From Passys to Parties

Change in Routine

2012-02-25T13:57:00.000-08:00

We have had some fun days the last few weeks but being home consistently with both kids 24/7 can get a little mundane. I had been complaining to one of my best friends in Little Rock over the phone about how I was getting a tad tired of our same routine and really wanted a change in our norm around here. She stays at home with her two boys too so we had the grand idea to merge our boring routines together for the week and spend some time together. She packed their little family up and headed here this last Tuesday and stayed for most of the week.

I can't tell you how much fun we had. Jack and Sawyer are the same age and had the BEST time together. They played, played, played and played some more and honestly got along 98% of the time. I was so impressed by both of them. They had the cutest conversations and were rough and tough boys together all week long. It was so fun to watch them together.

Me and Amanda actually got to sit around and hold our babies and watch the wild boys play and carry on and I honestly felt like I got a little break from Sawyer because he was entertained by Jack for a few days. We went on long walks during the day, took the boys to the park and to the pond one day, we cooked dinner and went out to dinner and sat around and talked until there was nothing left to talk about. It was so good for my soul to spend time with Amanda. She is and always will be one of my dearest friends.

Cute and Wild Jack.. Love him!

Sweet Baby Davis

These four have no choice but to be best friends! They will definitely grow up together :)

OF course this one did a lot of this all week..

The future Mr. and Mrs. Kella

Aunt Manders

Enjoying the long walk

Love you more than words Amanda. So glad we decided to change up our norm and spend time together. Nothing better than sharing life with your best friends.

Sawyer in a dress??

2012-02-23T18:38:00.000-08:00

No, I did not put Sawyer in a dress....This is me when I was a little younger than him.

I have put this on here before and I have put it on facebook for my friends and family but I thought those of you who follow me on blog would appreciate this.. :)

He is my little clone in more ways than one.

He is ALOT more confident than I ever was BUT he is orderly, he is sensitive, he is a harmonizer (when he is rested), he loves people but has his limits, he gets his feelings hurt easily and he can even have his shy moments. I love seeing him turn into a little person and could not be more proud or more in love with my little mini me.

Custom Wood Letter Winner and New Giveaway!!

2012-02-22T08:45:00.000-08:00

Thanks to all who entered in the sERINa's Custom Shop giveaway! The lucky winner is Rebecca (Sam's wife).. Congrats! Email me and I'll get you contacted with Leslie who will customize a 2 foot letter for you.

On to this weeks giveaway, I am so excited to share this company who makes incredible custom frames. I have been wanting to do a family wall for years and I finally found this company on etsy and decided to use these vintage white frames for our family's pictures. I am in love with the frames and highly recommend
Art City Frames

This is a picture of the frames that I just recently hung in our hallway. LOVE THEM!

Linda with Art City Frames is graciously giving away a custom 5X7 Frame to one of my readers.

They have several different colors, styles and sizes and she is going to customize the frame to whatever you like. How fun is this?! She builds the frame ready to hang or ready to use as a table frame.

Make sure and visit their website, Artcityframes.com
their Facebook page Here and their Etsy page Here

Here is how to enter...

Must be a follower of this blog.

For additional entries (leave a comment with everything you decide to do)

1. Like Art City Frames Facebook Page

2. Follow me on twitter

3. Blog about it

4. Tweet about it

5. Facebook about it

Good luck!! (remember and make sure and leave comments for each thing you enter)

I will close comments on Wednesday morning!

Job description

2012-02-21T06:21:00.000-08:00

Don't forget to enter the custom wood letter giveaway here, ends tomorrow!

My job: Diaper changer, butt wiper, nose wiper, bodily fluid extraordinaire. I'm a lullaby singer, basketball player, football player, baby rocker, bather. I'm a discipliner, a pancake maker, a peanut butter spreader. I'm a superhero and sometimes a pirate. I am a medicine giver, a boo boo healer, a comforter. I'm a professional swaddler and passy finder. I race cars, put together trains, play catch, play chase, play airplanes, put together puzzles, I'm even a nerf gun target.

