Gimme a sign

It's been a stressful few days. Sometimes things start to pile up. Prayers are prayed and I sit back and wait. Wait to hear what the Lord has to say, what He wants us to do or which direction to go in. Often times all I hear is crickets. Hello, Lord? Not to rush you or anything, but I needed an answer like, yesterday. This is what was happening in my mind this past Friday. I'm driving down the road by myself in the car and am half praying out loud and half praying silently. "Show me a sign, God", I said. He's done it before and I am confident He will do it again. In that next moment something pulled my attention far left. I whip my head quickly over my shoulder and before me was this...

I had to text my husband and ask him to take some pictures for me since I had JUST taken the camera out of my purse right before I left the house.

I've seen rainbows before. This one was different. It was more vibrant and almost radiating. It caused me to gasp at it's beauty and intensity. For a moment I completely forgot about what I had just been praying for. The thing that had me in a stew, so much so that I was asking the God of the Universe to give little 'ole me a sign.

I still am not quite sure what the answer to my prayer is, but you can be certain that I know my Heavenly Father was listening to me and was with me as I was crying out to Him while driving down the road that afternoon. I'm so thankful for that and found comfort there.

 The kids taking in God's promise.

The pop in and being spontaneous

A few years ago the idea of having someone "pop in" on me would ignite fear in my heart. What if my toilet was dirty, or the floor hadn't been vacuumed? Those people would surely think less of me. I also found it very difficult to think of having people come and stay in my house. Everything would have to be cleaned, floors wiped up, the corners of every room vacuumed and every nick knack dusted. I associated people wanting to come see us with the copious amount of cleaning that went along with it. I'm embarrassed to admit that and apologize to the people we turned down to come see us. I'd like to chalk it up to immaturity in that regard and not really having my heart tuned in to what really is important in life. Obviously.

Praise the Lord that I am a work in progress and this happens to be an area of my life that He has done an overhaul on. I hated feeling that way and knew it wasn't right. I didn't know where or how to begin to make the change. He who began a good work in you in faithful to complete it. Phil 1:6.

Having children has given me the best possible lesson in priorities that I could have ever hoped for. Those who have kids know how difficult it can be to plan play dates, time with friends or visits from family because everyone is SO busy these days. Spontaneity has become my best friend. Letting go and opening my arms to family and friends on a whim is more freeing than I could ever express in to words. Know that people love us and want to just be with US and that they haven't come to inspect the cleanliness of my house is amazing. It was also helpful to look internally at my motives for going to other peoples homes. I wasn't there with my white glove to see how dusty their house was. I was there to love them and enjoy their company and friendship. If I expected them to believe and trust in my motives, then I best do the same in return.

So, if you are in  my neck of the woods feel free to pop in. I can't guarantee my toilet will be clean or that the multitude of cereal on my family room floor will be swept up, but I can offer a cup of coffee, some fellowship, my children being silly and crazy and plenty of love.

After attempting, for the better part of a year, to visit with my bestie of 29 years, we finally made it happen. I texted her on Sunday and asked if me and my kiddos could come the following day and she said, with no hesitation, YES! How awesome is that? It's examples like this that continues to teach me what life is all about and that being so open to having people in to your home is one of the greatest, most selfless acts of love.

It seems in this stage of both of our lives, that doing things spur of the moment is what works. I just love the idea that we didn't let life, the cost of gas, dirty houses (even though hers was fantastic, as always), or hot weather get in our way. We just did it. It was relaxing, enjoyable and the fact that I can be my total self with her is an absolute breath of fresh air. I am SO thankful to the Lord for this life-long friendship. She is a gift to me straight from the Lord above and I'm still learning from her after all these years.

Next time we get together S, I'm packing my overnight bag and staying in your cozy basement :). Hope to see you again soon!

Y'all come back now. Ya here?

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To remember:
Logan and I were playing Candy Land together yesterday. I kept smelling something "powdery". I had no idea where the smell was coming from. After about 5 minutes or so I said "Logan, what is that powder smell? Do you smell it?". His response "Oh yeah mom. That's me. I put on your deodorant". We laughed and laughed. Even more hilarious... he puts the deodorant in the crook of his arm instead of his arm pit.

Pep in my step

It's no secret that I was in desperate need of a hair cut. My hair has been growing like wild fire and apparently I'm very wise now given all the gray hair that adorns my head. Last year my wonderful, hair stylist sister dyed my hair a beautiful cherry-cola color. I LOVED it, however, with summer here I wanted to have more of a sun kissed, highlighted look. Thankfully, she moved from Georgia and now lives just 4 miles from me. Woo Hoo. We made a date to do a fabulous color, highlight and cut. I was ready and excited.

A portion of my "wisdom"

Front Before

Back Before - Holy Long Hair Batman!

I was definitely in need of a pick-me-up and with my 13th wedding anniversary right around the corner I thought it would not only be a gift to myself, but for my husband as well to see me as his bride from all those years ago. Well, my hair at least.

