~As Easter Approaches~

Easter is one of my favorite times of year, and definitely one of my favorite holidays. Christ Arose on this day...this blessed day! How could it not be one of my favorites? As always, I try to remember the reason for the day, and try not to focus too much on the other things.

I love Easter Sunday! I love getting dressed up and going to church with my family and having a nice big lunch afterwards! The weather is always pretty nice on Easter, and it's just always been a great day spent with family.

I remember the Easter after my grandfather passed away, his presence was definitely missed at the table. This year will be bittersweet. This will be the first Easter and really first holiday without my Nana. My heart aches just writing this thinking about how much she will be missed this weekend, and how much she is missed every single day. My brother is also in Arkansas working, so he won't be here this Easter either, which makes me hurt too.

 I am excited though that it is our first Easter with our precious baby. I'm so excited thinking about Warren and I being the Easter Bunny for the first time, and putting out Easter eggs for her to look for, and selecting her perfect 1st Easter dress and basket.

We will spend Easter in Millen with my family, as we always do, but I'm not sure what the plan is at this point. I know we will set up the Easter Bunny for Bowdre, and my parents are going to put out eggs for a hunt. I'm sure we will go to church and have some sort of a feast afterwards. Although there will be excitement surrounding Bowdre and the reason for the day, there will be also lots of sadness in all of us, as we miss those who can't be here and who are no longer here on Earth with us.

Please pray for my family, as I know this weekend will be hard. Pray that we always try to find the excitement in the small things and know that those who aren't with us physically are with us emotionally. I want Bowdre's 1st Easter to be one to remember!

As you saw in my previous post, the Easter Bunny visit was quite a disaster, but her outfit was just to cute not to photograph with her in it! So here are some cute pictures of Bowdre in her Easter bubble (after we had visited the Easter Bunny).

Happy Easter everyone, and I pray that you have a great day spent with family.

"He Arose, He Arose, Hallelujah Christ Arose"

~My Weighloss Journey-Results #3~

Being that I just finished up another 14 day challenge, and it's the last day of March, I thought I would update you to my weight loss numbers.

This past 14 day challenge was a bit tough. It seemed that although I was following the program just as I should, I was really just maintaining and had hit my first weight loss plateau, which my coaches said would happen. So I told myself that instead of getting upset that more weight wasn't coming off, my goal was just to maintain what I had already worked so hard to get off. The past 14 day challenge I had lost a total of 4.8 pounds, which brought my total weight loss to 17 pounds.

At the end of this 14 day challenge which ended on Saturday morning, I had managed to maintain and lose 1 more pound, bringing my total weight loss to 18 pounds. Although it wasn't as much as I had hoped for, at least it was something, and I learned the importance of maintenance.

I restocked my products and started another 14 day challenge yesterday (March 30th), so since it's the last day of the month, I thought I would fill you in. Since yesterday morning, I lost another 1.6 pounds, bringing my TOTAL weight loss since February 1st to 19.6 pounds, and I'm only on Day 2 of my 14 day challenge!

I am so excited!

Another couple of exciting things that have happened in the past 14 days:
-I've been able to wear my engagement ring for a while, but I haven't been able to get my wedding band on since I took it off LAST MARCH (I was pregnant then, and didn't want anyone to have to cut it off of my finger, since I was swelling something serious)! So finally a year later, I'm wearing my wedding band once again...and I didn't have to get it re-sized!!
-Today, I am wearing a shirt that I wore to one of mine and Warren's wedding showers 3 years ago!

 I'm 2 months into my weight loss journey, and I feel so great! The hard work and change of lifestyle is definitely paying off!

~Easter Bunny Fiasco~

Warren and I decided to take Bowdre to see the Easter Bunny yesterday afternoon. Since she loved visiting Santa and Mrs. Claus a few months back, we knew she would just LOVE the Easter Bunny. She looked adorable in her purple bunny bubble and matching hairbow! We headed to Bass Pro. Guess what? We missed the (FREE) Bass Pro Bunny by 30 minutes...of course! We knew we wouldn't get a chance this week or next weekend, as our schedule is rather nuts Easter Weekend. So we decided to just go for it and see the Savannah Mall Easter Bunny, knowing she would love that bunny just as much. We get there, and of course if you want any pictures at all, you have to pay almost 30 bucks...RIP OFF. But since it was her 1st Easter, and I HAD to have the picture, we decided to cough up and pay it. We put Bowdre in the Easter Bunny's lap...and that's all she wrote. DISASTER! She kicked and screamed and kicked and screamed. WOW! Definitely didn't see this coming. So of course, out of all of the pictures we got for $30, not a one...NOT A ONE...was her smiling. That being said, I would like to apologize to the Easter Bunny, as I'm sure you lost some of your hearing yesterday. I of course got the package with the digital downloads, but because computers and technology hate me sometimes, I can't get them to turn the right way. Here are a few of the pics from yesterday (just turn your head and you can see).

Maybe next year will be better...hey, there's always hope!

~35 Weeks Old- March 25, 2015~

March 25, 2015

35 Weeks Old

~Do You Think She Loves Her Daddy?~

These two just make my heart melt...I love them more than words can express and thank God for them each and every single day!

~Fun Saturday with Friends~

This past Saturday, we went to our friends, Cassie and Brandon DeFeo's, new house for a housewarming/St. Patrick's Day/Schenkel Invitational get together. We had so much fun catching up! I love love love their new home! They are both truly talented people and have done a lot of the renovations themselves!

Another good things about moving back to Statesboro is that we are closer to them! I love them so! Here are a couple of pics with Cassie!

~Dear Bowdre-8 Months Old~

Dear Bowdre,

Wow...how another month has flown by! It's so hard to grasp that you are 8 months old today...how?? You are growing so quickly!

At 8 months, your menu has expanded quite a bit, but you still prefer pears and sweet potatoes. I'm sure it won't be long before you are trying to pick up your own food...especially since you can now hold your own bottle and sippy cup (well for the most part...we still spoil you a bit and hold it for you!). You...still...despise....peas :( I keep trying, but you keep hating them.

Your favorite things are bath time, and any time that is spent outside. You LOVE being outside...watching Elle' or watching the trees and squirrels. You are so observant and aware. You try to get into everything. If you see it, you are definitely going to try and get it in your mouth, so we have to watch you extra close.

Mommy and Daddy appreciate that you are still sleeping through the night (around 10 hours or so, sometimes more) but I think Gammie would appreciate it if you would nap a bit more during the day. Speaking of Gammie, you love your Gammie and Pop, and you love being at Quinney Oaks. There is always lots to look at there! You get to be outside alot and you love riding the golf cart!

You now have 2 bottom teeth!

You love going places, doing things, and seeing people! I can tell you are going to be quite outgoing!

We are trying to savor each and every moment, because you change constantly! You are trying so hard to crawl or walk and do it all! You are almost there but you can't quite figure it out yet. I think you might skip crawling and go straight to walking. You can hold yourself up, and you can scoot backwards so we know it's just a matter of time before you are fully mobile...and we better GET READY!

You can say Ma Ma and Da Da so clearly now, and it's the sweetest sound in the entire world! 

We love you so much sweet girl, and you bring so much joy and love to our life! We are blessed beyond measure!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

PS. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the past month!