Sarah Bragg

Rory is One!

2011-08-29T11:23:00.001-07:00

I've thought about writing this post many times. I will blame my laziness of blogging on my computer transition. I mentioned to you guys about the hard drive crash of 2011. My sweet hubby surprised me with an iPad on my birthday earlier this month. I LOVE it, but it is taking some getting use to. I had to find an app to be able to blog from so it all feels new. So forgive me!

My sweet little Rory turned one on August 12. I can't even believe it. This year has flown by. She has been such an answer to prayer. Her sweet smile lights up the room. She has little curls on the back of her head. Four (plus two more coming in) front teeth and loves to scrunch up her nose all the time. She isn't walking yet but is so close!

Here are a couple of pics of her that day. Can you believe that I forgot to take one of her sitting with her bear in the chair? Poor second child.

Sinclair is 3

2011-06-06T11:38:00.000-07:00

You probably aren't surprised that it's taken me weeks to update the blog. In fact, I will be due for another Rory post in just a week. Good grief these months are flying by! To be honest, I haven't had much desire to post because my hard-drive bit the dust. I lost it all. (cue heart wrenching music). I had a recent back-up, but for some reason it wouldn't recover. My husband is quite the Mac tech geek so I knew we were in trouble if he couldn't fix it. So long to music, photos, internet bookmarks, house inspiration ideas and intellectual property. We will send it off to some specialists, but we have to wait cause it will cost a pretty penny. I have hope that it will be retrieved but in the meantime I have been starting over.

So, with that said, my big girl turned 3 on May 31. CAN NOT BELIEVE IT'S BEEN 3 YEARS!

She is such a joy. She seriously has the best personality. She is trying at times but she is just full of life. She has such a sweet spirit about it; always caring for others and celebrating others. I pray that this sweet spirit continues to grow in her and that one day she will use it for God's glory. Sinclair says so many things that I can't even count. So many funny things come out of her mouth. I wish I could have a voice recorder on her at all times.

I need to get more pictures from her party. We had a simple princess theme. She changed her mind daily on what theme she wanted. She was so blessed with many toys and lots of family who love her on that day.

Rory 9 Months (ALREADY!!!)

2011-05-21T17:57:00.000-07:00

I seriously CAN. NOT. BELIEVE. that Rory is already 9 months old. She brings us all so much joy. She has the capacity to absolutely melt your heart with her smile. This girl is the picture of contentment and happiness. My favorite thing lately is watching and/or listening to her and Sinclair laugh together. Rory adores her sister--that is easy to see. Lately, she has really been approaching crawling and as of yesterday this girl began. Our life is over as we know it. Having two has been easy at times because I can place Rory is one spot and trust that she will remain. Good thing I've started working out this week because I'll need the extra endurance to keep up with them.

At her 9 month check up, she was so sweet. NOT. ONE. PEEP. out of her. She just intently watched everything the doctor did and barely cried when she got her shot. Wow, what a different experience than with Sinclair (my drama queen).

Her stats: 19.1 lbs - 60%; 28.25" long - 75%

Here she is in all her sweetness.

Mother's Day

2011-05-12T11:51:00.000-07:00

So for Mother's Day, I had the thought that I would like Scott to get me a (wait for it) a Roomba.

How funny is that? My cat tracks his litter (gross!) all over the place. I thought that if I had a Roomba, he could keep the litter off my floors. Well, I didn't get one but that is because I never told Scott about it. Maybe I was afraid that he would actually get me one for mother's day. HA!

While I'm on the subject of a Roomba, do you remember the SNL commercial for the Woomba? Very funny. I'm always afraid that I'll ask for a Woomba rather than a Roomba. HA!

Rory is 8 Months Old!

2011-04-25T17:35:00.001-07:00

I seriously cannot keep track of time! This girl is growing up so fast. I can't believe she is already 8 months old. She now has 2 teeth, says all kinds of syllables including "da da" and "ma ma". Seriously, just melt my heart. She is the happiest baby. She will go to anyone (unlike her sister) and just smiles all day long. Today, I listened to Taylor Swift in the car and her song "Never Grow Up". I think that about these girls every time I hear that song. Check out her song, I know you'll love it.

We are in the HOUSE!!!

2011-04-06T11:01:00.000-07:00

The day we waited for, for 11 months finally arrived last Sunday. We packed the trucks and moved into the new house. I am so thrilled to finally be here. I have such a peaceful feeling in this house. It is so open and airy. The paint colors are simply soothing. Here is one picture of the kitchen. I posted a few others over at our other blog, North Ocoee.

And a picture of little Rory breaking in the new farmhouse sink.

We seriously need to take more but I hate taking pictures of spaces will boxes and junk everywhere. (I foresee a yard sale in our future.) There is still a lot to do: shelves need to be hung in the closets, half the doors don't have door knobs, our kitchen hardware needs to be put on and our master bath isn't completed yet. BUT at least its livable!

Also, I wanted to include a cute little video of Sinclair. I don't know about you, but growing up I LOVED Psalty the singing Songbook. I found all my cassette tapes (yes, I'm old) when unpacking. So on the way to church, I busted one of them out. Here is Sinclair loving it.

Rory is 7 Months!

2011-03-14T11:19:00.000-07:00

Shut up! I can't even believe that she is already 7 months old. These months are flying by. And... I thought for sure that we'd be in our house by the time she was 7 months old, but we are So. Not. We will hopefully we be in the house by the end of the month. If you want to see some updates about that, go here.

She absolutely loves her execauser. Sinclair would never stay in it for longer than a few minutes but Rory will sometimes play for 45 minutes! She thinks that fake laughter is the funniest thing. She has started playing around with a sippy cup and actually drank some water. We're still working our way in eating food. I miss making my own baby food, but jars will have to work since the food processor is STILL in storage. She gets in the crawling position all the time and starts rocking back and forth. Sinclair NEVER did that. She did the army crawl and rolled everywhere. I'm still waiting for her to roll from back to front. She does it sometimes but not when it really counts (like in the bed!).

Here is her picture. You'll notice the bear that I usually sit beside her is missing. Sinclair confiscated it and I think it got moved into the new house with her other stuffed animals. Oh well...

I wanted to show off some other happenings, too. Sinclair went to her cousin, Sydney's, birthday party. She got to spend the whole weekend in Atlanta with Scott's parents. She had a blast until the glass coffee table fell onto her foot. Thankfully her foot wasn't broken!! It looked gnarly, but it will be okay. The other pics are of a family dinner the other night at Shane's BBQ.

Rory is 6 Months!

2011-02-19T03:53:00.000-08:00

I am seriously lagging behind in life. I just realized that I finally posted Rory's 5 month pics like 2 weeks ago. Maybe I should look at it like I'm catching up since she just turned 6 months on Feb 12 :-)

My little baby is so sweet. There is no other word to perfectly describe her. She is content most of the time. Sleeps good. Eats good. We dropped nursing coincidentally on her 6 month birthday due to an unexpected battle of the stomach bug. I had mixed emotions about stopping but it just seemed to be the time. On a side note...Poor Sinclair got it first (she has never thrown up in her whole life). Then, I went down a few hours later. Scott was struck the next morning. My SWEET, SWEET mother came over in the middle of the night to help us since we were ALL sick. Thankfully, Rory and my mother didn't get sick.

Rory is 16.8lbs and in the 60% and she is 26" long and in the 75/80% for height. I am so thankful for her. And Sinclair is so sweet to her. I love watching her entertain Rory. She plays peek-a-boo, shows her how to use the execauser and mimics everything I say to Rory. I always say "Hi, beauty queen" and last night Sinclair said to Rory, "Hi Booby queen." Slightly different interpretation but so cute :-)

We are in one of the most stressful stages of life. On paper, we should be finished with the house in 2 weeks. 2 WEEKS!!! There are so many details. In short, we need God to show up. We need him to work miraculously in all the details that have to be in place. There are circumstances beyond our control so I'm leaning hard into Him. It seems so close yet so far away. I'm studying the life of David right now and Psalm 27 has been a constant reminder to me. Verse 1 says, "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense (aka: stronghold) of my life; whom shall I dread?"

House Update

2011-01-28T12:48:00.000-08:00

I thought you may be curious to see how our house is coming along. We are in the homestretch... and in our 9th month of construction! 9 months. And this certainly has felt like birthing a child (not to mention I actually did birth a child during this renovation)!

Let's see... they are painting now, finishing trim work and tile work, getting ready to stain the floors. We still need to put the carpet in upstairs. I'm waiting on my farmhouse apronfront sink to arrive (that has been an ordeal). Once that gets here, we'll measure for the granite countertops. Then, it is basically time to close on the loan and MOVE IN!

Check out our house blog. Lots of new pictures!

Rory is 5 Months

2011-01-27T11:52:00.000-08:00

Okay... so I'm a little late in posting this. In fact, she's probably closer to 6 months now. Oh well! Rory is getting so big! Here's what she's been up to:

-eating solid foods

-first time a babysitter put her to bed

-stayed all weekend at my parents' without me

-My favorite thing that she does is hold my face with her tiny hands and just smile and talk. If I could translate, I'm pretty sure she is telling me how much she loves me!

