{Insta} Friday!!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!! 

Don't forget to link up for a FUN Christmas Swap!!!

and now for a few insta-friday images :)
do you follow me? @alliemacfallie :)

taking everything out of mommies wallett... LOVE her face and that sprig of hair sticking straight up on the top of her head! 

learning how to "click" the pen

helping daddy take apart her beloved infant swing

after turning the shower on herself during bath time ha!

a beautiful flower she got from a lady at church after her baptism... Just like the sunflower "Always face the Son!" :) 

another fun car nap

slightly obsessed with these right now

Add this to my christmas list please!!

playing with the wipe box- this kept her entertained for a good 15 minutes!

{Linking up with Life Rearranged}

Prayers for Reesey: Update

Some of you have been asking me about how my friend Amanda and her daughter are doing... 

I wanted to post a quick update and direct you back to her blog where you can read more in depth about how their journey to beat this brain tumor is going.  She also has included some fabulous pictures of that sweet baby girl!

Since I last posted, Reesey has started Chemo and did really good with the first round.  She is having another Chemo day today so please be in prayer that today goes as smooth as the first time.  

Also, she had to have a shunt placed.  Here is what her dad posted on Tuesday about this on the Prayers for Reesey facebook page: 

Boo to today.... So the morning wake up from the neurology team was not the best of news. They are indicating a potential infection in the shunt as the fluid came back abnormal. No growth on the cultures yet, but it has only been 24 hrs. If there is growth, the. We will have to remove the shunt, treat the infection and replace the shunt with a new one; so 2 surgeries. Bummer news.

and then an update from Mamma, Amanda, today:

update for november 29th :)
so last night was good - we are STILL trying to balance sodiums and they were too high yesterday and then too low this morn so we're figuring out the amount of liquid she needs per day. ♥ neuro still has our culture out, but is okay so far. 
another chemo day today ♥ so prayers that it goes just as smoothly as last night time are welcome! we'll be here a few more days just making sure that when we go home -- its for good!!

Reesey has now been in the hospital for 30+ days and I know that the whole family is yearning for her to be taken home where they can start their new "normal."  Please pray that this would happen sooner than later!

Also, there is a facebook page called "Auction for Reesey" where you can donate and bid on items.  All of the money raised will go directly to the family.  If you would like to donate directly they have a page set up for that as well. (click on the link "donate directly")

this image from Amanda's blog: This Years Love Will Last

Thank you all for praying. I appreciate it and I know that Reesey and her family appreciate it too!! xoxo ♥

Baby #2: 15 Weeks

Thanks to some of you (ahem aunt donna!) who have been begging for the updates on baby number 2, here you go.... I guess I feel like I'm too tired and busy chasing around number 1 to do this every week. I do want to have this documented for the future though :) 

Without further ado, I present you with the (somewhat) weekly pregnancy updates... 

November 17-23, 2012

Weight Gain:  none yet, I have actually lost quite a bit of weight- near 10lbs 

Maternity Clothes : none yet

Sleep: I am sleeping great- no complaints here.  I am still tired a ton... ready for that to be over.  Right now I'm sleeping through the night. 

Best Moment of this week:  

Thanksgiving with all of my family! We spent the day in the mountains-- oh was it nice! And Miss Raleigh Grace got baptized, that was probably the BEST! 

Movement: nope

Food cravings:  Sonic strawberry limeaids have been on my mind a lot lately but I haven't caved yet.  Lance Salt & Vinegar WAVES chips! mmm.  Fruit. Stadium nachos with cheese and jalapenos!

What I miss:  ENERGY! and not feeling nauseous ... although I do believe both of those are starting to fade :) 

Symptoms: HEADACHES!! oh my goodness! For the past couple of weeks I have had terrible headaches.  Extra Strength Tylenol didn't even help a little.  The only thing that has helped even a tiny bit (sometimes) is drinking  soda.  I talked to the dr. about this last week at my appointment and he wrote me a prescription (that I lost ha- go figure...) My neck has been super tight and sore too.  I think a pre-natal massage is in the agenda for me soon!

