eat drink & decorate

20.52

2013-05-18T07:42:00.000-07:00

"My personal goals are to be happy, healthy and to be surrounded by loved ones."

Kiana Tom

Mother's Day 2013

2013-05-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across this blog and found a post about Mother's Day. As you may recall, I've struggled with Mother's Day for a while now, but these words were powerful. And good. And true. They tell about a loving God that knows exactly what we need when we need it. I love that God. I hope wherever you are in your life, you are able to go to God's House with your burdens and lay them down. Happy Mother's Day!!

God's House by Mary Martin Wiens

Whether we are women or men, whether we mother children or mother in other ways, Mother’s Day is one of those days that can highlight our needs. You may come to this day with the need to remember. To forget. To be remembered. To be honored. To be comforted. To be forgiven. To be given hope. To be given an “A.” I am more convinced than ever that we are to take our needs and run to our Home. Our Home is within the One who made us and loves us and in that place we are tenderly, intimately cared for like the best of parents would care for a child, but oh so much better. So, I want you to imagine with me that in the MIDST a long journey (perhaps the long journey of parenting, of infertility, of grieving, whatever the long journey of your life is right now) you suddenly arrive at the place where the heart of God dwells. And God, like a Mother—but the kind of mother God would be—meets you at the door with a look of unabashed welcome and invites you in. What might that be like?

When you come to the house of God
With the mud of trying dripping from your sleeves
Covered in cruelties
Your own and others Obscured by false agreements
She cleans your clothes, shakes them out and hangs them up to dry
And you she washes, washes, washes
Like water lapping on rock saying
Let me get that off of you and
There you are and Now do you remember?

So let us run to the house of God

When you come wounded to house of God
She builds a circle around you
She stands guard and houses your pain
She holds your weeping head in her lap and
Whispers, I know Gently, methodically she tends each hurt saying
All is well You will be well
At all times I work to make all things well

So let us run to the house of God

When you come undone in the house of God
She gathers you up She remembers who you are
She breathes vitality back into you saying
Here. Here is your body
Here again are your hands, are your feet, is your mouth
Here is your mind Here is your spirit
Here I am Here you are

So let us run to the house of God

When you are hungry in the house of God
She sets out to nourish you entirely
She satisfies and delights your whole being
She heartens you with substance saying
Take your time Listen to me I have all you need
It is free. Free. Free.

So let us run to the house of God

When you are naked in the house of God
When you stand exposed by the limits of being human
What you can’t make happen
What you can’t stop from happening
What you can’t know

She covers you
She sees you and She clothes you saying
Here is safety
Here is grace
I know how you are made I call you good. Good. Good.

So let us run to the house of God

And, When the time is right in the house of God
She does a dance; She opens wide the doors
She presents you to the world saying
Here is my Beloved with whom I am pleased So pleased So very pleased

19.52

2013-05-11T07:09:00.000-07:00

"I remember my mother's prayers and they have followed me. I have clung to them all my life."

Abraham Lincoln

18.52

2013-05-04T05:52:00.001-07:00

Rubber ducky you're the one. You make bath time lots of fun. Rubber ducky I love you!
- Ernie

5 months old

2013-04-30T06:21:00.000-07:00

It’s been a fun month with baby Isaac. We have been sleep training for a little over a month now. And boy it’s been hard!! I *hope* we are over the hurdle now (and writing this out doesn’t jinx us!)

We’ve started solids and he enjoying food; some more than others. Spinach wasn’t his favorite but still ate it (I know not surprised, huh!?!?) We’ve also tried carrots, butternut squash, avocados and sweet potatoes. And he LOVES sweet potatoes. It’s so fun to watch him eat!

Some firsts from this month: Spent the whole day with Grandmom, met our new friend Jude, trying all kinds of new veggies, attended a wedding, soccer game and a dance recital! So much fun!

17.52

2013-04-29T17:33:00.001-07:00

We went to our first soccer game this weekend. Ellie did a great job on the field and we had a good time on the sidelines. It’s always a good time when sweet Emily is around. She loves Isaac so much and wants to hold him as often as possible.

