Vintage Farm Fresh Breakfast Bridal Shower

I posted a sneak peek yesterday of this fun party we threw for Maddox's Kindergarten assistant from last year, Miss Sarah.

She's getting married in early 2013 and I had a really great time pulling this together with help from the other Kindergarten moms who made or brought food to the table.

This bridal shower had a different twist to it because all of the Kindergarten class was invited to celebrate Sarah!

That was a bit of a challenge to make the whole thing 6 year old friendly AND still feel like a sweet grown up party.

So....who doesn't like breakfast?! : )

I'm a girl who grew up in the country so all things vintage country or farm style are dear to me because they feel so natural and normal. It is truly not a "style" to me but things that I have always loved and/or seen since childhood.

Here enters the Vintage Farm Fresh Breakfast theme. I knew that Sarah's style was a different type of vintage, but I was pretty sure that she would like it.

I hardly had to buy anything extra because I had most of the decor already in my party planning/house decorating/food serving stash. That is always a bonus.

I also luckily have an old massively long wood table for children and chairs in our sunroom, so seating for the kids made it pretty simple. (I also keep a plethora of vinyl tablecloths on hand for these kid occasions. Usually $3 at Walmart in the summertime.)

She's so tiny she blends in at the kids' table. ;)

All of the kids did great and they were amazingly excited to see her after 6 weeks of being out of school.

Here are a lot of photos of the food we served and the decor I used on the serving tables! Thanks to my friend, Sandra, for sharing all of these iPhone pics she got because if she hadn't there would be NO pictures of this party. And that would be a sad thing. : / 

The quiches that were supposed to be made the night before couldn't be made due to power outages, so we were able to grab some quiche from Publix and they were YUM!

I always prefer to use real dishes, real glasses, and real silverware. Even with children! Less waste and cheaper in the long run. 

Butter, syrup, and sugar - served the old fashioned way. 

Fresh eggs purchased from a friend's daughter who raises chickens and sells their eggs as her job.

Maddox was happy to see his friends and Sarah and also glad that it was a grownup party that included his type of food. ; )

Our sweet set of juice glasses for the kids. I searched for a set of these for about a year before I found them locally. I think I paid $1 each. SCORE!

Milk bar with milk containers bought at World Market and milk bottles purchased from Shop Sweet Lulu. The little cow creamer was just for decor and was something I used for Magdalen's 2 year Vintage Cowgirl birthday party. I'm hanging onto that thing!

Soda box purchased at World Market (no! I couldn't find an authentic one in time, but this one served it's purpose).

I use mason jars for almost every party, unless it's formal. The mason jar drink dispenser seemed to fit the theme so I used that. (Purchased at Word Market also. I love that place!)

My vintage cart (purchased locally for a steal a couple of months ago), melamine dishes from Walmart and 2 STRAWBERRY PIES made by our dear baker friend, Sandra. Everything she makes tastes like heaven!

Mini peach preserves in a jar was the party favor I found and it was perfect for a breakfast/brunch party! The vintage rustic toolbox was something I already had that held them perfectly!


The food was scrumptious, the kids were well-behaved, the guest of honor felt loved, and there were lots of smiles all around.

Thanks to the ladies who helped me so much in the kitchen making the pancakes and all of the other last minute details that needed to be finished. Also, the cleanup! They were like little magicians in my kitchen because they had a lot of it cleaned up by the time I was done watching Sarah open her gifts. : )

Great friends equals a happy heart and I hope to show you some past parties on here that I have had the most fun scheming on and actually putting together and enjoying with dear friends!

Growing up.

I love this boy with all of my heart. 

And in just one short day, he'll be back in school, walking the halls as a first grader, and to be completely honest? 

I don't like it. 

I know parents are supposed to be happy for their kids as they grow and mature and move on in life, but it is a hard thing for me to do. I don't want to send him back. Not yet. Summer's not over for me and I want him here with me and his sister each day enjoying these beautiful moments with us. 

I always have heard of parents jumping for joy when the song and business of Back to School starts, but I will never be one of them. I can promise that.

Because really...this summer was epic. 

Maybe not in the sense of the word "epic" that most people would think about, but for me it surely was. 

This was the first summer that Magdalen was talking like a big girl.

The first summer that Maddox was reading.

The first summer that both of them could swim by themselves in the pool without me. 

The first summer that they really rode bicycles together.

The first summer that they slept in a bit and woke up excited to play together before coming to us.

The first summer that Maddox fearlessly started mountain biking with Chad. And was a natural!

