Jack & Luke

One of my dearest friends gave birth to 30 week preemies 4 weeks ago.

I was asked to do a photo chronology of their growth & development while they stayed in the NICU & transitional nurseries.....what an honor!!

They are doing absolutely fabulous!!

2 little miracles.

I have gone each week to take photos & I'm amazed to see their progress each time.

Their family is one of great faith. This pregnancy has been a testimony to the power of their prayers.

Mama gave me the "ok" to share these little images so I proudly introduce.....

Jack ~~3 days old with daddy peeking in the isolette--I love that image!

Sweet little man!

Jack holding daddy's finger--3 days old

Mommy and Luke (oh, I think!) 3 weeks old

Precious toes
Luke at 3 weeks

mommy & daddy with little Jack

Little Luke last night. They just began to wear clothes this week!! so sweet!!

Psalm 139.13 -14

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made!

My sweet Emily Austin

Happy birthday my sweet girl. 11years old--it seems like yesterday.

I found out I was pregnant with you on new years eve....just days before your daddy found the lump. The lump that would later prove to be metastatic melanoma. I often refer to you as my angel baby....had we not have gotten pregnant right when we did, there may have been no you.

Daddy was very sick the entire time I was pregnant with you. He loved the name Emily. Which worked perfect with me. My first madame alexander doll was named Emily.

We were going to induce labor around daddy's chemo schedule. He did fine until the day you were born. Its like he was waiting to make sure YOU were ok. From that night on he quickly went down hill. He passed away when you were 10 weeks old...but you looked just like him! What a special gift from the Lord. As you grew we saw how much you resembled his favorite relatives....

happy & cheerful

and full of joy!

Seems like you've lived a lifetime already for such a young girl. I can't image "us" without "you". You are the tender soul in a busy house of chatter box girls. You have a forgiving spirit that often times amazes me. You are so loyal. You certainly are the most loyal friend anyone could ask for. You still hug me in public...melts my heart everytime. When you & I go on walks together, you reach out to hold my hand.

I hope you know I am so proud to be your momma.

I am always here for you.

Daddy Gregg looks down from Heaven each day & is full of love for YOU>

Happy Birthday angel baby.

Smitten

We are absolutely smitten!

Meet Brinkley, our newest member of the family.

For quite sometime I have talked about our future golden~~

we were going to name her Lucy.

We decided it was time...we contacted a great organization here in Atlanta that places goldens. These dogs have been turned in for one reason or another. Surely this guy's former owner labored over the decision to turn him in.

Anyway~~

they are placed in a foster home,

given a clean bill of health,

all their shots, spayed/or neutered

& given lots of love until the perfect family comes along.

You first fill out an app, have a phone interview, & then if you make it through that- you have a home check.

The super sweet lady in charge of placing us with a dog called Thursday night to tell me she had a wonderful dog that she felt would be a perfect match for our family.

Well after meeting this precious boy , we were all completely smitten. His name was Snickers but after much family deliberation we decided on Brinkley & it really seems to fit his personality.

Lucy who? Well, maybe one day. But for now, we are head over heels for this boy!

He has such a sweet soul.

His fosters have never heard him bark.

He doesn't jump ...oh my!

When we sat down the first night for dinner, he gently laid down beside us...no begging!

No accidents....

I mean if we could find these characteristics in future son-in-laws for four girls we would have it made! HA!

Anyway, we feel so fortunate. Thank you Lord! Emi & Brinkley on his first night.

She laid down to pet him & fell asleep.

Slept right there the whole night- both of 'em!

Blink

Yes
I did
I blinked
& she went from this baby girlto this beautiful girl
in the blink of an eye.
I'm so proud of her.
Today she started 9th grade!!
Her first day at her huge high school....think there are 2600 kids..oh my!!

Honestly, I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for her this new chapter in her life. Friends have asked me if I am sad or scared about this new phase in her life....heck no!! I am thrilled to be where we are in her life. I am so excited & blessed to have a happy , healthy , self confident , grounded daughter. Yes I realize that life is fragile. (She lost her biological daddy to cancer) . & yes, I realize that they do grow up in a flash. But I am honored & proud to watch all my girls succeed in life & bloom where they are planted.
Yes I miss the days when she was that little girl, with all four front teeth out at the same time. But I wouldn't trade the "today" for anything.

She has been an easy child to parent. She makes all A's seemingly effortlessly. She has a great quick sense of humor & when she's not being too "14" she cracks me up. She is outgoing ~~too many friends to even count. She is your typical first born in that she is a high achiever, one with many leadership qualities. She loves Jesus. She is a loyal friend.
Don't get me wrong....I would be just as proud of her if she didn't have any of these qualities. I am proud of what she does but I am MUCH more proud of "who" she is.

Being able to watch her cheer this fall is going to be a blast. She has worked hard to get to this point- years of tumbling & gymnastics. It is such fun to watch her living her dreams.
I can say all this mush since she doesn't read my blog!!

Many blessings to you baby girl!
I am so proud to be Savannah's mom!

You may be one of millions

but you're one in a million to me!!

