Penelope's Birth Story

Where do I even begin with telling the story of this sweet girl's entrance into the world? To sum it up into one thought would be to say that it was a whirlwind and a marathon all at the same time. From start to finish it was FIFTY-ONE HOURS LONG. That's right, you heard correctly, 5-1, 51, more than two days worth of labor. Here is how it all went down...

Third Trimester Wrap Up:

My third trimester of pregnancy was pretty uneventful. As time drew nearer to my due date it became more difficult to sleep and walk around for more than an hour at a time. However other than that I was able to go about all of my normal routines and activities during the day. I went into nesting mode pretty heavily. I organized random drawers in the house, color coded our family calendar, and washed and folded onesies like nobody's business. I went on maternity leave officially the Monday before my due date. My goal for that week was to take it easy, relax as much as possible, and enjoy time with my husband before we welcomed our sweet daughter into the world. I had even planned to go get a manicure and pedicure on Tuesday, so I would have cute nails for my Friday due date. Sweet P had other plans however.

How It All Began:

It became pretty routine about halfway through my last trimester that I would get up once in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. Baby girl was just so big that she was pressing on my bladder whenever I laid flat on my back. On Tuesday morning around 2am I got up for my routine bathroom trip. When I went to the bathroom that morning though it was obvious that labor was beginning soon. I woke Chase up and told him and then I laid back down to try to get some rest before active labor kicked in.

At around 3:30am I began to feel contractions. They were not incredibly painful, but they were coming regularly about every 10 minutes. We timed the contractions waiting for them to be 5 minutes apart so we could go to the hospital. We called our parents and let them know and then we just played the waiting game. I walked, I bounced on the exercise ball, and I drank lots of water. However, my contractions never reached 5 minutes. In fact they even stalled a bit. We had an OB appointment that afternoon so we decided to wait and see what the doctor had to say about what we should do.

Doctor's Orders:

We finally made it to the doctor's office and we let our OB know what was going on. She checked and I was only 1 cm dilated and 50 percent effaced. She instructed us to go back home and continue doing exactly what we were doing. She assured us that everything was okay. By that time my parents had made their way to town. They rented a hotel room and waited patiently for their grand-daughter to arrive. By Tuesday evening the contractions were becoming a bit more painful. It was uncomfortable to stay still for very long. Needless to say neither Chase nor I got much sleep that night. I ended up taking a couple of hot showers to help relieve the pain. Come to find out later on in the process, it was during one of those showers that my water apparently broke.

Taking Charge:

Wednesday morning my contractions had still not reached 5 minute intervals. They stayed right at 8-10 minutes for the majority of the time. I finally had enough of the pain and waiting and I called the triage nurse at the OB's office. She asked me what seemed like a million questions. At the end of it all she told me to go to the hospital and see what they had to say. So we packed up our "go bags" and away we went.

When we arrived at the hospital they sent us to triage. The rooms in triage were cold and tiny. They put me in a fashionable hospital gown and hooked me up to a ton on monitors and asked me more questions. They eventually were concerned about if my water had actually broken or not. They ran a few tests and we waited in that triage room for nearly 2.5 hours. Finally, the OB walked through the door with a big smile on her face. My water had in fact broken and I was being admitted to the labor and delivery ward. However, since my contractions were still not regular even after the breaking of my water, I would have to be induced to speed along labor and reduce the risk of infection and harm to our sweet girl.

Admission & Induction:

At around noon on Wednesday I was taken to my labor and delivery room. In my birth plan I had stated that I really wanted to have a natural birth. I wanted to utilize the exercise ball, the shower, the heating pad, and I wanted the freedom to walk to halls. However birth plans are meant to be broken it seems. Because I was being induced I was attached to an IV pole. And because I was being induced I had to have constant fetal monitoring, which meant no shower and I was restricted to a six foot radius of my bed because that was how long my monitor and IV wires were. It was frustrating, but I was okay.

