quick update.

For those of you who are wondering... we have decided to stay put. {at least for awhile} We don't really know what the future holds other than the fact that we are where we should be for now. It's kind of easy to come to that conclusion when no one's calling to inquire about your house on the market :) We are so fine with that too because we love so many things about our house and Quincy. And it's just really nice knowing that we are exactly where we need to be!

So, we pretty much came to this conclusion mid-May... and then I started freaking out about how little time we had until Eli arrives. We had put so much on hold just in case someone wanted to look at the house. I've been crazy-nesting ever since!

I must say that "nesting" is one of my favorite things about being pregnant. Just today, I filled almost an entire trash bag full of junk in our bathroom. I love being so motivated to dust shutters and re-organize drawers and eliminate so many things that simply take up space in our house!

One last thing... the thought of re-capping all that I left out between Easter and Hudson's birthday seriously makes me want to quit blogging all together. I think I would rather have a gap than call it quits! And I know I am very unreliable/untrustworthy about my blogging... BUT I have to say that I am pretty darn confident that I will have a couple more posts before July 6th: maternity photo shoot & room re-dos.

Be back soon!

hudson is TWO :)

Today is Hudson's birthday!! It is so hard for us to believe that he was born two years ago... I remember that day like it just happened.

His delivery was scheduled for noon, and I had been very nervous the day before. That morning, however, I was more excited than nervous. It was so strange kissing Matthew goodbye and knowing that our family was going to change dramatically in just a few hours. I also knew what to expect, which was both comforting and a little nerve-wracking... the thing I dreaded most was the i.v. because it's killer. Much more so than the spinal in my opinion. And even though the hospital was running behind making Hudson's delivery at 1:15, it all went by pretty fast... before I knew it, Gus was off with Hudson while I was being stitched up. And once again, I laid there thinking how I couldn't wait to do it all again. {on july 6th that little wish will come true!}



And now we have this crazy little two year old that we are nuts about. Here are some fun facts about our "hudsie":

1. he loves his milk and says "milk pwease" on a regular basis.
2. he could swing for days and days.
3. he goes crazy happy anytime we mention a "tweat"... peanut m&ms are his favorite.
4. he LOVES ice {and so does his pregnant mama... we share it often throughout the day}
5. he loves to count "1-2-3-go" before anything fun like jumping on the bed or jumping off his little stool.
6. he can go from sunshiney-happy to cloudy-ticked in a heartbeat!
7. his favorite books at the moment are: bedtime peekaboo & goodnight moon.
8. he loves to wrestle with "mattu", and he's definitely the rougher of the two.
9. he loves to sit on the windowsill in the kitchen to drink his milk in the mornings.
10. one of his phrases we cannot get enough of is "hold you" :)



It's easy for me to go through our days and take Hudson {and Matthew} for granted. With this birthday and us welcoming another addition soon, God is definitely reminding me how undeniably blessed we are to have healthy & happy children. We thank God for our "gifts" and pray that we spend the rest of our lives pointing all three of them in His direction.

cookies with a story.

Last night we made Easter cookies for the first time! I saw the idea last year on one of my favorite blogs and vowed to start the tradition this year. It was so much fun for all of us! The cookies have very simple/common ingredients, and each has scripture to go along with it to tell the Easter story as you're mixing everything together... beginning with Jesus' crucifixion to His awesome resurrection. It's just a cool way to begin to teach the boys and also to remind ourselves of the amazing love of our Saviour!

{smelling the vinegar... what Jesus tasted just before he said "it is finished"}




{i had to document this... matthew is very affectionate and hudson is not. this was huge for hudson to give matthew a hug out of nowhere. it thrilled matthew!}




{"sealing" the oven, which represented that Jesus' tomb was sealed as well}



Okay, so I have to admit that the cookies weren't exactly cooked enough when we checked them this morning. We don't know what happened! I was so excited to show them that when you bite into them, they're hollow... just like Jesus' tomb was empty Easter morning. Oh well! Once Matthew remembered the cookies had pecans in them, he wanted no part. Next year maybe we'll try crescent rolls instead. I heard that when you cook them with a marshmallow inside, the marshmallow disappears.

HAPPY EASTER everyone!

LOTS to catch up on!

It's been way too long since I've updated. Sorry! I've purposely cut back on my computer time lately, so this blog has suffered as a result. Anyhoo, I'm back to report what all we've been up to!

First of all, a few weekends ago we got the opportunity to go to Mexico Beach for the weekend... just the 4 of us {or 4 1/2}, and we had so much fun even though it wasn't typical beach weather. It was soooo windy, but we still couldn't resist some sand time.





THIS is who he's pointing at...
{we can't believe it either. i can't even begin to describe how cold that water was.}







Last weekend the boys and I visited family {particularly "aunt" Ariel!} over in Jacksonville for a few days, and had a lot of fun! It was just nice to hang out with everyone and have the boys get to know them more. I just wish I had my camera when we were with the rest of the family too.



We managed to plan some things simply for thier entertainment, which always helps!





Thankfully, Matthew's cries turned into this when Hudson decided to have an ice cream sling fest...



And here's the little maniac responsible for the big mess...





Lastly, here we are enjoying some Jacksonville Zoo!

for sale.

On Monday we put a "for sale" sign in our yard. It's a little bittersweet. We have so enjoyed our house, our neighborhood, our church, our town, our family & friends close by, etc.

At the very beginning of the year we had a heart to heart about 2010. This is a big year for us... baby arriving @ the beginning of July and Matthew starting pre-school in August! For many reasons, we came to the conclusion that a move to Tallahassee just might be the best thing for our family.

So, we've put our house on the market to test the waters so to speak. Above all, our desire is to follow God's plan for our little family. We're excited to see what's in store for us because we really don't know the timing of anything. Our house could sell in 6 months or 6 weeks or 6 years {hope not!!}. It's a bit scary thinking that we'll be bringing home a precious little boy in about 4 short months, and we are not sure what home that will be... but we are trying to trust in the Lord with all {our} heart and lean not on {our} own understanding. Proverbs 3:5

local frozen yogurt.

If you're local and haven't heard of Fuzions yet, you have got to check it out. {if you aren't local and it sounds good, you can go HERE and request one near you!}

Gus and I tried it out on Sunday, and I cannot wait to go back. {in fact, i'm hoping to go back on thursday after the boys' haircuts!} Basically, it's frozen yogurt like no other. And the concept is really cool... self-serve, pay by the ounce, healthy & really delicious at the same time, loads of toppings including fresh fruit... LOVE it!!



{after you try it out, go HERE and give them some feedback... they will email you a $1 coupon!}

hudson's wittle words...

We're not sure if it's coincidence or what, but in the last couple of weeks Hudson's vocabulary has kind of exploded... might be a result of the tubes in his ears, which are allowing him to hear better. Who knows, but it's so fun to hear that little voice speak so much more clearly. Here are some of his favorite words!