January 30, 2012

25 Rules for Mothers of Sons

I came across a great list on the 25 rules for mothers of sons today and thought it was too good to not share!  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

January 27, 2012

2012 Goals

  1. Meet with God. Pray more. Study more.
  2. Do Dave Ramsey's baby steps.
  3. Make 'dating' Travis and priority.
  4. Snuggle often with Lucas.
  5. Take more pictures of Lucas and I.
  6. Be a great friend to Danielle.
  7. Make changes, not excuses.
  8. Have fun. Smile lots. <3

Career Paths

Hey friends!  As many of you know, I have been praying that God show me which direction He would like me to go in my career.  I have many paths that I could choose: teaching, daycare management, public speaking, writing and publishing a book, becoming a realtor, getting my MSW, and on and on... I am not always the best person when it comes to discerning what God's plan is for me.  I will continue to pray for this discernment.  Please pray for me also, as God loves when we pray for each others' struggles.  I am done with my current position in April and need to decide which direction to go at that point.  Right now, I will simply continue my Bible study, prayer life, and start writing my testimony.  God bless you all and have a wonderful weekend! 

January 17, 2012

We Were Missing Daddy..

Yesterday while at work, Lucas and I were missing Daddy.  So we text him some pictures to let him know how much we love him... :)  It wasn't a huge things, but I think it really meant a lot to him that I thought about him during the day and took the time to be silly and fun. 



January 16, 2012

Dad and Son

Travis and I are participating in a group Bible study- The 5 Love Languages of Children.  Last night, we had our study and although I am glad we are taking the course, I feel like it is just proving that being a parent is hard work and we can easily screw up our children. ;)  Last night, we talked a great deal about the importance of a present dad.  Dads are called by God to be the spiritual leader in their household, be positive examples for their children {especially their sons}, and to speak their children's love language.  I was blown away by Travis last night, as he spoke up quite a few times last night during the study to give examples and to voice his opinion.  I am so thankful that God put him in my life.  He is growing and maturing each day and it is so wonderful to hear him speak on parenting issues.  He is such an extremely amazing dad and I know this skill will only deepen as Lucas gets older.  He knows the importance of him being active in Lucas' childhood and I am so excited to see him wrestle with Lucas on the living room floor, take him to races and teach him how to fix cars, and guide him into a successful adulthood.  I am so proud that I am his wife and that he is Lucas' dad.  He's a wonderful husband but an even better father! 

January 15, 2012

5 Things I'm Good At

In continuation of my skills assessment where I previously took a look at my weaknesses, today i will reflect on a few of my positive attributes:

5. Finding stuff online.  Random.  I know.  But I can find absolutely anything online.  Of course Pinterest makes that even easier now!  : )
4. Being a wife and mommy... I enjoy pleasing my hubby by sending small notes of appreciation and being silly with him.  I love helping Lucas explore this big world and learn new skills.  I work hard to be a good wife and mom! 
3. Motivating and encouraging others. I have came to realize that oftentimes, all people need to encourage and motivate them is a smile and a few positive words.
2. Public speaking.  I enjoy getting in front of big groups of people and speaking to them. Whether a sermon or information about FOCC, I simply enjoy engaging people in this way!
1. Seeing and meeting other people's needs.  Whether it be Lucas, Travis, friends, or strangers, God has blessed me with the ability to sense people's needs and the compassion to work hard to meet those needs and help them realize their full potential.

January 13, 2012

5 Things I'm Bad At

I had three interviews this week {exciting, nerve-wrecking, but they all went really well} and this got me to thinking about what I am good and not so good at.  For the next two days, I will be reflecting on my skills and abilities.  I will start with my not-so-great qualities:


