two

February, 28, 2008

at 12:30pm

God blessed us with a little boy.



and our journey as a family of four began


Can't believe it's been 2 years.


here he is at 12 months


Seems like we JUST celebrated his first year.


And now he's 2.


We have family coming to town and a CARS birthday party this evening!

Happy birthday Mason!  We are truly blessed to be the parents God chose for you. 

yummy fruit desert and other things

I had several comments and emails after the baby shower post - asking about the yummy pink desert that was served at the baby shower.

And I was VERY slow to respond to them. 

So here it is - thanks to Kendall for sharing...

I don't really even know the name of it. 

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 c. sugar

Mix those together until smooth and fluffy. Then, add 10 oz. frozen strawberries, med. can crushed pineapple, and 2 sliced bananas. Once that's all mixed together--fold in 8 oz. cool whip. Spoon into 9x13 pan, and freeze.

ENJOY!

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On another note, I wanted to say THANK YOU for all the encouraging comments after exposing myself and letting you all know that I am FAR from having it all together here at my house.  You wouldn't believe how hard that was for me to post.  One night, I even posted it and then freaked out and took it off.  BUT, some how it was still accessible, even after deleting it. I have NO idea how.  But the next morning I woke up to a comment that someone left me through facebook because it wasn't letting her comment on blogger.  She went out of her to way to tell me how encouraged she was by my post.  This is after I freaked and unposted it.  SO, I put it back on. It's just hard to be vulnerable and share our weaknesses sometimes.  BUT, all along, my only purpose in doing it, other than for my own personal journaling, was that I hoped that it would help and encourage someone.  To allow SOMEONE to know they aren't the only one who struggles with those things.  I was so encouraged by your comments.

So thank you.

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We've had a rough week and a half here at this house.
First I was sick.
Then the kids.
I'm PRAYING Dave doesn't get it.
It seems like it takes FOREVER to get back on track.
And the world just keeps spinning by when our lives come to a hault here at home.

So much to do.
So many deadlines.
Lots of stress.
My plate is FULL.
But, at the same time - I am thankful for the opportunities I have been given.
Opportunities to serve others.
A VERY special day on Sunday to celebrate our little guy's 2nd birthday.
A weekend coming up to get away and focus on my marriage.
And a new bible study that we started yesterday that reminded me to DRAW NEAR to HIM.
When life is crazy, and out of of control, and stressful and emotional...

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. – Matthew 11:28-30

I know things will slow down.  I THINK they will anyway.

I can survive.
Especially when THIS is coming up in about 3 weeks...




Oh, how I need that sun and warmth.
And relaxation.
And FUN.

What a PERFECT year to be headed to the Carribean Islands. 
The year that winter has been hard and long.
And this is coming from someone who LOVES winter.
I'm so done with it though.
I think I will enjoy that Carribbean sun more than I've ever enjoyed sun in my LIFE.

spring fashion

Last weekend I had the flu.  At now Mason has it. But by the time I'm posting this I think he's on the mend.
I'm very thankful my husband can do throw-up, because I canNOT.

Almost everyone I know has or had someone in their family throwing up too.

Such nasty stuff.

I was better just in time for a fashion show I helped organize Monday night for Premier.
And of course being sick all weekend means Monday was CRAZY!

Researching fashion stinks.

Everywhere you look you get different information, and you have to search for the most things that are repeating. AND I have to search for trends that I know actually make it here to the midwest - we don't typically go for the same things that the country around us sometimes does.

So wanna know what I came up with?
If you are up with fashion - you may know things I don't know.
But after tons of magazine and internet surfing, these trends were reocurring everywhere, so that's what I'm going with.

This isn't new - last year prints were in too!

You'll see lots of big, bold, crazy prints - in tops, dresses, pants and accessories

Maurices

Lots of ruffles!  In shirts, skirts, dresses, and even shoes (I have a friend with the cutest pair of shoes with ruffles!)

left - oops, sorry I forgot where it's from     center - Banana Republic   right - Gap

In what I found, they are saying that the color palette is a very green - based one.  With lots of blues, browns, pinks and yellows as well.

I read that pastels will be big!

Yellow and Coral (but also all shades of pink) are 2 of the hottest colors!

Above- Old Navy

left -Gap     center - Nordstrom's   right - Old Navy

Floral prints EVERYWHERE!

And as much as you thought they would NEVER come back - ripped jeans are the thing!

I just saw a pair of CUTE ones at Walmart tonight!  You'll see everything from little holes and worn spots to slits all the way from hip the ankle.  The great thing about this trend is you can do it yourself!  Take an old pair of jeans and cut off the bottoms to make a pair of capries.  Wash them and let strings at the bottom just hang and fray.

