By God's grace

I guest posted this about my Gray on Kinze's blog yesterday but since it is his
birthday TODAY I wanted to
re-post here so that we would have to keep...
Happy - Happy Birthday Grayson I love you!

12 years_ my Grayson will turn 12 today and I am one blessed momma. When Kinze asked if I would tell my Grayson story it was funny to me that I hadn't thought to do it before now_Now is obviously the right time and such an appropriate time _ as we celebrate his 12 years of life.

Life for Grayson started out shaky. All had went well until the 4 month mark. I woke up_went to work_ later used the restroom and found that I was threatening to miscarry. Scared & very shaken I called my doctor and was told to get to his office immediately. After the examination I was told to go home_ put my feet up_ and wait. There was a chance everything would be OK. but there was an even greater chance that I would lose my baby. There was nothing that could be done_ it was the waiting game. I thought for sure I was miscarrying. I didn't think the baby could be OK., with what was happening in my body_ but God knew otherwise_ He had other plans. I prayed so hard the whole weekend_ for Grayson to be_ for everything to be Ok._for God's best in the situation..whatever that might be.

This is when his dad and I knew if this pregnancy made it and turned out to be a baby girl she would be called Grace and if it were a boy_ he would be Grayson Joseph_ taking his dad's middle name.

Monday we went in for the ultrasound and all proved to be fine. But I had so many questions that were running through my mind_ would he be fine?_ would he be whole? was everything truly OK?

Then at 27 weeks I started contractions in my lower back and was admitted into the hospital for a week. I couldn't walk, get up to go to the bathroom, I had to move as little as possible. I was started on meds to stop me from going into full blown labor. My doctor was adamant that we needed a few more weeks before delivery_ tests had shown that my babies lungs weren't fully developed and we needed more time. I was put on steroids to help them develop with the hopes that if delivered before term he would be further along.

From this point I was sent home_ put on bed rest_ and contractions seemed to last all the way until the morning of August 6th _Gray's original due date. I had gone to have lunch with a friend and before we could leave her work my labor started.

Grayson was born at 5:56pm, weighing 9 pounds 6 ounces and 21 1/2 inches long. We laugh now (not during delivery so much) because we say he came out of the womb a grown baby. Grayson was born a perfectly healthy_ lungs fully developed_ baby boy_ nothing short of a miracle.

We chose Grayson's name because it would be by God's grace that he be born_ he was_ and it was_ it continues to be by God's grace that any of us are here_ for that I'm so thankful. :)

Heather :)

Guest Post: Kinze from schilling times

I met Kinze awhile back after reading one of her posts on miscarriage. She is a beautiful person inside & out and I feel privileged that she would be my guest for today.
Her name is pretty awesome too!

I'll be guest posting for her over at schillingtimes.

So head over and check her blog out. 

And with that I'm going to let her take it away....

 hi ... i'm kinze!


 
i'm so excited to be guest blogging on heather's blog today ...
this will be a first for me ... so bare with me please!


soooo ... to get started i'll introduce you to my lovelies!


my amazing hubby (josh)!

and together we have three amazing kiddos!

ryder-4

lyla-3

brooklyn- almost 2 in a week!

 i'm a stay at home momma and my husband and i are real estate investors
(we buy sell and rent homes) ... well him more than i ... but i say i because i'm very much involved ... and how am i involved?! ... well ... the flipping part ... we often flip the homes that we live in!
ha ... so that means we have moved a lot in our almost 8 years of marriage!

heather had asked if i could share about our experience with moving
since she is getting ready to settle into her adorable new home!


well ... we have moved 6 times in 8 years and all the times we've moved ... i've either been pregnant or have had an infant under 4 weeks old (crazy i know) ... but you know what ... we LOVE to move ...
yes ... we really do ... often my husband and i joke about how we are addicted to it!   we love change!
with our last move we packed and unpacked our whole home in 13 hours ... just him and i!


with our properties business we are always on the lookout for homes and every so often one comes across that it just makes sense to move!  with all of this moving i find that i don't really get attached to my homes ... maybe it's because most homes we move into we have the same color pallet and instantly it feels like ours!  we set up our stuff the same way ... we don't go out and buy all new furniture
and decor with each move ... i wish ... but we don't!


  i know that many times people who are moving feel that they are leaving their memories behind ... but i feel that the memories are tucked inside our hearts ... not our homes!

and with that being said ... this is a verse that i've leaned on many times in our line of business ...

knowing that we are only here on earth for just a short while 

and that we have an eternal home waiting for us in heaven!
a home so grand ... made by God!
wow ... God the creator of the whole earth ... just image a home designed by Him! 

so when we are looking for that perfect house

or not feeling content with the home we live in

remember ... these are our temporary homes.
be excited about our eternal home! 

 for that is the home that we ought to be preparing for!

