I forgot to post this picture of Nathan and Pops this weekend – one of his absolute FAVORITE things to do is “help” Pops around their house. Last weekend, he got to help rake and pick up leaves. I think it was the highlight of his whole week. 🙂

We have had a bit of a change in plans this week – yesterday right before we were planning on going on a little family bike ride, Nathan woke up from his nap with a 101.9 degree fever. He’d been a little fussy yesterday but I’d just chalked it up to teething (he’s cutting three of them right now). Poor kid. 🙁 He woke up this morning with another fever so we canceled all plans and stayed home in our jammies.

It was kind of nice to have an excuse to lounge around. I introduced Nathan to the joy of being home and sick – he got to lay on the couch with his paci (that is normally banned to his crib) and blanket and watch Beauty and the Beast (okay, okay. There was a good chance that I watched it too).

Once the Tylenol kicked in, he decided a better spot to watch the movie was on the foot of his slide. And then he helped me clean his tub, vacuum the house and do the laundry.

I am recording this information so that one day when he’s laying on the couch with a cold, moaning like he’s about to die, I can point back to this post and remind him about how helpful he was when he was 18 months old and sick.

I doubt it will do anything. But you never know.

One thing with this sickness stuff that is a little concerning to me is that he hasn’t eaten very well the last two days. I’m not sure if it’s because he doesn’t feel good or if his gums are hurting. Either way, if he doesn’t start eating again normally tomorrow, I might take him in to the doctor. Nathan has always been a champion eater so it scares me when he just picks at his food.

And now, he’s down for a nap, I’ve got soup for dinner in the Crock Pot and I’m about to go make myself an iced coffee – time to get to work on this deadline!

By the way, I’ve been asked a few times how I make my iced coffee. I do it the easy way – I just brew a pot of decaf coffee, pour it into a pitcher, stir in some sugar while it’s still hot and stick it in the fridge. Then I just add milk and ice when I’m ready for a glass. I’m sure there are way better ways of making it more gourmet – like this one – but for my purposes (un-gourmet and no patience to wait an entire day), it works for me. 🙂 But I welcome any and all ideas and recipes on how to make it or other tasty drinks!

Still praying for you guys!

Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations, You established the earth and it stands. – Psalm 119:90

I don’t even know where to start – thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your sweet comments and encouragement!! 🙂 I am completely overwhelmed. Thank you, thank you!

I have been and will continue to pray for each of you who are also in a season of waiting. It’s not easy – I ached right along with you as I read your comments. God has given me SO much encouragement in the last few days – He is GOOD. He does have good things planned for us! This is one of those times I hate Blogger – I wish there was a way to reply to each of your comments or somehow meet in person so we could give each other a hug and maybe talk over a caramel macchiato.

It always amazes me how God seems to bless when we finally follow His leading in our lives. You guys have NO idea how much I fought writing that last post. I am so glad I finally listened and wrote it. Please know I am praying for those of you who left comments by name! Please do keep me updated on what God does in your life!

(I also just want to say to all you beautiful, sweet women who are waiting for a husband – Jon was only the second man I ever dated…and we didn’t start dating until I was 22. The first date I ever went on was when I was 21. Please don’t lose hope – God is preparing you and your future husband for so much and it was huge for me to not bring a lot of relationship baggage into our marriage. I am praying SO much for you!!)

Like I said, I’m very overwhelmed. This weekend, I read each of your comments over and over again, prayed for each of you and just felt completely and wonderfully blessed by you. Thank you!

I’ve also found a LOT of comfort in these verses and just wanted to share them with you: “This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.” Confident access to God – I love that. I think a lot of times I feel like I can’t ask God for something – that it would be wrong to bring a desire and not a need to Him. But Jesus told us to come to Him like little children and Nathan has NO problem coming to me with every single one of his desires. 😉

We had a quiet weekend, which was very nice after a crazy week like last week. On Saturday, we did a few errands and then while Nathan took his nap, Jon worked on putting together a sandbox for Nathan (a Christmas present from Gammy and Pops that we are finally getting a chance to set up!) and I ran to Hobby Lobby. It’s amazing how much easier it is to shop there when Nathan’s not grabbing for every breakable thing in the store. 😉

Nathan LOVED his sandbox. Loved it! It was so cute to watch him. I imagine we’ll be spending many, many days out there. 🙂 It’s perfect too because it gives him something to do and I can sit out there with him and write.

We went to Clint and Leigh Ann’s for dinner and did a trial run of putting Nathan down to sleep there while we talked and hung out. It worked! Nathan slept great and went right back to sleep when we came home around 11:45. That’s the latest we’ve been out in a LONG time! 🙂 We let the kids take a bath together. All went well until Nathan felt the need to pee right when we were rinsing them off. Oh, my son…

Yesterday, Gammy and Pops took Nathan home with them from church and Jon and I got to go on a very long lunch date. It was absolutely wonderful. So much has been going on and it was so good just to talk. Our church has been going through an amazing series on marriage and it has given us lots of things to talk through and pray though. I’m excited to see what God is going to do through it!