( thanks Brad Paisley for that great little song)

The birthday girl & school starts

Monday....2 sleeps...these 4 girlies of mine head off to
3 different schools
busy schedules~~
cheerleading ,
football games,
competition squads,
ballet 6 days a week,
tumbling,
art lessons
& violin.
Not to mention sunday school & various social events. Oh my!~
Yes, i do indeed have my mom agenda ready & the kitchen folio should arrive Tuesday by my friendly UPS man! That mom agenda rocks! Not only is it gorgeous ( which, being a visual person is very important)
it has places for four children's daily schedule-perfect,
place for menus-if i ever get that organized,
and just a great calender layout.
This new folio thingy I'm certain will change life as I know it! I will not only be organized but cute while attempting to keep up with our new insane schedule.
So today we celebrated Emily's 11th birthday! Sweet girl had 4 super duper cutiepies come for a little pool party. Emily is not one to have a gazillion friends like her older sister , but she's more of a "few really good friends" kinda girl. She has always picked kind sweet little (oops, guess I can't say that anymore) girls.
Today was much fun.
I hope you feel loved & celebrated sweet Em!!

Happy Birthday Kristin

Happy Birthday weekend friend! Have a wonderful time on the gulf coast!!!

Well how sweet is that?

Sweet Jeanne nominated me for the "Nice Matters Award" & that my friends, is just too sweet. I'm going to use the quote from her blog, hope that's ok Jeanne--wink!

"This award will be awarded to those that are just nice people, good blog friends and those that inspire good feelings and inspiration! Those that care about others that are there to lend support or those that are just a positive influence in our blogging world!"

I have loved spending time on this blog & "meeting" so many amazingly creative, kind, warm & fun women from all over.

So, I will now nominate a few of my girlfriends for being so nice too!!

Warm fuzzies.....

Ps Thank you Jeanne ~~you are all of those qualities mentioned above!!

Oh--first, I wanted to share my super cute Whimsy kit from Kimberly. This kit is so fun--definitely high on the priority list when my girlies head back to school Monday.
Cari is such a super sweet blog friend & I have enjoyed many of her Etsy treats and given some as gifts too. When she heard my Emi was going to have a birthday party this weekend, sweet Cari offered to whip up one of her infamous birthday party hats & throw it in the mail before she left on her vacation.
Cari, you are my first Nice Matters nominee today!

My second nominee is Tracy from Junk2jewels. I love this girl! Found her on eBay a few years ago & lucky for us, she has a super fun blog filled lately with great beauty tips. Tracy always has an encouraging word & her creations are too die for!! Below is her fleur bottle sign...she knows I'm patiently waiting for more creations....wink!!

Thirdly I would like to nominate Rebecca. I love how Rebecca has used her love for the Lord combined with vintage findings to create wonderful kits & collages. Her blog is always uplifting.

If she lived next door I would be a lucky girl!!

Here I have shown one of my favorite tags by her...so sweet!

Lastly I will nominate one of my life long dearest friends, Kristin.

Kristin is one of the most selfless people I have ever been blessed to know. Thankfully, she does live almost next door! She uses her talents to create & inspire me daily. Not a day goes by without a kind word from her.

Love you friend!!

Wow, nothing like sowing good seeds to make me feel all gushy inside!! Especially since my hubby is driving my "vintage" suburban home from the shop after a bill to the tune of....oh, i'm digressing from my good mood.

This summer I painted my kitchen a neutral creamy color, much to my 4 girls dismay. They much preferred the intense Benjamin Moore Raspberry. But I have found it to be so soothing & calming. It now flows much better with the rest of my neutral home. Also makes is easy to use many different colors of table cloths , plates, decorations, etc. Here are just a few of my neutral images....

Thanks again Jeanne for being so sweet & encouraging. Little things like that just mean so much.

Yes, nice does matter!

Decatur date

Honestly, stifling hot weather almost depresses me. Give me a rainy day any day! I have always loved rainy days, even as a little girl. Something refreshing about a cloudy rainy day. However, give me a stifling hot day complete with an ocean breeze...now that's a different story! Found these sunflowers the other day & they are such a joy!

Dan & I were able to go enjoy a day together in Decatur. Such a fun eclectic town. We started out with breakfast at The Flying Biscuit known for scrumptious biscuits & out of this world grits. Decatur has several old beautiful churches.

Any little town that sports a lime green fire hydrant is definitely cute!
Off to Starbucks for one of their new yummy

Blueberries & Creme Frappuccino's, lite of course.

Very good choice!

This statue is so sweet. Apparently the artist completed a sculpture of this couple in their youth & chose to revisit them later in life.

Perfect picture of what I hope Dan & I will look like one day.

Then onto my Scrap Chic boutique for some goodies.

I love their whole urban chic look with a to-die-for chandelier! Found some great papers & Rhonna rubons that I can't wait to play with!

Spotted some cute red rides!

This little fella has been hanging out in our yard for a few weeks. I caught him in the back yard several days ago & he was so tiny. We often see him & momma hoppin around--precious.

& then to top off a fun morning....some treasures from the antique shop. A piece of silver plate monogrammed flatware , an old key, several vintage pins & earrings. The Princess Diaries books too!

Not a bad day with my sweet man.....

despite the 90 degrees!