What's Up Wednesday

 I'm joining Mel, Shay, and Sheaffer for their What's Up Wednesday link-up!

What we're eating this week:

All our meals this week came straight out of Shay's Eats Cookbook. 

Monday-Buffalo Turkey Joes-not sure if you guys know this but I'm a sucker for buffalo sauce.

Tuesday-Tex Mex Sausage and Potato Soup-I love having soup for dinner.  They're easy and I have one pot to clean!

Wednesday-White Chicken Chili-throw it in the slow cooker and it's ready at dinner time.  YES!

Thursday-I'm accompanying Tab on a quick work trip so no cooking for me.  :)

Friday-We'll go out and give mama the night off from dishes.

What I'm Reminiscing About:

Spring Break is right around the corner and I've been thinking back on last year's trip.

Our first stop was Denver, Colorado.

And then we finished the week in Vail, CO.

What I'm Loving:

My mom was in town all last week and we loved having her here.

Just last Wednesday, I started a new series, "What I'm Priming", where I highlight recent items I've purchased from Amazon Prime.  You guys seemed to love the post and I promise to continue it and add reviews on past items as well.

What We've Been Up To:

We've been doing some climbing.  This tiny thing has learned how to pull the stool over and climb up to check on her dinner.  :)

We've been eating all the macaroni and cheese.  

We've been shopping {this was us last week when my mom was here}. 

Making all the silly faces in the mirror...

And finding the cutest things...aren't these shoes DARLING??  I wish they came in Britt's size!  If you're local, the Skechers Outlet at the Allen Outlet Mall has these!  I fell in love with these shoes!

What I'm Dreading:

I've taken a big long break from my decluttering, but it's time to start again!  And I'm dreading it.  Sigh.

What I'm Working On:

My blog calendar for March.  This is the planner keeping me organized at the moment.  :)

What I'm Excited About:

We had a gorgeous Monday.  The weather was amazing.  We played at the park after school and it got me all kinds of excited for everything SPRING....Easter, kiddos' birthdays, lots of park dates, and more.

What I'm watching/reading:

I just finished a book and haven't pulled a new one out of my book cabinet just yet.  I'll keep you posted.

I'm watching The Real Housewives of Atlanta because I just can't stop. #still

Along with Arie's season of The Bachelor!  And I'm loving Sheaffer's recaps!

What I'm Listening To:

This soundtrack is playing in my car 24/7. #still

And we've been listening to "Thunder" by Imagine Dragons.  I'm not sure who asked about this song, but a kiddo did and we're still listening.

What I'm Wearing:

Zella leggings, sweater, and necklace have been on repeat over here.  :)

What I'm Doing This Weekend:

We have a baseball tournament on the agenda and that's pretty much it.

What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month:

SPRING BREAK!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  XO

Bringing Home Britt-Post Adoption 9 Months

It's so hard to believe it's been nine months since we got our girl.  To be honest, I kind of feel like...just nine months?  It seems like we've had Britt much longer and it's tough to remember our days before her.  We continue to all be smitten, she's most often the center of attention around here, and everyone is vying for her affection.

She's really blossomed this month.  We'rd hardcore working on all things speech.  {Again, thanks so much for all your suggestions.}  She's saying a few words and attempting much more.  This month she's started saying, "uh-uh" {I'm not really sure how you'd spell that but the sounds ultimately mean "no".}  Maybe it's her two-year-old-toddler-self's version of "NO".

I'm still her favorite person, but she loves that time when Tab gets home from work.  He's her favorite toy.  She wants to play with him and be absolutely crazy, but when it's time to snuggle and get ready for bed-it's all mama.

Ebby Lee is still the sweetest with her.  Ebby Lee loves playing school and Britt loves to write, color, marker, just anything you'll give her she's excited about so often times after school Ebby Lee takes her up to her room so they can play school.

She can be the biggest ham when she knows she has everyone's attention.  But, I should add outside of our house she can be very shy.

Her first set of pig tails happened and let me tell you they've pretty much been on repeat every day since.

This past Sunday I was carrying her into church and she wanted down.  Have you guys seen her tiny legs?  She wanted to walk into church all by herself.  Even though we have some catching up to do, in other ways she's managing to show her us her toddler self big time.

