Our Easter 2012

Easter this year seemed to creep up on us so fast! We decided to go to our church's Sunrise service at 7am. I had my doubts that we could make it, but we did.

The Lord was looking after us this particular morning because I was able to get both babies dressed in 10 minutes. Harper didn't throw a tantrum and Hollin kept on sleeping during wardrobe change, haha. We didn't wake up until 6 and the service started at 7. Needless to say, we were rushing.

Here is my stinker trying to open candy at 6:20am.


I was in such a rush to get out the door, I had to do Hollin's Easter bucket later in the day.


We arrived at the service just as the choir was singing and it was so awesome to hear the message as the sun was coming up. It was held at Airlie Gardens, in front of an oak tree that is estimated to be over 400 years old.

My parents went with us this year, which was so nice. I have photos of them, but my mom is not a fan of being on my blog haha. So here is a picture of Harper and dad.

And here is little Hollin with her wonky bow. I tried 3 times to make a headband with it, but it just didn't work.

After the service, a few Sunday school friends and I organized a little Easter egg hunt. Most of the photos I took were blurry (seriously, I'm so annoyed with myself. My hubby seems to think it's my vision because he takes the clearest pictures ever.) I borrowed these from my friend's facebook.

Here is Harper hugging her little girl, Eliza. She is not quite 2.

Probably one of my favorite pictures to date.

The moment quickly passed when Harper lost his balance. They both went tumbling and well.....


She was a good sport. And so were her parents. Thankfully.

Harper apparently had to use the restroom, so we left not long after.


I wanted a family Easter photo, but this was the best we could get.


We headed over to my father-in-laws house for a quick brunch. Hollin fell asleep so sweetly in Jimmy's arms. Love these two.


I sort of stopped taking pictures as this point. A week of non-stop going and party planning on top of getting up so early kind of hit me all at once. I ate, socialized and then came home to crash.

Every year at this time, I am humbled by the magnitude of Easter's meaning. It makes everything I piddle with seem so insignificant. It doesn't really matter if my photos are blurry or if we can't get a good family photo. As a mom, I absolutely want to preserve these memories in photos the best I can, but ultimately, it isn't that important. What's important is that we recognize what Jesus did for us and to live for Him each day.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.

John 11:25-26
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. (NIV)

A special Sunday

On Sunday, March 18, we dedicated our sweet baby girl.

I had been looking forward to this for quite a while, because it was very special in so many ways.

First, Hollin wore a beautiful Feltman Brothers dress bought for her by my dad. I thought she looked like such an angel.


The night before, I worked really late on a bracelet for her. It is made of my late grandmother's pearls and a cross from a necklace that I had when I was little.


I borrowed the following poem to go along with her bracelet:

Psalm 52:8
"But I am like an olive tree
Flourishing in the house of God;
I trust in God's unfailing love
for ever and ever."

A dedication gift for our sweet baby girl;
You'll wear this beautiful cross and pearls.

And years from now when you become a bride;
on something "old" you must decide.

Tuck this bracelet in your bouquet with love
from your parents on your special day.

We went to Sunday school where our friends held a nice brunch for us and another couple who was dedicating their little boy.




After brunch, we headed to the Sanctuary where the Director of Children, Jeannie Troutman, walked her down both aisles of the church.






She came back and did the same for our friend's baby, Charlie, and then had prayer. Hollin received a certificate, a precious white bible with her name engraved and a beautiful pink rose.


After the service, we had family over for lunch! It felt so great to share such a special day with our friends and family.

We are so thankful for our sweet babies :)

One year ago

Our lives changed forever when we realized we were expecting another baby! (February 25th, 2011 to be exact.)

Words cannot express how happy we are as a family of four and how much joy our sweet Hollin has brought into our lives.



I'm so thankful for that little plastic stick :)

Back and relieved

I'm so glad to be back and updating the ol' blog. I hope to start blogging a little more regularly now. Before I dive in though, I want to say thank you SOOO much for your kind words and encouragement in regard to my last post. I know I'm not alone, but it's easy to feel that way when I let my life as a-stay-at-home mom/police wife get to me. It can be very isolating.

I just got back this morning from a visit to my hometown church where my mom and I shared our testimony. If you remember in one of my first posts ever, I talked about the fact that I am adopted. I hope to share my full story soon. It's been something that I have wanted to do for a long time, but it will take me a little while to write it. Time is something I don't have in abundance right now :)

I mentioned in my blog title that I am relieved. I'm just relieved that I have the speaking behind me! Don't get me wrong, I love speaking, but I worried about it a lot this time. I've had my hands very full in the weeks leading up to it and didn't have ample time to rehearse what I wanted to say. I feel like I rambled a lot :(

The bright side is that my mom did a fantastic job (as always) and our message was conveyed. I also found out that I have two readers from back home. Hey Mrs. Janie and Mrs. Miriam!!

Today has been a catch-up day. I do believe that every last item of clothing in my house was dirty. I think I've done 6 loads of laundry, in between playing with the babies.

(Excuse the trash bag full of clothes hangers.)




I snuck Hollin into Harper's bed as he was waking up. He tolerated her for a little while then said, "Take her out."


