Tin Ceiling Tile Magnetic Board....

I saw an amazing home the other day on the Home Made Lovely series on the Life Made Lovely blog.

I. want. this. woman's. home.

Yup, coveting. 

If you haven't checked out this series, then I suggest you do because the homes that are shown look real, lived in and fabulous! 

Nothing overly magazine-a-fied, just real peoples cute, crafty homes.

Love.

Anyway, back to my project...

I saw that she had a ceiling tin that she used to put pictures up on and suddenly remembered this little diddy I had kicking around and never really knew what to do with.

I just have had it placed in various spots in our last 2 places we've lived and always knew it was good for something (other than just looking fabulous!)...

I didn't ever think about it's magnetic capabilities... until I saw the one in the post.

And I'm so glad I did! I love it, it's simple and I can switch out the pics whenever I want.

Perfect for this fickle woman.

I would love to finish the edges with something (not quite sure what) but for the time being, I kinda like the rough looking edges.

I'm also wanting to make some magnets to match a bit better, I just threw on what I had laying around because I was just excited to try it!

Not bad for a $2 find at a garage sale a few years back :)

And for my next project....

aren't they hideous?!? 

Yet I have a plan for these puppies (that I got for a $1 for the pair) and I just need to wait for the husband to have some time off work so he can help me with the painting part :)

I'm excited to see how/if it'll turn out...

One Proud Mama!!

This precious little girl of mine prayed and asked Jesus into her heart this week!

Zach and I could not be more excited! We are absolutely bursting with pride and excitement and to quote Zach, "what more could a parent ask for?!?"

Amen to that :) 

Love her and I'm so proud she's a part of God's family (not to mention mine!). 

It's Been Too Long...

...since I've done an Aubrey post. 

This kid is going through one of the most funniest phases... seriously. I know I'm biased because I'm her mom, but she can honestly have me gut-laughing in seconds with her quick wit and amazingly funny personality!

Now having said that, she can also drive me bonkers! 

Yeah, I said it.

With that amazing wit comes a larger than life, beyond her years, attitude and at times I have to stop myself, repeat in my head what she just said (that had me in stitches laughing!) and realize that .... wait, she's 3 and a half... they're not supposed to get away with saying that!

*insert my mother's voice in my head, reminding me I would have been in major trouble for saying something like that to them!*

And really, she's 3 and a half people....

The words she speaks per second alone is enough to make you want to cry at times!

But I love this kid SO much and I'll take the very few "bad" things with the bazillion "good" things!

How could you not??

I'm so excited to see her in her Big Sister role. 

She's already talking about all the things she's going to teach the baby....

who by-the-way she's naming Baby Sister Aubrey, if it's a girl and....wait for it....

Hoho if it's a boy. 

Told you she was awesome!

She is such a loving kid too, coming up to me randomly and professing her love for me and the baby, giving us each kisses! One on my belly for the baby and always two for me :)

Precious!

I'm so blessed to be her mother! 

I only hope this next baby is half as cool as Aubrey ;)

One Year...

Zach bbm'd me this morning telling me that the Urology Match happened this morning and about his hospital's matches....

It got me thinking. 

It's been one year almost to the day that we found out that Zach had placed here in Augusta (we found out on the 24th of January last year) and not only did he place, but it was his top choice!

How amazing.

ONE YEAR.

One year ago to the day we had no clue where God would lead us. We were filled with anxiety and excitement and bursting at the seems to find out.

All day I kept thinking 'where has the time gone??', yet it feels like a lifetime since we found out. So much has happened since then it's kinda crazy.

We came down to Augusta to find a place to live, moved, got pregnant, experienced 7 months of residency, left a life we knew and loved in NJ, adjusted to a new life in the South, found a fabulous church, made friends.... the list goes on and on.

It's funny how a random text can get your mind going so much and seeing all the ways that God has worked in your life that you didn't even notice. 

Lately my mind has been filled with all the ways we need to "settle" here still and all the "things" we still need. But in all reality, God has provided so much for us and in so many incredible ways, I'm glad I had this day to really remind me how far He's helped us come. 

Crazy to think where we'll be at in life next Match Day....

Sweater Pillow

Confession....

I've been coveting the pillows made from sweaters that I've seen all over Pinterest.

I mean, they just look so stinkin' cozy!

So the other day, when I actually had the car (yay!!) I stopped in at Goodwill to check out their selection of sweaters and I scored a fabulous, stain-free, like-new, cable knit for only $4.50.

At that price, it fit into my non-budget... budget ;) especially considering I had the wooden buttons in my stash at home already.

I'm just annoyed I didn't get a before shot of the sweater.

I got to cutting and whipped this little puppy up and I. am. in. love.

I have to say, when Zach saw the sweater and I told him what it was for?! He pretty much looked at me like I had grown a second head (and asked if I had washed it....seriously?!? Doesn't he know me at all??)... I merely laughed and told him to wait and see.

Oh he of little faith.

Now he keeps professing his love for the pillow every time he passes it. 

I love being right.

It was so quick and easy to make (read 30 minutes from start to finish!), I'm definitely seeing another one in my near future :)

Not As I Planned....

*Life has not gone as planned today. 

*It was going to be super productive day, as in clean the house and do some sewing.

NOPE.

*I slept in, woke up with the back of a 90 year old and the rest of the day went wonky. 

*Aubrey woke up, from falling asleep randomly on the couch, with a crazy fever and a fabulous mood to boot. Awesome.

*Oddly enough, I still got the house cleaned... multi-tasking at it's finest (and not my gift as of late).  

*I haven't touched my sewing machine since before Christmas and I've been getting the itch. 

*I joined a woman's bible study and I love it! Aubrey is loving the childcare/kids bible study that happens at the same time, win win!