My job is the greatest job ever. Even though there are tough days, I try and not take my job description for granted. I love these babies and am realizing more and more how lucky I am to have two babies call me "mama". I know I always say this but when I look at their pictures and when I really think about it, I really do feel so undeserving. Love you Sawyer and Brooklyn.

Happy Tuesday!!

Brooklyn is 4 Months!!

2012-02-17T06:33:00.000-08:00

Another month passed... Wishing time would slow down!!! She is growing up way too fast for my liking.

I feel like a lot changed this month. She became more of her own person in our family; Awake a lot more, a lot more mobile (scary), laughing at everyone, she voiced her opinion more (sort of), she's on a real schedule now. This month I could really see her personality come to life. She's seriously such a doll baby.

Here is what Brooklyn is up to this month.

- The biggest thing that happened this month is that we found out she is allergic to dairy and probably soy. We have been in and out of the doctor this month a few times with this baby girl. She has had breathing impairment and noticeable phlegm since she was 6 weeks old and it was not going away. After three months passed I finally wanted to get to the bottom of it, so we were told to take her off dairy to see if it cleared up.. sure enough three days later she was phlegm free and her breathing has been fine ever since. After she started soy she has been struggling with a MAJOR exzema breakout from head to toe. It's so sad. She of course has been happy girl despite looking like she should be miserable. We are in the middle of trying out medicines and probably having to switch to the last resort formula that is evidently GROSS. We shall see.. Another kid with allergies. Not surprised.

- She takes 2-3 naps per day. Usually two 3 hour naps and then a cat nap sometime before after those naps. She goes to bed around 7:15 and just in the last few days has been sleeping all night.. (Thank goodness!) Not counting on it sticking since they usually have sleep disturbances the 4th month, but I have been thankful for my few nights of rest lately.

- Drinks 5-6 bottles a day and usually takes 6 ounces (sometimes less).

- Wears 3-6 month clothes but has a few things that she wears are 6-12 month. She weighs 14.3 pounds as of Monday.

- This girl is rolling everywhere. I have to put pillows on either side of her if I want her to play contently or she will immediately roll over and then not know how to get herself back to her back. She also is quite the squirmer, I put her on her changing pad on the floor the other night and came in and she had somehow gotten off of it and nudged herself under her ottoman which was a good distance from her changing pad.

- She is truly the most joyful baby. I am still in shock at how happy and easy she is. I keep waiting for her to get hard and she is still delightful and laid back. She naps great, eats great, sleeps great (for the most part) and loves to play independently. We have definitely had days where she likes to get some extra snuggles but for the most part she is content to play on her playmat or exersaucer until it's time to nap.

- She still loves her carseat and there are days when she will sleep for an entire nap in there while we are running around. Just this week I put her in there before we left so I could get Sawyer dressed, she fell asleep before we even left and then stayed asleep through 2 1/2 hours of errands. So far she is a hard sleeper and even when Sawyer is yelling right next to her or we are in and out of places she will usually stay asleep. God knew we needed that since we have a LOUD toddler boy.

We love you baby Brooklyn and so glad that you are part of our little family. I seriously can't imagine life with you. You have brought such joy to our lives already and we are continually falling more and more in love with you.

Custom Wood Letter Giveaway!!

2012-02-15T20:35:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to do this giveaway! I am a huge fan of sERINa's Custom Shop. I have added to three rooms in my house using their custom wood letters and in my opinion they totally complete the rooms.

sERINa's Custom Shop is giving away a custom 2 foot letter to one of my readers!!! They have tons of fonts and color options and they will customize a letter for whoever is the lucky winner. I am obsessed with everything Leslie creates and HIGHLY recommend stopping by her shop.

Etsy shop

Facebook Page

Check out just a few of her creations...

You want one don't ya??

Here's what you need to do to enter the chance to win..

Must be a follower of this blog.

For additional entries (leave a comment with everything you decide to do)

1. Like sERINa's Custom Shop on Facebook

2. Follow me on twitter

3. Blog about it

4. Tweet about it

5. Facebook about it

Good luck!! (remember and make sure and leave comments for each thing you enter)

I will close comments on Wednesday morning!

Yummy Monday (on Wednesday): Cream Cheese Pound Cake

2012-02-15T07:22:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you but one of my favorite desserts is pound cake. In fact, it's lethal when it's around our house because I can eat half a pound cake in a day.

