Ryan and I have been so blessed with an amazing church family, family and friends. We have been so overwhelmed by their support, prayers and beautiful gifts over the past few months. Our little boy is already so blessed and has more clothes than I do. Our first shower was held in our church building and honored us and 3 other couples. It was a very special night.

Silly friends!

My cousin actually had her baby 4 days after this picture was taken! We are so excited to welcome Natalie to our growing family! I’ll post about our third shower once I get some photos back from it. 🙂

-I just started reading A Good Woman by Danielle Steel. This is my first time to read one of her books. It is very good so far and I’m already getting really into it after reading just the first chapter. Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:

From the glittering ballrooms of Manhattan to the fires of World War I, Danielle Steel takes us on an unforgettable journey in her new novel—a spellbinding tale of war, loss, history, and one woman’s unbreakable spirit….
Nineteen-year-old Annabelle Worthington was born into a life of privilege, raised amid the glamour of New York society, with glorious homes on Fifth Avenue and in Newport, Rhode Island. But everything changed on a cold April day in 1912, when the sinking of the Titanicshattered her family and her privileged world forever. Finding strength within her grief, Annabelle pours herself into volunteer work, nursing the poor, igniting a passion for medicine that would shape the course of her life. 
But for Annabelle, first love, and a seemingly idyllic marriage, will soon bring more grief—this time caused by the secrets of the human heart. Betrayed, and pursued by a scandal she does not deserve, Annabelle flees New York for war-ravaged France, hoping to lose herself in a life of service. There, in the heart of the First World War, in a groundbreaking field hospital run by women, Annabelle finds her true calling, working as an ambulance medic on the front lines, studying medicine, saving lives. And when the war ends, Annabelle begins a new life in Paris—now a doctor, a mother, her past almost forgotten…until a fateful meeting opens her heart to the world she had left behind. Finding strength in the most unlikely of friendships, pulling together the broken fragments of her life, Annabelle will return to New York one more time—this time as a changed woman, a woman of substance, infused with life’s experience, building a future filled with hope…out of the rich soil of the past. 
Filled with breathtaking images and historical detail, Danielle Steel’s new novel introduces one of her most unique and fascinating characters: Annabelle Worthington, a remarkable woman, a good woman, a true survivor who triumphs against overwhelming odds. For Annabelle’s story is more than compelling fiction, it is a powerful celebration of life, dignity, and courage—and a testament to the human will to survive.

2. Autumn is coming! What’s your go-to drink when curling up with a book at night?


-No surprise here: a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks. If money is tight, I will settle for Pumpkin Spice creamer in my regular coffee. 

3. Printed books vs. e-books: What are the pros and cons of each? 


-I prefer actual books to e-books mainly because I just love books. If it is a book I don’t care too much about keeping, I don’t mind reading an e-book. I love to buy classics and series in printed books.

4. Buying books vs. library books: Which do you prefer and why?


I normally buy books at a used bookstore or online for cheap and resale them. I do borrow books from family and friends pretty often but I don’t even own a library card. 

Welcome to the thirty-third week of Monday Mingling! Please take the time to introduce yourselves to our co-hosts! If you are new to this blog hop, please leave us a comment letting us know you are following and we would be happy to follow you back. Thank you for joining us this week, and don’t forget to link back to us by grabbing our button. Happy Mingling!

Celena  @ My Stay at Home Mama Life

How far along? 34 weeks

Baby Size: 5lbs. 19 inches (What to Expect app)

Weight Gain: 32 lbs. 

Button: Belly button is neutral. I’m expecting it to pop any day now. 

Feeling: Ready. We are getting so close. I am so ready to see my little man!

Maternity Clothes: All the time. I actually found some really cute black shorts at Khols for $6 this week! They have been a life saver.

Sleep: I’m not sleeping at all. I wake up almost every hour to Hamp moving or needing to go to the bathroom.

Miss Anything? Sleep. And of course my old body. I’ve had a hard time mentally, with this whole getting huge thing.

Movement: All the time! He is getting stronger every day.

Looking forward to: Our 36 week ultrasound! I am ready to see him again and find out his weight!

Bump: If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably seen pictures of my growing belly. It’s definitely out there now! I finally took a “belly picture” this week. I’ve been awful about that.

Exercise: I’m mostly walking. My doctor said that is the best thing for me right now. It will also help induce labor in the coming weeks.

