Im Still Here...

I have not gone MIA...
We're still here, we've just been dealing with some computer issues this week and I'm unable to load any pictures from my camera on here. boo.
Hopefully we'll have this thing fixed soon, because I have much to tell you. Mostly about our FABULOUS trip to Gatlinburg this past week/weekend...so much FUN.
Wait for it...a real post is coming soon.

"Jesus Will Clean It Up"

This morning, as usual, I sat with Sawyer at the dining room table while she ate her cereal. We have some of our sweetest conversations in the morning over breakfast. Once she was finished, I got up and started toward the kitchen for a napkin to wipe up her little milky mess, and she said, "Momma? Are you gonna clean this up?"
I said, "I am, I just have to get a paper towel first."
She then says, without even a hint of a smile, "No, Mom, Jesus will clean it up!"
I about died laughing, but I contained myself long enough to call Preston in the room and have her tell him who was going to be cleaning her mess up that morning. She told him the exact same thing, and he of course thought it was the funniest thing ever.
I suppose I could have informed her that Jesus could definitely clean up a lot of other "messes," but that her milky cereal mess wasn't going to be one of them. I didn't though. Just hearing her even talk about Jesus is the best thing EVER, and I like the idea of her thinking he can do anything.
Anyhow, that just made my morning...
The things they come up with!

Why Im Extra Happy Today...

Romans 8:31-39
What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: " For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Sawyer Loves Her Some Cameryn...

Wednesday, Cameryn came to spend the day with Sawyer and I! Her momma (my best friend, Jordan) was trying to recover from a surgery she had last week, so we were happy to whisk her away to come hang out with us for a while.
As Cameryn gets older, its even more fun to watch them play together...it's just neat seeing them literally grow up together!
Mom even came by for a little while to visit with us after nap time, which I greatly appreciated, because its a whole different ball game with two little ones! We had a great afternoon...the girls were so good, and I even got to take some sweet pictures of them together! Oh, and I also discovered that Sawyer is obsessed with helping Cameryn put her "binky" back in her mouth...so cute.

Why "Sawyer"...

This past week I had three different people ask me how I decided on the name "Sawyer."
It's actually funny because I didn't choose that name until very late in my pregnancy, and I'm a real planner. Ive said before how I was convinced it was a boy, so we had all the boy names figured out pretty early on. We had it narrowed down between Maddox, Grayson, Beau, Hayden, Reid, and Pierce...and we finally decided if we had a little guy his name would be Pierce Michaux (that's Preston's middle name) Petersen.
When we found out she was a little girl, we had picked out several names including Paisly, Raegan, Piper (although I never got Preston to like that one,) Lily (Preston's favorite,) Adair, Paige, and Ava. It was pretty much set that her name was going to be Paisly Adair Petersen...until I went to the bookstore one day, when I was 35 weeks pregnant. I was sitting there looking through baby books, and in one particular book under "unisex baby names" I saw "Sawyer." I thought it was different and I really liked it, so I called Preston (and Mom) right then to see what they thought. They both loved it, so that was all I needed to hear. Paige was one of the other girl names that Preston really liked so we finally chose, Sawyer Paige Petersen.
Why Sawyer? Because its different, and I like that when I call her name, 10 other children don't turn around. Because it has a sort of "southern" feel to it, and I'm one of those girls who loves all things southern. Because I could see her with that name when she's 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 years old, not just when she's a baby. Because It doesn't rhyme with anything obnoxious. And because as soon as I saw her for the first time, I knew it was just "right" for her. Preston and I have said to each other several times since she's come along, "I can just never ever picture her having any other name...she's such a Sawyer."
So, like I said, I realize its very uncommon, and when (especially older) people look at me strangely when I tell them her name, I just have to laugh to myself. I used to get offended or upset about them not "getting it," or liking it, but now I could care less. I have just as many people, if not more, who absolutely love her name...and that's great to.
So, for all of those who already read this blog, or who will ever read it in the future... that's the long version of "Why Sawyer?"

Four Years Ago Today...

I married my very own "prince charming" four years ago today. What an adventure we've had together! Having him for my husband has made my life so much sweeter that I ever thought it could be. God knew exactly what I needed when he placed Preston in my life...I really am so blessed to be his wife.
Happy Anniversary, Preston...I LOVE YOU!!!

