Laugh. Love. Learn.

Could this sweet little bee be any more precious?

She was so excited to wear her wings and antenna for her party!

She wasn’t too sure what to think about the candle or the people singing at her…

She learned quickly that chocolate icing is gooood!
And poundcake! She ate a whole cupcake.

Look at me! I’m ONE!

Click here to see how we implemented the Bumble Bee theme…

Since my love language is food, I did my best to give Lil’ Tan-Tan some birthday love.
We started out with pancakes for breakfast, thanks to the blogging brilliance of Erin and Amanda.

Katelynn got in on the pancake action too, since she’s celebrating the anniversary of being a phenomenal big sister! She said my chocolate chip pancakes were “better than chocolate chip eggo waffles,” so clearly i’ve arrived.

For lunch Tanner had three of her favorite foods: Cheese, Cheerios, and Blueberry Yogurt.

Tanner’s favorite dinner is Kraft Mac & Cheese with Green Beans, so we all dined on those delicacies.

Even though she was hungry, she’s always in the mood to share. I love her heart!

We had a quiet, relaxing, uneventful day. *so thankful*

Sweet baby girl,
I cannot believe you are one today! It seems like just yesterday I was holding a tiny cuddly little newborn. Now you’re running around everywhere, making people laugh and saying “hey!” to every person you see…as well as the cement bulldog. I’m still amazed by the way an 8-pounder completely changed the disposition of our family. You’d been missing the whole time, but we didn’t know it until you arrived. It is my absolute joy to take care of you, to change you, feed you, bathe you, pray for you, teach you, chase you around, watch you explore…I still can’t believe I get the chance to be your mother. I am so undeserving and thankful to Jesus for you. Happy Birthday, Tanner!

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
James 1:17

Heather said, “don’t even act like you have time to sit down and answer these questions.” (She’s right; I don’t.)

And my mom responded, “Heather has the best one. What makes you think you have time to answer anyone’s questions right now? Oh, I already know, “Make time to do what you want to do.” Think I have heard that.”

That’s right mom, you have heard that. You see, this is a philosophy issue. Because the requirements on my life will never go away. The laundry is never done, the dishwasher always needs to be unloaded, the vacuum lines on the carpet always disappear… BUT… I have to hang on by a thread to activities that refuel me and contribute to who I am. Luckily for you, one of those activities is blogging. Ha Ha. I’ve always admired parents who’ve successfully raised well-rounded, Christ-following, pleasant-to-be-around kids…and maintained their identites. I love my girls. With everything I am. But one day they’re going to go to college, and get married, and have families of their own. If my only identity is based in my girls and the corresponding chores necessary to take care of them, what will I be left with? Practically nothing. That’s how I feel when I don’t do anything Rebeccaish. Like Nothing. A shell of who I long to be, or who I used to be. A shell is far from abundant…in fact, it’s desolate. So, sometimes the laundry may sit for two days. Or the dishwasher might not get unloaded. Or (gasp!) my pantry may become unorganized. But chances are it’s because I’m reading, painting, listening to music, baking, or blogging…long after the girls go to bed. It makes me love life more and be a much better mom for them when they wake up in the morning.

(p.s. I think my mom understands this whether she always follows it or not, because she sneaks into her garden whenever possible. Right mom?)

I’ll have to admit, the more I watch my husband be a father, the more I fall madly in love with him. Nick is an outstanding father — so outstanding I have trouble putting it into words. This Top Ten list won’t skim the surface of the depth of excellence, but it will give you a glimpse.

1. He does all things baby. Diapers, laundry, feedings, baths, bedtime, all of it. With joy.
2. After our second daughter was born, he realized how badly I wanted to stay home with her. And he wanted me to stay home with her too. So he did whatever it took to make that happen. Major sacrifices.
3. He works two jobs to provide for our family. And he has never complained once.
4. He plays with the baby in the floor. Her toys, Her books, Her eye-level. No distractions. He makes her laugh constantly, and she LOVES her “DaDa!”
5. He practices softball in the yard with Katelynn for hours. Literally hours. Not because he’s that guy in the bleachers who needs his kid to hit a homerun for his ego…he just wants to spend time with her because she asks him to. He takes her to gymnastics as well.
6. He helps me around the house more than you could possibly imagine. I didn’t realize how unusual this was…until I’ve heard other girls discussing it. In addition to all the traditional “manly” stuff (cutting the grass, taking out the trash…) he sweeps, polishes hardwoods, vacuums, uses windex with precision, picks up toys, puts away laundry, cleans the bathrooms, unloads the dishwasher, hangs things, assembles things, goes to the grocery store….seriously….it’s amazing. I never ask him…he just does it.
7. He models servant leadership for the girls. He serves us, serves tirelessly at the church, helps his friends, family members, random people he doesn’t even know…he has a true servant’s heart.
8. He puts up with me, which can be quite the challenge. Putting up with me involves things like long photography sessions, girly music, lots of Food Network, paint in the carpet, glitter on the floor, endless construction projects at church, always taking longer than I should when running in for “one thing” at the grocery store…it’s never-ending.
9. He protects us and kills all creepy things including spiders, ants, flies, and any other insect who dares enter our home.
10. He wants our girls to have the best lives possible, and be the best versions of themselves they can be. No matter what that requires. Including installing custom beadboard for 20 hours.

I am so thankful to Jesus for him.
And thankful that my girls get to see a picture of His love.

I’ve always wanted my kids to have rockstar, color-coordinated, fairytale rooms. You know, the kind that only exist on the pages of the Pottery Barn catalog. But it’s never quite come together. In preparation for our move to Braselton, Katelynn requested that we “play Extreme Home Makeover.” We love watching that show together, so Nick and I figured we’d try to make her dream come true. Here’s our best attempt. I’m thrilled with the results! Enjoy!

The following are details some people might wonder…
The pink polka dots are 12-inch vinyl stickers from Lowe’s.
The letters are wooden; I bought them at Hobby Lobby.
The chandelier and lava lamp are also from Lowe’s.

The bedding, rug, and curtains are from Target.
The bean bag and pillow are from Pottery Barn.
The vase and faux stargazer lilies are from Pier One Imports.
The bead board is 5 feet tall and it’s wooden.
Nick cut it, painted it, and installed it, along with the trim. He’s the bomb carpenter.

And the wall hanging is one of my most recent imitations.
I wanted this one from Pottery Barn but I’m too cheap to buy it, so I made something similar.

i have a million things to do today. errands, paperwork, painting, organizing…the list is non-stop. however, my house is not childproof. we just kept putting it off, and there’s nowhere to contain the little munchkin. but i really wanted to paint today, so i decided i’d get smart and block her in the breakfast room via the loveseat. i thought my plan was foolproof, but she found a 5-inch crack in my barricade and escaped. needless to say, i’ve gotten nothing done. but she sure is cute!

i gave up on painting. we’re playing with tupperware instead.

the weather was beautiful today…
here’s a rare picture of us together (usually one of us is playing photographer…)

we ate at a hole-in-the-wall seafood place…
it’s a good thing we ate before we saw this, or i would have been fasting.
the fish was so fresh they were scaling red grouper on the back porch…and feeding the scraps to the 15 cats that hung around for free fish.
a) that completely violates my don’t-want-to-see-raw-meat-unless-it’s-wrapped-in-plastic-on-a-styrofoam-tray rule.
b) WHAT THE HECK?!? how in the world does that pass inspection?!?

after dinner we shopped a little and watched the big kids play some more…they had a blast.