Angela's Adventures

Project 365{+1} May + Fun Photo a Day Ideas

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 07:18:00 +0000

Alright, so I'm finally done going through our May photos and when I say finally, I mean....finally (with a big, giant, sigh). It took me way too long to go through the pictures from last month and pick out a photo from each day and sure enough, I forgot to take a picture on two different days-that or maybe, I just can't find the picture. Anyway-I'm not going to beat myself up about it.

Day 122: Paisley on her lego phone: "hello? hello?"

Day 123: The first Iris to bloom since we've lived here.

Day 124: Scratch and sniff books. We love them.

Day 125: Our first weekend away since becoming parents. Yes, I'm jumping on the bed!

Day 126: Our date night at "A Weekend to Remember".

Day 127: Jeremiah and Judah stop to inspect a worm or a slug on our family after-dinner walk.

Day 128: They love rocking together.

Day 129: My heart flip-flops when I look at this boy's eyes and freckles. To me, he's perfect.

Day 130: Finished project-Jewelry board. To me, the color of the frame is pretty stink'n great.

Day 131: Judah pretends he's "at work".

Day 132: Paisley literally licks her plate clean.

Day 133: We throw Rachelle a baby shower!

Day 134: Happy Mother's Day! Judah takes Paisley's hand and leads her away from the new fire pit.

Day 135: The sun is shining and we hangout in the pool.

Day 136: No words. He totally melts my heart.

Day 137: Again, no words.

Day 138: Yep, that's a bee on our screen.

Day 139: This is my garbage can after an attempt to sew ruffles. Booo......

Day 140: The peas are ready to eat!

Day 141: Gift for my MOPS gals, S'mores in a jar.

Day 142: Her hair is getting long.

Day 143: He loves his binoculars.

Day 144: Yeah! Daddy is home.

Day 145: Sister likes her Puddin' Pop.

Day 147: Happy Birthday to us!

Day 148: Paisley and I visit the cemetery on Memorial Day.

Day 149: Curly hair shouldn't be combed but, he's having fun so, no biggie.

Day 151: First rose of the year.

For the last few months, I've felt like I'm in a bit of a photo slump. I want to take great pictures....memorable photos, specifically of my kids but, it's so easy to get into a rut! I feel like I'm not being as intentional as I'd like to be so, I've gathered a few "Photo Inspiration" lists and I'm going to use them for ideas.

I thought I'd share the lists that I found, in case you're in need of a fresh perspective, like I am!

Go ahead and click on the images, to make them larger.

Aren't those photo checklists awesome?! I found them over at Simple As That, and honestly, I think she is brilliant!

So, what about you-what type of pictures do you hope to capture this summer? I'm hoping that our summer will be filled with lots of playing, lots of living fully and hopefully our pictures will reflect that.

♥Angela

A Little of This and a Little of That

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 23:30:00 +0000

Today I signed up for my first flea market. I figure...what the heck. I love creating things and it would be fun to see if any of them will sell so, I've decided to just go for it. Walking in to fill out the form made me really nervous. I know, that's ridiculous. It's really not that big of a deal and I think it'll just be fun. If anything, it's a day to sit in the sun (hopefully!) and visit with people. I figure that you never know if something will be fun, until you give it a try!
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My mom came over and visited with us. I picked a bunch of lettuce and snap peas for her so, that was fun. Judah was "helping" us pick the peas and he was totally cracking me up because he was taking a bite out of the pea pods before putting them into the bag.

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I realized that today is June 1st so, it's time for me to go through my photos from May and pick one from each day. Going through the photos from the month always seems to take longer that I'd like but, I'm still going to try and get that done this weekend.

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Paisley is waking up now and Judah wants a popsicle so, I'm off and running again.

Happy Friday!

♥ Angela

Strawberry Lemonade Popsicles

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Thu, 31 May 2012 05:55:00 +0000

It's been a fun day around here. This morning, a friend came over with her daughter and we all went for a walk and then we had a nice visit while the kids played. After lunch, both kids napped and I got our house cleaned up. It's the story of my life....make messes with kids, clean up and then do it all over again. I'm sure it's the story of your life, too. It's just the name of the game!

After Judah woke up, we made some Strawberry Lemonade Popsicles. These popsicles are slightly sour, totally refreshing and super easy to make. The Jell-o mix gives them a beautiful color and since they're made with real strawberries, I feel like they're just a tiny bit healthy.

Mix together in a blender:
•1/2 package of Strawberry Jell-o mix
•A large handful of fresh strawberries
•A few heaping tablespoons of Frozen Lemonade Concentrate
•About a cup of water

So, what's my favorite thing about this whole Popsicle kick that I'm on? Well really, it's a win/win situation for all of us. I love experimenting with different flavors and my kids think I'm making them a super yummy treat, when all I'm doing is throwing a few things into a blender!

So, what is YOUR favorite Popsicle flavor? Are there any recipes that I should try?

♥ Angela
Linking up here!

Me|At this Moment

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Wed, 30 May 2012 05:33:00 +0000

•At this moment.....I'm creating a huge crafty mess in my dining room.