And also lots of watercolored looks

left - Gap    right- Nordstrom

lots of blazers, some fitted, some oversized (boyfriend jacket)

Nordstom

It looks like the large oversized purses are on the way out - and it's back to smaller purses with the longer shoulder straps.

And BIG statement necklaces!  Some that I've seen in the fashion world are CRAZY big, as in bib-like!  But I don't need to show you pictures of awesome statement necklaces - you know where to go for those!!  :-)

There are some crazy things going on with socks too - socks with ankle boots, socks with heels, and knee high socks.  A little crazy for me.  The over the knee sock look will be replacing the tall boot look this spring - but I also read that it probably won't be picked up by many over the age of 23. 

left - Kate Moss sporting the knee high socks   right - forget where I found this, oops

So there you go.  I figured I'd put all my research to a bit more use and share it with you here.

Just in case you were interested.  And wanted to start dreaming about Spring.

With the way the weather has gone lately - I'm pretty sure we'll all still be wearing our turtlenecks and snow boots till May.

laugh for the day

So Dave has a new guy on his framing crew right now.

And I've been informed that if you're the new guy, you get to go get this, and go get that.

Today they asked him to go get the board stretcher and the bucket of steam.

So he went looking.
And to make it better - when he couldn't find them, he asked the big boss where they were.

When Dave was telling me this story, he asked me if I knew what either thing was - and I said no.

It had to be explained to me.
I hope it doesn't have to be explained to you.
But if so, I'll understand.

check it out!

So the fabulous Heather and Sara are up to some fun stuff...

Sara at Sarah + Abraham just launched a brand new website - Oh My! Homemade Goodness!

And Heather will be joining her in doing a monthly handmade parties colomn.

And guess what she featured in her first column?

You can probably guess - but go check it out HERE!!

I can't wait to see what fun stuff will be featured on this new site!

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And on a completely different note...I'm pumped today!

Because we're headed here...

To see K-State beat Nebraska tonight!

And it's even more fun to see them as the #7 team in the nation - the highest ranking they've had in nearly 5 decades!

It will be quite different for us to experience Bramlage Coliseum in this capacity.

We've been told it's so loud you can't even talk.

Quite a change from our years at K-State when we attended more girls games than guys games.

And if we did attend a guys game, it was probably quiet enough you could have had a nice little intimate conversation.

So tonight, we'll save the conversation for the car ride up...and of course for dinner at our FAVORITE restaurant that we miss so much - Coco Bolo's!

For the game - we'll just be dressed in our purple ready to cheer on our Wildcats and see Bramlage like we've never seen it before!

(I won't tell you that Dave joked last night about wearing his OU shirt to the game - seriously, what is WRONG with this husband of mine?)

sick sick sick

Well, the routine went out the door the past 2 days, when I came down with the flu.

Woke up Friday morning and threw up after getting out of bed.
Dave was at work already and I had a 2 and 3 year old running around my house, while I was in bed.

They actually were REALLY good.
Somehow they got the box of Golden Grahams (it must have been on the counter because I know they couldn't have gotten to it way up high - well, maybe they did)
Taylor took great care of her brother...
filled his bowl with cereal, told him she couldn't pour him milk because she was too little
filled his sippy cup with water

Eventually they were both just eating straight from the box, which I think they carried around with them for a few hours.

They played in my closet and under the little table by my bed.
They ran up and down the hallway, in and out of their rooms.
They tried to play in my bed a few times, but I begged them to get out so I wouldn't share my germs.

Somehow Mason ended up in just his diaper and Taylor was half naked too.
When they crawled up to play in my bed, I noticed both of their feet were ice cold. I suggested they go find socks - yeah right. But they didn't seem to care, they were having fun.

If I hadn't been feeling so horrible - I think I would have just been laughing at them, it was really quite funny.

They really didn't even fight much - I remember yelling once for them to stop screaming at each other, then threw up after yelling.

But all in all, they were SOOO good. So good that I didn't call for help till way later in the morning. I wanted to TRY to survive without help. I know we're spoiled with having family here to help us so much. And I always feel so bad for those who don't. How do they make it on these days.

I've called for help MUCH sooner before - because the kids were more needy.
But this time we really were doing okay.
Well, I was not okay, but the kids were, kind of.

I did feel bad they were both running around with barely any clothes and without our typical fire going, it was kind of cold in our house. I did feel bad that they had only eaten dry cereal so far that day. I knew I wouldn't be able to get up and feed them lunch. And I did feel bad that Mason had a poopy diaper that I KNEW I couldn't change.

