Sweet Baby Bump - 22 Weeks

The highlights:

- Finally felt baby girl move this week!! It happened on Monday at work, which just so happened to be a super crazy day where I didn't get to eat lunch until about 2 pm. Right after I ate, I felt a few little flips and flutters. It was like she saying, "Thanks, mom. I've been starving." 

- Loving all things edible right now. My appetite is fierce. 

- We are heading to Ikea tomorrow to pick up a few things for the nursery. 

- It's our first time ever going to Ikea. I cannot wait. Any tips?

- The hubs has been totally amazing lately, dealing with my crazy hormone mood swings and my perfectionist behavior all at once as we try to prepare for a baby AND sell our house.

- It's all starting to really feel real...there's a baby on the way! 4 months to go!

And just because I love a comparison...12 weeks versus 22 weeks.

Giveaway - Buhbay Art Print

Y'all know how there are always those totally adorable art prints all over Pinterest, whether in a living room, bedroom or nursery? Well it is someone's lucky day today because I have the adorable shop Buhbay here today...and they are sweetly offering one reader a custom art print!

I stumbled onto this shop looking for prints for Emory's nursery and I fell madly in love with several of the prints. They are modern and colorful, but still classic and pretty. The tag line of the shop is "made with love and warm fuzzies" and that made my mommy heart melt. Most of these prints are designed to be in a nursery, but with a little color tweaking they could go absolutely anywhere! Take a look at a few of my favorites from the shop:

This print would be super cute as a last name for couples, too!

Aren't those totally adorable? I can't wait to show off the one that I got for E's room. : )

Enter the giveaway using the tool below.

And if you just can't wait to purchase some of the above adorable-ness, Amanda from Buhbay is generously offering all Mackey Madness readers 20% off of their purchase. Use the code: MACKEY20.

Good luck!

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Sweet Baby Bump - 21 Weeks

The highlights:

- Still feeling really great and just so blessed. 

- Back to craving chicken fried steak and pizza all the time. 

- Obsessed with Sonic's cheese tots. 

- Definitely feeling pregnant these days.

Life has been a little crazy over here, growing our sweet baby and getting our house ready to list for sale. We are officially on the market and could not be more excited! I'll be back around soon. 

Two

There's two places that you can find me recently...

- Over at Nicole's talking about our marriage and walking with God in marriage.

and

- At Steph's just being over all jealous that she's on vacation. 

That's all I have for today. Pregnancy brain is on the rise. 

But here's an itty bitty baby bikini to start the week off right. 

That my husband says Emory can only wear with a turtleneck and leggings underneath.

I love having a cute protective husband. 

Sweet Baby Bump - 20 Weeks

The highlights:

- We had our anatomy scan on Monday and everything looked great!

- Emory was super active and adorable during the ultrasound...we are in love. 

- Several people have said that I've really "popped." Hooray for a belly!

- Got several little things for the nursery this week. 

- Still loving maxi dresses to cover the bump. 

One of my sweet blog friends, Ana, sent me the cutest little baby hat and I can't wait to put it on our sweet girl's head. Talk about melt my heart on the spot. Thanks, Ana!

Sometimes and Always #43

Sometimes: Trying to get a house ready to sell is hard work.

Always: We are so excited to list our house! The prep is worth it. 

Sometimes: I think my hubby is the cutest thing in the world. 

Always: I think I'm pretty blessed...I ended up with one amazing man. 

Sometimes: I eat Nutella straight from the jar with a spoon. 

Always: I consider it semi-healthy. : )

Sometimes: Getting stuff for Emory's nursery makes my heart melt. 

Always: Little girl stuff is too adorable for words, especially when it's YOUR little girl.

I spy crib bedding!

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PS: Go here to see if you won my chevron pillow cover giveaway! 

Sun Stand Still

Church yesterday was one of those "wow" sermons, that hit you deep and hard and stick with you the rest of the day. The kind that make you think and stir your heart. 

Our church has been reading the book Sun Stand Still (by Steven Furtick), which talks about boldly praying/asking God to do things and believing that those things will be done, as people in the Bible did. It's about asking God to make the sun stand still - which means a miracle of some sort, whether it's curing sickness or healing a relationship, etc. It takes that whole scripture "tell a mountain to move and it will be moved" to life and challenges us to really live and believe like that every single day. 

But yesterday in church we talked about what happens when you do live/believe like that and it doesn't happen. What about the times when Godly people are in a crisis and they ask God to perform a miracle and He doesn't? What do we do when God doesn't make that miracle happen, even though we believed? 

I think this sermon really hit home with me because of our miscarriage. That was the hardest thing that I've ever had to go through and I prayed for a miracle during the waiting days between appointments. We prayed, family prayed, friends prayed, some of y'all that knew prayed...we all asked God to "make the sun stand still" and save our baby. But it didn't happen. 

