What a Fun Weekend!

Friday was the beginning of a fun little weekend!  We are finally getting settled into our house and having time to go and do other things!  The NWA  Boutique Show started on Friday, and thanks to my friend Jessica, I had a free ticket! Woo Hoo.....She even offered to watch Lucy Jane while I went and shopped for a couple hours!  Now, it doesn't get better than that! :)  Lucy Jane took a great morning nap, and she was up, happy, and ready to play at Mrs. Jessica's!  Aubrey has a slide on her bunk bed and Lucy Jane had a great time getting into all her toys!  I'm afraid she made herself right at home! 

That evening was FNO at church.  The church provides free childcare for a few hours on Friday night if you were at Sunday School the previous Sunday!  What a great ministry to young families!  A few ladies and I hit up the NWA Boutique Show, I know I had to go back!  The guys dropped of the kiddos at church and then all met at Market Place and ate dinner while we shopped!  We went to Market Place afterwards and took their seats!  We had so much fun, AND I found Lucy Jane some really cute Christmas outfits!  Several really cute boutiques that I hadn't been introduced too!  (Probably not a good thing) :) 

Saturday morning, Lucy Jane and I headed out early to go to Fort Smith!  She woke up very happy and thankfully put on her pretty Christmas outfit without any fits!  Our first stop was Wendy White's photography studio.  She was doing a benefit for the Ronald McDonald Family Housing!  She takes great pictures and is so wonderful with the kids!  We met Jodi and Miss Cadence to chit chat and take pics of the girls!    Check out Wendy's website here:  www.wendywhitephotography.com

I had a hair appointment at 11:45, so I rushed Lucy Jane down to my Aunt Darla's so "Pipey" as Lucy Jane calls her could babysit!  They have a new puppy, and I think Lucy Jane enjoyed playing with it a little too much!  At one point, she was drinking the dog water just like a puppy!  I so enjoyed my 2 hours of hair therapy and visiting with Kayla at Mr. John's. 

I picked Lucy Jane up and we went and visited Nana and Bubba before we headed back home!  I love how Lucy Jane starts saying, "Nana", "Bubba" as soon as we pull in the driveway!  Soo sweet!  She helped Nana decorate her Christmas tree! 

We had such a busy/fun weekend....and we are both ready for a great week!  Much to be thankful for this Holiday Season! (and yes....my child is half dressed in most of these pictures....hard to catch her with all her clothes on these days!) 

My Little Buddy

Lucy Jane is becoming so independent!! She loves to dress and....unfortunately undress herself! The past two weeks I have been given this lovely update: Instead of napping at Kids Day Out...she takes off her clothes (and diaper) and throws it over the crib! Ughhh! What do you do? It's really not funny when it's your kid!!

She will do this at home and tell me she needs to 'poo poo', but the thought of her undressing at church is a little embarrassing! :) She loves to take a shower now...not a bath! And by herself preferably! When did she get so big?!

Love my sweet little girl!

Unpacking and Decorating......

We are FINALLY in our new home.....the boxes are emptied and things are finally coming together!!!  We are STILL waiting on furniture in our main living room and office....so it is looking a little empty...and some walls are still very naked!  (too afraid to commit to a nail hole until I am certain) :)  Needless to say, after a fresh coat of paint and adding our personal touches the house looks completely different!  We are LOVING our new home!  Unpacking and cleaning stinks......BUT decorating is so much fun! I lay in bed at night and decorate in my head instead of sleep and then play around with ideas all day!  :)  I should do a before/after blog...but it would take too much time!  Here are some pics of some of the rooms!  :) 

Here is our bedroom!  We love the super tall ceilings!

My princess Lucy Jane's room! 

This is in her playroom....this room is still a work in progress!

Guest bathroom/bedroom

Breakfast area in kitchen!

This is where we spend the majority of our time!  This is the living room upstairs!  Very laid back!  If you look closely you will see Rich on the couch! 

Quote above Lucy Jane's bed

        Another pic of Lucy Jane's bathroom...not sure how it got down here! haha

 My kitchen! 

Dining room

Guest bedroom

Our bathroom

Downstairs livingroom....picture taken on phone :(  Still waiting on furnture!

Hanging out in Lavaca!

Lucy Jane and I went to hang out with Nana, Auntie, and Josh last Friday night! They carved pumpkins and played with 2 tiny puppies! Lucy Jane loved the little puppies! She wanted to be inside the laundry basket with them as they slept and thought about taking a nap with them! Ha she is such a mess!!

Halloween

We had such a fun time hanging out and handing out candy to all the neighborhood kiddos! Haley and Josh came and stayed the night. Scott and the kids came over to trick or treat in our neighborhood, so we had a houseful! I made supper and snacks and we had a good time!

