.he's going to be a daddy.

He’s going to be a Daddy.

My little brother, the tallest in the family, the youngest of us all. The most mellow, kind, hilarious brother you could ever hope for.

The one that played Barbies and cars with me. He pulled me in our red wagon, only to have me to walk in the house and slam the screen door when my time came to pull him. The one that threw up the peace sign in every awkward pre-teen picture we have of him. The one that had the lazy eye in elementary school and had to wear a patch.

The one that had a hard time his first year of college and always wanted to hang out with me and my significant other. The one that filmed videos of himself playing his guitar. The one that I watched get better at his musical skills until he totally blew me away one day with a video of him singing an original song and playing the guitar. His voice was awesome, and I was so proud of him.

My brother, my fellow co-founder of the “G” Club. The one who has always been able to make me laugh. He’s always had my back, and I’ve known it.

I watched him grow from a skinny, insecure kid in glasses to a strong, Christian, handsome man with confidence and the strength to stand up for what he believes in.

This amazing man, my brother, is going to be a Daddy.

I love you, Lawson. I can’t wait to meet Levi. I am so proud of you!

.blog freebies.

Today I didn't feel like doing much besides sitting in my comfy chair with my feet propped up and my laptop in tow. But I also felt like being creative... So I decided to make some cute little blog buttons to share with you. I hope you enjoy them!

All you have to do is right click on the images and save them to your computer.

Then go to the "Add Gadget" option at your dashboard, click Picture, then find the image saved on your computer. Once you've added the Picture Gadget, you can drag it down to where you want it on your sidebar.

.never too old.

...And that is why I've decided to learn how to play the guitar!

I've never played an instrument in my life but have always wished I could.

Tonight I got my first lesson from my brother on how to play the guitar.

He let me take his beloved instrument home to practice on.

He even gave me homework.

I have to master four chords in a week.

My heart says I can do it.

My sore fingertips say it's questionable. ;-)

.my diy dry-erase board.

Thanks to Pinterest, I stumbled across a super cute and easy DIY project: this dry erase board.

I decided it would make a good addition to the little area by our dining table. Hubs and I can use it to write messages to each other or I can use it to announce our weekly menu.

I found a 12.5" x 12.5" scrapbook paper frame at Hobby Lobby. It was 50% off, so I got it for about $7.50. I already had a collection of scrapbook paper, so I chose two different pieces in the colors I wanted, cut one down to a smaller square, and framed it up.

Voila! Here is my diy dry-erase board:

The framed "B" above it is a plastic letter used for signs that I purchased off Etsy from moxiethrift. It is framed with some light blue and white striped scrapbook paper.


Here is a close-up of the paper I chose for my dry-erase board. I love it!

And that's that! Easy as pie. You should probably make one for your home now. :-)

.books.

Ever since I was a child, reading has been a favorite hobby of mine. I'll admit, these days I don't make the time to read as often and I should (or want to). This Summer, I've only managed to read one book: The Scarlet Thread by Francine Rivers. It's a winner. This was the second time I've read it, but that didn't matter. It sucked me right in again, just like the first time. If you like inspirational fiction, you'll love it. If you're married, you'll love it. If you like Francine Rivers, you'll love it. If you are a woman/romantic/Christian you will love it. Now, how's that for a book review? ;-)

Next on the list: Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks. If you've already read this, don't tell me ANYTHING! I always love his books, and I am looking forward to this one.

On a side note, as I was googling these books to find pictures of them, I realized there are already movie posters out promoting a movie based off Safe Haven. Really? Hasn't anyone realized yet that movies are never even close to being as good as the book, but this is especially true with Sparks' stuff. Message in a Bottle is an awesome book. The movie was horrendous. A Walk to Remember has been the only movie based on a Sparks book to hold its own and actually be a good film. Other failed movies: Nights in Rodanthe, Dear John, The Last Song... {The Last Song had potential to be a good movie because the plot is there but, I'm sorry, Miley Cyrus just ruined it for me. I honestly don't think I'll ever read The Last Song again because Sparks said he wrote the book with Miley in mind...Ew.}

All that to say...of course I'll be at the theater to watch Safe Haven when it comes out. Hopefully I'll have read the book by then and HOPEFULLY I'll be able to eat my words about the movie never holding a candle to the book.

Don't let me down, Hollywood.

.summer freedom.

My favorite part of the Summer is happening right now!

+ BIRTHDAYS (my sis, dad, brother and me!)
+ Fourth of July FIREWORKS!
+ BBQ's and SOFTBALL GAMES
+ DRIVE-IN CINEMA



I love the carefree feeling of Summer!



Approaching Summer Awesomeness:

+ 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY for hubs and me!
+ First visit to our neighborhood POOL (Yes, we are crazy.)
+ The BIRTH of my first NEPHEW! (Just a matter of WEEKS now!!)



I love the IPhone app INSTAGRAM. It takes ordinary pictures and retrofies them! Here are some snapshots of some of my favorite parts of Summer so far:


.birthday garb.


.parachutes before fireworks.


.saw some awesome fireworks this year.


.my love at the drive-in cinema.


.me getting ready to watch Cars 2.


.my cute softball player.

.in one hour.

I am proud of myself for the simple fact that I cleaned!

It probably shouldn't be such a big deal, but along with Summer has come a pretty intense case of the big "L." {laziness}

After working today, I treated myself to a Dr. Pepper slush from Kum & Go. While driving home, I told myself that instead of my usual after-work routine of eating junk and wasting too much time on the computer, today I was going to be productive.

I set a goal: to clean house for ONE hour. I challenged myself to get as much done as I could, after which I could reward myself with computer time.

Hence, this blog!

As soon as I got home, I put on shorts and a tank top and got to work.



This is what I got accomplished in an hour:

+ Dishwasher unloaded and reloaded with dirty ones and started 'em up

+ Kitchen counters and stove wiped down

+ Random items on the eating table put in their proper places

+ All surfaces and decorations dusted in the living room, master bedroom and halls/entrance.

+ A stack of clean laundry divided and put away

+ Both toilets cleaned

+ Both bath vanity mirrors and one mirror in bedroom cleaned

+ One of husband's shirts ironed

+ Our bed made


YAY ME!

I am actually going to make this new timed cleaning thing a part of my everyday life. It doesn't always have to be an hour. For example, depending on how I feel or how much time I have, I plan to clean for no less than 30 minutes every day. I'll just turn on my contemporary Christian music like I did today and get down and dirty! That way, when it's time to relax, I'll enjoy it more because I'll know I earned it!

You know, it wouldn't hurt if this cleaning closet was in my house... Just sayin'...