-She still eats 5 times a day, but I'm hoping to drop one meal very soon.

On another note, Sinclair had her first haircut ever this week. Her hair was so pretty and long, but it was a beast to brush out after bath time. It was down to the middle of her back so we cut probably 4 inches off. I miss the really long hair but it was good to get the baby hair off.

On a personal note, I had the opportunity to travel to Gainesville, GA to speak at a Disciple Now retreat for middle school and high schoolers. I spoke about community-- how God created us to not live life alone; how to love difficult people in your community; the need to serve your community; the need to influence your community. It was the first time I've spoken since April. Everything was great... and exhausting. It's tough traveling to speak and then come home to resume normal mommy duties. I am just now starting to recover.

Catch Up

2010-12-28T12:32:00.000-08:00

Life is speeding by... and I keep forgetting to let you know about everything. So let's back track a little.

Scott went to Israel the week before Christmas. He is working a video project and had to go get footage. I must say that I was a little jealous. I can't believe he has stepped foot where Jesus did. I'll have to post some pictures if I can ever get them from him.

Then, the Christmas festivities began. We went to my dad's company party because Sinclair LOVES parties. She can't get enough of them. She has been excited about Santa but she is quite scared of him. She will not get close to him. When Santa entered the party (a hispanic Santa no less), she disappeared. Scott realized that she was gone only to realize that she had slipped under the table. How cute is she?

The next night, we had our annual McKamy Christmas Party. This is my dad's side of the family. This party includes a family play of the Christmas story. Sinclair was supposed to be an angel. The only costume I had was Tinker Bell. I guess that was the Disney version of the Christmas Story.

Christmas Eve morning always starts off at the Cracker Barrel including my parents, my brother's family and my aunt and uncle and their sons. We HAVE to wear Santa hats. Those of you who know me know that I don't enjoy that but I take one for the team.

We went to FBC's Christmas Eve service but spent the majority of it out in the lobby with the kids. Sinclair LOVED playing with their nativity people.

Once we got the kids tucked in the bed, Scott began to assemble the kitchen.... THREE hours later, we (I mean he) was done.

We went to my parent's house the next morning in a winter wonderland. This really was the best Christmas we've had as a couple. It was so relaxing and enjoyable.

We have truly been blessed this year. God has provided so much and we have experienced His grace. I am definitely looking forward to 2011. I'm ready to be settled into our new home (hopefully in early February).

Virtual Christmas Card

2010-12-07T14:36:00.000-08:00

I decided to do a virtual christmas card this year. I know, its not as fun, but life has been so chaotic that I just didn't have the bandwidth to sit down and address christmas cards. Probably makes me pathetic. So forgive me! But consider this your christmas card from the Bragg family.

2010 has been quite the year. We sold our house, moved into a temporary rental, moved into another temporary rental, renovated a 100 year old home (still renovating), had a beautiful baby girl, raising a beautiful toddler, many business blessings, and lots of travel for Scott. I'm exhausted just writing that list. Scott and I feel extremely blessed... beyond measure kind of blessed. It has been one of the toughest years that we've faced together, but also one of the most exciting.

We look forward to 2011 to being in our home and finally feeling settled. There will continue to be changes, but I am excited about what God is doing in our lives. We are thankful for our friendships! I am so glad to have you to lean on. I hope that each of you have had a blessed year and experience a wonderfully merry Christmas.

(Pictures courtesy of Ami & Alison Photography)

Drywall In the House!

2010-12-01T07:11:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure if you can tell the excitement in my voice (aka fingers). The drywall is up in our house! We are definitely in the home stretch!! Here is a picture of the guest room/Scott's office. Check out all the pictures over at North Ocoee.

Comparison at 3 Months

2010-11-24T12:05:00.000-08:00

I put this outfit on Rory today and remembered that I had a picture of Sinclair in the same outfit. Both girls at 3 months in the same outfit. The first picture is Sinclair and the second, Rory.

If you coupon then...

2010-11-18T17:46:00.000-08:00

You'll be excited about this giveaway...

I mentioned in my last post that I hadn't felt like blogging much lately maybe because I read a lot of blogs these days. Well, I have blogged a couple of times this week over here on our home blog. One blog I've read multiple times is The Carolina Clipper by my friend, Richelle. She is a very savvy shopper using coupons to get the best deals. I've enjoyed reading her "how to coupon" posts lately. I want to coupon (and I used to coupon). I need to get back into it and she has helped motivate... and she linked over to a great giveaway going on at the Roof with a Viewblog. Its a cute organized wallet for your coupons! PERFECT!

Check out all the blogs mentioned... my house, Richelle's and Roof with a View to enter the contest!

Rory is 3 Months!

2010-11-14T10:25:00.000-08:00

So... you'll have to forgive me for not posting often. I really struggle with the desire to blog these days. I'm in a phase where I'd much rather read blogs than write them. Maybe that will change soon or maybe I should blog about other blogs :-)My sweet little Rory turned 3 months this week. I can hardly believe it! I just want to soak up each moment with her. She is sweet as can be. Things I love... she smiles so much and coos with the sweetest little words. She smiles on command with her daddy. Every time he speaks to her, she smiles. Just melt my heart. She is sleeping great these days. We changed her schedule up the day after the fall time change which allowed me to drop a feeding! Woohoo! And it means she goes to bed earlier and sleeps later. Who doesn't love that? She eats at 8:00pm and again at 7:30am.

Glitter Girl

2010-10-28T16:48:00.000-07:00

I have tried several times to purchase a pair of TOMS shoes for Sinclair. Scott and I each have a pair. We love TOMS. For every pair you purchase, they GIVE a pair away to a kid in need. How cool is that? We've even entertained giving TOMS shoes to everyone in our family for Christmas. Here is the pair that I just bought for Sinclair.

Will she not be the cutest little girl on the block in these shoes?

Organized Lunch

2010-10-19T08:43:00.001-07:00

I posted some pictures a couple of weeks ago about organized lunches. I got some containers can gave it a whirl! Sinclair LOVED it! Her babysitter said that it was the most lunch she's ever eaten. I think it says something about Sinclair's personality. She loves things to be sorted out. She loves organization (and creating messes!) I think that is why she loves these lunches.

Here is my first attempt...

I gave her goldfish, strawberries, a pickle, Peeps cookies (just sugar wafers but my dad, Peeps, eats them so she calls them Peeps Cookies), sushi sandwich (cream cheese & strawberry jelly)

Sorry that the picture is turned like that. I couldn't figure out how to adjust it.

Rory Is 2 Months

2010-10-19T08:41:00.000-07:00

Totally forgot to post this sweet picture of Rory at 2 months...

Master Bedroom Moodboard

2010-10-05T07:53:00.000-07:00

When we began the renovation, I discovered a great website called mydeco.com. Here I can play around with decorating. I can create moodboards of different rooms. Here is one I created for our master bedroom. (You can check out our Inspiration Room here)

I don't have color swatches on there, but our walls will be a light blue gray color. I like the clean white bedding on top of a chocolate zig zag rug (both from West Elm). I like to have two X-Base Benches (BA Sofas) at the foot of the bed. The nightstand and chest of drawers are from Crate and Barrel. The chandelier is from Restoration Hardware (however, I'll search for one much cheaper online). The mirror that I'll lean against the wall is from Ikea.

Organized Lunches

2010-09-29T11:58:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon this today... the idea of organized lunchboxes. I am in heaven with this idea. I love all things organized and these pictures inspire me. Sinclair goes to Mother's Day Out each week and to a babysitter another day in the week so I have to pack lunches. This is definitely the way to do it!

Check out this site if you're interested

Rory Is 1 Month

2010-09-15T16:49:00.001-07:00

So I am pretty slack on blogging these days. I barely have time to sit at my computer between caring for a newborn, playing with a toddler, planning things for our renovation, praying for sleep, etc. I also realize that I am terrible at taking pictures of Rory! I'm not great at taking pictures as is, but I did manage to take Rory's picture for one month. We go to the doctor on Friday for her well check. She will be 5 weeks on Thursday.

PS: Check out our house blog to see what we've been up to

www.northocoee.com

Baby Bragg Is Here!

2010-08-19T07:51:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that this sweet little girl is finally here.

Rory Elisabeth Bragg

8/12/10 at 7:44am

7lb 13oz 19.5in long

It was so surreal leaving our house at 4:30 in the morning on Thursday to go to the hospital. The world was so quiet around us--even the hospital was quiet. I just had this calm about myself. We got to our room. I put on the gown and then waited. This time around was so different. A scheduled c-section is much different than an emergency one. I think that is why it felt so strange this time. There were no nurses rushing into my room to check the baby's heart rate. Everything was quiet. The nurse that took me to the operating room even commented on how calm I was. It is also strange to enter an operating room knowing you'll be awake during a major surgery.