The second summer of him playing ball.

(Even on the days when he would finally hit the ball after the 25th pitch, he never gave up. He never acted stressed. He just gave it his cheerful, happy all and always wore a smile. While my heart was silently breaking on the sidelines for him. )

I could go on about how amazing it was, but you get the idea. It was a Big Kid Summer.

So, this Maddox....my eldest....my boy.....

He has always had my heart and he always will. 

He truly is a joy to parent and love and watch mature.

He loves his sister with a fierceness and it was a beautiful thing to watch them become best friends again over the summer and truly enjoy so much time just the two of them. They made up so many games and ideas together and I wish I could bottle that up and live in it forever. 

But of course that is unrealistic. And on the other side of the being-sad-coin is the pride and thankfulness I feel in watching him grow. 

He is such a gentleman.

And creative.

And patient.

And persevering.

And an intelligent little guy.

He was my reading buddy all summer and he probably knocked out 25 real chapter books all by himself since Kindergarten ended. I was impressed at what a little bookworm he became in such a short amount of time. 

More proof that he's growing and it's never going to stop.

So......Thursday morning we'll wake up, do the first day of school rush, take the obligatory front porch photo with his baby sister and off we'll go to drop him off for another wonderful year at his school. (Where I force my tears behind my smile, because let's get real....what really kills me is watching him and Magdalen hug and say goodbye to each other. It's torture! )

And I'll embrace the school year once again, like a good mama letting her baby fly.....while secretly wishing for the next summer to hurry, hurry, hurry and get here. ; )

Mega Million Mom Jewels {In My Crown}

The things I do for these children.

Another disgusting job of a mom. That's what it was. 

At least that's what I told myself just now. 

But then, I realized there was more to it.

And some of you may laugh at this, but really,

once you hear about what I just did (and this is on a slow day), 

you'll understand. 

I wanted to vacuum the house this afternoon to prepare for Sabbath. 

Or at least just the downstairs!

Over the vacuum's roar, I yell to Maggie to pick up her doll house pieces and to Maddox to pick up the Lego pieces. 

Ugh.

Lego pieces. 

(I'm sure you're already starting to get the idea, aren't you?)

I'm happily cleaning and vacuuming while the two of them tell me they have finished their jobs. 

I slowly move into the sunroom where Maddox is sitting at their kids' table.

The room where he keeps half of his Legos on a shelf, or on the table, or most likely, on the floor. 

My eyes are sweeping the floor while I clean, because trust me, I don't want to vacuum up their toys either!

And then it happens.

I see a black plastic piece of something moving across the floor into the vacuum and hear a loud clattering sound. 

OOPS.

Guess who else hears it? 

Uh huh. The boy.

Sobs ensue. 

Begging.

Pleading.

Accusations of "IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Me defending myself, although I know that little black piece was hidden on a black area of the rug. 

What do you do? 

He honestly had cleaned up every little piece except that one. He had tried his best. 

I had mercy on him. 

Now don't go thinking that I didn't do this with some anger, and maybe some lecturing, and some defensiveness over it being "all my fault." Because, I did. As always.

So there I went.

Hauling the vacuum outside. 

Opening that nasty bag of DEATH. 

(Are you aware of my phobia of hair & my horrible dusty allergy? Um, yeah.)

Dumping it all out on a trash bag. 

(Did I mention it was windy outside? Go ahead. Imagine that part, too.)

I was having no luck on the deck so I moved it all down to the patio to try and get away from the wind.

I started pawing through and shaking the big nasty clumps of death around.

WITH MY BARE HANDS.

And then I saw it.

A black piece of plastic. 

I grabbed it and then....

oooooooh, the disappointment.

IT. WASN'T. A. LEGO. PIECE. AT. ALL.

It was a black piece to a completely different toy that is completely unnecessary. 

Imagine my feelings at that point as I looked around the mess I had just created at the back of our house. I'm not even quite sure you can imagine it quite right because it was so disgusting, but I felt defeated.

And I was mad.

And then Maddox sort of giggled and said "Oh. It's just this. Whew!"

I had to close my eyes and look up at the heavens and say "Please Lord Jesus, help me."

I needed patience right then.

And he provided. 

This incident literally happened about 30 minutes ago and I'm already chuckling to myself.

So, today, after someone said that I must live under a rock because I asked what the heck Mega Million meant on everyone's Facebook posts today, I thought about it.

Yes, I do live under a rock. 

But I'm okay with that.

