Guess what?! We're Moving!

Time has slipped away from me these last few months, but in a good way. Life has been so busy yet so fun lately. We are having a wonderful summer... many days spent on the lake and in the pool. We've taken many little road trips and weekend getaways as well. Savannah, Tybee Island, Hilton Head Island, Nashville, Gulf Shores... and speaking of Gulf Shores, we've got exciting news to share...

Alex just accepted a job near the Alabama gulf coast in Spanish Fort, AL. He will officially be a General Manager for Cracker Barrel. I'm so proud of him! He deserves this and it's been a long time coming.

Sadly, we will be leaving our home in LaGrange within the next months. I will miss being down the street from my in-law's, I will miss my current job at the Museum and all the wonderful people that I work with, the girls will miss their friends, teachers and schools, I will miss the familiarity of a "hometown" that I've grown to call LaGrange.

We know it's going to be a transition for us, so we gladly accept all prayers you can send our way, but we are very excited for where God is leading us. We are excited about the Spanish Fort and Daphne area... much more to do, a great school system, many family friendly neighborhoods and communities, lots of history but a focus on the future, central location on the water and close to the beach, and much more. One of the most exciting things for me is I will be a stay-at-home mom once again which gives us a peace about maybe possibly expanding our family in the future!

It's funny how the Lord works. He sure has a sense of humor. I'll tell you what though, it's true what they say, "If you want to make God laugh, then tell Him your plans." I remember when Alex and were discussing which stores he could apply to. I specifically said "No Alabama and no farther south." I love fall and winter too much and I wasn't willing to give my seasons up yet. I had several areas that I had my eye on... North Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte or Asheville, or even Charleston. I wasn't THAT picky, but God still laughed. Now, I laugh at my plans too. As soon as I visited the Spanish Fort and Daphne area, I immediately fell in love and just had a peace about the whole thing.

That's all for now, maybe next time I will be updating this blog from a new couch in a new home. :)
'

Spring Break in the Caribbean.

There are many, many things I could ramble on about that have been going on lately between putting our house on the market (praise God!) to Aubriella finally being potty trained (praise God some more!) to Alex getting promoted to Senior Associate Manager and now being eligible to start applying for his own store (you know what to do... praise Him!), but instead of going into detail on all these amazing blessings in our life right now, I'd like to focus on our fun Spring Break we had in the Caribbean.

We are so blessed to have amazing family. Alex's grandparents invited us to go on 7-night Caribbean Disney Cruise. Even though Alex could not get out of work because the store was short handed that week, the girls and I could not pass up such an amazing opportunity to spend sometime with the grandparents, aunt & uncle and the cousins on the Disney Fantasy ship in the middle of the ocean. We had a BLAST! I cannot begin to explain how much fun we had. Now, I did a lot of research once we decided we were going, so I knew about all the fun stuff that was available on and off the ship, but once I got there everything was actually way better than I'd imagined. I literally took over 1,000 pictures on the trip, then posted over 300 on facebook, but I'm going to try to narrow it down to about 15 on the blog. So here goes...

Minnie with our mustache pen.

Girls playing computer games in "Pixie Hollow" (Tinkerbell's home)

Aubrie in "Andy's Room" (Toy Story)

The girls loved meeting Rapunzel so much, we met her twice. Her she is admiring their matching sparkly Toms shoes. :)

Belle!

Coffee and the view of Cozumel from my room. 

Aubrie ("Izzy") with Jake.

Sand angels at Castaway Cay

Can we stay here forever?

Nemo's Reef on the ship. Fun times!

Breakfast of champions. (and wearing the adorable shirt I made her <3)

Selfie with my Minnie pocket tee I made. <3

Donald loves our mustache pen too!

I found the sunken Mickey statue while snorkeling. 

Adaleigh in Cozumel.

Some highlights from the cruise... the quality time with family, the food, the shows, the meet-and-greets with all the characters, the shopping at all the ports, the kids clubs, the snorkeling (my fave "me-time" moment), the beach at Castaway Cay, exploring the ship, the views, the 24/7 ice cream, the pools, the unlimited Disney movies (and more!) on demand in the room, the friendly (and very entertaining) staff, and so much more!

We are already planning to try to go on Disney cruise summer of 2015 and we'll let Alex tag along this time. ;)

A bitter cold winter warms my heart...

So I know I'm way overdue for an update. Many days I came to this blog with every intention to type something, anything. Lots has happened since my last post, but there are just many reasons why I ended up not posting anything.

I've watched several of my friends and family members have their pictures and lives stolen off their blogs and facebook pages which quite frankly makes me sick and worries me. I have known for a long while that I post way too much on the internet about my life, my family, and my whereabouts. Having kids is the most concerning part in all of this (especially girls as beautiful as mine ;)). I've contemplated deleting many things, but really, once it's on the web, it stays on the web. So my goal is to start being a little more careful. As of now I'll still be posting pictures to document my life and share with family, but I may end up making this blog private if I start updating more often (if I have the time)...

That brings me to the other main reason why I haven't posted. My life has been so hectic and busy. For the most part, it's a good thing though. I definitely miss my sleep at night, having the luxury of being able to watch my favorite shows during the week, going out with friends, or just eating a decent meal without the constant rush of life. I love my job though, even on the crazy days. I've learned a lot about myself throughout this season and I've met many great people that I know God has brought into my life for a reason. I'm thankful for those that speak into my life with their encouraging and uplifting council, and then I'm thankful for those that God has brought into my life to challenge my character and discernment even when I have to bite my tongue when I want to scream "WHYYYY?". I'm still thankful.

The girls are growing up so fast and learning new things everyday as well. Adaleigh got her "report card" this week. She's excelling in most if not all areas. She's way over her accelerated reading goal and is such a good writer, reader, and math wiz. I feel bad most nights when we don't have time to read a book 3 times, or go over her sight words... she begs and begs every day, but some days we just don't have time. Aubriella is speaking very well these days. Now if only I could that little girl potty trained!!! Is it always more difficult for the second child? Ack! The teachers say she's talking a lot more, but really comes alive and participates in music. She loves to sing and dance. She's definitely my entertainer. Adaleigh's my introvert and Aubrie's the extrovert. They are two peas in a pod though. I love that they are able to play together even if it's when they are covering the floors and furniture with forts and palaces, or hanging up coloring pages and pictures all over the house, or just playing baby dolls.

I'll leave you with a few pictures from Christmas...

I'm thankful for this beautiful manager scene that my mom and dad hand built and painted. One for each of their daughters, just like my grandpa did for his daughters. Sweetest Christmas moment and memory from 2013. 

Adaleigh's favorite gifts this year were her swing set and American Girl doll. She also accepted Jesus as her Savior this past year so she had a new meaning to Christmas. So thankful for this little girl and her bedtime prayers and her questions and curiosity about faith, Heaven, and life. Hearing her tell Jesus she loves Him every night is such a blessing to me. 

This fun day at the beach the week of Christmas was a nice change of climate compared to the cold winter we're having in Georgia.

Christmas Eve at the Merry-Go-Round in Valley, Alabama.