•At this moment......I'm listening to Newsboys "Revelation Song", "Forever Reign", "God's Not Dead" and "Your Love Never Fails", on repeat as loud as possible without waking the kids.
•At this moment....I'm missing being in a powerful worship service, where hardly a hand isn't raised.
•At this moment....I'm thankful and excited that God always has big plans.
•At this moment.....My house smells like spray paint and glue guns.
•At this moment.....I'm planning on digging up one of my raised beds tomorrow, working the soil up really well and then re-planting it. My plants haven't hardly grown since they sprouted and I need to start over on that bed.
•At this moment....I'm alright with the fact that I can't commit to blogging about one certain topic. I guess I'm like a mixed bag of salad, some of it you love, some of it you might avoid and some of it you just sort of like....but, it's all in the bag. I think I'm okay with that, it's just who I am.
•At this moment....I'm going to wrap up my experimental crafty mess and get ready to spend time with my love.
♥ Angela

My Girl and I.... We Visit the Cemetery

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Tue, 29 May 2012 04:46:00 +0000

On the way to the grocery store this evening, I noticed that the cemetery was filled with beautiful flags. These flags, put in place for Memorial Day, were waving proudly in the wind and sparkling in the sun. After our trip to the store, we ran home, grabbed the camera and then headed back to the cemetery.

Sometimes your heart calls you to do something unplanned, like walk hand in hand with your girl through the cemetery. These spontaneous moments are often the most beautiful.

While we walked through the cemetery, we saw many people pull in, quickly pay their respects to someone that obviously touched their life and then leave, with a smile on their face.

Paisley ran barefoot, without a care in the world. Her freedom and delight for the world reminded me of how much has been sacrificed for our freedom. Our freedom is not to be taken for granted. Each one of these small flags is next to a gravestone of someone who served our country.

I cried as we walked through the cemetery. Honestly, I've never really thought a whole lot about Memorial Day. I know this sounds bad but to me, it's always just seemed like a 3 great day weekend...with BBQ's! But, walking through the cemetery this evening and seeing Paisley's free spirit, next to all of those flags that sit at Veteran's graves....Well, it was extremely symbolic and it helped me remember what this day is really all about.

Next year, we will be going to the cemetery as a family on Memorial Day. I want my kids to understand that amazing men and women have gone before them and paid a huge price for our freedom.

As I came home and looked through my photos, the Newboys song "I Am Free", popped into my head.

I am free to run and I am free to dance

I am free to live for You

I am free

yes, I am free

I am free!

♥ Angela

A Look into our Saturday and Homemade Chocolate-Banana Puddin' Pops

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Sat, 26 May 2012 21:07:00 +0000

Our Saturday morning has been spent running around. As a family, we hit a few thrift stores and then went to a couple garage sales. I think I have my Dad's treasure hunting gene. I'm always on the look out for things that I can paint, restore or just plain old great deals on stuff that we need. I've almost been considering getting a space at one of those vintage flea market places. I mean, how cool would it be to find deals, fix, paint, re-upholster or whatever is needed and then be able to sell the items? To me, it sounds like great fun!

While we were out, we didn't find hardly anything but, it was still fun as a family. We stumbled upon a truck that Judah fell in love with and since it was a super price, we got it for him and made a deal him. Judah agreed that he will give away a few of his big trucks, since he now has a new truck and when we got home, he eagerly ran to his room and picked out a couple of trucks to giveaway. I'm so proud of him!

Now my guys are out doing yard work and I'm getting ready to join them. It's a beautiful sunny day around here and I can't wait to get out and enjoy it. My garden has been growing well and I think I'll be eating the first Snap Peas from it this weekend. The other night while I was out there, I noticed that a hatched Robin's egg was sitting in my garden. Those eggs are the perfect shade of blue and since I was little, I've always felt like finding a Robin's egg is good luck. Well, I actually don't believe in luck but, you know what I mean.

To wrap this up, I wanted to share a recipe for some super easy Banana Chocolate Puddin' Pops that I made yesterday. I'm declaring this summer as "The Summer of the Popsicle" so, I'm trying to make all sorts of homemade Popsicles and if they turn out, I'll share my adventure on here.

In a blender mix:
•1 ripe banana
•1 package of chocolate pudding mix
•1 1/2 cups of milk

Freeze the Puddin' Pops until they are frozen solid.

Run warm water over the plastic Popsicle container, until the Popsicle comes out easily. To make them extra fun, sprinkle on a whole bunch of colorful sprinkles before serving.

As you can see, Paisley loved her Puddin' Pop.

♥ Angela

Are you really listening?

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Fri, 25 May 2012 14:33:00 +0000

Us Mothers, we've got a lot going on, don't we? Our strengths are always changing, our skills are growing and evolving and unfortunately, our weaknesses.....Well, we've got a few of them (at least I do).

Lately, we've been working with Judah (3) on giving us good eye contact when we're talking to him and also giving us eye contact when he's talking to us. Eye contact shows confidence, it shows understanding and it's respectful, important stuff, in my opinion.

As we've been reminding him of this important thing, called eye contact, God pointed something out to me. He didn't just say "Hey Angela, I think maybe you aren't a very good listener lately. Just maybe, you should try to do better in that area." No, it was more like "You need to work on listening to your kids better, to give better eye contact and to really pay attention to what they're saying. You have a lot of growing to do in this area."

And, that was that. I've realized that while I'm trying to teach my three year old son to really listen to mommy, I'm not always practicing what I preach. I do the dishes while he talks, talks, and talks....nodding away and agreeing sometimes to things I don't even know I'm agreeing to. My mind runs out into la-la land and I don't always listen to him with full, honest attention.

See, when you have a three year old who's obsessed with all things motorized, sometimes it's hard to listen to the 5 minute long stories about the tractor in the field or the train ride that we'll someday take. But, it's become clear to me that, even the things that are sometimes hard to listen to (especially the long, drawn out stories), aren't any less important.

