Monday, May 28, 2012

Three

I CANNOT believe my baby is three months.
Time is a flying and we are having so much fun.
Here are some pictures to celebrate and things about you at 3 months.
 This probably sounds funny to everyone else, but I've been a little worried about your feet.
They are soo tiny.  You still can only wear newborn shoes and some are still too big.
I even asked the nurse...she laughed at me. : )
Guess you have my feet!
 You are a such a happy, smiley baby!
It's so easy to make you smile and laugh.
 It's hard to believe how big and long you've grown.
And who couldn't love all that cute chubbiness you've collected over the past three months.
 You eat perfectly and are very efficient.
I've noticed you starting to stare at us and our food when we are eating.
Hmmm....needless to say I think you'll continue to be a good eater.
 You play very well!  Mainly in your bouncy seat or on your play mat. 
One time when we were out of the room, I heard the music from your little bird that has to be pulled.
I was so impressed, but haven't caught you doing it again.
 I'm pretty sure your favorite thing is light.  Which is funny because sunlight is my favorite thing as well. You will turn your head in any room to find the windows or doors.  You LOVE to be outside. It's neat to watch your little eyes roam and wonder what you are thinking.
 You now can hold your head and even chest up while on your belly.
It's crazy to watch.  Belly time is a happy time for you, especially when brother and sister are on the floor with you.
 Making bubbles is a new favorite past time. You are getting soo slobbery. We never had to keep a bib on you because you weren't much of a spitter.  But now we have to or all your shirts stay wet. I think you are already working on teeth.  You'll put your paci on the side of your mouth to chew on it. 
You sleep so well.  In fact, last night you went 8 hrs.
WHOA!  To bad Mommy didn't go to sleep when you did.

A few other things...I'm in love with how bright your eyes have gotten. You are such a good baby.  We are so thankful for how easy going and sweet you are.  When you are put into the Moby wrap you fall asleep every time. L and E are your favorite sort of entertainment and you are theirs too.  When you get excited these days, you kick, flail your arms and grin real big. It's to die for.

We love you Liv and are enjoying watching you grow!


Sunday, May 27, 2012

Chalk it up to having three kids!

I pretty much love chalkboards.
Blame it on me having three kids.
Blame it on me being a kid (at heart).
But I love them. 
When I saw a few HUGE chalkboards online, I knew I wanted one!

Here are my inspiration pictures:



These are seriously three of my FAVORITE blogging ladies!
They are fun, have colorful homes and all three love the Lord.

Now for making pinterest dreams a reality...
Here we are working on it:
 so what we decided to do was enclose our fridge with the pantry beside it. we got a cabinet for over the fridge and then fixed it to the pantry and a piece of plywood. 
 this pic is pretty bad of me, but my kiddos took it.  i can't remember who took it because when one gets to use the camera, the other has to do it as well. but we just painted the plywood with chalkboard paint (i did three coats). 
they love it! 
 
she thought it was awesome to draw on the wall...now to help her distinguish what walls are ok and which are not! 
yes, that shirt says "sarah".  It was mine when I was little : )

Lastly, we framed the plywood with trim I painted yellow (of course).

And the finished project, complete with our summer bucket list:

not the best pic...but you get the idea! 
we need to replace our baseboard, but then it's all finished!!!

and now off to check off all that fun stuff!!!

Thank you pinterest, Meg, Julie and Jess for the inspiration.  I love it!
oh, and so do my kids : )


Friday, May 25, 2012

Too quick...

We had a big day last week.
Our boy graduated from preschool!
This feels like such a big event in our lives because of where we started. 
Just two short years ago, this confused little boy (basically a toddler) came to live with us.
He couldn't communicate well and had a terrible temper.
Through lots of work on every one's part and a GREAT preschool, our little guy is such a different boy.
He has matured, grown and learned so much.
He can write his name, knows almost every letter sound, can count pretty high and completed overall his preschool developmental goals.
Congrats, baby boy!  We are sooo proud of you!
Get ready kindergarten, here he comes!
 This picture is from the first and last day of the 2011-12 school year. 
It doesn't really do justice for how much he has grown because the way the pictures were taken and his longer shorts in the last one.  But he sure has.  He could still wear 4T at the beginning of the year and now wears 5/6.  CRAZY! 
 Here are some small gifts I did for his teachers. 
THANK YOU pinterest for creative, reasonable teacher gift ideas.
Check out my pinterest boards.
 Got a great sale at B&B Works on little hand creams and those tiny antibacterial gels.
Then I traced L's hand and wrote "You deserve a hand for being such a great teacher!" on them.
You tape those to the hand cream...so CUTE!
 Then I found free printable tags on {It is what it is}
Thank you, Beth...so cute!
I didn't get these done for Teacher Appreciation Week, but handed them out on the last day.
Better late, than never.
It's scary how much of my life represents that last statement : )

