and then there was you.

go back exactly one year.  september 29, 2009.  i remember the day like yesterday.  hunter (he was seven months at the time) and i headed to cvs to get their notoriously good deals with lots of extra care bucks back.  except for the fact that i threw in a pregnancy test (the digital expensive kind) which blew my savings out of the water.  oh well.  the fact that i was feeling sick, the sickness that only comes with the first trimester, convinced me to check.  i figured my husband's beliefs of me just imagining something would be confirmed.  after all, i was nursing.  you can't get pregnant while nursing (wink, wink).  

i had taken a test the day before (the cheap dollar store kind) and got a negative result.  but the nagging nausea kept me thinking otherwise.  i called hubby to tell him i was going to find out for sure with the digital kind.  he chuckled and figured i was a goofball.  as is the usual case.  after all, i had just taken a test the day before!

well, let me just say the digital tests are well worth the money.  there was no guessing or wondering.  in plain english i read: pregnant.  i texted hubby a pic of it.  he was shocked.  so was i.  i think having a seven month old made us scared... the newborn stage was still fresh in our minds.  how were we going to afford two babies?!  was it possible for me to really be pregnant with two different babies in the same year?  i couldn't quite wrap my brain around the fact that i was about 5 weeks pregnant already and had a seven month old in my arms.  : )

so, sage christiana, then there was you!  you were our blessing in surprise and our constant reminder that the Lord is faithful to provide!  

now fast forward to today!  you are such a beautiful girl and we are head over heels.  

i linked up to hannah's lovely photo wednesday

miscellany monday: mayhem, my baby and money.

grab the button, write random and link up below!

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1. the mayhem part.  as if feeding an infant 5-6 times/day, pumping milk 7-8 times/day (long story), feeding a finicky toddler 3 times/day, and maybe feeding myself if i'm extra lucky, i now get to give hunter medicine twice/day, sage gets two medications - one four times/day and another twice/day, not to mention tylenol every four hours for their persistent fevers.  oh yeah, and their medicine gives them diarrhea which no diaper can contain.  ever wanted to know how to spell mayhem?! i feel so bad for them and their germs!  poor babies!  i'm so thankful for medicine.

2. sage baby.  at 3 1/2 mos, sage is 14 lbs, 9 oz.  now that we have a second baby that is consistently in the 90th + percentile, it's safe to say that we make ginormous babies.  sage absolutely loves the bumbo seat and is beginning to enjoy the exersaucer.  she is rolling over and is slowly (think snail pace) becoming less fussy.  which reminds me, i'm becoming less of a fan of parenting formulas (think things like babywise and such... although, i'm not wanting to get into a debate : ) ).  i've done the same routine and schedule with sage as i did with hunter.  hunter was a perfectly content, quiet baby who took great naps and slept through the night quickly and easily.  so, i figured, if i did the same things with sage, i'd get the same results.  not so.  every baby is different.  and instead of being down on myself, i am learning to go with the flow and make adjustments.   we love our baby girl to pieces and her smiles make our heart do the happy dance!

3. never pay full retail.  it's my motto.  coupons, garage sales, consignment stores, clearance racks have my name written all over them.  bargain hunting is a thrill, not for the faint at heart.  i think buying three boxes of raisin bran for 99 cents last week reinvigorated my affections for coupons.  i don't love raisin bran, but at 33 cents/box i'll eat it happily. 

4. speaking of cheap... i scored big this weekend at a garage sale.  i bought a combi double umbrella stroller for $25.  it retails for $300.  i was ecstatic, especially since both seats recline.  if you're a mama, you know what a big deal that is!  i highly recommend this one.  plus, it folds up really easily and small (for a double stroller).

5. wisdom from buffet.  i don't promote warren buffet's political views, but i completely appreciate his views on money.  "born in omaha in 1930, warren buffet is on again, off again the world's richest man.  and arguably the greatest investor in american history.  in 1958, at the age of 27, he bought a grey stucco house in omaha for $31,500 and lives in it to this day.  the oracle of omaha is notoriously frugal.  he eats at dairy queen, loves burgers and cherry coke... plays the ukulele, drives 1.5 miles daily to his modest office, sits at the same desk that belonged to his father...  he shuns high society and instead makes popcorn at home, watches some television and plays bridge.  his advice is to live life as simple as you are, just wear those things in which you feel comfortable and don't waste money on unnecessary items."  (- richard a. swenson, in search of balance.)   wow... especially coming from a billionaire.  i think we all can learn from this.

seasons come and go.

and i'm not talking about the weather.  although i tend to be a bit more reflective as the leaves are changing and autumn is in the air.  life is full of sunshine and rain, seasons we prefer to never relive, some we wish we could, and some that feel like blah.   i get stuck in the rut of always waiting for the next stage of life to come along... instead of enjoying the moment, i'm wishing for the moment to pass by.  why do i do this?  

