Friends...

They are really the only thing keeping us from living by our families. We have been so blessed with the most amazing friends. The kind of friends that read your blog, fetch all clothing needed when your first born decides to come a month early, help you when you've locked yourself out of the house for the 7th time, support your parents, love your kids as if they were their own, will drop whatever they are doing to be by your side, celebrate with you, cry with you, bring you a meal just because your busy. Oh I can't say enough. From college friends, playgroup friends, church friends, small group friends, high school friends, neighbors, work friends, and even some new bloggy friends. The hubs and I feel SO blessed to have you in our lives and thank all of you for being "family" to our family.

Why my sudden gratitude? Well one, I don't tell them enough and I want you all to know how much I love and appreciate you. And two, Katie and Charlie. Our dear friends. Started out as a work friend (Katie) and a church friend (Charlie) but now are so much more! I told Katie when I first remember meeting her I looked forward to getting to know her and maybe be a witness of God's love to her. But God had different plans for us. I told Katie the other night that she has been that light to me. I have and am learning so much from her and am so thankful to have her along side me doing life together. The hubs and I have the honor of being the ones that brought Katie and Charlie together. We're match makers don't you know!? They have had a whirlwind of a first year of marriage! After not finding each other until later in life (and by later I don't mean that much later-you know late 20's) they got married quickly and discovered they were having a precious little baby as a wedding gift, well a honeymoon gift. Yup. So not only are they newlyweds but they are about to be parents any day! In the midst of their own craziness Katie called me yesterday. She said they were thinking about us and how busy things are for us right now and the loss that we've suffered and they just wanted to bring us dinner. Doesn't that just warm your heart? Here they are about to welcome a baby girl in to this world just about any day now, who, despite my greatest efforts, they won't tell me the name of, and they want to serve us. What friendship. We love you guys and are so thankful to be in a small group with you guys. You two are a great model of husband and wife and how to be a great friend. Thanks guys!

Since I can't post with out pics I thought I'd put up some pics the hubs took for their wedding back in January:

Gotta love the groom's look as the bride enters!

Back in Business!

Guess what!? My mom's Etsy shop is up and running again, yea! She also started making beautiful vintage button clips for adults (made from buttons my grandma use to collect while she grew up) and these cool purses. Oh and of course tons of cute girly bows! So go check her out, be sure to tell her I said hello! : )

www.youscallywag.etsy.com

I want this clip!

Wordless Wednesday- Wish you didn't have to go Mormor!!

Tuesday's Blog Hop-3 Things you should teach your children....

Welcome to Tuesday's Blog Hop! Todays' blog hop theme is 3 things a parent should teach their children. I know deep, huh? : ) Although I wish I could stew on this for a bit and come up with the perfect answer to this, alas, naptime only goes on so long. In my quick, hurried opinion I would have to say three very important things we should teach our children are:

1. That Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior and to share that with the world

2. Treat others how they would want to be treated (RESPECT)

3. To help those in need (emotionally, financially, physically, etc)

Oh it is so hard to limit that to three! I believe those three would cover most of the things I would want to add. I added respect to #2 because I think this is something that is terribly lacking in today's society. Kids just don't respect others, especially adults, like they used to. They don't treat adults as their elders, more like their equals. Gone, are the days of yes, sir and thank you, ma'am and I think that is a huge injustice. I want my girls to grow up to be Jesus fearing, loving, reaching out, compassionate, respectful young ladies, and the hubs and I are going to do our best, with God's help, to help make that happen!

I'm looking forward to reading what others feel we should be teaching our children! Go and see for yourself.

Oh and because I couldn't have a post with out pictures! Here are my precious little ladies. : )

Having fun coloring with Mormor (grandma), although you wouldn't know from their serious faces. : )

Special thanks to Shoplet.com-Purell Hand Sanitizers for sponsoring this blog hop.

Not Me Monday!

Are you feeling guilty for not changing your children's bedsheets for weeks on end? Feel trashy taking your trash to the curb with no bra on? Overcome with embarrassment after your child wets his pants in public? We'll don't be! Not Me! Monday was born out of my desire to admit some of my imperfections and reveal a few moments I'd rather forget. You may find it therapeutic to join in and do the same thing!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

So. I'm out of my funk and ready to return to blogging! One thing that you totally missed in my blogging absence is, I finally did it. I finally chopped Brynnie's hair. I asked you in this post if I should cut Brynnie's lovely mullet off. The hubs did not want me to and I was torn between not wanting to cut my baby's hair and not wanting her to have a mullet anymore. Well grandma came in to town and offered to help us out and take her to one of those places that specializes in cutting just kids' hair. Yea! I thought for sure Brynn would be kind of a handful and afraid of the whole hair cutting situation but she was very well behaved and excited about everything, especially watching Dora while it happened! So here's where my Not Me Monday comes in. I, the photographing crazy mommy, forgot my camera! I know, terrible huh? My precious baby gets her first hair cut and I failed to properly documented it. It was an impromptu trip so I was not able to plan accordingly. I always keep my point and shoot camera in my diaper bag for when having the big camera is not ideal. But even that failed me as I went to turn it on and the battery was dead! So unfortunately the whole thing is remembered through camera phone pics, gasp! I know, I have no words. So here are some pics!

