we are blessed.

i love how little things like a box full of toys can remind you how blessed you actually are...

i feel pretty confident in saying that i don't think chris & i bought even one of the toys in this box. the same goes for so many of abel's clothes & baby things, as well as the majority of furniture in our home.

we are blessed. 

blessed with a family that loves & cherishes us. a family that adores our sweet baby abel & a family that gives & gives until there's nothing left to give & then they give some more.

i love my family with every fiber of my being & i am so thankful.

it is my prayer that we can give & bless others in the same way that we have been blessed & taken care of, whether it be in a monetary gift or simply loving on others, giving them time & attention, prayer, hope, encouragement, etc. we are here to love one another. we are here to show others Jesus & the love He has for us with our lives as an example.

we are blessed.

love on each other today & tomorrow, and every day after that!

how sweet the sound.

i woke up in the middle of the night on friday, and for whatever reason could not fall back to sleep. after exhausting all of my social media options, i found myself laying there. abel snuggled up beside me, chris’s arm reached across with just his hand on my leg. all at once, i could hear all of my people breathing. abel, chris, AND both of the dogs. it was honestly the sweetest sound. each breath just reminding me of their lives & how precious they are to me. i continued to lay their & just listen to them breathe. i prayed. i thanked God. & i fell asleep.

i’m a whole lotta blessed.

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

it's beginning to look a lot like CHRISTmas...

the past two weekends we have done so many CHRISTmas-y things :) i have been in Heaven! i was bummed to be missing out on some of the things at home, so the fam got together & we celebrated our very own charlotte CHRISTmas in more ways than one!

first: Christmasville Parade of Lights with the Romeos

we lovelovelove them... the Romeos i mean! however, the lights were pretty too! downtown Rock Hill is SUPA presh!

next up: Tega Cay Christmas Tree Lighting with AbbyDrews :)

i loved this night, mostly because it was spent with Babs, but also because she makes a mean batch of MUDDY BUDDIES... or 'puppy chow' as she, and many other mis-informed people call it... haha :) we devoured them & watched movies, snuggled up on the couch! 

lastly: Family 2.0 Christmas at the Romoes

SUCH a wonderful night. truly. it just reminded me of how blessed we are. the Lord knew exactly where we needed to be and who we needed in our life. ALL of the people we have met here in Charlotte make my heart happy. blessed beyond anything :)

NOW... only one more full day here in chartown && then we are headed west! to the snow, mountains, family... a colorado Christmas. now THAT is true perfection! 

oh ps... have i mentioned it's getting REAL christmas-y around here? everyone's getting more cuddly & even doing sweeet things for eachother like breakfast in bed! ;)

lovelovelove!

what did you grow up calling this tasty Christmas treat?

muddy buddies or puppy chow?! 

thankful thursday.

Happy Thanksgiving :)

I am thankful for my life. I am thankful for my husband & our pets. My family & Friends. The past 9 months in Charlotte. Project Love. The Steps 'N Motion Family. Elevation Church. Jesus. Good books. Christmas around the corner. laughter. hugs. cold weather. all of the little things that i don't often think about but that some are without: tooth brush, car, clothes, home, etc.  I am thankful for food. I am thankful for all of the stores & people who didn't get today off so that we could! i am thankful for warmth.

I am thankful.

&& then there were three...

No not for us :)

Our sweet friends the Romeos are expecting their first little bundle of joy! I was HONORED when Megan asked me to take pictures for their announcement! SUCH a special time in their lives & something they will never forget... I feel SO blessed to have been able to take these pictures for them. They are such a loving couple & their love for eachother shines. They also have a LOT of fun!! Here are a few of my favorites from the day!

SUCH a beautiful couple. I am so excited for them & this glorious new adventure!

LaborDATE weekend.

LaborDATE weekend :) i love my husband.

we had the greatest day today.

we went to church last night, so we were able to sleep in this morning & i am all for that. chris cooked us a delicious breakfast & we watched an Elevation Podcast to start our day off right!

i love days with no agendas.

later, we did three of my favorite things. went to caribou, slurp. went to the park. & saw a dollar movie. who doesn't get excited about dollar theater movies? SUCH a blessed day.

great conversation, simplicity, love.

i wouldn't have done anything different.

hope y'all are enjoying the long weekend!

a house full of love.

as i mentioned earlier in the week, family came to town!!! weeee! it was a quick visit but SO SO great to have them here! they were able to meet all of our friends for game night & get a peek into our life here in charlotte. my brothers are so precious to me. the time spent with them was so special, they are growing up WAY too fast, ah! time slow down. and there is no one like your mom or sister, enough said. we had a WONDERFUL visit :)) i wish wish wish husband was in more of our pictures! he WAS here, just working 12 hour days in this insane heat, spreading the love of Jesus to all the little soccer campers, precious man of mine. here's a recap :)

 family meets our charlotte family. played a meaaaan game of GEORGE.

 was a good hostess & made them a de-lish breakfast. yumm.

 family slumber party. 8 peeps, 1 bedroom apt... i like it.

 took them to see our new house!

goodbyes are the worrrrrst.