A New Adventure with Rhea Lana's

Well it's been a couple of months, but I wanted to document our journey of the Lord led us to Rhea Lana's.

If you had asked me this time last year if by the end of 2017 I would be a small business owner, I would've laughed in your face. God certainly has a sense of humor.

Last August, I drove to Conway to shop the Rhea Lana's Fall/Winter event like normal. Afterward, my dad just casually mentioned to me, "Hey I think you could totally do this." "Do what?"
"THIS. Rhea Lana's. You could run one of these." 

Well, that got me thinking. With Daniel being in ministry, we have always known that more than likely I would need to go back to work at some point in the future. I LOVE staying home with my babies and the thought of not doing that makes me physically ill. So this could potentially provide a perfect solution--I could make this work around our schedule. My family would still be priority, but I could run a business that I fully believed in and loved on the side. I did some research, talked it over with Daniel, prayed over it, and met with Rhea Lana a few weeks later. She told me they were not opening any more franchises in Arkansas. Well, there went that.

BUT....

The franchise in Muskogee was possibly interested in selling.

Muskogee?? Oklahoma? I'd have to commute back and forth? I don't know ANYTHING about Muskogee!

But the more we prayed over it and as we continued to get information on this location and franchise, we just felt this inexplicable peace to keep moving forward. Initially, my parents were going to go in on it with us as co-owners. But after they prayed about it, they did not feel at peace. So they backed out, but have continued to support us as we explored this possibility.

To be honest, we kind of dragged our feet a little bit. From the time I initially met with Rhea Lana until we pulled the trigger was about two months. But the Lord in His perfect timing worked everything out. And we just couldn't say no.

So we signed papers on October 28, 2017, and I went to training up in Northwest Arkansas the first week of November. I have hit the ground running ever since!

This company has absolutely blown me away. Their support of one another, willingness to help each other out, their heart for helping other moms and giving back to their communities. It truly is a family and I am SO PROUD to be part of it!

Be sure to keep up with Rhea Lana's of Muskogee and all the fun things we will be doing! You can like our Facebook page HERE and follow us on Instagram HERE!

Thank you for all the love and support y'all have given our family as we make this exciting transition! Continue to pray for wisdom and direction in making decisions as well as grace and patience within our family as everyone adjusts to mom working outside the home.

So excited to join the RL family!

Evie: 15 Months

What a fun summer we have had with our little girl! At times it has been SO HOT (welcome to the south) so we haven't been able to get out of the house much, but nonetheless we have had a good time watching our sweet baby continue to grow and learn new things!

Her personality is really starting to come out too! She is determined and sassy and stubborn and sweet and funny. She loves to play peek-a-boo and has killer dance moves and she has discovered how fun it is to scream like a little pterodactyl. She definitely has a dramatic side and has already figured out how to try to get her way. We have already had one battle of wills that resulted in her screaming and crying for 35 minutes because she refused to say "please." Whew are we in for it! You can go ahead and start praying for us now (especially her daddy).

Next week, she gets to start going to Mother's Day Out. I am so excited about this for her! Holt already loves it and I think she will too---the structure and socialization will be so good for her. Plus, Mama gets a break twice a week! Woohoo!

Over the last few months, we:

*hosted Evie's first birthday party!

* went to the bug exhibit at the Clinton Library in Little Rock. Both the kids loved it!

* celebrated summer birthdays with the Lowery crew
* went to our annual Jordan family reunion

* took family pictures to celebrate having a ONE year old! I highly recommend SarahGrace Sharp--she does fantastic work!

*celebrated father's day and Daniel's 30th birthday (I can't find my pictures! I wonder if someone deleted them...)
*got to participate in the VIP cookie dough tasting at Bliss Cupcakes (thanks Kerri and Taylor)!