Embrace

em·brace/emˈbrās/

Verb: Hold (someone) closely in one's arms, esp. as a sign of affection: 

embraced, holding each other tightly".

Noun: An act of holding someone closely in one's arms. 

This guy right here is my husband_ my best friend_ and I hold tightly to him. :)

Linking up with The Anderson Crew for

Heather :)

Floral & a Happy

I'm linking up again for What I Wore Wednesday over at

& with Krystina for

This outfit I wore last Friday_ took pictures in_ and our computer had to be
re-booted or updated this weekend so all of my last imports were lost..major bummer.
The good thing was that it forced me to get dressed again and re-take them but
 my hair is super dirty...washing my hair is a task.
I try to go 3-4 days without doing it...
 I love the feel of it nice & clean..but it is a chore for me, is it like that for anyone else?

So while I was in a store on Friday there was a nice girl who stopped me and told me how cute my top was..I said "thank you" and she said "I'm not bold enough to step out and wear floral, but it looks cute on you". So I was like " guuurrl, you should try it, it would be super cute on you too".. 

and so if you haven't worn floral, I would say try it.. you just might like it. :)

 Top_ TJ Maxx- $14.99

Jeans_ TJ Maxx- $19.99

Flip Flops_ Old Navy- $3.00

And... on Friday I shared an insta-grammed picture of this new "happy". 

I ordered it 2 weeks ago from Eager Hands (Lora) because when I saw it, it just spoke to me. 

I wanna "Soar" and I feel like now more than ever that's what I'm trying to do/be. 

I'm lovin' this piece right now and it has become the one I grab and have to put on. 

It came in the cutest packaging and Lora even sent me an extra happy to wear along with it... 

she is a sweety, that is for sure.

Heather :)

Let's talk about..

When I read Mrs. T's post today I was challenged_and I'm always up for a good challenge. 

Sex can be an uncomfortable topic, right? But should it be? We are bombarded with wrong images, screwed up relationships, worlds built upon fantasy_ so why do we cringe when presented with the topic? I'm asking myself these questions as I type and I decided I wanted to write as if to my kids. They are reading my blog anyway and we have these conversations with them quite often.

So I will touch on some points we are teaching/ going through right now with them. It is crucial to their dad and I that they learn about sex at home_ not from their friends_not from school_ not even from church_ I want all of those avenues to be a reinforcement to what we're teaching. Ultimately, though we want to be their source because Jesus is our source and as they grow Jesus will be their main source too.

Gosh, we know sex is such a broad topic because that's just 1 part of it. It actually starts in the kitchen (we like to say) because it's my husband talking with me, those touches, him helping ease my load of things to be done_ you know before it ever even gets to the bedroom. And on our end towards our husbands_are we respecting them, making them feel valued/ wanted...and that's about all for them...just kidding but in most instances I don't think they require as much as us girls do. So here are a few thoughts I have on the subject:

*Song of Songs (a whole book in the bible was written pertaining to sex) I think it was pretty important to Jesus or He wouldn't have put that book in there. He could have just left it out..go read it if it's been awhile.

*We don't want our kids to just be told "don't have sex before marriage"_ "it's wrong"_"it's bad". At the end of the day that won't make them not have sex...And it's not the truth_sex is good when in a covenant relationship with your husband/wife_that's what it was meant for. If we choose to not obey that there are consequences..and we tell them what they are. Just like when we overeat_ we gain weight as a consequence. Sex outside of marriage has all kinds of negative consequences/baggage that you will carry into a relationship if not saving it for marriage. But to just say don't do it..well it ain't working.. I think there's a lot of proof on that one.

*For my girls we talk about purity_ I tell them they have a "treasure"and it's something special that they have to protect/ guard and save until they decide to give their treasure away to the man they choose to spend the rest of their life with.

*For our boy, it's so important that he see how to treat a lady..by his dad modeling it by loving me/ by the way he treats me_ and our kids are soaking it all in..just like little sponges..and they will do what we do..what they've seen done.

*It's uncomfortable when our kids ask us at the dinner table about the slang words they've heard while playing.. or what a certain term means (whew we've had a few of those lately) but I think that's a good place to be.. because their asking us _instead of the neighbor(and they may be doing that to) but at least their getting mom and dad's version. They're gonna know and find out..we just want them to hear truth and not just the lies.

At the end of the day we don't want our kids making the same mistakes we have made and if they are striving for purity_striving to live for Jesus_ striving for a life that is God honoring_ sex for them will always be good. So yay for sex and yay for talking about it in a God way...because we should. Instead of just all of the yucky guck we hear and see from the world.