Because with the way my days go, I'm earning Mega Million jewels in my crown up in Heaven.

I'd rather have that than the $640 million I could win with a ticket.

(Although, I will not lie when I say that I wouldn't mind having that money in a heartbeat. Hello.)

So, the next time you're digging through your vacuum cleaner's dirty bag of stank nasty for one of your children, think of me. 

And think of Jesus up there chuckling at you. 

I guarantee you he's laughing and maybe adding a jewel to your crown, too.

9 Things Before Nine{AM}

Yes, I realize it's not Monday morning.

Ha!

But if you knew how my morning went yesterday, then you would understand. It was so bad that I let myself eat a Reese's Sonic Blast for lunch and then Sweet Cece's as my after-kids-are-in-bed-evening-snack. I am going to pretend today is the first day of the work/school week and start over.

 At least it makes me feel better. 

1. Speaking of mornings...I loathe Daylight Savings Time. I am not a morning person and every year at this time, I wish that we still lived in Phoenix where we never had to change our clocks. Oh, the things I have taken for granted at times! 

2. Both kids had their well checkups yesterday and they passed with perfect results. Not a tear was shed, although both had to have their blood drawn from their finger. Brave little souls. ; ) I was pleased to hear the doctor say that Magdalen's speech seemed fine and also proud of my little girl for actually speaking to the doc and answering each question. She said she counts like a 4 year old and I was surprised after all the underlying questions we've had about her speech. *sigh of relief*

3. Chad took the day off yesterday for various reasons (unheard of in this job!) and Maddox was so excited that his daddy got to come see him play soccer for the first time yesterday. It completely made his day. : )

4. We had a really great weekend, starting out with Maddox singing at both church services with his Kindergarten class on Sabbath. They were too adorable in their little formal school uniforms. 

5. We also had a lovely dinner party at home that night with the hilarious Melissa and her husband, Tony, and another musician friend of Chad's, Jason, and his wife, Juliana, who I met for the first time that night! Melissa made some amazing veggie sliders and salad to go with the other items we had for the meal. We played the game Scruples afterward (yes, like old people) and it was truly a relaxing, fun night with new and old friends. 

6. I am EXCITED ABOUT SUMMER!! I realize it's a few months away, but it's already warm outside and Maddox is starting to really complain about not having any time to play when he wakes up each morning. I am going to make this an epic summer with lots of friend time, play time, and also down time for him before he hits 1st grade in the fall. 

7. In the past month, I believe I have moved our furniture from room to room at least 3 or 4 times. I can't help myself. 

8. Oh...we went to Zanie's comedy club on Sunday night for a surprise birthday party for our friend, Nathan. He was completely surprised and then we went back to his house for cake. His wife, Steph, had made The Pioneer Woman's chocolate sheet cake (except Steph made it gluten free) and it was delish! First time I've had this famous recipe and was excited because I've been wanting to try it for awhile now.  : )

9. Also, excited about a play date with friends this afternoon after school. The weather is perfect. And Maddox is excited to see his girl, Ava. ; ) Well, one of his girls. That's her below. 

Ava and Maddox (age 5 here) one year ago having a picnic outside with their then-2-yr-old baby sisters. Cuties!

Five Years From Now....

I'll miss these simple, everyday, taken-for-granted things.

Learning-to-read notes to & from Kindergarten friends.

My sweet girl's little rain boots that she wants to wear every single season right now.

Maddox's sweet school projects that make me chuckle. : )

On any given day that you see me, I'm probably sporting a sticker or two on each hand. Magdalen brings them to me each morning when I'm getting ready and gives me my daily sticker. Her idea. ; ) Sometimes she'll even bring them to my bedroom before I wake up and I'll feel her sticking one on my hand while I'm half asleep. What a memory I'll treasure forever. :) 

Mini chairs. 

Little adorable sleeping angels that I can still carry in my arms.

 It's so hard for me to believe how soon all of this will be just a memory. 

Which is why I write.

And photograph.

And share stories. 

It's all for me. And them.

9 Things Before Nine{AM}

Hmmm...so much to talk about from this past week. I'll stick to my tidy list for this morning and post some fun things later in separate posts. : )

1. Yesterday, we attended our very first Pine Car Derby at Maddox's school and even though it was 6 hours long, we had a great time! Watching his face light up as he watched his car succeed was so fun for us and even more priceless was how he accepted the cheering and trophy. He is his father. Humble, yet quietly confident. Love you, baby boy.