Chase was a wonderful support person. As the rate of petocin increased, so did my pain level. He was right there to rub my back (I had mostly all back labor), to move my heating pad, and to get me water and jello. He talked me through my pain and he never left my side. He even was there through my sick times. Lets just say that at a certain point, the contractions were so intense and so close together that I just kept getting sick over and over again. Our sweet nurse encouraged us that getting sick was a good sign. My body was preparing for labor and helping my cervix dilate.


Not Natural After All:

However, every time they checked me I was barely progressing. Which then equated to them increasing my dose of pitocin. I was in SO. MUCH. PAIN. Our sweet nurse once again came to our side and asked me a very good question. She asked me if my natural birth plan was for any particular reason (religious, medical, personal...). It dawned on me that my natural birth plan was only set in place because it was preference, and it was not a requirement. By this point in time it was Wednesday evening and I had been in labor for nearly 48 hours. I looked into the eyes of my nurse and with an exhausted breath I told her to order the epidural.

The doctor was in the room within a matter of minutes. The procedure was not painful at all. The numbing medicine hurt worse than the epidural itself. The only scary part of labor happened as soon as I received the epidural. Sweet P's heart rate dropped a bit and it was like the entire labor and delivery floor came into our room. They put me on oxygen, flipped me on my side and put a bunch of monitors on my belly. Thankfully she was more than okay and they found her heartbeat quickly.

Once everything settled down we played the waiting game for a couple of hours. The pain meds gave me INSTANT relief and I was able to get a couple hours of rest. I also was able to eat a snack for some energy thank the good Lord above. My body relaxing also sped up my progression. Within a matter of hours I was ready to push.

Push Baby Push:

To add to the craziness of our birth story, the nurse and the doctor discovered that Sweet P was turned "Sunny Side Up". Basically this made pushing more difficult (another reason I was grateful after it all was over that I didn't feel all of the pain of pushing). I pushed and pushed with each contraction. I didn't give myself the full dose of medicine I could have given myself so I could feel when a contraction was beginning. I think that helped me push stronger and more effectively. I pushed and pushed and pushed some more. In all I pushed for 3 hours. They had me on my back, on my sides, in a squatting position, and on all fours. It was quite interesting attempting to squat and be on all fours when I could not fully feel anything from my waist down. The doctor's were about to begin discussing a C-Section when labor hit the 50 hour mark. Thankfully our OB was persistent and let me keep pushing.

Finally, at 4:43am on Thursday, March 22, 2018 Penelope Ruth Smith entered this world at 20 inches long and 7 pounds 9 ounces.

Labor was...labor. It was exhausting and not how I had planned it, and at times quite painful. But labor was also so worth all the pain and exhaustion. When they laid that sweet babe on my chest everything from the past 51 hours melted away. We spent the first hour of her life holding her close to us skin to skin. They then moved us to a mother-baby room and the journey of parenthood began.

Chase and I are so lucky to be Penelope's parents. She is spunky and always looking around at something. She loves to be close to you and held tight. She knows her Daddy's voice and doesn't miss a meal. We are so excited to watch her grow.

Thank you to everyone who has poured into Nellie's life already. It truly does take a village and we have a pretty remarkable village beside of us. We love you all!

-Chase & Sara & Penelope

*All photos in this post were taken by SNAP By Ang*

https://www.facebook.com/Snap-by-Ang-200884539930693/

Second Trimester Update

The countdown is officially on. As of today we have 7 more weeks until this sweet baby's due date. Time has seemed to fly by and slowly crawl all at the same time. We cannot wait to see and hold our precious little one. 

The second trimester of my pregnancy was AMAZING. Yes there were some hiccups, but for the most part it was great experience. It was true for me this pregnancy, the second trimester was better than the first one. There were lots of changes and adventures along the way as well. 

                   

Tests & Scans 

During the second trimester we had two major tests done to make sure our sweet little one was doing okay. First, we had our 20 week anatomy scan to test for any physical or genetic abnormalities. Thank the good Lord above everything checked out okay. All of the measurements were in normal range and  that makes this mama heart happy. In addition, we got to stare in awe and amazement at our tiny bundle of joy for over half an hour why they did the test. Boy was this babe active. Twisting and flipping and moving limbs all about. The ultrasound tech was great. Normally you only get about 5-8 pictures printed out for you at the end. She said that our babe was too cute to pick just 5 and ended up giving up 12! 