Here's a before pic and Brynn's unruly mullet

just looked messy and its WAY longer than the hair in the front
Now for camera phone pics, here's the before shot (sorry her hair was in pig tails), if you look closely on the left you can see the lovely evidence of her mullet
Sat so nice and still like such a big girl *tear*

Not sure what to think about the whole hair dryer thing

Look at how precious!! Even sweet little layers!
She would not for the life of me look at me so I could get a pic of her looking
She was very excited about her lollipop
Afterwards the girls played in the kids area at the mall and it was like this haircut had given her new personality. She was running around with all sorts of energy, swishing her hair, and just down right giggly. It was too funny. I took some nicer shots when we got home.

My little one looks like such a little lady now.*again, tear* : )

M.I.A.

Sorry I have been M.I.A. Unfortunately our family is grieving right now.

So last week I scheduled all of my posts to publish ahead of time. I had them all done the previous Friday and just scheduled one each day. I originally had done it because my mom was in town and I hate to disappoint my readers by missing a day. : ) Well little did I know what my week held.

So my mom was arriving last Monday and the Saturday before I took a pregnancy test.

Yea! It was positive. We were super excited to be expecting and that it happened so quickly. I think what I was most excited about was that I could actually enjoy the beginning excitement with my mom, in person. You see she lives in Colorado and with my past pregnancies it has been a long distance celebration but at least with this pregnancy, almost, our first couple of weeks would be in person. After picking her up from the airport on Monday I was getting the kids into their jammies. While my mom was downstairs I put "Big Sister" shirts I had gotten the girls and told them to go down and show my mom. We also told Bella to tell my mom that I had a baby in my tummy. It was actually pretty funny because my mom totally didn't get it. Bella told her and she kind of laughed and was like "oh not right now honey but some day." So the hubs and I were like no, right now! Finally the celebration could commence! : )

Sadly my story does not end there. To put it bluntly, I started spotting Wednesday and Thursday, after getting blood work done, it was confirmed I had miscarried. I have very mixed up feelings right now. I'm definitely grieving over the loss but then I'm feeling a little silly about being so sad since, although 4 weeks a long, I only knew I was pregnant for not even a week. I am very impulsive. And as soon as I knew I was expecting I guess my imagination got the best of me. I thought it was so weird the hubs wanted to wait to tell people since we never had before, but obviously his intuition was correct.

I'm also super grateful. So thankful, even though it made it even more disappointing, that my mom was here to go through it with me. Just being with me during the last couple of days was so nice. I'm grateful that if I had to lose a baby that it was earlier than later. I'm thankful that it all happened naturally and no medical intervention was needed. I thankful the Lord took the baby home if something was wrong so he/she could be healthy in heaven.

I'm not sure how people get through hard times without a heavenly father to rely on. Although we live in a sinful world and horrible things happen I'm glad I have hope in my heart that the Lord has a plan for our family. A plan much better and more exciting than we can imagine. So I will hold to that hope that something different is in store for us. I look forward to it unfolding. Satan tries to bring us down but he will only make me stand firmer in my beliefs.

So a mix of emotions. That is where I am right now. I feel a bit melancholy, especially now that mom has returned home, but I doing ok. Every time Brynn flashes me her world class smile I feel thankful. Every time Bella says something sweet it warms my soul. I couldn't help but be happy and thankful for my girls as they both asked to go to sleep in tutus the other night. They're helping me through, and the Hubs is smothering (in a good way) with love and tenderness. If anything this experience has given me a renewed sense of gratitude for my beautiful girls and wonderful husband. The hubs and I feel confident we are meant to have more children and will keep pursuing that dream, just perhaps a little more cautiously now.

When I started this blog I was apprehensive. I had this fear that something bad would happen because it seemed most people that blogged either had had something bad happen or were going through something. Obviously I know this is not true and the fact is we live in a fallen world and everyone is either heading towards a hard time, in a hard time, or coming out of a hard time. Sorry that sounds pretty pessimistic but reality is reality. But there is light at the end of the tunnel and the only way to have a true sense of hope, and to get through hard times without feeling crushed, in a hurtful world is in Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. So I'll cling to Him, my hubs, and my wonderful family and friends as we find ourselves in a hard time right now. If this is a hardship we must go through, I am thankful that it is not much worse. There are so many out there suffering much harder things than what we're going through and for them my heart aches.

If you could just be in prayer for our family. Pray that we continue to heal and not let this event shadow the blessings we have been given and have yet to receive! Pray that we are able to move on and also pray for others that are going through a hardship right now. Pray that they'll rely on God to help them through and if they don't know Him that they will turn to Him to help them pull through.

Name that Photo!

Now friends I didn't get many takers last time, so this time I expect major participation, okay. : ) Okay now that that's out of the way time for a Name That Photo Contest!! I don't have a prize right now so it may just be for bragging rights, but maybe I'll come up with something. So please join us in coming up with a title for this hilarious picture. Bella and her two best friends Mackenzie and Avi were holding hands and running, yes I know a disaster in the making. Well Bella and Avi were going a little too fast for sweet, little Mackenzie and right as I went to snap a picture she fell. Don't worry Mackenzie quickly recovered but it made for a great picture! So go ahead and come up with a great title for it! : )

i heart tutus!

The other day the girls were playing dress up-which Bella loves to play and, since sissy likes it, then Brynn does too-and they were looking so darn cute we just though we'd have an impromptu photo session. Here are some of my favorites:

I know its black and white but Brynn had these bright pink rain boots on, so cute!