{FOUR}

James is FOUR!  I have loved this past year and seeing James' personality come out.  It's also different having John and seeing the difference between the two.  I realized that James isn't my affectionate one, but he likes to say things like "Do you want to snuggle with me?"  Really that just means he wants you to be with him and hang out next to him, not actually snuggle.  John is the affectionate one.  James is my little encourager and I just love it.  He is good at telling me thank you and appreciates things.  Jordan says that James is just trying to make everyone else look bad with all the compliments he gives.  James is also extremely observant. I know most kids are, but he seems even more so, takes after my dad, ha!  I mean we will go to the shoe store, and he will point out shoes that everyone has.  He is the first one to notice if I have a new shirt or new nail polish.  Another thing I love about him is how he loves a good laugh--he has a good sense of humor.  It's the cutest thing.  I love my sweet James, and I am so thankful the Lord gave us YOU!  

Check out these pictures, my sister-in-law, Ashah took of him.  You need to check out her website.  http://www.ashahphotography.com

Aren't these the cutest? I'm obsessed! Love these boys so much.  

{5 YR ANNIVERSARY TRIP}

For our 5 year anniversary trip, Jordan and I decided to go to Texas.  We had two friends living there--one in Austin and one in Dallas and guess what is smack dab in the middle of those two? WACO and Magnolia Market!  Of course we had to make a stop there!  It was such a great trip catching up with old friends.  Jordan grew up with his buddy Zane. So, we got to see him and his wife and their two sweet boys!  Then we made it to Waco.  Let me just say, July probably isn't the best time to visit there!  We were a tad hot!  It was super crowded too, I'm guessing because everyone was out of school, but it was still worth it to see.  ALL THE DETAILS!! I could of spent longer there, but both of the guys were sweating to death, ha!  Then we went to Dallas, and saw my good friend, Grace Anne and her husband.  We went to the Bush Library and got to see what their life looks like.  So fun!

NYC TRIP

For my 30th birthday, Jordan gave me some Need to Breather concert tickets.  I was so pumped, then he told me to look at the location.  I was thinking "Town Hall? Is that in Atlanta?"  And then I saw "New York City" right below it. Whattt?  He surprised me with a quick get a way.  I was so excited!!  We didn't really plan a lot of ahead before we got there.  We knew we were staying close to Time Square at the Distrikt Hotel and knew that the Empire State Building, 9/11 Memorial Museum, Saks Fifth Avenue, and all that tourist stuff were close by.  The Statue of Liberty was probably the furthest, but it was still worth it taking the ferry and seeing it up close. Let's just say, NYC during Christmas time does not disappoint!

  

{Fixer Upper}

This past fall we spent a lot of our weekends working on this fixer upper in Milledgeville.  It was basically my baby, and I'm kind of sad it's over.  It was in pretty rough shape when we bought it.  The whole house needed some TLC.  We tore down a wall between the dining area/living space and kitchen to open it up.  We replaced the kitchen cabinets, kitchen tops, pulls, backsplash. You name it, we replaced it.  We refinished the hardwood floors and painted the walls On the Rocks by Sherwin Williams.  We retiled the whole master bath & remodeled the hall bath as well.  I will let the pictures do the talking.  Enjoy! 

Before & After of the kitchen:

Before & After of the Hall Bathroom

Below are the before & afters of the master bathroom. We closed off the closet and made the master bathroom a couple feet larger than it was before.  This way a bathroom vanity could fit in there and we made the shower a tad bigger.