month. I’m motivated, NOT tired, full of energy, etc. I can’t explain it on my own but it’s been huge! I’m so thankful…

BUT also, the Lord has really answered a lot of our prayers in the last month. There have been so many BIG request we have been praying since January. Slowly, in His timing He has been answering them. This morning I got one of the best emails I could have ever seen! I’m not going to go into detail BUT it’s HUGE for our family! No, it’s not with the adoption…BUT even in that I’m thankful. You see, I told Kaz about 2 weeks ago that I really wanted to believe that the Lord was good and faithful REGARDLESS of if we got a baby. I’ve been viewing Him through “baby goggles” and limiting Him to only that one prayer. I haven’t prayed about many other things except getting a baby, AND somewhere along the way I started believing He was ONLY faithful and good IF He gave us a baby. HOW WRONG WAS I?

So today, I’m thankful and I want to believe and know with all of my heart that HE does have a plan, HE is in control, HE is good AND faithful regardless of when and how we get a baby.

a little shadow…

Miley is something else these days….She makes me laugh all the time! She really has the personality of a person. It’s crazy!

She follows me around everywhere…When I go into the bathroom I have to shut the door so she won’t come in…ALTHOUGH, she has been known to jump in the shower with Kaz:)

She’s been at my parents for the last week…When she’s there she’s a guard dog. Can’t you tell?

She loves marsh mellows! She keeps laying in them and they get stuck in her hair:( When she goes outside she constantly barks at the sky….I have no idea why!

When she gets in trouble, she can’t stand it and immediately has to rub up against me, jump in my lap, or get me to rub her. She’s hates me telling her no. She loves going in the office with me while I work on photography. When I let her out of the kennel, she picks up her bone and heads straight for the office!

We have recently taught her NOT to jump on the bed. She doesn’t sleep there [she is kennel trained] but she loves jumping up there and laying down for a minute. SO, she does not like that we won’t let her get up there. She tries to every day, and EVERY day gets in trouble!

Before Kaz or I leave the house, she goes in her kennel, lays down, and gives us the saddest eyes you have ever seen.

She’s a mess! BUT I love her! She’s the perfect dog for us:)

If you haven’t entered the giveaway for the woombie, click here!

Miscellany monday and a GIVEAWAY...

1. I’m in LOVE with SparkPeople! SparkPeople is an online weight loss and diet community! It’s FREE! I started using SparkPeople about 2 years ago, stopped for awhile and now am back on it! You can enter your weight, meals and snacks for the entire day, exercise, glasses of water, etc. There are a lot of foods already registered but if the food you have eaten is not in the system you can enter the calories, fat, etc and save it as a favorite food. It keeps track of what you’ve eaten for the day and tells you how many calories, fat grams, etc you are still allowed for the day! You can update it from a computer or from your smart phone! I love it because it’s a great accountability and so easy to use:)

2. Pumpkin bread....Well, I’ve never tried it until last night AND I wish I hadn’t:( IT WAS SO GOOD but now I want to eat it all the time and there’s 2 loafs in my kitchen! Kaz made some yesterday...He adds a special ingredient to his...chocolate chips! YUM, YUM!

3. I’ve been running a lot this weekend. Since Saturday, I’ve ran 11 miles! Whoo Hooo[as my dad would say] but my legs are a little tired! During the week it’s hard for me to push big numbers so on the weekends I’m trying to run longer distances. I guess tomorrow I’ll be back at 2 miles! Both Saturday and Sunday, Kaz and I started out both running at the same time but he’s way ahead of me. So we run our own pace, and then once he catches up with me[he runs longer distances] we run together. We were joking around the other night and I asked him if he didn’t know me, and saw me running would he stop and get my number? His reply, “No I wouldn’t get your number. I would follow you home!” Awwww.....

4. It’s time for a GIVEAWAY!!!!! 

This giveaway is for 1 orginal woombie. The winner can pick the color and size!