The second test that I had to go through was the glucose test to see if I had gestational diabetes. I went in for the 1 hour test early one morning. They let you pick between an orange and a fruit punch flavored glucose drink. I chose orange. It wasn't too bad. The only thing I didn't like about it was that they give it to you at room temperature. It tasted like warm, flat, orange soda. Yuck! But I chugged it down and then waited an hour for blood to be drawn. Thankfully my doctor saw me for a routine check up while we were waiting, which made the time go by a lot faster. We headed off on our baby-moon as soon as we got done at the doctor's office. The next day we got the results that I had passed my test! No gestational diabetes and no counting carbs and sugars. Of course Chase and I celebrated by ordering insomnia cookies. Worth every penny! 

Gender Reveal 

While at our 20 week anatomy scan the ultrasound tech asked us if we wanted to know the gender of our child. We both said, OF COURSE WE DO! Up to that point in the pregnancy I was convinced that it was a boy. No particular reason, just a feeling. Chase was set that it was a girl. Well needless to say I was wrong. Its a girl! We had names picked out already for both genders. We actually had them picked out months before and were eager to see which one it would be. 

We chose the name Penelope Ruth Smith for our sweet girl. It means "strong friend". Our blessing upon her is that she will be a strong friend to everyone that she encounters in this world and that she will make this world a better place through her strong personality and radiant strength. 

When we found out that we were having a girl, we rushed home and faced timed our parents. We also told a few close family members and friends. However, the next day we drove up to the mountains and met our favorite family photographer and she was able to snap a couple of cute pictures for us to share with the rest of the world. We will cherish them forever. 

Baby-Moon

The last big adventure of the second trimester was our baby-moon. We knew that we wanted to get away for a few days and do things that we would not be easily able to do for a little while once Sweet P made her arrival. At the same time we also didn't want to travel too far. So we decided to go somewhere we both love and hold dear to our hearts, Raleigh NC! 

We had the best few days away together. We slept in, ate at local restaurants (including the Angus Barn!), dressed up fancy, went to sporting events, walked around our college campus, did a little shopping, and just spent quality time together with no life interruptions. It was just what we needed. I suggest a baby-moon to anyone who is pregnant. Even if it is just a couple of days, it is well worth it! 

Second Trimester Highs & Lows 

Energy Levels: As soon as the second trimester hit it seemed as if my energy levels returned back in full force. I no longer was needing to take 2 hour naps in the middle of the day just to be able to make dinner and shower before bed. I am thankful for this because it has allowed me to get stuff done! We have been able to make progress on the nursery and also focus more at work. I know that in the 3rd trimester these energy levels fade again, so I soaked them up while I could. 

Baby Kicks: Our sweet girl is getting stronger by the day. I just love feeling her moving around all during the day and night. It gives me reassurance that she is growing like she is supposed to. It has also been fun for Chase to be able to feel and see her move. Many night before we drift off to sleep we spend some time with our hands on my belly feeling her move and whispering to her our love. She seems to be the most active when I'm lying still, so bedtime is always fun with a jumping bean in your belly! 

Sciatica & Other Symptoms: Oh this is the downside of pregnancy. One day I stood up out of bed and a sharp pain shot down my left side. It would not go away no matter what I tried to do. Thanks to google I figured out it was my sciatic nerve being pinched and moved about. Thankfully I go and see my chiropractor on a regular basis and he has been able to help keep this symptom in check. Other not so fun preggo symptoms I have been dealing with this second trimester have been nasal congestion and nosebleeds (thanks hormones!), arch pain in my feet (thanks weight gain!), and dry skin (thanks winter!). I know that these symptoms could be much worse, so I am counting my blessings over here. Just a few speed bumps in the road to our little one. I will happily deal with them for a few more weeks. 

