Five Buckys

Greetings from our last Monday in 2013! It wouldn't be Monday if we didn't have your typical Garfield face palm I Hate Mondays moments. Jared and August spent most of the day watching movies and takings turns coughing. I spent my day taking care of them, which means my day was actually pretty awesome. Don't get me wrong, hearing their coughs and moans sure is the pits. But, I don't mind the running out to get Gatorade and chicken soup. And the extra cuddles from them was much more Friday-ish than Monday-ish for me. But still, it's Monday and we're all feeling it. A sick little August Abram is a cuddly little August Abram and that is kind of the best thing ever. And here we are! It is Monday night and we ordered take-out and August is clapping because that's just an adorable something that he does all the time. He is always up for a celebration, that kid! And Jared is just a little loopy from some cold medicine he took. I swear, that's his f...

This year was the first that our little family wasn't traveling for Christmas. And while we missed our parents and siblings dearly, we knew how extra special it was to know the tree that we decorated and the halls that we decked were going to be the same halls and tree that would help us honor our Christmas morning. Not to mention the thought of our sweet little baby crawling down our steps to experience the magic that is Christmas in our very own home. On the night of Christmas eve, Jared and I did our normal bedtime routine with August except maybe in a little more haste. Because as soon as he was nestled all snug in his crib, we ran downstairs to get things ready for Santa. And that's just about the time that I started pregnant crying all over the living room. There are these rare, grand moments in my life that I feel as though God is giving me a forehead kiss. And silly as it may be; standing in my Christmas tree lit home with my husband humming Christmas tunes and my b...

Merry Christmas, friends!  Somehow between traveling, morning sickness and a very busy, ever curious 16 month old, our tree is standing tall in the corner of our living room. Our very own Christmas miracle, truly. If it was up to Jared, the tree would've been up since Halloween. If it was up to Gus, the tree would be up all year round with ornaments within reach. It looks beautiful, even if it is a little top heavy. You do what you gotta to keep little grubby hands and a drooly mouth away. All the ornaments are hung up high after one too many times of Gus walking up to me with glitter covered lips. Busted, mister! There was also that time that he pulled the entire thing down and laughed until he saw me and then started crying because he knows how to work the system. My child!  While this tree has been a bit of a daily headache, I really do love having it up. It is so nice to see our tree decorated with the few ornaments we've collected: our wedding ornament, our honey...

My sister-in-law, Leigh Ann, was in town a couple of weekends ago and we all had a wonderful time. But mostly Gus had a wonderful time because he loves attention and being loved on and Aunt Leigh Leigh is just really good at that sort of thing. Not to mention the little toy cash register she brought to him that August has deemed the best. toy. ever. Today I found him giggling to himself as he put goldfish crackers in the coin slots and put the toy coins in his snack trap. He is funny like that. We spent a day at the Albemarle Ciderworks while she was here and it was beautiful. The weather had just a kiss of cool and there were ten different kinds of apples to sample. I never knew about Idareds before that day. But now that I do, it is safe to say, Idared apples make me go bananas for apples! We brought a picnic of crackers, fresh bread, hummus, bruschetta, and cheeses and sat right down in a beautiful open field surrounded by colorful trees. All the while a very delighted G...

You may not know this about us, but Jared and I are craigslist crazy. There are many reasons for this. One being that we are currently in good ol' Dave Ramsey's baby step 2, which is paying off all of our debts. Two is that we get to trade and upgrade furniture, home furnishings, and baby supplies often, most times without even touching our wallets. Three, being that we love a deal and craigslist is chock full of deals. Four, being that we have a one year old and it is just less stress owning used stuff, ya know? Yes, we do love craigslist. Buying. Selling. Flipping. We find it all to be very exciting. It also helps that our community is outstanding at craigslisting. C'ville, you old doll you. This brings me to a story that was meant to be an email to my sisters and mom, but halfway through writing it, I realized it was lengthy and tried to scale it back, but I just couldn't. So I read it to Jared who said it'd be a good blog post and I haven't been bloggi...

A quiet unbusy moment is very hard to come by these days. When August is awake, the house is alive with little running feet and dramatic demands for snacks. There are diapers to be changed and bobos to be kissed. There's the daily rotation of Mom! pick me up, Mom! chase after me, Mom! cuddle me, Mom! twirl me, Mom! sing to me, Mom! watch me play, Mom! watch me eat, Mom! let's watch all the videos of me on your iPad, Mom! let me stick my finger in your belly button. Repeat. And when he is napping there are goldfish crackers to be swept and mushy banana to be washed out of my hair. And a house that needs my attention, but I normally ignore and instead, put on clothes and make-up while I watch episodes of 30 Rock. And so, I cherish the ten minutes I spend at night rocking August before bed. It is dark and quiet and the only important thing in that moment is be with my son, pray over him, and rock us back and forth. It is the one thing that has not changed since the very fi...