“Swaddle your baby Safely and Effectively with The Woombie ... designed to ease your mind and comfort your baby so you may both achieve a better nights sleep. The Woombie is the safest & most NATURAL way to Swaddle your baby, encouraging baby to softly stretch extremities as needed, just like in the womb. The Woombie comforts, softly confines arms & gently compresses baby's unique curves to hug baby... preventing Startling issues, face scratching, overheating and also preventing dangerous loose unraveled blankets from covering baby's face.”

3 ways to enter:

1. Mandatory: Become a follower of my blog and leave a comment telling me you are.
2. Become a fan of Woombie Swaddler on facebook and leave a comment telling me you are!
3. Blog, tweet or facebook about this giveaway and leave a comment telling me you did with the link!

This giveaway will end Oct 22nd at 8pm.

Head on over to Carissa Graham's miscellany monday and link up!

CSN Stores Review...

I can’t stop looking at all the CSN stores. I could seriously buy everything! They have such a wide range of products from baby items, bedroom vanity, lighting, dishes, etc. I have so many things on my wish list:)

I recently purchased a Graco Jumper Doorway for our “baby on the way”! BUT I couldn’t resist and wanted to try it out so I tested it on our neighbors baby:) This jumper is awesome!

It attaches to any door frame, but won’t leave a mark on the door molding. It’s portable so you can carry it anywhere…To the grandparents house, on vacation, etc. My favorite feature about this jumper is the music mat that comes with it! The mat goes on the floor under the jumper. When the baby jumps up and down the mat plays/makes music! Some babies may not like this feature, so the mat can be removed. It comes separate from the jumper! To say the least, I am very impressed with this jumper. I can’t wait for our baby to use it one day, but enjoyed so much watching the joy and excitement of our neighbors baby while she was in it!

CSN was great throughout the entire purchase/delivery process. I ordered the product and within just a few days received an email with tracking information stating the product was on it’s way! Upon receiving the product, it was adequately packaged so there were no scratches or broken parts!

I’m in love with this jumper and CSN Stores! You should definitely go check out all the amazing products they have!

Learning to run….

I have a co-worker and good friend [both in their late 40s] who told me they wanted to start running and asked if I would help them. ABSOLUTELY! This is something that I LOVE to do. It’s no secret that I love to run…I get such an enjoyment from it…a peace, relaxation…

I used to be big runner in college, especially my sophomore year until I started having major knee problems. I had surgery almost 2 years ago and I feel like I have a brand new knee! It’s been incredible!

BUT anyway, so for the past 2 weeks [3 days a week-ALTHOUGH we are only on day 4] we are doing a running plan. I actually created one in my head wrote it all out and then found a beginner plan online. Let’s just say mine is a “little bit” easier. Not by much though….

So here it is, starting out for a brand new runner. If you’ve never ran before and want to, try it. These 2 ladies really didn’t think they could run. This week they ran a total of 32 minutes. Pretty good for only being on day 4!

Week 1:
3 days a week
Run 1 min
Walk 2 min
Repeat 10xs


Week 2:
2 days a week
Run 2 min
Walk 1 min
Repeat 10xs

1 day
Run 3 min
Walk 1 min
Repeat 7xs


Week 3:
2 days a week
Run 4 min
Walk 1 min
Repeat 5x

1 day
Run 5 min
Walk 1 min
Repeat 4xs

We have started meeting at work 30 minutes earlier than normal to run. It really has been a great start to the day. Try it out! If you work outside of the home, ask a co-worker to start exercising with you. The weather in SC right now is beautiful! Not too hot, not cold! You can also do this plan at the gym!

miscellany monday...

1. I LOVE CSN stores! I cannot stop looking at all of the wonderful items they have! CSN Stores has over 200 online stores where you can find everything from stylish handbags, to modern bar furniture, or great cookware! I especially love looking at all the baby items and have created a “wish list” :)

2. Kaz and I went to my parents house this weekend...It was a jam packed weekend! Between Friday-Sunday I had 4 sessions, a wedding, traveled to Georgetown, went to the county fair, and we had our family pictures taken! Needless to say, I’m exhausted! 