They gave me a spinal this time rather than an epidural. That really wasn't that bad. After waiting for my body to numb, they began to prep for surgery. In walked Scott in his scrubs. It was nice to see a familiar face! Then, my doctor walked in. I have to say that I really like Dr. Childs. My doctor didn't deliver Sinclair and I remember it was weird not even knowing who the doctor was that just delivered my baby. The doctor's part of the surgery only took 18 minutes! Rory was out in no time and was just perfect. And look at this--we got to keep Dr. Child's scrub shirt with Rory's footprints on them. How cute is that!

Immediate recovery from surgery was much different this time. Scott and Rory were with me the whole time. Last time, I didn't see Sinclair or Scott for about three hours.

Sinclair was so sweet when she met her little sister. She gave her many kisses.

Scott's mom was at our house keeping Sinclair and was a HUGE help. She cooked food for us, did laundry and cleaned--not to mention keeping our busy BIG girl. We left the hospital on Saturday late afternoon (a day earlier than last time).

Life adjusting has been one day at a time. So far, my recovery has been much better than last time. Rory is eating well and sleeping well. The nights have been a little rough but we'll get there. Sinclair loves Rory, but is having a tough time adjusting to the fact that mommy can't carry her or hold her. When Scott gives me the pictures he took, I'll upload some of them. All in all, life is good. We are truly blessed.

Life Update

2010-08-09T17:59:00.001-07:00

I realize that it has been a really long time since I posted anything. These days by the time I sit down at night, I feel like I can barely connect words together to form sentences. The renovation on our home is moving along nicely. You must check out our home blog here. I've started posting pictures of design inspiration and even our first furniture purchase.

The exciting thing is that we are set for a scheduled c-section on THURSDAY, August 12. I am so very ready. Another reason why I'm ready is because today I was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy. Apparently, it's a really common thing to happen to women late in their pregnancy. I guess it's because of the stress on the body and the immune system is weakened. Thankfully, it's a mild case. The left side of my face is somewhat paralyzed. I got a steroids shot today to try to relieve some of the tension in my face. They told me that it will go away on its own, but it could take up to a year! YIKES!

I'll try to post soon after Thursday with an update on Baby Bragg.

Stroller Update

2010-07-22T18:06:00.000-07:00

So this really isn't exciting news to the blog community but I just wanted to share that I made my stroller decision (here's the post about my dilemma).... bought a used Joovy Sit n Stand on Craigslist. It looks like this one

Hopefully, Sinclair will like riding in the back.

By the way, we are on countdown. 3 weeks until Baby!!

What Your Kids Want Most From You

2010-07-20T17:20:00.001-07:00

I just read this blog post from www.orangeparents.org. Wow. I needed to hear this. It talks about what kids need most from us--and it isn't really what I expected. Check it out. It is a SHORT, EASY read.

Nesting

2010-07-05T08:51:00.000-07:00

It has finally hit me. This baby is coming soon! I'm 33 weeks pregnant now, but since I'll have a c-section, I'm probably about 6 weeks away from her arrival. This weekend, I started some serious nesting. I pulled stuff out of storage, bought a rug for her room, bought some stuff online, started doing her laundry and bought a stroller off craigslist. I also started a giant "to do" list along with products to buy. You may have read my post about my stroller dilemma. I still would like to have a Phil & Ted's stroller but found a Joovy Sit and Stand on Craigslist so I went with that one.

I think I'm carrying this baby lower than I did with Sinclair. She tried her best to not come out of my womb so she was never really that low. But this one is different. The doctor said my stomach muscles are no longer in the center of my belly which makes her sit lower. I feel like I'm not going to make it full-term, but I'm sure I will (against my hopes). I'm pretty miserable these days. I'm a big complainer :-) Poor Scott!! I keep reminding myself that the longer I go the more work gets done on our house. That helps to keep me going!

Chimney Be Gone!

2010-06-21T12:10:00.000-07:00

If you've been reading the ole blog lately, you know that we bought a 100 year old home in TN and began renovating. The house is FULLY gutted now! Today is exciting because they are removing the leaning chimney. I am surprised that the house hasn't been destroyed by that chimney yet! For more pictures of the renovation, visit www.northocoee.com

Laughing at Circumstances

2010-06-19T16:56:00.000-07:00

Have you ever read the devotional, "Jesus Calling?" I just got it this year and I LOVE it. There have been countless days that it felt like the entry was written specifically for me. Yesterday was one of those days. Here's what it said (from pg 176)

"Learn to laugh at yourself more freely. Don't take yourself or your circumstances so seriously. Relax and know that I am God with you. When you desire My will above all else, life becomes much less threatening. Stop trying to monitor My responsibilities--things that are beyond your control. Find freedom by accepting the boundaries of your domain."

That was a good reminder for me because circumstances have been overwhelming lately. As you just read in the previous entry, we moved again (just two months after we moved the first time and only a about 6 months before we move again). To top it off, the air conditioner broke the day we moved in. Don't forget that I'm only 8 weeks away from giving birth and live in the hot, humid south! It's been in the 90's this week. I knew that I needed to start laughing at the circumstances--the things that are out of my control. Well, God allowed me to have a pop quiz during the remainder of the day. I FAILED. Turns out that laughing at your circumstances is much harder to do than it is to read. So, I'll keep trying.

Moving...AGAIN

2010-06-17T17:47:00.000-07:00

So... just go ahead and call us crazy. I definitely feel like we are crazy. Here I am 8 1/2 weeks away from Baby Bragg #2 arriving and we move into another rental house. I can't remember if I told you guys how bad our living experience was in our first rental. Tiny space and crazy neighbors sum up that place. After the shooting at our neighborhood several weeks ago, we decided to maybe look around for other options. Plus, we were already going to have to move in with my parents when the baby arrived since the townhome was too small. God's timing is everything. A friend from college decided to rent their house which is plenty big for us, only $50 a month more than what we were paying and only 4 doors down from my brother's family. PERFECT! It just meant that we needed to move again for the second time in 2 months. (Only to move again once the renovation is completed!)

I'm not sure about you, but I don't do well in chaos and when I seem to have zero control. This transition has been exactly that. Thing after thing after thing seem to be turned upside down. This morning, I read Jesus Calling and it talked about how we need to laugh at circumstances. I resolved at 6:30am that I needed to do that. So what happens? I FAILED miserably today. The air conditioning broke again today (like yesterday), my email wasn't working, couldn't get online anywhere to try to fix it, etc, etc, etc. Total pity party on the blog today. But I'm thankful for God's grace. I failed the test (opportunity) to laugh at the circumstances today. Maybe I'll do better next time.

Stroller Dilemma

2010-06-10T13:12:00.001-07:00

One thing that I've spent countless energy on is researching and thinking about double strollers. Awhile back, I decided I should purchase the Joovy sit n stand for the transition period (when baby Bragg is still in the carseat). I figured I'd purchase this stroller used on Craigslist for around $80.Now, I'm rethinking. I knew I wanted to eventually get a really good double stroller. I decided on the Phil & Teds model. The price of expensive strollers is enough to make me choke on my drink. However, from what I've been told, these high-end strollers are worth it.

The dilemma: do I still purchase the transitional stroller and then the one that will last us until they are 55lbs or go ahead and get the nicer, long-lasting stroller (I've found one that is on sale)? Do I really need the transitional one? Any thoughts?

Birthday Party

2010-06-10T05:40:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Sinclair's birthday this past Saturday. Since our house is under major renovation (see www.northocoee.com for pictures and updates), we had her party at my parents' house. Scott's mom drove up from Atlanta for the day. Sinclair LOVES parties and especially birthday parties. So she was in her highlight. We had a Thomas the Train cake, tutu outfit, lots of gifts and a giant homemade slip-n-slide (my dad is quite the event planner).

I am still waiting on getting pictures from Scott but in the meantime here is one of her in her birthday tutu.

Sinclair is Two!

2010-05-31T18:46:00.000-07:00

I can't believe the title of this post. My baby is two! She loves to say that she is two. She says it with such enthusiasm. This little girl is so unique. She is full of energy and doesn't stop (which makes for a tired prego mommy). Her smile is so contagious. She started as such a stone-face girl but has turned into friendly and smiley. She loves parties...especially birthday parties. She says so many things these days. Repeats so many things, too. She's quite bossy with her favorite command being "come on." She loves for you to be apart of whatever she's doing.

This morning as I reflected on her and prayed (while she was busy watching Curious George), I read this verse: "Establish my footsteps in Thy word, and do not let any iniquity have dominion over me." (Psalm 119:133)

Hebrew Meanings:

Iniquity: sin, vanity, falsehood, nothingness (Oh how great would it be for that to not have dominion over her!)

Establish: to stand firm, steadfast, faithful

Have Dominion: to rule over someone, to give power over something

I prayed that verse over Sinclair. She is determined and focused. I pray that God will use those qualities for His glory--that she would be established and firm in His word. I was ruled over by falsehood and nothingness for so long. I would love it if she didn't struggle the way I did.

As exhausting as it being a mother is, it is an honor to be given the responsibility to raise this sweet girl.

