Initiation

We found our diamond in the ruff.
Meet: The Town Car.


You're wondering "How'd they get to it first??!!" I know. :)
She's a 1998 Lincoln Town Car that we purchased a few days ago to replace the new Camry we sold a few months ago. Our goal was to find something under $3500, with no more than 150k miles on it that would just be Jason's car to drive 6 miles to work and back.
We found that and more in this little gem.
We drove to Middleofnowhere, Missouri to get her because she was WORTH it: got it for the price we wanted and the miles were only 77k with a clear title! People - that means it was driven, on average, only 7k miles/year - hilarious.
The funny thing is- yes we the ride is a little "old fashioned" to say the least - but this thing is one of the most comfy rides we ever had! I'm loving it! And because the miles are lower than the Expedition and it gets better gas mileage, it's become our new family car. :)
So how do we initiate her into the family??

Well, we take her somewhere she'll feel right at home:
For the early bird special. :) No jokes here either. We really did. We met our friends Brandon and Bethany at 3:50pm to make the early bird price! And the lot was loaded...we all got some smiles out of that one!

So welcome to the family Mrs. Town Car.

Show Him Off

An old friend of mine from back when I lived in Texas - Isaac Wimberley - had this quote posted on facebook today (which is now on mine) and it has instantly ignited a passion and excitement in my heart upon reading it:

"See your money, your singleness, marriage, talents, your time,
They were loaned to you to show the world that Christ is divine."

I think the main reason is because it represents everything God has been doing in my heart this past year, all wrapped tightly in a nice little catchy, rhyming phrase. :) Perfect. The main word is "Loaned" that is so striking, convicting, sometimes hard to muster...at least for me anyway. How often do you hear the phrase, "Oh girl you DESERVE that!" or walk through your days feeling entitled to something? Lately I've become quick to notice when I use the word "Deserve" and have tried to eliminate it from my thoughts and words. Truth is, we are not deserving of a THING. It's the basis of Christianity. We're rotten, evil little creatures who by the grace of God, have the opportunity to be servants of Christ and thus be made HOLY.
Jesus tells his disciples, "you wanna be like Me? Then serve."

So through showing the world the divinity of Christ with what He has entrusted us, the challenging questions become:

"How am I serving God though my marriage and thus showing Him to those around me?"
"How am I using my talents to serve Him and bring glory to His name?"

And the hardest one, it seems:

"How am I using my money to show the world that Christ is DIVINE?"
A thought that came to me a few weeks ago on this subject was that, when we spend money, you get something in return for it, right? It buys something, thus makes a gain...

So a question I was convicted of for myself that has started helping me in my decisions of how to spend my money is:
"With each dollar I spend, am I gaining more of Christ or more of the world???"

Just some thoughts.

The Current Contemplation

Contemplating this:



To capture a better this:
It's worth it, right??? Well - that's the great debate right now. I have had dreams of this camera for a few years now, but at around $1000 a pop, that dream remained, well - in my dreams. :) It just wasn't an option.
Then the other day I started playing around on the Internet to find the jewel at 1/2 that originally mentioned price on 2 websites right now. Begin calculations (with birthday and Christmas soon approaching in next several weeks!)...calculations = true possibility!!!
Now, I still can't afford the recent T2i...but I can afford it's predecessor the T1i (which still meets the needs I want!).
So after having numerous back-and-forth email conversations with Leslie and Meredith (thanks guys!), I'm leaning toward the big purchase - let's say HUGE, cause that's what this purchase is for me.
So any thoughts bloggy friends????

Double Well-Checks

Yesterday was the double well-check...Lincoln's 2 year (oh my!) and Noah's 9 month. My sister Amy, being the angel she is (and less than a month away from delivering!!) accompanied us again for the extra set of hands and encouragement. :) She IS a blessing.
We'll start with this Tiger.
Weight: 30lbs (73%ile)
Height: 36in. (85%ile)
Head: 22.5in. (100%ile - ha)

The doc (Jackson - who is my new fav), said that at about 2 years old, we can now start predicting patterns. He said more than likely, when Lincoln is 16 years old, he'll have these same percentiles. Jason was STOKED nonetheless. :) Dr. Jackson said "Yep - looks like he's on track to being a pretty big guy!"
Everything else went great! He said his language development is on track and he sees no issues.

Then we moved on to this little guy (I don't say little lightly):

Because he's still TINY!

Weight: 18lbs (10%ile)

Height: 28in (24%ile)

Head: 46in (65%ile)

The doc said he was not concerned one bit about his weight because he was still growing on the curve. He said just because he's small now means nothing for his future, that you can't start predicting patterns until 24 months. Basically, he wants him to stay on formula until 12 months. They checked his iron levels which were perfect, and the doc said he is advanced for his fine motor skills - great!

Both got flu vaccines, and were sent back to the wild. It's crazy because Lincoln is now DONE will well checks and Noah's next one is scheduled for TWELVE MONTHS...what?? Noah's going to be a year old soon??? Oh my.