Acne...on my face, collarbone/neck, and back.  

Fatigue

Nausea and lacking an appetite.

Dizziness -- esp in the mornings (I know I'm not eating enough and probably not drinking enough water at night)

Gender: At first I really thought boy... now I'm starting to think girl-- seems like everyone I know that is pregnant with #2 is having the same gender as #1

What I'm looking forward to: Finding out the gender in a few weeks, feeling less nauseous and having an appetite and the fatigue disappearing !

Sorry, I regret to infrom you I have not taken any cute bump pics... I wanted to do something "cute" this time but I don't know what to do... nor do I feel like I have a bump yet ha! 

so... here is Miss RG ;) 

she discovered how to turn on the shower during her bath ;) too much fun!! :) 

PS- after looking back at my pregnancy with Miss RG it is erie how almost-identical it is this week with this pregnancy.  

Christmas Blog Swap 2012!

Thanksgiving has passed so that means that it is officially Christmas time!!  I am so excited about my new "Iced Pine" Scentsy that has my house smelling like fresh Christmas trees and I am just LOVING the Christmas music and pictures of all of my friends houses decorated for the special birth of our Savior!! 

As if that isn't enough reason to be excited... you can get excited about this!!  Some of my awesome friends and I are going to host a fun Christmas Blog Swap this year!!
Who we are:
Me
Mallorie @ Happy Home
Cait @ The Blessed Life
Natalie @ Extraordinary Love
&
Beth Ann @ My Life More Abundant

Here's the info: 

-Anyone in the U.S. is welcome to join (if you are not in the US and would like to participate please email me- if there are others out of the country that email me I will pair you up)

-$10 spending limit- anything Christmas-y :) 

-Link up before December 3rd!
 (You will be contacted by one of us with your partner in this swap)

-Send gift no later than December 10th

-After you receive your package we will host another link up from December 11th-17th where you can post all of the goodies you received!!
-Most of all, HAVE FUN and ...

MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS!! :)

Feel free to grab the code below-where it says "get code now" (and the above picture too) and post about this on your blog!!
Don't forget to link-up!!!!

The more the MERRIER!! :) 

RG by the Week: 53 Weeks

(This is a long overdue post but I am posting it anyways :) )

Right after your shots at your one year appointment

October 16-27

It seems so crazy to even make a label titled "Raleigh Grace's Second year!"  How is that even possible!? I am not promising to continue updating on a weekly basis but I will try to as much as possible because I know that down the road, I will enjoy reading.  I hope you enjoy reading about my growing little girl as well!  Raleigh Grace is becoming such an independent little ball of energy... so much fun, and so cute! I love you Miss RG!

• This past week you have started laughing a LOT
• Your favorite game is when daddy hides from you and then chases you or comes and gets you... you squeal and laugh and scream.
• Your favorite "word" is UHHHHH-HUUUH!! In a very convincing tone :) 
• You learned how to try and put lids on things. You started doing this with your puffs. (sometimes you are successful too!)
• You have used  a fork for the first time... You love trying to stab things on the fork and are very good about getting the fork to your mouth and eating the food.
• You are very good at following simple commands- even the doctor noticed this at your 1 year check up and was so impressed-- he said that you were easily "performing" the same as a 15-18 month old.  He told you to "give this to mommy" and you brought it to me.  I have also told you to "put the baby in the bed" as well as many other simple commands and you most definitely understand and more often than not follow the instruction.  
• You weighed 19.5lbs and _____________inches! (Ill have to look this up!)
• Sleep has been on and off... you fight going to sleep a little more than usual and gone are those nice nights when you fall asleep nursing.  You are back to your silly acrobatic self. 

your last go-round at the swing... just a little over a year old! You loved your swing  all along! 

