4th of July Festivities 2014

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I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July festivities and took time to give thanks for the freedoms we have while remembering the sacrifices made to keep them. We had a wonderful time celebrating with friends.

 

Last year G was too little to enjoy the fireworks, and since my hubby was working, she and I stayed home. It's amazing how much she has changed in a year's time.

 

 

 

For the last couple of days G has been on a weird eating kick, as in she's not really eating much of anything...which is NOT our child. From what I've read, this is pretty typical in toddlers, but for a mom of a notoriously good eater, it can be a little concerning (and frustrating). I began our morning with omelets, which she normally loves, but only ate a couple bites, and some fresh fruit, of which she ate about a half cup. (I'm certain most of you could care less about my child's current eating habits, but I also believe a lot of you can relate.)

 

After breakfast we had some family time until G went down for her nap. At that point my hubby and I did a couple things around the house. Since our previous plans of a cookout at a friend's house fell through, we decided to treat ourselves to the savory goodness of a local BBQ restaurant. The establishment is fairly new...and by the taste of their food, they should have no trouble sticking around for a long time. If you are ever in the area, you should definitely stop by Smokehouse Henry's*. You will not be disappointed!

 

(stock photo)

 

The Messy Pig (pulled pork-AMAZING!)

Brisket Sandwich

 

After our yummy lunch, we began getting things together for the evening's festivities. Mid-afternoon G went down for her nap and my hubby and I took advantage of her sleep time to get ready ourselves. Once she woke up, we grabbed the rest of our fireworks watching gear, loaded up the Jeep and headed out. We drove a little over an hour to join up with some of our friends. After enjoying some downtime at their house, we headed to Graves Mountain Lodge for fireworks. The show was decent (although we were told it has been much better in years past) and the time together was a blast (no pun intended).

 

 

 

G loved sitting in her chair and playing with the big kids.

 

About this chair...we got her good buddy one for his birthday last year. The other day during our play date, she discovered the chair and loved it! We decided to purchase one for her and it has been a huge hit!

 

 

 

How did you celebrate the 4th?

 

 

7.4.2014

 

 *I was not compensated in any way to share my opinions of any of the mentioned establishments or products.

 

 



Let's Go Play

My days of endless summer as a youngster are but distant memories. When did I grow up and become so "busy"? When did I stop taking time to smell the roses or jump in mud puddles? How, as a busy, working mother, can I instill the love of God's creation and the desire to create, imagine and play in my little girl? These are questions that I have pondering the last few days.

 I was speaking to a friend the other day about how difficult it is to have my first graders create original or semi-original stories/writing. Sure, I believe children innately have imaginations, however if they are not fostered appropriately, they lose originality and an overall sense of quality.The majority of my students base all of their writing off of video/computer games or cartoons they watch on television...and don't get me started on some of the movies and television they wish to write about. It breaks my heart to see the imaginations of these young children being stunted when at this point in their lives they should be coming up with amazing characters and wild adventures. How do I keep the whimsy and creativity of childhood in my own children so that they don't fall victim to the unimaginative or unoriginal?

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These thoughts crept into my head as I was busily working on a wedding cake pop order for Saturday. There is much to do when you have 250 cake pops to bake, form, chill, dip, decorate and package. G has been at the sitter this week so that I can accomplish this task without her ending up covered in chocolate and sprinkles...after all, she is sweet enough already.

 

With all of these thoughts running through my mind, I finally decided to stop being busy. I finished up my task and informed my husband that it was time to go get the baby...and that he needed to put on his tennis shoes. We were going outside to play.

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We take G outside often, especially with the weather being so amicable. However, today I had this overwhelming sense of urgency to get her out beyond our yard. My husband and I decided to take her on a local walking trail to enjoy the great outdoors. Despite the humidity, the venture was quite pleasant.

 The honeysuckle was blooming everywhere and the scent was intoxicating. Everything was so green and the trail was teaming with wildlife. In fact, I was startled by an adventurous squirrel that bolted out along the path.

 

 

G adored the wildlife as evidenced by her laughter and shouting as she pointed to birds that flew across our path and the rabbits that jumped into the bushes. My heart was overjoyed as I watched her senses, one by one, become captivated with the world around her.

I just kept thinking, "this is how I make that difference." I must engage her and allow her to experience the world around her...get her outside the four walls of our home. I must guide her in imaginative play to create a foundation for her own creative thinking.

It is my wish for my daughter to love the outdoors (and if for some reason she doesn't, it won't be because she did not get the opportunity or encouragement to do so.) I wish for her mind to have endless limits in creativity and imagination. It is my wish that she get dirty and climb trees and sing at the top of her lungs. It is my wish that she experience the goodness of this world so that when tragedy or disappointment befall her, she will remember that life has more to offer and that beauty can come from ashes.

While this all may seem a bit much from the mother of a one year old, do know that this comes from a mother who knows that her one year old will not stay one forever and that the foundations I begin to set for her now will greatly influence her outlook and interactions in the future. By all means, please join me and let's go play!

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Hello One-derland! Part 1

G is 1!!!