So I've been exactly there, exactly where we were talking about in church yesterday. When you fervently believe that God can and will do something, but He doesn't. And even though I've been through it, I still don't have an easy answer. I don't understand God's will all the time. But I chose to believe and trust Him anyway. I believe that He answered my prayer, just not in the way that I asked. He used our situation to bring glory and honor to Him. 

I've been thinking about this a lot lately because right now, I should be holding a baby in my arms. I was due on August 25. I'm not holding a baby in my arms, but I have a sweet baby girl in my stomach. I still don't have all the answers as to why we have to go through bad things, but I know that without that miscarriage, I wouldn't have my sweet Emory now. She wouldn't exist. And while I certainly wouldn't have planned things out this way and I love our first baby just as much, this is the way God planned it for us and He has brought so much good from it. 

So I hope that whatever you are going through right now, whatever crisis is attacking you right now, whether you are still waiting for God to answer your prayer or He already answered it and it wasn't the way you planned, still believe. Still trust. Still hang in there. God has not forsaken you.

True faith begins when we can't see/understand. 

Sweet Baby Bump - 19 Weeks

The highlights:

- I'm totally unable to fit in my pre-pregnancy scrub tops. The belly is growing. 

- I started cleaning out the junk room, aka the nursery to be. 

- Feeling SO good...no major symptoms. I am blessed!

- We go back next week for an appointment and ultrasound. 

- My hair is growing like crazy!

Sweet baby girl, we can't wait to meet you. You've only been in our lives for 19 weeks, but you have taken over our hearts and we can't imagine life without you. I find myself talking to you and praying for you throughout the day and I just can't wait to really know who you are as a person. Most of all I just hope that you love the Lord. And I hope you get your dad's eyes. 

Dove Conditioner - Review

If there is one thing that I have, it is thick thick hair. It's definitely nice at times, but it's also quick to get big and frizzy. The summer months are always the worst for me when it comes to hair. I walk outside and that not-so-amazing Louisiana humidity attacks my hair with full force. Not even a straightener can help. I'm always looking for something to condition my hair and take it back to silky and smooth.

So of course when I was contacted about reviewing the new Dove Advanced Conditioners, I was beyond thrilled. They are made to nourish and repair dry and damaged hair.

I tried out the Nourishing Oil Care Daily Treatment Conditioner and it was love at first squirt. The smell is amazing, which I expected since Dove products always smell delicious. The formula is thick and it didn't take much to coat all of my hair. I felt like my hair dried faster and had much less frizz than normal. The more I have used it, the more I notice that my hair seems smoother and silkier. It's a win!

See below for a chance to win a $1,000 Spafinder gift card.

Follow the link below and enter your answer to this question/prompt: "What is your favorite hair product?"

Also, there's a coupon at the bottom so don't miss it.
_________________________________________________________________________________

Enter to win a $1,000 Spafinder gift certificate!

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COMMENTS TO THIS POST ARE NOT SWEEPSTAKES ENTRIES. PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR ENTRY METHODS FOR THIS SWEEPSTAKES.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

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This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. Winners will have 72 hours to claim the prize, or an alternative winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 9/4/2012 - 9/30/2012

Be sure to visit Dove^®Hair.com to get a coupon for $1.50 off Dove Hair Therapy products.

Sometimes and Always #42

Sometimes: I have 5 days off in a row and I never want to go back to work. 

Always: I could totally be a stay at home wife. I love taking care of my house and my hubby.

Sometimes: I think why oh why did I want dogs when I have to sweep every single day.

Always: Their cute faces make up for their shedding bodies. Mostly. 

Sometimes: I watch House Hunters and am shocked at the high prices of houses in big cities. 

Always: It makes me happy to live where we do. 

Sometimes: I get a little obsessed with buying/looking at cute little baby girl things. 

Always: I can't help it - baby girl stuff is SO adorable!

Sometimes: I have psycho crazy pregnant hormone meltdowns. 

Always: My hubby lets me get it all out and then I feel better. 

Sometimes: I think that people who love DIY stuff are crazy. 

Always: I want to love it, but all the decisions stress me out. There's so many shades of one color!

This was our Labor Day.

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Giveaway - Nest 2 Impress

I have a really fun giveaway for y'all today...and it involves chevron. Woohoo!

Nest 2 Impress is an adorable Etsy shop that specializes in making fun and modern pillows. This shop is full of vibrant chevron patterns, beautiful monograms and fun children's pillows. I have worked with the shop owner, Allison, and only have great things to say about her. She is super friendly, quick and easy to work with. Take a peek at a few things from her shop:

Allison is sweetly offering one reader a 20" by 20" monogrammed chevron pillow cover in the color of their choice. Options are red, green, grey, navy, pink and yellow. 

The giveaway is only open to readers with a US/Canada shipping address. 

Enter using the giveaway tool below. Good luck! 

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