LOL JK

Oh man, I failed again. Remember how I posted almost a month ago that now that I am staying home with Brody I will have more time to blog again? LOL, JK. I was delusional.

Let me just tell y'all, having an active almost-two-year-old that all of a sudden can't get up and down and walk anymore is an adventure. It is like reverting to newborn days (minus the pumping, feeding every two hours, spit-up and naps). He is needier and whinier (and also cuddlier though).

Brody Bean got his cast off Tuesday, Oct. 4 but because both his knee and ankle were bent for so long in the cast, he is having a hard time adjusting to walking again. He refuses to put his leg down or even attempt to bear weight, but we are hoping his little tendons and ligaments and all that jazz are ready to be on the move again soon.

happy boy after having his cast off

Don't let that happy face fool you though, some days have gone like this:

flinging a fit because I wouldn't let him eat the laptop charger. Check out that pout. 

His leg has really thrown a wrench in our plans since we have been kind of confined to the house with him not being able to enjoy being outside or going to the park. We have taken an almost daily long walk to get out some though.

Brody has also enjoyed his new found love, coloring. With him being unable to sit comfortably in a chair and reach a coloring surface, we have had to lay on the floor and color. Usually, I'd be completely against this because by no means can he keep a crayon or marker on the piece of paper (and off the carpet). But Crayola has this amazing product called ColorWonder where the special ColorWonder markers or paint only write on the special ColorWonder paper. So, we can lie on the floor and he can go to town coloring without tearing our carpet all to pieces (and making us lose our hefty security deposit).

I snapped a pic of him coloring back when his leg was freshly fractured and shot Crayola an email just thanking them for their awesome invention. They sent back the sweetest email wishing Brody a swift recovery and then also mailed us some great coupons and free ColorWonder merchandise! Talk about customer service (side note, this is not a sponsored post haha). 

Throughout the day we've done a pretty good job about keeping a schedule of dropping off Sawyer at school, eating breakfast and then watching Mickey and playing while I work on invitation samples (or design jobs) until around 10:30a then going on a long walk before lunch followed by a nap (while I do some house stuff) then going to pick Sawyer up.

Everything has gone well aside from me actually being able to work on invitations. Most days, Brody is crawling all over my laptop wanting to play. But, I have gotten a good bit done and I am pretty proud of some of the samples I've created.

So, that's life right now. I have about 800 blog posts in draft mode waiting for me to finish, edit and organize. I am not making any promises about when they'll be posted though, because I don't like to set myself up for failure ;).

I leaped.

Well friends, I have returned after a 10-month hiatus. And just like the last time I returned after a long break, I have a lot of rather large life updates to share.

For starters, I took a big leap two weeks ago.

Monday, August 29, I turned in a resignation at work so that I can stay at home with Brody and Sawyer.

This was by no means a rash decision. We prayed long and hard about it. We talked to our church leaders and friends, and we went over the “what if’s” a million times.

We also crunched numbers over and over again. With our daycare costs being only about $400 less than what I make a month and with us having no daycare options for when Sawyer started school, we knew the right choice to make but were terrified to make it. In the end, we just listened to what God was telling us, and we obeyed.

It’s going to be tough financially for us, but we have faith that we can do it and that God will make a way.

So, I leaped.

I am not only excited about getting to spend more time with Brody & Sawyer, I'm also pumped to do some freelance graphics and content management at home along with another endeavor…

I am opening my own design and invitation shop, Front Porch Paperie & Design. I have been making invitations, printables and other things for friends and family for quite some time, and I’ve decided to expand to include some logo and business graphic design (and start actually charging for my services). I’ll begin with an Etsy shop that  I am hoping to launch some time around my birthday (9.27).

I've already had a few awesome business customers:

My friend Marie sells some amazing jewelry (I especially love her oyster shell necklaces). Visit her shop here

Live in the Carteret County area? Check out Tripoint Fitness

check out Savage Boutique on Facebook, the shop will launch soon!

