Ice, Ice Baby

This morning we were iced in and church was canceled. Nolan had a blast slipping and sliding on the ice. He was cracking us up!

Wipe out!

Elliott and I hung out inside where it was above 28 degrees. He looks bummed, doesn't he. :)

GEORGE!!!

Before I had Nolan we got a lot of books as shower gifts, and they were always my favorite gifts. Honestly, we have read all the books we have to death. When I got this cute little Curious George set from Ashley Mac I was so excited. Little did I know that they would become a source of contention in our house. You see, Nolan LOOVVVEEEESSSSS these books and Jerel and I can not stand them (sorry Ashley!! :))! He would ask us to read them so much that Jerel finally hid them about three months ago. The other day Nolan and I were going crazy from the cold & rainy weather and I needed a peace offering. I pulled George back out and you would think that is was Christmas all over again. We have just had to implement the rule that they will only get read once a day- I figured that I could suck it up once to bring my child absolute joy! I am pulling for Mommy of the year! :)

They were brought to Jerel promptly after dinner was finished

BLAST OFF!!

Random Cuteness

I am way too behind to do individual posts of the past 3+ weeks, so I am just posting a few cute pictures.

One of these days I am going to put some makeup on before a picture is taken.

Nolan got a tool set for Christmas and it is still his favorite toy. I am just glad he's into safety! :)

My yard boys!

My parents were here the week of New Years and it was (and still is) FREEZING!!! My dad braved the elements for about 10 minutes to get Nolan outside.

My little man is 12 weeks today. It has gone so fast. He remains an absolute joy and is a chuncker. At his well check two weeks ago he weighed in at 14.5 lbs. We grow them big here at the Warren house!

A Decade in Review

I have been thinking about moving into a new decade and what all the Lord may have for me and my family. In that I decided to reflect back over the past decade. It was a wild ride!!! :)

2000: First year (second semester) at Alabama on staff with Campus Crusade. Spent Y2K in the emergency room in Atlanta from an allergic reaction- all the Dr. offices and clinics were closed because there was rumor that the world was going to shut down. Apparently everything was fine! J Went to Panama City Beach for Summer Project. Loved it! BTW- that summer I wrote out a “prayer/plan” for my life and wrote that I hoped to be single for the next 5 years- and then marry the love of my life. Random

2001: I fell in love with East Asia. I took my first vision trip and led a 6 week project that summer. Our theme song was “It’s a Great Day To Be Alive”. So perfect!!

2002: Became the associate campus director of CCC at Alabama. I think that is about the most significant thing that happened that year… That summer I was at director training in Fort Collins, Co

2003: You know, I am kinda blank. I just don’t remember this being a stellar year. I was getting some senioritis at Bama and felt like it was getting time to move on. Spent the summer in Ft. Lauderdale. Did NOT love that

2004: Spent the year in China. One of the best years of my life. I worked on the total dream team, had an amazing living situation and made wonderful friends. I traveled all over Asia and soaked as much of it in as possible. Did not want to come back to the States but really felt like the Lord was leading me there. Was not sure why…

2005: Came home, moved to Atlanta to work on the Regional team, got set up on a blind date with Jerel. I was not sold at first (just paralyzed by fear mainly) but he won me over!! J First date the end of August, engaged Christmas day. Might be hard to top that Christmas.

2006: Led a Summer Project to Jackson Hole. That was maybe not the smartest thing I have ever done! I was in 4 different weddings. July 29, got married. A very hot day to marry in Atlanta but it was perfect. We honeymooned in San Francisco, can’t wait to go back! Moved to Greenville. Commuted to Atlanta for work.In October took Jerel to China and so thankful he was able to see it!

2007: Got pregnant (oops), miscarried (so sad), adopted Rocky the wonder dog, got pregnant again (YEA!!), renovated the entire second story of our house- it was beautiful.

2008: Went on 6 weeks of bedrest (UGH!!!), February 20- had Nolan, more officially retired from Crusade, renovated our kitchen and other various rooms of our house in some way shape or form

2009: Got pregnant, put our newly renovated house on the market, moved to our “forever” house (my words, not Jerel’s), renovated the kitchen (two in one year is crazy!), October 21 had Elliott. He was a perfect way to close out a crazy and blessed decade!

Seriously???

Could he BE any more wonderful?? We have made the 2 month/9.5 week mark and I just love Elliott more and more. He is either eating, sleeping, or doing this! He's still not sleeping through the night...but there is always the hope of tonight! :)

Nolan's New BFF

Two weeks ago (I am really behind on blog-world and am going to try to get caught up over the next few days) my sweet friend Kelly came in town and brought Lucy. Lucy is 11 months older than Nolan but they were thick as thieves! It was so fun to watch them play together and he was super sad when they left (as was I!! :)), but it gave me a glimpse of how great life is going to be in a few years when my boys can play together! I can't wait!!

Somehow Kelly and I were unable to get a picture with both of us and all the kiddos. This will just have to do. Thanks for coming friend!

This was about 45 seconds after they arrived. Let the playing begin. Oh, and the booboo next to Nolan's eye is from when he was running in a dark room, tripped over a stool and landed on the rocker of the rocking chair. It was a rough one for sure!!!

Fireplace-DIY

As you know, I love almost everything about my house. However, I have not loved my fireplace. So thankful to have one...but it is just so big, plain, and dark. When we moved in Jerel promised me that I would have a mantle by Christmas. Our dilemma was whether or not to paint the brick, or cover it with sheetrock, but something had to happen to brighten up the room. And then we had to decide if we wanted a shelf or wrap around mantle. I wanted to whitewash the brick and Jerel finally conceded, even though he really didn't want to! :) We went to a salvage yard and found a old mantle that had been ripped out of another house. It had about 100 layers of OLD paint on it that was really cracked, so we had to strip it down to the raw wood and start over. My sweet husband spent many hours sanding and figuring out how to mount it onto the brick. I am really pleased with the outcome...just in time!!

UGLY

PRETTY!

Decorated...and really crooked. Apparently I need to learn to stand straight