• You loooove to blow bubbles on my stomach, arms, legs, etc... it makes a really loud noise and makes everyone laugh-- you will come up to other people (gma Lala, Daddy, etc) and do this to their legs while standing up.  You love the attention!
• You are SUCH a social butterfly! You looove making new friends!! A couple of weeks ago we were at Goodwill and there were some little girls who thought you were so cute (they were about 5 and 7) and they sat down in the floor to talk to you, you went up to one girl and crawled in her lap and went to give her a kiss... hahah! 
• You love walking around. You do NOT like to be sitting in one spot for more than a few minutes (read: you try to climb off the changing table, out of your high chair, out of your stroller, etc.) You throw little tantrums if you don't get your way (getting down and walking free.)
• At the doctor when they questioned me about you I said "excellent" on all accounts except for eating.  Part of that is my fault I know... you still don't really care for veggies and thats probably because we don't eat much of them around here. Shame on me! 
• You love my computer and will pitch a fit if you don't get to play on it when it is around... tonight you wanted to blog and here is what you wrote:  :) 

vx       vrzfrvx  vxvxvxvxvdttdtv4gdgggv n hnv nh                  n hnhchynvhnyvh 6uuuuubuu                           z                                      wxd.       ,,,        [ [[[-n66j j,,, jhnhn bnn nnnnbnnn     c       bgbbbb  v  v  xsz    BBBBBY TMTMTMTTTTMTTTMTT7UJM   MK ,K

I love sneaking pics of you while sleeping but it sure makes me nervous

You enjoyed playing in the leaves at gma and paw-paw's house  (K's parent's )... funny story: Daddy was blowing leaves and thought you would like to see them flying around so he blew them up in the air... come to find out it was blowing dirt all in your eyes haha you didnt seem to mind, just kept blinking hard haha we took you inside where gma gave you an "eye bath" and you were better than new :) 

Happy THANKSgiving 2012!

Happy turkey day y'all!!

Today we are spending the day with my moms side of the family up in the mountains where cell phone service doesn't even reach. I couldn't think of a better way to quiet my life than to be away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. I hope that today you will find some time to quiet your heart and soul and remember all of the blessings that the good Lord has blessed you with.

I am so thankful for life. For health- for my family and I. For family and friends. And for much, much more.

Everyone is having soo much fun playing with Raleigh Grace - hard to believe that this time next year we will have a two year old and a 6 month old!!!!
{If you are curious as to what my little munchkin looked like last thanksgiving you can check out this post}

So many blessings around here!!

Much love to you all!!

Don't eat too much ;)

Finding out: Baby #2

I have been meaning to post one of my "private" notes for a few weeks now... Here is my account on how K and I found out we were expecting baby numero dos! :)

It's official!!! 

Sept 18 2012:

Last week on Sunday night I finally gave in. I knew I was a few days late on starting and so as K and I were walking the isles of target I jokingly said to k maybe I should get a pregnancy test. He stopped the buggie and said okay go for it. He knew I was late and in fact my friend Mallorie had been visiting us for a little over a week and she kept saying , "you're so pregnant!" to which I would laugh and say "noooo." after all I had totally skipped a month a few months back.
I bought the two pack of target brand cheapos bc why waste your money on false tests anyways right?? We came home and it was getting late but I couldn't let those suckers just sit there and taunt me- I wanted to know! I told k I was going to go take one and he said aren't yah supposed to do it in the morning? To which I told him yes but that I couldn't wait that long. I peed in a cup and stuck the stick in and honestly just as the control line was showing up so was a VERY FAINT pink line. I called out to K who was in the living room watching tv and I walked to meet him I said, "ummm so I think I'm pregnant!! Look at what you did to me!!" and told him to go look at the test (still in the bathroom).    I was honestly freaking out inside.  I had him look and he said, "NO WAY! :) " and got all giddy and smiley!! Side note - I wasnt paying attention and left the cup of pee on the bath tub and when k came to see the test rg was in the bathroom and had pored the pee all over the bathroom floor- I guess that's what I have to look forward to the next several years right!? Ha! Anyways, I kissed Karl and though I think he was very excited, I was almost crying (pregnancy hormones?) and not happy tears. I teared up nursing rg that night as I was rocking her and putting her to bed. This meant my days with just her were numbered. I was so sad. I woke up the next morning feeling a little better. I got up with k and took another test and the line again appeared very faintly. I went back to bed after laying there for an hour worrying and thinking I finally went back to sleep.
All week I have been almost thinking its not true but sometimes I have gotten excited.
Today I went for my doctors appointment and I am indeed pregnant. I'm about 6 weeks along. K was able to come with me and rg and she was quite the show. Everyone just talked about how cute she is and loved watching her.
Everything checked out good and I'll be goin back in two weeks for an ultrasound. As we were leaving the office K's face was covered in a beaming smile. He's so exited and me so nervous. Its funny bc I think our roles are reversed from our first pregnancy. I honestly wasn't sure if I was pregnant going into the office today. I've had fatigue and slight nausea but that's all. K kept looking at me saying he wished he knew what was going through my head and I wondered about him too. He's so excited it is cute.