Birth

1 year old

2 years old

Vacation

2010-05-26T16:58:00.001-07:00

We went to Seacrest Beach, FL which is just west of Panama City Beach. We were despise Panama City Beach and therefore pleasantly surprised at how quaint and wonderful Seacrest Beach is! I recommend it!!

This was our first beach trip with Sinclair. I'm so glad that my mom decided to come with us. She was a HUGE help to us. We debated on the best method of travel with the little one and decided to wake up early to leave at 4:00am. We decided to do that because we thought Sinclair would be tired enough to (A) fall back asleep and (B) stop to eat breakfast and play at a good time. Well... BACKFIRE! Sinclair didn't fall back asleep until 1 hr away from the beach! She was a mess.

We also assumed that she would love the beach since she loves the sandbox, but again BACKFIRE! She hated the sand. She refused to take off her socks and shoes and even refused to walk on the beach in them. Finally, by day 5 she eased her way out of her shoes and into the water.

I think her favorite part of Pier Park where she got to ride a train around the shopping park. She got to do it twice! All in all, we had a great trip (minus Scott getting sick the last full day there). I was ready to get back to some normalcy but sad to leave vacation.

I'm sad to say that I didn't take many pictures. I am really terrible at that job! Plus, I think I only made it in one picture!

New Blog

2010-05-25T17:25:00.001-07:00

We decided to create a blog that followed our renovation journey. We will try to update pictures once a week to see the progress. We should hopefully finish demolition by the end of this week!

Check it out

http://northocoee.squarespace.com/

Renovation Begins!

2010-05-13T16:59:00.000-07:00

I have been waiting for this day!

Here is our house. It's not the best shot, but you get the idea.

It's about 100 years old.

We are doing a full renovation on the inside. It is projected to take 4-6 months.

(Baby due in 3 months)

We're praying that things go smoothly and quickly.

Sinclair loves her new house!

Transitions.

2010-05-05T10:40:00.000-07:00

Well...

Not sure what to say. I feel like I'm still catching my breath from moving. We have been here a week, gone a week, here a week, gone a week since we moved.

God is teaching me so much about expectations and how I really need to just depend on Him.

Everyday is a new day...most have been difficult. But a new day and trust and lean on Him.

"Living in dependence on Me is the way to enjoy abundant life. You are learning to appreciate tough times because they amplify your awareness of My Presence." --from Jesus Calling

Pictures

2010-04-22T18:00:00.000-07:00

Scott's mom gave me a ton of pictures last week and I wanted to share a few with you. The first few are from Lis's 60th birthday party at our house and the last ones are from Easter.

Sinclair loves birthday parties! I think she thought the cake was for her. This cake was my first attempt at a gluten free & dairy free cake. Tasted great but I had trouble making the icing look pretty.

This is Lis's best friend, Denise. Sinclair LOVED her. She talked about "neice" non-stop for a week after the party.

Cha-cha-cha-changes!

2010-04-18T10:44:00.000-07:00

I sit here writing... very tried and feeling unsettled. I say tired because have spent the last 10 days packing up my house and then the weekend speaking to a great group of teenage girls from Christway Community Church. The retreat was up in Dayton, TN. The retreat was great, and I really enjoyed the girls and their leaders.

And I say unsettled because we are moving...states. I left on Friday with Sinclair and a packed car. Scott, along with much help, packed a moving truck on Saturday. My brother drove the truck to TN and here it sits at my parents' house. Today, we will unpack the truck...not into our permanent new home but into a temporary townhome. Did I mention a SMALL temporary townhome?

We decided about 9 months ago to move to TN. We didn't really tell people simply because we knew it would be awhile until we actually moved. Both of us will continue to work our jobs. We just felt like it was a good time to try living close to family. We have a home, a 100 year old home, in the historic district on the town but we are planning to renovate it which is why we are moving into a temporary home. Our renovation should take between 4 and 6 months (keep in mind that Baby Bragg #2 arrives in about 3 1/2 months). So we are praying for a speedy renovation!

I hate the feeling on unsettledness. People keep asking me if I'm excited to be back but it's hard to say. I think that's the case because I know I'm not moving into my home right away. I'm excited for other things but will definitely be glad to be in our home.

2010-04-09T04:42:00.001-07:00

Here is our ultrasound picture of Baby Girl Bragg. She kept looking at us throughout the whole ultrasound!

Here is a picture of Sinclair on Easter. We forgot our camera but Scott's mom took lots of pictures. I'll share some of those whenever I get them.

Big News

2010-03-29T16:52:00.001-07:00

Today was a day we've been waiting for since December... our 19 week ultrasound. We were completely surprised by the results... IT'S A GIRL!!!

This pregnancy has been so different that figured it would be a boy but we are both so excited for another girl. I have loved having a daughter so it will be so much fun having another.

Health Update

2010-03-25T17:08:00.000-07:00

Back in early February Scott went to a nutritionalist/homeopathic doctor about his health. He hasn't felt "normal" for years now. They did every test in the book on him and put him on a strict diet--no gluten, dairy, soy, peanuts, or eggs. We had our follow up appointment today.

The VERDICT: He is allergic and intolerant to dairy but not gluten. He has Epstein Bar Virus and maybe Lymes Disease which are both autoimmune diseases. Even though he isn't allergic to gluten, going gluten free helps treat the autoimmune diseases. So, we are dairy free and gluten free (he is also slightly allergic to garlic, peanuts, oranges, cashews). There were some other things (I can’t remember them all or pronounce their names) that were low or not at normal levels which we are also treating. He also has a parasite which they will treat as well.

So he is taking lots of pills and liquids to treat all of this stuff. We’re praying that he will continue to feel much better now that he will begin taking supplements and stuff. Hoping God will continue to heal his body.

Superstar

2010-03-24T16:54:00.000-07:00

Lauren who watches Sinclair got her these sunglasses. She LOVES them!

He Loves Us

2010-03-18T10:09:00.001-07:00

I tend to walk through life lately, getting bogged down by the responsibilities of my various roles, and therefore miss the wonder of God. We listed our house back in mid-November knowing that we would want to add to our flock and would need more space (otherwise the baby would be in a closet). For three months, not one person showed interest in the house. My wonder of God began to diminish. My theology began to become cloudy. I know it wasn't true but I began to wonder if God really cared about me, my needs, my heart.

Sunday, we sang "How He Loves" during the service. You see, this song already holds a special place in my heart because I used to sing it to Sinclair when she was in the womb and then as I rocked her before she went to sleep. Singing it again with another child in my womb brought tears. Then, the Lord began to sing over me. Reminding me that He loves me. He loves me. Oh how He loves me. You see, I needed to be reminded of the wonder of God--that even though things don't work as planned or hoped, He still loves. He still is intimately involved. Monday, we received an offer on the house and signed on contract on Tuesday. Things could still fall through but Sunday I cleared my eyes and saw God. What He did on Monday was the overflow--my cup runneth over.

Here are the lyrics to the song "How He Loves".

He is jealous for me
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy
And all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me

Oh, how He loves us, oh
Oh how He loves us
How He loves us all

He is jealous for me
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy
And all of a sudden
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
And I realize just how beautiful You are
And how great Your affections are for me

Oh how He loves us, oh
Oh how He loves us
How He loves us all

Yeah, He loves us
Oh how He loves
Oh how He loves

We are His portion and He is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If His grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking
Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about, the way…

That He loves us
Oh how He loves us
Oh how He loves us
Oh how He loves
Yeah, He loves us
Oh how He loves us
Oh how He loves us
Oh how He loves

Yeah He loves us
Oh how He loves us
Oh how He loves us
Oh how He loves

The Latest

2010-03-17T16:53:00.001-07:00

Well... I've really had a hard time sitting down to write. Life has just been busy!

-Sinclair started swim lessons at the YMCA. Saying that she loves it is an understatement. She is in a class full of boys and is the most active one.
-Our house has been on the market and is now under contract! PTL! Praying that things continue to move forward.
-The main reason I've been too tired to blog is that I'm pregnant. 17 weeks now. I know, I'm late in letting the cyber world know but honestly these weeks are just flying by that I forget to write about it. We find out the sex in 2 weeks :-) Baby is due August 22.
-Scott is still on his strict diet. We head back to the nutritionalist in 2 weeks. We should find out some answers about his health then which will be great!

This is a terribly short post so hopefully I'll have more to say (or more energy to say) more later.

Silly Sinclair

2010-02-24T17:10:00.000-08:00

A Seriously Late V-Day Post

2010-02-23T16:54:00.000-08:00

I am really running behind on keeping up with my blog. January and February have been such busy months! There's a lot going on with the Bragg's which I will update on in the coming weeks and months.

Scott and I had a really good Valentine's Day. His parents came over on Saturday night to keep Sinclair so that we could go to Outback Steakhouse. We haven't been there in about 3 years but since Scott is now on a gluten free, dairy free, soy free, peanut free and egg limited diet we decided to go there since they have a full gluten free menu. It was delicious even if we had to eat an absolute plain (no butter!) baked potato. {I guess I should post something about this diet at some point.}

Sinclair's sweet friend, Sawyer, left her a Valentine's surprise on our car Sunday morning. How sweet of him to give her a little pink puppy. Here she is kissing it.

