Year in Review

Last post I wrote, Peri was 3 months. Now she is 15 months! It has been approximately a year since my last update. That is quite the gap but I'm not even sorry. Life happens and we have been enjoying every single moment with no added pressure to document all the details. There has not been time to sit and write. My free time these days consist of chasing a toddler around. I'm okay with that. Our life is full and busy but full and busy means we have community, friendships, priorities, work, family and so much more.

I went back to work full time (Media Specialist) and Peri began daycare full time. That was a little rough of a transition for me even though daycare is literally just steps away from Todd's desk. For the first time in my life, I felt like my heart was ripped in half. Looking back now, I remember dwelling on how by the time I would pick P up from daycare, we would have 3 maybe 4 hours before she would be in bed and another day just like that would begin so quickly. I would get so focused on how short of a time span that was to the point that when I was finally with her, I felt paralyzed watching the clock knowing her bedtime was coming and I wouldn't see her again until 4:00 the next day. Then I'd cry as I put her to sleep and worry that I wasn't being the best mom or wife or librarian or friend I could be because I felt so stretched.

I knew I had to get past that. I started thinking about how one day P would be in public school anyways, just like all the kids I teach. Their parents have to let go everyday and trust them with people like me. I started seeing my students in an entire new perspective. When kids were sad, I started giving them mom hugs because I hope that one day someone does the same for my girl. I can't always be with her. I stopped watching the clock. I put my phone down when we were together. I soaked in every single second that I was with her. I let go of my expectations. Failure is only what you perceive it to be in your mind. I also spoke up about it. I had to share how I felt with others rather than trying to look so "put together" all the time. By speaking up, I gained some great perspectives. While explaining how hard it was to leave each morning for work without seeing my baby, one fellow mother told me from her own experience that the opposite is just as hard. Her child is awake each day and hearing the words "mommy don't go" will certainly rip your heart to pieces. Another mom told me it never gets easier. And another fellow teacher mom teared up as she told me about how precious summers are together with your babies; how each year they are a little bit bigger and into new things but how wonderful it is that we have that advantage to be a stay at home mom for a few months each year.

These conversations helped me understand all moms are similar. We are all in this together. I'm not alone.

This tension of balancing all my life roles got better with time and was short lived, praise Jesus. I once heard on a podcast that being a parent means you have to adjust your routines every 6 months. This is so true and I hope I never forget that! The seasons of parenting are short lived so I really want to enjoy the journey in the here and now. If something sucks, I have to remind myself, it probably won't always be like this. Embrace the mess. But I did have to find a few shortcuts as working mom and be okay with letting go a little.

Harris Teeter online shopping became my best pal. Eating out is just fine, especially if that means my family is happy and fed. Bath times don't have to happen every night because sometimes extra quality time and snuggles are more important. When your friends have a late dinner party, your husband is working and you desperately need adult time, you just go (and make a pallet on the floor for your child because you forgot the pack n play; true life). Rising crazy early to spend time in God's word because that truth is what will sustain me throughout the day. Learning it is okay to be away from my baby, free of guilt, to take care of myself whether that is exercising or an occasional manicure. Not cleaning the house (gasp) as frequently as I used to. Saying no to things (this was a hard one for me). Ask other moms questions. I could go on and on seriously.

But I'll stop, for now. This year really has been wonderful. I'm thankful for our life of three and everything God is teaching me in the process. Some highlights for us have been:

-extended family vacations
-Per's 1st Christmas & 1st birthday
-starting and leading an eGroup
-Child dedication
-Todd turning 30
-celebrating 6 years of marriage
-a visit to Walt Disney World

For now, we plan to enjoy these slow summer days together as we gear up for another season that I'm sure will include new routines and adjustments. Shout out to my husband, Todd, the calm to my chaos that keeps me steady, loves us deeply and helps me out without ever complaining - I love you.

I hope to blog a little more. I always say that but it really does feel good to put life on paper screen, be vulnerable and reflect on God's goodness. So really, I hope I come back here more often.