God listens to everything that we have to say, right? The good, the interesting, the ugly, the boring. It's all equal to Him and He never just smiles and nods, while day dreaming about His next task. Ouch, right?

Just because I've been called out to my weakness in this area, doesn't mean that my problem is going to instantly be fixed. I have to be intentional and work on showing my kids how much I truly care about what they're saying.

I will work on:

•Listening with my EYES. Looking at them, holding their eye contact, showing general interest on my face.

•Listening by KNEELING down to their level.

•Listening with my HEART and remembering that everything they say is important.

♥Angela

S'mores in a Jar-An easy and useful summer gift idea!

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Wed, 23 May 2012 22:01:00 +0000

The other day, we had our last MOPS meeting for the season. It was definitely bittersweet because I sure do love the ladies at my table and I'm going to miss being at a table with them next year. On the other hand, I'm so excited to see what God has in store for MOPS next year! Changes are coming and change can be a good thing! My role in MOPS will be different next year and while I might not share a table with all of the same amazing women, it will be alright because they are all returning to MOPS in the fall.

To give my girls just a glimpse of how awesome I think they are, I decided to make them a simple and useful gift that hopefully they can enjoy with their families over the summer.

The inspiration for this idea simply came from the fact that I personally, hope to enjoy our new fire pit a lot this summer and I wanted to give these ladies something that would be useful. My imagination is often drawn to mason jars and chocolate so, I just went with it and I think they turned out cute!

The labels that I made say "This summer, live life fully, one S'more (or two!), at a time." My hope is that each one of those ladies really will live fully this summer. Taking time to picnic with their children, time to read (outside), time to listen to music (loudly!), time to light candles for even the most casual of dinners, and time to drive with the windows down and the music up.

S'mores in a jar would be great for party favors, an easy gift idea for a teacher, a rustic and sweet favor for a small wedding or even a fun idea for a backyard BBQ party.

All you need for S'mores in a Jar:

•Wide Mouth Mason jars with lids

•Chocolate Bars

•Graham Crackers

•Marshmallows

•Cute labels for the jars

•Ribbon to tie around the top of the jars

•Paper, fabric or a cute cupcake liners to cover the jar lids

Put the marshmallows and graham crackers into individual zip lock baggies and stick them inside of the jar with the chocolate bar. Decorate the jar lid, add some ribbon, a label and you're all done!

So, how do YOU plan to live fully this summer?

♥ Angela

Linking up here.

Maple & Cinnamon Rhubarb Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Tue, 22 May 2012 06:16:00 +0000

This afternoon, it all started with this:

Me, texting my sister: Have you seen any amazing recipes that use rhubarb? Looking for a good one!

Sister: How ironic! I just made some super yummy rhubarb muffins yesterday. :) I can send you a link.

Me: No way!! (I tend to get exclamation mark happy) I was even hoping for a muffin recipe! That's way too cool. So glad you're my sister!!

Sister: I know, right? :)

Me: So awesome. Thanks!

And then I baked, ate and then ate some more....Dang it. I considered eating them all and baking another batch to bring to MOPS (really, who would know!) but, then I decided that wasn't a good idea.

These are by far my new favorite Rhubarb Muffins so, I thought I'd share the recipe here, just in case you have neighbors, parents or everyone around you trying to pass their extra Rhubarb on to you.

Maple & Cinnamon Rhubarb Muffins

Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon maple flavoring
2 cups finely chopped rhubarb

TOPPING:
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions
In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Combine egg, buttermilk, oil and maple flavoring; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in rhubarb. Fill greased or paper-lined muffins cups about half full. Combine topping ingredients; sprinkle over each muffin. Bake at 375 degrees F for 16-18 minutes or until muffins test done.

♥ Angela
Linking up here.

I did it....I FINALLY created a Facebook page for my blog

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Mon, 21 May 2012 06:40:00 +0000

Hey Friends!
Over the last few months, it's become more and more clear to me that people like to follow blogs and stay updated......via Facebook. I probably should have created a Facebook page for this little creative outlet of mine a long time ago but, I've been so hesitant to do this!
You ask "why would you be hesitant to create a Facebook page???". Well, let me explain................
See, I never want it to seem like I'm promoting myself or that I think I'm some big hot shot blogging mamma. I'm actually totally the opposite of those things!
So then, why DID I create a Facebook page??? Let me tell you!
Basically, I hope that my Facebook page will be a place that I will:
•Post links to my blog posts so, that if you are interested in following along, it'll be an easy way to stay updated.
•Post links to other inspiring/funny/awesome/creative sites that I think you ladies would like to know about.
•Post pictures or inspiring stories from other bloggers.
•And whatever else I feel like doing!

I hope that you'll follow along! You can find my new Facebook page HERE.

♥ Angela
P.S I'm learning all the technical mumbo-jumbo as I go so, have a little grace and try not to judge if things change often or don't look so pretty at first. Thanks.

Our Saturday in a Nutshell and Up-Cycling the Boring Old Hand Towel

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Sun, 20 May 2012 06:47:00 +0000

Today has been a fun day, filled with lots of living and playing. When I woke up this morning, the sun was shining and I was eager to head out with the kids to garage sales. My sister and her oldest boy joined us and we all had a great time! I was so proud of how well the big boys behaved themselves. We had them hold one of our hands the entire time we were at each sale and they really did awesome!

During the afternoon, the kids napped and I attempted to sew flowers onto a cheap hand towel, that I recently picked up for our bathroom. I really wanted to sew ruffles onto the towel but, I tried that last night and ended up almost crying because, I really don't know how to sew very well at all. So, the ribbon flowers on this towel will have to do until I find myself a sewing mentor.

