New Year New Life (in Him)

So I was sitting in the peds doctors office today waiting on A to get her 2 month checkup. I kept thinking about New Years resolutions and I have to admit some pretty hefty goals came to mind. Such as, work more hours to make more money, save money to put towards a bigger house, workout daily, etc. You get the picture. While there is nothing wrong with setting goals for yourself, it is wrong when God is not the primary focus of your life. God truly convicted me while I was picturing that bigger house in my mind. It's like He was right there waving in my face saying, "Um Hello...I'm right here and I'm all you need." Have you ever had such a strong conviction before?   I truly hope this year that I am able to place my eyes on The Lord and then really open my heart to what He is trying to teach me and to have the courage to listen and to follow His will. Just wanted to share this with you guys. I hope everyone has had a great start to the new year. I'm off to get some sleep : )

2013 Recap part 2!

Here is part two of the recap to our lives this past year. We have shared some of the happiest times together, and some sad ones as well. God is still helping us grow with him daily and I am just so thankful that we have an all knowing God that knows the path for our lives even when we are unsure and anxious about our future. 

July: 

We spent the 4th at Lake Murray and had an awesome time. This was Lexie's 1st lake trip and she had a great time as well. On July 5th we had quite a scare as Lexie had a heat stroke while I was walking her with a friend. We rushed her to the vet and she had to stay overnight in the hospital. Thank goodness she is back to her normal self again. 

 

Later that month I went to the Myrtle Beach for a few days with my family for some R&R. Poor Chris had to stay home to work. We had a great time being beach bums : )

August: 

This month seemed to go by so quickly. Chris was pretty busy with school and work and I was still tracking along at work as well. This was a fun picture we took with Lexie...she was already loving on Annalise! We also had a baby shower for Annalise given by some of my closest friends.

September: 

My cousin welcomed another son into the world so I got some baby practice before A's arrival! I also celebrated at a baby shower for one of my closest friends, Amanda. We grew up together and it was so fun being pregnant together. 

October:

Where so I start with this month?! We had a very busy month. My sister in law got married, we celebrated our birthdays in the middle of the month, my little sister from my college sorority got married, and the BEST moment of all...the birth of our daughter!! Here is the month in pictures 

November: 

We brought Annalise home, had her first doctors visit, took her to the baby dedication at church, and celebrated our 1st Thanksgiving as a family of three (well technically four because we consider Lexie a family member). My friend also welcomed her son into the world. Dakota and Annalise are a week apart and I just know that they will be great friends growing up! 

December:

This month has been filled with a lot of Christmas festivities and time with family. This Christmas was so special to us, mainly because this is the time of year we remember God's greatest blessing to us, his son; and also because we celebrated Annalise's 1st Christmas. 

Happy New Year everyone!!! 

2013 Recap: Part 1

2013 was a wonderful year for us. We welcomed our daughter into the world and learned a lot through new life changes and challenges. Here's a recap of our year. 

January: We welcomed in the new year at the Rhodens annual New Years party and celebrated my Mom's and my friend Lauren's birthdays.

Chris started graduate school for his MBA

 

February: We got some life changing news! 

 

We also celebrated Valentine's Day by having a nice dinner at home due to our busy work schedules. 

March: We got to announce our news to family and friends. 

Then I got to experience life as a patient when I burnt my hand cooking. Fun times 

April: We celebrated Easter with our families and I got to help my sister in law pick out her wedding dress. 

May: We went on vacation to Hilton Head Island and celebrated my 1st Mother's Day. 

 

We also gave my grandmother a surprise birthday dinner. 

June: We celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. This was a very special day not only because it was our anniversary, but also because we found out that we were having a girl! I was 21 weeks pregnant and baby was growing healthy. After the appointment, C surprised me with lunch at a restaurant in downtown that we had been wanting to try.  Our anniversary was such a special day to us. 

We also had a gender reveal dinner with our families as a fun way to share our news.  We had everyone take guesses during dinner and then cut a cake with pink filling inside after dinner.  

Week one as new parents

Parenthood is exciting, exhilarating, wonderful, and frightening all at the same time. We welcomed our sweet daughter A into the world on October 30th (this is why I have been MIA the past 9 months).   I will never forget the moment I looked into her eyes and realized this is one of the best things to ever happen in my life.  Euphoria set in. Friends and family came to celebrate with us in the hospital that afternoon.  We survived our first night with A, waking up almost every hour for feedings. The feeling of, hey we can do this, slowly set in.  On Day 5 we even made it through our first doctors appointment with A, coming out with only one diaper leak. Upon arriving back home from that appointment we even had a little victory party right in our living room. Fast forward to day 6.  I was alone with A for a few hours for the first time. We went about our normal morning routine. I decided it was time to trim A's fingernails. Well I made to it the thumb nail and accidentally cut a little piece of her skin...bring on the screaming cries, which led me to start bawling my eyes out...which freaked my dog out who started barking. A's little thumb started bleeding a little which freaked me out even more. Side note: I'm an ER nurse so the me freaking out part should not have happened.  My husband arrived home right on time and I know he probably thought something very terrible had happened.  Bless his heart for jumping right in and helping calm me down.  Night 7 involved us up every hour and A fighting sleep like crazy.  There was not enough caffeine in the house the following day.  Even though we are imperfect and I'm sure we did many things incorrectly, we made it through week one. Here's to many more years of parenting! It's truly in God's hands. 

Happy V-day!

 

Happy Valentine's Day!!

 

 

Tonight I will be celebrating with the two loves of my life!

Megan