The Good Life

Matt and I have been on the hunt for a truck for over a year. If you know my husband, you know that he is kind of a "see it, do it, now" kinda guy (I feel like having Colton has helped slow him down, somewhat)! We have looked at so many different trucks. New to old, Ford to Chevy, 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton, diesel, gas, black, red, long bed, short bed...and the list goes on. If you've been "used" truck shopping lately, you know that it's very difficult to find a good one. Most people who have a truck that's worth keeping do just that, keep it. The other trucks are used up and over-priced. I can't tell you how many times I've said to Matt "don't settle for that one, the right one will come along...just be patient". A couple of Sunday's ago, we were out driving around "house hunting" and we drove down the wrong road. While looking for a place to turn around, we passed a house that had a GMC truck for sale in the front yard. So,...

Thanks in part to a website called  Pinterest , I have so many "DIY" projects on my "to do list". I don't know if I'll ever get to do all of them, but I plan to try... The dresser project that I started last weekend was completed today! I still have two more pieces of the set that I would like to refinish. My parents got me the bedroom suite back in 1994, when we moved to Indiana. It's hard to believe that it's already 19 years old. A few more years and it will be an antique. I wanted to hand the set down to my kid one day and when I found out we were having a boy, I had to either keep it and hope for a girl or think of a way to make the set more appealing to a boy (the current finish is white-wash with flower decals on the drawers). So after rolling around all types of ideas from painting it to just taking off the flowers, I finally decided to stain it a darker color. I keep saying "I" because this big project was all my idea. I told M...

I have 19 first cousins. There are 17 on my Dad's side and 2 on my Mom's side. Out of those 19 cousins, only 7 of them are female. On my Mom's side, females rule - my Mamaw & Papaw Bishop have all granddaughters - my sister, my cousins Sara & Mary and myself. Males seem to dominate our family on my Dad's side, at least for all of my Dad's siblings. Each one of my Dad's 7 siblings have at least one son...my Dad is the only one who got lucky enough to have only daughters. :-) I'm so interested in family traits, similarities, behaviors and "trends". I love when I can see a glimpse of different family members in my own son and I love to observe it in other family members too. As I start to think about having another child (not just yet, but one day :)) I like evaluating the family trends (of course I also factor in Matt's family) and like guessing at the chances of what sex our next child will be. On my Mom's side, we don't have...

I'm sore today, but it's a good kind of sore (I guess)! I had my first clogging night post baby on Monday night. I only taught for 2 hours, but it was a solid 2 hours, and it felt great to get back at it. I do think my feet have grown since my pregnancy because my clogging shoes (that fit perfectly before baby) are a little snug. It's amazing to me how quickly I have gotten out of shape, but besides a few sore muscles and very sore feet, I think the first night went really well. Yesterday I met my Aunt Paula over at my Mamaw & Papaw Shelton's house. My Papaw has had a case of Shingles  and since he has been somewhat contagious, my Mamaw has been sleeping in a separate bedroom. The only other bedroom in their house is upstairs and their only bathrooms are downstairs - so Aunt Paula and I went to help Mamaw clean out a room downstairs for another bedroom. I'm not going to lie, it was a bigger task than I thought, but we reached the outcome we were hopin...

Yesterday was Father's Day. I'm so thankful that I was raised in a home with a Dad who was a leader and who lead not just with words but by example. My Dad is the perfect combination of hard as nails and soft as butter (depending on the situation), he has taught me how to take care of myself but also how I should be taken care of. My Dad has helped shape me into the person I am today and I will forever be grateful for this wonderful man. I'm equally thankful that I have a husband who is such a wonderful Dad to our son. It was so awesome watching Matt with Colton this weekend. On Saturday, they spent the day together doing "guy stuff" (I guess that's what they were doing, they were gone most of the early afternoon)! :-) On Sunday the three of us enjoyed the day together. I watched Matt with Colton as he took on bedtime duties, from bath to lights out, and it warms my heart to see their relationship growing every day. I'm thankful that Colton has a Dad w...

Today was a good day - it was just ordinary - but it was a good day. Matt was on "daddy duty" today and took Colton out and about while I cleaned at home. It was Colton's first trip away from home without Mommy. I guess at 5 months, it's way past time for that, huh? I'm also guessing that they had a great time because Colton was out like a light and Matt crashed on the couch as soon as they walked in the door! :-) I'm so thankful that Colton has such a wonderful daddy. With the guys out of the house, I was able to get all of the laundry done (a miracle in itself), clean, write a clogging routine (I love saying this), edit music and catch up on some CMT videos. It was great! Maybe just having some time all to myself at home is what made today a good day. My Uncle Pat and Aunt Teri invited us over to their house this afternoon for a cookout. My cousin Ryan's birthday was yesterday so it was nice to get together to celebrate with him. I remember Ter...