Heather :)

Linking up with Mrs T.

House Tour (Part 2)

Like I promised.. here are some more photos of our home....and while working on this post I realized this is the last of our home all put together nice & neat. We are starting to take down/ dis-assemble our belongings and totally get into "moving" mode. This ole' house has been a blessing to us..when moving here to S.C. we didn't have a home secured. There had been none available that fit us. So we rolled into town with our U-Hauls packed not knowing exactly where we were going to live. And by no coincidence drove by and spotted this house for sale. 

That same day we unpacked our "things" (cause' it's all just things) and were met in the driveway by every kid in the neighborhood. We had specifically prayed that God would make up those friendships that were lost and He did..as He always does.

So anyhoo, before I get too uber sentimental... come sit down in our home and have a chat with me..because that's what I would luv for us all to do anyway. :)

Brown chair I bought from a yard sale for $25. The big chest came from a church sale for $30 and I had it in front of the couch forever until recently when we found a white coffee table off of Craigslist, which originally came from IKEA. So I kinda just stuck it back there..but it works. The lamp came from Habitat and was gold...I spray painted it the gloss white and picked the lampshade up from a garage sale for $2...originally from IKEA too. Thank goodness for IKEA and garage sales, huh?

This picture showcases my hubs prize possessions... he plays music/ sings so I love that we get to display some of his love's on the wall...

This is the chair I wrote about in the first "tour" post. I got the dresser and this chair for $6..it is one of my favorites. I so need to have the cushion re-done but I could eat the fabric and the nailhead trim.

This piece came from the christian bookstore. When I saw it I knew I had to have it.. it just represents "us" and the faith we have had to have in our journey. 

Faith= "The confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1

If you really were here I'd probably put you to work a packin'...or wrappin' with some bubble wrap.

Those empty boxes are calling my name... hope you have a Happy Tuesday! :) 

Heather :)

Crock Pot Red Beans & Rice

Growing up in Louisiana and living only 30 minutes from New Orleans we are used to jambalaya, seafood, etouffee, gumbo, and RED BEANS & RICE. Most of my cooking skillz came way later (a lot of trial & error) and I learned the most of from my mother in law...her and Paula Deen could be sisters, like really. Cooking is a way of life, if you will, for her.. she says it's how she shows her love.. and I will often hear my kids tell this to whomever when on the subject of MawMaw..it's too cute.

Well Red beans and rice has become one of those meals that's super easy and one of those meals that you can throw it all in the crock pot and let it do it's thang...which I love because I can get it going in the morning and by evening we have supper..plus it makes your house smell reallly good, too. So when all of the neighbor kids come in they're like "Oooow something smells so good..what's your mom cooking?" Then you get to do a little happy dance... so here's what you will need:

*Camelia Kidney beans (they're the bestest and I find taste the least like dirt..b/c well some
brands just do)
*Sausage
*Seasoning (Tony Chachere's & Shrimp & Crab boil)
*Garlic
*Goya- ham flavored concentrate
*onion (diced up into pieces)
*T. Cooking oil

The night before I plan to cook my beans I soak them in water for around 4-6 hrs. It helps to soften the beans up for cooking and allows you to drain off the dirt before placing in crock pot.

Dice your onion up and in a tiny bit of cooking oil cook the sausage and onion til' brown.
After you've drained your beans, pour them into the crock pot, with sausage/ onion mixture and a T. cooking oil.

Here's where I just start adding in this & that. You really can't go wrong.. I add in about a T. minced garlic, the ham flavoring, Tony Chachere's, Shrimp & Crab boil, salt, etc..
At this point you have everything in the crock pot and you want to fill with water just til' the beans are covered. Turn to high and let cook for 6hrs.

I will stir throughout the day if I'm home.. if not, it won't matter. When ready your beans will probably be a little runny..if you like that then leave them, but if you like thicker beans then take the back of your spoon and mash them upside the pot, stirring, and then mashing more beans, until you get a thicker consistency.

Quick make up some Jiffy cornbread to go along with them... and that's how we do it where I come from.

Ok and lastly, I just had to throw this in...we have Dollar Tree Store's where we live and you just never know what these store's are going to have in stock for... a $1! And guess what, the best part is they have 0 grams of sugar in them... but they taste really good.
Obviously, I've seen these flavorings in the normal stores but they don't cost a $1. And I was kinda skeptical beings these were so cheap. But they're good, really good..and they can be used in your coffee, added into soft drinks, you can put them over ice cream, etc... So that was my little happy dance find for last week...what was yours?

Sorry for the major blurriness happening here in this picture... :)

Linking up for

Heather :)