 

 

In May 2011 we began our TTC journey. After battling PCOS induced infertility, we finally welcomed two pink lines. We were ecstatic! At 37 1/2 weeks our little girl made her way into the world. Our lives were transformed in an instant. Her first cry was the most beautiful sound in the world. She had her father's face and the most perfect little fingers and toes. Our sleepy little platinum blond has since grown into a spunky, independent red-head. She may look like her daddy but she has her mommy's personality. As we mourn reflect on the passing of her first year, we look forward to what is to come. God has been so good to us. He remained faithful even when we felt like we were not. He listened to our silent prayers at the moments we could not utter them or did not know what to pray for. Through it all, He continued to prove His love for us and gave us more than we could ever ask for.

 

2013

2014

 

Plans for her party began a few weeks ago. I slowly began gathering items. I fell in love with several bunny themed items, although I was determined not to have her party look "Eastery". I wanted to avoid an Easter egg overload. I instead just went with a Spring theme that incorporated fun colors and of course, a bunny or two.

Although the timing wasn't prime for many due to Easter being the next day, we decided to have her party on the day of her actual birthday. Her day began with hugs and kisses from her aunt and Granna who came from Georgia to celebrate with us.

 

 

 

We then gathered her things and her Easter basket and headed out to our pastor's house for our church's annual Easter Egg Hunt and the telling of the Easter Story. Here are a few pictures from that morning.

G with her daddy...ready to hunt eggs!

She could not decide if she liked her eggs in or out of the basket better...

Our little birthday bunny!

Our pastor always shares the Easter Story prior to the Egg Hunt

 

 I then left G and my hubby to head to the church fellowship hall to begin decorating for G's party...I'll be posting party prep and birthday celebration pictures soon!!! Keep an eye out for Hello One-derland Part 2!

Entering One-derland

I still can't wrap my brain around that fact that in about two weeks my daughter will be turning one! Before coming a mother it is hard to believe that time will move as quickly as it does. When you have difficulty conceiving, time drags. You suffer through the meds, the 2WW, and the countless negative pregnancy tests...until you get that one...that one stick with two lines. Those two beautiful lines change your life forever. You patiently (or not so much) wait for 9 months to meet the tiny human that you have been so humbly chosen to grow and carry.

The first couple of months are a blur as feeding and sleeping schedules consume every aspect of your life. Then, one day, you blink and your baby, the tiny human that you once longed to greet into the world, has accomplished so many milestones and has reached the age of one. One seems like such a tiny number until your child reaches the age. At that point, at least for me, the number seems huge! How could time have escaped me even though I have loved and tried to cherish each fleeting moment?

Thanks to some good friends of ours, we were able to capture some wonderful memories today. My friend Shay, an amazing photographer and owner of  Shay White Photography, came to take some family pictures and to capture a few sweet moments celebrating G's upcoming first birthday. I can't wait to post some pictures from the photo session. Until then, I'll leave you with some candid photos of our precious little girls.

G was really enjoying the story read by Uncle Jake

Baby C was listening to her daddy read

G had an uncontrollable urge to poke and point at C...

and C was not a fan...

so she decided to poke back.

I love these two so much! I can only hope that they will grow up to just as good of friends as their moms are.

With A Smile On My Face

I've been looking forward to this weekend for a while. Yesterday my hubby and I met with a lawyer to finalize our wills. We've been talking about doing this for quite a while and I am grateful to say that thanks to the Wills For Heroes Program, we now have official wills and a wonderful peace of mind. We also went to a consignment sale where I found many spring and summer items for G at half price...yay! Here are some of my favorites...

Afterwards we had a lunch date...just the two of us! It was nice to spend some quality time with my husband. While we adore and cherish every moment with our daughter, it was nice to have some true adult time. We took a stroll through the mall and then headed home.

Today brought just as much enjoyment. My friend Shannon and her little one came over for a much anticipated play date. The girls played while we caught up, laughed, and adored the tiny humans of whom we are blessed to call ours. The girls played so well and kept us giggling at how they interacted with and reacted to each other. We enjoyed homemade pizza, dancing, and music. Who doesn't love clapping if you're happy and you know it?!

She wanted "the baby" to sit in her lap.

My hubby has a training today and tomorrow. Fortunately he has his evenings free and will be returning home soon. G is asleep and the house is quiet. After so many wonderful things, I find myself (finally) at rest with a smile on my face.

A Taste of Spring

Despite the fact that the current temperature is below 30 and still dropping, we did get a nice taste of Spring weather yesterday. I took G outside after church to enjoy the beautiful 60 degree weather. She adores the outdoors and if it had not been for the rain, we would have remained outside for most of the afternoon.

 

 

Today will be a typical snow day. I'll catch up on some snuggle time and straighten up the house. I broke out our new donut maker and tried my hand at a new donut recipe. Hopefully I'll get to post about that later. They were quite tasty!

Only time will tell if we'll be home tomorrow. My husband was held over for mandatory overtime at the fire department. After getting his call this morning and learning about the road conditions, I'm glad he had to stay. They continue to respond to automobile accidents and considering we live almost an hour away from his work place, I am glad that I don't have to worry about him traveling home (I know he has to still respond to emergency calls, but fortunately he is not alone and is in a REALLY big truck). The layer of ice beneath the snow is reeking havoc, even on the main highways.

The ground hog was not kidding when he saw his shadow...

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