2. Chad finished reading The Hunger Games last night and when I came to bed, I saw it on my night table where he left it for me and my turn with it. I'm excited to start this series! Is anyone else reading it or read it already? I've heard it's really great.

3. Magdalen is talking a LOT. It has amazed me. Apparently, it has impressed Maddox because this morning at breakfast, as his sister was jabbering away, he looked at me and said "Maggie is really talking all the time now, isn't she?" with a huge grin on his face. He's so proud of her. : )

4. We ate lunch with my dear friend Ashlie and her family on Saturday after a long time of not seeing them. Every single time that happens, it makes me chuckle inside. Ashlie and I spend the entire time talking as fast as we can and jumping from topic to topic because we can't catch up fast enough. She's one of those  amazing friends who gets me and we can always pick up where we were last time. I think I have a post on that whole idea coming soon.

5. We are thankfully safe from any storms we had this past week, although we did hide out in our storm shelter for a little bit. Unfortunately, my hometown was hit hard again less than a year after the original tornado destruction. Please keep all of the people affected in your prayers.

6. Chad and I woke up yesterday morning to the sound of our babies playing together in the hallway and in their bedrooms back and forth. Laughing and giggling and teamwork. A most beautiful sound. We have finally made it! ; )

7. My dad won this amazing award recently at a big event. He won the Man of the Year Award at CASBA (Cookie and Snack Bakers Association) Conference in Orlando last month. It is a huge honor and he was totally surprised, which is a hard thing to do with my dad. ; ) This group has been around since 1970 and Dad has been a part of it for 10 years. I'm proud of him and the hard work he does and the success he has achieved in his own business. Way to go, DAD! (Thanks to my stepmom, Donna, for the photo.)


8. I have been asked to do a guest post by one of my favorite bloggers. I am pretty excited about it and obviously, will share the link after I submit it and she publishes it. A cool post on something she has written is coming soon here, as well. 


9. I'm thinking today on all the posts I need to catch up on. Some randomness, some deep thoughts that were triggered from attending Blissdom, and some PARTIES!!! I have slacked on posting some of the parties I've done or have co-planned. So many great ideas and photos to share. I'm thinking of doing a week of party posts. How does that sound? ; )


Happy Monday!

9 Things Before Nine{AM}

                                                                                       Source: flickr.com via Monica on Pinterest

Okay, friends. Let's just cut to the chase.

1. Blissdom'12 was mind blowing. Inspiring. Overwhelming. I am honestly still processing it all, but I learned more than I bargained for. I also met some pretty cool people. More on that soon.

                                                                   Source: stopthinkingforyourself.tumblr.com via Consuelo on Pinterest

2. Did you watch the Oscars last night? All I can think about is how young Tom Cruise looked. I felt like I was in a time warp....and it was a good one. Can anyone say Top Gun? ; )

3. I also found a rerun of Grey's Anatomy playing. ( If you're a fan, it was the "shooter in the hospital" episode.) I'm amazed at how that one single episode can still completely stress me out & make me break out in a sweat the 3rd time watching.

4. I got to wear my dress from the Grammys again on Saturday night. ; ) I truly thought I'd never wear it again, but hey....it fit. I hope to have a few photos to share from that soon. (And I'm going to finally post the photos from our time at the Grammys. TWO YEARS AGO. Sheesh. I know.)

5. So...grass stains. I can't stand them. Maddox has stains on almost every single uniform item he wears to school so, last night, I poured bleach directly on all of the white items. Guess what? Stains are still there. Mhmmm. I hate bleach now, too.

6. Maddox wrote and recorded another song right before he turned 6 this month. We're working on a full album. We should have 10 songs by the time he's thirteen if we continue to do one every year. So far, so good. They are pretty darn cute and I keep forgetting to share. Hoping to post the first 3 sooner than later.

                

7. During Blissdom, I received a free signed copy of the book Quitter by Jon Acuff. He was an amazing, inspirational, hilarious, and very real speaker. I came away with so many things to think about and started reading it yesterday. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

                

8. This morning on the drive to school, it was just me and Maddox. I cranked up my current favorite soundtrack and used my still-a-little-bit-sick-awesome-raspy-singing voice to sing Bruno Mars' "It Will Rain". It was perfection. So I did it twice. With feeling. (Don't be thinking 'poor Maddox' because he was singing along, too. Promise.)

9. And lastly. *sigh* I can't find the key to my new treadmill. : / How's that going to work out now? Hmmm. Still looking....