The Big Move!

WARNING.....this is a long one! 

Over the past few months, Rich, Lucy Jane, and I have spent the majority of our time in Springdale.  Rich has offices both in Fort Smith and Springdale.  His Springdale office has really taken off and been super busy which is a huge blessing.  He started out commuting back and forth from home (Fort Smith) to Springdale and coming home each night.  By the time he would get home at night, Lucy Jane would already be asleep, so the amount of family time we had was very minimal.  Having your own business and starting a new office takes a lot of your time.  I can't say that I was the most supportive wife during the transition of Rich opening his new office. 

Rich decided that he would get a furnished apartment for us in Springdale so that we could spend more time together. Since I wasn't working, this was very possible.  I FOUGHT the idea of staying in an apartment.  I have already done my apartment time...in college....and wasn't ready to be back in one anytime soon.  I asked many times why we couldn't just move here instead of having a home and apartment.  I spent a couple months driving back and forth every couple days so that I could carry on our normal life in Fort Smith.  The stress of 2 homes was NOT FUN! 

Rich was very hesitant to even think about moving to NW AR because it would be such a huge decision for us.  Both of our families live in Fort Smith and our whole life is there.  It was such a big decision for him to think about all the details that come along with packing up and starting a whole new life somewhere else.  He said we should spend some time DATING Springdale.  Long story short...after 5 months of dating (in this lovely one bedroom apartment) we are moving and both have complete peace about this decision. We are loving it up here!  It is so neat how God has worked every little detail out and started opening doors even before we knew we would be moving here! 

I enrolled Lucy Jane in Kids Day Out at CrossChurch.  She is such a social butterfly and I didn't want to take that away from her. This happened before we ever decided to move.  All the ladies there have been wonderful to both of us!  I started seriously praying that God would provide friends for me or open doors so that I could meet people.  Little by little, I have met a few people in the church.  We found a house in an amazing neighborhood.  We quickly found out about atleast 2 young families with little one's Lucy Jane's age...which is something that was very important to us!  I went to my first day of MOP'S at the church today and met some really neat ladies that I am looking forward to getting to know better!  We have a Sunday School class that we are visiting and going on a get together with them this Friday night.  I am so encouraged and excited about this journey! 

So awesome how God gives peace, opens all the right doors, and makes your heart and attitude open to his will when you are willing to follow.  Why do we try to take control and continue to stay in the driver’s seat when we know God's plan is so much bigger and better than we could imagine.  I am so looking forward to seeing what is to come! 

A few verses that were encouraging to me throughout this whole process.....(about finding friends, being away from my family, the unknown about starting a new church), and everything in general.

"I know the Lord is always with me.  I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me."  Psalm 16:8 (no need to be afraid about being in a new place, God is with me"

"The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results."  James 5:16 (Pray fervently for friendships and a church home)

"For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord.  They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.  In those days, when you pray, I will listen.  If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me."  Jeremiah 29:11-13 (Duh, he already has my life mapped out...why am I fretting)

"Peace i leave with you; my peace I give to you.  Not as the world gives you.  Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."  John 14:27 (God gives peace)

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.  And be THANKFUL."  Colossians 3:15 (Thankful that he gave me peace about the move)

Our friend, Monkey!

I have learned that modeling is one of the best ways to teach a child! haha Well, we have a stuffed animal (which I swore I would not allow in my house) that has come to the rescue!  Monkey is almost as big as Lucy Jane, and Rich brought it home from a roofing convention!  Monkey wears a diaper because we went through a stage where we had to change Monkey's diaper to get Lucy Jane to let us change her diaper!  Monkey does a lot of things first....and then Lucy Jane gladly follows!  Monkey enjoys many meals with Lucy Jane these days!  She will feed the Monkey a bite and then take a bite herself!  It is hilarious!  :)  I caught a few pictures of her feeding Monkey the other day.....they are kinda blurry because they were with my phone!  I will try to be more prepared with my camera next time! 

I found a cute onesie at T.J. Maxx for $3.99 that said, "I love My Auntie"  Lucy Jane calls my sister Auntie.....and I wanted her to have the onesie.  She hasn't worn a onesie since she was only a few months old so it was quite comical as I put it onto her!  Here is a picture of her wearing it around the house.  

She is really into this dressing herself stage.....isn't this a little early???? It cracks me up!  I went into the bathroom a few minutes later and she was playing with my make-up and she had attempted to put her dress on over the onesie! 

Such a mess!  

You can see Monkey laying in the background! haha

I'm loving my days at home with my little sweetie!