Later in the evening, my mom came over to watch the kids while my sister and I went to the cutest and super fun party. I guess you'd call it a Pinterest party because there was a ton of amazing food to try, straight from Pinterest, amazing decorating ideas and a sweet girl shared her story about how she and her family are moving to Africa. They're up and leaving their cozy and well established life to go into full time Missionary work and her story was so inspiring! Actually, everything tonight was super inspiring. I think I have enough project ideas right now to keep me busy for at least the entire summer!

So, maybe you're like me and you're getting sick of the plain old hand towels in your bathroom. Maybe you don't want to go out and buy the towel that's $10, just because it has some ruffles or a flower.

Here's how you can make your own.

•Grab some ribbon or fabric and sew a long running stitch. Next, pull your stitch tight, pulling the ribbon into a circle. Sew the ends together and then sew the flowers onto a towel. See??? It's super easy!

If these hold up well in the washing machine, I just might start buying lots of cheap and colorful hand towels, and then dressing them up.

Hope you've had a great Saturday as well!

♥ Angela

Target finds and Raspberry Banana Frozen Yogurt Popsicles

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Thu, 17 May 2012 22:12:00 +0000

The kids and I had a great time out and about this morning. We've been home a lot this week which I totally love but, getting out and running around today was perfect. We hit Costco, the grocery store and Target. While we were at Target, I could hardly contain myself because there are so many new and cute things out for summer. Seriously, I'm like in love with how everything right now is colorful and vintage inspired. It seems like everywhere I look bright jewelry, textured fabrics and upcycled furniture are the trends and I think that's super cool. It just inspires me to want to garage sale more and not be afraid of wearing bold colors that I love.

There are a lot of super cute and stylish Momma's out there and I definitely wouldn't say that I'm one of them but, I do feel like I'm starting to get over worrying so much about what other people think. I really believe that we should all feel free to be who we are and be excited to wear things that we like, even if they are a little out of our normal comfort zone. I mean, you only live once, right? So, on that note....I bought the yellow sunglasses and I really, really, really want some cowboy boots to wear with skirts and summer dresses but, I need to keep shopping around and find some that won't break the bank.

Before we headed out for our morning adventure, I whipped up some quick and easy Raspberry Banana Frozen Yogurt Popsicles. These were so easy to make and they turned out totally delicious so, I thought I'd share the recipe. Here in the PW, the sun has finally been shining and I want to celebrate summer with my kids, as much as possible! Part of being a kid and celebrating summertime, is eating a homemade Popsicle, as often as possible.

In a blender mix:

•2 ripe bananas

•1 cup of Raspberry yogurt

•1/4 package of Raspberry Jell-o Mix

•A few tablespoons of water

The small amount of raspberry jello mix gives an amazing color and a delicious, sweet flavor.

Use an ice cube tray to freeze the left overs for adding to water or whatever!

Happy Summer!

♥ Angela

Linking up here.

Jesus and Chuck E. Cheese's

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Wed, 16 May 2012 19:12:00 +0000

During snack time, Judah and I started having a fun little conversation about where Jesus is. I'm happy I had our camera near by because, I just love this boy. He cracks me up!

A Weekend to Remember | In Review Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Tue, 15 May 2012 22:18:00 +0000

Whew! I don't know about you but, this last week has been jam packed busy for us. My sister and I threw a baby shower, then we had a super fun Mother's Day and then it was my birthday. Honestly, I love it when it's my birthday (I just don't like the getting older part!). Birthday's are super fun though and this year my hubby totally blew me away and planned a little surprise party for me. Just when we were finishing dinner, I heard some knocks at the door and Bam! Surprise! I loved it! The entire day was full of blessings and I went to bed feeling totally thankful for all the little details of the day, even the colored picture and flowers from the neighbor kids.

Last week I wrote a couple of posts about our amazing time at "A Weekend To Remeber"; the marriage conference put on by Family Life Today. In Part 1 I shared a picture of me jumping on the bed and then talked about why marriages fail and the communication toolbox. Part 2 was all about mirroring God's image, completing one another, multiplying a Godly legacy and going from "How to Wow!".

Today I'm going to cover the rest of Saturday. As I sat down to write this post, I started thinking about how glad I am that I'm slowly going through my notes and posting about our time. It's been a little over a week since we went away and we're back to normal life now. Normal demands of having children, normal chores, normal responsibilities and the little vacation that we were on is over. However, now is the time that's most important to put what we learned into practice. It reminds me of being in a worship service where the music is powerful and the teaching is really great. You can feel the presence of God all around you and when you step out of the church, you've got a spring in your step and you're ready to face the world. Well, a few days later, that emotional feeling might wear off but, that's when it's most important to dig down deep and pull out the truths that you learned.

So here we go..........................

•We Fight Too-

Where does conflict come from?

-Our "rights" have been violated.

-Our expectations have not been met.

-We have been hurt.

-Unfulfilled desires may result in anger.

* For conflict to be resolved, both husband and wife must be committed to oneness.

•Resolving conflict requires loving confrontation.

-Confront the patterns, not the isolated events. Does the "problem" happen all the time or was it just a one time thing? Determine if you really need to talk about it or not.

-Examine your heart. Are you trying to retaliate? Restore? Punish? Pursue peace?

-Lovingly confront.

-Speak the truth in love.

-Focus on one issue, rather than many.