We just got back from Lunch Bunch a little bit ago, Nathan is down for a nap and I’m about to start working on my deadline. Halfway through! 🙂

I have debated for the last few months whether I should write this here or not. It’s something I’m not very good or willing (a lot of the time) to talk about. But, I want this blog to be an honest representation of my life. I try to write about the struggles I’m in the middle of and the fun we’re having. I try to write about good days and bad days. Which was why I finally decided to write this post.

My brother and I are nineteen months apart. And I absolutely LOVED that growing up. Mom had all four of us in five and a half years and as a result, my siblings have become some of the best friends I have. They make me laugh and I love that we are all still very close. (Even as I’m writing this, I had to turn my phone on silent so it wouldn’t keep buzzing with a group text with all of them.)

So, when Jon and I started talking about having a family someday, I knew I wanted our children to be close as well. It took us about six months to get pregnant with Nathan and so I knew that it may not be the easiest road to get pregnant again with the next one, but I have been around so many women who actually had it easier the second time. So, I imagine my hopes were set pretty high.

We are now going on nine months of trying for another baby. And while I realize that nine months is nothing compared to how long a lot of people have to wait for a child, this month in particular has been the hardest on me. Maybe because in my mind, I would like to have been due with my second next month.

I know that God has a plan. And I know that His plan is for my good. But that doesn’t take away the sadness and disappointment of yet another month of hearing a “no” from God. Last Sunday morning was my official Break Down and Cry Day. And I hate that.

Here’s the thing: I am SO blessed! I have a wonderful husband, a beautiful and healthy son, a perfect little home and the ability to do what I love – both in being a mom and being a writer. I should want absolutely nothing else and yet I am having the hardest time in the world being content. I want another child. I want to experience another baby growing inside me and the miracle of feeling him or her kick. I want Nathan to be a big brother and for him to know the unending joy and sometimes pain of being a sibling.

And yet, God still has said no.

I don’t want to become bitter – always asking “why not?” and “how come?” I don’t want to become angry and not be able to share in the joy of seeing my friends get pregnant and have babies. I don’t want to become obsessed with this area of my life and miss out on the wonderful age that Nathan is and the time I have with him right now.

So this is what I’m working on: Patience. I’m working on waiting. And I’m working on learning more of who God is and what His plan for my life entails. Maybe it doesn’t include a house full of kids like I always dreamed of. Maybe it includes only one precious, precious boy. Whatever His plan, I am learning to let go of mine and trust in His.

I am a slow learner.

So, if you wouldn’t mind and if you think of it, would you be praying for me? Pray that I’ll learn to be content with THIS stage in my life. Pray that I will come to know God better and that I will cling to Him even tighter through this struggle. And please pray that He will be gentle with me as I learn these lessons.

And know that I am praying for all of you out there who are in a stage of waiting as well – whether it’s waiting to finish school, waiting for a husband, waiting for a baby or waiting for the next stage in life. If you feel up to it, please leave your prayer requests in the comments so I can be praying for you by name! We’re in this walk together.

Love the Lord and follow His plan for your lives, cling to Him and serve Him enthusiastically. – Joshua 22:5

Love to you,

We had a nice weekend. Friday night, we loaded the family up complete with a coupon and headed to Golden Corral.

Yep. Because we are THAT glamorous. Envy us.

Nathan enjoyed it though. Particularly this part:

I am a terrible mother. But, may I just say that Nathan has been stuck at 25 pounds for the past four months? He eats more than I do, most of the time. So, I have visions of a) Nathan having to face backwards in his carseat until he’s eleven because he’ll never pass the 30-pound mark and, b) Nathan as a 15 year-old who is hungry all. the. time and thin as a rail while he eats us out of house and home. So, I figured the extra calories weren’t THAT bad.

Um. Same thing goes for the cupcake. 😉

The rest of the weekend was filled with friend activities. Saturday, Nathan and I went on a long walk and a picnic with Leigh Ann and Hayley and then Sunday we had a joint birthday party for me and Jamie. LOTS of fun. And we still have LOTS of desserts over here.

I’m excited for my taste-buds and scared for my waistline.

I made the Pioneer Woman’s Mocha Brownies and oh. boy.

You can understand my concern for my waistline now.

And Nathan learned a new trick.

Pardon the poor video quality. Sometimes we just grab what’s closest and it usually ends up being the phone. He has now given me, Jon, Gammy, his Mickey Mouse cup and doll, Kody, my leg and almost everything that stands still long enough an Eskimo kiss.

It’s cute until there’s snot dripping out of his nose. 😉

Things have been rather slow this week what with the colds and the deadline and the trying-to-eat-yogurt-for-breakfast and all, so I thought today, I would take the easy route and show you all a few of the things I’ve found on Pinterest lately that caught my attention.

Yes. I have become that blogger I’ve always had a mix of pity and sadness for.

And yes. I just ended a sentence with a preposition. Editor friends, I apologize, it was uncalled for.

Again. Apologies.

I think this is genius and should I ever have a little blue room that is in need of not one but two desks, I will have to create this.

