I mean, it IS Valentines Day...

Okay, let's get a little corny.

We're not "celebrating" today because we know that while we're on vacation we're going to go on a date together. So that will technically be our "Valentines" day. However, it actually IS Valentines Day today, and my sweet Keegan Michael has a super high fever, so this Momma's home from work, awaiting a call back from the nurse at the pediatrician's to find out if they think he should come in today. So while I wait, and my very sick baby takes his third nap of the day, I will reflect on the most incredible man I've ever met:

I can't believe I get to call you my husband. I can't believe that I'm lucky enough to have you for the rest of my (ha- or your?!) life. I am so incredibly blessed to be able to rest in the fact that you are on my team. WE are on each others team. I appreciate that you support me, love me unconditionally, and that you are my defender when I need defending.

I appreciate that you didn't take the vows we made to each other lightly. I see how you prioritize me as your wife, and the way that you've continued to strive to become a better man day after day... and you have. When I first met you, I thought, "This guy is incredible. I am going to marry him." I never thought that you could get any more incredible. But you have. And I don't tell you every single day- but it's true.

You are the type of man, husband and father that I can only hope and pray that our son becomes. Thank you for your unconditional love towards both me and Keegan Michael. Thank you for making me laugh all the time.

You're the best. Ever. 

Happy Valentines Day to my absolute best friend.

Four Agreements

Six or seven years ago I read a book written by Don Miguel Ruiz titled The Four Agreements. It's kind of new agey and hippy, but for a sensitive soul like myself, I like to remember these "agreements" occasionally... I wish I took them to heart much more, because day to day interactions would be so much more beneficial if I did... Here's an excerpt from a summary of the book, highlighting the main points:

"The First Agreement - Be Impeccable With Your Word

Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using words to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth, of what is good, and what you want. Choose your words carefully in what you say to others, as well as what you say internally to yourself.

The Second Agreement - Don't Take Anything Personally

Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering and worrying. You can simply say, "next".

The Third Agreement - Don't Make Assumptions

Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. You have to learn to ask for what you want with conviction and confidence. Others cannot read your mind. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

The Fourth Agreement - Always Do Your Best

Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. It will be different from day to day. Under any circumstance, simply do your best and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.

"As you build the habit of the four new agreements, your best will become better than it used to be."

Just figured I might not be the only one who might benefit from this reminder! :)

Lets talk about Mom Jeans....

I'm currently on a mission...

A mission to mildly revamp my closet. Since Keegan was born, I've been so much more conscious about dressing age appropriately. I know what you're thinking... "But, Mandy, you're so young and sooo thin and your boobs are in the exact same place they were two years ago." So sweet of you to say, friend, but oh so wrong.

First of all, I'm not arguing that I'm young. Relatively, I am. But let's compare that with the age group that I HAD been dressing with... Forever 21 anyone? Charlotte Russe? Hollister? Anyone? Can you say SO college-y?! Anyway, I first had this epiphany while lugging a two week old baby in his carseat into Forever 21 while a bunch of 17 and 18 year old girls shopped around me. I proceeded to do a quick loop of the store and quickly leave. I ended at Ann Taylor LOFT and found a few nice, conservative outfits and felt so much more comfortable shopping amongst people at a similar place in life. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with those stores, FYI- I just felt like an OLD lady amongst all those young sorority girls, and I'm only 25!

Second, let's talk thin. I'm at my pre-baby weight, and have been for about 4-5 months. I think I can confidently shout that pre-baby weight does NOT mean pre-baby body. Things change. Not just the obvious... But little things, like, although I can fit in my pre-baby jeans, they're just not the SAME... Kind of in the way they fit, but also, kind of in the way I'm much more self conscious about having too low rise jeans so my muffin top hangs over the edge... HA!!! Anyway, I've got some new favorite jeans: trouser jeans! I have a couple pair that I surprisingly found at Target that have great stretch to them and are high enough of a rise so that my muffin top doesn't even cross my mind. Denizen by Levi anyone?! I just found some on the clearance rack at Target for $12! I'll take it! Woot!