Body Confidence: Some days are great and others are not. Some days my clothes fit how I imagined them, and some days they just don't. It has been a journey and its one that I am still trying to figure out. I am gaining the perfectly normal amount of weight for my body type and pre-pregnancy BMI. Every time I go to the doctor they tell me that I am doing fantastic. People at work and friends tell me that I look great and that I am "all belly". These are all good things. And 99 percent of the time I believe them. Some days though are hard and nothing fits and I feel like the Pillsbury Dough Boy. And so I take the good days with the bad days and remind myself that I am growing a human inside of my body. I also lean on my husband who is such a rock and who constantly lifts me up when I am down. Pregnancy is hard, gaining weight is hard, but this babe is going to be so worth it. 

Becoming Mom and Dad: The best part about second trimester is the realization that Chase and I are going to be parents. That there is a tiny being inside of me that we created together and that through us we will help raise into an amazing human being. We are over the moon excited and cannot wait to see what these next few months bring. 

Needless to say, the second trimester was great. It won't be long now until we will get to hold our sweet girl in our arms. We cannot wait! We love you dearly Penelope Ruth! 

First Trimester Recap

Now that I am only a couple of weeks away from being in my third trimester (say what?!?!), I thought it would be nice to capture my first trimester in the blog. Pregnancy has been such a whirlwind of experiences and emotions and I know that being able to look back on these posts will be invaluable in the years to come. 

First things first, yes we were trying. Sorry if that is TMI for some of you. However you would not believe how many people have asked us that question. Chase and I have wanted to be parents from day one. Babies and parenthood have been topics of conversation many times over during the later part of our dating journey, our engagement, and the beginning of our marriage. The thing is, life doesn't always match your dreams. Between graduate school, student loans, and pure baby biology (conception is a complicated thing if you didn't know), baby smith took a bit longer to make its arrival than we anticipated. But what joy it was when we finally found out that we were going to be parents!!!!! 

How I Found Out

Honestly I was just feeling a bit off. I was still within the window of Mother Nature arriving, but something just felt different. Chase kept telling me to just take a test if I wanted to, but in the past I had been disappointed and I just didn't want to ride that emotional roller coaster anymore. So we set a date. If we made it to such and such date and I was still feeling off and there were no signs of not being pregnant, I would take the test. Too bad I am impatient. Chase went away for 2 days (just 2 days!) for work and all I could think about was that test. And so I woke up the morning after he left and just took it. The test said it would take 3 minutes before it told me the result. That darn test showed a VERY strong positive after 45 seconds (yes I was timing it). Needless to say I was overcome with joy. I jumped up and down and cried and then laughed and then just sat on my bed in wondrous disbelief. A normal day in the middle of July turned into a very special one. We were finally pregnant! 

How I Told Chase

Sooo...like I said above Chase was out of town for work. I always thought I would be the kind of wife who surprised her husband creatively when she found out that she was pregnant. But all of those ideas flew out the window as soon as I found out that we were pregnant. I wanted him to be as excited as I was. This had been such a long journey for us and I just couldn't wait a minute longer. I called him and woke him up at 5:15 in the morning by FaceTiming him. He was so confused as to why I was calling so early and why I was talking so fast. I basically told him to wake up and get ready for something really important. And then I showed him the test. And we laughed and rejoiced and celebrated together. It was a beautiful moment and I wouldn't have done anything differently looking back on it. 

How We Told Our Family 

We waited until after our first OB appointment to tell our family. So basically we waited about 5 weeks to tell them and it was torture. We actually went to the beach with my family for a week and kept silent about it, and met with Chase's parents a couple of different times and kept our mouths shut somehow. At our OB appointment we found out that baby was doing great so far, that there was just one baby (thank you Lord), and that I was 7 weeks along instead of 9 like we thought (thank you again complicated conception rules and timelines). We got some cute pictures that just looked like black and white blobs (but the cutest blob you ever did see!). And then we ran to Target and bought some tiny little onesies. We went home to our families the next day and gave each of our parents a present with this in it. 

