Honor's Woodland First Birthday Party

It's August 2nd and I am just now sitting down to write a little something about Onnie's big party.  Now that all the traveling is over and visitors are gone I am finally getting back into my normal routine.

Sean and I decided that I would fly with the girls to Tennessee two weeks before the party so that I could have lots of time to make decorations and spend some quality time with my mom, sister, and four nieces.  I am so thankful for that time!

 

They live in McMinnville, TN which is a quaint little town.  The pace was a nice change from busy south Florida. 

I have been wanting to do a woodland themed party for a long time, so I knew that this was my chance.  I found wedding invites on Etsy that I loved, so I just had them change the wording.

shop idoityourself

Awesome, right? They really helped me to get a starting point for all the rest of the decorations.  So without further ado...

  

Shop Paperly Press

 

It was a wonderful day, and I am so blessed by having such a wonderful family to celebrate with.  

Singing the body parts

You know you are in for it when while you are getting dressed your preschooler is dancing around singing about seeing ALL your body parts. Smh. Can a mom get some privacy please?!

And why do I feel the need to correct her pronunciation while she is singing said song?!  Sometimes I take a step back and think, is this really my life? Face palm. 

Holy crap.

Holy crapola. Before I opened this blog my thought was, "it hasn't been that long." B-S! It's been over four years! I mean seriously...I wasn't even pregnant and now I have two kids. We were just buying a new house and now we've moved three times. I've been a little busy. Nope. A lot busy. 

I won't bore you with the details. Today is a new day and all that mess, so here goes...

My mom is leaving today. She has been here with us in South Fl for over two weeks and in only a matter of hours she will be gone. I answered a question yesterday about my favorite baby/kid product. My honest answer is my mom. She has been a lifesaver. She's done laundry, played with kids, changed diapers, laughed, and made the chaos of parenting just that much easier. What oh what am I going to do??

On the upside: I can now watch unapproved TV in the living room again 😂

 

Consistancy…I'm learning

So, here I am again, opening my blog after almost of year of not writing.  I guess I am consistent in my inconsistency.  I am trying.  I need to get better.  I think that one of my problems is that I don't have a specific thing that I want to write about.  I have lots of interests, but yet I haven't settled on one thing that I want to share with the world on a regular basis.  Just writing about my everyday life isn't as inspirational I I guess I need it to be.  I need a topic to keep my mind focused.  Anyway…moving on.

My husband and I are on the verge of being homeowners again!  We close on our new house on the 27th.  I am more excited about this new chapter of our lives than I have ever been.  Everything about this house is more than we could have asked for and more than we deserve.  God is blessing us daily with His grace and mercy.

This past year has been interesting.  A lot has changed and a lot has stayed the same…but that's true for most people right?  Sean and I are in a great place in our marriage.  One of our dearly beloved danes passed away.  I have a new position with in the church that I work for.  The church has started a brand new venture in opening a community center.  I met new friends who I love dearly.  I have depend relationships with others that were already in my life. My dad has been visiting two weeks out of every month for almost a year now.  And God is teaching me new things about Himself everyday.

So do any of you have tips on how to blog on a more regular basis?  Or how to pick a topic to blog about?  I would love any and all suggestions about how to be a more successful blogger.

Three things I learned from Elaine

Dearest Elaine, 

I have been thinking about you lately and how you taught me three things about life that I will never forget.

1. Bring them napkins before they ask

Anticipate the needs of others.  Don't think only about yourself and what you need to do, but think of others before yourself.

2. Take good care of Old Joe in the corner booth

Build relationships with people.  Remember their names and their stories.  It will enrich your life, while also building a community of trust.

3. Never come back from the dining room empty handed

Always keep busy.  If you take care of what needs to be done now, there will be less to be done later. 

Thank you for the years that you looked out for me and taught me so well!

Can't Grow This...

I stepped outside this morning and was instantly drawn into the perfectly beautiful overcast day. I could no longer deny myself the pleasure of creation. I love my garden. It's not graceful, it's not sweeping, but it's mine...well, for now anyway. I could spend all day out there. Pruning, picking, stress free and quiet. I am breathing in and out, marveling at that beauty when I walk around the corner and I see this:

I love my fish pond. But my pond does not love me. I can grow just about anything...anything but aquatic plants.  What the heck, they live in water!!! And thats the key to gardening, water, water, and more water...well unless you are working with succulents and lantana, and some other stuff, but I digress.  So, dear readers, anyone know how to help me? 

Balance, Baby, Balance

Stained carpet, vinyl seats in 70s colors, poles that have been touched by who knows what. Can anyone guess where I am? No, it's not a strip club...you are gross!! It's the metro, and I am on it. After an eventful morning, and a little bit of Jersey Shore (yes, I watch that crap...and I pray for them), I am off to meet my husband for a day date. We are going to try some restaurants he has been talking about for awhile, since seeing them while commuting to work. I don't know who is more excited him or me...which leads me to wonder how many times has he asked me on a date and I mercilessly squashed his attempts. Not that I did it purposely mind you, but often I am so consumed with myself and what I need to get done that I view him wanting to "just hang out" as lazy or unproductive. Wow, there was a lot of "I" in that last sentence. But the reality is that it is productive. It keeps us connected, it keeps us happy.  That's why we got married isn't it? Because we liked hanging out together. So where does that bring me? I guess it brings me back to balance. I can't just stay home all the time and just hang out cause that leads to us not having anything to talk about, but the flip side to that is I can't just do do do do do do do and do all the time. So although it feels funny, I have actually started a little system...I have started writing down things that I want to talk to him about so that when we are "just hanging out" we have plenty to talk about. That and so we don't have to fight about "yes, I did tell you about that." You might be seeing a common thread here for the next bit as I try to wrap my head around balance.