Break.

I'm taking one. Feeling a little run-down and uninspired lately...I'll hopefully get my mo-jo back soon :)

J.O.Y.

Today I am absolutely filled with it...for no particular reason except that Heavenly Father has blessed me and life is good.

Before I smother you in photos and wax poetic about how wonderful toddlers with popsicles are...Sweet Tamerie over at ALittleofThisThatandtheOther Was kind enough to award me with this! Definitely give her sweet page a visit. Thankyou Tamerie, you're such a peach! :)

Below is Isabella's favorite playmate...together they enjoy making up silly songs and running amuck. I took them out on the front porch for popsicles this afternoon and kicked back in my lawn chair to enjoy one myself...as I was watching those two rejoicing over their popsicles I couldn't help but feel my soul begin to smile.

All of this week's stress and anxiety just sort of melted away, like the treats in their sticky little hands.

My sweet little Bella trusts me to take care of her, she knows without a doubt that every morning she will be dressed, fed, and changed. For her, it's just a part of everyday life...and in an ah-ha moment I realized that my Heavenly Father will always do the same for me if I put my trust in Him. I prayed silently while I watched them and peace engulfed me like a warm blanket. I began to giggle and smile with them and grabbed my camera to capture the moments of their sweet excitement. Seeing their smiles and listening to their gleeful squeals of delight...it just thrilled me...toddler happiness is such a genuine and uninhibited thing, much too sweet to let pass you by.







How sweet life can be when you just give your problems to Him! I'm filled with joy...absolutely immersed by it. I took the time to soak up what I had been missing all around me while I was so deeply preoccupied by my funkish week...While walking through the neighborhood the sprinklers kicked on, I saw the immediate longing flash in Isabella's eyes...Oh, why not? We charged them alright! We went running through those sprinklers, giggling, flailing our arms and making spectacles of ourselves, the neighbors now think I'm a complete screwball, but I don't care because one mommy saw us having such a blast that she let her little girl out and they joined us...and I made an amazing new friend! I guess the point of my ramblings are, trust in Him...leave your worries and cares to Him, and He will bless you. (Is this too preachy? I'm sorry...I just had to share this...it's the best thing that has happened to me all week)

And now, after much lamenting, I have come to the conclusion that I am a sporadic blogger at best, no matter how hard I try to be otherwise. I'm just going to have to accept me for who me is...so, thanks for staying with me :)

My sentiments exactly.

Isabella and I seem to have had identical reactions to this week's stress.

Here's to a better week!

......

Recovering from a pretty stressful week, ya'll! Be back on Monday...the good Lord willing.

My "crack"

I could have worse addictions.

Hubby: It is completely normal for a toddler to have at least one pair of shoes for every occasion. "sporty" "dressy" "casual" "breezy" "preppy" "beachy" "cutesy" and last, but certainly not least "play date-y"

Completely normal.

A very special mother's day

My heart is threatening to burst this mother's day. Have you ever felt that way? So blessed and so incredibly content that you felt your heart would burst with love and happiness?

My dearest friend has been in the hospital since Wednesday...she was thirty weeks pregnant with her sweet baby girl, Taylor Grace. She was diagnosed with preeclampsia and was ordered to stay at the hospital on bed rest in order to be constantly monitored. Isabella and I spent a sweet afternoon with her on Thursday, chatting, giggling and eating goodies. Through it all my friend's spirits have never wavered, she's remained positive and hopeful, even though her husband is away on deployment during this difficult time.

Friday night I received a phone call from the hospital, they advised me to get to the hospital as soon as I possibly could...I immediately went into prayer mode as I dropped Isabella off with some wonderful friends and I rushed to her side...I had only been in her room ten minutes when doctors rushed in informing her that things had taken a turn for the worst, she would need an emergency c-section...at thirty weeks. My friend was visibly shaken, but she held up like the true Texas cowgirl that she is...she didn't bat an eyelash as she told them to do whatever they had to do to keep her baby girl safe. I witnessed strength that night that I will never forget.

Our husbands are on the same ship...so I was so honored when my friend chose me to be by her side . I got scrubbed up and we were whisked into the operating room. I held her hand in both of mine, and as she squeezed them tight we listened behind the blue curtain as the doctors brought her baby girl into the world. Sweet little Taylor weighed in at only 2lbs 15 oz...but she's a cowgirl just like her momma...when she came out she made the faintest little squeak and I knew in that moment, that God had given her the same determined spirit that he had given her sweet mommy.

They held baby up for mommy to see...and I was so incredibly blessed to witness the most profound three seconds of my life. I watched in disbelief as baby Taylor opened one eye and locked it with her mommy's...and in that one moment, I saw two spirits intertwine, I watched two people create a bond in two seconds that will remain for a lifetime and will never be broken. I cried at the immense beauty of it all...never in my life have I felt so humbled and grateful for God's gift of motherhood.

Sweet baby Taylor is thriving in the NICU, she breaths on her own and takes her breast milk through a feeding tube. Mommy is also doing well, she gets discharged from the hospital tomorrow...and even better, the Navy is flying her husband home from Hong Kong as we speak!!! I am filled with happiness for my sweet friend...filled with gratitude for my Heavenly Father's grace. What a beautiful mother's day....what a beautiful mother :)

skinna marinky linky dink...

