I've been slacking lately but I have good reasons! These last few months have been very busy! My sister came to visit for a week, then I went to visit my family in Virginia for 2 weeks, and then my in-laws were here for a week so there's been lots going on! I'm sure you aren't interested in the details but I'll bet you're interested in photos so here's a few!

Hanging out at the park

I'm not sure how to rotate this without re-uploading and I'm lazy..this is my sister Katie

Not enjoying the grass in Grandma BonBon's backyard

Walking around in Poppy's house

Aunt Katie and Gracie waiting for the airplane to take us all back to Virginia

BonBon and Poppy at the airport

So as of right now, I don't have any of the pictures from when Zach's parents got here but I'll post it when I get them.

Budget Shutdown

I'm seriously freaking out people! When the government shuts down tomorrow bc of this budget dilemma, Zach and I are seriously going to be hurting bc military servicemembers will not be getting paid. He's already be informed that we will only receive half of our paycheck on the 15th, if we even receive one at all. Thank the Lord for my husband's serious aversion to spending money bc otherwise, we would be in some serious trouble. We have enough in savings to stretch us for about 1.5 months if we're really careful about how we spend. Problem is, my mom has already paid for a plane ticket to go visit her from the 25th of this month to the 7th of next month (Zach will be in the field) and I KNOW that no matter what, being out of my home will cost money. Last time, I left all my baby supplies (diapers, baby food, formula, etc.) here and just stocked up once I got there, bc I figured I'd end up needing to restock. I'm not sure if I should take what I have now with me so I have to buy less or do it the same way again...plus I will want to help with groceries while I'm there bc my mom doesn't cook much for herself these days unless Katie is staying with her. She's already paid for my ticket so I won't let her feed me too. AGH. Stress!

Ramblings of a Boring Day

Today has been very unproductive. Grace woke up at 7:30 (an hour earlier than normal) and was ready to get playing right away. I've been struggling with getting to sleep at night and since I fell asleep at close to 3:00 am, I wasn't ready to be up! But I gave Grace her breakfast and sat down to read a bit of Romans to wake myself up. The chapters I managed to read (and comprehend with my mind so fuzzy!) really drove home the point that I need to get my life on track. Romans 6:11-12 says "In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires." I really need to stop living my life the way I way and start living it the way that God wants. For me, that really means applying the verses about loving one another and learning to speak with kindness, especially towards Zach. I am so often exhausted and cranky by the end of the day and I take it out on him instead of realizing that if my day was stressful, his stress levels had to have been ten times worse.
After my brief bible study, Grace and I played a bit and watched Gullah Gullah Island. I love that it's still on tv....I remember watching it with my little sister when SHE was a baby. And by 10:30 Grace was ready for her nap so we both laid down and slept until around 12:30...thus getting NOTHING down during nap time like I should have. Anyways, Grace is getting restless so I'm gonna put her in her wrap and head out for a walk with the dog. I leave you with a picture (or two).

Me and my baby sister Katie circa 1994.

My baby girl, Grace. Anyone else think she looks just like her Aunt Katie?

I throw myself into projects...

with a vengeance. My latest "project" was to create a journal that I could write in when I'm reading the Bible...and after four hours of carefully drawing perfectly straight lines and making sure I picked the PERFECT color for each piece of "stained glass," I wanted to share my final product. Juvenile, I know. But who doesn't like to color?

What's in a name?

First things first, I know my blog title is not that creative. When you google "growing with grace" you get 78,000,000 results. But it does have quite a bit of meaning for me.

Most obviously, it has to do with my daughter. Grace was a surprise blessing my senior year of college. The moment I saw that positive pregnancy test, I knew things had to change. And so, in the time it took that second pink line to show up, I turned from a stupid college girl to a mom. And since her birth in May 2010, I have learned something new from her everyday. Mostly, I've learned to cherish every moment. She's only ten months old but already there are days when I'd give ANYTHING to go back and enjoy one of her afternoon naps on my chest again. There are days when I'd give ANYTHING to be able to go back and watch her again on the day she discovered that she had feet. I'd love to relive that first smile over and over again. But at the same time, I love watching her try new things. Last week, she started standing up without having to hold on to anything. This week, she stands wobbling in one spot in the middle of the floor with the most ADORABLE look on concentration on her face as she tries to figure out how to take that first step. Every moment is a gift and every day I grow a little more with my daughter. This blog will talk about my daughter A LOT.

Secondly, the title has to do with my somewhat newly found faith. Let me explain:
I grew up in a Christian home. As a kid, I'd say about 90% of my activities revolved around my church. And then we moved, I didn't find a church I felt welcomed in, and somehow during high school, I completely fell off the path. By the time I got to college, I didn't even know what I believed in anymore. The few times I went to church over that four years, I would find myself fighting back tears while singing the praise songs that had once filled my heart with such joy. But right after church, I'd forget the conviction that God was missing in my life and go right back to living life how I wanted to. my junior year of college was a really low point for me. I started dating a guy who wasn't good for me and I became a person who nobody recognized. I lied ALL the time and I found ways to justify it. After that relationship ended, I met Zach, who is now my husband. Life became great. I had my best friend by my side, a beautiful baby, a new home...and yet nothing was good at all. I was seriously depressed. One night, Zach and I were sitting outside on our tiny patio and the conversation turned to God. We began discussing what we believed and I ended up sobbing. I knew why I was depressed...I knew what was missing. After that night, I began to try to read the Bible again but it felt like a lie. So, I went on Amazon and I bought every single one of the Left Behind books. The wonderful thing about these books, is that although they are fiction, they are full of scripture and there are pages afer pages after PAGES of lessons about God based on scripture. I feel like God used these books to get through to me. I know that sounds crazy, but I began to crave His word in a new way and for the first time in YEARS, I finally feel like my prayers are being heard. But, I'm still struggling. The beliefs I learned over the last decade cannot be unlearned in a few short months. So, I'll also write a lot about God here.

My goal for this blog is really to track my progress. I'm not really writing to make friends here, but at the same time, I hope I do! It'd be lovely to "meet" some people on here that believe the same way that I do. So if you're reading, leave a note. I'd love to have some feedback!