Oh, hi there!

Soooo, Georgia turned 8 mos old last Friday and I still haven't gotten around to blogging about it.  Oops! 

I've been getting lazier with my blogging, but, if i makes you feel better, it's because I've been spending more time with my trusty old 'written word' journal!  It's been great and so necessary!  Being home alone so much with my thoughts is a scary thing, let me tell ya, and I realized that writing them out helps me have so much more understanding and clarity.  And, I've found it relaxes me and relieves some anxiety.  Obviously, I write about things I'm not comfortable/ brave enough to share on here.  My innermost thoughts are really not what this blog is about!  ;)

Most of you who know me, know I am a big believer and lover of journaling.  But, at the beginning of our marriage (now over 3 years ago), all my journals from throughout my entire life were tragically destroyed (long story).  I was crushed and, literally, had to grieve their loss and I just could no longer write.  James bought me a journal the next Christmas and I really gave it the old 'college try' (I've been meaning to insert that phrase into daily life, so yay for using it! lol), but no words would come. 

This blog has sort of helped me rekindle that desire, especially because I, oftentimes, feel stifled in this public forum and need an outlet where I can write without feeling any judgement or wondering if I'm misunderstood.

I'm thankful for this blog to track Georgia's progress and our lives here in Birmingham.  It's already so fun to look back and see God working and moving and to see how much GK has changed.  And, I'm thankful that this blog sparked a desire that's been buried for too long.

Ok, so now I'm going to turn off the computer and pick up my pen!  I promise to be back soon and post about GK's 8th month of life, the crazy cold front rushing through, and the pumpkin patch visit this weekend with our Bible Study!  Yippee!

What would you do if I sang outta tune??

FYI:  The Wonder Years is now streaming on Netflix. 

This makes me happy.

Finally feeling settled.

Change always comes bearing gifts.  ~Price Pritchett

And, so it has for us.   It has been a busy week with our new friends here in Birmingham -- and there are no signs of it slowing down!

We had our Mom Time Bible study Tues, which continues to be an amazing time to encourage each other as wives and mothers and make new friends!  There are about 12 of us and we have all just clicked!  A couple of us are planning a play date in the next week or so and a coffee date next Thursday night.

From our first meeting, God made it evident that each of us were put in this group for a purpose.  In sharing my testimony, including the recent childbirth injury, I found out one of the women had the EXACT SAME issue I just dealt with(we're talking less than 1% of births in the US for this RVF injury to occur...coincidence?  I think not.)  She and I are planning a coffee date sometime soon to share our stories and encourage one another.

In the last meeting, one new friend, Heather, mentioned a friend whose newborn was just diagnosed with a rare heart defect.  They are adjusting to this tough diagnosis and the upcoming surgeries to correct it and pray he pulls through.  Well, I just happen to have a sweet, lifelong friend who has the same condition and 27 years ago was one of the first newborns to receive a groundbreaking surgery that saved her life.  She is one of the oldest survivors of this condition and is an advocate and speaker for several organizations.  I was able to connect Heather's friend to mine for them to receive support.  Praise God for his divine interventions!

And, that was just on Tues!  

Wednesday, I had lunch with several moms from our Bible Study and then went to the park for a play date with Jennifer and Ella.  Jennifer is actually from Houston, but went to school at Auburn and stayed in Alabama with her husband.  Ella is 18 mos and is such a little explorer that loves to walk around constantly and just discover everything.  I babysat her with GK a week or so ago and having two on the move was QUITE the handful!  Made me thankful for my 1 little one...















 They are so cute!  Ella loves to give Georgia kisses-- we don't even have to prompt her!  :)  I really enjoy spending time with Jennifer and I am so thankful for her friendship.  I know she and her husband, Tim, will be a family we keep up with for life. 