I'm a bad blogger.

Not only do I not consistently post every day...but I never can seem to comment back to each and every sweet comment that is left on my page. Not because I am "so busy" indeed, I make it a point to not be that busy at all...but honestly? It's because I will click on a person, fully intending on commenting back...but then I will always get lost in that person's blog archive...I'll start reading, get intrigued and before I know it I have spent an entire hour (or more) reading about this one person's life instead of spreading my comment love around like I should be...sigh...this is not a bad thing at all...I love it when I find a blog that I can't tear my greedy eyeballs away from...

All of your kind words always inspire me and never cease to boost my spirits, especially on those lonely days...so, I'm making a vow here and now to become a better blogger!

So...in true lurker fashion...I give you a few of the blogs that I have lately been making googly eyes at....These ladies are lovliness personafied!

ABitofPinkHeaven Is right up my ally with all of her beautiful pinkness!

TheKingandI A fellow LDS lady, a great crafter and an amazing writer! I am always uplifted by her sweet posts... I found Whitney through ADuckInHerPond (another amazing lurkfest...She's an incredible writer...I read her stories almost every evening!)

Reinvented I just love this lady. She has great ideas and she makes me giggle.

ALittleLovliness The name says it all...when I happened upon her beautiful world I just gasped...her little girls are just pure princess...and the clothes! Oh my goodness...the clothes....I love, love, love the pillowcase dresses, she included a tutorial, and I am totally going to try it out...so beautifully frou-frou!

Enjoy :)

My first quilt...

I certainly didn't expect my first attempt at quilting to produce anything resembling perfect...so I expected these crooked squares...I don't mind, actually, that they don't line up perfectly, I tell myself it makes it look more "cottage-ey" I have visions of this quilt being drug through the sand at the beach, snuggled under for midnight movies, or spread out on the grass for impromtue lunch picnics with The Bella...none of which require perfection.

There are no quilt shops, or quality fabric stores on the island (that I have found but if you know of one please let me know!) so for my mother's day, I opted to order a bunch of beautiful prints from fabric.com...it was exactly what I wanted :) I binged on these adorable charm packs, which is what I'm using to make my patchwork quilt. I also snarfed a couple of yards of some favorite Amy Butler prints...I bought my groceries yesterday and I am looking forward to a few days of staying home and creating, creating, creating.



So ya'll were wondering where I got the fabric to make Isabella's busy bag? Well, my mother sent it to me...however, it is an Amy Butler design, and you can order it from fabric.com...they are wonderful, I order from them frequently and they're always very speedy with their shipping.




It's been sort of slow going with this monkey on my table...but even with my eight legged monkey assistant, I'm still finding immense peace in our boring, little routines. Does it make me a bad mother that most days we stay in our jammies, eat chocolate, color, and sew all day long? I feel like I should be more structured...and I know that I will be...as soon as Tyler gets home...but for right now, unless we absolutely have to be somewhere, I'm really okay with just this. In between chores and the other daily grinds, we talk and giggle...sometimes we bicker...we nap, we take care of business, we hope for a phone call from daddy...It just feels so natural to not fill my days with clutter but to just enjoy them as they are, slow, warm and uneventful.

Busy Bella's busy bag

Trying to take good pictures of my busy B. is an effort in futility...I managed to get this one...she looks like she is in the loo...SIGH...I guess I'll take what I can get, even if it does resemble her being busy doing...er...her business.



The dress miss Bella is wearing is a beautiful Strausburg hand-me-down (on loan) from her cousin...I just love a good smock frock...I'm shopping online right now for a smocking thingy (not sure the correct terminology, yes I googled "smocking thingy") I'm feeling ambitous...or maybe just cocky...since I tought myself how to FINALLY make button holes :) after much chastizing from my hubby for not ever reading my usuers manuals for any of my electronics, I decided that now was as good a time as any to leanr some new skills. I made this "busy bag" for Isabella to take to church with her, she can stuff whatever she likes in it.



I lined the inside of the bag with Muslin for a little extra durability, the flower is glued onto an oversized button and then pinned onto the bag that way it can be removed for washing. I realize now that my bows look sloppy...oh well. The ribbon straps are tied onto-yep, you guess it! Buttonholes :-D

I'm still loving my sweet new layout so much!!! Happy Monday to all :)

Ta-Da!!!

So what do ya think? I am completely in LOVE with my new bloggy!

When I posted about how I needed a make-over Sarah over at SarahsBlueCastle was so sweet and generously offered to do it for me! She has really done a fantastic job...she took so much care and time doing this for me and was always sure to ask if I liked everything...such a sweetheart! She incorporated all of the things I love best, Polka dots, the color pink, and little blue birds!

She is so talented in so many ways...not only can she do beautiful blog layouts, but she can also do some incredible house projects too...currently she is blogging all about her porch make-over on a budget...it's so awesome seeing how creative she is with objects she has around the house...definitely stop by and give her a shout, you will be so glad that you did!

Thank you so much Miss Sarah...you are truly a peach!