Ordinary Moments

I love taking in this day to day life. Things are not necessarily perfect and no we are not living the American Dream but we are on the road to happiness. Obstacles seem to be thrown at us from every direction, but guaranteed they can't and won't bring us down. We're stronger than that.

Today was great. Nothing amazing about it at all, but it was great. A day spent with my son and my husband and feeling content and happy. Iden said it was the best day ever. The best part of it was going to the park and seeing Phillip and Iden run and play and laugh. I can close my eyes and see it all in slow motion. I sat in the sun and just smiled and was able to take it all in. My son loves this man so much and vice versa. It's so beautiful to see them bond.

I love moments like this. Moments where I am here. I am not at work feeling rushed and stressed and overwhelmed. I am not on the other end of the phone hearing about the laughter and great times. I am here. I am no longer missing out on the moments, I am living in them.

To all the mom's and dad's out there... be here. Be a part of those ordinary day-to-day moments. Life is so beautiful.

I am the Face

Wow, I didn't know that such a day existed.

I am still having a difficult time dealing with the loss of mine and my husbands first child together. It's coming up on a year that we had to live through this experience. November 30, 2009.

I still cry about it. I look at some babies and think that is how big he or she should be. Our child should be learning to roll and be smiling and happy and with us and in our arms. But God had a different plan.

It's hard to trust that everything happens for a reason and that some things are a part of God's plan especially when you want that one thing so desperately. After we miscarried, our world was completely rocked. Neither of us knew how to deal with this loss, we didn't know how to comfort eachother or talk about it. We both dealt with it in different ways, we shut down, we tried to forget, we over-worked ourselves to keep our minds off of it. It nearly ruined our family.

Praise God that we have been able to make it through these trials. We have grown closer to eachother and closer to Christ. We are blessed with a healthy growing baby boy that is due December 30, 2010. But that first baby will never be forgotten. I don't know where my emotions will be on November 30 as I remember what happened that day... but I will remember our precious child.

Candy-Corn Wreath

My mom (hi mom!) has a subscription to Woman's Day mag. When I saw the cover for October I was drawn to it. It has so much orange and that is my favorite color. Also, there is alot of candy-corn on that cover. With all things Halloween coming up and everyone is baking and decorating awesomeness I thought to myself, "I want to be that mom". I want to have traditions and build memories that my kids will look back and remember or look forward to. So, now that I have recently become a full-time stay-at-home-mama (I get so giddy just typing that out!) I have decided now is the time for me to get crafty and do awesome mommy things that I wouldn't be able to do if I was working full-time.

So here it is! The Candy-Corn Halloween Wreath!

What you'll need:

• A Styrofoam Wreath (any size will do, you pick!)
• Wide Black Ribbon
• Candy corn
• A Hot Glue Gun (I think I used 3-4 glue sticks)
• A finishing spray

Here's what you'll do:

Hot glue the end of the ribbon to your styrofoam and begin wrapping it around tightly. I would add hot glue here and there to make sure the ribbon stayed in place. Once you have wrapped the styrofoam completely in ribbon then hot glue the end.

Honestly, I didn't line up any of the candy-corn before I started gluing them down... I just went at it! You'll want to do a row at a time, first row pointing left. Once you have glued them all down you are ready for your next row! The next row needs to point in the opposite direction. I did not put candy corn on the backside of the wreath. I figured it'd be against my door anyways. But if you feel the need to put them all the way around, more power to ya!

Now that you have all of the candy corn glued on and it has had time to sit, spray it with a clear finishing spray. It gives it a pretty shine and I'm hoping will protect it a bit! Let dry!

Get your wide ribbon again and wrap through the wreath. You can leave it as a knot and let the ends hang, or you can tie it in a bow! Your call! Make it cute ;)

(Note: please excuse the horrible pictures. They were taken on my phone and my camera's pictures aren't any better! One day I will have a nice camera!)