Scott gave me beautiful roses and Sinclair a little teddy bear.

He tried to take our picture but as soon as she saw my iPhone she thought we were calling MiMi. When he wouldn't give her the phone, she proceeded to lose it. Here is documentation of the progressional meltdown.

First Kiss

2010-02-09T12:07:00.000-08:00

Each week, Sinclair is kept by my friend, Lauren, for 2 days. She also keeps her nephew, Sawyer, who is 7 months. We are good friends with Sawyer's parents and always joke about Sinclair and Sawyer getting married. Sawyer loves Sinclair. He always focuses his attention on her when she enters the room (wouldn't we all love that kind of attention!). Yesterday, they had their first kiss. So cute!!

Brazos Pointe Fellowship

2010-02-08T16:49:00.000-08:00

Thursday I took off from Atlanta to Houston. I had the privilege of speaking at a girls event Thursday and a women's retreat Friday-Saturday at Brazos Pointe Fellowship in Lake Jackson, TX. I was picked up at the airport from a long time friend, Mary Margaret. We met back when I worked at Saddleback. She is one of those people that I had forgotten how well we connect. We haven't talked to each other in probably six years! But we picked up with each other like we never skipped a beat. It was such a blessing to be around her. The whole trip really felt like a vacation (minus the lack of sleep) but I stayed in a nice hotel, had snacks in my room, watched Gilmore Girls and had NO diapers to change and NO meals to cook!!!

I really had such a great time with the people of that church. They are doing incredible things and I wish I could attend that church. This was the first women's retreat where I've been the main speaker. I absolutely enjoyed speaking to just women. It was fun to connect with women from young to old. I truly was blessed this weekend.

Sinclair had a great weekend, too. She got to spend some quality time with Scott's mom, Gia Gia, and of course her daddy. I have to share this one picture because you need to note how she was dressed by daddy.

Snowed In

2010-02-02T12:47:00.001-08:00

Sinclair and I went up to TN on Thursday. I was scheduled to do some leadership training the student ministry volunteers at Christway Church. Well, low and behold, they called for snow and it actually snowed! The retreat ended up getting cancelled which was sad but at least Sinclair and I were snowed in at my parents' house. She LOVED the snow. We had to go out and buy snow boots. I think there was about 4 or 5 inches of snow. We took rides in the gator and of course played in the sandbox. She kept getting frustrated why she couldn't find the sand in the sandbox. Thankfully, we were able to make it home safely on Sunday afternoon.

I leave Thursday for Houston where I'm speaking at a girls' event and then a women's retreat. I'll post an update after I return.

Tippy joins the Party

2010-01-20T11:07:00.000-08:00

This picture is a little blurry but I just love that Sinclair and Tippy are having tea parties together.

Briarwood Private School

2010-01-16T17:01:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was a whirlwind of a day. I woke up at 4:30am and was out the door by 5:00. I had to catch an early flight to Houston. I was reminded how pleasant it was driving through Atlanta when there's zero traffic. I spent the day in Houston at Briarwood Private School. They brought me in to speak about body image to both genders (middle school and high school). Sometimes its challenging in itself to speak to the combined ages. I mean, you have to relate to a 12 year old who is in the same room as an 18 year old. But is also a challenge (for me) to speak on the subject of body image to both genders. On top of which, these students all have some type of disability either learning or developmental. I really enjoyed the staff of the school. I met some great women who run the school. Everyone there is passionate about what they do and the students there. My talk went well and I was extremely honored that they flew me there to communicate to their students. I pray that God took the seeds planted and will bring someone else along to water.

I flew back that night and was in the door by 10:15pm and in bed by 10:30. What a day!

Daily Life

2010-01-13T17:08:00.000-08:00

I realized that my last post was my 100th post. That feels like an accomplishment to me. I can't believe I've had that much to say or share. I really wanted to post something creative or special or meaningful for that special 100 but life took over and I had nothing creative to say. Maybe I'll revisit it later. Just like how I intended on blogging about the new year and looking back not only on 2009 but on my 20's since that decade is over. Maybe I'll revisit that one, too, one day.

In the meantime, Sinclair and I have been playing A LOT lately. Scott has been busy at work (which is great) but it just makes for some long days with the little lady. Bath time has become increasing fun this week because I busted out her alphabet letters which Santa brought her. She is really into letters these days. She knows P, L, W, U, R, O. It amazes me how much she learns!

Today, was a fun, busy, day. We went to visit my friend, Kelly and her baby Elsie. We took them at casserole to bake for dinner. Loved seeing Kelly but wish we could have stayed longer. Then, we landed at McDonald's for lunch. We were the only ones in the playground area and stayed for an hour. She had the most fun and it was a nice break for me. I'm thinking that I should go there with my laptop next time. She can play and I can work. I think they have free wi-fi. After her "not-long-enough-for-me" nap (will she ever sleep longer than 2 hours consistently!?!), we went to Staples and the Dollar Tree. We bought some butcher paper at Staples and then stickers and candy at the Dollar Tree.

All in all, its been a good (tiring) week...and its only Wednesday! I fly to Houston on Friday for the day to speak at Briarwood Private School. I'm excited to speak to both girls and guys on body image. If you think of it, pray for me. Its not a Christian school so I can't talk about God specifically. Pray for travel and energy and the ability to communicate. It will be a whirlwind of a day.

Chores

2010-01-05T10:53:00.000-08:00

So she's not really doing chores, but she had the best time Swiftering the floors. I look forward to the days of chores.

Christmas... delayed

2010-01-02T17:10:00.000-08:00

It has seriously been some time since I last posted anything. The holidays came and went very quickly. I've been putting off posting about Christmas because I'm waiting to get pictures from my husband.... this may mean that I post christmas pictures in March. :-)

We took Sinclair to the Christmas Eve service at First Baptist Church. They don't provide a nursery but instead offer a "family friendly" service at 4:00. We decided we should probably go to that one. On the way to the church, Scott and I took bets on how long Sinclair would last in this environment. We both lost. She last 12 minutes. I know they say that its okay for loud children but I really can't handle my child being so loud and wild in church. Plus, we didn't get to enjoy it since we were chasing after her. So, we ended up leaving early. I'm sure other moms would have told me to stick it out; that's its okay ... maybe next year.

We had a wonderful Christmas. Things started off with Scott's family in Atlanta on Sunday and then we were off to Cleveland on Wednesday. Sinclair had such a big Christmas. She got so many gifts from everyone. Santa brought her a little table and chairs with a tea party set up. She immediately walked over to it, sat down and started playing. She also got a Baby and stroller to which she loaded her up in the stroller and took off. This trip was fun because people really got to see her funny personality. I hope to show you pictures soon.

I am continually reminded how blessed we are. I am so thankful for my family.

Here is a picture that I do have.

18 Months Old

2009-12-13T11:10:00.000-08:00

My little girl is 18th months old. I meant to post this a couple of weeks ago but just got behind on it. Sinclair is doing really well. She is 25.4lb and 31 1/2 in tall. She has started saying so many words in the last two weeks. I can't even keep up with how many words she says now. Its so fun to be able to have a little conversation with her. She enjoys playing with her doll house, kitchen stuff, puzzles, coloring and blocks. She loves to feed her animals her milk. She is such a good momma. These days are exhausting now that we've dropped to one nap (everyday I contemplate going back to two). She is a grumpier little girl ever since we dropped the nap. I keep telling myself to press on but I really want to turn back. All in all, this is a really fun age. I just can't believe how quickly she is growing up.

Family Fall Pictures

2009-12-09T08:16:00.000-08:00

We had the pleasure of having our family pictures taken this fall up in TN with all my family. The photos were taken by Ami and Alison Photography and they did an amazing job! If you are in the area, please consider them for your next photo shoot. The pictures were taken at my parents' house. Here are a few of the pictures:

New Bathroom

2009-12-06T09:33:00.000-08:00

Let's see... it was almost this time last year that Scott began remodeling our basement. It took him (all by himself) about 5 months. You can see the pictures here from a previous post. In August, we decided it was time to finish out the basement bathroom. It was already studded but not finished. The bathroom took him about 3 months since construction wasn't his full-time job. He did an amazing job. I am so proud of him. He is a self-made man. He taught himself how to do all of this. Here are a couple of pictures of the new bathroom.

White Christmas

2009-12-05T11:09:00.001-08:00

It snowed in TN today and here are a couple of pics of my parent's house.

Sinclair and The Pig

2009-12-03T13:23:00.000-08:00

Sinclair was so funny after her snack. Here is a video of her and the pig.

Thanksgiving

2009-12-01T11:30:00.001-08:00

Sorry that its been a week since I last posted anything! It was an eventful week which started with Sinclair pulling the glass vase on herself. Then, she tumbled down the stairs on Thanksgiving and ended the weekend by falling out of her highchair! We have entered into a rough and tumble phase.

