welcome mid-november :)

sweet november!

I love November for many reasons, one of the main reasons is because it's thanksgiving, and just thinking about all the things I can be thankful for. My family is one of them, and so thankful that we are hosting Thanksgiving at our house this year! Mike's parents and grandparents are coming from California and St. Louis! I'm excited because I'm buying a turkey and making lots of yummy foods! oh, and decorating... which makes my heart happy! :)

Maybe one of the most exciting things about november is that it's my birthday month! ;) This year my birthday falls on Thanksgiving day, which what a blessing that is!! Everyone should be thankful for me. :) {I'm totally kidding, hehe} I've been saving up for my own birthday present this year, and I am just too excited about it... details coming soon!

I am so thankful for November and for this sweet baby girl who isn't so much a baby anymore. I'm also thankful for the excitement and busyness that this season brings.

Also for being in our new home this year. Typing that just fills my heart with joy knowing that this is our house to build our family in for the Lord! These pictures make me thankful for a my beautiful big backyard to take pictures in!

Watching this little baby girl grow has been one of the most precious things to see this year and I'm praying that her heart will be thankful the more she does grow.

I'm so thankful for my discipleship huddle that is so encouraging and challenging to me. We are doing a "no excuse november" that our women's ministry director started. It means there is no excuse to not read his word daily, so we are twittering #NEN for accountability along with a verse that we read that day. These women keep me accountable, and I am so thankful for that!

{follow me on twitter @hilarysurratt}

so blessed and so thankful!

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

fun fall day!

Today was such a fun fall day! This morning I took Maggie Claire to get her picture taken in her cupcake halloween costume. Seriously, it was so cute. I have never taken her to get her pictures done by anyone, because I have just always done them, but this opportunity came up last minute and so I jumped on it. She did such a good job that the photographer gave her her first sucker. She loved it and sucked all of it gone! I can't wait to see how they turned out! Here is mags eating her lollipop with my mom who came with us this morning!

After taking pictures we went and ate at Chickfila. She has never really played in the playplace, so I let her play for a few minutes and she was acting like she could play in there forever! Crazy girl! {She had her legwarmers & bloomers on underneath her costume}

After Mags woke up from her afternoon nap, we went to the pumpkin patch at Boone Hall. I forgot my camera, so all of these pictures were taken on my phone! Here is our family picture at the pumpkin patch, We had fun taking pictures with all the pumpkins!

Maggie Claire even picked out her own little pumpkin. She was so sweet playing with it.

Maggie Claire with her Oma & Opa

I have been decorating my house for fall. I put my little pumpkin lights outside with our candycorn welcome sign! :) I think we will actually have lots of trick or treaters too because we have quite a few kids on our street! yay! :)

Happy Fall y'all!

november first.

hello november!

This is my absolute favorite month of the year, and not only because it's my birthday month, but I am just in love with the weather! Plus we are getting ready for all of the holiday festivities beginning with {my birthday is the day before thanksgiving} Thanksgiving and then coming soon there after... Christmas! I have already been looking at the Christmas decorations at Target and Walmart! hehe. Oh yes, and I remembered that I bought a mini pink Christmas tree last year before I even knew I was pregnant, and I can't wait to put it up in MC's room!

And now for some pictures of maggie claire... don't you just love the jean skirt?!?!

On Friday was Rocktoberfest {fall festival} at our church, and I dressed MC up as a ballerina. My friend Allison gave me this bathing suit with a tutu attached at one of my baby showers for MC, and I put a long sleeve shirt & leggings on underneath it for the festival, and there is her halloween costume! {It's really a 9 month suit, so there is room to grow for next summer} She was the cutest ballerina there...

My nephew Jack was a firefighter, and Tate was a dalmatian! They were so cute together! oh, and Tate... he was just too adorable... every time I would look at him I would just giggle because of how cute he looked in his dalmatian costume!

Me & my little ballerina!

Maggie Claire got to meet her aunt Brittainy this weekend too! It was Brittainy's birthday this weekend, so she came home from school in Florida to see everyone, celebrate her birthday, and meet maggie claire! {Brittainy is Mike's sister}

That's just about all the excitement going on around here! It's kinda crazy being a SAHM because there is so much to be done around the house... the laundry is piling up, there is baby stuff every where, there are dishes that need to be cleaned & put away, but all I have energy to do while MC is napping is sit on the couch in my pjs at 3:30 in the afternoon and blog. Well, at least I did take a shower today! :)

happy Monday everyone!

life before maggie claire...