Follow my journey on Instagram at sara.c.davis for pictures and other daily shenanigans.

Peri is One Month Old!

You know that saying "time flies?" It is SO true! We can't believe it has already been one month since we welcomed Peri Kathryn into the world. She brings us so much joy and we are so honored to be her parents.

Peri Kathryn at 1 Month:

Weight: {We find out Friday at the doctor so I'll come back and update...stay tuned}

Eating: She loves to eat and has no problem finishing a bottle. Currently she is taking anywhere from 3-4 ounces every 3 hours on average but can go much longer at night (thank you Lord)!

Nicknames: Lovebug (me), Peanut, Sweet P, Periwinkle (Todd), Periwinkle (Todd's mom), PK (Todd's stepdad)

Sleeping: This little gal loves her sleep! She still sleeps a lot during the day but even from day one coming home, she seems to understand what night is (again, thank you Lord). She will take a bottle around midnight and can make it anywhere from 3-5 hours without waking, takes another bottle and goes straight back to sleep with no fuss. However, daylight breaks and she is ready to rock and roll for the day so no sleeping in for us.

Diapers: She is now in size 1 and I almost shed a tear when she moved out of newborn diapers. To me it was one of those first milestones and realizations that my baby girl is growing!

Clothing: She actually still fits in some newborn clothing but we have just started entering into more 3 month clothing. I'm having a blast finding good deals on cute outfits! Dressing a girl is so fun and I'm in the process of learning how to either make bows or find them cheap online. A girl must accessorize right?!

Social: Peri just started trying to smile today. Could be gas but she did it very often today and had the cutest smirks on her face when I did baby talk to her.

Trips/Outings: At just a few days old we took her to the Elevation Staff Easter party called The Hop. The staff are family to us and since it feels like a big family reunion, we just had to take her. No worries, nobody touched her. Around two weeks, she made her first day trip to Asheville because Todd's grandmother died. Peri was a great traveler and slept all day but was awake at the funeral. We have taken her several other places around town as needed for errands and I just started taking her out on my own. There is so much to think about when you take a baby out on your own but it's great and I'm learning the ropes. We also made it to church as a family for Easter. Peri and I sat in a special room with a TV for children under 6 weeks and afterwards we had some pictures made that I'll post below. {Random Memory: the first time we took her out with us both to breakfast Todd dropped me off to get a table. When the hostess asked how many, it hit me that we are no longer a party of two but three and then I wasn't sure how you sit a baby at a restaurant. I mean lets be real, nobody teaches you these things unless I missed that memo somewhere. Anyways, I responded with two PLUS A BABY in a very weird voice. The hostess was so nice and asked if the baby was in a carrier then proceeded to help us out with the proper sitting gear for that place.}

Likes: Food, sleep, rock n play and paci.

Dislikes: She hates the swing and will freak out when we place her in it. I'm hoping she may grow into it but possibly she will not. She isn't a huge fan of the bulb syringe but I think she secretly loves it when we take away all her boogers. Gas...the girl gets some painful gas and that is no fun for anyone!

Peri's First Easter - 2016

My goodness we LOVE this little girl and can't wait to watch her continue to grow even more!

Cheers

Happy New Year!

2015…where did you come from?! I'll never forget my senior year of high school (2005) and briefly discussing with friends about a ten year reunion. I remember thinking how far away 2015 sounded. But here it is. Feels like in a blink of an eye ten years have passed. I also remember thinking that I would hopefully be married, be a teacher and even a babe or two. Marriage happened. Teaching happened. Babes have not. However, that is not something we have had a strong desire for just yet. The time isn't too far away that we will pray for babes but for now we are embracing this time alone with each other. I trust in God's perfect timing. 

But to think how fast the past ten have come and gone. Makes me really want to embrace today and soak in each and every moment. The next ten will be in another blink. I'll leave all the details of the in between to the Lord.