HAPPY MONDAY!

9 Things Before Nine{AM}

                                                                                      Source: theposterlist.com via Amanda on Pinterest

I love lists.
Really, I do.

I think it comes from the fact that I'm pretty disorganized in my head and it helps to write most anything down. I know a lot of people feel the same way about themselves. I'm also sure that my dear husband would think that "pretty disorganized" is an understatement. (I'm okay with that. )

So....after a weekend, whether it was full or not, I have a lot of thoughts swirling in my head and instead of trying to do a post on some of the topics, I'll just start writing them in list form on Monday mornings before 9am. No pics today because I honestly didn't take any all weekend!

(And yes, 8 Things Before 8 would be absurdly too early for any human being. So I'll go with 9. )

1. I have been sick for 1 full week now and I'm over it. I have that deep horrible cough that sounds like I'm hacking up a lung each time and it's pretty gross. Good news: It doesn't hurt to cough today and my regular voice is *almost* back. At least I can speak now and give orders. ; )

2. Because of #1, I did laundry ALL.DAY.YESTERDAY. That's it. And the bedding is still not completed this morning. Bright side? At least I'm not having to fold it.

3. I'm going to Blissdom on Thursday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I feel unprepared because of #1, again. If you don't know what it is, the short answer is: a blogging/social-media conference here in Nashville. If you want the long answer, click on the link. : ) I've been waiting to go to this for 3 years now and finally made the leap and bought a ticket. So many "famous" bloggers to meet!

4. Yesterday, for the first time ever, we had to talk to Maddox about the death of someone he knows. A beloved grandfather of one of his closest friends passed away unexpectedly this weekend. And Maddox sees him quite often. We told him early in the day, so there wouldn't be any uneasy thoughts for him at bedtime. It went smoothly and he had good questions, but seemed to understand. When bedtime prayers were said, he added a prayer for his friend all on his own and melted my heart even more.

5. I bought a used treadmill from a friend. As of yesterday, it now resides in my bonus room and as soon as I'm not coughing/wheezing anymore I'm excited to use it! No more trying to convince myself to drive all the way to the YMCA and failing!

6. Maddox has his first loose tooth. I think. I'm so sad about it (even though I know I shouldn't be) and told him not to touch it so it won't fall out too soon. It makes me queasy.

7. We eat cold cereal for breakfast almost every single morning. Unless Chad makes oatmeal. My theory is that a healthy cereal + almond or coconut milk is waaaaaay healthier than most cooked breakfasts that other people make.

8. I'm on a reading binge. I've read 5 novels in the last week and a half and I'm only slowing down this week to prepare for Blissdom.

9. And finally, for today, the biggest thing on my mind all weekend was my friend, Cindy. She is one of my best friends from high school and college and she has cancer. Breast cancer, to be exact. She's been through her double mastectomy already this past week and is healing, but the cancer was found in her lymph nodes and that never equates to "easy". I've been through this with my own mother, but she was lucky and had none in her lymph nodes, so she didn't have to have the dreaded chemo or awful radiation. Just a chemo pill every day. Please join me in prayers for Cindy, her husband, and their 3 children ages 4.5, 3. and 1. They need all the prayers we can send up on her behalf. Thank you.

That's it, folks. Lists in the future won't be quite as long, but it was a heavier mental weekend than normal.

On a last note, I have decided to take back my life and DO the things I've been wanting and planning on doing instead of just dreaming in my head and this post (whether you understand why or not) is the start of that. This is going to be my year! I just know it. : )

Happy Monday!

I Will Survive

If you know me well, then you know I don't like the winter season.

It's just cold. 

Too. Freezing. Cold. 

I'm a summertime girl and could live in a bathing suit,

all oiled up,

book in hand,

lying on a float in the pool

on the hottest days here....

for the rest of my life. No lie.

BUT....

yesterday it started snowing and when I finally raised my weary head after the 3rd time hitting snooze on my alarm clock, I went to check my cell phone and Maddox's teacher had texted me this:

"No school today."

In my head, I suddenly broke into The Hallelujah Chorus.

And I can handle that. : )

You know why?

Pardon me, as I share two important (horrible quality) cell phone photos from after school yesterday.

Reason #1 that we will survive the next few months:

Oh yes. He reads now. Chapter books! Alone!

He just discovered The Magic Treehouse Series two nights ago with me and he wants to read them all the time now. He literally asks if he can read them when he wakes up, before bed, after school. He is so excited about finishing each chapter and moving onto the next. 