Happy Monday Everyone!

So I got the call at 5:25 this morning that the labor & delivery unit was full, and they didn't have enough beds to induce me today, which I'm totally fine with! :) They are going to call me again tomorrow, and if they are still full, I have an appointment on Wednesday w/ my doctor to see if I have progressed anymore & we'll go from there.

I'm thinking she is holding out to share a birthday with my brother, Jacoby, tomorrow! {10-5-10} Or maybe she wants to have the cool birthday of 10-10-10 which is on Sunday! It's all in God's perfect timing, and I don't mind wait until this weekend either! :)

Here is my 39 week belly shot!

Last night, I decided to make some treats for my hospital guests & the nurses for when I have Maggie Claire this week! I made the famous pretzel surprise and bagged them up really cute with these adorable tags that I won from the pretty paperie! :) You should go check out Natalie's blog and her etsy shop! She is super talented with graphic design, and I loved how my tags turned out!

This is Mike & I on Wednesday at groundswell united, our mid week youth service! We are representing the "blue tribe" which is 7th & 8th grade. Mike looks real thrilled to take a picture with me... lol. Oh, speaking of my cutie husband, I cut his hair last night, and he is looking mighty fine today! :) I told him that he needed a "daddy haircut" so he will be looking sharp for when maggie claire arrives.... hehe.

This past week has been super fun, but a little busy with everything going on in ministry!!

Last weekend, was the middle school allnighter! {Crazy! I went and stayed until midnight!} Since Mike is the Middle School minister/director, he was busy getting everything ready. On Wednesday was our midweek service and this weekend was the last weekend of Nitro, our middle school service on the weekends. Needless to say, this was a very bust week for ministry! Now it's behind us and we can relax and enjoy our baby girl coming soon! :)

Here are some crazy pictures with me & my friends on Wednesday after groundswell. These girls are some of my best friends, and they just love talking to maggie claire in my belly! They can't wait for her arrival either!

{from right to left in the 1st picture: Sarah, Brittany, April, and me}

oh yes... one last thing! I am so in love with this fall weather that we are getting in Charleston today! This makes me excited about staying pregnant for a little while longer... {well, not too much longer... a week max!} I'm finally not sweating as soon as I wake up in the morning! lol. I'll be rocking the maternity jeans today with a light jacket! :)

Since it is Monday, I'm going to go ahead and link up to carissa's miscellany monday.

Enjoy your Monday everyone!

pregnancy updates & belly pictures

1st of all, happy first day of October! :)

October is a special month for our family, because of all the birthday celebrations and is about to be even more special with our new bundle of joy joining us this month!

Here is my 37 & 38 week belly shots! I can't believe how huge I look! At my 38 week appointment my total weight gain is 35 pounds! That is so crazy to me! The best thing is that hopefully after a few months of having the baby girl, I will lose it all! :) lol. I am going to breastfeed, which also helps with getting rid of all that baby weight too!

I can't really complain overall about my pregnancy, but once I hit week 36, it really has been miserable being pregnant! It is hard to sleep, hard to get up out of bed, hard to move, hard to bend over... etc. The worst things that have happened to me during pregnancy is getting carpal tunnel in my hands, and swelling in my feet. I've heard that once the baby comes out, both of those things almost go away immediately, so I am looking forward to seeing my skinny feet again, and my fingers not being numb all day! I can finally finish writing all of my thank you notes! :)

Tomorrow, Saturday, I will be 39 weeks! I will of course take another picture, and a bittersweet moment is that my 39 week picture will be my last picture! :)

hip hip horray!!!

At my doctor appointment today, my doctor informed me that I was ready to go into labor at anytime! My cervix is ready to go, and has progressed! He also told me that he was willing to induce me into labor next week if Maggie Claire hasn't come on her own before then! That means in a few days, I will be holding my sweet baby girl! My blood pressure was up a little bit, and my doctor said that it was most likely from being on my feet so much, and he wasn't too worried, but since today was my last day of work, it should help some if I take it easy! :)

I'm just super excited about seeing the light at the end of the tunnel! She is finally going to arrive! I got really nervous today for the first time about having Maggie Claire, but of course, I just want everything to be perfect, and for Maggie Claire to be healthy when she arrives!