-Always remember that the goal is to restore oneness in your marriage.

•Resolving conflict requires forgiveness.

-Begin by admitting to God and to yourself that you were wrong.

-Humbly seek forgiveness.

-Grant forgiveness.

•We minimize conflict when we actively choose to bless one another in marriage.
-Blessing your spouse begins by cultivating a new attitude.
-It involves choosing to give a blessing instead of an insult.
-You choose to respond kindly when offended.
-You focus on God and the promises of His word.
-This choice can only be done in the power God provides.
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The next session was called "Marriage After Dark" and since I pretty much blush at the thought of even typing about "you know what" ha!, I think I'll share about our date night instead!

Saturday evening we got dressed up and walked through Redmond to this charming little Italian restaurant called Tropea. My husband was in charge of picking out the place for us to eat and I'm sure glad that he picked this place because it was perfect!

Lorenzo, the owner of this delicious little restaurant, grew up in Italy and then moved to the Seattle area in 1983. While we were there, he visited with us and made us feel very welcome. Our food was also amazing. Jeremiah had homemade ravioli, stuffed with lobster and I had an amazing salad.

As we were getting ready to leave, our waiter brought out a homemade Tiramisu, courtesy of Lorenzo. Although we were already stuffed, the fact that they were treating us to dessert totally made us smile. And let me tell you, it was amazing!

Even though we live far away from Redmond, I would totally go back there sometime, just to go eat at Tropea. It was the perfect spot for our date night.
♥ Angela

A Look Inside of our Mother's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Mon, 14 May 2012 05:18:00 +0000

My day started at 7am when my alarm went off. I set it last night because I wanted to get up and have time to get ready for church. Well, when I woke up, I noticed that my sweet husband wasn't in bed next to me. Turns out, he got up at 6:30am, just to make me breakfast.

Before I could even get out of bed, he came in with a yummy breakfast and coffee for me. It was so sweet and breakfast in bed was a great way to start the day.
Church was great and afterwards, we headed over to my sister's house to have brunch with my mom.

I love these ladies so much. They are both perfect examples of what a mother should be. I'm so thankful that they are such a huge part of my life and also my kids lives.

After brunch we came home and I spent probably a good hour or two outside planting and working in my garden.....alone. It was wonderfully relaxing and exactly what I wanted to be doing on this special day. I had seeds that I wanted to plant, some weeding that needed to be done and being outside in the sunshine is one of my favorite things.

Later in the afternoon my husband's parents stopped by and we had a nice little visit. After they left, we spent the rest of the evening outside, using the NEW fire pit that Jeremiah built for me for Mother's Day!

I had no clue that he was going to be making a fire pit for us! He did it last night after the kids were in bed and then totally surprised me with it this morning. I love having friends and family over for hot dogs and s'mores on summer nights so, I'm really happy about this.

While we were cooking our hot dogs, Judah was being so sweet with Paisley. Whenever she would get too close to the fire pit, Judah would gently take her hand and lead her away. They don't always get along very well but, when they do, it blesses me so much.

One of the highlights of my day was watching Jeremiah teach Judah how to roast a marshmallow and then watch Judah glow with pride while he did it all by himself. As a mom, there's hardly anything more wonderful than watching your kids learn new things and feel good about themselves.

Thanks to my husband, it really was a perfect Mother's Day. I feel so incredibly blessed.

And, Happy Mother's Day to you, if you are a Momma.

You are making a difference and the small things that you do everyday matter. Your home is your mission field and every little thing that you do, is building your legacy and your story. Lately, I'm constantly reminding myself that I need to strive to be the kind of person that I want my kids to be when they are grown.

Who can find a virtuous woman? She is far more precious than jewels...

Strength and honor are her clothing, and she can laugh at the time to come.

She opens her mouth with wisdom, and loving instruction is on her tongue.
She watches over the activities of her household and is never idle.
Her sons rise up and call her blessed.
He husband also praises her:
Many women are capable, but you surpass them all!
Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised.
~Proverbs 31:10, 25-30

♥Angela

WINNER of the Mother's Guide to Self Renewal Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Sun, 13 May 2012 05:27:00 +0000

Whew! What a fun Saturday it's been! Today we had a baby shower for a dear friend of mine and it was so much fun! The sun was shining, the food was good and as you can see from the photos, there was a lot of laughter.

When I got home, Jeremiah and Judah headed out to do a little pre-Mother's Day and Birthday shopping for me. My Birthday is right around Mother's Day so, this is a fun and busy weekend for us!

Alight so....I just used random.org to draw the winner for the Mother's Guide to Self Renewal and the winner is Rachelle! Congratulations and Happy Mother's Day!

DIY Jewelry Board

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Thu, 10 May 2012 04:55:00 +0000

Last week, I was walking through a thrift store and this old wooden frame caught my eye. I liked it's character, style and the detail in the wood. It was only $2 so, I snatched it up and decided that I'd repaint it and turn it into something that I've been wanting to make.....a jewelry board!

This project was fast, easy and I'm so happy to have a better way to organize my big necklaces and bracelets. I have a nice jewelry box that my husband gave me but, I love chunky jewelry and those big pieces fill up a jewelry box way too quickly.

I started making the jewelry board by first using a hot glue gun to attach some cork board to the cardboard back of the frame.

Next, I painted the outside of the frame with two coats of paint, letting the paint dry in between coats. I decided to go with plain old white push pins for hanging the jewelry but, to dress them up a bit, I painted the tops of each pin.

