mischief

i'm getting into all sorts of trouble tonight. decorating mischief at it's finest.

my obsession with home decor began when i was eight. something about that laura ashley floral pattern. i just HAD to have it. the coordinating blue and white striped print just did it for me.

a few gallons of wallpaper glue and sweat beads later, i had the room of my dreams.

until i turned nine and became obsessed with a green and white ivy print. i just HAD to have it. and a daybed to boot. and so i got it.

i LOVED moving every year in college because it inevitably meant that i would get to redecorate something. a kitchen. a living room. my bedroom. t-r-o-u-b-l-e.

after college, gidge and i got our very own big girl apartment. complete with cherry cabinets. i was in heaven.

and so i decided to learn to sew so i could make all sorts of home decor fabulousness. i have hand sewn curtains and pillows and shams and foot runners ever since.

approximately 2x per year, i decide i simply MUST change something. a new pattern. a new accent color. something.

tonight's mischief started with this little beauty:

robin's egg paint. 4 wheels. the letter "w". and a vintage twist. cooper's big boy room is in the works.

*did i just say "big boy room"??? what i meant was "cooper's-we're-moving-to-a-new-house soon" room. shesh, they grow up so fast.

he so desperately wanted to help me pick out accent pieces but instead, "hitched his wagon to a star" and went off to the land of nod.

oh how i love that little boy.

bill, i have you to thank for this obsession. and "thank you", i do :)

beautiful mess

i haven't done laundry in over a week. as a result, i am sitting here in my rainbow reindeer pajama pants and hot pink maternity t-shirt. my hair seriously needs to get "did". like yesterday. coopie's finger nails are so sharp he could carve his name in the side of his crib. and he just might. we have unrecognizable items in our fridge. the toilet paper roll is on the holder upside down. and has been for 3 days now. i paid our car insurance only to forget that i paid it so i paid it again. i didn't even have enough brain cells to realize my mistake and spent 15 minutes arguing with the liberty mutual man (in my rainbow reindeer pjs) over why he billed me twice. blush.

i am the happiest i have ever ever been. somewhere in the midst of the chaos of the past 5 months, my type a-ness took flight and left me here dazed, confused, and absolutely blissful. i don't care about my hair. or my house. or my fridge.
i have the sweetest most beautifulest family in all the world. i love them more than i love perfection and that, is what i believe, God has been trying to teach me.

now off to find some different pj pants. chris says the reindeer have to go. their psychedelic-ness makes him dizzy.

8/8, Aint it Great!

complete (verb): to bring to conclusion.

finish line (noun): a line marking the end of a race course.

celebrate (verb): to observe a notable occassion with festivities.

praise (verb): to lift high a mighty and sovereign God.

party panties (noun): what we are lookin' for right this very second. ok, well truth be told, i can't even get chris to say the words "party panties", but i assure you that mine are big enough for all of us :)

8 out of 8, and we are D-O-N-E! so long "juice", it's been real.

F-I-V-E M-O-N-T-H-S old.

Cooper Wyatt, you are five months old today!
And mommy is um, five days late posting this.

You learned how to give "high five" this month. Daddy is convinced that Mommy is just making that one up, but we know better than that.

You count your toes one by one as you stretch them all the way up to your little mouth. One-two-three-four-five!

You graduated from five ounces every three hours. You're a big boy now and take six ounces every 3-4 hours.

Five. The number of nights you have stayed up ALL. NIGHT. LONG. Hoo. Hoo. Night owl, that's you.

Your top five fav foods are: rice, oatmeal, peas, bananas, and apples. Yum yum. It takes you approximately five minutes to crush a meal. And five more to burp like a grown man.

If we were asked to tell you five things that we want you to write on your heart for ever and ever, they would be:


One. You have a God in heaven who loves you more than you will ever know.
"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:17-19

Two. You are an absolute BLESSING to your Mommy and Daddy. You bring us great joy.

"And this is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

Three. You make every single day five-zillion times sweeter. Five-zillion times more fun. Five-zillion times sillier. Five-zillion times more fabulous.


"Rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say Rejoice!" Phillipians 4:4


Four. There is a plan for your life so incredible that we just can't wait to watch it unfold. Day by day we see God's purpose revealed in you and day by day we thank Him for giving you to us.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord." Jeremiah 29:11.


Five. You. are. loved. (To the moon and back. Oodles and oodles. Bookoodles).

"Out of all the people on the earth, God chose you to be his special, treasured possession." Deuteronomy 7:6

We love you Super Coop! Muah!

lymphin' around

line by line, page by page, our story is written.

i have to say that tonight was one of the most beautiful chapters yet.

i don't feel like using capital letters right now. with a God as big and mighty as ours, i just feel itty bitty.

we are sitting here in our "walk with a lymph" t-shirts and pirate eye patches absolutely speechless. 72 people turned out tonight to cheer chris on as he crosses the kudzu finish line.
72 precious people sacrificed their time to spend a friday night in athens totin' around light up balloons.

72 people (and countless others) poured out their love and support, their hope and encouragement. 72 people (and countless others) reminded chris that he is not alone and that he can (and will) finish the good fight. and so tonight we raise 72 humble thank-yous. 72 grateful praises.

we are able to be strong because HE is strong, not because WE ourselves are strong. we are able to persevere because of people just like you. and we thank you from the very bottom of our itty bitty hearts.


"Be strong and courageous, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you may go". Joshua 1:9