I am giddy with excitement that I might have a fellow bookworm in this house! : )

And for the more active member of our home....Reason #2:

Baby got a brand new bike.

Yes! And she loves it! So does Brother.

(I just realized that she's wearing one of her new aprons in the above photo. Aunt Heather - she loves it! She received 2 for her birthday, which was great because she didn't have one yet, and both of them were given to her by two different Heathers. They are so adorable and she wears both. Ha!)

Back to the bike. This is so fantastic actually....the trike is a Trek Trikester/Trekster and it has real wheels.

We found this used locally, but in perfect condition. Normally retails for over $200, but my thrifty self found it for $75. SCORE! The awesome thing is that our downstairs has an entire "track" for them to ride on the hardwood floors. 

If you've been here, you know....if you haven't, here's how it works. : )

You start in the kitchen, then speed through the long hall to the foyer (as shown above),

then make a sharp right through the dining room, continue through the butler's pantry into the kitchen.

Another sharp right take you THROUGH the kitchen and back around to where you started. 

You're pretty much going in a large circle around our stair case and closet, 

and

IT

IS

AWESOME.

Maddox loves it and speeds so fast that he tips over. 

After seeing them do this today (or riding together since there are "running boards" on the back for another person to stand or kneel on and hang on tight to the driving/pedaling sibling) I realize that we will make it through this winter. 

In addition to the above new additions to our lives, our house organization is undergoing some changes that will also aid in wintertime boredom. I pray.

As they grow, I constantly need to rearrange areas in our home to suit our growing needs and the main one right now is our sunroom. My current focus and plan is to turn it into a craft/art/homework room for children and have enough space for everyone who comes over to play. These changes are very quickly spilling over into the other areas of our home and I'm very excited about moving out of the stage of having all of my rooms so baby & toddler friendly!! : ) I have big kids now!

I picked up some used children's furniture for an absolute steal today and will refinish it when warmer weather arrives. But for now it is usable. I'm hoping to share photos soon as I get after-holiday life back under control. Until then....

Summer is for Slowing Down

Magdalen, 2.5 years old

I have had a great couple of weeks of NOTHING to do but swim, hang out, relax, take naps, and just really enjoy my summer days with the kids.

I am teaching myself (again) how to say "no" to things that are not required and "yes" to things just because they sound fun.

Let me rephrase that. My children are teaching me. ; )

Yesterday, I had tons of things I could have been doing. But instead, I let my two kids and a friend use my furniture as toys (unheard of for me....we respect our hard-earned purchases), ride through the mud puddles on bikes IN the rain (even though the mud spray all the way down Maddox's back was fierce), and the kids were not required to take baths after it all (gasp!)

Last night, Maddox told me the best part of his day was riding his bike in the rain.

Simple things.

Say yes to summer!

Letter To Daddy on Father's Day

Dear Daddy,

We love it when it's Father's Day and I love it when we give you presents!

And I love you Daddy, because you take me to new restaurants sometimes. I love you when you let me play on your phone.

I love you Daddy, because you build me Lego tracks and other train tracks, too.

Thank you Daddy, for letting me play raquetball with you and go swimming.

I love you, Daddy, because you play board games with me.

Love you,

Maddox (5 years old)

Dada!

Dadadadadada. *smooch* (As she holds up 2 fingers trying to say I Love You in Sign Language.)

Love, Magdalen (2.5 years old)

Dear Chad,

Thank you for these two. Thank you for being a partner in making them the amazing people they are. I couldn't do it without your stability, your hard work, your patience (with me and them), and your love.

We love you. They cooperated so well in taking these sweet photos when I told them it was a surprise for Daddy.

Happy Father's Day!

Love, Amanda

{their feet - the "surprise" we all tried to hide from you yesterday}

{processing on this photo I'm not loving, but I wanted to make sure their feet popped out!}

{Gift from Magdalen - print of this photo for your studio coming soon!}

To my own Father, William....

Thank you for being the best father I could have ever asked for. Thank you for always being there for me and still trying to take care of me and my family whenever you feel the need. : ) Having kids now myself, I realize that I will always think of my kids as my babies. 

Thank you for loving our children so much. They love their Papa Will soooo very much also!

The photos of Maddox and Magdalen above will be your gift this year. I hope you enjoy their sweet faces in these. I know I am! 

Love you so much,

Amanda

Happy Father's Day to all the other amazing dads out there that I have the pleasure of knowing today!

Sweetest Homemade Birthday Gift

Oh, that Chad.