I wanted to share the classic recipe I always use for pound cake. It's dense and my favorite pound cake recipe. It makes every calorie definitely worth it b/c it's so yummy.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

- 1 1/2 cups butter

- 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese

- 3 cups sugar

- 6 large egs

- 3 cups all purpose flour

- 1/8 ts salt

- 1 TB vanilla

Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an eletric mixer until cream; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until combined.

Combine flour and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10 inch Bundt pan.

Bake at 320 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for about 10 minutes and then remove from pan.

ENJOY!!! and just please don't think about the amount of butter that is in this one. ;)

Love

2012-02-14T11:37:00.000-08:00

Andrew and I don't really celebrate Valentine's day because we have always gone all out for birthdays and anniversaries, but.. I can't spend the day that everyone is talking about LOVE and not give a shout out to my husband.

I'll be honest.. we have had one of the toughest years in our marriage. Circumstantially we have gone through a lot this year that simply put has been HARD.

We have had Satan attack us in many areas, we are going through some hard stuff with family, we have had hard stuff that we have experienced in jobs and even with our kids.

But, a few things stand firm in our relationship...
We have God keeping us centered
We have perspective that marriage takes WORK and
We like eachother ALOT ;)

We fight, I am harder on him than any other person in his life, we see every flaw in each other, we don't spend enough time together, we focus on the hard sometimes more than the good, we focus on the kids way too much, we are selfish, we get complacent, we constantly fall into sin, we are HUMAN. But I am devoted to this man and he is devoted to me. We believe that God brought us together forever and we will work as hard as we can to remain centered on the truth of God. No matter how much we are fighting or how off we might get I never once doubt the love we have for eachother and I never once doubt the commitment we have made to one another. He is mine forever.

I love this verse and it always convicts me, especially in my relationship with Andrew.

Finally all of you be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil for evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, "whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it."

1 Peter 3:8-11

If only I'd live by this all the time... ;)

I love you Andrew. I don't deserve you and I thank God for the man you are and the man you are becoming. I love living life with you.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone.

Baby Lowen's Shower

2012-02-13T07:41:00.000-08:00

Mindy's shower was a quaint little party that we threw together pretty last minute and it ended up being such a fun party.

I thought it would be fun to do a pound cake bar for the shower because really, who doesn't like pound cake? We did three different types of pound cake; Regular, key lime and chocolate pound cake. We served tons of different toppings to pick from including, reeses pieces, heath bar, oreos, whip cream, ice cream, berries, peaches, hot fudge and caramel. It was all DELICIOUS!

Garland tutorial HERE

Still one of my favorite things to do in life is to arrange flowers. I am planning on doing a tutorial someday soon. My mom gave me the love for doing this.

Recipes to follow

Mason Jars wrapped with fringe and lace. The fringe reminded me of Mindy because she always wears cute moccasins.

I am so beyond excited to meet baby Lowen. I am blessed to call Mindy one of my very best friends and can first hand say that she is the best mama ever and I can't wait for her to add to her family. Love you Mindy!

Mod Podge

2012-02-12T14:29:00.000-08:00

We have had such a great weekend. It has been a great mix of fun and relaxation. We went to breakfast and Barnes and Noble as a family yesterday morning, took naps in the afternoon and then me and Andrew got to enjoy a fun night with some friends. We went to eat with the Younts and Smiths and then came back to our house to play games. It really was the best night. We actually got to enjoy church this morning. We took both kids in and Sawyer lasted an entire hour quietly in big church and Brooklyn of course did not make a peep. It was so refreshing to hear such an amazing sermon today.

Our weekend isn't even over yet.. me and Andrew are heading to get drinks and go see a play at our art center tonight. I can hardly wait! Hope you all had a good and restful weekend.

Valentine's Day Garland

2012-02-10T07:04:00.000-08:00

I threw Mindy a tiny little baby shower last night and we had such a good time. We threw it together really last minute so I didn't have a lot of time to plan but we did manage to put together a pretty fun dessert table. More to come on the table but for now I wanted to share a tutorial for this super cute valentine's day garland that we used for part of the backdrop. It would be the perfect addition to your valentine's day party or decor.