*This is my 300th post! Crazy.

*I feel like I have a "life" now.

*I've made some friends, Aubrey's made some friends.... It's like we're a real, plugged-into, family. Who knew ;)

*I drove Zach to work twice this week.

*This equals a tired Jen and Aubrey.

*I hate 6 AM.... and those were "late" mornings for Zach. Ew.

*No real cramp/contractions/braxton hicks to speak of as late! SO thankful for that and thanks everyone for the prayers!

*Is it wrong that I have ZERO fear of adding a second child to the mix? Aren't I supposed to be a ball of anxiety about this?! 

*I get anxiety over having to call the phone company(true story).... how does this make sense?!

*I'm so ready for this baby (have been for almost 2 years, was just waiting for Zach to be on board!) and I'm not all worried about the usual "will I have enough love for the next one" thing. 

*Have I ever mentioned that I'm a baby person?!? 

*I seriously could be Michelle Duggar if I had me a Jim Bob! But I don't, I have a Zach.... who doesn't have any inclination's towards a "Duggar" type family. 

*Pretty sure that was the Lord's doing ;)

*I LOVE LOVE LOVE being pregnant and I think that's the only reason I'm not jumping out of my skin in anticipation for this next baby of ours.

*Only 7 weeks to go!

*Zach's on his way home right now... meaning Aubrey will actually get to see him... meaning there is much happiness in the face of my little girl! 

*Yay for "early" work days.

*It's wrong that an "early" work day for Zach is still a 13 hour day.

*just sayin' 

Thinking...

I'm sitting here in my bed on a Sunday morning relaxing and sipping on a cup of coffee when I'd rather be in church with Aubrey and Zach. The part about the coffee and the relaxing is nice, but not the reason why I'm sitting here.
Yesterday I was hit with some serious cramping, braxton hicks, contractions (whatever you want to call them) and they lasted all afternoon, evening and well into the night. And even though I was not freaked out (not even in the least, which is strange for me because they hurt like crazy and I have a tendency towards the anxious), it got me thinking.
We live in Georgia.... my whole family is back in Canada, well except for my sister who is in England. Zach's whole family is in Canada. I have good friends who would be there in a pinch normally, but they have families and they are scattered all over... Connecticut, New Jersey.... Everyone works, have jobs that they can't leave at the drop of a hat... I have no one close here if something dramatic were to happen. As in premature labor, bed rest, etc.
Scary.
Zach's schedule is crazy (understatement of the year) and he can't just take a bunch of time off...
Super scary.
It just got me thinking and praying that nothing like that did happen, but we are not guaranteed a perfectly pleasant pregnancy, or life for that matter, are we?? Even though my first one was and this one has been so far, God doesn't say that everything is going to go "our way".  And me having a "complication" would throw a serious wrench in things (as it would for anyone!).
So I'm sitting here now, trying to relax and be calm--praying for these contractions to stop, which they pretty much have, and that God gives me peace and health through the rest of this pregnancy...
8 more weeks until I'm due...
a lot can happen...
I pray it's all good!

Christmas Flashback...

I figure I need to post some Christmas pictures for memories sake :)

I'm gonna go ahead and call these "got them for the memories" pictures because, well... quite frankly, they're not the best.

They capture the moment and that's what really counts right?!?

I was lazy and didn't fiddle with the settings properly, thus they are dark and not the best quality.

But these cute kiddos make up for it don't they?!?

Our friends from Canada came to spend Christmas with us and Aubrey was in her glory having kids around to play with every day!

How precious is she?!?!

Our Christmas Eve family shot.

(hello dark room, bright flash!)

Here Zach is trying to read the Christmas story from a children's bible for them... key word: trying! 

The kids each opened one present on Christmas Eve...

We were planning on going to church this night, but we were all under the weather (except Zach, go figure) and decided to spare the church from hearing 6 people hacking in the back row.

Playing with their etch-a-sketch's

The deader-than-dead tree on Christmas morning :)

The kids all got these fabulous sleeping bags from James and Anna!

We got Aubrey her very first sewing machine!

The one present Aubrey actually asked for, a Dora Pillow Pet... 

Thanks Grammie!

Zach getting in on the sleeping bag action

Opening stockings!

Apparently Zach needed some of Aubrey's new lip gloss....

We had a fabulous Christmas, it was super relaxed and we just let the kids play with each present after they opened it and let things go with the flow. We had fondue on Christmas Eve (just the adults, after the kiddos were put to bed....because it's no fun dealing with 3 kids under 4 and a bunch of boiling oil!) and we made a good ol' turkey dinner on Christmas Day (which turned out wonderful, if I do say so myself!).

Great memories with great friends!

Perfect :)

Doors, Windows, Shutters....

pretty much a schmozzle of random pictures to wrap up my Charleston trip. 

Not gonna lie there are more, but I figure I've drawn out this Charleston thing a little too long (insert nervous laughter).

But as I keep saying, there was so much to look at and we pretty much just wandered for the 2 days we were there, so that makes for a lot of pictures!

To sum up....

I love Charleston (duh)...

I love random windows, doors, balconies...

I love fun trips with my little family....

I LOVE that Zach stopped along the way to Charleston for me to take some pictures of a beat-up fire truck and a rusted out Ford...

I love history....

I love that I do not remotely have enough words in this frazzled brain of mine to fill up this post...

I lied, I don't love that....

blah blah blah....

*sigh*

Too many pictures....even for me....

Oooooo pretty wall!

Now I've just gone a little crazy...

yup, skipped one...

Ohp, skipped another ;)...

Last one! They're done. 

Pretty, but done.

Now I can move on with my life.

And maybe post some of the Christmas pictures that I took and somehow lost in the shuffle of all this Charleston hubbub.

Anyone sick of hearing the word Charleston yet?!?