7th Anniversary

May 22, 2004
Our Wedding Day

I can hardly believe it has been 7 years.
{I do not have any pictures of our wedding day because digital widely used back in those days and facebook did not exist in my world}

...but here is one of our honeymoon!

Marriage is amazing.
After all of this time I am still a huge fan.

Joe is amazing.
He is gentle with me when my own sin is blinding me.
He is calm when I am crazy.
He gets me. He wants the best for me. He wants to see me win. He prays for me.

Since we got married a lot has happened in our lives.
1. I finished school {the first time...whoohoo speech comm. degree!}
2. We moved to Stanford, KY for almost 2 years
3. We had Norah
4. We bought a house...and renovated it
5. I started school {for a second time}
6. Many many trips {we love trips}

This year was the first year we actually went somewhere for our anniversary.
We wanted to go to Chicago or the beach but instead went to Cedar Point
{it was a good deal!}

We left on Friday afternoon
On the trip we decided to listen to Tina Fey's book "Bossypants"

It was REALLY funny
A little gross at times and she used words I never like to hear
But overall....FUNNY, Tina is pretty cool.
{side note: she actually read the audiobook so I would recommend borrowing it from us if you want to read it...it was so much better listening to her voice}

When we got there we walked the beach, check out our retro room, and went to dinner.
It was a pleasant evening.
One thing I love about hotels is cable TV...there is nothing better than getting to watch HGTV all night long...yes I am a nerd!

We woke up the next morning, hoping to sleep in, but both of us were awake by 6:50.

Got breakfast and headed to the park...it was a perfect warm sunny day...it was great!

Sunday we got up and drove home. It was short but fun. Fun to talk about the last 7 years...dream about the next 7, and really just enjoy being together!

It was fun but we just kept saying, "we wish Norah were here"
Next time we will take her...she is pretty cool!

Norah's big girl bed

for NC's birthday we decided she was ready for a big girl bed!

I cannot believe she is 3!
{pictures of her birthday party coming soon}

I had the dresser that I picked up a few years ago at a "free" sale
{the best kind of sale}
it had just sat in our basement because I couldn't decide what to do with it.

The bed my parents had in their basement
so we were set for furniture!

Introducing:
Norah's new room!



SURPRISE!!

She has slept great and took to her new bed like a champ!

Today is derby day and Norah keeps saying:
"is it time to go to the doobie party yet?"

She's awesome!

Happy Mother's day to all you mom's out there!
{Mother's day craft blog coming soon as well ;) }

Redeemed

-verb (used with object)

1. to buy or pay off; clear by payment

2. to buy back

3. to recover by payment or other satisfaction

4. to make up for; to make amends for

5. to obtain the release or restoration of, as from captivity, by placing a ransom

6. TO DELIVER FROM SIN AND ITS CONSEQUENCES BY MEANS OF A SACRIFICE OFFERED FOR THE SINNER

{dictionary.com}

where did April go?

I am sitting here in disbelief that it is April 30th...

Things are crazy in the McVicker household and will continue to be so for a while.

This time of year always seems to bring filled up weekends and lots of things happening

Things are fun but it is also hard to not get overwhelmed in the midst of busyness

-lately I have been stressed and soo soo tired-

And it is affecting relationships...

with Joe, with Norah, and with family.

Norah is so much fun lately but she also is wearing me out!

She says and does the funniest things.

One day she was trying on dresses and I told her to go to the middle of the room and spin

she went to the middle of the room and proceeded to spit...it was hilarious

I don't know where she learned to spit and what made her think I said that

but nevertheless...hilarious!

Joe and I struggle though with discipline.

Some days I feel like she is a constant state of time out.

-It is hard-

I was talking about this with a wise woman at church and she gave me some awesome advice I have to pass on...

She said in the midst of disciplining remind yourself that Norah has done nothing to me today

that I have not done to God.

And yet God continues to pour Grace upon Grace on me.

It gave me a softer heart for Norah.

We do desire to discipline her and not just punish-but it is hard.

Anyway...these things are laying on my heart this morning.

Have a great weekend!

p.s. there are so many things I hope to share soon like Norah's big girl bed and her party!

5th quarter is HERE!

Well...its over!
This 3 week break was just what the doctor ordered
I am rested and ready to jump back into the battle of nursing school...

here are some things that we did:

• Had lots of fun with Norah: many games of memory and don't break the ice were played. Norah and I also went to Totter's Otterville one day! We spent some great quality time together!
  
• I got a haircut!!
  
• we cleaned out the basement: it is great to get around down there now
  
• cleaned under the bed
• painted Norah's "big girl" bed and dresser: it turned out great, I cannot wait to post pictures
• finished a frame project I started months ago!
  
• got Norah's birthday invitations in the mail and starting planning the event!
• Had lunch with friends
• Cleared off the TiVo with Joe: we hadn't watched anything since my last break
• Went to weddings, hung out with friends, had great meals with family
• Stayed up late
  
• Slept in every morning until 8 AM
• Went to the gym often
• Read a book other than a Nursing book
• Celebrated Norah's birthday in bed because she had a stomach bug...then I got it 2 days later so I spent my last day of break in bed!
  

I am sure so much more was accomplished I just cannot think of anything right now

Some things that will have to wait:

• crafting with Niki: due to stomach bug
• cleaning all windows
• cleaning up landscaping {it was cold or wet most of this break!}
• finding sconces

All and all...it has been wonderful
Have a great day, thanks for reading!

one. two. three. break!

I am officially on break from school, a 3 week break to be exact!
I have 4 quarters down and 4 quarters to go.

This is the first break since starting a year ago that I have had some good time on my hands
and I want to use that time wisely.

I have a list of things I would love to get accomplished:

• Have lots of fun with Norah
  
• get a haircut {it has been since November!}
• clean out the basement
• clean under the bed
• paint Norah's "big girl" bed and dresser
• Do some crafts with a dear friend
• find sconces for our bedroom and fireplace and hang them
• trim and clean up the landscaping
• finish a frame project I started months ago
• clean all the windows and screens
• get Norah's birthday invitations in the mail and plan the party!

I know this list is huge and I am okay with not getting it all done-
I just like having a plan!

...I will let you know on the progress...

front porch curtains

{our house}

Last fall I started dreaming about sprucing up our front porch.
So far we have taken down our shutters
{I am trying to decide to whether to paint them black or leave them down}
and we painted the rod iron around the porch black.
We also got a black roof.
But I want it to look cuter...So I started thinking about putting up some curtains!


...Below are some inspirations...



here


here

here


here

I am now trying to decide what I want them to look at and what material is "outdoor" friendly!

Have a good Sunday!