amazing grace...

I will cherish this video for a long time! Such a sweet sound...

some BIG changes for our family...

You may remember this post from last week...It was a post about how much I was struggling waiting to hear from the Lord. Well, we heard...and have some big news to share. Some very exciting news, and some bittersweet news..

These last 2 1/2 years, the Lord has been working in ways I can’t even begin to explain or understand. He has blessed me with more than I could have ever imagined. Last year specifically, the Lord did some really big things that we are just now starting to understand...

Around April of last year, the Lord really laid adoption on our hearts again. We started the process with Bethany. Around that time, we also started looking at houses and we found a house in Summerville, in our dream neighborhood for this area, and made an offer. We prayed that if it wasn’t the Lord’s will, He would shut the door and about a month into He did. We couldn’t understand why at the time..Everything “seemed” perfect BUT a few months down the road when miss Maggie came along, we started seeing that He had better plans for us than just a house. Towards the end of last year, Kaz’s dreaming and planning of starting His own company came to a hault as well. This was something he’s wanted for as long as I can remember...Last year, he prayed and planned for a business. Around November, we both no longer felt a peace from the Lord on it. It was disheartening for Kaz and for me. He had planned for so long...prayed for so long, and then the Lord took that away. Another really weird thing that happened last year, was with my photography business. I’ve always said that I would do photography as long as the Lord allowed me too. Having kids, has changed how much I want to work, but I really enjoy photography. I enjoy my work. In years past, I’ve been overwhelmed at the amount of weddings that I’ve booked. It seemed like last year, the Lord wasn’t allowing me to get inquiries about weddings, and the ones that I was getting were for the exact same dates that I was already booked. I didn’t worry about this because in my mind I thought this was the Lord’s way of telling me He didn’t want me to work as much...but going into 2013, I had about 8 weddings booked, compared to 35 in 2012. We kept pushing along and praying for the Lord’s will, and what happened next was honestly something neither one of us ever thought as a possibility. The Lord opened an unexpected door...A door that is starting to make sense of everything that has happened in the last year. In January, the Lord opened a door for a job in Hartsville SC[my hometown]. From the day Kaz applied, until he found out, it was exactly a month. A month full of prayers, fears, excitement. I’ve never thought moving back home was a possibility and my biggest fear when he applied was him not getting it, because I was so excited about the possibility. The Lord has been working out things this past month that I can’t even begin to describe...BUT Kaz got the job. He will be working for Duke Energy[formerly Progess Energy]. Originally, we thought the job wouldn’t start until May/June, BUT he will be starting in 3 weeks. I’m so extremely proud of him. 

This new chapter in our life brings so much joy and excitement, but also sadness. We have made so many wonderful friends in Charleston. Over this last year, I have become such good friends with 2 special ladies[Jennifer and Marie-picture posted below]. We have become the kind of friends that no topic is off limits, we can show up at each others house at anytime, uninvited. Every week, we watch each other kids to run errands, appointments, etc. It’s become a special friendship, not only for us, but for our kids. I’m sad for Annie Rice in that. I know she will make new friends, but she talks about Brynn, Gaines, and Walt everyday, and she sees them several times a week. Brynn has become her BFF...their giggles of excitement for one another makes my heart so happy.  That’s the part that makes me the most sad...is her missing out on those special friendships. I know she make new friends, and we will still see our old friends, but they will greatly be missed. I think I have cried about this everyday..and when I start, it’s hard to stop. We have been blessed with some special friends. 

With my photography business, I now realize the reason I didn’t book nearly as many weddings...Because we will be 3 hours away and the Lord knew I couldn’t drive to Charleston every weekend for weddings! The really neat part is over this last month, I’ve been contacted for so many weddings in Hartsville. More than I ever have in the last  4 years I’ve been doing photography. It’s been pretty neat, and the Lord is working it all out for His Glory. My clients in Charleston have been unbelievable supporters to me. I couldn’t have started my business and grown it so much without the support of everyone and the Lord. I have had the best clients. With this move, I will no longer be working “full time” in Charleston. I will still do weddings in Charleston from occasion to occasion, but for the most part, my business will be in Hartsville/Florence. 

This is a really big change for our family. I’m excited and scared at the same time. So many details have to be worked out considering we are moving in less than 3 weeks, but I know the Lord is already working away. What He’s done in the last month, has been more than I could have ever imagined, and I’m excited for the journey ahead. 

[Jennifer and Marie]

 Annie Rice and Brynn

issues of the heart...

A lot has been going on in our life lately...The Lord has been doing some really big things and we have been in a season of waiting and praying... 

