Look what I found?

in Nana's garden...
I think I'll keep her. My personal sweet pea!


Quick family update...
Russ got back from Israel this morning. Hooray!
I cut my hair off... yep.

missing russ... especially on gameday

it is tough to watch a uga game by yourself. i tivoed the game in normal masterson family fashion. started watching it with my dad....who taught me all about football. he fell asleep therefore i was left with no one (not even thomas) to discuss the game with. and it was an awesome game. best game of the season thus far. so after it was over i did a recap for russ via email. hard to do. just not the same.

for those of you who are wondering... russ is doing good. he was visiting the sea of Galilee but is now in Jerusalem (which he is very excited about). he said it is truly a city on a hill.

being a pastor's wife you don't get to visit other churches very often.... ok... not really at all. but tomorrow i get to go to my brother's church. which i am excited about. we call that a "church vacation." yippeee!!

sorry for no pics. i forgot the cord at home.

hiking, pumpkins and apples

On Friday Russ, Josie, Thomas and I went to Amicalola Falls for a fun day of hiking. We stopped at the pumpkin patch to take some pictures....
This is our first attempt at Josie sitting against a pumpkin.
spotter needed...

The hike was great. Thomas had a blast. He is an awesome dog. Large... but awesome.
Half way to the top. The truth is...it looks like I carried Josie....Russ carried her up the 600 steps. He did most of the work. He is awesome and cute!

Josie did great. She fell asleep before the hike was over and went to bed at 7pm once we got home. It was a really fun day. We decided to make it a family tradition.

Russ is leaving for Israel tomorrow for 9 days. I am excited for him to take this trip to the Holy Land. It is a teaching tour with a respected author that has become his friend. Josie and I will be on the go as well.

Another post below.

quirks....tagged

lynlee hudlow tagged me in regards to quirkiness.... here are my top five
Quirk #1 I hate. hate. hate.... wrong spellings that are done on purpose. Such as a gas station that might be called Kaufman's Korner. Can't handle it...Corner is spelled with a C not a K. You are doing an injustice to all children by confusing them and the spelling rules they have learned previously. The English language is hard enough. Geez.

Quirk #2 Wet bread. Let's say you had a roll for dinner and did not eat all of it. What do you do with that left over sliver of bread? In my house... it goes in the trash can. Not in the sink. I hate it when there is wet, soggy bread just chillin in your sink. Someone has to touch it to push it down the disposal. Yuck.
Quirk #3 Everyday upon picking out my outfit I try to figure out how it will coordinate with Chacos. Seriously, this has become almost subconscious. Does the outfit have black or brown?... ok... I am good to go.
Quirk #4 I have a personal problem aka instant bad mood, when the sun comes out after it rains. I know some people like this... this is when rainbows come... etc. etc. I can't stand it. It is musty, smelly, the sun reflects of the puddles and it gives me a headache.
Quirk #5 I do not walk around the house barefoot. No ones house. I don't wear house shoes either... I have tried. Instead... it is my good ol' J. Crew flip flops (to which Lynlee and I share the same addiction). Whether it is winter or summer in my house I shall wear flip flops.
Let the crazy quirkiness continue with... McCall, Kelly Ford and Donna Bennett.

turbokick

i went to turbo kick tonight at the ymca. it was quite fun, lots of dancing and punching. that is what you get at the east lake y. what what!! i didn't feel like a mom. (which is kind of nice sometimes) except when i was doing ab workouts... c-section= no stomach muscles...geez .

then i came home to this sweet girl.
talkin and talkin.
my sweet josephine.

little lizard is four months old...haircut time

Four months old today... here is our week in pictures and one video.

Josie is our little Lizard.
She loves to stick out her tongue.









We visited with our cousins some this week.
Josie and I have been hanging out at my parents house some. Taking care of things that need to be done. Dad is at home now to recoop. He needs lots of rest and so does Josie....therefore they are a perfect pair.

Haircut.... Josie has a mullet. She was born with it. Southern girl genetics... I guess. Well, Russ and I couldn't take it any longer. We trimmed it a little. There is a video below. (It is probably weird that we video taped this... I know.) No more party in the back!

Thankful....

Russ has been doing a series at Apostles about being grateful (itunes podcasts). Little did I know my family would quickly get its own personal lesson.

My dad had to have emergency surgery on Wednesday night. He had had symptoms of food poisoning but it was not getting better. After several back to back trips to the doctor he was rushed to the hospital for a catscan. Then rushed into surgery. He apparently had a kink in his lower intestines. Completely random...there is nothing that really causes it...just a freak thing. The incision is made from his sternum to his navel, therefore making this one of the toughest recoveries. Josie and I are now in Dacula at their house and I spent part of the day with dad yesterday.

It is amazing that after all that and many drugs.... my dad still acted like my dad. Telling me to be careful when I was moving a chair in the tiny room, continuing to say that we almost had to leave him there (inferring he almost died) and of course acting like he is sleeping but then jumping into conversations.

I have always been thankful for my dad. If you know him you know the list is really long of how amazing he is. But then on the other side a lot of times I feel like I have such a treasure in being his daughter because I get to see his tender-hearted side most often. (Dad is a successful businessman and very intimidating upon initially meeting him.) When I left my dad yesterday I told him that it makes me not feel as sad when I leave because I know how tough he is.... (he was a marine, has only had one knee cap for 20 something years... never complains, etc.) he responded... and don't forget "tender-hearted." How could I forget?!

I love you daddy!

ten things i honestly did not know i would gain upon becoming a mom...

disclaimer:
* of course there are more than ten but boredom would come to the audience, therefore, i have condensed.
* these are all real...meaning i honestly had no idea this would happen
* i love miss josie jay a ton.

1. superman ears....dude i can hear her whimper from outside...nuts...it is like in my soul
2. selflessness...granted this is partially forced if you want to have a life that functions...but it has been so good for me.
3. perspective...dang if i don't feel like a grown up with some of my own random thoughts these days.
4. tense shoulders....yep... all the time.
5. ability to straighten my house 5 times in one day and still not have a straight house...i know this only gets worse.
6. appreciation for moms.... i respect my friends so much more who are moms...as well as my mom and russ' mom...tons o' respect
7. ability to think i look cute even though i haven't taken a shower.
8. ability to multitask...i had no idea what multitasking truly was till i was a mom.
9. appreciation for bedtime
10. true joy in having your child smile at you when you go to pick them up out of the crib...i had no idea previously what it felt like to have your heart melt.

Praise the Lord for His gift of motherhood.
"Every good and perfect gift is from above." James 1:17

What have you gained upon being a mom, that you didn't imagine??