16.52

2013-04-21T06:35:00.000-07:00

We went to a sweet wedding this weekend, Isaac's first. So it was a great opportunity to take a family photo!

"When you realize you want to spend the rest of you life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."

Harry Burns - When Harry Met Sally

15.52

2013-04-13T16:19:00.001-07:00

There was never a child so lovely but his mother was glad to get him asleep.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

14.52

2013-04-06T16:57:00.001-07:00

We are so thankful for the warm day we had today! It was great to get outside and enjoy our swing. It looks like Spring *may* have arrived?!?! Hoping the warm temps stay around without going straight to summer.

Spring is nature’s way of saying, “Let’s Party!”
- Robin William

13.52

2013-03-30T04:21:00.000-07:00

Isaac got to meet the Easter bunny this week at daycare. We have been so happy with our experience at our daycare. They are such sweet, caring people and we can tell they love Isaac. At their Easter party this week, the Easter bunny made an appearance along with some real bunnies. They do such a great job with holidays!

I also wanted to share this:

Happy Easter friends.

12.52

2013-03-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

4 month check-up

13 lbs 5 oz

24.25" long

{growing baby boy}

4 months old

2013-03-25T18:04:00.000-07:00

Check out this super cute little boober…. I just can’t get enough!

Isaac is such a sweet happy baby. Of course he has a day here or there where he’s fussy but overall he is so fun to be around. I love his sweet smile and it makes so happy with he tilts his head back with laughter. It’s so precious!

We’ve had a couple firsts this month:

Rolling over • Easter egg hunt • Swinging on the swing set • Eating cereal with a spoon • first vegetable: Spinach

Outtakes from this month’s session:

11.52

2013-03-18T18:45:00.001-07:00

I’m a little late in getting this week’s picture up. We had a crazy busy weekend but the joy of it was we got to seeing lots of friends and family. I wanted to share a moment with Grandmom and Isaac. Love it!

“My grandmother always taught me if you don’t have home, family and church, you don’t have anything.” Jennifer Hudson

10/52

2013-03-11T06:20:00.001-07:00

"Adam and Eve had many advantages, but the principle one was they skipped teething."

- Mark Twain

**Yes we have our first tooth peaking through!!?!?!**

9/52

2013-03-03T12:59:00.001-08:00

A day without laughter is a day wasted.

Charlie Chaplin

Asian slaw

2013-02-27T08:30:00.000-08:00

We had a great visit in Charleston a few weekends ago. And as you may remember, we love to cool when we visit my brother and his family.

This time we were enjoying ribs on the Green Egg and we tried a new slaw recipe that turned out super yummy! There's a good bit of chopping / knife work but totally worth it!

Asian Slaw
from Epicurious.com

6 tablespoons rice vinegar
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic

5 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
2 large red or yellow bell peppers, cut into matchstick-size strips
2 medium carrots, peeled, cut into matchstick-size strips
8 large green onions, cut into matchstick-size strips
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Whisk first 7 ingredients in small bowl to blend. (Dressing can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before continuing.)

Combine remaining ingredients in large bowl. Add dressing and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

3 months

2013-02-23T17:58:00.001-08:00

We’ve had a really good month. Every day gets more fun and Isaac’s personality is starting to come out. I went back to work and Isaac has started daycare. We are adjusting. I had so many people praying for me and supporting me on my first day back. So thank you! I even got 3 flower deliveries!! Some of the prettiest flowers I have ever received!

Little man has been doing well. I think he’s still figuring out his sleeping schedule with the addition of daycare. He isn’t napping as much as I think he needs, but we’ll get there. Some of the news things he is doing this month:

Recognizing Mom and Dad
Starting to giggle
Likes baths
”talking” a lot more – actually chatting back and forth with coo’s
Follows you with his eyes when you leave the room
Making our hearts melt!