He did it again. ; )

My sweet husband is not one to bring me flowers all the time, or buy me gifts (he lets me stay home with the kids, that's gift enough), and he's not a big talker. 

BUT....

when he decides to do something special for me, it is truly extra special for me, specifically, and I know he puts his heart into the things he chooses. 

I turned 33 almost two weeks ago and on the morning of my birthday, I was awakened by the sounds of "Happy Birthday, Mommy!" as the kids and Chad piled into our room. Maddox was carrying a mini cake plate and there under the glass domed lid was my favorite breakfast food: blueberry muffins!! It was very sweet and thoughtful and I was thankful that my Mom was able to be there for awhile that day, too!

Chad had to work after that and I spent a lazy day with the kids when Mom headed home. It wasn't my ideal birthday, but who can complain? We had so much going on that week and the weeks following that I think I was happy to just relax a bit. (I have so much fun stuff to share from the recent weeks, but that will come soon.)

So, on the weekend of my birthday, I had plans. (BIG plans like....being in a music video! Post on that coming soon, as well.) We had no plans for celebrating my birthday that weekend though, which is rare for me since I will usually plan my own party. But, while I was gone & busy with my fun weekend with people other than my family, Chad and the kids came up with this masterpiece. 

I will tell you right now that when the first few notes of the song started along with my babies' faces, I immediately teared up and the tears just started pouring. I was able to look past the hilarious bow placement in Maggie's hair and the fact that Chad let her wear those pajamas all day long (have I told you how much I can't stand character clothing?) because this was real life. It is a real life movie, made just for me. I wouldn't trade it for any material gift. It is the sweetest thing I've seen in a long time and was just the gift that this Mama needed. 

I am a lucky girl. 

And my kids are lucky to have a dad like Chad, with his his sense of humor and his love for these kids and myself. 

I hope you enjoy! 

(Pssst. If you're reading in an email, you will have to actually open up my blog to watch the link and you don't want to miss the best music video ever. Everyone - when you click the "Play" button, immediately hit it again to pause the video. Give it some time to load and then watch it so it doesn't jump around. Trust me. There's an entire message you'll want to see.) Thanks!

On another note, I am remembering a dear best friend today that lost her life too early, many years ago. I have a post planned for that with some fond memories, but I couldn't do two sad ones in a row on here, so I'm breaking it up with this happy little post instead. :)

A Mother's Retreat

I will start out by saying this: Thank you, Chad, for giving me this time alone...for silence and my own thoughts and just plain old rest. 

I've already told him "Thank you" multiple times, but I thought I'd say it again. :)

The past 2 weeks have been awful at home and I was on the edge of meltdown. Between Maddox trying to be a parent to his sister and Magdalen climbing everything, destroying everything, and thinking she's already 12 years old...I was at the end of my rope. Part of that has been due to Chad's schedule. He normally works more than the average person, but the last little bit has meant seeing him very few hours at home, and most of those have been while I was sleeping. I think it's funny when I say he works late and people say "Oh...wow. Does he get home around 8 or 9 at night?" Ummmmmmm, no. That would be EARLY for him. People have no clue. 

I'm not complaining here. Don't think that. I'm very happy for his job and that he loves his work and thankful that he's willing to work so hard while I am able to be with the kids all the time. But I'm not going to lie, it makes for a tough job for me at home. 

So..........Chad gifted me with 24 hours to retreat from our home. He told me Thursday night after I had texted him an SOS saying I didn't think I could do it anymore. Less than 24 hours later, I was GONE. Haha! At first I didn't even know what to do as I was planning. Where was I supposed to sleep?? Then I remembered our points we save on our credit card. FREE hotel room. Yippee! I first thought I would stay downtown in the Leow's Hotel or something similar, but then you add in valet charges, wi-fi charges, and more tipping, it adds up. I just wanted some rest. :) So, I chose a 3-star hotel in my same little town which includes free parking, free wi-fi, and no tipping. Much better for a silent retreat.

Here's how my 24 hour gift went:

1. I first went to Hobby Lobby to return some party items I no longer needed. 

2. I then went to Barnes & Noble and looked at books for probably 2 hours. (That's not very long for me in a book store.) 

3. While there, I had dinner. Spinach and artichoke pesto quiche and a lemon-raspberry tart. See photo below. Definitely recommend! I couldn't believe I was eating this deliciousness at a book store! (All pics taken with my phone, by the way.)