The cork board (that was glued onto the cardboard) got covered with a yellow and white checkered fabric. Pulling the fabric tight and stapling it to the back worked really well.

After the new paint on the frame was really dry, I put the backing of the frame back on and then added the painted push pins.

I hung it up in the bathroom, hung my big necklaces on it and then did the happy dance that my 3 year old nephew does.

The lower part of the board I intentionally left a little more empty. I'm hoping that will be a special place where my husband and I can leave each other little notes etc.

Seriously, I really do love this. The color is energizing, my necklaces are organized and they're up and away from the little hands that live in our house.

♥Angela
Linking up here.

A Weekend to Remember | In Review Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Wed, 09 May 2012 21:32:00 +0000

Last Monday I started sharing about our experience at "A Weekend to Remember", the marriage conference put on by Family Life. It was such an amazing and refreshing time for us as individuals and also for our marriage. You've probably seen the quote that says "Promote what you love, instead of bashing what you hate" and since I couldn't agree more with that quote, I feel like it's only right for me to share about our time.

Honestly, I don't really know who reads this little blog of mine and if I can speak to even one person and encourage them to invest in their marriage, then sharing about my experience is so worth it.

Saturday morning we slept in until about 7am and then had breakfast in our hotel room: Granola Bars from Safeway. The hotel was super nice but, super nice goes hand in hand with a little spendy so, we tried to keep it cheap by buying some snacks to keep in our room and minimized eating out.

The first session started at 8:30am and was titled "Unlocking the Mystery of Marriage".

•Marriage is about more than just our happiness.

Purpose #1: Mirror God's Image

We are created to reflect the images of God. That means in our marriage, at work, in our neighborhood, at the grocery store and in our relationships.

Purpose #2: Mutually Complete One Another

God designed the marriage relationship to be the priority relationship in the family. Whoooaa!! I love that! So many families today are being run by the kids. The families are becoming completely child centered and that's not the way God created it to be.

•Oneness in marriage is only possible when we consider our spouse before we consider ourselves.

****During this section, they had a large list of activities in our notebooks and we were to circle ones that we would like to do together. Seeing the list and circling some of the same things was fun because it's exciting to think of having hobbies etc. that we do together.

Purpose #3 Multiply a Godly Legacy

•The best hope for children to understand unconditional love comes as parents demonstrate that kind of love in the home.

•Learn to have conflict in a healthy way so, you can conflict in front of the kids and model what healthy conflict resolution looks like.

Purpose #4 God's purposes for marriage are challenged by an opposing force

•From the beginning, the scriptures state that Satan has challenged God and His purposes for marriage.

Martial companionship has been threatened by: Shame, Guilt, Fear, Blame Shifting, and the Battle for Control.

Marriage is far more important than you may have thought. There is opposition to God's purposes for marriage. Recognize that your spouse is not your enemy.

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Session #4 From How to Wow

Oneness grows are we receive our spouse as a gift from God.

1. Leave-Establish independence from your parents and build our children up for independance.

2. Cleave-The second responsibility is to establish commitment to one another.

3. Establish Intimacy with one another. Growing toward oneness makes it possible for a man and a woman as a couple, to become more than they could have been apart.

4. So, why is God's plan difficult to experience? Differences, weaknesses, self centered-ness .

As an act of your will, you must receive your spouse as God's gift, made personally for you.

Relying on God's power is the key to fulfilling God's purposes and plan for marriage.

The more difficult it is, the greater the opportunity to glorify God!

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What every marriage needs:

•Establish a relationship with God.

To truly experience oneness in marriage, we must first experience the power that comes from oneness with God.

*****This session was awesome, in the way that they shared the gospel with the 300+ people that were there. Having a relationship with Jesus was clearly explained and at the end, there was an opportunity to accept Jesus into their hearts, if they hadn't done so already.

• Experience an ongoing relationship with God.

He helps us to love other people unconditionally.

But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law. -Galatians 5:22-23

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In a nutshell, that was our morning. After the morning sessions, there was a homework assignment to do as a couple and then we had our lunch break.

We walked to the most delicious Thai place and had a great time at lunch together.

Marriage isn't easy, mothering isn't easy and life can be complicated but, I'm sure glad that God has given us tools to make our journey into a journey that blesses Him and those around us. He can take our ugly spots and turn them into something that glorifies Him.

♥ Angela

Giving the Gift of a Smile with Operation Smile

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Wed, 09 May 2012 05:46:00 +0000

Recently I learned about an amazing international children's ministry called Operation Smile. This medical charity heals children's smiles, forever changing their lives. After visiting their website, I knew I wanted to take part in spreading the word about this life changing organization. As a mommy of two little ones, seeing the pictures of these children and reading their stories, tore at my heart. When I first meet someone, I always notice their smile first. Doesn't every child deserve to have a beautiful smile?

Operation Smile helps with so much more than giving these children beautiful smiles. See, every three minutes a child is born with a cleft — often unable to eat, speak, socialize or smile. In some places these children are shunned and rejected. And in too many cases, their parents can't afford to give them the surgeries they need to live a normal life.

That's where this international charity comes in: providing much needed surgical services. Since 1982, Operation Smile — through the help of dedicated medical volunteers — has provided more than 2 million patient evaluations and over 200,000 free surgeries for children and young adults born with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities.

As one of the most prominent children’s charities in the world and with a presence in over 60 countries, Operation Smile seeks to heal children’s smiles and bring hope for a better future.

Thanks to the generosity and spirit of volunteerism shown by their supporters, thousands of children have been healed, per year. With your help, how many lives will be changed tomorrow?

