head down and chin up

this semester comes to a close on Monday!

unless, of course, i fail and have to retake a course.

there's always that.

so it's time to just put my head down...

and dig in for 5 more days.

why does it seem that the last week of the semester/school year is the haaaaaardest (big whine)???

also, 9ish more weeks until little Taylor nugget #2 introduces himself to his older and not so gentle brother

also, the homestretch of pregnancy is the hardest...at least it is for me.

i do believe i can attribute that to the back aches.

oh well, at least there's an end point in sight and all will be good as new again.

the end of a semester

the end(ish) of a pregnancy

so rewarding-both of them, but challenging, exhausting and painful in their own way.

rewarding mostly!

this is my mantra

well, i don't really have a mantra

but i do remind myself that, "if it were easy, everyone would do it" (name that movie!)

or something like that. 

mostly, i remind myself that there is purpose to the pain and effort

in the end, i will have a masters degree, new credentials and a sweet little love bundle to call mine. 

and i'll probably forget all of the late nights that i fell asleep on my heating pad, reading my textbook/writing a paper and GT quietly takes off my glasses, turns out my lamp and puts my book away (but not without marking my spot first...love him for that)

as i've got my head down and charging the end of the semester...i've got my chin up!

after all, i've got this guy to keep my spirits high!

and his new haircut

5 and dime

5 years (and 8 days) ago

how can it be?

5 good years since i met this dashing lad of a man.

a few things i specifically remember about that day.

1. he had an iPhone and I thought that was kinda cool

i also remember sneakily putting my phone number in his phone under the name of "the coolest girl ever" or something equally lame....

obviously, it worked. but, i'm not giving out pointers here.

2. I knew i'd regret those baggy, cropped jeans (and those extra 15 pounds)

but i was strangely attracted to his plaid mixture

3. i've never felt so comfortable or silly(? maybe that's not the right word?) with someone so quickly

he wasn't appalled or turned away by my quirky/awkwardness, but rather embraced it and dove right in, kind of promoting it. 

4. i knew i was in for a major life change

obviously

5. and that scared the mess out of me

no doubt.

luckily, i snapped out of it and said "yes" 8 months later

this is one of my most, absolutely, undeniable favoritist days ever. ever. 

ev-er.

and a bonus #6- i have since learned that it would behoove me to smile in photos

strange faces are mostly unattractive and are not looked back upon endearingly 

and perhaps, the day you meet your future husband...you just might wish you had one good picture of the two of you looking somewhat decent. just maybe.

unless you're me. 

then these will do.

let's begin with Easter things

Since my documentation of our life happenings has been lacking severely on the blog, it's hard to know where to begin.
Hopefully I will do a massive photo dump soon and get this little journal back up-to-date.

let's start with Easter weekend, shall we?

what's that? you don't particularly care....ok, then. i'll make the decisions around here.


let's back it on up to last week
Judson had his Easter party at Mothers Day Out

 he had no idea what to do with the eggs, except throw them
obviously! they look like a ball. and that boy is all about baseball and basketball.
he was just mostly excited that we were there

and he got to run around in another area of the church than usually allowed.

maybe next year

(also, hashtag 3rd trimester! and chambray tops)

Friday was just glorious!

I told GT that my love language is him being off of work on Fridays. 

also, Jamie and the boys drove over for a few hours and that always makes for a wonderful day!

also, my in-laws came into town!

could this day get any better?

yes, yes, it could. i checked my school calendar and it was my Spring/Easter break! (since the previous Monday-who knew?!) so i declared no more homework/studying until Sunday. thank you very much. i'm sure that i'll regret that decision later. oh well.

Wukey loving on Pa

mid-action shot-airplane in flight

boys in heaven

and luckily the weather was divine.

we hardly went inside all weekend.

Saturday morning proceeded with Cracker Barrel, as usual and wonderful!

lately, we have been going to the Ike Hamilton Expo center on Saturdays to watch whatever is going on.

Usually the shows start on Friday or Saturday night, so we catch them exercising their horses Saturday morning. The past two weekends, we were the only ones in the stands. 