On a way smaller scale here is what I have a desire for in 2015:

• Share more. I've done a poor job of documenting the Davis daily. I've lost my blog voice along the way these past two years. So many of my dearest friends live far away and being a person that loves self-reflection, I want to share more this year. Prepare for much of it to be scattered thoughts about home renos, relationships, spirituality, fashion and well basically anything is up for discussion.
• Love deeper. With friends. Family. And Todd. I want to feel what other people feel. I want to discover new ways to invest in these relationships and hold tight to the memories made.
• Study hard. Rather than only listening to sermon podcasts and doing small devos, I want to really really study God's word too. So far these past 4 days of January, I have began doing so in a new fresh way and it's great. 
• React differently. I'm so realistic and it can be annoying. Sometimes it leaves no room for spontaneoity or I am too quick to judge/freak out/make 83209482390 plan Bs. 
• Random stuff. Stick to gluten free diet. Take more photos. Increase my weights in Bodypump.

So theres that. We shall see. 

-S

HBD Maggie!

Sidenote: tomorrow is our closing day. Everything is scheduled as planned but I don't think I'll actually breathe until the keys are in my hand. We are very excited but I'm ready for the process to all be over. I'm even ready to move in so that my brain can move on in life. Still not sure when we will actually move because we want to get new floors and paint first. I'll make sure to take lots of before photos so that I can keep all you dear far away friends updated on our home ownership  journey. 

But let's back up a few weeks to when we celebrated Maggie's birthday. She turned 2 years old and you know we spoiled her with some yummy puppy pie. Are we cruel dog parents for making her earn her pie on her birthday by doing tricks? Maybe.

We love, love, LOVE her. I can't imagine life without her. Todd had work to do Sunday uptown and we decided to take her with us. Maybe not the best decision when you are trying to work but she was so chill and would just lay down most of the time. I fell in love with her even more that day and so did lots of strangers in the city. The only thing she barked at was the horse carriages. She did NOT like them. 

We hope to have many more years with this sweet pup of ours!

-Sara

Happy Birthday!

This past week we celebrated Todd's 27th birthday! He felt lots of love from his coworkers during the day and later in the night a few of us went out for dinner at Firebirds. I'm so so SO thankful for him! 

Happy Birthday babe! I love you! 

                                  

To end this post, I'll leave you with a series of ridiculously cute sleepy puppy pics just for fun! 

-Sara

Fear

God is teaching me so much right now. I'm constantly absorbing his goodness around me. I know it has always been there but I'm more alert than ever before. I'm so thankful for all the relationships that are placed in my life in this current season. Without going into details, I have really wrestled this past year with fear and anxiety. Why? Tough to say. It's really strange. The mind does weird things. I have a good life so why fear? I'm very grateful for my husband, my job, my health, my family and friends.

At church we just started a message series based on Pastor Steven's newest book Crash the Chatterbox and tons of scripture. Such perfect timing for me. The concept behind this book is hearing God's voice above all others. The book is so SO great and I recommend you pick up a copy and listen to the messages as well. Something that gave me a new perspective today during the message was the fact that the chatterbox will always be around. I can't stop the chatter…you know…those negative voices in your head, but I can change the channel. I must learn to redirect that chatter towards truth and not engage in the conversation. I don't live by what I feel or by my exhaustion, I live by God's promise. Praise the Lord for that truth of freedom!

-Sara

Super Fast Week

We have had the busiest yet BEST week with one exception but I'll get to that later. It all started with our very first staff advance with Elevation. It was an incredibly powerful day full of teachings from Pastor Steven. I love that we are involved with a church that invests so much in their staff and volunteers. The second day we all met at a park which felt like one big family reunion full of food and games. I'm just in complete awe of the talent, energy and compassion that is composed of the staff. We will not take this for granted.

Right after staff advance, I packed up and headed east with my college roommates and friends to celebrate the upcoming wedding of our sweet Rachael. I haven't had a girls weekend like that in a long time. We had so much fun being chatty and of course dressing up for a night on the town.