I am going to very spoiled by the end of this week. Jimmy is in training and is on a Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm schedule. It may be a coincidence, but the babies and I had a GREAT day today. Hollin wasn't fussy, Harper listened (for the most part) and even came in and went #2 with NO fighting or screaming!! Jimmy came in and we did dinner at a normal time. It was fantastic.

I hope everyone had an equally fantastic weekend! Come back tomorrow for Hollin's 3 month post.

Midweek Cofessions

Hi everyone!



I never thought my hubby and I would become the kind of couple that would eat the same meal once a week.. but we have. We have recently implemented "Taco Night." This is his baby, because he does all the prep work and cooking. We get all giddy about it. We are officially old.

I can't believe my sweet girl is 8 weeks old. I don't like saying "two months." :) If I remember correctly, I stopped with the weekly-age-thing when Harper turned 13 weeks.

I got lowlights yesterday but I'm too lazy to take a picture. I really like them though. I'm glad hubby likes them even though he likes my hair to be nearly Playboy bunny blonde. I'll go back to that for the Spring and Summer :)


My little man started Preschool again today after a 2 week Christmas break. I think we were all happy to get back into that routine again.

This isn't a confession, just something really sweet that happened last night. As I was tucking Harper in, I asked him to repeat what I was saying...

Me: "Goodnight mommy"
Harper: "Goodnight mommy"
Me: "Goodnight daddy"
Harper: "Goodnight daddy"
Me: "Goodnight sissy"
Harper: "Goodnight sissy"
Me: "Goodnight Jesus"
Harper: "Goodnight Jee-bus."

He is so precious.


Happy Wednesday!

2011 comes to a close

This year has been full of wonderful things for our family. Hollin is the first thing that comes to mind when I look back on 2011. I was thankful that I was able to blog about my 2nd pregnancy. When I was pregnant with my first, I didn't even know what a blog was!


Words can't describe the joy Hollin has brought into our lives and we are so thankful that God gave us the privelege to be her parents. Today she is two months old! Pics to follow tomorrow.


We've been blessed to watch Harper grow into such a little man, start Preschool and then become a big brother.


We are now about to move into our forever home (as far as I am concerned:) and we are so, SO very thankful for our blessings this year.


Jimmy, Harper, Hollin and I wish all of you a very Happy New Year!




Bring on 2012!

The secret is finally out!

I've been teasing you all for a few days now and I've been dying to talk about this for over a month.

We finally revealed the news to my in-laws over the last two nights, so now I can tell you all!

If you guessed that we are going on vacation......sorry.

If you guessed that we are getting a pool......you're getting warmer!
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We bought a house!!
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With a pool!

Here are the short details about the house since it's midnight and I am super tired. It was a foreclosure that we stumbled upon and had only been on the market for 14 days when we went to look at it. It is an older home, built in the 1960's, which is exactly what Jimmy and I have been looking for. Without going into all of the super boring details, we put in an offer, went back and forth with the bank for about a week and a half and our offer was finally accepted!

As part of the "deal" with the bank, we will close on December 30th. We're getting close!

With the house being a foreclosure, of course there are some cosmetic things that need to be repaired. The former owners left in a hurry and left a lot behind. It has 4 bedrooms 2 and 1/2 baths. All in all, the house was a steal and we are about 3 miles from the beach. The most important feature of this home is the school district. This was one area that I was not willing to compromise on and we ended up in an excellent district. I am so thrilled about that.

Here are a few photos of the house.

(View from the bottom of our backyard.)


(Screened in porch.)


(Living Room.)


(Family Room.)


(Office off of the Family Room.)




(Kitchen)


(Window seat. Gotta get those cushions redone :)


(Other side of the Kitchen.)


(Guest Bath off of Kitchen.)


(Master Bedroom.)


(Master Bath.)


(Kid's bathroom upstairs. I won't show every angle, but this shows the beautiful color we will be working with for awhile :)

The rest of the pictures are of the bedrooms and they are pretty basic. Now that I've spilled the details on the house, there is another important detail that I'd like to share!
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These two special people will be joining us in our move!


That's right. My mom and dad are relocating to the coast!! The short story is this:

Due to job changes and simply wanting to be close to all of us, my mom and dad have decided to build a garage apartment on the same lot as our home. The original plan was to have a completely separate unit on our lot, but because of restrictions due to city code, their dwelling has to be connected to our house. We've decided that a breezeway will solve that problem!

My dad will continue to work in Raleigh, NC for several more years and will stay with a family friend during the week. He will travel to see us on weekends. My mom will live in our house until the construction of their home is complete.

Jimmy and I are SO excited that this is happening! Due to the nature of his job, having my mom's immediate help 24/7 is a dream come true. Having her here also eases his mind about my being home alone at night with both kiddos. There are a million more reasons why we are so excited about this, but these are the main points.

My parents and I agree that we all want our own separate lives and will make sure that we stay true to that. All of us have spent a lot of time talking and praying about this and agree that this is what we want to do.

I can't believe that this house is most likely our forever home! I don't see any reason why I would ever want to leave. This is where we will raise our kids, have birthday and pool parties and watch them leave for prom from our driveway.

We once again realize how much God has blessed us this year. We are so ready and excited to get moved in and start making memories. We are finally getting settled and putting down our roots.

Thank you Lord for blessing us again,