JR could stay for hours and sometimes, we do. 

and he neighs or moo's the entire time.

this Saturday, we actually caught a rodeo and saw some locals display some (unwarranted) courage

something about the longer you're with somebody, the more you look/dress alike???

besides having (another!!!) fever, Judson Ray was happy as a hog all weekend with his Grammy and PaPa in town.

we had crawfish in the barn Saturday night and it was-very likely-the best i've had.

we've had crawfish a few times this year and either 1)it hasn't been great(bad season) or 2)i haven't been able to eat it because i had JR and crawfish hands/busy toddler don't get along.

since we had two sets of grandparents around this time, i dug in and boy! oh boy! it was delish.

we had our annual Easter egg-stravaganza at my cousins farm and it was just lovely!

 

JR was still fighting some nasty infection/fever, so we only went for a bit.

but, it was long enough for him to work up a ridiculous sweat and red-face.

 (poor guy, wish he didn't feel so sick! bah!)

perhaps next year we can round up some kids to hunt the eggs

our mediocre attempt at a family Easter photo.

i was selfishly over it. 

allergies + large abdomen (ok. large body) + clingy, sick toddler + heat = grouch fest over here.

enough about me and my lousy complaints.

truly, we are so blessed to be surrounded by such a large family.

not only are they large, they are loving and so much fun!

Praise be to God that our relationship is not bound by this earth.

Our hope in heaven, through Jesus' death and resurrection, allows us to have relationships that are eternal!

because He rose on the 3rd day, I have hope.

because He lives, I can face tomorrow with joy and confidence!

learning small things the inconvenient way

before going to bed last night night, i cleaned the kitchen

put the dishes away, cleaned the counter tops, etc

this has not always been a routine for me

i made the comment to GT that I can't believe the disastrous state that i left our kitchen in most of the time when we first got married. 

i had no idea the difference that a clean kitchen made.

now, i need to have it cleaned (or semi-decent) before going to bed.

our kitchen is a pass-through. you can't avoid it. so having it orderly is a bonus.

the other day i was in a particularly stressed-out mood.

school, tiredness, work, pregnancy, kid, life, house-cleaning, etc...you now-probably being dramatic.

anywhooo

i cleaned the kitchen and immediately felt better.

i thought to myself- now, if i can just keep a clean kitchen, then all is well.

(sooooo dramatic and lame, i know).

cue kitchen sink disaster.

the next day, our garbage disposal faulted and the sink got clogged.

like, seriously, disgustingly and not fixable clogged.

GT tried, bless him.

he's a good, patient man and is a great plumber/fixer-of-anything, but this mess was for the pros.

the pro's with a 75-foot long snake thing.

i had over-estimated the power of our garbage disposal and threw potatoes down the sink.

ok, ok, ok-it was probably the culmination of me taking advantage of the disposal over the past few years and throwing everything but our couch cushions in. 

GT tells me often to be "gentle" with it.

ok. in goes the entire roast.

not too long ago we had an argument discussion about putting coffee grounds down the disposal.

obviously, you can do that (or so i thought)

no way, he said. it'll ruin it.

whatevs.

but, i did oblige and started throwing my used grounds in the trash.

too late.

so, GT has to go out of town, but calls a plumber.

mr.plumber-man (my hero) sweeps in and cleans out the pipes and our wallets.

i don't care-   i have my kitchen back.

before he leaves, he feels it behooves him to give me a mini lecture about proper disposal use.

this lecture did include instructions on disposing of coffee grounds in the trash. "oh yeah, they'll stop it up for sure". thank you sir. 

GT says he would've paid for that alone.

after cleaning up the stinky mess and retrieving and cleaning the unwashed dishes from our half-bath (that had accumulated over 2 days), our kitchen was back in business.

and perhaps my attitude was, too. 

thank you, life.

thank you for that lesson.

i reckon that my attitude should not hinge on a clean kitchen alone.

and i should probably listen to my husband on occasion...or more often.

Wordless Wednesday: circle of life

I am preparing to take a test in less than an hour, so i'm rather stressed.

In need of a quick pick-me-up I watched this and instantly felt a little pep being put in my step.

always a sucker for a musical tune....especially Lion King. 

that's as wordy as i'm getting. 

back to cramming-    i  mean....reviewing.

cheers to Wednesday!