Her wedding is next weekend and I couldn't be more thrilled for her! I feel like one chapter of our lives is closing (marriage) and a new one is just beginning. Courtney, Ash and Hien are all moms-to-be. I feel like we were just in college...time flies!

On Sunday, just before leaving the beach, mom called and told me Jamie was in early labor. Such a whirlwind of a week, let me tell ya! As soon as I got home, Todd and I got back in the car and headed to the hospital. Things were progressing very slow so Todd went home and I stayed along with my sister Ronna, making the decision to spend the night at Jamie and Chris' house since they were at the hospital. We were told that Ella would arrive in the middle of the night. Well, the night came and went and no Ella. The next morning we went back to the hospital and waited...and waited.....and waited.

Mom spent the night at the hospital so she was super tired by Monday morning!

Finally at 3:36 (and after much complications with Jamie), Ella arrived healthy and happy. I'm in love!

In the midst of all this was LOVE week, an outreach ministry event by Elevation church where over 10,000 volunteers love on our communities. I was more than thrilled to serve Tuesday-Saturday and learned about so many different organizations including one that I can't wait to get my students involved in called Promising Pages.

Do you feel like you are on a roller coaster yet with me? Well here is the ultimate low. Remember when I said there was a possibility the owner of our town home would want to move back? Yup, it's official. We have 45 days (less than that now) to vacate. Very bad timing with school starting right around the corner. We will most likely have to rent somewhere else again which is a bummer because we are house hunting. We don't want to rush the house hunting process but moving multiple times is never fun. I'll keep you posted...in the meantime throw some prayers up for us. It's stressful but I'm believing it will be an experience we can learn and grow from.

I think more has happened this past week than in our entire year. I think I will go relax now....

cheers,

Sara

Summer Life

We have been traveling a lot the past few weeks. From Lake Lure to Emerald Isle and then on to one of my personal favorites, Oak Island. You may remember me talking about how special OKI is for me if you read my Beach Bums post. For a refresher, click here.

This year my sister, brother-in-law and their little gal was there too. We had so much fun eating lots of and lots of good food, enjoying DQ every night (not ashamed) and chasing around a toddler everywhere. This was also our first time taking Maggie on a long car ride and she did fantastic.

Life is good and we are oh so blessed!

Me and my sister, Ronna. We look somewhat alike ;)

Maggie did awesome at traveling! 

Our travels are mostly over and we are looking forward to spending time with friends in Charlotte including my college roommate Rachael's wedding, volunteering in our community with LOVE week and waiting anxiously to welcome my sister, Jamie and brother-in-law, Chris' babe Ella Grace to the world!

Oh and how can I forget...my most favorite holiday is right around the corner. AMERICA! Which also means my birthday tags right behind. Thank you Lord for the goodness you let us experience while on earth!

Follow me on Instagram @saradavis528 for more photos and updates!

-Sara

Property Virgins

We have been house shopping the past couple of weeks. If only it was as easy as choosing one and placing it in a cart at Wal-Mart. Instead I feel like I'm on an episode of House Hunters that never ends. This process has certainly been an interesting experience and while I'm no expert on this subject, we have already learned so much. Here are a few things we have discovered so far...

Get Approved
This was the first step we made. We were really nervous about this because it just feels so surreal when you start thinking of the potential to own a home. Plus having someone evaluate your incomes, credit, etc. is scary. Our biggest fear was that they were going to tell us we couldn't buy a home. Not that we have anything against us, we I tend to worry about the worst case scenario. Turns out we got approved within one business day and for much more than we ever imagined which leads me to my second tip for new homebuyers.

Stay Low
Even though we got approved for a large amount, we know that unless we want to eat beans and rice for the rest of our lives, we have to pretend that number is much lower. I'd love to go way low but realistically we are going to have to find a comfort amount to spend because honestly the location we need doesn't have super cheap houses unless we found a short sale or foreclosure.

