Simply Sara

After 6 weeks, we finally moved into our new home last night! This house has been all-consuming, but it is finally beautiful and live-able. As a person who is notoriously bad with change, the long process of renovating has helped me adjust to the idea of living in a new place. I am so thankful for the process we've been through; while it has been super stressful at times, and rather expensive, it has allowed me to fall in love our new home and watch it become our's. Last night, around midnight, we realized that we had forgotten one very important item on our move - the dog! Poor Annie! She was still at our "old" house probably wondering what in the world was going on! Matt went back to take care of her, while I enjoyed some alone time in our home. I turned on a lamp in baby girl's room, played some PraiseBaby music, and cried my eyes out! Tears of relief, exhaustion, joy, and anticipation. I've been writing letters to our baby throughout the past 9 months, and...

It's been a great month of fun for us and Lucas! We celebrated the 4th out on Broadway Lake with Matt's family. Lucas loved his first boatride - especially when the fireworks started over the lake! Our neighbor across from the new house invited us over for swimming! I am personally tickled over Matt's tan lines! Poor guy has been putting in a lot of time in the yard this summer. Splish splash - Lucas loves taking "big boy" showers instead of baths!

We are having so much trouble naming our baby girl! I never thought it would be this hard. When we found out we were expecting Lucas, we immediately decided that whatever name we chose would be a secret until his birth. We kept our list to ourselves and went to the hospital armed with our top three names: Lucas, Isaac, and Wyatt. Just a few minutes after he was born, I looked at Matt and said "I know what his name is". "I do too", he replied. Then we both said "Lucas!". I wonder what would have happened if we had said different names! This time around, we decided to forgo the secrecy and freely use her name so that Lucas would become familiar with her. Well, it was a great plan that has yet to come into action. We are three weeks away from our EDD and our child is still without a name! We have spent hours searching the web, tearing through baby books and tossing names back and forth. I don't know if it is the feeling that no "common" name is...

To say that our lives have been busy this summer would be a total understatement. We bought our new house just one month ago. Since then Matt has been busy coordinating contractors (electrician, plumber, floor guy), painting, painting, and even more painting, demoing walls, rebuilding walls, taming an over grown yard, keeping up with his day job, and taking care of me while I'm busy growing our little girl and corralling our energetic and completely adorable Gu-cas! (That's what he calls himself!) Our friends and family have stepped in in a mighty way and helped us peel wallpaper, clean years of filth, paint very dry walls, and tame those overgrown bushes. It's been ministry in a very real way. In fact, I'm pretty sure this is what the Lord was talking about when He said the body should minister to the body. Oh yeah, and we've been getting our current house ready to put on the market. I'm 36 weeks pregnant today and headed to the doctor's office in a couple ...

My top pregnancy craving this summer has been fresh fruit. It started with almost daily trips to the local produce stand to buy strawberries. Once that craving was satisfied (I was eating a quart a day), I moved on to crunchy red grapes, juicy cantaloupe, fresh watermelon and now succulent blueberries. (I have no idea why I'm using these adjectives other than it's late and my body is beyond exhausted.) Check out this recipe from the Pioneer Woman for Yogurt Cream and Berries . Divine. I almost think I could muster up the energy for a trip to the grocery store just to buy the ingredients. Well, almost.

Saturday night we attended Newspring 's LiveFreeLiveLoud Benefit concert. It was great! Thousands of people spread out in lawn chairs enjoying great music and giving money to local charities. Our little entertainer danced the night away with his best friend Andrew by his side. The night ended with a spectacular fireworks show. "Boon-Boon" as Lucas likes to say.

What a great reminder that this really isn't about me at all. From Beth Moore's Breaking Free "We have a crippling tendency to forget what God has done for us. For a while, we're humbled. Then, if we do not guard our hearts and minds, we begin to think we must have done something right for God to have been so good for us. Therein lies another road to captivity. It is the road of legalism. Hezekiah believed he was right with God because of what he had done."

I'm having trouble sleeping again. Okay, let me rephrase that. My waking up multiple times throughout the night routine is becoming an annoyance again. I've always been big on sleep. In fact, my Mom loves to tell stories about my need for sleep as a newborn that landed me in a hospital in Atlanta because I never wanted to wake up and eat. (Too bad I don't have that problem now - not the hospital part, but the I'm not interested in eating part!) In high school, I was the typical teen who stayed up late every Friday night and slept until 11:00 on Saturday. College was the era of naps (typically after class, not during, unless it was an 8 am class). I got lucky when it came to Lucas's sleeping habits. Apparently sleeping genes can be passed down because Lucas has been a champion sleeper since about 4 weeks old. I think my favorite catching up on sleep season was around 12 weeks old when L started sleeping 12-15 hours straight every night. I would get up around 7 in the...

Last week we spent some time downtown at the local farmers market having our pictures taken by our dear friends, Ben and Skye. I wanted some casual and gorgeous photos to capture this exciting time in our lives. And I think Ben did exactly that for us! These are some of my favorites from the shoot!

My Daddy My world is upside down when we’re apart. You know just how to make me laugh and warm my heart. I am a reflection of the qualities that make you great. We share a bond, you and I, that nothing can ever separate. Mommy doesn’t always understand why we act the silly way we do, But the truth is, I can’t help but be happy when I’m with you. I will never fully understand all that you give to Mommy and me, Until one day I become a Daddy to a happy 2 year old just like me. Then I will look back over a lifetime of guidance and love, friendship and laughter, And know that God gave me the perfect example of how to be a loving father. You are my best friend and the greatest Daddy I could ever hope for. I will love you forever and ever. Happy Daddy’s Day!!