5) Playing basketball... I'm short, I hate running, I have weak ankles.  Need I say more?  Okay.. so this really doesn't matter at all in relation to my career, but I really wish I could play.
4) Talking on the phone.  I much rather prefer emailing, texting, or speaking with people in person.  Phone conversation is often long, unfocused, and inconvenient.  It seems like most of my phone calls turn into 'phone tag' and we end up emailing or texting each other anyway.
3) Remembering things.  Whether it be things that need done {I have sticky notes everywhere} or things I've been told {Travis always has to remind me of things}, I believe I have the worst memory of anyone I've ever met. 
2) Staying focused.  I'm absolutely spastic and cannot spend too much time on one thing.  I like to bounce from one task to another, in order to not get too bored.  :)  I can't just sit down and do one thing, either- I must be doing more than one task at once.  While I'm writing this, I am watching TV, doing laundry, and playing with Daisy!  <3
1) Sending thank you's.  Unfortunately, I am awful at sitting down and writing thank you letters.  We only sent some wedding thank you's and I forgot to send any baby shower ones!  I love when I receive them, though, so I should understand their importance.. Maybe this is something that I should work on in 2012!?

January 11, 2012

Why I Hate Religion But Love Jesus.. WOW!

This video is so powerful and true!  I wish more Christians would see it this way. 

January 9, 2012

Organize 2012... Laundry Room

"Organize 2012" is one of my many goals for 2012.  Travis and I will be organizing different parts of our house throughout the year, including our laundry room, pantry, mail, and bathroom closet.  We started with our laundry room.  Following, you will see our before and after pictures from our laundry room and clothing organization.  Although we're not completely done, we have been making great progress towards keeping our clothes organized!  :)

BEFORE: Corner of the laundry room.  We had a tower of towels!  : (

AFTER: Our corner is revived!  Looks SO much better!




BEFORE: Our laundry room was messy, disorganized, and not very functional. 









AFTER: Our laundry room is clean and organized!  Each color/kind of clothes has their own basket!  I will post some of the signs I made with my cricut later!  For Christmas, my Mom bought us two laundry contraptions (seen in the pictures).  They are absolutely WONDERFUL!!  She bought them for around $35 at Walmart.

In His Diaper Bag..

Here are a list of items in Lucas' diaper bag.  I would love to see what other moms stuff into their diaper bags!  Let the sharing begin!  :)


Orajel
Infants Tylenol
Saline spray
Mommy's Ibuprofen
2 Thermometers- Underarm and Pacifier
2 Soothie Pacifiers
Baby nail trimmers
Teether
3 rattles
Ball
Diaper rash cream
Safety q-tips
Baby powder, baby wash, baby shampoo, baby lotion, and antibac in a ziploc baggie
Mesh teether
Wrist rattles
Change of clothes- onsie, pants, socks
Bib and spit rag
Comb (Never used it.. )
Spoon
Gentlease formula
Bottled water
Playtex VentAire Advanced bottle
At least 6 diapers
Wipes
Changing pad

January 8, 2012

Our Accomplished Sunday

Travis woke up this morning and excitedly said that we needed to accomplish four things today.. Weird!  :)  I happily went along with it and asked what our goals for the day were.

1) Take down the Christmas tree and decorations
2) Wash the bottles
3) Wash the dishes
4) Watch a movie

After our very productive VBS meeting today after Sunday School, we decided to go to town to get some storage totes for our Christmas stuff.  When we got home, we took down the tree and organized the Christmas stuff.  Woohoo!  Goal 1 done!  :)  We then watched our Sky VBS Decorating DVD that we got at our meeting.  Goal 4 done!  I don't think that's quite the kind of movie he meant, but oh well!  We talked about the church decorating, make a supply list, and then I washed the bottles and dishes.  Goals 2 & 3 done!  Yay!  That's all folks!  And Trav even got our I-pod dock out of the box and programmed Klove into it.. what a fabulous hubby! I would say our weekend was a success!  Great start to a busy week! 

January 7, 2012

Vacations I'd Love to Take

  1. New York City during Christmas
  2. San Fransisco to a 49ers game and then wine tasting 
  3. Disney World when Lucas is old enough to remember
  4. Spend a week at an adult-only resort with Travis
  5. Canada aye!  
  6. Dollywood and see Dolly Parton!  :)
  7. Scotland to see bagpipers

January 6, 2012

Wishes for Lucas

I hope you live a long, healthy life.
I hope you live your life for Christ.
I hope that you marry your best friend.
I hope you aren't so afraid of failure that you don't take risks. 
I hope you have a passion for helping others.
I hope you laugh often.
I hope you express your feelings.
I hope you ignore the bad comments people say about you.
I hope you respect your teachers, elders, and parents.
I hope you never forget how much your dad and I love you.