We spent Thanksgiving day here in Atlanta which we haven't done in about four years. We had dinner at Scott's stepsister's house in Buckhead. It was beautiful! Sinclair had tons of fun playing in her cousins' rooms. She was the life of the party. Then, we headed up to TN on Friday for the weekend. We missed the annual Turkey Bowl at my parents' house. Each year is gets bigger and bigger. I think there are more friends than family who play in the game now. Its funny to think that it used to just involve about 5 of us and there were 16 players this year. My dad goes ALL out with a game day parade which includes a Grand Marshall and football field with regulation size goalposts. They even tailgated for breakfast before the game. Check out these pictures:

Did I mention they were big time TN fans? Notice the giant Smokey inflatable.

Here is the arial view (my dad took an airplane up Saturday to snap some photos)

To top it off, here is a picture of Sinclair in the sandbox. This girl lived in that box. I NEED one of those!

Accident!!

2009-11-23T16:45:00.000-08:00

Saturday night was rough. Sinclair had her first big accident. I had a table runner on our dining room table (BAD IDEA) and in the center was a glass vase filled with coffee beans and a candle. She has only touched that runner one other time and rarely plays in that area. BUT Saturday night was different. I changed her diaper near there and then walked away to put the wipes up. As I walked back in that direction I saw her. Everything happened in slow motion. I watched as Sinclair pulled the runner and the vase shattered on top of her. It scared her (so did my screams). It was so scary seeing blood all over her. THANKFULLY, she walked away with minor scratches. Moments like that put things in perspective. Life is fragile. God has numbered our (Sinclair's) days. He is in control. Scott and I were wiped out after that. She is fine and totally normal.

Building Blocks

2009-11-19T16:54:00.001-08:00

Tonight, Sinclair was BUSY with her blocks. She played {and worked} with her blocks for almost 45 minutes. I watched her take block by block to the window and place them all colored face up. At first I thought it might be a coincidence that all the blocks faced the same way so I watched her and she deliberated placed them that way in a perfectly straight line. Wow. I am organized and Scott does a lot of sorting so maybe we're seeing some of our personalities come through.

We Should Stop Comparing After Watching This

2009-11-18T11:06:00.000-08:00

Scott forwarded me a link to this video about photoshopping pictures in magazines. It was really interesting. I knew that magazines photoshop their pictures but it was interesting to hear this photographer say that probably 99.9% of pictures are photoshopped. I know that even our family pictures done by photographers are photoshopped some but not to this extent. This video was posted on diet.com and they asked the question "should photoshop be banned from magazines?"

Pictures to Share

2009-11-15T18:17:00.001-08:00

I am so tired tonight so I don't have many words to say so I'll just share some pictures I captured this week with Sinclair.
She loves jelly!

We took a walk at Wills Park this week and played on the playground. This is her first swing experience.

She's all about backing up to sit on things. Here she is sitting in the fridge.

Notice her latest "seat," the coffee container.

Toddler's Busy Book

2009-11-10T08:53:00.001-08:00

Today is a rainy day in Georgia. It seems like it has been raining so much lately (in fact, I bought a pair of rain boots this weekend). I bought The Toddler's Busy Book a few weeks ago and it is worth it! There is a chapter on rainy day activities. I looked in the book this morning and decided to give Sinclair a flashlight. She was entertained for 40 minutes! I highly recommend this book!

More Fun in TN

2009-11-09T17:13:00.001-08:00

Sinclair and I drove back up to TN this weekend because I had the opportunity to speak at North Cleveland Church of God's youth retreat. What a blessing to get to go speak in my hometown! To start the weekend, Sinclair and I attended a benefit dinner at my parents' barn on Friday night. She was in her element. She prissed up and down the barn, talked to everyone, and danced to the live jazz band. She was certainly the bell of the ball. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of her since I was non-stop chasing her.

Saturday morning, I had breakfast with two of my best friends from college, Heather and Kat (it was Lee's homecoming). Heather is 20 weeks pregnant in the picture but you can't even tell!! They are both such beautiful women and I am always extremely blessed to spend quality time with them.

Then, I spoke Saturday night and Sunday morning at the church. The retreat was all about the path principle by Andy Stanley: Every path leads to a destination. Its your direction not your intention that leads to a destination. It was a really great retreat. The youth pastor there, Clark Campbell and his wife Kristen, are doing great things.

Sinclair had a blast all weekend playing with Mimi, Peeps, Uncle Mody, Aunt Christy, Ryan (aka Bubbie), Kate and John.
She played in the sandbox for an hour straight! I need one of those!!

She helped Peeps organize the Christmas lights to go on the 40ft Christmas tree.

More Halloween Pictures

2009-11-03T06:20:00.000-08:00

My one picture of Sinclair from Halloween was terrible in my earlier post. My aunt just emailed me these pictures.

Here's one of my nephew, John. He was a dinosaur.

Happy Halloween

2009-11-02T17:03:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful weekend up in TN. To kick things off, we had some family pictures taken by Ami and Allison Photography. They are sweet girls and were so accommodating. However, it was a disaster due to my daughter. Sinclair refused to take pictures unless she could be on the move or do what she wanted to do. She would completely meltdown when we would try to make her sit with us to take a picture. I'll be amazed if any of the pictures turn out great. (I'll post those as soon as we get some proofs.)

For Halloween, we went to downtown Cleveland and walked the historic street, Centenary Ave. There were hundreds of people there! It was crazy! Sinclair was so cute as a little monkey. However, the neglectful mom that I am, forgot the camera. Here is a shot of her but she's making a funny face. If I get some more from my aunt, I'll post those.

Here are a couple of other pictures from the weekend.

Sinclair had a tea party with Elmo and a Cabbage Patch doll. It was so cute!

Here she is in her first leaf pile. She had so much fun and sat in it for about 15 minutes. She just kept making me rake more leaves for her pile.

This is a side note to the post. We went to CVS tonight and she LOVED riding in the car cart. We had no idea how much she loved it until we got her out. She was so angry that we removed her from the cart that she held her breath and almost passed out. You know its bad when the cashier is saying "breathe! breathe!"

Bruiser Bragg

2009-10-31T07:51:00.000-07:00

Last night, Sinclair woke at 12:30am crying. The only time she wakes in the night is when she's sick. So, I got her and doctored her runny nose, gave her some benadryl and then read some books. After some time, she laid back down but cried for another 45 minutes. At 2:00am, I got her again, brought her to my bed (we're staying at my parents' house) and then she threw up all over me. Nice. We got cleaned up and then watched HGTV in bed. While trying to pull her back from the edge of the bed, she threw her head back and knocked me in the face. OUCH! I must admit that I started crying at that point. Lack of sleep + injury = tears. There I sat with a swollen face and sick child. She was finally asleep by 3:00am. What a night! Now she holds the title of "Bruiser Bragg."

Poop Woes (Gross Title)

2009-10-24T16:40:00.001-07:00

Okay...

Sorry for the gross title!!

I need your advice.

Sinclair pooped in the bathtub A-G-A-I-N! This is her 5th time (I've lost track). She's 17 months old. Should I spank her for doing this or just continue to remind her to not that do?

Apple Crisp

2009-10-23T17:38:00.000-07:00

Tonight, I gave baking a whirl... well, kind of. I found a recipe for apple crisp made in the microwave so I gave it a try. Here is the picture provided with the recipe.

I dug into it too quickly not remembering to take a picture. Anyways, it was yummy but I think I should have peeled the apples first. I am going to admit something really dumb "I don't know how to peel an apple!" I realized tonight that I had never done it. I guess I just assumed that I knew how but I always eat apples with the peeling on so it just didn't cross my mind.

So, any advice on how to peel an apple?

What a Weekend

2009-10-19T16:53:00.000-07:00

This weekend was E-X-H-A-U-S-T-I-N-G to say the least. I left on Friday evening to spend the weekend with my small group girls at our church retreat up in Jasper, GA. I drove myself since I needed to leave early on Sunday morning (reason to follow). The exciting thing about Friday was that my new glasses arrived in the mail just before I left. They are awesome! The best part was only paying $30 for them. They came in handy driving at night in the middle of north GA. I could actually see the road signs! The drive was pleasant until... I got LOST! The directions were difficult to read and I ended up wasting 40 minutes in the wrong direction (20 minutes each way). Then, I mis-read the last of the directions and circled the camp for more than 30 minutes completely balling my eyes out, being unable to catch my breath and almost throwing up. Can you say DRAMA QUEEN??? I see where Sinclair gets it. Scott was on the phone with me the whole time trying to direct me via Google and keep me calm. I was ready to turn around and drive home. I finally arrived after a 2 1/2 hour adventure (it only took me just over an hour to get home).

The weekend with my girls was great. They are seniors this year so it was our last time on this retreat. The retreat was all about studying God's word. They each have a hunger to know God more which was encouraging to see. It was super cold there but 3 of 5 girls did the zip-line into the freezing cold lake. CRAZY! I left early Sunday morning in order to get back to co-host my dear friend Kelly's baby shower. Kelly is due in the beginning of December and looks fantastic! I had a great time chatting with my friends and seeing adorable baby girl things.