Here she is! Baby girl is front and center, filling out my abdomen and rocking my world. Matt took this picture of me last night when we went out to a new (to us) Japanese Steakhouse to have an early Father's Day celebration. My precious friend Kathryn sent me this amazing purse as an early birthday present. Thanks girl, I LOVE it! More days than not, I'm struggling with the "I don't want to be pregnant anymore; this is too uncomfortable and painful to go on much longer, right?" attitude. It isn't pretty. This morning I'm going with the "why in the heck have I been awake since 3:00 a.m. except for the 3 nightmares that occurred when I did manage to tune out the snoring (sorry honey) and sleep?" attitude. This one is even less pretty. I'm a 8 to 9 hours makes me happy sleeper, so this is going to be a very long day I'm afraid. Feel free to pray for me (or Matt and Lucas).

Welcome to our front yard. Okay, technically this mass of dirt only makes up the middle section of our driveway, but when you can't get the concrete guy to answer his phone and do something about the mess he made, it sure feels like the entire yard. We're getting our house ready to sell and fixing our broken driveway is first on the list. Thank you Jesus for the YMCA waterpark. I have a feeling we're going to be spending most of our summer mornings here. I don't mind wearing my (unattractive) maternity swimsuit too much. I'm just happy to work on my tan while little man has a blast. (I think bigger looks better when you're tan!) I love watching his confidence grow as he is in the water each day. Check out that fountain! One of L's favorite things to do is stand on top of the fountain then giggle with glee when the water squirts out.

I had a craving today for peanut butter fudge brownies. I found the receipe yesterday in my Pillsbury Best of the Bake Off Cookbook (wonderful, by the way). Since it's been too hot to play outside lately, I asked Lucas to help me. He loves helping me bake. His job includes pouring ingrediants into the mixer and turning it on. The whole process takes a lot longer when L helps, but he loves it so much that it's worth the extra time (and occasional frustration). Everything was going great until Lucas turned the mixer onto high right after I had added a 1/3 of our dry ingrediants resulting in this picture! Poor kid - he had cocoa in his eyelashes. Look at that yummy goodness - totally worth the extra cleanup from the cocoa/flour explosion. Wow! If you get a hankering for some rich, chocolate, peanut butter goodness, come on bye! The day ended great (after a melt down at dinner) with Lucas making this killer track for his monster truck. I love watching his mind work.

One thing I will never have to worry about in an emergency is Lucas not being seen by the lifeguards. Monday Lucas and I went to the YMCA waterpark for the first time this summer! We had a blast splashing in the shallow water, running through the fountains and going down the frog slide (Lucas did this over and over while I "caught" him at the bottom.) It's not that the lifeguards were especially friendly, but my adorable little man made sure to introduce himself and carry on many conversations with each life guard. It usually began with "I'm Gu-Cas. There's my Mommy (finger pointing wildly). I'm swimmin'" and so on and on. It became more and more comical as Lucas was spending more time talking with the lifeguards than actually playing in the pool. Switching gears, Baby Girl (that's what we call her since we can't agree on a name) is more active than I remember Lucas ever being. We have 9 1/2 weeks to go! She seems to be dropping now - I ...

Tuesday night, I made a to-die-for casserole for Home Group. My in-laws gave me the Deen Brother's cookbook for Mothers Day and I have been impressed by everything I've tried. This recipe would be great to take to a potluck or family gathering. Corn Bread Casserole with Fresh Corn and Green Onions 1/2 c. unsalted butter, melted 1 c. fresh corn kernels (from 2 ears of corn) 1 15 oz. can cream style corn 1 c. sour cream 1 8oz. package corn muffin mix 6 T. thinly sliced green onions 1/4 t. pepper pinch of salt Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter/Spray a 9-inch baking pan; set aside. In a large bowl stir together the 1/2 cup melted butter, the fresh corn, cream style corn, sour cream, muffin mix, green onions, pepper and salt. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 60-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Makes 6-8 servings. This recipe is great doubled.

We had a blast celebrating Memorial Day at Anderson beach a.k.a. Redneck Beach with some dear friends. The sand was dirty, the water was disgusting (think brown mud and trash), but everyone had tons of fun! Here Lucas and his pal Andrew are cheesing for the camera while enjoying a yummy pretzel snack! Matt and I spent the rest of the day doing yard work. Actually Matt did 99% of the work and I waddled around the yard trying to help.

Here is a great "full" body shot - arms and legs and face. So beautiful! She kept her hands (and feet) near her face most of the time.

Today has been an unbelievable day. Matt, Lucas and I traveled to Vision of Life in Piedmont along with my Mom and Matt's parents to see our baby girl in 4D. I was so excited/nervous this morning that I couldn't stop talking. My mind was racing, but mostly I couldn't stop thinking that I needed confirmation that yes, we are in fact having a little girl. I'm not sure why this concept has been so hard for me to grasp, but I do know that I'm excited that it's true! What an amazing experience. The ultrasound brought our little girl's image to life and radiated her beauty. She appears to have my nose and upper lip along with Matt's full bottom lip. Her chin and round cheeks reminded me of Lucas at birth, but overall she has a strikingly feminine look about her. We had a great time laughing and talking as the ultrasound tech, Ben, poked my belly in an effort to get the best shots. She was folded in half, her feet above her forehead. And apparently she is a sn...

Matt and I spent the past weekend in Asheville sans Lucas. It was SO wonderul to have some quality time with my precious hubby. Our fascination with the Biltmore House monopolized the entire weekend - we pretty much spent our entire trip there and at the Carrabaas in our hotel's parking lot. I am married a fine looking man. Wow! I'm a lucky woman!