What you need:

Scrapbook Paper

Hot glue gun

Yarn or Ribbon of your choice

whole punch

Shape punches ( I used a circle punch and used my cricut to cut out the hearts)

First. Cut out the shapes (as many as you want) I did about 7 of each for my garland)

Second. Punch holes on each side of the cut out shape

Third. Thread your yarn through the holes where the thread will be shown at the back of the paper.

Like this..

Then take another shape and hot glue the back of the shape

and glue it to the back of shape that has already been threaded through. Doing this helps the shapes stay in place and it doesn't matter if it gets twisted around after they are two sided.

Pretty cute and easy right? Hope you try it out!

Happy Friday!!

Worth it

2012-02-08T17:15:00.000-08:00

These two babies are worth everything and more.. Worth the public fits, worth the lack of sleep, worth the smelly "spit up" outfit I wear everyday, worth the lack of "me"time, worth the messy house, worth the early mornings, worth the lack of a career.. Seriously, they are worth everything.

Hope you all are having a wonderful night! Got some fun stuff coming up... I have a party I'm working on and some good tutorials, Stay tuned.

Where I lay my head...

2012-02-06T20:14:00.000-08:00

I'm planning on giving you a glimpse into our home a little more over the next few weeks. I have been working on a few projects with my christmas money and I can't wait to show you some of those additions in our home.

For now I wanted to give you a glimpse into our bedroom. I had wanted to get new bedding for years now and I finally found something that I love/ I had brought three different things home before I found what I loved. Bedding is hard, but I finally got it right the fourth time around.

Here is the low down on the room..

The curtains were made by a girl off (of course) etsy.. She also made my shower curtain in the guest bath
http://www.etsy.com/shop/avecdieu

The quilt and pillows are from anthropologie

The duvet cover is from Bed Beth and Beyond

I got the pillows monogrammed at a store in Springdale, AR called, Monogram it

I got the dust ruffle made in Springdale, AR at Fabric Gallery

Lamps are from T.J. Maxx

Yummy Monday: Oatmeal Cake

2012-02-06T09:50:00.000-08:00

I swear that I had already posted this recipe but I can't find it in my database. So... I am posting one of my VERY FAVORITE DESSERTS today. I crave this cake weekly. It's super easy and always a hit. Here ya go.. You'll thank me.

Oatmeal Cake

- 1 cup quick oats

- 1 stick butter

- 1 1/2 Cup boiling water

- 1 Cup white sugar

- 1 1/2 Cup flour

- 2 eggs

- 1/2 ts salt

- 1 ts baking soda

Place quick oats, butter and boiling water in a bowl and let sit for 20 minutes. Mix and combine the oatmeal mixture with the rest of the ingredients and place in a 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

For the topping.. (while the cake bakes, mix together these ingredients)

- 1 cup brown sugar

- 6 TB butter

- 5 T cream or milk

mix together these ingredients in a skillet and bring to a slow boil over low heat about 5 minutes until it thickens. Then add

- 1/2 cup coconut

- 1 cup chopped pecans

Pour over hot cake and let stand

ENJOY!!! Happy Yummy Monday!

Top 10 things learned in my old age ;)

2012-02-02T15:48:00.000-08:00

So yesterday was my big 27th birthday.... sigh....

For some reason alot of the time I feel like I am still 18. But then I see the wrinkles that are forming on my forehead and around my eyes, I see my body that has sadly become FAR from the cheerleading body I had one day long ago, I see two kiddos that are somehow my own and I look at my husband who has been with me for almost 14 years and realize that I actually feel MUCH older than I actually am. It's crazy how fast life is moving and if I don't sit down and focus on what I have learned in this last year then another year will pass in a blur and I will lose sight of so much.

So in honor of my 27th birthday I wanted to post the top 10 things that I have learned about myself this year.

1. Pregnancy does not suit my personality. I officially become a you know what when I am pregnant and for the most part I was pregnant this entire last year. Thankfully I have a husband and a child who have forgiven me and are probably still singing "hallelujah" and praising God that I am not pregnant anymore.

