1. This is my busy season. In 9 weeks I"ll have been to Raleigh and back 5 times. Whew! This last time I went without any kids and it was a wonderful break for me... but next time I'm bringing Zoe and then the next I'll bring Jacky boy, and the last one... will be just me + dan = 6th anniversary getaway! :o)
2. Zoe is getting SO verbal. She is talking all the time and learning new sounds and words daily. This age is SO much fun!
3. Jack turned 6 months!! (pics of his half birthday cake coming soon)
4. Had the First Raleigh/Wake Forest All girls photographers get-together this last week. We met at The Flying Biscuit and featured cupcakes from the cupcake shoppe in Raleigh. So delish! Not everyone could be there but this was only the first of hopefully many gatherings to come. As a photographer, I LOVE to network. Mostly because those girls GET what my work is like... they understand what pressures and joys I handle with weddings, shoots, etc... And They are Creative Geniuses!!! So, just sitting next to them, I feel inspired. I love being around them. (and why if I'm in TX now, am I putting effort into NC gals... because I can and I've been wanting to for a long time!) *and having lived somewhere for 10 years helps when it comes to networking and encouraging others and featuring vendors.
5. Sad for me but happy for her, one of my good friends here is moving to the beach. She is going to LOVE being that close to the ocean and amazing sunsets and fresh breezes...but it's 6 hours away from me. I miss being 1.5 hours away from good ol' NC beach!! I LOVE the beach... truly. I love you too sami....truly.
6. I'm amazed at the people I meet while flying. I'm serious. I met the most amazing flight attendant a while back who just spent so much time talking with me about adoption and then held Zoe for a long time. (this enabled me to read the airline magazine and feel like a real savvy traveler vs. a mom with 3 bags and a fussy baby) This last trip home, I came prepared with 2 magazines and no baby. At the last minute I switched my seat up just one row. And ended up sitting next to the nicest woman.... who come to find out had like 180 things in common with me. She home-schooled her 4 kids, we had mutual friends, we had both lost a child(ren in her case), And we both loved and trusted a loving God... yet, battled with not being able to control the future. We laughed, teared up, and talked the ENTIRE 3 hour trip. Anyway, I just am so thankful for God's providence in situations like that. We sat down as strangers... we de-boarded the plane as friends. (AND I have 2 fun magazines that I can keep in the bathroom (because that's the only time I am alone) for leisure reading!)
7. I'm starting a Gluten Free way of eating this week. I've been hearing more and more about it and just wonder if maybe it might be attributing to my hives (I deal with hive break outs probably 1 or 2 times a week for the past 4 years and can't find the source) SO... I'm armed with Elisabeth Hasselbecks' book and a ton of G-free bloggers and my amazingly creative cooking sister. I think it will be an adventure and help with inflammation of all sorts... and hopefully help me to lose some extra lbs. Any of you have helpful hints or advice... comment away!
8. Can I just say how Proud I am of my husband. He is LOVING seminary and eating it up. I don't know if it's the years as a teacher or the years we took off from seminary or both that is really helping him to study with diligence and write with intensity and depth. I love how he comes home and regurgitates all he's learning to me... then I learn and am washed with the truths of our amazing God. It took a while but the men at the seminary he's at are becoming his friends and he's feeling at home there more and more. It's strange for me being at a place in life (school) that I know is only a short chapter designed to prepare you for the next chapter... being that it's not an end goal itself..so, that can lend itself to an unrest in where we are right now, knowing it will change, but it keeps me constantly running back to God who knows very well what is to come and what we need right now.
9. I ordered diapers from Diapers.com this month, and really saved some money as well as had a huge box of diapers and wipes delivered to my doorstep in 2 days. I'm not sure if it will continue to save me money in the coming months, I"ll check and see before I order... but on my first order I got $10 off AND free shipping. It's hard to beat that. ( and they DO take coupons... just takes a little longer b/c you send them in. but if you're ordering for the month or 2 months... it's worth it) So, if you want to try it. Use this code CASE3738 for $10 off your order.
10. I love going to Raleigh/Wake Forest and seeing dear friends and getting to be with my sister and her amazing little family. But I LOVE coming home to my babies and my man! I Love being a wife and mommy. I mean... that face just melts my heart to a puddle.