When we started this process, we knew that a lot of prayer needed to go into this. We felt the Lord calling us to give up soda, as a way of fasting and praying. I’m not going to lie, it was very hard at first because I’m a coke zero junkie. Some people carry around bottles of water...in my bottle, there’s always coke zero. We made the commitment to drink no soda[with 1 date exception] UNTIL we heard on this matter. Last Monday, we were in week 3. I’d been doing good with the no soda, but you know after awhile, it’s easy to NOT DO SOMETHING and FORGET why you are doing it...So let me tell you a little about last week for me... 

Let me just say one thing before I start...When I have fasted in the past, I never talked about it. I think that it’s a private thing between oneself and the Lord...but this time has been different because I really believe the Lord has called me to “share” what I have been LEARNING through this time of fasting. I’m sharing not to bring any glory to myself, BUT I’m sharing because I truly believe this is a life lesson that HE has been teaching me. 

Last Sunday... 

Kaz and Annie Rice went to church, while I stayed home with Maggie[she had a really bad cold]. While they were at church, I did my bible study at home. I really felt convicted about giving up facebook, instagram, and pinterest for awhile. That’s a really BIG thing for me. I’M ALWAYS, always on my phone. Checking facebook throughout the day, posting instagram pictures, and looking at pinterest when I’m sitting at home, or riding in the car. Before going to bed, I lay awake scrolling down the phone...If I go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, I will usually look at it, and in the morning too. It’s been pretty sad, but it’s continuously grown as a habit, one could say. OR it could be that these things have become “functional Gods” in my life. In biblical terms a functional God is something other than God that we set out heart on (Luke 12:29; 11 Cor. 10:9), that motivates us (1 Cor. 4:5), that masters and rules us (Ps. 119:133; Eph 5:5), or that we trust, fear, or serve (Isa. 42:17; Matt 6:24; Luke 12:4-5)... When Kaz got home, I told him what the Lord had revealed, and He committed to giving facebook and instagram up as well. I knew this would be hard... 

On Monday morning, I was having my bible study time and the Lord revealed ANOTHER thing He wanted me to give up...TV. My first thought was really, why must I give up TV too? Let me give you a little background information...Towards the beginning of last year, the Lord really convicted me of my TV shows and music that I listen too. He laid such heavy convictions on my heart about this last year, that I cut our cable package down A LOT to include the tv channels that I watched pretty much everything on[mostly reality..BRAVO especially]. So in my mind last Monday morning, I thought, why in the world would I need to give up TV. I’ve already given so much of it up. I don’t watch that many shows..I watch or record maybe 6-7 shows a week. In my mind, that’s good compared to the 20 I used too! BUT the Lord kept working and I kept fighting. I told Kaz that I would do this BUT AFTER I watched the season premiere of Dallas last Monday night. I would not miss it..how selfish? 

So all of last week, I gave up TV...Well, until Thursday. I last 2 days. I got so mad at the Lord on Thursday, BECAUSE I was tired of waiting. Is that not the silliest thing you have ever heard? Because I got mad, and wanted this to be in MY timing, I got mad and had an attitude. I let it slowly effect the next couple days and by yesterday, I was not only watching TV, but checking facebook, and drinking soda. I HAD FORGOTTEN JUST HOW MUCH THE LORD HAD DONE, AND WHY HE WAS CALLING ME TO GIVE UP THESE THINGS...Yes, it may not be “normal” to the world, BUT He doesn’t call me to be normal in the eyes of the world, He calls me to be obedient. Instead of being obedient, I went running back to those things that provide a false sense of comfort. This morning in my bible study, all of these convictions hit me at once. How selfish I am and just how sinful my heart really is...In the end, it’s not about how long I wait, what I give up, or how I succeed and fail at it...It’s about the work that HE is doing in and through me during this waiting time and whether or not I choose to use that time I had in the past spent on facebook/TV on just some “other thing” , or IF I use it to glorify Him. I don’t know WHY I haven’t learned this lesson yet, BUT it’s NOT ABOUT the THING I’m waiting on...It’s about the things that HE is doing through the waiting. He’s not asking me to give up all of these things as punishment, it’s just the opposite. I know and have to constantly remind myself, that He’s doing a work through these things that is far greater than I could ever ask or imagine..He’s working out incredible blessings for my life. The path may be squiggly..I may “forget again” and run to other things, but I’m thankful that my God is a God who forgives, correct, and reminds....AND LOVES NO MATTER WHAT. His love never fails...He never gives up on me. 

Psalm 130: 5-6 

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word, I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.

child like faith...