Chase's parents thought we were showing them a picture of Chase's brother's child's ultrasound. They were expecting their first child in August at that time. But just a few seconds later they realized that it was OUR ultrasound and they were so excited. They were going to have two grandchildren within 7 months of each other and to them that was just the best news ever. When we told my parents my dad opened the gift because we told him it was an early birthday present (his birthday was a couple of weeks away). He opened the box and then shut it closed really fast and then just kept saying "really?" over and over again with a huge smile on his face. Mom had to pry the box out of his hands so she could open it. When she saw it she was thrilled and we all hugged and chatted about babies and such. It was BEAUTIFUL! 

We waited until we were 12 weeks along to make our news about pregnancy public. I know that there are mixed reviews about this, but for us that was the best choice. I was emotional throughout the entire first trimester about possibly having a miscarriage. I know people who have walked through that and I also know that it is quite common. I also knew that we had been wanting to be parents for so long and that losing a baby would be devastating to us, and that having to walk through that publicly would just be too much emotionally for both of us at this point in our lives. And so we waited. And then when 12 weeks hit we exploded with joy as we told our friends far and wide. Luna was even excited to share the news. 

First Trimester Highs & Lows 

Exhaustion: It hit me HARD. I felt like I was walking through quicksand at all times of the day. I would come home from work and basically eat dinner and go straight to bed. On the weekends I would take 2-3 hour naps multiple times a day. Poor Chase held down the house all by himself for weeks. I am so grateful for him. He kept me hydrated and checked in on me and just made sure I felt loved even though I felt like a hot mess. 

Morning Sickness: Thankfully this was not a symptom I had to deal with very much. I threw up about 3 times the entire first trimester. And luckily I was only at work for one of those events. I am so  thankful that it wasn't as worse as it could have been. I did find that eating very bland foods really helped with my tummy and I basically stuck to bagels and eggs and mashed potatoes for a while. 

Breakouts: I have never had a real problem with acne. But as soon as I got pregnant my face just began to break out randomly. It has been an experience and some days I feel like I am going through puberty when it comes to my acne. 

Hearing & Seeing Baby: One of the best parts about the first trimester was being able to see our little peanut (twice!) and getting to hear its heartbeat strong and loud on the doppler at our 10 week OB appointment. It made my mommy heart breathe a sigh of relief each time. 

Cravings: During the first trimester I craved carbs and starches. Potatoes in any form, toast, bagels, Bojangles biscuits. I also had some food aversions. Breakfast sausage just made me gag (and I normally love it). Also, Chase made a roast in the croc pot one evening. It looked beautiful. As soon as he opened the lid and the smell hit my nose I had to run out of the room. I felt so bad. Chase had to eat pot roast for days because I wouldn't touch it. 

Emotions: The first trimester was filled with ups and downs of emotions. I was constantly worried about miscarrying the baby and anxious about being a good mom. However more than anything I was overcome with joy and excitement at the realization that Chase and I were parents. That we now were going to be able to raise a sweet and precious child of our own. 

Relief: When the first trimester came to an end I felt immense relief. We had made it! And thankfully symptoms were starting to ease up (more about that in the second trimester post).

 

We are so incredibly excited about this next new adventure! We love you so much little one!!! 

B-A-N-A-N-A-S

Whenever I need to spell the word or eat a banana I can't help but sing that song in my head. I know you know which one I am talking about (the edited version of course!). "This stuff is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S!" Thank you Gwen Stefani for helping me always spell fruits correctly. I digress. 

Chase and I love to eat bananas. They are the perfect fruit to throw in a lunch box or take to a soccer game on the weekends. They can easily be made into pancakes or smoothies. We always seem to have them on hand in the house. Every now and then though we buy too many and they begin to get too ripe for our taste before they can be eaten. I'm too frugal to just toss them in the trash, so more times than not I end up making good old fashion Banana Bread! 

You can find the link to the recipe that I use here. I normally double this recipe and it gives me two loaves of bread. I keep one out to eat and I freeze the other loaf to eat down the road or to take to a family function when we are in a pinch to make something. 