Seek Wisdom
This one is tricky. I love gaining wisdom from people who have "been there, done that." We want to make the decisions we can in this process and learn from others mistakes. We have to remind ourselves that not everyones circumstances will work for us so we still ultimately have to make the best decision for us. Everyone will have an opinion on some part of the process so we have to choose what to receive. The best place for some advice is from your realtor and we are thankful to have an awesome one. Parents are great too and close friends. I also put a status up on Facebook asking for advice and within minutes had so many great responses. There were a few things we had not put too much thought on and decided to reevaluate our decisions thus far.

Keep your Chin Up

My realtor has told me this several times. Especially when we lost in a bidding war on a house we really really liked. That was tough. But ultimately we place our trust in the Lord and know that it will all work out in the right time. I find comfort in that. Also having great family and friends to remind you that most people deal with the same ups and downs is encouraging. My friend Ash has always been my "one step ahead of me friend" and I value that so much. She got married first, bought a house first and has a babe on the way. All that to say, she doesn't mind to answer questions and give great encouragement. Make sure you have a friend like that.

Other stuff we have had to think hard about is...

buy or build?

starter home or forever home?

NC or SC?

School Districts?

and much more!

In all this process hasn't been horrific (yet). I haven't cried once so that's a good sign for me. I almost panicked today when my landlord told me that the owner of our townhouse may be moving back which means as soon as she makes up her mind, we would have 45 days to be out. I haven't felt pressure to find a house yet and wasn't expecting that but now that may change. However, I'm working on the whole let go and let God thing so whatever happens, happens. 

I'll keep you all updated as the house hunting journey continues. No happy ending just yet. I'm sure we will learn so much more as time moves forward. In the meantime, if you yourself have any great advice, let us know! 

-Sara

Lots of Love

Ya'll this happened this past week:

After years and years of reading the Young House Love blog, I finally got to meet them! Call me a total geek (my husband did) but I was so giddy all day Tuesday. My college roommate, Ashley, pictured above with me is also a huge fan and I'm so glad we were able to go together. We made some great memories such as trying to strategically plan how to be one of the firsts to get our books signed since our other college roommate was in the process of getting engaged and we had a party to get to! My bold personality made it happen and you can read all about it on Ashley's blog.

After we got our books signed and said our hellos, we literally were running through the UNCC Student Union to our car. The happy engaged couple were to arrive at 7:15 so we wanted to get there before that to join in on the surprise. We were about fifteen minutes late but it worked our perfect because Rachael called us while we were in the car to tell us she was engaged and she had no idea that we were actually on our way to see her. When we arrived, she was just glowing with joy.

It was so fun to catch up with friends and celebrate Rachael and Adam. I am SO happy for her and can't wait for the wedding this year! I am so thankful to share life with these girls. 

Such a great evening. Such a great moment. After my last post of confession, I do want to say, I really did let myself enjoy the moment. I was completely present and it was so good for my soul. 

-S

{Wonderful Weekend}

Saturday I took my Praxis for media specialist (fingers crossed!). In the midst of the test I was thinking, "this is kinda hard" but I think I just had really bad anxiety when I first started. I've always been that way. I never thought I would use the entire time but I worked until the very end, checked over a few answers and before I could even put my pencil down the proctor said "times up!" That was the fastest two hours of my life. Hopefully it is the last time I have to take that test!

Afterwards, I needed to let my brain rest so I met Todd at a local Thai restaurant to unwind. It was delicious. 

Then we headed to Bass Lake in Blowing Rock for some R&R. Our goal was to not leave until we had settled on a dog name. Yes, we have changed it multiple times already. The good news is we left with a confident name but we still aren't ready to share. We are those crazy people who keep saying the dog names in a real sentence pretending she is in the room. Yea, see, CRAZY!