Now that I into my second trimester I can officially say that some of the shock has left me... there are still days I feel less than pregnant but most days I have been extremely overtaken by nausea and fatigue and for the past 3 weeks major headaches! Hopefully, with the second trimester I am hoping that some of these things will fade as well.  I am also more excited now but still fairly nervous which I guess is normal.  We find out the gender in a few weeks and I'm very excited about that!!! :)

We have a WINNER!!! :)

First of all, I wanted to say a special THANK YOU to everyone who entered my $50 dollar Shutterfly giveaway!! 

If you didn't win please don't give up... stay tuned because I am hosting another awesome giveaway in a few weeks!! :) 

.......Without further ado... The winner of the $50 Shutterfly giveaway is....

Kelly from The Happy Dash!!! 

(please email for details on how to claim the prize)

Congratulations, Kelly! I hope that you enjoy your Shutterfly credit!!

If yall don't read Kelly's blog already you should! She and I have been blogging friends for years, even before we were both married and I just love her! :)

*winner was chosen at random via rafflecopter giveaway*

Just a little reminder! & {Insta} Friday!

Just wanted to remind all of you that the $50 dollar Shutterfly giveaway is ending this weekend!! Make sure you check out the post and enter asap!!! 

We have had a good week here but literally every day has been soo busy! If it wasn't a doctors appointment it was a lunch meeting or BSF... I can feel the holidays coming on strong! In fact my aunt asked me today, "Are you still coming here on Thursday?" ... I had no idea what she was talking about and questioned her sanity saying, "Thursday? I don't have any plans next Thursday..." Its sneaking up on my yall!! I can't believe its THANKSGIVING next week! We have so much to be thankful for and I am trying to keep that in the forefront of my mind... health, family, friends, shelter, food, work, kiddo(S!!!), etc! The list could literally go on and on.  :) 

I hope ya'll have had a great week! 

Here are a {few} of my insta's this week! 

1. Today was a black-sparkly Uggs kind of day!

2. So happy to see the Christmas wreaths up! 

3. Helping mamma throw away trash.

4. Baby shadow

5. little eyes

6. Its a couch, pop tarts, and cartoon kind of morning... oh and I hate "new" diapers that leak.

7. Please read... and join us in prayer!

8. My husband is awesome- he found and bought me my favorite snack from when I was in Guatemala!

9. Today, she finally went in her tent and PLAYED... by herself!!!

1. And she pulled the chair out of the tent to watch tv

2. We went on a walk and a lunch date :)
3. Beautiful day for a BEAUTIFUL walk!
4. um... she found my wallet and pulled out all of my money! #getajob
5. I think she enjoyed her first football game :)
6. Fountain watching fun!
7. Such a ham! I just love her!
8. We had goldfish in bed for breakfast.
9. My princess on the move.

1. This girl loves to read... These are a few of the books we read this morning
2. What a beautiful fall day!
3. Just like her grandpa ;)
4. Guess who's awesome hubby was in their company news letter for winning an award?! This proud wifey!
5. We had a couple of "accidents" today..
6. The love of my life, Throwback Thursday style!

Project 365: Week 21-25

Y'all!! 