I made a few loaves of banana bread a couple of weeks back and thought that I would document it and show y'all how I go about things. I absolutely love to bake when I can find the free time to do it. My waistline is thankful that I am busy these days, but my taste buds are always wishing for me to spend some extra time in the kitchen. 

Find yourself some lovely overripe bananas. The definition of overripe is different for everyone. For me, when the bananas begin to turn black on the outside they are no longer acceptable to be eaten. 

Then cream your butter and sugar together. I thank God on a weekly basis for my Kitchen Aid mixer. And also for butter and sugar. 

Then just add in your eggs and mix until smooth. 

In another bowl mix together the milk, spices, and bananas (I sang that song in my head again just now)! 

Potato mashers are not just for potatoes. They come in handy to mash and mix any soft foods (hello bananas and avocados). 

In your last bowl mix together all of the dry ingredients. 

Then just alternate mixing in the wet and dry bowls until your batter is fully combined. Easy Peasy lemon squeezy. You could also add nuts at this point to your batter. On this particular day I was supposed to add walnuts to the loaves I was making. Chase even went out and bought them especially  for this occasion. Needless to say I completely forgot them until the bread was in the oven and almost completely done baking. Whoops. Thankfully my husband is the forgiving type and we found other uses for the walnuts.

Just pour your batter into bread pans and bake away! 

Once the loaves are done baking you can enjoy them right away. Or let them cool and freeze them up to six months. Yum Yum Yum!


Baking always brings me back to my roots and reminds who I am and what I was created to be. Baking takes normal ingredients and turns them into something divine and special. Its kind of like life. We are all just a bunch of normal human beings doing our own individual thing in this big wide world. But when we can come together and spend time mixing and forming intentionally, something divine and special happens. We as a group of people can be more than ourselves. We can change the world for the better and make a positive impact. Whether your strengths are leading large groups of people or (like me) baking goodies and sharing them with those in your community, you are making a difference. Always make time for the good things in life. You never know when a passing smile or a shared meal will change the way a person sees humanity. You've got this!

P.S.
Thanks for letting me share not only my love for baking but also my love for community and hospitality. I am so thankful to be able to be a domestic diva as well as a female minister and also an independent woman.

What are your favorite ways of sharing love and hospitality with those around you and your community? I would love to hear your stories.

-S&C

Porches

All of my childhood houses growing up had porches. Either front or back or both. And they were always big and sprawling. Some had a hot tub connected to them, while others wrapped around 2 or three sides of the house and had more rocking chairs than inhabitants. No matter what they looked like though, to me they were a safe haven. There are many pictures of me on my childhood porches. I am either swinging in the porch swing, or roasting marshmallows, or helping mom water the flowers. 

Tiny Sara enjoying the porch swing 

To me (and many in the south) the porch is where life happens. And so when I moved away from my childhood homes and went to college, and then to grad school, my porches disappeared. I tried to copy them by renting apartments with balconies. "I will spent all of my time out there on that balcony" I would tell myself. It never happened. Not only was there never enough space to fit more than two people on them, they just felt cold and uninviting no matter how they were decorated. I needed a real porch. 

And so after nearly 7 years of apartment living, Chase and I finally were married and had saved up enough money to buy a home together. My three requests were 1) A fenced in yard for Luna, 2) Counter space so I could bake, and 3) A porch. I originally thought that I wanted a front porch with rocking chairs. However, as fate would have it the house that we fell in love with just has a stoop. But boy does it have a back porch. It is reminiscent of my childhood. It has space for many and is shaded on one side during the hottest part of the day. 

When we saw the porch for the first time it had a canopy on one side. The sellers left us that canopy, but it was in bad shape. After a couple of hard storms, the canvas ripped to shreds and we were left with just a metal frame. The paint was also beginning to peel in many places. 

