Erin Akin Carroll

Oh, y’all! February could very easily be “baby month.” I’ve been thinking we’d be able to hold out until my March 3 due date, but after having consistent contractions all weekend, I’m just not so sure. For now, he’s staying put, but I’ve got a lot of work to do around here to make sure we’re ready for James Walker’s arrival.

So what’s in store for February?

Pack my Hospital Bag

I need to repost my hospital packing list from a few years ago because a few things have changed. But after a weekend of contractions, I’ve decided that the bag needs to be packed and ready to go. I’ve never gone into labor before and we’ll have a scheduled repeat c-section, but if I’m in labor I won’t want to be packing my bag in those moments.

Get a Jumpstart on Influence Conference Projects

I haven’t announced this on my blog yet, but I posted it on Instagram a couple of weeks ago. I am the new Events Manager for the Influence Network. I’m incredibly excited about this opportunity to serve the network that I love so much and get to work alongside such amazing women. And I’ll also be using my college and graduate degrees! It’s a big undertaking and I’m thrilled about it. I want to get a head start on a few different projects before James Walker arrives so I’m not as worried about it after he arrives.

Host One Family for Supper

We’ll take a few weeks off from hosting dinners after James Walker arrives, so I want to be sure to fill our home with friends once more before his arrival.

Have a Consistent Prayer Time

Our Sunday school class has committed to pray together for the month of February. We’ve each committed to a time slot and my time slot is 6:00 a.m. So, I don’t have a set amount of time that I “have” to pray, but at 6:00 a.m. I am praying for our church, our class, our family, missions, friends, etc. And then when I finish, I am texting the next person that has committed to pray at 7:00 a.m. The first few days were a little more distracted than I expected to be, but I’m excited to see what happens at the end of the month and how this habit makes an impact on our prayer lives.

Go on a Valentine’s Day Date with Todd

We have plans to celebrate Valentine’s Day with another couple. I know I’ll feel huge and not much like going out, but I want to have one last date night before the little man arrives. And if he arrives before Valentine’s Day, we’ll do a date night at home!

With the addition of the Influence Network position and getting ready for James Walker’s arrival, I have really cut back on a lot of other things. I’ve slowly started pulling away and even quit a couple of things that I’ve been involved with for a few years.  Hudson and Hayes are starting t-ball and soccer this month and I know that life won’t be slowing down a ton when our third baby arrives. We’ve got to maintain some normalcy for the big boys. So I don’t really know what to expect as far as a normal every day schedule goes. We’re just thrilled that he’s almost here and I just cannot believe that it could actually happen this month!

What are your goals for February?

Good Monday morning, friends! I’d love for y’all to click on over to my blog so you can see the new rebrand and site design.

This fun project has been in the works for about 9 months or so and I’m really pleased with the results.

About a year ago, I started thinking that I wanted to move away from Blue-Eyed Bride. We’ve been married for almost 7 years and the name just didn’t really make sense anymore. And the simplest, most obvious choice for a new name was my name. Go figure!

My dear friend Whitney English recommended Katelyn Brooke Designs to me, and between Kate and Whitney, they came up with a new design that looks exactly like what I wanted. I wanted it to feel like you were stepping into my front door to come over for coffee.

You can subscribe to the new blog in the sidebar and my old URL will automatically redirect to the new site.

I’m excited about a new look and a more focused direction. Blogging has evolved so much over the years and through that time I’ve found my voice and lost it and found it and lost it. I’m hopeful with such a beautiful new site and more focused categories, I can hone in on my voice again.

So explore! See what’s new around here and feel free to follow me on social media, where I’m most likely to update consistently.

Meanwhile, I’ve got lots of fun things to catch up on and an ever-expanding baby bump, so I have lots of updates in the works.

Thank you for reading along and for hanging in there with me!