Monday, May 21, 2012

a little bit of life

lately, i've been tired.
unmotivated.

i'm piling up with projects i've started but can't seem to finish.
there are birth announcements i still haven't gotten in the mail.
supper is usually a second thought and often pizza.
the house needs a good scrub.

this isn't necessarily bad, it just means we are busy.

we are definitely busy.
playing.baking brownies instead of dinner.lounging around Granny's pool.photoshoots.
planning summer fun.library&reading lots of books.play dates at the park.picnics.
baby shower planning.parties.nursing a sweet baby.keeping up with the yard & flowers.
 vbs prepping.nights at the t-ball park.playing outside while baby naps in her crib.
 life.wonderful.exhausting.life


Saturday, May 19, 2012

Just little cups of happiness

For my birthday, my lovely mother gave me these sweet little measuring cups from Pier1.
I almost didn't want to open them because they looked so cute packaged up.
 There are four... different colors on the rim  and all with that beautiful Zinnia pattern
 Their lines of measurement.
 I'm seriously in love with all the gorgeous colors.
I know my cooking is going to be a little more happier because of these beauties!

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Two Letters.

Whoa...I started this post on Sunday (Mother's Day) and here I am finishing it on Wednesday. It's been a busy couple of weeks and I'm soo tired!  So here it is...finally!

Today I wrote two letters. This is the first...

Moma, I'm not sure how to do justice to all that you have given, but I want to try. First off, thank you for wanting me.  I know you tried for ten years after Pat to have another baby.  I only tried for three and I can still feel the longing that came with wanting a child. For thirty-one years you have not once made me feel unwanted. I know that most of my confidence has come from knowing that you are on my side.  No matter how I failed or how ugly I acted, you made me feel loved. There have definitely been moments that I've been unlovable and I'm so thankful that you looked past them.  It's nice having a person in my life that is always there to cheer me on and hang out with me.  I can think of a few of these times. The first one that popped into my head was when I went to Bowling Green at the end of my Senior year of high school to try out for Western's cheer team. We had clinic to learn a few things and then stayed the night before tryouts the next day.  I remember us sitting on our hotel beds talking and trying not to think of the nerve wracking morning I was about to have.  You went to take a shower and I found a card from you and Daddy on the night stand. I still have that card today because of the impact it made in my heart. Basically, it said you believed I could do anything I wanted.  And I know you really meant it. Another moment that pops up is all our shopping Spring Break trips with Nanny as we were growing up.  It was nice to be with only the girls and I remember how special those trips made Johnah and I feel.  You enjoyed being with us and doing girly things.  You still do  : )

Besides always making me feel wanted, you also sacrifice everything for us. This is often something mothers don't really understand until they actually have their babies.  I know at the end of the day the exhaustion that I feel is a good feeling...because I know I completely poured myself out to my children.  You taught me this.  From fixing us cinnamon toast for us every Saturday morning, staying up late working on school projects and enduring all those long prom dress shopping trips...you gave up so much.  I know you gave so much of your time supporting our dreams and hobbies...attending FHA banquets, traveling here/there to ballgames, and helping us do whatever it took to succeed. I think of all the miles our little minivans took us...to Pat's ball tournaments in Florida, to my tennis matches, softball games and even flying with us to Florida for our Cheerleading Competition.  And then there are the things I never really saw... washing the mounds of laundry, budgeting your hard earned money so we could have those new pair of jeans we wanted or those nights you most likely stayed up worrying about us. You endured the horrible girl fights of middle school, the rebelliousness of college and now learning to divide your time/energy between your eight grandchildren. You are a GIVER and I'm so thankful to be on the receiving end of it all.  I know I never would have survived growing up and definitely couldn't make it through these early years of motherhood without your service.