Oh, For the Love of Balloons!

Sawyer woke up in a rotten mood today. Kind of whiny and clingy....just not herself.
After visiting the new Target (which was fantastic) to pick up a few things, we made a stop at one of Sawyer's favorite places...Half Price Bookstore.
We stayed a while and read some books, and everything was hunky-dory until we went to leave. She started crying about not getting a balloon. Not the kind of obnoxious, fake, no-tear cry that kids (including Sawyer) sometimes do when they want something and can't get it. No, this was a pitiful, tears-popping out-of her-eyes, truly heartbroken cry. And I was confused. Why in the world was she expecting to get a balloon at the bookstore? Then I remembered. The last time we were there, probably a few weeks ago, the woman at the counter gave her one of the balloons that were floating on the displays. She loved that yellow balloon...took it everywhere with her until it ran out of helium.
So, I felt bad for her because she was already having a crummy day and there was no balloons at the bookstore to lift her spirits.
Lucky for me (and Sawyer) there is a Factory card outlet right next door to the bookstore, so we went in and had them blow up two helium balloons for us. I let her pick out the two colors she wanted (there were way too many options, but she chose in about 6 seconds) and you should have seen her face when the lady handed them to her. It was great.
She's played with those balloons ALL DAY LONG. Literally, I don't think she's let them out of her sight (or hands) except to take her nap. She even held them when she had lunch and dinner. The balloons seriously brightened her day. Isn't it funny the little things that kids take so much pleasure in? She was happy, and I was happy that such a small thing brought her so much joy. Not that you should always buy your kids things to keep them happy...but you know what I mean.
And that, friends, is why the $1.50 I spent on those two balloons is the best purchase Ive made in quite some time.

All In Knots...

This is what Sawyer's hair looked like when she woke up Sunday morning...
I know...its atrocious. I'll wait while you scream in horror, because that's almost what I did when I saw it.
Okay, so Preston had just gotten her out of bed, and I could hear him in her room, say "Oh my gosh." Never good. He brought her out to the living room and said, "Re, (that's what he and my Dad call me, but that's another post) look at her hair!"
The back was in huge knots...all matted down. As you can see in these pictures, it looked like the back of her hair got caught in an airplane propeller. I took pictures from several angles so you could get the full effect.
It really isn't unusual for the back of her hair to look a little wild when she wakes up...Ive actually come to expect a small knot and some frizz. Just nothing of this proportion. When Sawyer was about a year old, she started putting her hand on the back of her hair and kind of twirling it almost every time she sucked her thumb...which is usually when she's very tired. She still does it now, and I guess she actually does it while she's asleep, hence the awesome hairdo.
Luckily, the knot came out with a little work, but her hair was still pretty crazy so we rocked the pigtails to church! I'm hoping she doesn't continue in this little "habit" for much longer because I'm afraid all of her hair in the back is going to break of from the twirling and she'll have some sort of reverse mullet. Now that would stink.

Thankful, Yes Indeed...

I'm thankful at this particular moment because...

Our trip to Gatlinburg is less than two weeks away. I...CANNOT...WAIT.

This Wednesday will mark 4 years of marriage to the most incredible man I know.

I have the sweetest friends around.

Women's Bible Study this back on this Thursday...YAY. YAY. YAY.

Preston and I got to sleep in until 8:30 this morning...muahhhaahhaa!

Fall is finally here....have I mentioned it's my favorite?

It's Saturday, and I got to spend the ENTIRE day with my two favorite people in the world.

I'm reminded, every day, how richly God has blessed my life. How He graciously watches over, protects, and provides for my family...even down to the smallest details. How He has given me more than I could ever ask for...far more than I deserve.

Quiet...

Right now it's 3:45 in the afternoon, and I'm sitting in my house...alone...in the quiet. It feels strange. Gloriously strange. Sawyer's Mimi just came to pick her up. Preston and I have a wedding to go to tonight so Mom said she would just keep her overnight!
I'll pause now for a...HALLELUJAH!
Right now, I'm going to go sit on my couch and watch Oprah (no Curious George, Sid the Science Kid, or Sesame Street) while I put my makeup on...without having to try and keep Sawyer's little hands out of it!
I'm so thankful for my parents :) I'll be missing Sawyer before long, and driving as fast as I can to get her in the morning...but for right now, I'll enjoy this "quiet time."

