i {heart}

When Valentine's Day starts to head our way, I like to think about all the things that get me excited, encouraged and just plain happy.


In no particular order, here are 23 things that I heart....


1. Coffee ( I am currently drinking it now, so it is on my mind. Although, I love my creamer more....Almond Joy is currently my fav.)
2. my Lord and Savior- because I know without Him, I can't experience the deepness of ones love for me, and this list would be worthless.
3. CrossFit (it's been the ONLY exercise that can kick my butt and keep me wanting to go back for more....and it's the only one that has brought back my abs....I haven't seen them since 1998......)
4. the reality that I am a mother of four girls....love it. We are crazy. And emotional. But I love them to pieces.
5. to work.....(this can be a problem sometimes.....I'm getting better. I'm even letting the house go some...not sure I love that part, but I love the "sitting still" part....)
6.  my Wiregrass Church. (no explanation, if you want to know why, come visit us this Sunday.)
7. my small group. (they are a group of people I have truly shared more with then anyone else.)
8. Pajamas....seriously, I get mad at night when I can't find a matching pair. (my disgust of laundry gets the better of me)....but I want the soft cotton, two piece set. Not flannel, silk, whatever. Give me cotton.
9.  food. (all kinds.....and even embracing rabbit food I have to eat everyday on this Eat Clean Challenge I am currently on.)
10. my CrossFit 5am class. I love all my CCC peeps, but 5am has a special place in my heart.
11. working out at 5am. Even when exhausted. It starts the day off awesome and I love to drive home to the sunrise and feel like I just conquered the world....or a female WOD.....same thing.
12. my laundry fairy......oh, wait....I don't have one of those..
13. I would love #12 if it were true
14. chocolate cake...but my all time favorite dessert is....pound cake, although it runs a close 1st with pistachio cake.
15. to look for the beauty in things....everything/everyone has it...be looking.
16. wine and cheese....and throw in some dried figs and apricots and I'll love you forever.
17. pasta....my weakness...if requested, will be my last meal.
18. blogging. Just love it, but no time, just no time, I tell ya.
19. family....just wish I could squeeze them more
20. a good chillaxing evening with friends....preferably on the patio with the fire pit going and #14, #16, #17, and that order would be fine with me...
21. my dearest friend who lives a world away...you know who you are...
22. Hope's birth mom...I love her greatly. She stands as a top blessing in my life, and I find myself bursting into tears through out some days, just because I love her soul and the sacrifice she made. I want to hug her everyday.
23. my hubs....without him, you all wouldn't know the real me. He's my encourager, supporter and deep love of my life, and desires to see me happy and at full potential. He loves for me to be doing what I love. I'm so thankful I haven't run him off, because trust me, I've tried....I'm not the easiest to live with. My heart bursts when I think of him. He is the most incredible man I know.

Take some time to list the things you love! It will do your heart good :)

Happy {heart} Day!

well, hello there.....

shall I re-introduce myself? (wink)

My name is Katie, I am a mother of now 4 daughters and I assure you it has rocked my world. 

This is the current state (for real, as I type) of this precious bundle.....

oh, precious right?!?!? 

yes, yes, she is :)

Obviously blogging has taken a back seat. If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, I am sure you have your fill of updates. But I do apologize to you in the blog world. My fingertips rarely hit the keyboard these days. 

I am embracing the change, and soaking up every minute I can of these days with this little joy and her sisters. I really thought it was just the fact we had a 4th child, a baby no less, with out any planning, that shook my world upside down and all around, but after today I realize it was much more, as the words "sleep deprived" is something I categorized myself in lately.....it has been 10 years ya know since those sleepless nights for us. Lump that into the fact that my work survives off of creativity. And when your brain hurts it's so tired, it makes things difficult... 

but today I feel like a new woman. I feel like I could conquer the world......

wait for it.....wait for it....

that sleeping angel, slept through the night last night.....

Like, ALL the way through the night with NO peep! No, popping the paci in, cuddling/consoling her back to sleep, feeding, nothing.....

we held off as long as we could and decided to.......ADD RICE CEREAL TO HER BOTTLE at night.....I know some of you are gasping at the thought, probably the mom's whose babies are sleeping through the night with out such help. Our little teeny tiny Hope, just made it to 10lbs so, her little 10th percentile healthy self  just needed some help :) But alas.... baby, daddy and mommy are doing awesome today, so I count it a blessing. And would you believe my 4:20am "your only chance to go to the gym" alarm clock woke her up.....damn clock.

 as you can see, we are working on the nursery.....aka, Lizzy and Hope's room.....

the (not yet assembled) headboard to Elizabeth's bed is currently in the entrance of our home........

 and above that pic (the used to be green and white) floor needs some more touching up.... along with dusting off the ol' sewing machine; because that was the deal. Lizzy wanted to make sure she could "close up" her bed for privacy since she is sharing her room with a sister 10 years younger.


The days are full and I'm determined to enjoy them the most I can. I remember having the girls on top of each other and those crazy toddler years. Sometimes I lived for nap time and bed time; not to mention, I was a baby myself.....survival mode was in full swing. Different stage of life, a new season for us. That is why I have decided that this garland I strung at Christmas time, can just stay up.....

because Hope loves to stare at it when we feed her in that room.... besides, our small group agrees that since it has yellow in it, I'm good.....or at least they are saying that to make me feel better.

Homeschooling is going....that is about all I can say about that ;) we can make it through the day, but don't ask mama to be creative right now. That will come back sometime.....we currently ditched the ridiculous 4th grade online math Elizabeth was using....

I had heard it was a night mare from some of my School teacher friends, but add that to a child that has dyslexia and processing disorders and BAM, we both would rather DIE!


So, we went old school.....

ohhhhh,  A Beka Curriculum,  how I remember you. Now, our little chick gets it...... HALLELUJAH!!

I'm just thankful for the hubs when it comes to the older girls. When they have good ol' Algebra probs, I can can send them his way.

I just can't believe we are on the count down to sending these girls to highschool this fall....... crazy.


speaking of Highschool.......




I never finished..... and the above is something I have always wanted to do. But like I said.... I was a baby when I had my babies and time was filled. I never took the time, and honestly was scared to death I wouldn't pass this test. Crazy I know, but it was a fear I held on to.

So I signed up to take my GED about a week before we adopted Hope and they gave me a random date. Hope was two weeks old when my test date was scheduled. The exhaustion of the adoption process and sleepless nights tempted me GREATLY to not go through with that 8 hour test. But God used the ongoing love and support from the hubs, our precious small group and my Circle City CrossFit class members to push me to go after this goal, because I wanted it, and I wanted it badly. When I signed up for the test, I started telling the girls and Elizabeth piped in before I could share what I was taking and said "is this a test to see how good of a mom you are? Because I can just tell them you are.".... it reminded me even more why I wanted to get my GED....I wanted our girls to know I think their education is important, and no matter how much I could say it, I felt I needed to back it with my own perseverance. So, I share this with you to say..... It's never too late to set goals and go after your desires.


well, that sums up some of the happenings around here! If the sleeping through the night holds up, you just may see me around here more often.

I'll leave you with this.....



she woke up.... Happy Monday!