i remember in college thinking that once i graduated, then life would be great.  but then, after i graduated it was something else... like having kids.  if we could just have kids it felt like then, for real, this time, life would be perfect.  but you know what?  life is hard.  not one thing on this earth is ever going to satisfy and make you feel like life is perfect.  except Christ; He satisfies.

once you have kids, you still have all the same issues but now you bring children into the mix.  so here's what i'm thinking...  if i really just learn to be content in Christ, knowing that life is never going to get to a point of perfection, then i might really be able to enjoy the Lord's blessings, whatever they may be, at any given point in time, whatever the season may be.  

besides, we'd have no reason to yearn for heaven if life was perfect.  the trials of this life make us all the more eager to be in the place of perfect peace.  until then, i'll work hard to find my satisfaction in Christ and enjoy the little glimpses of heaven the Lord gives.

so, in the midst of babies that have been sick off and on for the last month and a half, a colicky baby girl, an active toddler, a mortgage that is going up (yuck), i'm choosing to be ever so thankful and savor all of the memories we are making... no matter how many fevers i have to tend to or runny noses i have to wipe.  especially since they are such cute noses.  

miscellany on monday + giveaway winner.

grab it, write random, and link up below!

by the way, thank you for all of your miscellany each week!

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1. winner. congratulations to my sweet friend hilary (you should visit her blog and read about what she did while full term pregnant - so cute!)...  she is the winner of the pretty paperie giveaway.  hilary's baby girl is due in just a few short weeks so i know she will have fun choosing her prize!  thank you natalie for sharing your pretties!

the proof is in the pudding... or the pictures:

2.  chip off the old block.  besides being a worship leader, being a zoologist would be a dream job for my husband.  that being said, when we visited the zoo this weekend in honor of husband's birthday, it was no surprise that our son went crazy over every single animal.  i mean crazy.  he laughed like a neighing horse and begged for more in utter excitement the whole time.  kelly couldn't have been more proud of his boy.  and it's a good thing that i found hunter a giraffe costume for our fall festival... he adored the giraffes and has been begging for them ever since.

even sage had a fun time!  she was all smiles!

said giraffe costume:

not a great view of it, but you get the picture.

3.  i get nervous.  i don't know if this is just a woman thing, or just a weird carissa thing.  i divulged my annoying nerve problem to my bff and she said she's the same way.  so maybe i'm not the only one.  or maybe we're both weird and that's why we're bff's. anyway, anytime i'm going somewhere where there's a crowd i get nervous.  like a party, a baby/wedding shower, busy stores, etc.  i sweat and the 90 degree heat doesn't help conceal it too well.  then, after i'm done at wherever i wonder why i was nervous.  i also hate silence.  i'm known to say anything just so there's not silence.  it can be good and bad.

4.  less is more.  the good thing about being married to a pastor is knowing that we'll never have to worry about being overcome by wealth.  ; )  i think about how little kelly and i were raised on and we turned out at least half way decent.  the truth is, i think kids who have little turn out better than kids who have everything they want.  i know society says the opposite but i'm convinced otherwise.  hunter and sage will look back and come to this conclusion one day too.  although, it might be tough explaining this to them when he wants a nintendo wii or she wants the best or the biggest dollhouse.  

we went dancing...

who knew that this little boy would one day take my hand and dance with me.  and so we danced...

 "we went dancing in the minefields

we went sailing in the storm

and it was harder than we dreamed 

but i believe that's what the promise was for..."

-andrew peterson

and we're still dancing.  and keeping our promise. and as every year passes, no matter how many minefields we dance in, we will always love each other.  

we rejoice over the way God has blessed our lives.  we are madly in love with our beautiful babies.

and now our little boy looks just like that little boy above.  i couldn't be more thankful.  my prayer is that he grows up to be just like daddy.  because daddy is a Godly man, the servant leader of our family, a compassionate husband and a tender father.

we love you, kelly/daddy.

may the Lord bless your life in the last year of your twenties.

happy birthday (on sunday), my love!

looking forward to more dancing...

"so lets go dancing in the minefields

 lets go sailing in the storms 


oh lets go dancing in the minefields 


and kicking down the doors 


oh lets go dancing in the minefields 


and sailing in the storms 


oh this is harder than we dreamed 

but I believe that’s what the promise is for 


that’s what the promise is for"

-andrew peterson

miscellany monday and a pretty paperie giveaway!

grab it, write random and link up below!

