Wordless Wednesday - Sunset

Sunset from our backyard.

Reason # 5347 I love our new home.

Where am I again?!

I don't remember winters ever being this cold in Maryland. It's seriously cold here, a balmy 23 degrees when our plane landed last night and the high today was probably 35. So it's not as cold as some places across the country, but it certainly is cold for this Maryland girl, turned Floridian. Brrrr!

Abby and I had a fun morning playing with Gramma and Emily. Abby just adores her cousin... it's so sweet! During naptime I finally got to visit one of my best friends and her new twin boys. They are quite possibly the most cuddliest, cutest, sweetest little boys EVER!!!

Drew ... the little one with tons of facial expressions and personality.

Nick ... the chunkier one (but still so tiny!)

that would probably snuggle with me all day long.

It was so nice to catch up with Carly and spend time with the new babies. I could have held them all day... I soooo miss this age. Oh, they are just so sweet and I can't wait to spend some more time with them!

Playdate Fun :)

I love having playdates with friends who have toddlers around the same age as Abby. It's interesting to watch the kiddies interact with each other and it's the perfect time for the moms to gab all about mommyhood. Sure, the kids "play" with each other but most importantly it gives us moms the chance to talk, give or take advice, and to support each other. Being a mom isn't easy, but it's well worth it!

Abby and Jonah are the sweetest things when they play together. They share hugs and kisses and happily play with toys, only snatching toys from each other here and there. It doesn't happen often and when it does, they go about their business like nothing even happened. It's great! Abby showed Jonah all her toys, which Jonah liked the vacuum best. He vacuumed our house over and over, bless his heart - it needed it! :)

Isn't he just adorable?!

Thankful Thursday

It's not that I haven't had a lot to be thankful for lately, but I've been slacking on my Thankful Thursday posts. Tonight I'm going to make a quick, random, thankful list.

1. Happy to have finally found a church where I know our family will be able to grow in so many ways. I'm looking forward to gaining new friendships and getting closer to God.

2. The power of prayer. I've asked several of you to pray for my grandmother and I'm thankful for those of you who have added her to your prayer list. She was doing better, returned home from the hospital Tuesday... only to be taken back to the hospital yesterday. Please continue to pray.

3. Beautiful weather this week. The sun has been shining and today it was 77 degrees with a slight breeze. Absolutely PERFECT. 27 degrees is what I have in store for me next week, when I return home to visit family. Yikes!

4. Gymbucks. I. heart. Gymboree. Everything in that store is just too cute to resist and Gymbucks help me save money.... and for this, the hubs should be VERY thankful!

5. The hubs received great news this week. Another year with the Orioles. Here's hoping for a healthy, injury free season this year!

6. Movie nights (at home) with the hubs. We've decided to make one night of the week a movie night. No computers, no phones, just us... and a movie... and popcorn! And since tonight is that night, I'm signing out of here ... time to relax. :)

Wordless Wednesday - Cute Bottoms

Sweet hand me downs

At some point in your life, you will become the recipient of hand me downs. Whether it's clothes from your sister or shoes from your friend, sometimes it's really nice to get these things passed onto you. Other times, not so much. And then there are times when it's extra special and full of sweet memories. Take a look at Abby ...

The outfit that she is wearing is a hand me down from her Grandad (my Dad). My Dad wore this when he was a little boy. Then my oldest sister wore it. My middle sister wore it. I wore it. Get the drift? It's been passed down and passed down. It may not be the cutest thing on a little girl, but it sure does look a lot sweeter knowing where this outfit has come from. And of course all the memories that come along with it. :)

Under Construction

I finally got the nerve to redesign my blog (eek!) with the help of many online tutorials and PhotoShop! It makes me a little nervous when messing around with HTML and all that fun stuff, but I'm starting to feel more confident with it and I'm trying new things. So I thought I would warn y'all that for the next few days, you may need to wear a hard hat around here... there is a lot of construction goin' on! :)

I'll be back to blog a "real" post later tonight!

Wordless Wednesday - ABC's

"B" is for BELLY!

I'm in over my head ...

... in over my head with too many pictures of Abby. I'm sure those of you with children know exactly what I'm talking about. A baby is born and suddenly you are walking around with a new appendage. No, not the baby. The camera. I always have my camera handy at the house and we take it along with us most of the time. Whether to the park, beach, or a playdate... the camera is out and snapping memorable moments at an alarmingly fast rate.

I love, love, love capturing moments that will someday allow me to reminisce the most special times that made me cry, smile, and laugh outloud. I'll be able to pull out pictures like this and laugh because of a simple funny face. I love it!

So what's the problem? The problem is that I take all these pictures ... pictures that I adore. BUT... these pictures stay on my computer and never get printed. Occasionally I'll print some random pictures to frame or send to family, but I haven't done anything with a majority of the pictures I've taken in the past 16 months! I used to scrapbook but don't have the time these days.

So I'm curious to know what you do with the precious pictures you take. Do you scrapbook? Do you have pictures printed and put right into photo albums? What about making a photo book online? Like I said, I'm in over my head... and I have no idea where to start! I want to continue taking pictures but have a better way to organize them, without having to pray that my computer will never crash. Any ideas or advice for this Mama?!

Wordless Wednesday - Good Morning Sunshine

Sign of a good nights sleep?

Shirt halfway off in the morning.

There's always one ...

Think back to when you were a young child. It's Christmas morning, you wake your parents with pure excitement at an early hour of 6 or 7 am. You wait patiently while your parents brew their coffee and your older sisters sluggishly wake from their sleep. Eyes wide and surveying the gifts under the tree, you imagine what is found inside each box. Baby Jesus is placed in the manger, for it is the day He was born. The parade on the television begins and music full of life fills the air. Finally it's time... the time you've been waiting for, it's time to open those gifts. The time to find that one special gift.

Maybe your mornings went a bit differently, but that's exactly how I remember so many Christmas mornings spent with my family. I also remember that one special gift that could make my heart burst inside and my smile glow for all to see. Maybe it was when I got my very first porcelain doll, a clown, which I would sadly drop on the sidewalk later that day. Maybe it was Teddy Ruxpin, the bear that would read and cuddle with me. Or maybe it was the kitchen set. A baby doll. Game Boy. Whatever it was, I'm convinced there is always that one special gift.

For Abby this Christmas, that one special gift was her very first "real" baby doll. I am so glad we captured the moment with an insane amount of pictures. The excitement and surprise in her eyes is something I'll remember for a long time. The affection that she has for her baby melts my heart. It makes me so happy to see her lovin' on her baby and makes me proud that we have taught her how to love. Abby may not remember this gift years from now, but we will have pictures to take her down memory lane. In those pictures she will see the happiness that was brought to her life in that moment. The happiness from that one special gift.