But wait, there's more....

I left the shower to pick up Scott and Sinclair at his parents house (we only have one car so it was chaos coordinating cars this weekend) and was rear-ended while stopped at a stop light. My first accident happened at age 31. I got out of the car and all I could say was "Dude!!" I didn't say it mean but more of an "are you serious that you just did this" attitude. Amazingly, no damage was done. Our hitch protected our truck. Not even a scratch! So, I got his number just in case and drove on shaking and crying. I seriously have no tears left after this weekend!

I finally arrived at Scott's parents and was excited to see my little girl who had a great weekend with Daddy and her grandparents. I now feel like I need a day to recuperate from my insane weekend. Hopefully, this week will be much better!

No to the Paparazzi

2009-10-12T16:51:00.000-07:00

Sinclair wakes up fussy from most of her naps. Nothing was the same. I gave her a snack and thought it was a good time to snap a photo to send to her dad. I held the phone up in front of her and she immediately started waving her finger back and forth while saying "no no". So funny!

Makes Me Laugh

2009-10-11T10:07:00.000-07:00

Sinclair has the capability to make me laugh so hard! She ate mashed potatoes for lunch today and she LOVED them. She decorated herself in them and licked her plate clean. Then, we had to give her bath to clean the hair.

Then, we found a puppy costume in her closet and she LOVES it! She ran around the house and refused to take it off. SO CUTE!

Glasses

2009-10-06T16:49:00.000-07:00

I was blessed to be able to have laser eye surgery 5 1/2 years ago. Not wearing glasses or contacts ranks in top 5 greatest things in life in my opinion. Well... my eye sight is worsening mostly because my eyes changed because of pregnancy. Unfortunately, I can't get a touch up (free of course) until I'm done having babies. The doctor said that I need glasses when driving especially at night. So, in the meantime I ordered a pair of glasses online for only $24.95!! I can't wait to get them. Here's a picture of them:

Picky Eaters

2009-09-29T07:45:00.000-07:00

Sinclair has always been a GREAT eater. She loves food and can put it away. Have you ever seen What About Bob? If so, recall the scene were Bob is eating dinner with the fam and he says "mmm, mmm, mmm" after every bite. That is Sinclair. However, as of last Friday, she has become picky. She refuses yogurt and applesauce now. (and is very adamant about it!) Has anyone with kids ever faced this "all of the sudden picky eater phase"? If so, how did you handle it? Did you make her eat what you provided? I don't want to become a short-order chef. Did you discipline?

Word of the Day

2009-09-25T12:54:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, Sinclair added "no" to her vocabulary. She would say it here and there but it wasn't all the time. Then today happened. The word of the day must be "NO" brought you by the letters "N" and "O" because that is all she's said today.

MOM: Are you finished eating?
SINCLAIR: NO

MOM: Do you want this sticker?
SINCLAIR: NO

MOM: Do you want cheerios... graham crackers... puffs?
SINCLAIR: NO

This "no" is accompanied by the waving of arms. Let the good times begin :-)

Happy Anniversary

2009-09-21T17:01:00.000-07:00

Scott and I celebrated 4 years of marriage on the 17th. Scott surprised me and said that we should spend the night at a hotel in Atlanta to celebrate. I did some research and we decided on the Ritz Carlton downtown. I dropped Sinclair off at Gia Gia's house around lunch on Saturday and we headed downtown that afternoon. We had such a great time!! I really loved the hotel. It had just been renovated last year and it was so swanky. Its the kind of hotel that has valet parking and everyone greeted me as Mrs. Bragg. I felt so famous there.

We ate dinner at the Atlanta Grill.

Since it was our anniversary, they put us in a private booth secluded by a curtain. The table was covered with rose petals and they gave us a free dessert after our delicious dinner.

Part of our package included breakfast the next morning. It was also YUMMY! The funny thing is that they gave us another free dessert for our anniversary but we had to take it home given that it was 10:00am. Neither of us were up for chocolate that early in the morning.

I am so thankful for Scott and can't believe that he fits me so perfectly. I couldn't image doing life with any other man.

Sinclair and the Puppy

2009-09-16T08:02:00.000-07:00

I just thought I share this picture because it seems to convey the good life.

Here is a video of Sinclair and her puppy.

Video Time

2009-09-15T08:34:00.000-07:00

With my new iPhone 3GS I can now record video! I LOVE this phone!! Here is a little video of Sinclair and Tippy.

Labor Day

2009-09-10T12:11:00.000-07:00

I don't have much to report on other than we had a great weekend up in TN. We didn't leave until Saturday because Sinclair had her 15 month check-up on Friday. She was 23 lbs and in the 50-75%. I figured she weighed more because she is getting so heavy. She had her MMR shot, too. I thought about it a lot, but at the end of the day decided to trust my doctor and go ahead with the shot.

Sinclair LOVES going to Cleveland because she gets to play outside the entire time. She even had to have a quick bath in the sink before we could leave for Atlanta on Monday because she was just that dirty! I am terrible because I didn't take any pictures... even with my new iPhone!

Surprise Present

2009-09-04T17:35:00.000-07:00

I LOVE presents... make that surprise presents. I love them mostly because it meant that somebody thought of me all on their own. Today, I received a surprise present from my husband... a new iPhone!!! I am so utterly excited! Usually, I get the hand-me-downs in the electronic department. He got me the new white iPhone. It even takes video!

Then, tonight we went to Target after dinner and we got Sinclair a giant stuffed puppy. She LOVES puppies and her face lit up when she realized that she got the puppy. She "woofed" all the way home and continually gave the puppy hugs. See below.

Meal Planning

2009-09-04T08:31:00.000-07:00

Scott and I have been married for four years on September 17. I was really foreign to the kitchen when we first got married. After many episodes of 30 Minute Meals with Rachael Ray, I began to experiment with cooking. Now, I find myself cooking new meals all the time... not that they are all edible or tasty. Once Sinclair entered the scene, I realized that I needed to plan ahead when I came to cooking. I just don't have time (or the mental energy) to whip something up last minute and I don't want to rely on boxed pastas and/or frozen pizza the rest of my life. Plus, I am trying to save money when it comes to grocery shopping so I need to plan ahead for each meal and that way I don't find myself running out to the grocery store for one missing ingredient all the time. I recently read a blogpost about meal planning. I found it really interesting and insightful. I may even give her method a try. Check it out here.

Orange

2009-09-01T17:00:00.000-07:00

I have been swamped this week with work and it is only Tuesday! I love and hate weeks like this. I love being productive at work but at the same time I don't productive at home. I've miscalculated meals and grocery shopping which I hate. I feel like I'm one step ahead at home.

But...I enjoy my work at The reThink Group. If you didn't know, I write and create a curriculum and strategy for student ministry called XP3. I also create and project manage our new leadership curriculum called Orange Leaders. Side note...We picked the color orange on purpose. When you combine the colors red and yellow you get a brighter color, orange. That is what we want to do in family ministry. We want to combine the influence of the home (red) with the influence of the church (yellow) to have a greater impact (orange) on a child's life. Today, I was in a meeting all day brainstorming topic ideas for our upcoming Orange Conference. I love days like today where I feel like I contributed to something great.

The Unlikely Disciple

2009-08-30T16:51:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, a coworker gave me a book to read. It was "The Unlikely Disciple" by Kevin Roose. Here's the premise... Kevin traveled as an intern with the guy who wrote the book "The Year Living Biblically." Roose was a college student at Brown and decided that he wanted to experience life at an evangelical college so he enrolled in Liberty University for a semester. Roose posed as a Christian. He spent two weeks before classes started with his only Christian friend to be educated on the Christian sub-culture. He even picked up "Taming the Tongue for Dummies". While at Liberty, he joined the choir, a small group, had a prayer partner, and sought Christian counseling. His story is really insightful on how Christians are and viewed by outsiders. While he was there, he received the last interview with Jerry Faldwell before he died. I couldn't put this book down. If you're looking for a good book, I highly recommend this one.

Blog Post on Body. Beauty. Boys.

2009-08-27T11:54:00.000-07:00

I have a friend out in CA who is also an author and communicator. I first heard of her when I read her first book, The Divine Dance. What a fantastic book! She was only in college when she was first published... very impressive! We've developed a friendship over the past several years, and she even endorsed my book Body. Beauty. Boys. Recently, she found a few of my books in her garage and decided to have a contest on her blog in order to give them away. How cool that someone won my book! Anyways, she wrote a great post about my book and there were some great comments, too. Feel free to check it out here.

Red Shoes

2009-08-27T07:37:00.001-07:00

Sinclair has great hand-me-downs from her cousins John and Kate. Today, she wore one of Kate's outfits and John's red shoes. She was so proud of her red shoes! She ran into the bathroom where Scott was getting ready in order to show off her shoes. It was really cute.