*played in the kiddie pool outside

*went to Target with both kids by myself for the first time

*celebrated 4th of July with our cousins up in NWA
*went to the local library for the first time

*created sensory bins to help pass the time stuck inside while it has been super hot outside

*ate donuts with Poppa (Evie's great-grandpa)

*went to Vacation Bible School at our church
*Evie got to be an only child for a week while Holt stayed at RoRo & Melly's house

*I celebrated my 28th birthday

*we celebrated Holt's 3rd birthday

*we traveled to Conway for one last "hurrah" before MDO

*Evie started going to Mother's Day Out

Her vocabulary has exploded! She can say: uh-oh, Bubba, Holt, Mama, Dad/Daddy, bubble (Bubble Guppies), bug, more, RoRo, Melly,  bye bye and hi (hi dad/bye dad are her favorites), baby, vroom vroom, thank you, please, that's cold!, what's that? (50 million times a day), hot!, shoes, diaper, hold me

She has several teeth now! She has 4 on the top, 4 on the bottom, and all her molars. Just waiting on her I-teeth and 2-year molars and then she's done! Because of ALL those teeth coming through, she hasn't been sleeping the best. But, I think we are finally coming out on the other side!

weight: 21 lbs (45th percentile)              *she has hit a MAJOR growth spurt! Normally she's in the
height: 31 inches (60th percentile)            15th percentile for both!*

Favorites: *dancing to music *Moana and Trolls and Bubble Guppies *her bubba *mama and daddy *being outside *jewelry--girl loves her bling! *shoes--she will come to me carrying her shoes and say "shoooo" wanting to wear them! I told Daniel he was in trouble already ;) *baths *pacis--she normally has a Paci in her mouth and at least one in her hand. For nap and bed we have about 4 pacis in there at all times. That will be fun to wean her off that!

Sleeping: This has been kind of everywhere this summer. She has been teething a lot, which has made it tough. We did FINALLY go down to one nap a day, but it's been kind of back and forth all summer. For a few weeks she would still need two naps and then she would go down to one and then back to two. But eventually we worked out a system where she has officially dropped down to one nap. She does sleep all night (thank goodness teething never interfered with that) from about 6:30/6:45pm--7:15/7:30am so I am more than ok with the days being a little rough. She is a very light sleeper like her daddy, so that makes it a little more challenging too, but overall I'm just happy she sleeps at night!

Feeding: She is still a great eater. She definitely went through a growth spurt this summer, but I think it's slowing down now. She eats a waffle and banana for breakfast with milk then maybe has a mid-morning snack of goldfish or cheerios. For lunch she has a peanut butter sandwich, a pouch, and one other side (pretzels, string cheese, raisins). After nap she has milk and another snack and then she eats whatever we eat for dinner. Thankful for another good eater!

Typical day:

7/7:30 AM   wake up
breakfast
playtime/watch TV a little
10:45/11AM   lunch
11:45PM   nap
1:30/2PM  wake up and have snack
quiet downtime until Bubba wakes up (about 3PM)
playtime
5/5:30PM dinner
6/6:15PM  bathtime
6:30/6:45  bedtime

Photo dump:

Holt:"Sissy, I give you a kiss!" Evie: "noooo!!"

man she's cool

She LOVES the swing at church! Funny since she hated it as a baby...

"bye daddy!"

girlfriend loves her jewelry and shoes...already!

she has awesome fine motor skills and can balance the ball on the t-ball stand

sharing popsicles

washing daddy's car while our new floors were being installed

watching daddy mow

sweet friends at church in matching outfits! L to R: Evie, Emma, and Everly

silly girl!

i pray they always love each other like this

sweet girl!

they love baths together!

cheese!

I can't believe she is ours

always on the go

sweet siblings

they were over pictures by this point

me and my girl

she is definitely a daddy's girl though!

Evie Elizabeth, 

You have amazed me this summer! You have become more sassy and spunky, taking after your Aunt Hannah, and WAY more vocal! You really understand what is happening around you and you're starting to figure out how to communicate with words. You already loves shoes and jewelry and babies and having your hair brushed--a true girly girl! Oh, and you love to twirl and dance whenever music is on. You adore your daddy and your Bubba and you love to snuggle with me too. You are growing up before our eyes and we couldn't be more proud of you. You are such a precious, precious gift and somedays I stare at you and tear up because I can't believe you're ours! We love you to the moon and back our little Evie-girl! 

Love, Mama