<a href="http://www.carissagraham.com/search/label/miscellany%20monday"><img vspace="none" hspace="none" alt="Miscellany Monday @ lowercase letters" src="http://i617.photobucket.com/albums/tt255/ElvishAuthoress/MMbutton3.png" /></a>

1. backtalk.  the other day i was feeding hunter dinner (which, by the way, is the day's hardest chore) and i told him to open wide and eat his green beans.  his reply was "no."  i said, did you just tell me "no?"  his reply, "yes."  ugh.  hey, at least he admitted to it.  more proof that no matter how cute they are, they're still little sinners that need to learn obedience.

2.  dmb = dave matthews band.  i had his newest cd on the other day in the car and my mom was with us.  i asked if she knew who he was and she asked if they were a christian group.  oh mama, you are so cute.  i can't laugh too much; kelly just introduced me to dmb a few years back.  ; )

3.  unladylike.  you know you have a really good friend when you're at a restaurant, your daughter has the biggest blowout in the existence of blowouts (very unladylike), and your friend goes to the bathroom with you, wipe in hand, ready to start cleaning.  thank you amy.  by the way, sage only poops once/week (apparently it's common for breastfed babies - weird) so when she poops it smells like everything i've eaten in the last week all rotting together in 120 degree heat.  you get the picture?!

4.  not your average teddy bear.  coming to a store near you... it's a placenta teddy that you get the privilege of sewing together for your child:  

{via}

5. the best for last... a giveaway!  my blog bud, natalie, from the busy budgeting mama and natalie catherine design has a real surprise in store.  (let me just say that natalie is so stinkin' talented at design that i get jealous.)   natalie has just opened the pretty paperie and wants to give you a chance to win big -  

okay, so get to it!  how to enter (each is counted as a separate entry; leave a comment for each):

1. visit the pretty paperie and tell us what you'd pick if you win.

2.  visit the busy budgeting mama and become a follower.

3.  become a follower of lowercase letters.

the giveaway will close sunday, september 19 at 9 pm est and the winner will be announced monday, september 20.  thanks natalie for sharing your pretties with us!

they do exist.

last fall, hubs and i were in for a real treat when we were asked by a couple from our church to sing at their destination wedding in venice, italy.  can you say opportunity of a lifetime?!  - especially since the trip was mostly free.  oh, and we even got to stay in a castle.

yes fairy tales do exist and people actually get married in castles.

we were excited to have a castle in our background.

i loved the architecture, old wooden doors and lanterns.

inside the castle courtyard.

the centuries old castle chapel.  the acoustics were amazing.  no sound equipment necessary!

think kid in a candy store... i was all giddy excited standing in the castle gardens.

it was simply stunning.

i linked up with the adorable hannah's lovely photo wednesday because what's not lovely about castle pictures?!  

miscellany monday on this labor day.

grab the button, write random and link up!

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1. take that, spin class.  i was convinced that spinning was the most intense workout...  until i took this beast of a stroller and these beauties out in the 90+ degree heat and ran for an hour.  i had to have burned a whole week's worth of calories.  running while pushing a stroller (a double one at that) is a whole new kind of exercise.  

2. a walking train wreck.  getting ready for church on sunday mornings without daddy (he gets to church extra early since it's also his job) tends to reek havoc.  example: mommy is in a rush, has hunter on one hip along with his backpack for the nursery, her purse, and sage's diaper bag... oh yeah and then the infant carrier with sage in the other hand along with the keys.  the keys drop.  what's a mama to do?!  i put hunter down for a mere second to grab my keys and in an instant he took a dash for the brick steps and tumbled.  of course.  these things always happen right before church.  his poor face:

3.  beggars can't be choosy.  i love skymiles, yes i do.  i love skymiles, how 'bout you?!  they get us to california and back to visit my family... aww, sweet california.  i just booked our trip for sage's debut and we are all too excited.   i realized they are overnight flights... see, when a flight comes up for the lowest mileage rate you have to jump on it.  i did; without even glancing at the the flight info.  when it's nearly free you don't really care.  so i'll let you know how it all goes down.  it could be really good, the kids could be angels and sleep the whole time.  or it could be sheer chaos and torture.  sorry in advance if you end up on our flights.  this sight will totally be worth the plane ride (i used to live there.... yes, it was amazing and awesome):

4.  the beauty of the body.  i'm thankful for the body of Christ.  in the past few days i have had countless emails from many of you just letting me know you're thinking of me and said a prayer for our family.  how sweet of you.  how beautiful.  how thoughtful.  i love the body of Christ... caring for each other and encouraging one another.  thank you.  by the way, sorry for being a bad blogger last week.  we are doing just fine.  it can be a bit time consuming adjusting to two kiddos (especially a toddler boy who is constantly on the go and a colicky baby girl).  : )  no matter how busy it gets, i'm reminding myself to savor these times.  one day, when hunter is headed off to college or sage is walking down the aisle, i'm going to wish they were back in diapers.