Another Weekend Update

2009-08-25T16:54:00.000-07:00

Here I sit... without a clever title for this post. Oh well! I don't have much to report on other than just random bits of our life. Scott is working to complete our basement bathroom. I have been doing some online shopping (with some birthday money) and keeping up with Sinclair. I simply love each new day with her. She seems to be doing so many new things. She's gotten two new teeth in the past two weeks, so that hasn't been much fun. I have also been playing around with dropping down to one nap. She did great on Sunday, okay on Monday and then needed two naps today. So, I guess I'll just take this day by day for awhile.

Scott's parents came over for lunch on Sunday. I put an apron on Sinclair while I cooked and she LOVED it. She wore it for about an hour.

This morning, I put some peaches and blueberries on her tray and watched as she organized them. So, tonight at dinner I looked at her tray and she had organized everything again. Everything (bananas, blueberries, pasta, squash) had a section on the tray. I took a picture but it really didn't turn out well since she was almost finished eating. I'll try to get another shot soon.

In the meantime, here's a picture of her stacking her food on top of her cup.

Mini Boden

2009-08-21T07:33:00.001-07:00

I received a clothing catalog in the mail the other day. I was able to confiscate it before Scott through it away since he thinks I get too many catalogs in the mail. It was a catalog for a company called Mini Boden. These clothes are super cute... and super expensive. So, its window shopping for me. But I wanted to share with you these adorable little girl outfits for fall.

First Dentist Appointment

2009-08-20T17:04:00.001-07:00

I noticed something strange about Sinclair's mouth a couple of days ago. I took a closer look and realized that one of her teeth was chipped! It was one of the top ones. I have no idea how she did it. This made me feel like a terrible mom when I called the doctor's office and they needed to know how she did it. It is worse if they run into something or fall on something. I really have no idea! The doctor said she needed to see a Pediatric Dentist to make sure that it didn't damage her permanent tooth. So, today Sinclair went to the dentist for the first time. She did really, really well. Thankfully, it is a small chip and the tooth is okay. She only cried for the few seconds that they looked in her mouth. The crying was completely wiped away thanks to a balloon, sticker and new toothbrush. I hate to say that I am again a terrible mom because I have no pictures! She won't open her mouth wide enough and long enough for me to get a shot.

Baby Steals

2009-08-13T17:27:00.001-07:00

Okay... this post isn't about stealing babies! Its about a website called babysteals.com. A friend of mine, Lindsey, wrote about this site on her blog. It is incredible! Basically, they sell one item a day for at least 50% off. Items usually sell out by the end of the day. Yesterday, they had Dwell Studio weekender bags! Check it out here.

Weekend Update

2009-08-10T18:11:00.000-07:00

I sat here for a bit trying to come up with a clever title to this post but I've got nothing. I just basically wanted to share some pictures from our weekend. Friday, Sinclair got to have a play-date with her friend, Ryleigh. They were funny together. Sinclair had already eaten breakfast but insisted on eating Ryleigh's, too. This girl L-O-V-E-S to eat.

Saturday was the day of birthday parties. Sinclair loves to be sung Happy Birthday. You can sing it at any moment and she bursts into a big smile and claps her hands. We celebrated her friend, Vivianne, first. Sinclair was so good at the party. She carried around a corn of the cob the whole time. Some babies need pacifiers. Some need corn cobs. She tried to play with a little 3-year old boy and he kept pushing her away. But she came coming back for more... my little determined girl.

That night, we went to Gia Gia and Papou's house to celebrate Scott and my birthdays. Sinclair's cousin, Sydney, was there. Sydney is 3 months older and was pretty shy. Sinclair acted that she ruled the place! Here are some pictures of them playing with the bubbles.

Today, she played with Lauren at Kristen's house. I have to brag on Sinclair for a bit. She developed some separation anxiety when I started leaving her a couple days a week, but she now seems to be over it. She totally is fine with me leaving and actually waves good-bye. Today, she was so excited to see Lauren. That made me so happy! Lauren put her hair up in a cute little ponytail today. Here are pics of today:

checking in on Baby Sawyer

Teaching Truths to Children

2009-08-06T17:19:00.000-07:00

I feel the weight of raising godly children every day. I always wonder how Sinclair will learn to love God with all her heart. I know that modeling it for her is part of it. And teaching her is also part of it. But sometimes I get tripped up in the how part of teaching her. I have taught teenagers and women biblical truths for years but have never had to teach a one year old.

Deut 6:5-9 says: "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."

This is what I want to do with Sinclair. I want to teach her about God when we sit, when we walk, when we lie down and when we get up. I want to make Him known to her. My mom is a great example of this. She helped me memorize Scripture before I could read. She would write the verse on a card and draw pictures to illustrate the words. I want to do that with Sinclair.

A friend's wife has a blog that I recently checked out. She has all kinds of cool handmade things for sale, too, on the site. I came across this post today and I love it. She created a prayer pail to teach her daughter the spiritual discipline of prayer. I think I'm going to try to be crafty and create one, too.

So, any suggestions on how you teach your children about God?

Old Lessons Learned Again

2009-08-04T17:29:00.000-07:00

I was reminded of an age old lesson all over again tonight. I don't know about you, but I sure have faced some disappointments along the way in life. From not making cheerleading in high school to tennis failures to dating scenarios to work. We all face disappointments. Disappointments come when you are left wanting. Hopes unreached, desires unmet. Somewhere along the line, God taught me how to handle disappointments. We have a choice to make when something disappointing happens. We can choose to wallow or we can choose to see it from God's perspective. Years ago, I read a book by Kay Author called As Silver Refined and she taught that when disappointments come you must out of obedience say...

DISAPPOINTMENT = HIS APPOINTMENT

She said to take the "D" away and replace it with the word "HIS" so that we get the above phrase. Tonight, I received some disapointing news. I had been hoping for something big. Praying for something big. Waiting for something big. And the answer after months was no. My first response is one of, "Well, I knew I wasn't good enough." But then, I sat still and remembered. I remembered how God has worked in my life. I remembered the doors He's opened and the ones He's closed. He is one to be trusted. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart..." (Prov 3:5) That Hebrew word for trust means that the rug won't be pulled out from under you. Therefore, I choose to remember that this disappointment is His appointment for my life. I know that phrase can sound trite and my heart has a hard time believing it in the beginning, but when I look back and remember on what He's already done, I can see it's true.

So, I don't know what you are facing as you read this, but maybe, just maybe, you will be encouraged. And mostly I wrote this post because I needed to remind myself of this principle.

New Friend, Sawyer

2009-08-04T08:22:00.000-07:00

My good friend, Kristen, had baby Sawyer 5 weeks ago. Her sister, Lauren, keeps Sinclair for me two days a week. Lauren will keep Sawyer, too, once Kristen goes back to work. So, lately she's been taking Sinclair over to Kristen's house and here are some pictures of Sinclair. I love how she is so interested in Sawyer. When he whines, she says "meow". I'm pretty sure she thinks he's a kitten!

31

2009-08-03T17:20:00.000-07:00

I turned 31 on Saturday. I can't even believe that I am 31. I don't think I ever imagined being at this point in my life. We went to TN for the weekend to celebrate ME. If you know me, I love to celebrate my birthday! In fact, I've told Scott that we need to continue celebrating for the next week. We had such a great weekend. Sinclair absolutely loves it there. I feel like this was the first time that she was completely herself. It usually takes her awhile to acclimate herself somewhere because she is so interested in taking in all the details of the new surroundings. But this time, she acted like herself for the git-go. She was so funny and enjoyed being around everyone. I chose to allow her to stay up past her bedtime each night yet ironically she woke up early each morning. Go figure! Friday night after my birthday party, she took an extra long bath while I talked with her aunt Christy. I looked at her squatting in the tub with a serious face on and realized quickly that she had gone "Number 2" in the tub! YUCK!!! What a great ending to the party LOL.

I heard from so many people this weekend and even got to see my dear friend Heather face to face! All in all, 31 is off to a good start.

I don't have any pictures of the trip but here is a picture that Lauren (she keeps Sinclair twice a week) took of her today.

Do you know the Muffin Woman?

2009-07-22T11:20:00.001-07:00

I don't know what's up with me, but I've been on a muffin kick lately. I found a blog that has tons of recipes and they are mostly organized by the South Beach Diet (not that I'm dieting but its nice to find some low carb recipes). Her egg muffins recipe looked tasty. I tried it out yesterday with some crumbled bacon. I forgot to add shredded cheese and the spike seasoning. I must say that they didn't turn out quite like I wanted. Here is a picture and the picture doesn't look really tasty either! Not sure if I'll categorize it as a failure or not. Its edible but just not super tasty.

Today, I made pumpkin muffins from scratch. I can't believe I made it from scratch! I totally feel like Martha Stewart! I got the recipe here from 5dollardinners.com and they are YUMMY!!! Who knows what I'll whip up next?!?

Caught on Camera

2009-07-21T07:45:00.000-07:00

We don't have a video monitor because the one we purchased back before she was born picked up someone else's baby! That was a little weird so instead we put in a webcam. That way, we are the only ones who can see her since it requires a password. I peaked in on her this morning during her nap to see if she had fallen asleep and here is what I saw.

This just made me smile and giggle! I love that her little legs are curled up.