Lastly, I can't help but thank you for doing the best thing you could ever have done for me....pointing me to Jesus.  I'm so thankful that I can honestly say there isn't a moment of life that I didn't know the name of Jesus.  That is because of you and Daddy.  I remember all the bible stories, life lessons and scripture you poured over us growing up.  I also remember crawling into your room as everyone napped one Sunday afternoon telling you I wanted to give my life to Jesus.  That moment, the weeks following and later when I professed my faith and then was baptized has guided the rest of my life.  I know there have been moments you've worried and wondered about me, my choices and if it would all be ok.  But you have to know that when I was going down destructive paths, everytime I struggled through the years of singleness and even now when I'm up with sick babies...I feel your prayers. I'm not exactly the women I want to be, but what good I am is because God gave me you to model after.  He knew I needed a mother who got up early to spend time with Him, who I would see really live out trusting Him and a women that didn't want to stay the same.  One thing I've always admired about you is you always strive to grow in your relationship with God.  You always keep up the race....abiding in Him, reading His Word and serving Him in soo many ways.  THANK YOU!  Thank you for your prayers, not giving up on me, your time and mostly for your love. I can only pray to be such a mother.  You really are worth more than rubies.

I love you, Sarah Elizabeth

The other letter is just as important, but to the mother of two of my children.

To my children's mother,
This may seem strange, but for the last two mother's day celebrations all I can think about is you.  You are the reason I became a mother in the first place.  The giver of my blessings, my occupation and my life.  Obviously, God actually is the giver, but He used you.  For me that is such a joy and reward, but I know it has a very different emotion to you. I'm sorry you can't be with them on this day and hold them close.

I want to thank you.  Becoming a mother as young as you did is a very brave thing.  You could have decided not give birth to our firstborn son.  It most likely would have been the easier thing to do, but I'm eternally grateful that you chose life for him.  He is the laughter around our home and is such a joy for anyone he is around.  The same goes for our daughter.  She is such a light and gives much character to my family.  The world is blessed by them and you gave them life.  Thank you.  I cannot imagine what being a single mother is like.  The sheer energy you must have given to them makes me tired.  I'm sorry you had to take care of them alone most of the time.  Thank you for preserving their precious little lives for the 3 years of our sons and the 11 months of our daughters before they came home to me.

I want you to know that I understand my gain is a tragic loss to you.  I will not let them forget that you are their mother too. We often talk about how God grew them in your tummy.  I see you in our daughter's eyes.  They are just like yours *except for the color, but more in the way they shine.  I'm pretty sure they carry soo much of you in their selves.

I wonder what you are doing or thinking on this Mother's Day?  I pray for you often and hope for the best in your future.  One where you get the education you said you wanted, where you fall in love with a good man and have more babies down the line when you are ready.  But most of all, I pray you discover the only real difference between you and I.  Grace. The work of Jesus Christ in my life.  Because I know that will be the best future of all.

The day you asked if we'd adopt them and take care of them was the best day of my life.  I knew I could tell our children one day that you had chosen for them to be with us because you said you thought it would be better for them.  I'm glad I don't have to tell them you hated us or that you didn't want them to live in our family.  What a gift for them to know you had their best in mind when you made that incredibly hard decision. I wish there was some way to repay you for the gift you have given me.  The only thing I can give you in return is the promise that I love them completely and do my best each day to care for them. Happy Mother's Day!
~ Sarah

I'm so thankful for motherhood and that God has given me the chance to be on this journey. I pray often for those whose arms are longing for children to hold.  I understand the verse that hope deferred makes the heart sick. I remember those sick moments before I was even married...as I dreamed of a full and busy family.  You are not alone and your God loves you completely.  I know there isn't many words to comfort you, but I'd wrap my arms around each and everyone of you.  I trust that God has good for your future.  And though adoption isn't easy or for everyone, I beg you to pray about fostering/adopting a child.  I'm so very thankful that is the way God chose to make me a mother.


Happy Mother's Day to all you boo boo fixers, keeper of the peace and defenders of souls!

Friday, May 11, 2012

Baby Love, My Baby Love

Here are just a few things I don't want to forget...

 naps on the couch
 smiles and coos
 thumb sucker
 best sleeper while we are out
 tiny bathing suits are the cutest
 sweet little piggies
 not soo big yet
 soothie love
 bouncy seat happiness
 big bows : )
falling asleep on papaw with a cute lil belly button showing
precious little hands that I just can't get enough of


These days are passing so quickly and I know I already have forgotten some sweet moments.
Livingston Ann, you are the best baby and we thank God for this lovely gift!
Love you, Your Mama

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