2. I am really good at playing with a 2 year old boy now. I always thought I'd only know how to play with little girls (dolls, cooking, barbie, etc..) but believe it or not in the last year I have become quite the master at playing cars, trains, pirates, football, golf, basketball, etc...

3. Parties are not the most important thing to me anymore. It's crazy how much time you have with just one baby. I had all the time in the world to craft, plan and bake away. But now with a 2 year old and a baby I have put that passion on the backburner b/c I simply don't have enough time to keep my household together and work a job that doesn't make hardly any money. I know that in time I will go back to doing that as much as I can, but right now these years are too precious.

4. My God has become much bigger in my life this last year. In all the chain of events that took place this last year, He has opened my eyes to two main things.. One being I am not the one in control and two being His plans are far better than I could imagine for myself.

5. I can't live without my husband. He has been one of the main reasons I have made it through this last year somewhat sanely. He is my comic relief, my toddler savior, my hopeless romantic. He walks in the door around 6 every night and my body immediately relaxes. He knows how to rescue me when I need it, he knows how to make my days brighter, he knows how to take care of a rowdy 2 year old boy and most importantly he knows how to humbly remind me where my hope should remain when I lose sight. Even though we have had one our toughest years ever in our marriage I am more in love with him right now than I was a year ago.. He is my rock.

6. I realized this year that I don't go one day without talking to my mom. Even if I have nothing to ask her, for some reason I feel the need to call and check in every single day. Most of the time we just chat for a second but it's just part of my routine now. I think it's pretty safe to say that I still need my mama more than I like to admit sometimes.

7. I have learned that I HAVE NO CONTROL OVER MY KIDS.... With that said, I have learned more in the last year in regards to parenting. But the biggest thing and probably the most depressing thing I have learned is.... that no matter what I think my two year old SHOULD do, 9 times out of 10 he will do the OPPOSITE. Most of the time in public. Oh well, better luck next year.

8. Being a stay at home mom to two kiddos is no joke. It's hard, testing and even maddening sometimes but it's the most fulfilling job and it's right where God wants me.

9. I hate health insurance.. like seriously loathe it. Thats all I'll say about that one.

10. Between my sisters, my parents, my best friends, my community group, my husband, my kids I truly have realized more in the last year how blessed I am by the people I get to walk through life with. I love them beyond words and I cherish the people that God placed in my life. They make turning older much sweeter!

I could keep going but I'll spare you.

Another year older, another year to embrace. Can't wait to see what's in store.

My loves

2012-01-31T08:39:00.000-08:00

I don't deserve you three.

You see my worst yet you love me the most.

I want to be a better woman for all of you and I thank you for always seeing past my weakness and loving me so well.

Happy Tuesday.

A few of our favorite toys

2012-01-26T10:16:00.000-08:00

With Sawyer and I both being at home ALL the time, toys have become pretty important to me. Every mom can relate to those toys that your kids are excited about for about two seconds and then they are added to your stash of toys that are never touched again. I feel like that has happened way to often in this household. That is why I felt impelled to pass along a few of our favorite toys right now that we have actually gotten hours of playtime out of. The kicker.. a few of these toys I actually really enjoy playing with too. Since I have a toddler who isn't the best at playing independently it helps when I actually enjoy the toy too.

Wedgits

I love playing with these wedgits. You can build a million different things with wedgits. In my opinion, they are kind of like a cooler version of legos.

Design and Drill

Sawyer loves his design and drill. It comes with an electric drill that electronically drills the screws into this box.

Konstruk Tubes

This is another one I find pretty fun. I would say this toy has gotten the most attention from Sawyer. It's easy enough for a 2 year old to build and you can design all sorts of fun things with them.

Thomas the Train wooden puzzles

We are both obsessed with puzzles right now and this set comes with 4 puzzles in one box. We do these about three times a day and I actually enjoy doing them too.

Mickey Mouse Scooter

Lastly his Mickey Mouse Scooter that Santa brought. We have hardwoods throughout the entire house so we have let him ride in the house. He rides it everywhere. It's only 33$ and it has lights and sounds and seems really sturdy so far.

If you have 2-4 year old boys I hope this provided some helpful hints on some fun new toys. I would love to hear if you have any other toys that your boys love!