We're so thankful we get to call this girly ours.

If you missed any of my adoption posts, you can find them...

Bringing Home Britt Posts...

*Part 1

*Part 2

*Part 3

*Part 4

*Part 5

*Part 6

*Part 7

*Welcome Home

Adoption Questions Answered...

*Part 1

*Part 2

*Part 3

Post Adoption Updates...

*8 Month

*6 Month

*5 Month

*3 Month

*2 Month

Thanks for stopping by today!

XO

Manda

365 Days.

The number of days Manda has been in heaven.

Without pain and fully healed!

 I shared a lot of thoughts about my sweet friend last year.  Because if I could have introduced each and every one of you to her here on earth, I would have.  I can't wait for you guys to meet her in heaven.  Until then, I tried my best to share her with you in this post last year.

I don't really have many words today.  Sometimes my heart is spewing and other times it's a bit more silent. Today's one of those quiet days.

So, I just wanted to share a couple of my favorite Manda memories that make me smile.  :)

 For Manda's birthday in May of 2016, we thought it'd be fun to go all out.  We had a limo pick us all up and then we showed up at her house.  She was shocked and so excited!

We had the best meal, so much fun, and ended the night singing, "Happy Birthday".  Manda was totally in the moment...a night that will never be forgotten!!

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Over Memorial Day weekend my neighborhood always has a big party and we invited all our people.  in 2016, the party just happened to land on Manda's actual birthday.

We told the band it was her birthday and was expecting them to sing a quick little song, BUT they asked her to come to the front {and you should know Manda was not the front and center type} and spell her name with her HIPS!  She was mortified but such a good sport.  I'm not at all a dancer, but I joined her to try to make it less awkward and some other friends joined us too.  I'll NEVER forget the look on her face when the singer asked her to do that!  She nailed it!!

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In December 2016, Manda was having really hard days.  She wasn't feeling well and in lots of pain.  Shay and I saw her at the preschool Christmas program and she mentioned she'd really like to have her nails done for Christmas, so we jumped on the chance to take her to the nail salon and even invited Sheaffer to join.  We spent an hour completely free of cancer talk discussing average, ordinary, everyday things which is exactly what Manda wanted.  That conversation may have sounded trivial at the time, but it meant so much because we all knew we wouldn't have many more of those girl chats left.  I will always cherish that day and that simple chat with my sweet friend, Manda.    

When I think of Manda, this verse stands out every single time.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."  2 Timothy 4:7

I'd like to say a huge THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for the many sweet e-mails, messages, and texts letting me know you were praying for the Maxwell family.  I truly cannot express how thankful I am for all of you!  

Secondly, if you didn't get a chance, I strongly urge you to set aside some time this week to watch Manda's funeral.  I promise you-it'll touch your heart.

You can see Manda and her mom share their amazing testimonies as well.

Manda's family started the Manda Strong Foundation, which is a non-profit organization that helps moms battling cancer while also raising children.  You can read all about the organization and you can also sign up to donate as well.

I don't want to speak for Manda, but I have no doubts she'd want you to know her hope was in Jesus.  He was and is her Lord and Savior.  She believed {just like I do} that he came to earth, died a painful death on a cross, and rose again for us.  For sinners-like you and me. 

"If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved." Romans 10:9-10

I don't know where your heart is today or where you've placed your hope for tomorrow, but if you'd like to learn more about Jesus, I'd love to tell you about my Savior.  You can e-mail me at alittlebitofeverything83@yahoo.com.

I hope you've been able to see just a little of the Manda we all know and loved.

XO

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday!

Why, oh why do those short weeks always seem longer than the regular weeks?  Is it just me?

I'm happy to see you, Friday.  I've teamed up with my girls, Andrea and Narci, to bring you FRIDAY FAVORITES.

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A Little Gifting:

This week Nordstrom reached out and asked me to talk about one of my favorite unmentionable brands, Natori, and a few gifting ideas.  Let me tell you...I never thought I'd ever be talking about BRAS on this blog of mine where my sweet Grandpa reads daily!  But Natori bras are the only bras I wear so I couldn't resist sharing.

