Here we are up to our eyeballs in rain the last few days so I thought I would post a few pictures from when we were having sunnier weather last week!!!

Have you ever been to Earth Fare? It’s a cute, relatively small “healthy supermarket” chain which happens to be very close to our new home. When we moved here from NC, we were happy to see an Earth Fare since we had one in Raleigh and any taste of “home” was welcome!

They have an A-MAZ-ING deal going on right now! If you hop on over to their website and join their email list–(go to Welcome Home) they will give you a coupon for a FREE dinner (*with a ten-dollar purchase) The free dinner consists of one whole chicken (from the meat dept.); a 1-lb. bag of organic, whole baby carrots (from the produce section of course!) and One lb. of russet smashed potatoes (already prepared in the deli area)

WE found this to be a terrific deal, even with having to spend $10.00– which we spent on some of their other great produce deals, by the way. They have a good produce department.

So we came home, roasted the chicken in our oven for an hour, roasted those carrots up with cherry tomatoes and a chopped leek, (YUM!) and heated the mashed potatoes. DELICIOUS! AND, we now have bones to make stock and chicken for another recipe!
If you live in either, the Augusta area, Raleigh-Durham, Columbia, Charleston, Tallahassee or one of the other locations… consider this deal!

And now for your viewing pleasure… here is what we did with our free meal:

I couldn’t pick just one…

 I worried about my daughter nearly every day of the 9 months I was pregnant with her. All parents worry to some degree, but I worried to a fault. To a sinful fault. All of my fear was centered around one central idea, losing her to SIDS. I read as much information I could get my hands on, I devoured any literature I could find, all the while being overly concerned about what I could DO to keep her safe. Then she came and we did everything we could to keep her safe. We kept her in a wearable blanket that zipped up, we kept her in our room for much longer than I would like to admit, we checked on her during the night–boy, did we check on her! Every night that we laid her down, we prayed over her that the Lord would hold her safe in His arms. We did just about every single thing that the AAP recommends. Literally, she did not get to sleep with a blanket or anything until one week before her first birthday. I was hardcore about it. I remember giving her a blanket a few days before her birthday and she just snuggled right under it, as if to say, “Finally!”

I remember when she got to be about 8 months old, we would put her to bed on her back and she would flip over to her tummy before going to sleep. I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that a couple of times I would wait until she fell asleep and flip her back over, only to check on her later that night and flip her over again! Eventually, my sweet husband gently helped me realize that if she is strong enough to flip back and forth like that with ease, she is probably okay to choose her own sleeping position. (we still put her to bed on her back though!)

I certainly wouldn’t take back anything we did and I do not feel that we were anything but first time parents doing what first time parents do. And actually, somewhere down the road when we have another newborn– I cannot say that I will change anything about how we try to protect them. I sincerely pray though, that my mindset will be one of more peace and trust instead of nagging fear and doubt when it comes to the safety of my child. Because some where in the last year I felt the freedom of having a toddler instead of a baby and how wonderful it was not to worry so much at night… and then I realized all of the many, MANY things that “could” happen. And in that moment, as I thanked the Lord for keeping her safe thus far, I was reminded of the very true fact that our safety comes from God himself and not from the AAP. It’s very important to be educated. God has placed us in the position to protect our children from whatever harm we can– but they belong to HIM. He has a plan for their lives. He is in complete control. And even now– as she is nearly two years old– as I sit here writing this post, I praise Him every time I hear her little “sleeping sighs” through the monitor and rest that she is in HIS capable hands.

“Then Job answered the Lord, and said, I know that Thou canst do all things, And that no purpose of Thine can be thwarted.”   Job 42:1