It’s been so neat seeing Annie Rice really want to learn about God and pray. She literally wants to read her bible all the time[The Jesus Storybook Bible is awesome], and she prays before every meal and before naptime and bedtime. I can’t help but laugh though at some of her prayers...I know they are so sincere and coming from a sweet little girl, but some of the stuff she prays for, I just can’t help but wonder where she gets it from. BUT I love hearing her pray, and we’ve had to remind ourselves we will never discourage her from reading the bible, no matter how many times she ask us in a day to read it to her[I counted 1 day and she asked almost 30 times:)]. Sometimes, I will walk in her room and she’s sitting on the bed, reading it. Such a sweet thing to see. AND most days, she makes Minnie Mouse, Bear, Goofy, baby, and her by[blanket] get on their knees and pray too! Here have been a few of her prayers lately...

“Thank you God for lunch, thank you God for chicken and fries, watching dickey mouse, Gaines and Brynn, reading bible, seeing mommy, gym, Amen.”

“Thank you God for cereal, the wise men, the shepherd, joseph, baby Jesus, and Mary too, Amen.”

“Thank you God for daddy, for o my soul, shepherd boy, neck, Annie Rice’s neck, Mommy’s neck, Maggie’s neck, and car’s neck, Amen.”

“Thank you God for cars, for Maggie’s neck, phone’s neck, Annie Rice’s neck, thank you God for God is able, for shepherd, umm what’s next, thank you God for miss jill, joey, the angel, the king, the shepherd boy, the shepherd, thank you God for baby’s neck, Amen. “

“Thank you God for trash, for outside trash, for stinky diaper, for phew whee, ummm what’s next, Amen.”

“Thank you God for chicken and fries, milk, chocolate chip milk, 12345678910, ummm what’s next, thank you God for one, thank you God for two, thank you God for three, Amen.”

Come to think of it, my prayers should really be more like this...So many times I forget to THANK GOD for the small things and not just the big things. Child like faith...

5 miles in an hour...a HARD workout.

 Since getting Maggie in October, I think I have put on about 20 pounds! The first month and a half we had meals delivered to us, then the Holidays were soon after, and since the new year I just haven’t been motivated to do anything about losing the weight until now! 

I’m determined to get back to my “pre-maggie” weight, especially since we will be vacationing, oops I mean working, in St. Kitts in 6 weeks:) 

We love watching the Biggest Loser and this past week, something Jillian said really caught my attention. She told her team to do 5 miles everyday on the treadmill, AND it would only take an hour. Well, I started thinking about it and was determined that if the contestants could do it, I could too! BECAUSE when I run 5 miles, I can do it in an hour, but if I walk/run 5 miles it’s a lot harder to do it in an hour and on the biggest looser she wasn’t talking about them running all 5 miles. Even though I’m a little overweight, I’m still in pretty good shape. I’ve always been a big runner, and for me thats the best way for me to see results, BUT it also gets very old for me quick if I run everyday...So most of the time I will do intervals of running/walking on the treadmill. 

SO I tried this out this week and the first time I was over my goal by 5:45 minutes. That’s a lot to cut down on especially considering I was sweating like a pig when I finished AND I’m NOT a big sweater! It was a HARD, HARD workout. So the next time I went to the gym, I was determined to cut down on that time and still get in 5 miles of running/walking in an hour. I did it, BUT finished just barely under 1 hour! If you want a really good, hard workout, TRY THIS! I burned 520 calories in an hour timeframe! 

Note: While this is a hard workout, it’s not unmanageable. The highest speed is 6.5 for 2 minutes with NO INCLINE the entire workout.

Time Frame	Speed
0-3 minute Walking Warm Up	3.5
3-5 minutes Walking Warm Up	4.3
5-10 minute RUN	5.3
10-14 walk	4.3
14-16:30 RUN	6.5
16:30-19 RUN	6
19-21:30 RUN	5.5
21:30-25 RUN	5
25-30 WALK	4.3
30-32:30 RUN	6.5
32:30-35 RUN	6.0
35-37:30 RUN	5.5
37:30-40 RUN	5.0
40-47 RUN	5.3
47-50 WALK	4.5
50-55 RUN	5.3
55-60 WALK	4.3

It is my goal to figure out more and more 5 mile workouts on the treadmill in an hour! I will be posting more as the months go on. 

Let me know if you try it, and what you think! BE PREPARED, it’s a HARD workout BUT SO WORTH IT! I didn't add this on the list but be sure to include a COOL DOWN!

a big girl room....

After Christmas, Kaz and I came back to Charleston, and Annie Rice stayed with my parents for a few days. We had planned to start on her “big girl room” during that time and just paint. Kaz asked to take things really slow[that’s not me at all! When I have a project in mind, I want it done ASAP]. BUT I agreed and we had just planned to paint the room while she was my parents. We started painting that night, and it wasn’t very longer after when Kaz asked if we could have her whole room done by the time she got back home:) He was just as excited as I was. I decided that with her big girl room we were going to do a complete makeover! New colors, simpler design, and less clutter. We still have 1 more project to do on one of the walls, and I’ll be sure to post pictures when we do that. Right now, her walls are blank, which is kind of nice considering how crowded they were before:) 

I bought the bedding at Target, the curtains off of Amazon, we repainted her old dresser from black to white, and I made the bow holder with a frame and ribbon from hobby lobby. 