So I decided to call for help. For my kids' sake.
And Grandma came to save the day.

I was in bed for 17 hours straight.
Of course the one day I'm in bed, is the popular day for our doorbell to ring.
Everytime I got up to see who it was, or to answer it if I had to...I ended up hugging the toilet afterwards.

It was awful.
I can't remember the last time I was strictly in bed for that long. Usually I can at least eventually make it to the couch. I finally made it to the couch at 9pm last night - just for a few hours break from my bed. And then back.

Woke up feeling a little better this morning - just a migraine. I'm sure from either being dehydrated or just the severe discomfort from being in my bed for so long - my whole body was aching.

We were suppossed to go out for dinner and movie for V-day tonight - that is still under debate.
If I have any energy at all, it should probably be used to clean up this disasterous house!

sweet music

Nothing is sweeter than hearing my three year old sing words like these...

Okay, well, I realize she's not singing them in the sweetest way. She was a little hyper.

But she loves this song. She knows the words and her face lights up anytime she hears this song played anywhere.

So I couldn't help but set one of my ringtones to Mighty to Save. When it goes off- the expressions are just priceless.

honesty and adjustments

Not too much to blog about here.
Although there are some new things going on at our house.
So I'll just share those - since that's what I'm thinking so much about lately.

Get ready for some major honesty.
Maybe a glimpse of why I will never be given a "mom-of-the-year" award.
But that's okay.
It's sometimes easier allowing ourselves to be exposed than to always try to appear like we have it all together.

Is it possible for some moms to naturally be great stay-at-home moms?
I'm sure it's possible. I think I know some of them.
But oh man, it is NOT natural for me. And many times I just don't feel like I'm very good at it.
But yet I KNOW that God can and WILL transform me into whatever He desires of me, if I'm willing to allow him to.
I've been so drained for awhile (although that has been changing lately!) So tired of A LOT of things.
But mostly tired of my own discontentment and feeling like I'm failing.
Dave and I were getting stressed, worn out, losing patience.
We weren't embracing or enjoying our job as parents like we know we should have been.
We had gotten just plain lazy and unmotivated.
See, told you....honesty.

We were in NEED of change.

Maybe you read this post a few weeks ago - I thought I'd put that new energy and motivation that I've found (that has been absent for awhile) to good use.

It all began with us realizing we were NOT being intentional with our time. Many days I just struggle to balance everything. I rarely would have a day that I just felt successful and productive. I struggled (and still do) to balance everything...being a good wife, being a good mom, spending time with my kids, but still trying to keep up with our house, and trying to contribute financially, and trying to find ENERGY for it all. I was LONGING for some sort of balance and contentment when the day was done.

And although I know that my ultimate contentment will come only from God. I also know that he wants me to make the most of all the gifts he has given me....time, money, my children. And when we are good stewards with these things, he will bless us.

I've wanted to make changes for a LONG time. I remember in January 2009, one of the things I wanted to do was get myself on a chore schedule and even somewhat get my kiddos on a daily schedule too. As a teacher, I was used to a daily schedule. I knew what I needed to do each day.

(cute pictures to break up all my ramblings)

At 8:00 was bellwork, at 8:30 was math, 9:15 writing, 12:05 lunch, etc.

You wouldn't think being at home with 2 kids would require such a schedule - but yet, I wondered what it would be like if we did. I wondered what it would be like if I didn't have to try to figure out what we were going to do (because honestly, I'm just not good at that). I wanted a schedule that we all just knew, and didn't really have to think about. Not something I would reinforce to a 'T' but something to guide us - to make our time more intentional. And really, I guess something to discipline ME.

BEING INTENTIONAL. I have failed there. I have not spent the quality time with my kids that I know I should. I'm home with them all day - but our time has not been intentional. Some days are better than others, but all in all, I have really struggled with feeling like I'm doing the job that I know God wants me to do in my home.

So I knew I needed some structure and discipline to get me on the right track. And I thought that a daily schedule would help.

But at the same time, I thought "oh that's just dumb, who needs that? A GOOD mom doesn't need that!"
So it never got made.

Don't get me wrong - our kids have a schedule, and always have. Breakfast when we get up, lunch around the same time, nap around the same time, bedtime around the same time.

But what we were struggling with is all the time in between.

The time that really counts.
The time that's really easy to be selfish with.
The time that's easy to be unproductive with.

Another thing that had gotten really stressful lately is bedtime.

