Errant Thought Round-Up #4

I love, I love, I hate, I hate
I like, I wish, for goodness sake...
I hope, I hope, I pray, I pray
I will, I won't, and for today...

i love...BIRTHDAYS!! My birthday, your birthday, his birthday, her birthday! Seriously, how awesome is it to celebrate the day someone came into the world! God chose that day for that person to be born with a specific purpose in mind. Birthdays! Embrace them! Atleast until you're 29...

i love...surprises, but boy can I ruin them! I am a pest at Christmas time. But I truly love surprises, just don't tell me you have one for me.

i hate...seeing my friends hurt for any reason. I just don't like it. Maybe they need more surprises...

i hate...when parents don't keep up with their children in stores. I put my toddler in a buggy to keep her out from under my feet, so please keep yours out from under my feet too. Come on now...

i like...Mint Oreo Cookie Ice Cream. Need I say more?

i wish...I could have a bowl of said ice cream but I finished it all last night.

for goodness sake...I don't understand loud cell phone conversations in the middle of Target about your doctors appointment. I didn't need to know that you're having a hairy mole removed from an unmentionable area.

i hope...Carly Beth is fully potty trained soon. We are so close!!

i hope...my hubby loves his birthday and Father's Day presents this weekend! He's super hard to shop for.

i pray...for continued healing. My heart is still so broken.

i pray...for babies for my friends.

i will...do what I say I'm going to do. Always.

i won't...hit the snooze button during the harvest. I'd rather nap in the afternoon than be picking beans in 98 degree weather.

and for today...I will try whole heartedly to cling to God's promises even when I feel hopeless. Oneday, Someday, Anyday is better than NOday. Gotta have faith that He will bless us, even in the droughts of life.

Location:Old Lenoir Rd,Hickory,United States

Swimming

Carly Beth is already a swimming pro this year!!




She loves her "gawgles"!



I love that she loves the water!

Carly Beth Gets a Haircut

The pictures aren't fabulous, CB wouldn't sit still. But today she got a real haircut with layers and everything!! She did well, and she's very proud of her haircut.

I can't believe she will be 3 in 18 days.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Double Date Night!!

First off, my husband is just awesome, fabulous, and amazing! The newest "tradition" he has put in place for our family is Double Date Night.

This isn't your traditional double date... Todd and Carly Beth go on a Father - Daughter date while I go on a Girls Only date with my "old friend" Laura Jo. We seem to have a solid groove going with every other Fridays being Double Date Nights...I don't even have a curfew!!

This past Friday was one of our fantastic evenings and we took a couple pictures before we left for our respective dates...

Location:Shirebourn,Hickory,United States

Errant Thought Round-Up #3

I love, I love, I hate, I hate
I like, I wish, for goodness sake...
I hope, I hope, I pray, I pray
I will, I won't, and for today...

I love... my Husband. Unconditionally, whole-heartedly, and more every day.
I love... my Mama. She is the rock of our family. I admire her a lot.
I hate... that we have to experience pain in order to appreciate joy.
I hate... watching my friends go through hard times. I just want to make it better.
I like... watching the dreams of my husband unfolding. One day, we will farm, sell our harvest, and be able to eat every meal together as a family, just like the Amish.
I wish... we were already living that dream. I miss my Hubby when he's at work.
For goodness sake... I wish people would educate themselves about what they are feeding their children. McDonald's is bad, people, and NOT because of Ronald McDonald!

I hope... that one day we have a home full of laughing children.
I hope... my daughter knows how much she loved.
I pray... that two of my very close friends receive the gift of children very soon.
I pray... for my daughter's husband and his family. I hope they guard his heart like we guard hers.
I will... be going to the Farmer's Market today. I love fresh veggies and grass-fed beef!
I won't... lose hope. I know God knows what He is doing, no matter how much it hurts. I will trust Him, He's all I have to depend on.
And for today... I will try to finish reading "Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter".

