Mother's Day

We had a wonderful Mother's day. We went to church with Nana in Monmouth. Then we had a Mexican feast at her house instead of facing the holiday restaurant crowds with 3 little ones. (not relaxing) After lunch Nana made animal cut outs for the girls with her new cartridge she bought for the Cricuit we got her for Christmas. Grace was amazed as the machine made the animals she requested. We feel so blessed to have her in our family and especially enjoyed being able to spend Mother's day with her this year. Something we haven't ever been able to do before due to Jeremy's job.

Next we headed to my parent's house for dinner with my family. My sister and I had coordinated everyone to make the different parts of the meal & my dad grilled all the meat.

We tried to do as much as possible for my mom, since she is always the one cooking for everyone else. I am so thankful I have such an amazing mom to teach me what motherhood should look like.

Before dinner we had an "impromtu" photo session. I was excited to have a new picture of our family. When I look at this picture I see more than just a family photo. It is a snapshot of how being a mom is shaping me into a different person.

You see I am a detail oriented, clothes coordinating, plan ahead, recovering perfectionist. When I look at this photo I can easily see Titus already in his comfy pj's, unfixed wild curls escaping, and a whole rainbow of uncoordinated clothing. Or I can choose to see the gorgeous family God has blessed me with. I can be thankful I can have amazing photos of my family taken for free! And I can realize the best moments in my family's life are often times the impromptu ones, the ones only planned by God. I am so thankful to be "mama" to Grace, Faith, & Titus. I know more than anything else I have ever done raising them is challenging me to be the woman God desires me to be.

Our Mother's Day Project

We had a very fun and VERY full weekend. (I will post pics later....hint hint, Mom) But, I love spending time with our family so I loved it! Although, the abundance of overtired Monday morning tears I am experiencing right now is slightly unlovely.

I have been very excited to share with you our Mother's Day Project. Now I am a crafty homemade gift giver at heart. And each year I enjoy coming up with a project to give the mothers in our family. (although I do struggle with Father's day...) But, I was especially excited about this year's gift. I even loved it so much I made myself one for the first time.

One of my new favorite blogs to read is Living with Lindsay. I discovered it last fall and when I saw she loved to "knock off" things she sees in the Pottery Barn catalog I knew she was a girl after my own heart. I totally heart Pottery Barn and if we ever strike it rich will actually order something from their catalog. But, I digress. For Christmas I made my mom a fun book page wreath from one of her tutorials. I plan to make me one too when I get around to it.

Then she had a $5 challenge where you had to make something by only spending $5 at a Dollar Store. The winner made this. Well, the inspiration for our gift came from what the winner made and a tutorial on Lindsay's blog on making your own silhouettes. I combined the two and came up with this:

From these pictures:

I made five total including one for myself and spent a total of $5 ($1 per plate at the Dollar Store) What a deal!! I had the rest of the materials on hand. Here are some tips if you wanted to try it yourself:

-Read Lindsay's tutorial.

-Put a sticker or something on the wall for your kids to look at. Mine have heard "look at the camera" too many times and it was hard to get a profile until I gave them something to look at.

-Print your photos on card stock that makes them easier to trace.

-If you want to put them on a plate you can use Modge Podge or I used a spray polyurithane because I hate brush strokes.

And no, I'm not worried that the ladies in my family read my blog and now know how much their present cost. I come from a family of coupon cutting, rummage sale scouting, Aldi shopping ladies who really do believe it is the thought that counts.

Hope all the moms had a great Mother's day!

Our Anniversary, Mother's Day, & This...

So one of my goals for this blog is to be real. I want the girls to be able to read it some day and learn from the challenges & joys that we have experienced as a family. This past weekend was a "big" weekend. Friday was Jeremy & I's five year anniversary. I wish I had pictures to post from the lovely date night we had planned to go on. But, it didn't happen. Earlier last week Jeremy told me that this weekend was when we would be trenching and installing drainage tile in our yard. He hinted around about machinery & big holes in the ground. I asked if he would rather I took the girls and went to visit my parents. We both decided this would be the best plan since the girls love to be with their daddy & grandpa when they are out in the yard. The next day Jeremy realized this weekend was our anniversary... I knew all along. But, we decided to go forward as planned. 

When the girls and I came back late Saturday night the yard was a big mess. Jeremy was very tired and we upset our neighbor because we messed up his flowers. The plan was that the yard would be finished and we would spend Mother's Day as a family. Jeremy would make dinner, we would take the kids to the park, and then watch a movie. Well, that didn't work out either. We ate Subway, spent the afternoon finishing the yard,  and I made dinner for & us and the family who came to help. And my children didn't exactly "rise up and call me blessed" either.  Grace made a lovely flower craft in her class (for Mother's Day) which she screamed and cried about when we tried to encourage her to actually give it to me. 

Have no doubt we live a real life, with real challenges. Challenges that make me want to throw a pity party, eat ice cream, and sometimes have a good cry! But, the good news is that God didn't leave me there. His work in my life is awesome. Here are some of the things He showed me.

- While I didn't have my anniversary date I went on an AMAZING trip to Mexico in December to celebrate early. We saved money, and missed the swine flu! And while we still wanted to at least have a date night on our anniversary it doesn't mean we have a stinky marriage. We actually have a awesome marriage, and I'd choose everyday bliss over once a year romance any day. I am more in love with my husband than the day I married him and part of the reason is all the challenges we have weathered together.

-When I got home there was a lovely Mother's Day card & surprise from Rick & Leeanne. A spa manicure gift certificate. They are so thoughtful.

-While my Mother's Day wasn't perfect it wasn't horrible either. While we were working on our yard my neighbor told me our family has inspired her to work on her faith & her family. God really touched my heart on that one!

-Grace may not have wanted to share the particular treasure she made in Sunday School but she has told me several times in the last month, "Your the best mommy ever."

- Yesterday I worked hard to fix our neighbor's flowers as best I could. They don't look like they did, but he did say he was thankful. I am praying my best efforts to go above and beyond what he asked will shine some light into his life.

This year I am reading through the Bible in chronological order. Currently I am reading through many of the Psalms. What perfect timing for the circumstances of our life. David is such an honest guy. He tells God when his life stinks, and then in the same breath says, "You rock God!" I can see God teaching me that is what deep faith looks like. It is realizing that even when life gets hard God hasn't changed. He is still awesome even if your life makes you want to eat ice cream.

"The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives."

Happy Mother's Day

I wanted to post the gift we made for Mother's day so that Charlene could enjoy seeing her surprise. We are going to see her next Friday for a fun day at Wildlife Prairie Park and will deliver it then. (Can't wait!) This year the girls really participated in making the gift. They are great at stirring from all their cooking experience. We are so thankful for all the special ladies in our family. Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!

Since we won't be seeing Grace's Nana on Mother's day I am posting her present here so she can at least see it (it wouldn't exactly go in the mail). We will be delivering it the next time we see her. This was our project for this year.

We took a pot and painted a flower on it. The big petals are Grace's finger prints, the little petals are Faith's finger prints. Grace loved helping paint so there are "polka dots" around the top. I took a picture of the girls with flowers. So in the middle of the pot is the picture and this message-

And we pray that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, GROWING in the knowledge of God.

Colossians 1:10
Thanks for helping us grow!
Love, Grace & Faith
Mother’s Day 2008

We dyed clothes pins green to hold the picture/message. The plants are little baby plant starts from a plant in our home. See picture above for this to all make more sense.

Happy Mother's Day!