Three

Today Matt & I celebrate 3 wonderful years of marriage! Our wedding day was beautiful, though very warm for December. I had visions of a white winter wedding. A white faux fur wrap still sits in a box unopened because it was a balmy 78 degrees that day. I live in Alabama so I certainly wasn't expecting snow but it really felt more like late spring than winter. Still a memorable, beautiful day.



When I got to work this morning I found this sitting on my desk:




A dozen long stemmed red roses, just like the ones at our wedding, and enough Godiva chocolate bars for every lady in my office. How thoughtful!

Happy Anniversary, Matty! Here's to many more years of wedded bliss!

A December Update

If you know me IRL, you know I live for a good list. Here goes the update bullet point style:

- Josiah will be 18 months old on Christmas Day. How could he possibly be 1 and a half?!? He's currently loving trains, cars, and generally any form of transportation. He also loves Elmo, Eli & Cooper (our pups), giving hugs and kisses, music, fire trucks, our Christmas tree ornaments, and especially his grandparents.

- Matt finished his masters degree this month and is seeking employment. He's working a stop-gap job for now but really needs to find something more permanent. We are praying for God's guidance as we explore new careers.

- Matt's grandparents had a kitchen fire last weekend. It destroyed the kitchen and caused smoke damage to the entire home. Please be in prayer with me as they make a temporary move and try to rebuild. They are in their 80s and have lived in this home for 57 years.

- My mama will be here next week and I'm thrilled! She and J have big plans! My mama isn't exactly a morning person and J likes to get up around 5:30 a.m. =)

- Matt's mom, known as Zuzu by Josiah, graduated with her doctorate degree this month. What an achievement! Lots of family came to town to help celebrate.

- We've have a tough year (more on that later) but God has provided for every financial & emotional need. We are so thankful for His blessings. We look forward to celebrating the birth of our Savior with family in the coming days.

- We survived the Monson Family Stomach Virus of 2011.

- I'm working on a list of resolutions for the new year. I do this every year and every single year I fail. I'm going to try to make realistic, short term goals that I actually have a chance of achieving.

- May we all remember the true meaning of the season!! Merry Christmas!

Praise You in the Storm

Things at the Monson home have been a little tough lately. We've made up our minds to trust God and PRAISE HIM for the experience. After all, we know this is all part His bigger plan for our family. Though the recent trials haven't been long endured, we've already grown so much in our faith and in our marriage. For that, I am grateful. If you feel so led, please pray for us as we journey through this. Some very wise people have been reminded me of the following scriptures over the last few days:

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we
will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
-Galatians 6:9

Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
-Isaiah 43:18-19

For the vision is yet for an appointed time,
but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry,
wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
-Habakkuk 2:3

Praise be to GOD!

Josiah: 16 months

Today he turned SIXTEEN months old! Seriously, where did 16 months go? He's a busy little boy with a mind all his own. Last Monday I got a call from daycare at 8:50 a.m. saying he'd fallen and busted his chin open. Kay, our daycare provider, thought he might need a stitch or 2. Since Pops was home and could get to him sooner, I called him. He took him to the doctor and fortunately we were able to avoid the stitches. Instead he got a coat of Dermabond, some lovely steri-strips, and a big bandage. He pulled the bandage off in 3.5 seconds and refused to keep another one on. He did manage to keep the steri-strips on for a whopping 2 days before pulling those off. It seems to be healing but I suspect he'll have a scar. My mom has one in the same spot so at least he & Nana will match. I didn't get a picture of the wound, but trust me, it's nasty.

He's talking more and more everyday. He repeats just about everything and mocks every move we make. This means we're very careful with words and actions. Since I'm fighting the longest case of bronchitis in the history of time, he mocks my coughing constantly. He also thinks it's pretty funny to "blow his nose" on everything, including tissues from the trash. Lovely.

His current favorite things include: his grandparents, doggies, Elmo, mama's phone, peaches, his stuffed duck, choo choos (trains), The Wiggles, the Auburn fight song, firetrucks, all books including my textbooks, and running. The child doesn't seem to know how to walk. He runs at full speed all.the.time. Which is precisely why he is 1 big bruise all the time.

Matt & I go to bed every night talking about the things he learned that day. He has brought us such joy and laughter and we are SO thankful to be his parents. What a privilege!

Alabama Cotton

With the cotton in full bloom here in Alabama, we couldn't resist the urge to snap a few photos in the fields near our house. Isn't it beautiful?! Also, I'm fairly certain my child gets cuter by the day. Of course, I'm slightly biased!

Another Birthday Party

This time we traveled to Atlanta for my nephew's 3rd birthday. It was a blast!! My sister in law, Katie, always does a great job on his parties. It was a little cool but it didn't stop us from enjoying the pool. In fact, I spent most of the party trying to keep J from diving into the pool. The child has NO fear.