And of course some out takes:

8/52

2013-02-17T09:00:00.000-08:00

My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me. Jim Valvano

7/52

2013-02-16T09:17:00.000-08:00

I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him.
1 Samuel 1:27

Baby Must Haves

2013-02-12T09:31:00.000-08:00

I really enjoyed reading other blog posts about what items Mommies could not live without, so I thought I would put my two cents in as well. We are inching toward the 3 month mark so that’s as far as my knowledge extends.

So in no particular order here they are:

Motorola Digital Baby Monitor

Love this thing! There are nicer versions of the video monitor out there but this one does what you need. Good picture – good reception. The screen portion is rechargeable so you can leave it plugged in at night but unplug to take with you as well. The battery life is good.

Summer Swaddle Me Blanket

We have had such good luck with swaddling. I know for some babies it works great and not so much for others. Isaac flails his arms when he asleep so when he isn’t swaddled he wakes himself up. I can’t say he loves the swaddle at first but a little rocking and swaying and kid is OUT. AKA music to parent’s ears! We started with some smalls and went out purchased the medium when he out grew the first ones. Take note: do not put these in the dryer. They shrink!!

Fisher Price Swing

Isaac loves to swing. And swinging = good napping and mama love that! We got ours at a church consignment sale for a fraction of the price of a new one. So the $35 we spent was totally worth it! I can’t say the same for the little vibrating seat we got (also at the consignment sale). It doesn’t move enough for Isaac’s taste – a little too boring for him. But the $15 I spent on it wasn’t a huge loss.

Munckin Drying Rack

This bessie gets used A LOT. So far we are mostly hand washing the bottles because Little Bit goes through them like hot cakes and we don’t run the dishwasher often enough. I like the ease of this drying set along with it not taking up too much counter space.

Sound Machine

I had been looking online for a sound machine but couldn’t find one that I liked. So a week or so before Isaac was due, Julie and I headed to the Nester’s yard sale up in Huntersville. (btw – the place was a mad house! But we did find some fun items!) While in the LONG line to check out I happen to see this sound machine sitting there for $2.00. I snatched it up and knew if it didn’t work perfectly or wasn’t the correct kind of sounds I wasn’t in the whole too bad. Little did I know that this would be one of the best things we had for Isaac. The “night train” setting sounds just like the womb sound. Best $2 spent EVAH!!

Rocker

Isaac loves to be rocked and when you combine that with his sound machine it’s a unbeatable combination to get that baby sleeping. This was my Aunt’s chair that we had recovered and we love having it in the nursery. The fabric was a gift from a friend + a free hand me down chair = a really good deal. We only had to pay for the re-upholstery and Sugar Hill Upholstery did that. They do a great job!

Here’s a before of the chair:

Love the way it turned out!

I had the upholsterer straighten up the lines on the back cushion and leave off the buttons. I updated the chair very nicely! I love the idea of rocker that doesn’t slowly move across the room and it doesn’t look like a typical glider.

I know things will change as he gets older but so far these items have made our life easier. What items are on your must haves? Anything I’m missing that I should have?

6/52

2013-02-09T12:24:00.000-08:00

The children have been a wonderful gift to me, and I’m thankful to have once again seen our world through their eyes. They restore my faith in the family’s future.

Jackie Kennedy

5/52

2013-02-02T13:50:00.000-08:00

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new. ~Rajneesh

Weeks 9 & 10

2013-02-01T13:43:00.001-08:00

The weeks are passing by quickly… only 2 weeks left till I am back at work and Isaac is at daycare. If you see me in a puddle around then just walk on by. I read something this week about how time passes during this phase… the days are long but the years are short. Makes perfect sense to me!

Oh.me.goodness.

4/52

2013-01-26T16:57:00.001-08:00

A happy family is but an earlier heaven.
George Bernard Shaw

quote from here

Welcome

2013-01-24T13:35:00.000-08:00

I’ve been wanting to use vinyl lettering on my front door for a while now. I just love the way it looks! So when I found a great deal on Etsy in Bwordy’s shop I decided it was meant to be!

Installation was super simple…

1. Align stencil

2. Attach with painters tape

3. Peel off backing

4. Use flat object to help vinyl adhere. I used a pastry scraper.

5. Peel off top layer. And voila!