The porch the first time we saw our house 

So last September Chase and I began the porch makeover. We spent too many hours to count painting it a new rich brown color (after having to return a pink can of paint that somehow ended up in our buggy!). We found a new canvas canopy and my parents let us buy a fire pit at a discounted price from their store (score!). We then were able to buy patio furniture that was unassembled and on sale in the dead of winter at Lowes (but maybe we should have splurged on already assembled furniture because that process was a bit crazy). When the spring weather came around we were able to complete our porch with pillows and a new grill cover. 

New coat of paint and a new table and chairs 

A new canopy with a fire pit

Eddison bulbs (my favorite!)

My favorite "room" of the house 

Eight months later and the porch is finally finished, just in time for warm days and cool evenings. As I type this blog I am sitting under the canopy enjoying the view after working a 12 hour shift at the hospital yesterday. 

Luna loves the porch too! 

I am incredibly thankful for this space of solitude and peace in an otherwise hectic life. I can just imagine all of the memories that will be made on this porch. All of the family gatherings that we will have. All of the meals that will be eaten at the table. The many fires that will warm our cold hands and feet after a long day. And hopefully down the line maybe some small feet will be able to christen this porch of ours. Whatever this life may bring us, I am glad that porches are a thing. So next time you get the chance, put your feet up and stay a while. Trust me, you won't regret that decision. 

New Year, New...?

Resolutions are not my thing.

I can never keep them and they add a whole new dimension of stress to my life.

So this year I decided to focus on goals for 2017. I see 2017 as a year for striving towards wholeness. What can I do in my day to day life that will not only make me a better person, the but the world around me a better place? What are simple actions I can remind myself each week of that will allow me to grow as a woman, a minister, a wife, and most importantly a child of God? What are goals that I can set for myself that will not set me on a path of failure and heartbreak, but instead set me on a path of growth and love?

I have six goals for myself this year. Not resolutions, goals. Not stressful "must do's", but instead encouraging "do because you love them" actions.

1) Blog Intentionally 
Blogs are a guilty pleasure of mine. I love reading them, and I love having one of my own. Moving into this new year I want to focus more on my own blog. It has been neglected, and in a way my lack of blogging has correlated with a neglect of my own creative self. So now I shall blog more intentionally. Who knows where it will lead. Hopefully it will be an inspiration to other bloggers and readers to continually do what they love. To find joy in the simple things. To be your true self even in the midst of a not so true social media world.

2) Give More 
I must make a confession. I don't give as much as I should. Chase and I have worked so hard the past couple of years to build our marriage and lives, that giving back hasn't been on our to do list. But we know that it should of been. This year I want to spend more time giving of my time and talents than taking from others. Whether it is by sharing our home and hospitality with others or by giving time to non-profit organizations, it is important to put others before yourself.

3) Forgive More 
Is is bad that I need to make another confession? Well here it is anyway. I am also bad forgiving people. When my week at work as been incredibly long, or my on-call shift at the hospital was crazy, or if I am hungry, or sleepy I can be less than forgiving. My poor husband has had to put up with my mood swings for many years now, and for that he deserves an award. I want to focus on being more humble when I am not feeling my best. I am incredibly blessed. I don't have it all, but I have all that I need. I have been forgiven way too many times to count, so it is important that I also go out of my way to forgive others as well.

4) Drink Water and Take Steps 
Health and fitness resolutions have always been my least favorite. I hesitated to make a goal for myself revolve around health and fitness. However I realized that having basic healthy attitudes towards food and your body is important to also having healthy relationships with the world around you. I bought a fitbit a while back. I wore it for a while and really enjoyed it. One day the battery died and I never recharged it. Its time to recharge and reset. I know that when I drink enough water and walk around 5-6 miles a day I feel on top of my game. So why not strive to do that regularly? I don't want this to turn into an obsession, but I do want this to eventually turn into a lifestyle that is healthy and happy.

5) Marriage Investment 
Marriage takes work. Marriage takes time. Marriage takes investment. And so as Chase and I go into year two of our marriage (and nearly 9 years of relationship together) our focus is on one another. We want to talk the time to make sure that we are spiritually and emotionally at our best. This means intentional quiet times together, regular date nights, and having real life chats with one another about what is on our hearts. I love my husband, and I know that he loves me. Investment in marriage now, means rewards and returns years down the road.

