A puppy, dairy, words and shoes.

Jack, my baby brother, is home for a couple of days. I haven't seen him in MONTHS! And in the months that I haven't seen him, he added a new addition to his little family. Meet Brim.





Brim is a golden-doodle (half golden retriever, half poodle). He is one of the most chill puppies. Eric calls him a Muppet-dog, and I think he's right on. Doesn't he just look like a character from the Muppet show?!!? Anyway, when you compare Brim to our little yappie, trauma survivor he seems WAY calmer and quieter. He's really friendly, sometimes too friendly to Laney and she gives him the Heisman to get out of her face. Have I mentioned "dog" is one of the only words Laney says consistently? She says it ALL. THE. TIME. Maybe it's because she's surrounded by dogs a lot (there are 3 dogs at the house right now).



Ok, moving on...What do the items in this picture have in common???



Two things: 1- the are all dairy products. 2- My body has developed a severe intolerance to them. Honestly, I've always been slightly intolerant of dairy. Like the mac-n-cheese at j. alexander's (which is SOOO delish) usually makes me sick, but over all I've never been as sick as I have been over the last month. It's been bad. So, I've decided as much as I love things like ice cream and cheese, my life is a much better one with out them. Do any of you readers have lactose intolerance? Any good recipes you could throw my way? Or am I pretty much stuck with eating strictly meats, fruits and vegetables? Any help is welcomed.



Also, I've started a C25K. Lesley recommended this app and I'm LOVING it!! Tonight started day one of week 4 and it about KILLED me! But I did it! WOO HOO!!



Now, onto a more serious issue that's been plaguing me lately. This one is more on the emotional level. Lately, I've walked around with an attitude of "no body likes me, every body hates me, I guess I'll go eat worms." I'm not telling you this so you'll feel sorry for me, but I'm saying this because it's really bothered me that I've felt this way. I've tried tracking down exactly where this stems from and I finally figured it out a couple of nights ago.





You see, probably 5 or 6 years ago, I had this lady tell me something really mean. So mean, that it has stuck with me for this long and has caused me to be incredibly self-conscious. She probably has no idea that her words affected me so much, and to be honest, until lately I hadn't realized how much they had affected me either. Last night I was laying in bed praying that the Lord would help me take captive those words and speak truth into me so that I would stop walking around with such a dim outlook on myself. I don't feel like I can be an effective friend, wife, mother or even believer if I keep on this way. It's also caused me to realize how MY words (and tone-says my sweet husband :)) effect people. I know this is getting way lengthy so I'll close this out, but I just hope my words (and tone) will breathe life into people. (And I also hope I can believe the truth of what God says about me, instead of the words of others).



Now, to end on a more upbeat note. I bought some new shoes and I love them, so of course, I had to share. They're from shoe station and they come in LOTS of colors. They are so comfy! I like that they have a little heal to them, just enough to make my legs look longer when I'm wearing dresses & skirts. Eric put them on the other night because he had to run out to the car to grab something and they were sitting by the door (seriously, he doesn't normally wear women's shoes, I promise!!) He said...those things really are comfy! :)





And...on that note I'm out. Have a good Thursday, peeps! :)

Well, here we are.

It's the end of June and I'm just now getting around to updating the poor, neglected blog. In efforts to attempt and catch up I think I'm just going to go for bullet points and pictures.



- First off, we've been in Montgomery for just over three weeks now. We're all adjusting well, especially Laney. She's so happy. Something about turning one has really brought out her personality.





- She's ONE. WHAT?!?!! My baby doll turned one. I really can't believe it. This past year flew by. Turning one has brought so many new things to her little life: Walking, Whole Milk, A LOT more sugar, and chatting, chatting, chatting. I wish you could have all heard her in the doctors office today. The nurses kept peaking their heads in to see what all the chatter was about! Her pediatrician said, "she's got a lot more words on the way, I can tell!" She makes us laugh so hard. I've never been around a baby that is so excitable. It's hilarious.



- I had a photography sessions with the Corbitt family. Katie, is one of my oldest friends, I think we've known each other since kindergarten! Crazy! It was so fun to meet her cute kiddos! To see more from the session check out my photog site.



- I taught VBS at First Baptist. It was SO fun! I got to help teach in one of the kindergarten classes. Those were some of the cutest 5 & 6 year olds! It was a great week and a great way to jump into church. We're really enjoying being at FBC. We joined a SS class last week and are hoping to make some new friends soon!

-Pool time. Some neighbors down the street asked us if we would help "take care of their pool" while they were away on vacation. Twist my arm...I said of course we'd help! Laney is loving the pool so far and it's a great way to take up a chunk of our day!





Ok, that really didn't seem like that was enough to make up for the blogging hiatus, but it'll have to do. We're headed to Nashville this weekend to celebrate the 4th! We can't wait to see our friends and Laney is excited to show off her new walking skills.

Alright.

We're back! We're unpacked and feeling a little more settled here in our new city. Because I still don't think I can reflect back on our last couple of weeks in Nashville with out getting a little emotional, I thought I would recap our beach trip last week.

It was HEAVEN! We had so much fun! Laney had a blast hanging out with her cousins. We stayed in the cutest little house in Seagrove. It had it's own pool in the backyard, which really saved the day for us. Little Laney wasn't the biggest fan of the sand, unlike her two cousins who would lay down and bask in the grainy sand for hours. I can't blame her, I don't love the sand either, but she did learn to really like the ocean, so that made me happy.









We ate lots of yummy food. The first couple of nights we cooked at the house. Walker grilled some delish Mahi-Mahi one night and of course, we had a shrimp boil one night.

We decided Tuesday night would be "girls night out" at Cafe 30-A and it'll probably go down as one of the most hilarious nights of my life. To give you a little hint of why it might have been so funny, I'll quote my mom.."Y'all know wine make me crazy..." A-hem. That's all I'm gonna say about it.



We also hit up the Red Bar for an early dinner on Wednesday night. If you've ever experienced the Red Bar before, it's delicious food, but there is usually quite a wait. If you can get there by 5ish on a week night, it's not as bad. Considering we were toting 3 small children, we opted for the blue plate special. :)







Thursday night I even got to have a little date night with Eric in Seaside. We ate at the Great Southern. I had a pineapple mojito and it was SO GOOD! We split the shrimp and grits and then stopped in an ice cream shop for dessert.









Friday night Eric and I hosted a little party for Laney's 1st birthday (I'm gonna save those pictures for later). We had to go ahead and have her party because it's the last time our family will be together for a while. Walker and Emily are moving to Cincinnati on Friday. Boo Hoo! :(



And I'll leave you with a few more pictures that I took of Campbell and Adeline. We had a little photo shoot in Seaside and on the beach with them.















Ok, hopefully I'll be a little more consistent in my blogging now that we're feeling a little more settled. Happy Tuesday Y'all!