Sunday we (plus our entire fam and previous congregation members) surprised dad for a pastor appreciation day! He totally deserved a day like this, to honor his hard work. I wish I would have recorded his face as tons of us walked in right after the church service started. Because of our own church duties, we never get to be at his church on Sunday so that was a real treat to him. Mom did a great job of keeping it all a secret. Instead of him preaching, the service was full of people speaking about my dad and songs of worship about serving the Lord. My sister, Ronna, represented our family so well with a great speech. I wish I would have recorded that too! So proud of her for doing that. As soon as we all walked in someone pinned a rose on dad and moved his seat so he could view the pulpit.   Not sure my dad has ever been recognized in such a huge way and actually sat back and let others do the talking on a Sunday.

This is a real genuine humbled smile folks.

I love my dad. Fun fact: growing up through elementary school I called him Bubba and we would have "Bubba Days" where he would check me out of school (I was "sick" of course) and go play putt-putt or I would help him make his visits to the elderly.

Here is our family, plus Annlyn. Not sure why the husbands didn't squeeze in (oops). They must have been holding our purses and 283420 baby bags that my sister (love you!) carries everywhere.

What a great weekend! If you have ever been ministered by dad, feel free to write on his Facebook wall a comment of appreciation. All ministers need a day (week, why not!) where they feel the love!

Have a great week friends!

-Sara

{Spring Break}

Todd and I left to visit family (his bro & wife plus kiddos + pup) this past Wednesday. We love spending time with them and it's an extra bonus that they live at the beach. We spent Thursday having a picnic on the beach. I underestimated the warm weather and didn't wear my bathing suit. What was I thinking?????? I was so shocked at how warm it was and how many people were on beach. I seriously had to look at my calendar to make sure it was still March! 

This made me laugh. Todd used his magazine as a sun blocker to play on his iPhone. 

We went back the next day with our sister-in-law and niece. Unfortunately it wasn't quite as warm but it was still relaxing. 

These two had fun together. P enjoyed dumping sand on Uncle Todd.

Friday evening Todd's parents came and we grilled out, then enjoyed some smores by bonfire. I could do that every night for the rest of my life. Yum.

Even the dog is spoiled! 

P had her first ever soccer game on Saturday morning. She looked SO cute in all her gear. However, she wasn't so sure about the whole soccer experience. Lots of pep talks were given.

Our newest niece, Adeline stole all our hearts!

Earlyyyyyy (we woke up at 4:30 am to get ready!) Sunday morning, Todd and his brother ran in a half marathon race. This was Todd's first time. Us ladies cheered them on and even were able to drive by to capture this moment:

He did it!!

 I am SO proud of him! 

Such a fun spring break! Certainly the most memorable to date. 

Sidenote: I started my interim today and it was great! I'm excited to finish out the school year with such awesome teacher and students. I've also started applying for jobs so keep praying for us that we go where the Lord leads.

Seven more weeks of grad school/college for us. I'm starting to see the light!!!

-Sara

{Life}

I had my first Five Guys experience last week. Honestly I wasn't too impressed. In fact here is my exact words, "my dad can make just as good if not better of a burger than this!" Maybe it's the ridiculous price of a burger that already had me turned off. We only ordered one fry which resulted in this:

A mountaintop of potatoes. Welcome to America. We barely put a dent in them. Now if those were Chick-fil-a fries or Bojangles, then I would be in fry heaven.

After the past super busy few weeks, Todd and I have finally been blessed with some downtime together. My love language is quality time so our little date strolling through this art gallery in our town warmed my soul. 

  

Todd's birthday is later this month (25th) but it seems we have been celebrating all month. I let him pick out a few new vinyl records but ultimately surprised him with new running shoes for his upcoming race. I have a feeling we will still be celebrating later this month especially since The Hunger Games comes to theaters. 

I still have not started my interim yet which isn't such a bad thing. I've had time to get ahead on my schoolwork, clean the house and get organized. I also joined a gym. I've discovered that when you actually pay for a membership, you suddenly care to go and it really helps that I can watch TV while I workout. 

I took this picture of my niece and sister this past weekend when we were briefly home. Babies are cute but ADORABLE when they sleep!  

  

Thanks for hanging with me, this post was all over the place! 

:)

-Sara