2 kids, not wanting to go to bed, one coming in and out of her room 10 times, the other screaming bloody murder and not quitting no matter WHAT we did, thus keeping the other one awake and frustrated.

We were dreading bedtime every night.

And I know we weren't helping the situation in anyway. We'd play, play, play and then tell them they had 2 more minutes before bed - which NEVER went over well, and then began the dreaded routine.

We were in NEED of change.

Something else really gave me the boost I needed to get going too.

Our community life group had "guest" speakers last week. We had a time of asking questions, listening and learning from an older married couple. A Godly couple who has rasied 5 children, experienced many years of marriage and has just lived life way beyond what we have. I learned a lot that night. But something that stuck was hearing about life as a "stay-at-home-mom" and about being intentional with the time at home, having routines. The mom speaking to us was able to recall exactly how they spent their days at home - she rattled back their time, activities and routine like she just did it yesterday. That stuck with me.

Many times I can't even tell Dave what we did THAT day.
We were SO in need of change.

I'm taking charge. I realize our time is precious, and my prayer is that I can make our time together more intentional. I can't live with regrets. I can't go on continuing to WISH I could be a better mom - I need to take action and allow God to work in me to mold me into the mom he wants me to be, and the mom my kids deserve.

So I typed out our typical daily schedule. As silly and simple as that may sound.
Our TV time is limited, and at a certain time each day (aka: we were watching too much)
I know when I'll work
I know when I'll play

I know when I'll require the kids to play alone.
I know when book time is.

I know when play/craft time is.
I know which days I'll try to work during naptime,
and which days I'll take a nap myself.
I know what chore(s) I will conquer each day.

They are divided up so I know that I only need to get what's assigned to that day done - ONLY.
Hopefully that will eliminate those overwhelming feelings when my house gets completely out of control.
I have a list of weekly tasks that are divided out into the days.

For example, Mondays - clean our bathroom, Tuesday - wash our laundry, Wednesday - vacuum upstairs carpets, etc.

I have a list of monthly tasks, semi-annual tasks and annual tasks (I'm not sure how much these will help me, but I used some good resources I found online and these were included so I just included them in my stuff too - we'll see how it goes) They'll be divided out so that once a week or so, I'll be conquering one of these bigger tasks. No more ALL-WEEKEND cleaning house - hopefully!

I'm not planning to be crazy-psycho about following our schedule. But I do realize that I need a guide and something to hold me accountable for awhile. Maybe we won't always need it. But maybe I'll find that we are all much happier with it. So it's trial for now. I'm open to changes and flexibilty.

And my favorite part of our new routine - BEDTIME!
I picked up a great idea from one our past Mom2Mom meetings at our church.

An experienced mom was sharing about their family life, routines, etc. And I loved this...

WASH, WASH, BRUSH, BRUSH, FLUSH
(wash your hands, wash your face, brush your teeth, brush your hair and go to the bathroom) I realize not all of those are that neccessary for a 2 and 3 year old - but they are good habits regardless, so we're going with them!

Our kids love it! And so do we. It's the same every night.
They are learning responsibility.

Then they each pick a book, we read together and then into bed for more reading (for Taylor), prayers, songs and lights out. We had a routine before, but it was fairly sporadic - and many times went along with whatever mood Mom and Dad were in that night.

So how's it going?

2 weeks ago - Mason was bringing us both to our wits end at bedtime. Almost tears.
Tonight is night #5 of a 180 turnaround from him!
We are SO thankful and SO relieved!

The daily schedule has pretty much fully been implemented. And already we are experiencing some of the best days we've had in a LONG time! Everyone seems happier and I THINK I am dealing with less negative behavior (although it may be too soon to know that for sure).

I feel better about myself.
I feel like a better mom.

For some of you this probably seems very elementary and basic.
Maybe routine and good time management just comes easy to you.
Maybe you're not as lazy as I can tend to be. (see, honesty)
Maybe the play-do, and books and board games and crafts and playtime all just comes easy to you.
Maybe you can send me some of your "mom" skills.

But in 25 years if I sit in front of a group of young parents to share some of my experiences - I want to speak about my time with my kids with no regrets, I want to know we used our time wisely and preciously, I want to know that I had QUALITY time with my kids that was set aside for just them. I want to know that I did the best job that I know I could do - because the job of being Mom and Dad is the most precious job title we could ever be given.

So there you have it...honesty.

And maybe because I shared this HERE - I will feel even more accoutantable with our new routines!

remembering cora and a baby shower

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A year ago today, our hearts were broken.

We miss you Cora.

We're so glad you're with Jesus.

