high five for friday! // january 31

happy friday!

the cold weather this week had me stuck inside a little more than i'd like, but it definitely helped with my productivity. if only i could make it through the day without taking a nap, or thinking about how badly i want to take a nap…

one. i recently downloaded lightroom, and i've been trying to get my brain wrapped around it. i know everyone says is so simple to use, but i'm not gonna lie, i'm pretty intimidated. but i bet all the free tutorials i've been finding online will make me a pro in no time!

two. i've started my first project life album. i got one for our family and one for baby! i'm obsessed. i can't wait to share more layouts and pages as i figure it out.

three. raider and i have been training for the color run. after not being able to run for four months, it's been quite the task getting back in the swing of things, but it's great to have a running buddy! even if he doesn't quite know what he's getting himself in to.

four. bub-hub and i took our first expecting parents class last weekend. i didn't think it would be possible to feel more prepared and less prepared at the exact same time, but that's where we are! i feel so encouraged knowing we have such a supportive church body. and know i have a list of things to figure out. but at least i have a list now! :)

five. is it wrong to blame my addiction to thin mints on baby? i'm the worst future mom.

how was your week? have you given in to the girl scouts yet?

disney family vacation: epcot

epcot is such a fun place and so full of experiences. we met so many characters including mickey and his gang. we also found alice & mary poppins in london and even aladdin and jasmine in morocco!  

going through each of the countries was the best.  we took a stop in norway to see the scenery that inspired frozen, and chased down the three amigos in mexico. and did i mention the tour of colonial USA?

i loved seeing the different styles of building, hearing the different accents and languages, and trying the yummy new food!  although, i'm not sure if croissants and creme brûlée in france and pizza from italy really count as stepping out of my comfort zone!

we also had a blast trying out the new test track ride, talking to bruce the shark, and experiencing mission space. 

walking log: 11.1 miles
favorite memory: dinner in italy was my favorite meal of the trip. i also really loved getting to see the behind the scenes inspiration for the movie frozen in norway! 

disney family vacation: animal kingdom

after our day at hollywood studios, the next park to conquer was animal kingdom.

we found the yeti on mount everest, experienced life as a bug underneath the tree of life, and even rescued a dinosaur! animal kingdom also has the most wonderful shows: the lion king and finding nemo.

we also had the chance to try african food for dinner.  disney is a great place to branch out of your comfort zone and try new things.

throughout the day, we found several friends for photo ops! the best moment of the day was when doug (the puppy from up) played charades with bub-hub to tell him he was friends with reveille (the texas a&m mascot)! grantham also taught pooh to "sic 'em bears".

i didn't want to leave.  our day at the animal kingdom was definitely my favorite.

walking log: 8.4 miles
favorite memory: even though the safari was probably my favorite ride, but by far, i loved the scenery the most. walking from region to region was amazing, and i definitely felt like i was being transported to another land.

disney family vacation: hollywood studios

a few weeks ago, my family flew to orlando for a disney adventure. we had been a time or two in the past, but this was bub-hub's first time to experience mickey-mania.  it was a week full of yummy food, fun adventures and lots and lots of walking. :)

we spent our first day at hollywood studios.  what a great place to start a disney vacation!

one of my favorite parts of park is definitely the pixar section. i love me some toy story and monsters university! i also really love getting to see all of fun behind-the-scenes-movie-magic stuff. who knew you could travel from san francisco to new york city in just a quick walk down the block?

we also explored the "honey i shrunk the kids" playground. hence the reason there is a picture of bub-hub and i holding on to a dog's giant nose.

after a great day of exploring and ride-riding, we ended our day with fantasmic. it's amazing how creative those disney folks can be with lights and water. so beautiful!

even though we started our day with a 6 am drive to the airport, our vacation adrenaline kept us going strong all day!

walking log: 7.2 miles
favorite moment: fantasmic!

fifteen weeks

baby chastain is 15 weeks old and growing strong!

each tuesday, the little baby center update pops up on my phone, and get to read how baby is growing, what it's doing, and baby becomes a little more real.

this week, baby is the size of an apple!
since honey crisp apples are my favorite, and this is my favorite baby, i'm choosing to believe baby is the size of a honey crisp apple.
i can see bub-hub rolling his eyes at my logic as i type…

happy news to start off the new year!

it's the second week of 2014 and so far, it's been pretty great in the chastain household. and it's about to get even better because we finally get to share an exciting piece of news!

recently bub-hub and i found out that we are expecting our first baby!
yayyyyyyyy!!!!!

thrilled doesn't even begin to describe our excitement. looking back at how the Lord has provided for us over the first year and a half of our marriage, we have no doubt that his timing is perfect, that he is sovereign and that he will prepare us for this exciting adventure.

i've been itching to share our new years card with you all, and here it is!

thanks so much for the love and support you all have shown us over the years and we can't wait to continue to share our adventures with you!

new year, new blog

happy new year! welcome to the first post on the new blog!

after several years of blogging at gracefully made designs, i've decided to split the blog and start a new family focused blog, the chastain family!

here, i plan on sharing our family adventures and life's ups and downs, while gracefully made designs will continue to focus on designs, event planning and other business endeavors.

i'm not making any promises, but i can almost guarantee that i will post way too many photos of bub-hub and raider [as if there could ever be too many…], and i will probably forget to post for weeks at a time. but this is our family's blog and i can't wait to share our adventures with you all.