And I'll ;leave you with the fun Razorback game this past weekend - Lincoln's first! We stayed a quarter and then I took him home and let the boys stay the rest. The plan worked great and he LOVED it. He even called the hogs with everyone and was quite a hit amongst all his neighbors in the stand. Can't wait for next year's games now!!!

The Tigers

High School Basketball at Betonville started this week and last night was our first "game" (in quotations because seniors didn't play and it ran more like a scrimmage), but we won all four quarters and were still excited for the beginnings nonetheless!
This little Tiger was the most excited of all.

He's always thrilled when we get to go to the gym anyway...the whole way to the gym, he was yelling "Go Tigers! Go Tigers!"
But I think he was mis-informed, cause when we got to the game, he was running around looking for all the tigers. Seriously.
This tiny Tiger also got his taste of his first real basketball action.
By the way, I'm not sure where the curls came from on this kid! Last night his hair suddenly turned curly - it was weird! I was a little worried about Noah and how he would do with the late night (Lincoln never had much of a schedule which always made him a pro at games), but Noah did great! He fell asleep in his carrier 5 minutes into the game and woke up after it was over! But we must have worn the sucker out because it's 10:00am right now and he still has woken up!
One thing I LOVE about Bentonville are the assistants that coach with Jason. I guess it helps that they're all some of our dearest friends, too, but it makes this job so much more fun!
Lincoln LOVES him some Coach Cole (who is soon to be a daddy!!!!!!), Coach Matchell, and Coach Stadel. Get ready boys - many more nights where this one came from headed our way!!! Go Tigers.

9 Months (9 On/9 Off)

Today is Noah's 9 month birthday! How exciting! I think this past month has been the most fun so far with this little luv bug.
He's super mobile which is always exciting, and he's discovered a whole new world this way. I think Noah had just as much fun with all of Lincoln's new toys last week as big brother did.
He has also started eating solid foods - I pretty much will chop up what we have for dinner and give it to him - and he eats like a champ, even with NO teeth yet! I will usually feed him some of his baby food, too, though because (a) we have a LOT of it still, and (b) to ensure he gets those yummy veggies in full. He still eats his rice cereal in the morning mixed with some fruit.

His sleep habits haven't changed much. Still sleeps un-interrupted from about 7:30-7:30 (love the mornings he goes all the way until 8:00!).

He hasn't shown any attachment issues yet which has been nice since we take trips to the gym, bible study, and church where he is left in the nursery.

He's not the toughest of little guys. Ha. He tends to get upset at the smallest little "bump" - usually made by Lincoln.

He LOVES Benny! Which works perfect because Lincoln loves Bruce - a dog for each.

HE takes a morning nap for about an hour (I will only let him sleep an hour), and then I put him down for his long nap when Lincoln goes down (usually about 2.5-3.5 hours).

He's still our content little guy. Loves to be held, loves to just and watch Lincoln (this often gets him giggling), and can just play nicely by himself or with us.

As for mommy, you always hear "9 months on/9 months off"...I always thought the losing-baby-weight ordeal would for sure be quicker than that for me! It was with the first, but with this one, it literally took all of 9 months. But I am now, finally back to where I was before, my clothes all fit, and I am back at running! So happy 9 months for us both. :)

Starting to Hear Those Silver Bells (or it could be Noah over the monitor...)

No secret us here at the McMahan house have become highly focus on where our money is going in the past year (I even write another blog about money to keep track of everything)...you know - we've become that awkward couple that "can't go out to dinner" or have to bail on certain things because we're really tyring to be that conscientious of it (sorry if it's you we've in fact put in an awkward situation).
But so far - over all - I have found true joy in this season of our life and it's been exciting to see how God has been working in our hearts regarding money. Don't get me wrong, we have by no means been perfect (or even close at times) to managing this as it matches up with the desires of our hearts, but we're in pursuit...and thank you Lord for grace. :)

I will confess I have found myself blatantly coveting some things when I engage in the good ole fashioned "compare game", but, again (thank you Lord for grace), He pulls me back.

Now.
Christmas time.

(prepare yourself for the GASP) - last year I didn't decorate. Not one thing. (Go ahead and gasp).

I'm sure I wrote a blog about why, but this year I'm ready. SOOO ready.

After seeing how excited Lincoln got over his birthday, I can't WAIT to start decorating (like explosion decorating - pillows, sheets, christmas junk galore) and explain to him every little detail of Christmas, seeing him get excited every day and explode with glee on The Day.

So while I have a collection of stuff in the attic, I don't have enough to go all out - which is precisely what I plan on doing (except for the yard - no high electric bill please).

So I want to hear what you do to make your home feel special at Christmas! Traditions with your kids? And most importantly - where is the best place to get fantastic deals on decorations???

(If I can't stay in our crazy budget, I might use what I have this year and use some Christmas money after the holidays to hit up the mega sales.)

I wanna hear from you on this please!!!!!