The project took me a few hours to complete (there were a few distractions including a dropped candy with hot glue on it which landed on my leg and gave me a lovely little burn!). It was a quick, fun, easy project! And now I have tons of candy corn left over to enjoy!

What fun stuff are you making for your home for Halloween? Send me a link!

Friday Favorite Five

I'm just loving being pregnant. I loved being pregnant with my first son and I am loving it now. So, I thought I'd jot down my five favorite things about being pregnant (in no particular order).

1. Growing Belly - This time around I have taken (or tried to) weekly pictures of my belly as it grows. It is so amazing how time flies and sometimes the amount of growth you can see in a short period of time. I love the way the belly looks and feels. It's just great.
2. The kicks - The pushes and kicks never get old for me. Never irritate me, even tho he kicks right before I go to sleep, a few times in the middle of the night, and at 7:00 am every morning. It is a reminder that he is growing and happy :]
3. My hair - I love what pregnancy does to my hair while I'm pregnant. It feels strong, it grows like crazy, it looks healthy. After pregnancy is a whole other story.
4. Nesting - I love cleaning and organizing... especially for my kids! So with baby on the way and nesting in full gear, I'm pumped!
5. My husband - my first pregnancy I basically went thru by myself and it was an extremely emotional time for me. I love feeling loved and being told that I am beautiful and my belly is beautiful. I love hearing my husband talk to the baby and kiss my belly. I didn't experiance anything like that before so this has been wonderful. I love my husband and I am so thankful that he puts up with me and my crazy hormones.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Letter for my boys

Dear Iden,

I want you to know how proud I am of you. There has been so much change and transition going on around you and you have done so well dealing with it all. You work so hard to please your mommy and daddy and to meet our expectations. I know somedays that it is hard on you, but know that you are loved and we are so proud to call you ours.

This week we have seen you around several babies and I am looking forward to seeing you become an amazing big brother. You have such a kind and gentle heart, you will be such a great leader for your baby brother. I love how excited you are for the baby to get here, I love seeing/hearing you talk to the baby and tell him what you are doing, and I especially love feeling your tiny hands on my belly so you can see if the baby is "bumping". I love you so much and always will.

Love,

Your Mama

Dear Gage,

As I'm writing this letter, you are pushing and kicking like crazy. You are growing so strong and it feels me up with so much joy. Your daddy and I have been praying for you far before your heart started beating, we are very excited to hold you and meet you. The last week it has been really setting in for me that you will be here soon... I want you to know that we are praying for you every day. We pray that you will be born a healthy and strong baby boy. We pray that we will be great parents for you and that God will lead us so that we can lead you. We pray that you will grow to be a man of character and integrity. We love you so much already, son. God has great plans for you. I love you so much and always will.

Love,

Your Mama

Transitions

Lately the best thing I get to hear my almost 4 year old little boy say is: Daddy. In any sentence it makes my heart melt...

"Daddy I love you."

"Daddy, will you play with me?"

"Look, Daddy."

Yes, most children start calling their fathers daddy much sooner, mine just started and I'm loving it.

Phillip and I met when Iden was only 8 months old. Iden has a father and he was sort of a part of his life at the time and I never wanted him to be confused about who was 'dad'. Phillip at the time was always referred to as "Phill". No other name was ever brought up and we never forced or taught him to call Phillip anything else.

Shortly after Iden turned 2, Phillip and I got married. A few days after we got married, Iden started calling Phillip "Papa". It was as if he knew that we were a family at this point. We didn't tell him to call Phillip this new name... we had never even said anything like that around him. It stuck and it was wonderful. Hearing my son calling my husband 'Papa' would bring a big smile on my face. We thought that he would always be 'Papa'... but Iden decided to change that.

Now that we have been married for almost 2 years and have a baby on the way, Iden has decided to give Phillip a new name... Daddy. Sometimes it's just Dad but majority of the time it's Daddy. I LOVE IT! He made this transition on his own... we didn't force him or teach him to say this. I don't know if he's heard his friends at school say "Daddy" but regardless we love it. It was all on his timing.