We love you Joel, Jess and Levi.

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Yesterday morning we showered our dear friend Jess, and her little boy Levi - with lots of love!

I had a blast helping plan this shower!

Are you ready for to see all that cute blue and green I told you was coming??

Here's what Kendall and I were sewing up...

I've wanted to make one of these for a long time - so what a perfect excuse to do it - and now I know how, thanks to Heather! And thanks to Kendall for knowing more about sewing then I do!

Heather typed up detailed, step-by-step instructions for Kendall and I to follow. It made it SO easy! If you want the instructions you can contact her via her blog or email me and I can send them to you!

I'll start you off with your supplies:
I bought quarters of coordinating patterned fabric (one quarter is pretty close to what you'll need for one triangle (back and front)
Then I got a quarter of solid fabric to use for the letters.
You will need an iron-on fusible web for the letters. Heather suggested this one.
Matching thread
2-3 yards of ribbon to hang the triangles on
Letters printed from your computer in the size and font of your choice

So go get your supplies and then we can get you the instructions! They are just too long to put on here I think.

Moving on...
I found this picture online...(shoot, I forgot where)

and I was determined to duplicate it. But because my mind is just not all that crafty on it's own, I got some help. Help that turned into "I will do them for you!" from Heather! Seriously, it was like having our own little party planner helping us out- and such a sweet and gracious one at that!

So I sent her some fabric scraps - so they would coorinate with other fabrics we were using, and she sent these back...

They are made out of washcloths and baby spoons.

This picture (again, sorry I didn't keep track of where I got it), inspired a whole other idea...

Aren't the silhouettes on the table the cutest things??

I knew Heather did silhouettes - you've gotta check out her Etsy shop!
So we chatted, shared ideas and AGAIN, Heather said she'd do them!

Luckily, Jess was cooperative and sent me side profiles, not really knowing how they were being used.

I sent Heather measurements of my mantle and told her how I was kind of envisioning it all together...she took my ideas, and sketched out a little picture. Seriously, this girl is amazing. She even mailed me the green ribbon and the chipboard letters so our job to put it together was SO very easy!

This is the finished product...

We shed some tears over this.
Tears seeing the 4 of them pictured together.

Levi's name means "joined", so we wanted to incorporate that.

The chipboard letters spell out "a family joined"

What a precious, precious family - that WILL be JOINED again one day.

There's another wonderful lady who contributed to the shower.

The lovely Sara, at Sarah + Abraham did our invitations...

The cutest invitations EVER! The little bird in the tree represents big sister, Cora.

Check her out , her designs are absolutely adorable, a great place for gifts and invitations of any kind! You will love them!

She also did the stickers for these adorable cupcake toppers...

I got this cupcake stand after being inspired by my friend Bethany at Hissyfits blog. You're suppossed to be able to get them at Michaels - using a 50% off coupon of course. But unfortuneately, after 2 attempts, they STILL didn't have them on their shelf. So I ordered here.

Added some ribbon - and VOILA!!
You can switch the ribbon to coordinate with any theme or occasion.

I can't even express in words how grateful we are to Heather and Sara for helping us with this shower. Their contributions and ideas helped make all the details absolutely perfect for Jess and Levi! It has been so fun to get to know some of these amazing women out in "blog world" a little more personally. Thank you ladies!

Okay, are your ready for some more...

Wanna know about the poms poms hanging from the ceiling?
We made them with the help of Martha Stewart.
Go here for the tutorial. They were actually quite easy!

We focused some of the shower on this bible verse...

"And you will know that I have sent you this admonition so that my covenant with Levi may continue," says the Lord Almighty. "My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin."
Malachi 2:4-6

Kendall made the adorable frame with her awesome photoshop skills!

Our wonderful friend, Debby, shared such a neat devotion with us...

And then we used bible verses with Levi's name added into them, to guide a time of prayer - surrounding Jess in love and prayer for their little guy.

Kendall did such a sweet job of putting all of this together. I believe most of the verses we used came from this the book "Praying the Scriptures for Your Children" which I just recently purchased and LOVE!

We had such a wonderful time, eating and visiting, and honoring Jess.

We are very blessed to call Jess our friend.

We are very blessed by her and Joel's heart for God and their steadfast trust in him during this past year, as their lives have been turned upside down.

And we are so thankful for Levi and the opportunity we've had to welcome this precious gift of God into the Mac family!

We were so blessed to have Julie (far left) there to help us honor Jess. Please continue to pray for sweet Calla and the Johnson family, that they can bring their little girl home soon for a shower of their own!