Possibly the CUTEST picture of a baby girl I’ve ever seen. If we ever have a girl, she is going to sit in a suitcase in a tutu and pearls whether she likes it or not. 😉

For some reason, I’ve been very into things written on wood lately. This verse is a favorite and I think it looks just beautiful written that way.

I have seriously made these chocolate covered, peanut butter stuffed bites of heavenliness about three times in the last three weeks. It’s motivation to get up and work out. And only eat yogurt for breakfast.

And just because I thought it was funny:

Wise lesson to take to heart, my sweet, young, single friends. 😉

Are any of you on Pinterest? Addicting, is it not??

Today has just been one of those days when I wish Nathan still was about this size:

Not forever – but just long enough to get a nice, long snuggle in there and smell his sweet baby head again. 🙂 I held my dear friend Melanie’s three-week-old son Bennett today for a few minutes and I just about wanted to cry he was so sweet and little. Nathan never seemed more huge to me!

We met Jamie, her kids and Melanie, her kids and her mother-in-law, who is in town visiting little Bennett, at Chick-Fil-A for lunch today. We had a great time visiting there! I haven’t seen them too much this week with all the birthday festivities going on, so it was wonderful catching up. And Nathan got to go play in the “big kids” play area for the first time. I’m pretty sure he thought he was about the biggest kid in the world. 😉

I’m almost through with Beth Moore’s Living Beyond Yourself and guys, it’s awesome. Please plan a time to go through it. The lessons are a little long sometimes, but I have learned so much. I’ve been trying to be diligent about getting up, showering and working through a day in this study before Nathan wakes up in the mornings and so far, God has been very faithful to give me that time with Him.

But, all that being said, I’m almost done with the book and looking for another Bible study. Anyone have any suggestions?? 🙂

And now, Nathan’s down for a nap and I’ve got to work on this deadline! 🙂 I’ve never been more grateful for a boy who takes good naps. 😉

Have a great weekend!

I had a great birthday! 🙂 I got spoiled rotten by Jon, Nathan and my family. Thank you guys!! Love you very much! After celebrating all weekend, I’m bummed that it’s over. 🙁

Anyways.

Nathan and I got our hair cut today! This was his first time getting it cut in a professional salon. He did AWESOME. I was worried that he was going to freak out or try jumping off the chair, but thankfully, he didn’t do either one. 🙂 He did practice some modeling poses though:

I thought he was about the cutest thing in the world while he was getting his hair cut. 🙂

This is our dear friend and hairstylist Jackie. We like her lots. 🙂

He’s a real boy with a real boy haircut now. 🙂 🙁

I’d show y’all my haircut but one of my birthday presents was a bike and a helmet. And that’s why I’m not going to show you my hair. 😉 But we had a fantastic little family ride today. It’s hilarious to listen to Nathan laugh and talk the. entire. time. 😉

I absolutely LOVED reading your contest entries! Thank you for all your sweet words and happy birthday wishes! You guys are the bestest! 🙂

AND…the winner of the autographed copy of your choice of novel is….

Ginger!

Congratulations!! Email me at erynnmangum[at]gmail.com and let me know which book you’d like!

And thank you all for entering! 🙂

Technically, it’s not my birthday until tomorrow, but we’ve been living it up anyway.

Because that’s just how we do it at this house. 😉

On Saturday, we got up late and went out to brunch at Mimi’s Cafe, thanks to a free breakfast coupon I got for my birthday. Too fun! We felt sorry for all the sweet old ladies who were there trying to visit while Nathan yelled, “HI! HI!! HI!” and waved with chocolate covered hands.

Yesterday, Jon and I dropped the tot off at my parents’ house and headed out for a date night courtesy of my wonderful brother-in-law and sister-in-law at this fabulous little restaurant in town. SO NEEDED. It’s hard sometimes to only have Jon to myself at the end of the day when I’m exhausted and just want to veg on the couch. We spent so long at dinner we missed the movie we’d talked about going to, but it was worth it. 🙂

Dinner was delicious! It’s fun to dress up and pretend to be gourmet. 🙂 Thanks for watching Nathan for us, Mom and Dad!

AND… I have saved the best for the very last!!!

Remember the EXCITING news I had for you guys a few weeks ago?? Well, all the i’s are crossed, all the t’s are dotted (um, strike that. Reverse it) and I can now show you THIS:

Yay! It’s a brand new, three book series coming your way very soon! It’s tentatively titled Paige Rewritten – we’ll see what the final title ends up being. I’ve been writing pretty much nonstop for the last three weeks on it – so very excited to share Paige with you all! 🙂

And all good news and birthdays must come with a contest, I think. Don’t you? Contests are just party-ish feeling. 🙂

Leave a comment telling me who your favorite character was from one of my books and why and you’ll be entered to win an autographed copy of your choice of my novels! YAY!! 🙂 I’ll pick the winner Wednesday night.

Happy commenting!

Nathan was 18 months old yesterday. I swear the months just go by faster and faster!

We love you so much, precious boy! You keep us laughing most of the day!

He’s pretty proud of himself. 🙂