Operation Smile was brought to my attention through Campusbookrentals.com, an excellent source for virtually any college textbook that you could possibly need. Instead of paying full price for a book (which I did way too often, when I was in college), why not just rent one? Campusbookrentals.com, has teamed up with Operation Smile by committing to donate over 1,000 life changing cleft lip surgeries this year to children in need. For every book rented through Campusbookrentals.com, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Operation Smile.

This Mother's Day, I'm focusing on how much I have to be thankful for and I'm going to be looking for ways that I can make a difference. Even if you aren't a mom, I'm sure you can relate and that you have blessings to count as well.

I encourage you to check out Operation Smile and see if those children tug at your heart, like they did mine.

♥ Angela

This is a sponsored post, written on behalf of Campusbookrentals.com.
Like always, these opinions are my own.

A Weekend to Remember | In Review Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Mon, 07 May 2012 21:26:00 +0000

This last weekend was an extra special treat for my husband and I. For awhile now, we've wanted to go to one of the Family Life "Weekend to Remember" conferences and finally, the timing seemed right. At the moment, we don't have any nursing babies and we are blessed to have amazing family super close that can take care of our kids. Also, I was able to find a great discount for the conference so, that made it even a little more appealing.

Even though we knew it would be an amazing time, it was still really hard for me to take the leap of faith and order our tickets. I really feel like the enemy tried to stop us from missing this amazing opportunity because the details of the trip overwhelmed me so badly that I almost wanted to skip the whole thing.

I'm so thankful that my husband encouraged us to go, that my family eagerly offered to help with the kids and that I have an amazing network of women that not only say they are going to pray for me but, they do it.

As I look back on this weekend, I can't help but smile, sometimes with little tears in my eyes (I know, how cheesy, right?). God met us there and He worked out every little detail and went above and beyond to bless us for our faithfulness in showing up.

Normally when we leave the kids with my mom, Judah cries and has a hard time. This time, he smiled and waved at us as we pulled out of the driveway. There were many, many small details (more of which I will share later), that reminded me of how God sees us step out in faith and He not only meets us there but, He goes on to exceed our expectations.

I've wondered how in the world I could possibly blog about this conference and accurately describe how wonderful it was. I feel like I would need to be a much more talented writer than I am, to even bring it justice.

What I plan to do is write a few times this week and share some of my notes, some of the verses that spoke to me and some of content inside the notebook that was given to us.

So, let me first share with you what a stay at home mommy does, that hasn't ever been away from her kids for a weekend before..........

She jumps on the bed!

And please....don't tell the hotel because, the hotel was indeed, very nice.

Yaaaaaahoooooo!!!!!!!

Friday night: Walked to the first evening session, set our books on some great seats and then left to go grab a drink of water before the session started. The greeters were super friendly, the resource tables were filled with inspiring books and love songs were playing in the background. Even though the first session had not even began, my eyes welled up with tears, and I had to go to the bathroom and tell myself to pull it together. You've been there, right? Standing in a stall, telling yourself "there is no reason to cry and it's time to stop it, right now".

The first session was about "Why Marriages Fail".
•Threat #1: Difficult Adjustments
•Threat #2: Our Culture's Pattern
•Threat #3: Inevitable Difficulties
•Threat #4: Extramarital Affairs (these can include career affairs, materialism affairs, love affairs and so on)
•Threat #5: Selfishness
~If couples are not intentionally moving towards oneness, their marriages will drift towards isolation.

Session #2-The Communication Toolbox
•Different styles of communication were explained
But now, you must put them all away; anger, wrath, malice, slander and obscene talk from your mouth. -Colossians 3:8
•How to listen well
•How to express yourself well

In addition to the notebook that they gave us, to use in following along with the speakers, we were also given a book of "projects" to do together. So, after each session, there was a project that needed to be done that related to what the session had been about.

I feel like the conference was very thorough and that anyone could benefit from it. Some couples there were just engaged, while other's had been married for over 30 years. Also, the speakers were very different so, there was something for everyone.

So, when was the last time that just you and your hubby got away? I'm so glad we did and I'll share more about our experience in the next few days.
♥Angela

Project 365{+1} April

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Last week I participated in "A Week in the Life" with Ali Edwards. While that project was fun and something that will hopefully be fun to look back on, I got a little behind with Project 365{+1}.
Of course, I took tons of photos so, that wasn't the problem. I just didn't blog them like I normally do and you all know how I hate getting behind on stuff. For me: Behind=Overwhelmed=Grumpy Momma.

So, I've come up with a new plan for how I'll be sharing my Project 365{+1}. Instead of posting the photos every Monday, I'm going to try and post them on a monthly basis instead. Yep, I know....that's going to be a lot of photos in one post and if you have slow internet, please go ahead and forgive me right now. Also, you can go ahead and skip over those posts, if you don't feel like looking at 30 or 31 of our photos.

The truth is that I love Project 365{+1}but, posting the photos every week is like, a little too much for me. So, I'm going to try this out and if I like it: Well, Great! And if not, I'll go back to doing it on a good ole' weekly basis.

Our April {In Photos with a few words}

Plum tree, ready to bloom.

The books from our library visit.

Jelly beans.

Cocoa powder that a certain 3 year old hid away in the closet and then later tried to eat. Turns out, it doesn't taste very good! Lesson learned: Never hide chocolate in your closet (unless of course you're a mommy).

While falling asleep, I remembered that I hadn't taken a photo yet for the day. Grabbed my phone and took a crappy picture of Seinfield.