God’s timing is amazing and this decision has already been a blessing in so many ways. Especially considering Brody broke his leg Thursday night (by just falling an awkward way while playing with Sawyer) and I can now be with him as we deal with a large cast and no weight bearing for 4 to 6 weeks.

excuse the crumbs on the giant bean bag, it's been his favorite place to eat, sleep and lay ever since Thursday night.

If Friday hadn’t been my last day, I would have been at a conference this week and scrambling to find a way to either not go or to find someone to keep Brody. And Josh would be taking off work to cart Bro to and from doctor appointments for the next few days.

While I am not happy about my 22 month old’s broken tibia, I am so thankful that the timing worked out that I can be with him during this time.

I appreciate any prayers you can send up for us as we make this transition and also for Brody (he is already pretty miserable and tired of not being able to run and chase after Sawyer & Sookie, and it’s only been four days).

I am hoping to slowly get back into blogging as well, so check back for more posts soon (hopefully). 

Where My Witches At?

My good friend Kristen (aka "KG") is getting married in April and our friend Kathryn had the great idea of throwing her a shower in October so we could celebrate KG with a fun night together in our costumed-best.

It was such a great time to celebrate in a more laid back shower atmosphere and enjoy some drinks, photo booth fun, and fall/Halloween themed food.

How cute is Kristen (middle) as a mail-order bride?

So much fun celebrating KG's upcoming nuptials and I had fun getting to use my design brain again to make some printables and the invitation. 

Brody Bean is One

A year ago today, Brody Scott Edmondson made his debut.

His first year of life has been nothing like Sawyer's was. He's been through a move, a long string of babysitters, and a lot less time with our family's but he has been so chill and happy through it all.

He is so adventurous and loves to climb and balance on things (and give me small heart attacks).  His current favorite balance beam is the laundry basket.

Brody has thankfully been a much easier baby than Sawyer. He has been free of any medical scares so far, enjoys being left alone to play, and started walking at 10 months (much to his brother's dismay).

Sawyer is slowly getting used to not being the only kid. He gets frustrated easily when Brody tries to play with his toys or "messes up" the iPad, but he's getting there.

Brody loves the beach and the sand, he's stay outside and crawl around in it forever if we'd let him. He also loves pushing things in front of him while he walks or pulling things behind him. The stairs also provide hours of entertainment for him, as do books.

At first, I thought Brody was going to look like me but he keeps looking more and more like Josh, just like Sawyer did. He has almost white blonde hair and blue eyes, which makes my Papa (who had similar coloring when he was little) so happy.


We have his birthday party this Sunday (at home), and we can't wait to celebrate our happy, easy-going Brody Bean.

Dee Gets Married

On June 6, 2015, my beautiful little sister Deanna got married on Bearwallow Mountain in Hendersonville, North Carolina.

photo credit: Graham Terhune

The rehearsal dinner, wedding, and reception were all held at the Grand Highlands Lodge, surrounded by the natural, beautiful scenery of the NC mountains. While we had a few dark clouds and the wind picked up, the rain held off for the entire wedding! There was an amazing rainbow during rehearsal dinner and an even more amazing sunset as we all left dinner.

Dee at rehearsal, looking out at the mountains

the whole fam

just look at that.

the Lord showing off.

While the weather held off, we did have a few hiccups. The extension cord for the DJ had a short in it so my dad and Papa drove down the mountain for a "quick" run to the store to grab a new one. Because of traffic, it took them over 3 hours to get back. My dad was throwing on his suit and running through the lodge literally minutes before the wedding began.

Another hiccup was the sheer amount of people inside the Lodge while we were still getting ready and getting Dee in her dress. Since the mountains are about 5 to 6 hours from our hometown, a lot of our guests left home early to be sure they had ample time to get to the wedding, which means they had no place to go but to the wedding site. I was so on edge, worried that someone was going to wander back to our suite and see Dee before she walked down the aisle.

gorgeous little bridey

Dee with some of the bridesmaids, Bethany, Hope & Kayla

The hardest part of the wedding was that my Mema couldn't be there. At the time, she was living at Golden Living (an assisted living facility) and we knew that a 7 hour drive would be too much for her, not to mention that getting her up and down the mountain, out to the wedding site, back in to the lodge for the reception and back to the cabin would have been a lot for both her and the family. Praise the Lord our family friend Mr. Frankie was able to hold our iPad at the lodge and Skype her while our other friend Ms. Robin helped her watch on her iPad at Golden Living. Mr. Frankie was standing at the balcony when Deanna, Daddy, the other bridesmaids, and I started our walk to the cross and we were able to blow her kisses and let her see Dee in her dress (and of course we cried like children). She was also able to enjoy the first part of the reception as people came by our table to see the iPad and tell her hello!