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

My 30 Things...

Well, there have been some things going on in my life, our lives, that have gotten in the way of my list.
We found out at the beginning of April that we were expecting a baby, but sadly, our little baby only made it to 7 weeks and 5 days. I'm not sure why this is our testimony, but we know God has a plan. I certainly have handled it much better than last summer. Thankfully we are in a better place emotionally, spiritually, and even physically with our move. Numerous people have shown God's love to us without even knowing our situation. I believe God intends to give us the desires of our hearts, we just have to put our faith in Him. I know, one day, our home will be filled with laughing children.

So, here's my list as it is now

1. Get a tattoo of a Dove - been meaning to do this for years. I'm going to get two little doves - one for each of our babies that we lost.
2. Read the works of C.S. Lewis. I am not doing well with this. I've put them down for a while. I don't understand. A lot of things I just can't grasp.
3. Discover a way to serve using my passion for Healthy Family relationships.
4. Move back to Hickory. Accomplished this the second week of January!
5. Lose 20 lbs.
6. "Run" a 5k
7. Start doing Yoga twice a week.
8. Learn the final dance from "Dirty Dancing".
9. Stay at the Grove Park Inn.
10. Have a makeover.
11. Learn to make ravioli.
12. Learn to ride a horse.
13. Bake bread from scratch, starting with grinding my own flour. I'm doing great with the breads! Grinders are expensive. Haven't found one yet.
14. Read my 1 year Bible from start to finish, not getting distracted by the Christmas story.(I always go back to Luke when December comes.)So far so good.
15. Learn my family heritage.
16. Make something and sell it on Etsy.com.
17. Be chosen to give the Vision or Communion Moment at Kinetic Church.I tried to do this one before we moved but they wouldn't let me. I won't be achieving this one.
18. Write a cookbook.I'm in the process! I'm working one finding recipes and trying them out. I've got about 30 recipes so far.
19. Read at least 50 NEW (as in I haven't read them before) books. I'm reading a lot. I'll do a post with all the books I've read so far. I've read around 20.
20. Learn how and become a pro at making Marshmallows.
21. Cook my way through two cookbooks, not skipping any recipes, and blog about it! I have chosen a Bread Baking Cookbook and the Farmer's Almanac Cookbook. I'm blogging on discoveringhomemade.blogspot.com
22. Learn my Mamaw's Lifestory.I'm working on this one too.
23. Develop a habit of making all our condiments: ketchup, mustard, vanilla extract, mayonnaise, butter, jelly, sour cream etc... trying recipes now :)
24. Become 100% organic and local for all our food needs. Farmer's market and growing our own veggies. Oh, and we are getting cows!
25. Adopt a child through Compassion International.
26. Be intentional about our home being less chaotic - there's always clutter. House keeping by charts works!
27. Be 100% fast food free except for the occasional Sonic
Strawberry Lime-ade. I'm there :)
28. Be better about our family blog and keeping up with Carly Beth's Milestones.I'm blogging a lot!!
29. Start a book club.I gotta do this :)
30. Let my hair grow for one year - only getting the occasional trim every 2-3 months. Doing great here!


So, there's where I am! :) I'm excited to get my things finished on my list.

Thanks for reading :)

Location:Old Lenoir Rd,Hickory,United States

An Update...

Sorry for the lack of posts...I am really trying to be better. :sigh: ... Life gets in the way sometimes, doesn't it? Here are some pictures from the farm...

 This one of Carly Beth really says a lot, I think...

Carly Beth and Granna

Carly Beth and Papa

Carly and Me feeding Bo and Jo-Jo...not captured is where Jo-Jo tried to bite my fingers off because I was trying to feed Banjo (the little goat) an extra treat. 

Todd got his honeybees this week. I don't think we'll get honey this year, but we should get gallons next year.  I've really enjoyed the farmer's markets and Carly Beth has taken a serious lovin' to playing in the creek. Farm life suits us.