Yes, We Are Still Alive!

It has been far too long since I have posted, but I honestly have barely felt like touching the computer or doing much of anything the last 6 weeks. I am finally starting to get some of my energy back. The Manor family will be growing again near the end of August or early September. We are excited in spite of the surprise as we know that God has something exciting in store for our growing family.

We took a trip home for a week in January. It was great to see people, meet our new niece and see where we grew up. But it's strange. Even though we've only been here about 6 months, it was not home anymore. We love Smyrna and our friends and family, but it reminded us of why we are here. Why we had to move on and must continue moving forward. Smyrna will always be our childhood home, but now we are working for our eternal home and that is an amazing thing.

Some opportunities have come up at church to get involved in some international ministry and we are excited to learn more and see where that might lead us. Mostly the last month or so has been filled with kids growing, morning sickness, fatigue, beginning a new semester and work.

Jamey is now 2 and it shows! He is trying to say so much but also gets quite upset when we don't understand. He's starting to try and dress himself and has successfully put on a sock and shoe. He wants to help do everything so trying to figure out what he can do is a challenge. And of course picking up the toys is the one thing he can help with and does not want to do.

Lillian has gotten very mobile with her army crawl and rolling. She is sitting up well and growing/gaining weight as she should! She is a pig and will eat anything you give her except baby food. She tries to eat Jamey's snacks which she cannot quite handle yet.

Things are going well, except for being tired. I'm ready for the second trimester boom to hit. It's about time now! :) And my goal is to get better about posting. I am loving all of the new songs we are learning here and will start posting some of the lyrics of ones that I did not know before here to share with those who are interested.

7 months 15 days

Snow Day

After hearing about all of the snow in Atlanta after moving away yesterday we ended up with our own snow today. I don't think we got quite as much as the south but it was still decent. It is about our 5th snow this winter, which is insane for us. It is quite cold. And the best part is we ran out of milk yesterday. There are people driving in this but those are people who are use to driving in the snow. We avoided going out today especially since it was actively snowing for the majority of the day. The worst part about days like that is it seriously increases my laziness! There is so much that needs to be done before we head home but with the weather I was curled in my pajamas most of the day. I did go out in the snow for a few minutes with Jamey and Ian (who spent a couple hours with us) along with Huda and Nada to take pictures. It was fun but the boys were chattering their teeth after just a couple minutes. Good stuff! I love looking at snow. So beautiful!

New Year

It's been almost a week of 2011 and I'm like whoa! Can we slow down please? Not because of anything in particular but time just seems to be consistently flying by. Why is that?

Oh well. Next week we will be heading to Smyrna, GA to visit family and friends. We are excited to see people that we have not seen since July. The best part is that our whole family is going. Originally Jim was not going to be able to go but thankfully he has enough PTO and we all get to go. The best part is getting to meet our new niece Kylee Joy. She is a big girl. Bigger than Jamey was and for Britney that is huge! It will be great to see the growing family. :) I miss them. It will be great to see all of our kids together since Brendon will be there too.

And A Happy New Year!!!!!

Wow! 2010 has flown by! It has been a great year full of fun and adventures. I can't wait to see what 2011 has in store. Our kids are growing and healthy, we have a place to live, food to eat, clothes and blankets to keep us warm. We have been so blessed. This really is the first year that I think I have really reflected on all that happened in the past year and wanted to really grow and change and learn from the past year. I am still wrestling with God as to what it all is that He really wants me to do. How to organize my time appropriately and take care of my family and home as I should. Making sure my priorities are straight. I wish it was all so cut and dry but as we grow closer to God and learn more about His will and priorities we change and have to consistently fight the flesh. I pray all the time, God show me the way and then I go back to my own thing. Back and forth all the time. I am so thankful I am saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus and I have the power through the Holy Spirit to fight the flesh. Stand up and fight!

May this coming year be full of blessings that bring God the ultimate glory!

Merry Christmas!

What a beautiful day! Though we were without extended family it was a great day of celebration. Jamey enjoyed opening his gift as well as Lillian's and playing with them both. My wonderful husband got me two movies I have been wanting for a year. He really is wonderful. I am so blessed to be married to such a loving husband. God has reminded me once again how blessed I really am when I do not deserve it. We went to the Village Manor pancake breakfast and helped a man having a heart attack or panic attack. Either way he did not look good. Please pray for Walter.

We then took a gift to our neighbors and had a great afternoon visiting with them including a yummy Iraqi lunch! Seriously, try Iraqi food. It is delicious! Jim had to work this evening but the kids and I had a wonderful Christmas dinner with some friends from church. Again God has truly blessed us far beyond anything I ever expected.

Looking forward to seeing my family tomorrow and spending a few days with them. And by the 30th I will have a new niece, whom I will get to meet in January. :) Such a wonderful time.

Living in a Winter Wonderland

OK so Winter yes. Wonderland: not so much! It is cold. Very cold! It snowed a few times this weekend and there is still snow on the ground and on our car that has been driven everyday since the first snow. It is so crazy. I am not use to this weather at all. I am trying to figure out what clothes I really need for this time of year here in Louisville.

What makes this weather even more fun and lovely is that our precious little girl is extremely cold natured. On top of that she lost weight recently which adds too her coldness. Please pray that as we continue to try to feed her more it will help her to get the calories she needs to get some meat on her bones and help her to stay warm.

I am thankful that we have heat, warm blankets, warm clothes and pajamas to shelter us in the cold. So many people live in this weather and do not have things to keep them warm. We are so blessed!

Couponing Rocks!

So thanks to Beth Crouser I am officially addicted to couponing. I went black Friday to get started. As she explained you have to spend some money the first time to get it going, so I found products with coupons and ECBs and I though I spent a little over $30 I received all but 3 cents back in ECBs! After that I am hooked. I have also done decently at Rite Aid but it's system is not as good for me. I am excited about the rebate check I will be receiving from them though. :) I know that over time it will help save a lot of money on toiletries!

I wish grocery stores had systems like this. Though you can find good deals on food it's usually the unhealthy food. Hopefully that will change one day, but saving money in one area works for me!