Anyway, this mission has proven to be quite a challenge for me. Money is tighter now that I'm part time, and in all honesty, I just can't bring myself to pay a lot of money on clothes. I've had good luck with the Banana Republic outlet, and with Target and Marshall's.

Anyone have any awesome suggestions for some grown up, relatively inexpensive but still hip looking (for a mom-ha!) clothes?!

Tis so sweet...

My favorite hymn of all time is 'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus. I've really been meditating on the words to this song the past couple of weeks. I'm all about MY agenda in MY time. Wouldn't it be awesome if I could easily LIVE like the words to this song (shown below), and restfully rely on the goodness of the Lord and on His timing? Life would be so much more enjoyable if I really WOULD cast all my cares on Him!

’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
And to know, “Thus saith the Lord!”

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er;
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
Oh, for grace to trust Him more!

Oh, how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
And in simple faith to plunge me
’Neath the healing, cleansing flood!

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er;
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
Oh, for grace to trust Him more!

Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peace.

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er;
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
Oh, for grace to trust Him more!

I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.

Nine month birthday- What, What?!

How the HECK did this happen? How did the past nine months fly by so quickly?! It seems like just yesterday you were my tiny little baby sleeping in his bouncy seat and snuggling up with Momma on the Boppy.

Now you're a big NINE MONTH OLD (Yesterday)!

Let's chat about what you've been up to this month...

You're growing very well. At your nine month appointment yesterday you were 17.8 lbs, and 28 inches long. You've grown a whole 7 1/2 inches since you were born, and have gained about 11 pounds. You're in the 49th % for height, and are only in the 10th % for weight... don't worry, though, your head's still growing!! Up to the 90th % for your head! :) HA!!

We're working really hard to help you with the weight thing, though. The doctor said that she is going to have us come back in the next month for a weight check to make sure you're still gaining well, though. We are feeding you all sorts of yums to try and pack on the pounds. Today at lunch you had some Chef Boyardee ravioli and some (regular- not non-fat) yogurt. We're adding extra scoops of formula to your bottles too! Here's hoping that big kid shows some weight gain next month when we go in for the check!

 Keegan Michael eating some Chef Boyardee... mmmMmmm!

You're silly, especially now that you can crawl. You follow us around the house and get into everything that you shouldn't. You like to find cords to lamps and computers and pull on them. You get very sad if Mommy says, "Keegan Michael! No no!"

 Keegan at the doctor... it's a whole new adventure now that he's mobile... ripping the paper, trying to crawl off the table... Don't worry, though, there was a mirror he could entertain himself in :)

You wear size 12 month clothes. You've been wearing them for a while and holdin' pretty steady in them. I'm thinking they'll last a while because the next size up is 18 months, and they're HUGE compared to your little booty. You're wearing size 3 diapers, and the older you get, the more I find that MOST diaper brands are working for you. When you were littler, there were a few brands that were just horrible for you.


You're still sleeping awesome- normally about 11-12 hours straight a night. When you teeth, you only wake up for a second at a time and will give out a cry, but fall right back asleep. We thank you for your sleeping. We appreciate it and are taking advantage of it while it lasts. Goodness knows that not all of your brothers and sisters will sleep like you, Mr. Big Kid.


You high five now, too. It's cute because you get SO excited. You're working on clapping, and working on waving. You are so darn fun now! We just have a good time hangin' out! You love to walk around with Daddy holding your hands. You're FAR from walking on your own, but you definitely think that you're ready to go! HA! SO funny.

Thank you for being such a good, sweet boy, Keegan. We are SO blessed to be able to call your our son! You bring joy to everyone you meet with your sweet grin and friendly demeanor.

Creepy crawler on our hands!