Mema hanging out at the reception via iPad 

I was BLOWN AWAY by the beautiful flowers and decor. Dee wanted an ethereal rustic feeling to her wedding with lavender and blush colors and her florist, Larry did a truly amazing job.

photo credit: Graham Terhune

photo credit: Graham Terhune

We danced and danced at the reception (I am fairly certain half of the crowd saw under my dress a few times, oops), and it was just an absolutely beautiful day.

I am so happy that John is now officially a part of our family and that God chose him just for Dee.

View more photos here on Graham's blog!

The details:

Photography: Graham Terhune Photography 

Catering: A Catering Couple 

Venue: Grand Highlands at Bearwallow Mountain

Florist: Flowers by Larry 

Cake:  Callie's Confections

#deannagetsmoody

My sister Deanna married her long-time love John Moody (hence the fun bach party hashtag) on June 6, 2015. But before that, we celebrated her upcoming nuptials with a quick, fun bachelorette party in Charlotte, NC!

After having so much fun at my friend Hope's bachelorette bash wayyy back in 2011 (part 1 and part 2), I knew Charlotte would be a great place to plan another bach party that wouldn't be so far away or require an entire weekend (we were limited to just one night).

Deanna, the other bridesmaids, and I left my parents house Saturday April 19th for Charlotte and made a quick stop in Downtown Raleigh to have some brunch at Busy Bee Cafe. We sat in the roof-top dining area and it was a gorgeous day! I highly recommend the crack tots.

roof-top dining at Busy Bee
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"crack" tater tots
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the beautiful Bride-to-Be at Busy Bee!

After a long drive to Charlotte (where Dee's bridesmaids got to meet Road Rage Lauren), we checked into the hotel and my ever-so-unprepared sister realized she had completely forgotten her hanging bag which contained her outfit of the evening. I had brought two outfits so Dee wore the dress I had brought  (that I really wanted to wear, but hey, what are sisters/MoHs for?). Coincidentally it was the same dress I wore to her 21st birthday dinner!

We quickly changed clothes and headed to Peculiar Rabbit in the Plaza Midwood area of Charlotte for dinner. If you've never been to Charlotte, I highly recommend researching all the fun neighborhoods. Plaza Midwood has a ton of great restaurants (such as Peculiar Rabbit and Soul Gastrolounge) and was a little closer to the uptown area where we were staying. We wanted to try something a little more "Charlotte-y" instead of just a chain/super touristy spot in the Epicentre.

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Dee and Me at dinner

We sadly didn't get to sit in the rooftop area, but check out the awesome view from their deck!

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Following dinner, we went back to the hotel for a lingerie shower for Dee where we thoroughly embarrassed her by making her model all her gifts.

isn't she stinking precious?!!

the Bride and her maids before heading out

We had another round of freshening up before going to Howl at the Moon, a super fun piano bar with great live music!

At Howl at the Moon, we hit a major hiccup. One of the bridesmaids, Kayla realized she had left her ID at home and we watched the bouncer check ever. single. person's. ID. at the door to the bar. She apologized and said she would just go back to the room but we weren't having it. I just happened to have two versions of my driver licenses (one with my address in Macclesfield, and another with the Tarboro address), so we decided to just see if she could pretend to be Lauren Edmondson long enough to get in the door. We knew it would be a long shot considering Kayla looks nothing like me, is about 7 inches shorter than me, and definitely doesn't look like she could be 27 years old, but IT WORKED. That bouncer glanced at the ID, made no comment that another Lauren Edmondson had just walked in the door, stamped her hand and sent her through!

We had a fabulous time dancing, singing at the top of our lungs, and celebrating Deanna the rest of the night.