Friday night was a throw back to our younger years with James and me heading out on town! We bought tickets to The Civil Wars concert back in July for my birthday (oh so long ago)-- remember?? (I should post a link to that blog post, but I'm too lazy). Anyway, we did it on a wing and a prayer that we would find safe, competent child care in the meantime and, luckily for us, we did!  Jennifer was so sweet to come over and 'watch' GK for us.  Georgia was already asleep when she got here at 7 and stayed that way until she left.  Kinda a win-win, b/c she got a quiet night away to catch up on reading (as she stated) and we got to go out and feel young again!  (My what a difference a year makes in one's life!)  We tried to blend in with all the young hipsters...but with both of us yawning nonstop starting around 9:30 and James asking if he could put in his ear plugs...not sure if we succeeded.

We had an amazing time!  The venue-- The Alabama Theatre-- was breathtaking and romantic!  The opening act was fun and quirky and Joy and JP were phenomenal.  Here are some pics:

Gorgeous, right?

self -portrait

I love him!

Milo Greene-- great band!

The Civil Wars

 In case you are unfamiliar with their music:
Milo Greene:
http://youtu.be/ooTyuRd9zSg
The Civil Wars:
http://youtu.be/UDntuu7EDYA
http://youtu.be/WfzRlcnq_c0

Saturday, our Sunday Bible Study (to be abbreviated SBS henceforthhitherto) all went out to our leaders' Tom and Ginger's 100 acre farm for a day of friends, fun, and, of course, football!  Georgia had several playmates with the large group and had a great time with the other kids playing on the floor while the adults talked.  But, oops! no pics.  Later in the evening, James and I had a lovely, private 4 wheeler ride around the property at dusk while GK napped in her playpen back at the house.  Though rabid SEC fans, they graciously flipped back and forth between the Auburn and A&M game-- and the Aggies won!  yay!  It was a great day of fellowship!

Sunday, church with Dr. David Platt and SBS.  If you have time, please listen to some of David's sermons here:  http://www.disciplemakingintl.org/media/series/  I also love John Piper (sermons found here: www.desiringgod.org) just to throw that out there while talking about online resources.  We truly feel blessed to be in our church under Dr. Platt's leadership.  

After several posts oozing with my desperation for friends for our family and for me/GK, I just had to follow up with this post to make it clear how abundantly God has answered ours--and maybe your-- prayers for us.  I have 1-2 play dates per week scheduled out for a couple months!  There are women in my bible study on Tuesdays that I look forward to getting to know better.  We have amazing leaders in Tom and Ginger that desire to minister to us and help us throughout the week and not just on Sunday.  I know several women well enough here to pick up the phone and call just to talk or schedule a play date.  It is such a blessing!

Friends, what else can I say?  He is faithful.  He is sovereign.  Lord of all!

What language you speaking there, Georgia?!?

Her new favorite sound!!! :)

Parent's Night Out!

Pure awesomeness.

First time in a swing!

Going through the Big D...and, yes, I mean Dallas!

Georgia Kate with her Uncle Bill and Aunt Katie!  :)

 Well, my friends/family, it's been a while so I thought I'd catch ya up to speed!  Georgia Kate and I visited the great state of Tejas for 6 days last week (2 being driving days).  We drove, just the two of us, the looong 11.5 hr trip.

I had some anxiety going into it--mainly related to how Georgia would handle being in her car seat for so long...and how I would handle all the stops on my own.  We got tons of advice from our Sunday Bible study group and my Tuesday Mom's group.  It was all super helpful and it all worked out well.  Here are some tips I received and learned along the way, in case any of you may be taking a long road trip:

1. Have a bag of toys (including a few new ones) next to you in the front seat.  When she starts to fuss or get bored, toss one back to her.  -- This really helped me!

2. Plan out pit stops along the way at Cracker Barrels.  They are safe, have relatively clean restrooms, and you can take a break from the road by rocking on the front porch!  -- This was A-mazing advice from my mom's friend.  Especially, since I was driving alone, it gave me peace of mind and a nice break. I would change GK in the restroom and then sit on the porch and rock her while she ate.  It was perfect!  One drawback, though.  See #5

3.  Get a DVD player with music and videos. --- We opted not to do this for budgetary reasons, but I'm sure it would help!