No turning back now

Process Number 1

Hair dried and on to foils - Process Number 2

After the foils she ran a toner - process number 3. Not only was my sweet, hard-working sister doing my hair, but we were both taking care of our 2 kiddos, 4 in total. We're thinking about opening up a salon with a day care center attached. She's gonna do the hair and I'm going to take care of the kids. Genius, right?

Process 4 - I asked her to chop off a good 4 inches of hair and style me up. It was so freeing to look down and see a huge pile of hair on the floor. I am not afraid when it comes to cutting off my hair. It always grows back. Here's the reveal...

Thanks for all your hard work CC!! I LOVE my new 'do. It make me feel fresh and pretty. Scott came home tonight and kept saying "Who is this woman? You look so pretty!". I'd say it's a success!

Lean, mean, Logan machine

Today was Logan's 5 year check up at the doctor's. We got there on time which is no small miracle for me. I am late to everything! I blame the children, even though it's usually because I slept until the very.last.second. My hair was soaking wet and I didn't have a stitch of makeup on, BUT, we were on time. Glory, glory hallelujah.
My question is this... I scramble to get there on time only to sit in the patients room with a screaming 21 month old and my son saying "Where's Dr. ____?" over and over again for what seemed like and absolute eternity. Why??? I think many a mom can relate to this. Anyway, we love our pediatrician so I am NOT complaining. Life just always seems to be a little more stressful when you are in a room smaller than my walk in closet with your wild, crazy children and having to just.... wait.

Waiting is exhausting

This guy grew 4 inches and gained 5 and a half pounds in the last year. I, however, gained 5 pounds yesterday. I kid, I kid. Anyway, he passed his hearing test, answered all the questions correctly and was just generally awesome.

Why yes, I do know which hand is my left.

Raegan went from screaming, crying for no reason and attempting to walk around the room without her shoes on (which I quickly nixed thus causing weeping and gnashing of teeth) to being miss social as soon as the doctor walked in. She was all smiles and "oh HI! Dr. ____". She simultaneously melts my heart and gives me gray hair.

Yes, I'm a princess who picks her toe-cheese. Problem?

We've got a big year ahead of us with Kindergarten starting. I'm so thankful to the Lord for my healthy, strong, sweet and growing boy.

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Things I want to remember:

Logan's appetite has doubled within the last 2-3 months. He's getting better about eating more veggies. He still won't eat bread or any kind of bread-y products. He has thankfully started eating lunch meat which will make my lunch packing SO much easier.

He threw up for the first time EVER last night. I'm still in awe that he made it in the toilet. Thank you God for that amazing blessing!

In My Arms

**Song by Plumb, Lyrics by Tiffany Lee Arbuckle, Jeremy Bose, Matt Brownleewe**

Your baby blues,

So full of wonder

Your curly cues,

Your contagious smile

And as I watch, you start to grow up

All I can do is hold you tight

Knowing clouds will rage in

Storms will race in

But you will be safe in my arms

Rains will pour down

Waves will crash around

But you will be safe in my arms

Singing to my sweetie

I can't remember when it started exactly... maybe 6 months ago... maybe more. It has quickly become one of my favorite parts of the day. When the house is quiet and I'm holding her in the crook of my arm. Kinda like I did for the first 5 months of her life. It's just her and I. Looking in to each other's eyes, whispering, smiling and singing sweetly. Sometimes it's just me and sometimes she joins in. I'll never forget the night she joined in for the first time. My heart was immediately filled with utter and pure happiness. My mind thought how big her Heavenly Father must be smiling at her. I didn't know how on earth she learned the words to the hymns I had been singing to her. She seemed too little for it to be sinking in, BUT, it sure did. We first started with "Jesus Loves Me" and "Rock-a-bye my baby" but I wanted there to be more. After reading a post of one of my favorite blogs found here, I thought I would expand my night time song repertoire. You're never too young to start hearing the loving promises of your Heavenly Father, right? Right.

 Raegan with her cousin Jon

Our process begins with teeth brushing. Mommy takes the first turn. Then we read 3, or maybe 7 books. I have trouble saying "No" when you are so sweetly saying "One more, mommy". Then I lean you in to the crook of my arm and tell you it's time for singing. I ask you what you want to hear. "How about "Because He Lives" I'll say?" and you say "Uh Huh" and then I go about singing. Then I ask you again, "How about...?". Sometimes you say "Nuh Uh, with the pacifier firmly placed in your mouth. You definitely have an opinion and you know what songs you are in the mood for. We usually sing about 4 songs. "I Love You Lord", "Because He Lives", "Jesus Loves Me" and "Jesus Loves the Little Children" is your current, favorite song list.

I love how calm it makes her. How I can feel the weight of her body in my arms, her breath rising and falling, life... the precious life that the Lord Himself gave to me. The fact that He thinks I'm worthy enough to receive such a precious gift brings tears to my eyes. She's beautiful, she's His and for a little while... she's mine too.