This is my precious nephew, Foster, and his mama, Katie.


Happy Birthday, Foster! I can't believe it's been 3 years!

Football & a Birthday Party

On Friday evening, we kicked off the first high school football game of the season. Before we left for the stadium (which is basically across the street) we snapped a few picture of J & his Daddy in their purple and gold. Aren't my boys handsome?!?!






On Saturday, we drove to Vincent for a very important birthday. My BEST friend, Summer, has a son, Dax, who was born 10 weeks after J. Sweet Dax celebrated his 1st birthday party with a tire swing theme and we wouldn't have missed it for the world. They are such a precious family.


Isn't my best friend beautiful? How about that handsome Dax?

Looking Good

I knew a blog lift would be just the thing to finally get me excited about blogging. When I read this post from Kristin I contacted her almost immediately and we began the process of creating this beauty. I'm thrilled with the way it turned out! She has such a beautiful design aesthetic and I knew she'd give the blog the "southern charm" I wanted to depict. Thank you, Kristin, for your hard work and quick turn around!

Now that the blog has the look, it needs some content. My first few posts were very sporadic and lame, but I have big plans for the weekend so here's hoping I have some fresh posts up next week.

Until next time....

Josiah's 1st Birthday

We celebrated the big day at the Rahn family cabin on Lake Martin. It's a short 40 minute drive from our house. We kept it small with close family and friends and had the BEST day! It was H-O-T but we kept cool with lemonade, sweet tea, and frequent dips in the lake. I did a terrible job of photographing the party - not 1 single picture of any 4 of his grandparents, none of his great-grandparents, only a few of me and Daddy with the birthday boy, and only 1 of his Tia who flew all the way from Ft. Lauderdale for the occasion. I'll do better next year!

My brother, sister in law, and nephew








He LOVED his cake!

Catch Up

Yes, I let far too many days go by without a post. Here's the latest:

Matt:
*He finished up the school year and was thrilled for summer break to arrive.
*In mid-June he went to a conference at the beach with some of his co-workers. After years of hearing otherwise, this trip suddenly made him now like the beach.
*He's 1 lb away from losing SEVENTY pounds!! Isn't that incredible! I really should post some before & after pics.
*He's still trucking along at AUM and plans to be done with his Masters in December. (happy dance)
*He has accepted 2 coaching positions - an assistant football position at the middle he teaches at and the head soccer coach at the high school. This combined with finishing a master degree will make for a very busy Fall semester.

Mandy:
*I left my job at the CPA firm and took a job in Montgomery. It's MUCH less stress and fewer hours. It's been the answer to a lot of prayer.
*I was accepted to graduate school at AUM! I'll start classes in the Fall (again, it's going to be a BUSY Fall!)in the pursuit of a Masters in Elementary Ed.


Josiah:
*On the Tuesday before his birthday, he suddenly decided he was done crawling and began walking everywhere. Life has changed dramatically since this happened.
*HE TURNED ONE on Saturday, June 25th. We simply can't believe we're the parents of a toddler.

Next up: THE BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION!

As promised....

As promised, here is a picture of my handsome baby boy, Josiah.


See, I wasn't kidding. We visited Dr. W this week for his 9 month well visit. He weighed 20.5 lbs and was 29 inches long. We discovered another ear infection that I knew nothing about. He was wild as a buck in the doctors office!! It was like wrangling a wildcat for an hour and a half. Also, we were both lucky enough to catch a nasty cold while we were there.

And on a completely different note, here's a picture of J with his handsome daddy.


I'm a lucky gal, right?

Mandy

The Bandwagon

That's right...I jumped on. I've been wanting to start my very own blog for months and with my sweet 8 month old son in toe, I finally have good reason.

Let's face it - I don't have it in me to scrapbook. As much as I'd like to be a crafty, creative, left brained kind of person, I'm just not. So I'll let this blog tell the story and keep up with all the cute pics of the kid.

If you happen to be someone other the 2 or 3 family members(hi, Ma!)that will most likely follow along I'll give you a quick rundown:

I'm a Christian and praise God daily for all blessings.

I have the most adorable, precious, sweet, baby boy you've ever laid eyes upon. Don't worry, I'll be posting pictures soon and you can see for yourself.

I have a husband and I guess he's okay too. Kidding! He puts up with my crazy so he's a keeper!

I'm from the south and boy am I proud of it! I love my grits, college football, and mama's cooking.

I'm a 50's housewife stuck in a modern 21st century world. My dream is to be home cooking, cleaning, and tending to the kiddo but alas, it is only a dream at this point. Someday..

So, that's me...a southern family lady that eats too much and wants to be home raising babies. I'm not a stereotype, right??!!??

Stay tuned for more moments from the Monson Mama.