4.  Stop about every 3 hours so the baby can take a break and stretch and also to keep their diaper fresh.  -- Learned this one the hard way on the trip there.  I tried to push it to 3.5 -4 hours and I suffered the consequences-- overflow due to her going #1 on our first stop in Jackson and overflow due to #2 when we made it to Coppell (which ended up all over the car seat!)

5.  Find a restroom that has a changing table INSIDE the restroom.  That way Mama can do her business. -- Now, if you are not driving alone, this isn't an issue.  But, if you are like me-- all alone-- this can be an issue.  I loved stopping at CB, but their changing station was outside the restroom, which meant I had to awkwardly (pardon the TMI) take GK with me into the stall and hold her, while not touching anything and not letting her touch anything and somehow do my thang... Least favorite part of the trip!

6.  Get a baby mirror.  --I didn't have one of these before this trip and didn't really feel the need, but if you are going on a long car ride, it really helps to be able to see their face and what they are up to.

7.  Leave as early in the morning as safely possible.  That way you can get a good bit of driving out of the way before the baby is 'up' for the day. --I left around 4am (see pic below)

Georgia's a pretty laid back baby (unless food is involved!) and she didn't disappoint!  She was amazing and chill the majority of the ride.  She only fussed for a few minutes right before she nodded off or if the sun was in her eyes.

We had a blast with family and friends!

GK sleeping after Marmee Dear took her to work to show her off to coworkers!

Georgia in her first blanket fort!!! 

Demolished! -- I guess she's too young to appreciate it just yet.

Saturday night we were able to see James' parents and extended family-- a wonderful treat!  I wish I had taken pictures, but it's hard when it's just you trying to watch the little one.

Sunday night, Katie (my sister) and her huz hosted the Shearin extended clan for a housewarming/GK meet-and-greet!  Katie and my mom have spent the last few months decorating Katie and Jarrod's new home-- and it looks gorgeous!!!!  Check out the pics--

Perfect weather!

I love the landscaping!

Cute fall decor around the door! 

Living room/entry/skylight/updated 80's wet bar

They have a double fireplace.  This is the other side in the den area.

Porch/Back yard

The Hostess with the Mostess in the breakfast nook.

Formal dining.  LOVE the new chandelier and large windows!

Living room with the beautiful stacked stone fireplace.

Gorge kitchen!  I die!

Other view of the den.

Details! -- side table and lamp from a shop here in Bham.

Great built-ins

Love the FP.

Great chair and rug.  Seestar has great taste:)

Aspen paintings.

more built-ins and window seat in the Kitchen.

I'm a bragging sister, but don't you love it?!

It was so great to see everyone (last time was at Easter!) and we even got to see my cousin Brandi (on my mom's side) and her family!  Georgia Kate loved playing with her cousin, Gracie Kay!  Again, I wish I had taken more pictures of everyone! 

Sweet Cousin kisses!!!

GK: "Hey!  Can I play with you?!"

Many onlookers! :)

Sharing.

Showing Great-Aunt Susan one of her favorite toys...

And, her preferred placement of every item within reach-- HER MOUTH!

GK:  "A present for me?!"

GK: "Yummy!  Tissue paper-- my favorite!  Oh, my actual present is inside?"

GK:  "I think I prefer the tissue paper."  J/k!  The dress is precious!!!

"Please don't take my picture.  I'm on an important call." :)

Smiles!

Enjoying chillin with Great-Uncle Mike!

Tuesday, I hung out with my cousin, Mary, and got to see my college roomie -- Lauren, her mom, sister, and sister's 5 month old!

Us with Lauren and her nephew.

What a fun trip!  We are blessed and can't wait to head back that way in late Oct/early Nov.

We'll be flying this time..solo again...this could get even more interesting...