Anything making you sick: Meat is making me sick again. Unless it’s in a cheeseburger. 🙂

Nursery: Our furniture FINALLY came in a couple of days ago, so I can breathe again. I will post pictures of the nursery when we finish it. I’m just thankful baby H won’t have to sleep in a drawer.


Favorite moment this week: Our baby showers which I will post about later, as well as watching Ryan put together the stroller. It was very entertaining, but he did it like a champ.

This Labor day weekend was spent celebrating our family. We started the weekend off by celebrating Ryan’s great-grandmother’s 90th birthday! She is the sweetest and most generous person. It was so much fun to see the family and enjoy time with her.

Sweet Tanner sporting his Auburn hat at Nanny’s party.

Later that day, we took a fairly spontaneous trip to Jax Beach. We decided at the very last minute to go. We celebrated my grandfather’s 80th and my grandmother’s 75th birthdays. We surprised them by showing up late that night. The weekend was very relaxing. Pippa seemed to enjoy the trip.

On Tuesday we went to a few used bookstores that we like to hit when we go down there and we hit the jackpot! 22 books for $19! Now we just have to find a place to put them all. We also lucked out and found a highchair for baby H! I’ve been looking every where for an old high chair like this one. It does need to be re-painted, but we have just added that onto our list of things to do before baby. I’m absolutely in love with it! We found it at a yard sale for $20. You can’t beat that!

Welcome to the thirty-second week of Monday Mingling! Please take the time to introduce yourselves to our co-hosts! If you are new to this blog hop, please leave us a comment letting us know you are following and we would be happy to follow you back. Thank you for joining us this week, and don’t forget to link back to us by grabbing our button. Happy Mingling!

Courtney  @ Willis and We

I’ve been talking a lot about pregnancy in my corner of the internet for a while now because that is the stage of life I am in. It is important to me that I also focus on my marriage, no matter what else is happening in my life. When it comes to priorities, my husband is second only to God. Our relationship is extremely important not only for our health and happiness but also for our children’s well-being.

I recently started a devotional by Kay Arthur called A Marriage Without Regrets. It was recommended to me by another Alabama blogger, Kalyn. I am so grateful for her because this is a study I needed to be doing right now. Please visit Kalyn’s blog. She is so inspirational and encouraging.

In the 5th chapter, we discussed love in marriage and Kay reads from Ephesians 5:25-33 which says:

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her26 to make her holy, cleansing[b] her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”[c] 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

This talks a lot about love and the commands that God gives to husbands on how to love their wives. As wives, we are also called to love and respect our husbands in this way. Kay talks about the fact that love is not just an emotion, it is a choice. You hear all the time about how people are divorcing because they “just don’t love each other anymore.” Can I just say that that’s bull? If love were just an emotion, it would not be a command. Love is so much more. Kay lists out:

Love requires action.
Love demands deeds.
Love wills.
Love acts.
Love moves on behalf of it’s object.

I believe we can apply this not only in our marriages but also in our relationships with our families and friends.

If you are interested in doing a devotional on marriage, I highly recommend this book. It has caused me to refocus my attention and actions on my husband in a very positive way. It is very encouraging and the prayers at the end of each chapter are beautiful. I’m so blessed to have a wonderful marriage with God in the center of it, but we could all use time to refocus on our marriage, daily.

Welcome to the thirtieth week of Monday Mingling! Please take the time to introduce yourselves to our co-hosts! If you are new to this blog hop, please leave us a comment letting us know you are following and we would be happy to follow you back. Thank you for joining us this week, and don’t forget to link back to us by grabbing our button. Happy Mingling!

Jiawun  @ Beauty Nerd By Night

For those of you who weren’t around last year, fall is my favorite time of year. I am a little obsessed with the lovely leaves changing, pumpkin spice lattes, scarecrows, pumpkins and pumpkin patches, sunflowers, the cool nip in the air, and most importantly, Football. You have to be if you live in the south. After all, the SEC is the dominant conference. Sorry y’all, but it’s true. In our house, we are War Eagle fans, but I’m also a Gator fan. Blame it on my dad. Every college football day is a big deal in our household. You will find us eating an excessive amount of junk food and yelling at the T.V (when we aren’t tailgating) every Saturday. Chances are, we are sitting on the couch, I’m trying to squeeze into my Florida jersey and sipping a pumpkin spice latte while watching gameday. Happy game day! Oh, and War Eagle / Go Gators!