Her big girl room was something that i have been thinking about for months...It was something I was in NO HURRY to do. My pediatrician recommended her being in a big girl bed by the time she started climbing out of the crib[she never did] or by the time she was 3. We honestly could have waited a little longer, but I knew that I didn’t want to start her in a big girl bed in a few months when wedding season starts up for me. 

I honestly didn’t know what to expect. Every person teaches their child something different. We have a lot of friends who have been apart of Growing Kids Gods Way, and we’ve really liked a lot of the ways they parent their children. Before Christmas, I read Todderwise and one of the things it recommends is having the child stay in bed and ask before they get out of bed. Loved the idea[we have friends who do this and it’s been great] so I definitely wanted to do that, but along with that I had ordered[and done a ton of research] on toddler clocks. I ordered My Tot Clock, to go along with Annie’s switch to a big girl bed. I was nervous and had no idea what to expect...We told Annie Rice several times that when she came back home she was going to have a big girl room! She was SO EXCITED! Since she didn’t pick any of the decorations out with me, I decided that I would take her the day she came home to pick out some “big girl pj’s”. Even though the pj’s are the same as all of her others ones, to this day when she puts on the pj’s we got that night, she calls them her big girl “jammers”[that’s a country word for pajamas]. 

Annie Rice LOVED her room and was so happy when she saw it! She climbed right up in the bed. It was the cutest thing. She took her bear, aka beer, and put him under the covers, pointed her finger at him and said “Go night night beer. Stay in bed and don’t say mine.” I couldn’t help but laugh:)

That night before she went to sleep, we went over several times this process of a big girl bed. We told her that while her clock was blue she was to stay in bed. We told her when she woke up the next morning AND her clock was yellow then she could call for mommy. When mommy came to the door, she could ask to get out of bed. My parents were here for that first night, and I know they were skeptical, but Annie Rice did amazing! She got out of bed 1x and since that first night she has stayed in bed ever since! It’s been almost 4 weeks since she started sleeping in her big girl bed. We put her down at 730pm and I set the clock to turn yellow at 730am. Most days she will sleep until 7-830 and the days she wakes up at 7, she stays in bed until it’s yellow and most days well past 730. I put a few books by her bed and she has a few stuffed animals and she will either lay in bed and talk or sing, or play with her books or animals. Nap time has been the same way. In the beginning, every time she would lay down we went over and over what she was to do, and would ask her questions so she could tell us how the process was going to work. Now, we usually go over it once a day and she does really good! This transition with Annie Rice has been a lot easier than I expected as a result of prayer, the Tot clock, and the wisdom from Toddlerwise. When we have traveled to my parents house, we pack the clock with us, and follow the same system. 

Below are a few pictures of her big girl room...

BEFORE....

 AFTER..

 I personally LOVE these curtains:)

 bow holder: I picked 3 different ribbons that I liked and staple gunned them to the back of the frame:)

life with 2 girls...

I've planned all week to blog...It's Thursday, and I'm just getting to it! I can't believe how much the girls are growing. They amaze me everyday, and I'm so thankful the Lord entrusted Kaz and I with their lives. Let me catch you up to speed on whats been going on around our house lately through pictures....

 "Mom, why do I have so much gas?"

 I got all my hair cut off...WHY did I EVER want to do that?

 Annie Rice loves Maggie so much

 It's been in the 70s and 80s here the last few weeks. We've had a lot of play dates and park dates. 

We've gone on a lot of walks. We've had to take Minnie, Goofy, or Bear with us on every walk:)

 "Don't even try to take my paci, mom"

The outfits she picks out are so funny!

 This little girls loves to read the Jesus storybook bible. 

 Annie Rice's favorite toy is legos. She plays with them 75% of the day. I scored these huge legos for $4. 

 We've spent a lot of time with friends lately. 

thirty years...

Yesterday was a very special day for my dad. He was honored at work for working for the company for 30 years. His co-workers had a surprise celebration for him. Me, my mom, Annie Rice and Maggie Ruth also surprised him at the celebration. He didn’t have a clue! Annie Rice walked right up behind him and said “Hey Papa. Surprise”. It was a very special day and a proud moment for our family. My dad has always worked so hard and made so many sacrifices for our family, and I am so proud of him. Here are a few pictures from yesterday:)

feeding the goats at the plant...