My secret hope is that I can freeze this moment in time. Where she will always be small enough to be held in my arms, snuggled and kissed until I am satisfied and innocent enough to freely and boldly sing "I love you Lord and I lift my voice...".

I love you more than words can express my sweet girl. You are a precious, precious gift!

Super Logan's Birthday Celebration

So, my sweet baby boy turned 5 in June. I had asked him months prior to his birthday what "theme" he would like. I was hoping he would say "Spiderman" or "Star Wars" or something that would allow me to just purchase fantastic decorations to make my life easy. Ha! I should know better. He requested Super Mario. We have a deep love for all things Mario in this household that dates back to the early pixelized Mario from the original Nintendo days, so I was more than happy to oblige. He had also been letting us know that he wanted to go bowling for his birthday. So... we decided to get crazy and do 2 parties. The first one was on the morning of his birthday and we held it at the bowling ally and invited 8 of his closest little buddies. Then later that night we did a BBQ for local family at our house.

I immediately got to work researching decorations, invites, balloons and any other way I could make this super special for him. I found an awesome invite on Etsy -

(Sample of the printable invite I ordered)

This gal - Mandy at Scribbles by Park Avenue  - was so unbelievably awesome to work with. I would HIGHLY recommend her. I also ordered a printable Super Mario pennant style birthday banner from her and it was amazing. I just lined it with primary colored card stock to help each triangle pop out a little better and hand-tied each one with a royal blue colored ribbon. You will see it pictured below. (I was in no way compensated to leave fabulous comments about Mandy with Scribbles by Park Avenue. I'm just a VERY happy customer who received excellent customer service from her!)

I LOVE birthday decorations and really believe that they help make the birthday extra special for whoever is celebrating. I found 32 Super Mario images online and printed them out on 8.5x11 card stock and then printed the mirror image, cut them out, attached some fishing line and hung them from the ceiling along with red and yellow crepe paper and black construction paper chain links. Those were to represent the chain from the "chain chomp" character. I am a glutton for punishment, what can I say? I may or may not have spent a small fortune on ink cartridges.

Family Room Decorations. Forgot to take a picture of the kitchen :(.

The birthday boy on the morning of. He was SO excited to be 5!

My son is not a fan of birthday cake. He may or may not have told his preschool teacher that he was allergic to cupcakes so he didn't have to eat one at a class party. He definitely doesn't get that from me! That lead me to decide not to make him a birthday cake for his bowling party. I went with a Super Mario themed candy "bar". We had about 6 different buckets of candy and each child got to fill a bag full of whatever they wanted. We had stuff like "Bowser's bubble gum", "Luigi's Lifesavers", and "Star Power Skittles" just to name a few. I was also able to find Mario themed balloons on Ebay that I had my local Party City inflate for me.

And for the part I am most excited about to share... the FAVORS!!! I LOVE practical, fun and useful favors. Nothing drives me more crazy than to send people home with a bunch of junk that gets thrown in the garbage. I might as well just take a big wad of money and chuck it in the trash. My mind had been working in creative overload and out of the blue it struck me. Make each kid his own Mario shirt... and a mustache. PERFECT! I found white t-shirts on sale for $1.99 at AC Moore, purchased a set of printable iron-on transfers with my 40% off coupon and got to work. I talked with Logan about which Mario image he wanted to put on the shirt. He couldn't decide between 2 so we thought we'd do one on the front and one on the back. Why not? I also added each child's name to the back of his shirt as well to make it even more personalized. I was able to fit both images and the child's name on one page of transfer which worked out really well. Then, while shopping at Dollar Tree I came across packets of 7 different mustaches for only $1. I got each kid his very own packet of mustaches. So... upon arrival to the bowling ally we gave the kids the option to change in to their brand new Mario shirts and they also had fun trying on their mustaches throughout the party as well. All in all each gift bag only cost me about $3.50/$3.75, which is awesome and it's something that they will be able to wear for a while. Love it and so did Logan!

Bowling Party - You can slightly see the candy "bar" in the back ground.

Some party goers in their shirts (the front) and their mustaches.

Back of the shirt

The Princess of the Party

Miss Raegan wanted in on the action

The big boys wanted their very own Mario t-shirts as well.

The Super Birthday Boy

The kids had a fantastic time running around, being crazy and bowling a little. They loved that they got to wear the same shirt as the birthday boy. I think it gave them an extra sense of camaraderie and made them feel special too.

Since there was no cake to stick the candle in, we had to get creative. One of the moms gave me the idea to melt the end of the candle and that helped it to adhere to the plate.

Happy Birthday my sweet son. You are a gift and a blessing from the Lord, hand picked just for our family and I am GRATEFUL! Have a wonderful year of growing, learning and being the fantastic kid that you are.
Love always and forever, Mommy

~ If you are interested in any of my Mario party ideas and would like an iron on printable or any suggestions for your Mario party feel free to leave a comment with your email address. ~