We had our pictures taken by my good friend[and 2nd photographer]  Buddy Miles out in the country where I grew up! I had a great time...except when hundreds of little fire hands covered my hand when sitting by a hay bell BUT thankfully Kaz and my dad were able to get them off VERY quickly without TOO many bites! Let’s just say I did a little dance and made some really funny noises when I saw they were on my hand! Ha-Ha

Anyway, I’m anxious to see the pictures but here are 2[They are kind of small files because they were sent through text, so I apologize if you can't see them well]. We tried to do some funny ones with my goat Leroy:) I don’t know how much longer he will be around so I wanted to do some fun ones!

3. We also went to the fair in Florence. I used to love going growing up! I don’t ride the rides but I love the atmosphere and the funnel cakes:) I also really love candy apples BUT decided NOT to get one considering it would probably pull every cavity in my mouth out! I don’t have very good teeth:(

Here are a few pictures...

my dad:)

4. I made my poor mom worry all day saturday:( I had a wedding in Georgetown, so she decided to ride with me and shop all day at the beach. I had a check from a client in my car that hadn’t been deposited yet AND I REALLY THOUGHT it was in my car. After breakfast, we had some trash in the car and mom threw it away. I WAS SURE she threw the check away also. She said over and over she would go back and dig through the trash to find this check and I kept assuring her it was ok, don’t worry, it’s no big deal, I’ll just talk to the client. She worried all day and said she would pay me the amount that it cost to stop the check so that I didn’t loose any money. We walked in the house yesterday and what was laying on my computer desk....THE CHECK. I felt awful then:(
Hope you have a GREAT monday:)

a weekend getaway...

I mentioned before that Kaz and I were not going to take our yearly trip to California…INSTEAD we are going to Pigeon Forge, TN with our friends Liz and Todd. It took awhile to find the perfect house[cost, cancelation policy, etc]…We knew going into it the trip would happen or it wouldn’t because of the adoption so we had to really be careful on our end in the planning stages! BUT we found the perfect house and the price was NOT bad at all!

We are going up early Friday morning in November and come back on that Monday. I’m so excited! Just a few more weeks away. We found the cabin through American Mountain Rentals…Check it out! I can’t wait to go:)

NOT just your typical Sunday....

Yesterday morning was a lot different than most...While we would normally get up and go to church, we did something a little different....

It’s no secret that the last few years, but especially this year has been very hard on both Kaz and I. We’ve both been through a lot with infertility, his mom passing, the stress of 2 jobs, etc. Through the hurt of what we’ve been through, often times we lashed out at each other, put other things as priorities instead of us, etc.

Back in June, we talked about renewing our vows....We talked about it for a couple of reasons..

When we got married, we meant every word but we really didn’t think the first few years of our marriage would be as hard as they have been...we didn’t know what for better or worst meant[we probably still don’t even know what half of that means]. We never really thought life would be hard. When we got married we just saw the good...buying a house....starting a family....We never once thought life wouldn’t be picture-perfect.

So yesterday morning, Kaz and I went downtown to where he proposed and renewed our vows...just me and him. We didn’t tell anyone...it was just us....Neither of us would change one thing that has happened in our marriage, but it was important for us to make the commitment and promise all over again and know that knowing what we know now, wouldn’t have changed our commitment 4 years ago. We had the absolute best morning...

We went for a run downtown[one of our favorite things to do together]....Sat on a bench, looking at over the harbor....and danced on a little dock to the song we danced to at our wedding.... “What a wonderful life...”

So while there wasn’t anything fancy about yesterday...it meant the world to me and Kaz.

Instead of a tux and white dress, we wore our t-shirt, shorts, and running shoes....

Instead of a pastor and room full of people, it was me and kaz...and the beautiful harbor[and a couple random people walking by]...

Instead of giving up or letting the devil have a foothold in our marriage...We WILL continually fight for truth, hope, purity, and love....

The most perfect morning....

and I think to myself....what a wonderful world!