January 5, 2012

Weekend Goals

Tomorrow is Friday!  It's unbelievable how quickly this week has gone!  This weekend is a pretty relaxed weekend, so to encourage myself to stay motivated and not sit on the couch all weekend, I'm going to set weekend goals.  
  1. Complete my laundry room organization- get tags made, take pictures, blog about the process!
  2. Scrap with Danielle on Saturday afternoon
  3. Wash bunches of laundry!  
  4. Go to the VBS meeting and have fun planning for Sky VBS 2012
  5. Spend time with Travis and Lucas :) 

January 4, 2012

EMS Prayer

I found this poem here and had to share! 

As I perform my duty, Lord,
Whatever be the call
Help to guide and keep me safe,
From dangers big and small.

I want to serve and do my best
No matter what the scene,
I promise to keep my skills refined,
My judgment sharp and keen.
This calling to give of myself,
most do not understand,
But I stand ready all the time
to help my fellow man.

A word of thanks I might not hear,
but knowing is enough,
That I have helped just even one
To go on to live and love.

January 3, 2012

Travis' Race Helmet

I'm SO proud of my hubby!  He's an auto body painter and has been learning how to airbrush and do other things to helmets.  Here is the second helmet he's done:





Updated Scrapbook Pages

 Okay, so the pictures don't do justice.. But here are some updated pages in Lucas' scrapbook!  I'm slowly learning more and more about how to be a good scrapper! :)  Enjoy!






DIY Christmas Gifts

Okay, I'm a little late posting these pictures, but I wanted to share them with you!

Here is the grandkids picture holder I made for both of our Grandparents:
Here is the first page of the brag book I made my mom to carry in her purse.  I laminated each page so that the pages will not get damaged.
Next are the items that I made for our family exchange.  The candy cake was quite simple to make.  I started with two Christmas tins and a Styrofoam circle from Hobby Lobby.  We put 15 full-size candy bars around the bottom layer with double sided tape and smaller candy around the middle layer.  I stuck suckers and candy canes in the Styrofoam and added ribbon to make it even more beautiful.  This was my first attempt at a candy cake and I really enjoyed making it.  In total, I spent around $35 for the whole thing!  I also recreated a clever way to gift $money$ (I found the idea on Pinterest, of course)!  I rolled up $20 in $1 bills and put them in a zip bag.  Then, I typed up the poem and printed it out.  Really simple gift and a great way to give a special person money!

  
I'm really proud of myself for making all of our presents this year!  I was unsure about whether I could do it or not, and it really turned out well.  Next year, I'm planning on getting even more crafty!  :)

January 2, 2012

Things I'm Looking Forward to in 2012

  1. The world ending... hehe!  If it happens, I'm ready!
  2. Lucas learning to talk and walk
  3. Taking Lucas to Nashville
  4. Celebrating our 2nd anniversary
  5. Finishing Lucas' first year scrapbook and starting the next one...
  6. Going to my 5 year high school reunion
  7. Seeing Cars 3 come out.. ok, so maybe not, but that would be cool!
  8. Taking Lucas swimming
  9. Celebrating Lucas' 1st birthday
  10. Giving the Christmas present to family members.  Yes- I'm already working on it!  ;)

Currently...

1. Listening: to the Wonderpets on Nick Jr.
2. Eating: a small pizza
3. Drinking: an RC Cola
4. Wearing: my pajamas still! :)
5. Feeling: terrible- I'm sick today
6. Weather: windy and cold, but still no snow
7. Wanting: to feel better
8. Needing: to shower... lol
9.Thinking: I don't want to leave the house today
10. Enjoying: Travis just walked in the door!  Yay!