I'll keep you all updated and please keep me in your prayers!!!

a bunch of miscellany!

1. the perfect weather.... after being pregnant all summer long, I am looking forward to jeans & boots again. Let's bring on the fall weather soon, so I can wear my super cute maternity jeans before MC gets here! Plus, yesterday I bought some new gray suede boots from Ross. If you want to beat everyone from buying all the good boots that you'll want this winter, so now and get yours. I found mine for $14.99. Can't be that! Anyone else with me on wanting some fall weather???

2. Updated 33 weeks and 34 weeks belly pics... check out my new super cute pink flower headband too! :)

3. car seat change. We went to babies r us to take a few things back the other day only to find out that our car seat is not sold in the store anymore! How annoying is that?!?!? So, look at this cute one that is replacing the other one. We added it to our registry! It is the Graco snugride 35 in Logan print. It has a houndstooth print on it! Plus it still matches our stroller with the green and black! So exciting! :)

4. cutesie pootsie. Two of my friends from church couldn't make it to my baby shower last week and later on gave me these two gifts.

Isn't this little night light adorable?!?!?

oh yes, and this is a hand knitted cupcake for maggie claire! I still can't believe that my friend Tiffany actually made this! She is so talented, and I don't even know why she hasn't opened up an etsy shop yet!! Go give her some lovin on her blog and tell her how she needs to start one!
5. we found a snake. Yesterday after church, we were outside admiring the new fish in my in-laws little tiny pond. Well, then this little friend of ours came out. I just couldn't believe it! My husband decided to catch it with the fishing net. I wouldn't come close. As you can see in the picture, me{in the white skirt} and my mother-in-law stayed far away. Yes, we eventually let him go because it was just a garden snake and won't hurt anyone, but I'm afraid my MIL will never go back and try to take care of her plants again.
6. Today I'm having lunch with my dear friend carissa from lowercase letters. She is the one who host miscellany monday! Link up and share what's so miscellany in your life today!!!

rOcktoberfest

Tonight was the rOcktoberfest, and it was a lot of fun! I had a vendor booth selling my hairbows & paintings, and it went really well! I was really scared at first because I didn't know we had to bring our own table, but then Scott and Mike saved the day and found me a table to set up on! I wish I could have walked around more, but I had a constant flow of people, {which is such a blessing} so I couldn't leave my booth! I heard all about the pigs, and I wish I would have seen that... I told Mike that next year he is going in and catching one of those greased pigs!!!! I also didn't know they had funnel cakes, I would have totally sent someone out to get me one of those! Mike and the Student Ministry team were in charge of getting games together, and I think they did a fabulous job! I am already looking forward to next year! Here are some pics, mostly of my family, because I gave my mom my camera to take pics... Enjoy! Oh yeah, my little nephew was such a cute rockstar with his fohawk and everything! :)

{What a bright vendor I am!}

{the rockstar and his groupie}

aka jack & my mom

What a cute family... and soon to be family of 4!!!!!
What a handsome little stud

Happy Fall Y'all!

Before I start.... I just wanted to say, I can't believe that it's already October!!!! {so close to graduation!} I'm not normally very "excited about halloween", but this year, I decided to get excited and add a few little decorations around the house! Last year Uncle Ron and Aunt Marla sent us this wall/door hanger {they said that it was Morgan and Ryan who insisted on sending us this} I was looking for it the other day, and I was so excited to find it and hang it up! I added a cute little {BOO!} ribbon to the top of it too!

My mom and I bought pumpkin soap dispensers with some yummy smelling soap from bath&body works last weekend, and she gave me these cute hand towels! Can you tell we love candycorn decorations?

I went to Target {my fav store ever} the other day and they were having a special if you buy 2 bags of M&Ms, you got a free reusable bag! so I did{I had $1 off coupon too, so I got them for a good deal} Plus, I just had to get some little pumpkin hanging lights for our halloween small group party this coming week at our house! I got the orange bucket & cups at a yard sale 2 weeks ago for $.50 when I went with April & Sarah. They were brand new still in the package too!

I also have these hairbows & headbands for sale that {I know} are absolutely adorable!!

http://www.paintbakeandcreate.blogspot.com/

These are pictures of Jack{my nephew} last year at Halloween! He was only 6 months old, {he is growing up so fast!} but these pictures are just so adorable I had to share them again!!!!! I can't wait until this year, Beth has the cutest and coolest costume for him!!!