Face Lift...

Okay, so my blog might be looking weird for the next few days...bare with me guys. I needed a little change, a "blog face lift" if you will, so hopefully it'll turn out the way I want it to when I'm finished!

"Look, Im a Baby!"

For whatever reason, after Sawyer's bath she always wants us to wrap her up in a towel (like this) and pretend she's a baby. Every night she asks her to hold her up and look at herself in the mirror, and then (without fail) she exclaims, "Look, I'm a baby! Waaa! Waaaaaaa!" She just gets the biggest kick out of it. Tonight, Daddy caught us playing "baby" right after bath time...

Raindrops Keep Fallin on My Head...

We got Sawyer this hot pink umbrella for her birthday this year, and she loves it. She carries it all over the house, but I have to say, I don't think we've ever actually let her use it for its intended purpose and take it out in the rain.
The other morning, it had just started to sprinkle outside, and I thought "what the heck?" We grabbed her umbrella and jacket, and headed outside! Sawyer thought it was just the best thing ever. She played in the yard for a few minutes, until the rain started coming down a bit harder and I told her we had to go inside. Let me tell you...ALL You-know-What broke lose when she had to come in...I mean, she was not a happy camper. Oh, well...it was fun while it lasted!

I LOVE This Girl...

Here We Go AGAIN...

Yesterday was great...and what made it even more great is that I finally got to use my gift certificate to Z Spa and get my full body massage that Preston gave me for Mothers Day. As always, it was heaven, and after I left I felt incredibly relaxed.
So after my spa trip I went with mom to grab a bite to eat, and then I headed over to pick up Sawyer. Dad was kind enough to watch her while I got my "zen" on...ha ha ha. Preston had soccer practice last night, and after that he had a work function to go to, so it was just Sawyer and I for the rest of the evening. On the car-ride home, I told her that since she ate really good for dinner she could have an ice cream cone when we got to the house. She was excited, and told me she wanted to eat it out on the side porch...sounded good to me.
Once we came in, I sat all of our stuff down and made her an ice cream cone and we headed back outside. We sat out there for a good twenty minutes, until the weather got cooler and it was almost dark. I went to open the door to go back inside....it...was...LOCKED. I ran to the back door, just hoping that by some chance it was left unlocked, but of course not.
So, I'm sitting there with no phone, no car keys, its almost dark outside, Preston isn't coming home anytime soon, I'd just watched my neighbor leave, and the other one wasn't home. The only thing Sawyer had on was a huge tee-shirt of my Dad's (they had been painting outside when I picked her up.)
I had no option. I went to the same basement window...the exact one that we've had to break 2 other times because of this same thing! I pushed on it a little bit, hoping that it might miraculously pop right out without breaking, but it wasn't budging. Meanwhile, Sawyer is standing behind me, barefoot, in the cold grass saying she has to go potty.
Oh, and did I mention I had on flip-flops? Since there were no bricks (or anything else that would've worked) around to break the window, I had to kick it in. It worked, and I didnt cut my foot off, but there were tiny (and not so tiny) shards of glass EVERYWHERE. Luckily, I found an old shirt in my car to lay across the bottom of the window so my stomach didn't get ripped to shreds while I attempted to shimmy through the window (backwards) down into our basement. There was nothing below the window for me to step down on, so I just kind of hoisted myself down, and let me tell ya'll...I was scared to death, and it was NOT pretty. I pinched a nerve in my back, and meanwhile, Sawyer, bless her little heart, is standing there in the yard looking at me like I'm crazy.
Once I landed in the basement, I yelled for Sawyer to go to the side porch, and I ran up the stairs to meet her. Mission accomplished...
After the third time of this happening, you would have thought that I'd learned my lesson. However, it happened again this afternoon. I mean, honestly, can you believe it? Because I cant. Lucky for me, the window was already wide open, so it was a lot easier this time!
What's on the agenda for this weekend? Getting a spare key made and hiding it somewhere around here...I cannot do this...again. Oh, and I think I need another massage.

Pretty Pajama's

Sawyer got some snazzy new pj's from her Mamaw "Well-Well" for her birthday, and since the weather was quite chilly the other night, we decided to give them a try! I think she looks way too sweet in them.