Welp, we've officially got a crawler on our hands. I thought I would dread it since I can no longer put Keegan down and walk away to do dishes, etc., but I actually LOVE it! He's so active now that he sleeps super sound when he naps. I will say, however, that the bruises and scrapes have already started.

This past weekend Keegan slept over at his Grandma Barb and Papa Bill's house while Kris and I went with a few people from our life group to see Francis Chan and Rend Collective. Keegan had crawled about 1-2 crawls for us- but of COURSE once we left- he became a crawling machine. He still doesn't crawl ALL the time... I just think he's kind of laid back and doesn't really care to crawl over and get something if it seems like too much work at the time... HA! Momma's boy, huh?! :)

Unfortunately, now that he's so mobile, if he wakes up from his nap prematurely, though, he sits right up and tries to stand up in bed... We'll have to work on that :) HA.

It's adorable. He crawls from the dining room into the living room, and tries to play with the fire place (we're working on that, too). He crawls into the kitchen and is now pulling himself up on EVERYTHING! I can tell that he has this new found confidence since he became independently mobile... SO CUTE!

Here are some photos from this week...

There's Standy Mcstanderson. Love.

Here's boo this morning- I went in the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee.. He crawled over and pulled himself up... Then stood there for about 10 minutes (Show off! Ha!).

Okay, quick story: this Monday Kris had work off so he stayed home with Keegan. We were about out of food for any acceptable meals, so I asked Kris to take Keegan shopping for a short list of things to get us through the week. He 'bout had a conniption. HAHA. But, he cheerfully went- and I only received a couple of texts with questions while at the store. I ALSO got a great photo of my baby looking a little bit unsure to be shopping with Dad:

Love it. HA. Okay, well, now to some sad news:

On Friday I noticed that Henry's eye looked a little weird- and some friends commented on Saturday and wondered if he was going blind. Henry's only three- so we called the vet and they had me bring him in yesterday. Unfortunately we foudn out that our young little puppy dog has cataracts. So sad. We can have surgery- but it's really pretty pricey. But he's so young- we're debating if it will be well worth it. We have an appointment with a veteranary optomoligist (I can't believe they exist!) on February 2nd. Poor dog!

This weekend we actually have a day to relax. We are not doing ANYTHING on Saturday other than going to church... But, we DO have a house showing, which is always good. Just praying that it sells soon, especially with some unexpected big expenses that have come up. Can you say a prayer, too?!

Happy Friday tomorrow, everyone! Enjoy your weekend- I know I will!

Few favorites (right now... Ha!)

Revenge: it's my favorite tv show right now. I couldn't stand the commercials for it before it started- but I finally started watching it on Hulu- got ADDICTED- and then got Kris addicted, too. We look forward to Wednesdays SO much because this show is SO good. I love it. It's a total guilty pleasure because it's kind of a dramatic evening soap opera... but I just can't get enough!

I love these. My dad's girlfriend owns a business selling these oil warming lamps and night lights- and I can't get enough. I love that I can leave them on while I'm at work and come home to my yummy smelling house. If I could put one in every room without it seeming like I was a crazy, I would.

I love this picture. HAHAHA! I found it on Pinterest, and every time I look at it I smile. That's SO what he's thinking, too!

And then lastly, I've been loving these verses the past few weeks:

Zephaniah 3:17: "The Lord your God is in your midst, a Mighty One who will save. He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you with His love; He will exult over you with loud singing."

Exodus 14:14: "The Lord will FIGHT for you; you need only be STILL."

I'm definitely pumped for this weekend. Keegan is having his first slumber party with his Grandma Barb and Papa Bill while Kris and I go with a group of friends out to Troy to see Francis Chan and Rend Collective at Woodside Bible Church. We did Francis Chan's The Basic Series in our life group and are now reading Crazy Love. I so appreciate that he's so Bible based in his teaching and so honest. It should be a good time- and (hopefully) Kris and I will be able to sleep in a little bit on Sunday morning. Woot!

Oh, and the countdown is on for our roadtrip to Alabama: 36 Days!