I totally forgot to {BRAG} mention that I finally finished Miss Raleigh Grace's Project 365 ... on. her. BIRTHDAY!!! :) I was sooo proud of myself and now, I can't wait to share the rest of the weeks with you!! To see all previous weeks check out "Project 365".  

I am only going to post 5 weeks per post until I finish so you can enjoy every picture ... here we go... 

(PS-- Don't forget to enter my $50 dollar Shutterfly giveaway if you haven't already!! ) 

Shutterfly $50 Giveaway!

I am so happy to have the opportunity to share my love of Shutterfly with you! They are one of those companies I just love working with!! For the past three years we have ordered our Christmas cards from them (in addition to prints, photo books, etc) and each time I am completely blown away with the amazing quality and beautiful designs.  Although I have had a difficult time choosing my favorite card this year  (because there are so many great ones!) we will definitely be using Shutterfly to make our Christmas cards again this year! 

Thanks to Shutterfly, one lucky reader will win $50 dollars to spend at Shutterfly!!

Be sure to check out their Special Offers page to see all of their great deals... here are a few of my favorite cards this year!  

this is the one we used last year... um LOVE it!

THE GIVEAWAY:

One lucky reader will win $50 off a purchase!

It can be used for anything on their site!

(off order of $50 or more- excluding tax and shipping and can not be combined with any other promo's expires 12.14.2012 no extensions)

To Enter: 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*This is a sponsored post by Shutterfly. All opinions are my own*

Prayers for Reesey!

Last week one of my friends from college, Amanda, got the worst news any mom could ever imagine.  Her little two year old daughter was diagnosed with a brain tumor.  Words can not even begin to describe the hurt that I feel for her family.  She documented their journey on her blog, "This Years Love Will Last" and I wanted to share it with you.  I know it is often very difficult for me to find the strength to read these stories but please take the time to do so because there are never enough prayers to pass on to their family.  The power of prayer is already evident as her story leaves you with hope.  Use her family as a reminder that God has never promised us another day.  Let it serve as a reminder that He is the only one in ultimate control of this world.  Let it remind you that greater things are yet to come!! Please, please, join us in prayer and feel free to share her story on your blog or elsewhere and lets rally around them with prayer! 

Some of their friends have set up a page for donations to help with medical costs- any amount will greatly reduce their burden.   

Prayers for Reesey- Facebook page

Amanda is also an amazingly talented photographer-- Gingersnap Photographs

Pregnancy/Life Update

I AM still alive! :)

First of all, I just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who left me sweet comments and messages about our new addition!!

As of this past friday I am 12 weeks along.  I have been feeling okay with no major complaints really, however, I have been more EXHAUSTED that I ever thought possible and I have been nauseous 95% of my time awake.  I am thankful those are really my only two "ailments."  I really can not explain how tired I have been this go-round... probably because I am also chasing a TODDLER around 24/7 and growing a human being.  It has literally been all I can do some mornings to a)get out of bed and b) get RG up and keep her entertained/out of trouble until her next nap.
As of yesterday, I feel like I am FINALLY getting a little pep back in my step! :) I have had a "tad" more energy than I have had the past 12 weeks and I hope it sticks around.  I am also feeling a little less nauseous today and I hope that sticks too! :)

Miss Raleigh Grace is growing up by the second.  She is so full of fun and personality and sass these days... I am anxious to see how she adapts to having another baby in the house! I know she is going to be a GREAT big sister!!
The weather has been getting cooler here and I just can't manage to get enough of her cuteness... this sweet hat and pea coat are from her boyfriend, Ashton in Texas.  We miss his mommy and daddy and of course Raleigh Grace, K and I also miss Ashton himself ;)

(sorry if I have posted this pic before, I honestly couldn't remember but its definitely cute enough to share more than once ;) ) 

I am going to try and post more updates and and just more posts in general over the coming days/weeks! Thanks to those of you who have stuck around... :)

PS if you follow me on fb you know that there has been some heavy things on my heart lately... just warning you about a heavy post begging you for prayers soon!