6) Turn Off TV 
Lastly, I want this year to be more adventurous. I want to turn the TV off in the house and go outside, put together puzzles, have conversation, do projects, go exploring in my city, and make good food. I want to take the time recognize the real world around me instead of the created world on the TV in front of me. Who knows where this could lead us.

I am optimistic about 2017. I know that these goals may not be met all of the time. I understand that progress is slow, and not meant to be instant.

 I also know that I am a child of God, and that I am covered in grace. My life is in front of me and I am ready to go for it. I just have to take it one day at a time.

So what do you think? What are some of your goals for 2017?

-S&C

Home Sweet Home

This month marks 5 months since we bought our first home together. It seems as if we have blinked our eyes and the time has flown right past. At this time last year a home of our own was only a dream. And now it is a blissful reality that we praise God for daily. 

One of our goals during our engagement was to buy our own home sooner than later. We really want to start a family at some point in the future and we set some goals for ourselves as a part of our pre-marital counseling. Some of those goals included finishing school, buying a home, having dependable vehicles, paying off some debts, and having a secure financial foundation to build our family on. 

So we began to save our money. We saved most of our wedding present money for a down payment. We saved most of our leftover paychecks for a down payment. We saved and saved for nearly two years. And while we saved we planned. We watched way too much HGTV. We looked at what seemed like hundreds of houses online to narrow down what styles and areas of our city we wanted to live in. We talked to different professionals to figure out what our budget for our income and lifestyle would be. And we prayed like crazy for everything to fall into place. 

About six months before we ended up buying our home we got in touch with our realtor. She was fabulous (and thankfully one of our friends that we knew already). She knew our personalities and she was honest with us from day one. What a blessing to our home buying process she was. We slowly began the steps of narrowing down houses even more! 

And then one day, about 2 months before we purchased our home we gave her a list of around 12 homes that we were seriously interested in. The following week we set aside a day and went and saw 10 of them (two of them had already sold). Yes, it sounds unconventional. Ten houses in one day. But for us it worked. We were able to compare and contrast and talk through pros and cons of the homes. And it was all fresh in our mind. Some of the houses were great! Others were not as they seemed online. But none of them really called out to us. 

By the time we drove to our last house, the sun was sinking and it had just begun to rain. This house was far way from all of the other homes we had looked at. And by that time we were beginning to grow tired. But then we pulled into the drive way. The house was lit up in the setting sun. Cows were speaking their hellos to us from the pasture behind the house. Our hearts jumped in our chests. 

Then we walked inside. I knew from the moment I laid eyes on the butlers pantry and the view from the back deck that I was in love. We decided to sleep on it and drove away. We didn't even make it through dinner that night before we called our realtor back and told her we were ready to make an offer. After some negotiating with the sellers, the house was ours! 

Everything seemed to happen so slowly for two years, and then everything went into lightening speed. In 8 weeks after we submitted our first offer the keys were in our hands. Our hard work had finally paid off. We were home owners. 

We are in love with our home sweet home. It is quiet and so different than living in a loud apartment in the middle of the city. It reminds us a little bit of where we are from. It is just the right size to build a family in for years to come. It keeps us busy (there is always a project going on). But more than anything it gives us a home base. After so many years of moving around we both finally have a permanent place to come home to. And for that we are so thankful to God. 

The day we became home owners. What a happy day! 

Moving day! 

The view from our back deck. Cow pastures and sunsets. 

Guest Room #1 (come visit us!) 

Guest Room #2 (really, come visit us!)

Master Suite. One of our favorite quotes. 

We would love to share our home with y'all. Come and visit, stay a while. Part of our wedding vows to one another and our community was to create a place of hospitality wherever we are. Our door is always open! 

What suggestions do you have for us as new home owners? Any funny stories of your first time home buying experience? Please share. We would love to hear what you have to say. 

Much love

S&C