These Natori underwire bras are my favorite. If you're in the market for a new bra {and if you're like me, this is one of the last items you purchase for yourself!}, you should check out this bra!   I also want to highlight some of my favorite different types of underwear options they have...cotton briefs, thongs, and bikinis.

The wide range of price points available at Nordstrom makes gift giving all throughout the year seamless {AND SO EASY!}.  They offer free shipping/free returns directly to the recipient of your gift and they will take care of all your gift boxing needs from wrapping, supplying you with the products you need, or including a sweet little message.

I've included a few gift giving options for you...

For Baby Gifts/Showers-

For Wedding Gifts/Showers-

And I'm including my outfit yesterday.  If my birthday was coming up, I'd love some athleisure pieces like the ones below...

Zella leggings, sweater, necklace, and a long cami make the perfect looks-like-I'm-going-to-the-gym-outfit.  :)

My tennis shoes would make the perfect gift too.  {And they're on sale now.}

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Baby of Mine:

Even though it was pouring down rain yesterday {again} we ventured out to downtown McKinney to enjoy lunch at one of our favorite spots, Snug on the Square.  Britt would choose to eat carbs and dairy all day long so she was in heaven with the creamy macaroni and cheese they serve.

I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who took the time to leave a comment, send an e-mail, or write a message about Britt's speech.  Earlier this week, I asked for any helpful tips and resources when it comes to speech and you guys delivered.  THANK YOU!!  I even got some messages saying other readers were encouraged because they kept thinking they were the only one whose kiddo was a late talker.  Please know hearing all your comments and stories were not only encouraging to my mama heart but others as well.

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Celebrity Big Brother:

We just talked about this recently....is Celebrity Big Brother as good as the regular summer edition?  Absolutely NOT!  It's not even close, BUT I just can't stop watching!  This week finally got better {in my opinion} and it ends on Sunday!  haha!  If you're watching, who are you cheering for?

#teamross

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Chips and Salsa:

This is SO ME!!!  Anyone else?  Why can't I just eat like three chips?  

#becausetheyresogood

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I hope you guys have the BEST weekend!

And please link-up with us!

XO

An InLinkz Link-up

Our Week in Pictures

Last Friday night was the big kiddos' school dance and like every year before we met the Shull family at a local pizza spot for dinner.  This is the ONLY picture I have of dinner...

And I didn't even take it!!  Odds are Bowen said, "Ashby, say cheese!".  And sweet Ashby did just that!

Love getting to hang with Shay and her crew!

A couple times throughout the dance, the lights come on and the fifth graders do a little square dance they've been working on in p.e.  Nixon is dreading the day he has to do this and Ebby Lee probably knows the number of days until it's her turn to perform.  ha!

*Sidenote, I took a square dancing class in college AND I loved it.  

Oh my goodness!  This little group of third grade girls was looking so stinkin' cute!  

The last volleyball game of the season with this crew.  Until Coach Erika realized there's a post season tournament so we actually have a couple more on Saturday.  

Every single girl on this team has improved so much.  We're signing ourselves up for another season of fun!  And we're looking forward to it!

My parents were in town {step-dad drove home and mom stayed for the week.  We hadn't seen them since Thanksgiving so we had a late Christmas on Saturday morning} and after volleyball we made our way over to this new area in Frisco.  It's near the Star Center, where the Cowboys now practice.  And the highlight of the afternoon for the boys was this little turf field.  The Slaughter boys are in the chaos pictured above somewhere.

There they are!

We had a late lunch at City Works Eatery and Pour House {our food was really yummy} and then we let the kiddos burn a little more energy after as well.  If you're local, you should check out this spot.  Lots of cool restaurants are there and it looks like shopping will be popping up soon.

Someone didn't want to miss any of the action!  She saw Bowen take a few accidental spills so she lunged herself onto the turf on purpose.  #monkeyseemonkeydo

We spent the rest of the evening watching the Olympics!

Monday, there was no school but the loudest game of kickball ever on our street.  Until the ball got stuck in the tree...#boo

On Tuesday, my mom, Britt, and I had a MALL DAY!  It was crazy, yucky outside...pretty much rained all day long.  But we were nice, dry, and getting our shop on inside. 

It was a little short and sweet today, but I hope you enjoyed what's been going on around here!

XO