4. I walked over to Gap Outlet, Francesca's Collections, and then hopped in the car to go to the hotel. But first....a second dinner. ; ) I had to stop by Dairy Queen and get my beloved Oreo Blizzard. I did buy a banana and a side salad there just to balance out the goodness with the badness. I enjoyed it in my silent hotel room. Aaaaaaah.

5. I looked through the books I had purchased for each child for Easter morning. For Maddox, I bought The First Easter: The story of why we celebrate Easter and for Magdalen, My Big Little Golden Book about God. I feel like I had this book as a child, but I can't quite tell yet. I'll have to ask my parents. 

The pictures in this book are so special to me. I grew up reading many, many Golden Books and all the little children are drawn the same. I still remember their dimpled knees, round faces, and always a haircut with bangs. It's funny the things that stay with you from childhood. The picture below reminds me of Maddox and Magdalen. 

6. I read excerpts of books, prayed off and on for parental wisdom, and then rested for the night. 

7. This morning, I stayed in bed until the last minute and went down for the free breakfast. I brought my food back, ate in silence while I read my magazine and just enjoyed the quiet. 

8. I read some more. Since my time away was mostly during the Sabbath hours, I didn't watch any TV, which truly did make this a silent retreat. One thing that has surprised even myself while being a parent, is the roots I keep going back to. The picture below shows a page out of a book that I brought with me. I know a lot of people would be surprised, but with the trouble I've been having at home I suddenly felt as if I might find some insight in this little book, along with lots of prayer. 

The Adventist Home by Ellen G. White. I grew up seeing this little book sitting on our shelves at home, but never paid attention to it. Back in those days, I was too young and then as I grew I thought old E. G. White was a stuffy little lady that didn't know how to have any fun. And I can't judge her. I haven't read enough of her stuff to know really! I was just going on what we were being told in church school and the parts that were being picked out to share with us as students. (For the record, I do believe she was a writer inspired by God. I just got turned off by the people who tend to quote her more than they even can quote the Bible. Seriously. The Bible is The Word and E. G. White is just another person saying "Hey! God is right. Here's what I have to say, but go read His Word first.")

So then I prayed last night and then this morning I was flipping through the book on my bed and I randomly opened it up to the chapter titled....

Influence of Mother. 

Yep. That's where I landed. Jesus heard my prayers and the prayers of my husband, and my mother, and all my Bible study girls who knew I was having trouble. 

My trouble has been my impatience, my yelling, my dark & cloudy disposition towards my children because they are getting in MY way. I knew this was my problem, not theirs. They just don't make it any easier on me. I knew I needed some insight onto something out there. And here's the passage that God knew I needed today, so I could reflect on it before I headed back to my family. The subtitle of this portion of the chapter is called....

The Wholesome Influence of a PATIENT MOTHER. 

I know. Crazy, huh? Oh God in Heaven, how I needed this. Read the first 2 paragraphs and see what I mean. The whole chapter has such solid, sound advice on my job in my life right now. Wow. I honestly can't wait to read more!

The words that really made me realize what was happening with my own children and me were these: 

"She almost forgets herself time and again, but a silent prayer to her pitying Redeemer calms her nerves, and she is enabled to hold the reins of self-control with quiet dignity. She speaks with calm voice, but it has cost her an effort to restrain harsh words and subdue angry feelings which, if expressed, would have destroyed her influence, which it would have taken time to regain."

WHOA. I'm now realizing that it's possible that my children are losing respect for me because I'm not respecting them with patience like I should. And I know my shortcomings. They are there and I'm the first person to realize it. 

I realize that Yes! I need time for myself, but even more so I need to not be impatient with them when they are messing up MY plans for myself. They are my job. They are my loves. They are what God has entrusted me to take care of and I need to honor that. Everything else should be put aside as I make them feel like wonderful beings that I always love no matter what. Because they are.....and I do. 

This morning, after I had my 30 minute long, hot shower (unheard of at home. ha!) I somehow came across this video. It was a performance from last night and I clicked on it because of the title. I love a good old Christian song from my childhood, and this is one of those. 

Something about this song just moves me every time I hear it, but add Carrie Underwood and Vince Gill doing harmony and playing that guitar and I'm just a sobbing mess. 

So, there I was sitting on my hotel bed with tears streaming from my eyes as I listened to this. It was a beautiful ending to my Mother's Retreat. I hope you enjoy this performance as much as I did! : )

How Great Thou Art

Happy Sabbath and Happy Easter Weekend! I'm excited to be heading home to my family. : )