It's amazing how just when I feel like giving up, God gives me enough strength to keep going! This doesn't just happen in one area of my life, it's everywhere...all the time. I was beyond frustrated with Colton's sleeping habits (or lack there of) and when I finally just gave up control and accepted it for what it was, he started sleeping like a champ! Just when I was about to give up hope of Matt finding a job to provide security so that we can find a home and finally "settle" somewhere, God opened a door for us. I am absolutely certain that God's plan is far better than any "plan" I could ever dream up. After much searching, exploring, trial and error, Matt and I have decided that we will be settling in Greeneville, TN for a while longer (hopefully much longer). After waiting almost 6 weeks to finalize a "start date" with a job in Chattanooga, Matt decided to follow up on a job opening here in Greeneville. We felt like if Greenevill...

Matt & I  - Little Rock, Arkansas Texas Road Trip 2008 5 years ago (this month), I went on my first road trip with Matt. Matt's Mom was moving to Texas and I decided to ride along with Matt as he pulled a trailer from Indiana (he stopped in Tennessee to pick me up) to Texas. I have heard that it's a long trip but we were so busy getting know each other that the time flew by. I have to say that being stuck in a vehicle with somebody for that long is a good way to figure out if you like them or not. :-) Lucky for us, it was just the first of MANY road trips to come. 4 years ago (next month), I moved to Indiana to be with Matt. It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made, but it was definitely the right one! Moving to Indiana helped me grow in so many ways. Living in Indiana allowed me to get experience with a new job, meet new friends and build memories to last a lifetime. Matt & I - Wedding Day June 11, 2010 3 years ago (today) I married my best ...

This past weekend was one of my favorite weekends of the year - our Shelton Family Reunion. Even though we were missing several "regulars", we still had a great time. The reunion is actually on Sunday, but we have made it a weekend-long, camping tradition. Normally, Matt and I tent camp, but with Colton being 5 months old (and it being his first camping/reunion experience) we - quickly - accepted my Uncle Pat's offer of using his camper this year. We packed up and headed to Shelton Laurel on Friday, around noon. We got settled in, did some fishing and enjoyed roasting hot dogs and  S'mores around the fire before the rain set in. Tropical Storm Andrea was busy stirring up trouble down in Florida, so I'm not sure if it was Andrea or the storm from the West that brought the rain Friday night - but rain it did. It started raining around 8pm on Friday and (I'm not joking) did not stop until 5am Saturday. Lucky for us, we were in a camper but ...

The first few weeks with Colton were kind of a blur. I'm so glad that I have been keeping a "journal" through this blog so that I can go back and recall the different milestones. Now that I'm getting some sleep, I don't feel as much like a walking zombie and I can actually enjoy/remember things as we go along. :-) Each milestone has been exciting. I love watching Colton learn and grow. It's amazing how much he interacts with us each day. You can ask him "where's Mommy?" and he looks right at me. Talk about melting your heart...wow! Since Colton is very interactive (and since he's been eating solid food since he was a little over 3 months old), it's hard for me to remember that he is just 5 months old. Today, we got a surprise milestone and I have to say that I'm not quite as ready for it as I thought I would be. Today, Colton has a (partial) tooth. The bottom right tooth has finally made its appearance. I'm so thankful -for Co...

As I put Colton in bed tonight, I thought to myself "so much has changed in the past 5 months". After I left him in his crib and walked out of the room, I was thinking back to the first night we had him at home with us. I was so happy, terrified, exhausted and unsure what to do with him. After 5 months of (so much) trial and error, I finally feel like I'm past the terrified and unsure what to do stage and heading into the "having fun" stage. :-) Now that Colton is sleeping through (most) nights, it makes being a Mom so much more FUN! He has always brought so much joy to my life but I was so tired and busy trying to figure out what was "wrong" with him that I didn't feel like I was truly able to enjoy the time like I wanted to. It's amazing what a little bit of sleep can do for a person. I think he is really enjoying the sleep thing now too - he is such a happy baby. What's new at 5 months? Well, like I mentioned before, he is sleeping...