Haircut for Judah.

1 year old sassy pants.

First spring time spinach.

Preschool registration.

♥ Angela

The S'mores No-Bake Cookie

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Wed, 02 May 2012 22:46:00 +0000

The other day, Judah and I decided to make up a cookie recipe together. We decided to get creative and make something that was simple, relatively quick and hopefully, super yummy. Have I mentioned how much I love cooking with him? Sure, it's more time consuming (and messy!) than doing it myself but, he cracks me up and he is so much fun. Since my husband said that these are the best no-bakes that I've made, I decided to share the recipe.

To make a S'mores No-Bake Cookie, first you want to crush up some graham crackers in a bowl (the amounts of these ingredients will be listed below).

Next, over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the milk, sugar and then the oats.

Let the oats cook until they are soft, while stirring constantly. This should just take a few minutes. Now it's time to stir in the chocolate chips and graham cracker pieces.

Take the mixture off of the heat and allow it to cool for just a minute or two and then stir in the mini-marshmallows.

Scoop onto waxed paper and immediately put into the freezer to harden.

After the cookies are nice and set, they can be stored in the refrigerator in an air-tight container.

S'mores No-Bake Cookie

1/2 stick of butter

1 cup milk

1/2 cup sugar

3 cups Rolled Oats

Approx. 8 Graham Crackers broken into small pieces

1 cup chocolate chips

2 cups mini marshmallows

Over medium heat, melt the butter. After butter is melted, stir in the milk, sugar and rolled oats. Allow to cook until the oats are soft, while stirring constantly.

Next, stir in the graham cracker pieces and chocolate chips. Take off of the heat and allow to cool for a minute before adding in the mini marshmallows.

Scoop onto waxed paper and immediately put into the freezer to harden. After cookies are nice and set, they can be stored in the refrigerator in an air-tight container.

♥Angela

Linking up here.

A Mother's Guide to Self-Renewal Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Tue, 01 May 2012 21:27:00 +0000

As a mom, taking care of yourself is not an indulgence, it’s your birthright! Every mama deserves daily nourishment and nurturing. Yes, YOU are worth it!

Today, I'm happy to share an opportunity that you won’t want to miss. Just write your favorite way that you take care of yourself in the comment section below for a chance to win a Yummy Mummy Self-Care Package from Renee Trudeau.

I’ll draw a name randomly on Mother’s Day and the winner will receive:

· A copy of the beautifully illustrated, award winning book The Mother's Guide to Self-Renewal: How to Reclaim, Rejuvenate and Re-Balance Your Life from nationally recognized life balance expert, Renee Peterson Trudeau

· A free teleclass with Renee on The Transformative Power of Self-Care (meet Renee here)

· A chance to win the Yummy Mummy Year-of-Self-Care Package

Happy early Mother's Day!

In which I visit my first Preschool classroom

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:24:00 +0000

This morning was kind of a big deal for me. It was too big of a first time mommy moment for me to not write about. I visited Judah's future preschool for the first time! I sat in one of those tiny chairs, at the tiny table and watched his (hopefully) future teacher, work with the children. Fun music played in the background and the room was decorated with hand prints, organized bins, a bug collector with all sorts of fun critters inside and many fun stations for the kids to play and learn. The teacher seemed more patient than I could be and the atmosphere was fun. I loved it.

I've heard many good things about this preschool but, I'm a skeptic by nature so, I needed to check it out myself. Walking down the brightly painted hallway to his future classroom was exciting and slightly emotional. I imagined how in just a few months, my boy will be walking down that hallway and how he'll have a spot at one of those preschool sized tables. His name will be laminated in his spot and he will have a place to hang his coat.

When I made the appointment to observe the class, I was in between sad that my first born is getting older so quickly and also excited that he's going to have this awesome opportunity to learn and build new relationships. But after today, I'm way more excited and happy, than sad about this new adventure that awaits us.

As a mom, these big moments have been something that I've thought about and anticipated but, they've always seem so far out in the future. Without noticing, they quickly they come and I realize"Oh goodness, it's happening. Those things that I've dreamed, they are NOW. Here, I am, walking into my son's future classroom."

I'm ready for this new adventure called preschool. Bring on the backpacks!
♥
Angela

A Week in the Life-Sunday's Words and Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 04:30:00 +0000

Today is the last day to keep up with "A Week in the Life". I'm glad I did this and I'm also glad that it's over and that I can go back to writing about whatever I want....or maybe take a little break from blogging. Documenting our daily life for a week has made me more aware of what I do all day. And you know what? I've realized that I clean up a lot of messes but, that's to be expected since I have an 18 month old and a 3 year old. I've also realized that I'm really thankful for the mundane daily life that I have with my family. Yes, sometimes it feels like the things that I do don't really matter and they are definitely not always fun but, I've been counting my blessings.

Us girls, all ready to go to church.

Paisley loves jewelry.

Home from church, Paisley waits at the fridge for lunch.

Sister loves peek-a-boo.

Afternoon project: Applied the first coat of paint to this bench.

After the FIRST coat. A second coat of paint will make it look way better.

Afternoon shopping at JoAnn Fabrics.

BBQ for dinner!

After dinner coloring. I love her tiny hands on Daddy's big, strong hands.

Judah and I being silly.

Paisley's bedtime books.

Judah's bedtime books.

Now I'm off to go watch my favorite show with my hubby. He's so good to watch this junk with me and have I mentioned how SAD I am that this show is almost over, like FOREVER over???? So sad!

♥
Angela