Happy Thursday!

Rainy Wednesday..

2012-01-25T12:14:00.000-08:00

When we woke up this morning it was dark and pouring down rain, so instead of our usual once a day outing I declared it a pajama, lazy, stay at home day. It has been perfect.

We all three laid down in my big bed to watch a movie and next thing I knew both kiddos were sound asleep on my shoulder. I would of paid mucho money to have someone take a picture of the rare scene. I did snap a few pictures from our lazy day at home. We have snuggled, painted, cooked, I watched Sawyer play on the floor with his sister for a long time.... It's been a good day :).

I hope that you all are having a lazy, perfect day too!

Real Life

2012-01-24T12:45:00.000-08:00

What does my life look like during the week? Well, Here you go..... snuggles, bottles, nerf guns, puzzles, cleaning, laundry, laundry more laundry, sleepy babies, cartoons, silliness, happy baby girls, errands, dishes, books, more cartoons, potty, diapers, more snuggles, more potty, time outs, tickles, and LOTS of Lovin!

Love my days at home with these kiddos. Love that these are the things that make up my life right now. Love that day in and day out I get to wake up to two babies who unconditionally love me no matter how much I screw up the day before. Love that I get to take care of these precious lives. Our real life might seem boring to a lot of people but believe it or not, we have a ton of fun!

Happy Tuesday from our house to yours!

Yummy Monday: Crockpot Honey Chicken

2012-01-23T11:32:00.000-08:00

This is one of our favorites right now. It's an awesome recipe that is SUPER easy and the ingredients are probably ones that you already have in your pantry. I am always looking for good crockpot recipes and this one is amazing. I know you'll enjoy this recipe!

Crockpot Honey Chicken

3/4 pound chicken (of your choice)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/8 cup chopped onion (or 1/16 cup onion flakes)

1/8 cup ketchup

1 Tbs. vegetable oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper, put into crock pot. In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 3 hours or on high 1 1/2 hours. Chicken into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce. Serve over rice or noodles.

Recipe from: mmm..Cafe

Ya'll have a good Monday!!

Howdy Partner!

2012-01-20T08:38:00.000-08:00

Rachel with Dinner Bells always does such a FABULOUS job with her parties. She always pays attention to the details that make a party special. I love it.

Rachel and her husband recently adopted the most adorable little boy, Seth and they have inspired me with their obedience to this calling. It is so neat to see the Lord work through situations like this. Here is their incredible adoption story.

Seth turned 2 a few weeks ago and they threw him a Cowboy themed party that was ADORABLE. I loved everything about it. Take a look at the precious party she put together for Seth.

How precious is Seth??

It looks like Seth loved every minute of this party. Thanks so much for letting me share your party Rachel!

For more details about this party visit Rachel's blog, Here.

What REALLY is coming first?.....

2012-01-18T12:43:00.000-08:00

I couldn't really think of a clever title like I wanted to for this post, but oh well, you'll get my point hopefully.

I was cleaning up around the house the other day and I walked by this (See picture below) and it totally represented where I am spiritually ALOT of days. (In case you don't know that is my "stuck" bible study that I'm doing right now that is underneath the gossip magazines)

I have been a believer for most of my life. I have Loved the Lord for most of my life and yet here I am.. a mother of 2 kids, wife of 6 1/2 years, a 27 year old woman who STILL chooses so many things over my God that I adore. I STILL put so many other things right on top of my bible. Why do I do this?!

This got me thinking. What if I took a picture of every single thing that I put before God over and over? What if I took a picture of the things in my life that really could be considered "Idols" and that I choose over spending time with Him. It would probably be embarassing and there would probably be way too many pictures to even count..

In Romans 1:22-23, 25, Paul says, "Although you claim to be wise, you became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles (in my life, I exchange the glory of the immortal God for material things, a clean house, more sleep, laziness, etc..). You exchanged the truth of God for a LIE, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator- who is forever praised."

Ouch.. Can you say conviction? How many times do we do this? How many times do we choose the things that are on this earth over our Heavenly Father? I choose even earthly relationships over my relationship with my Creator over and over.

So I decided I would take a picture of as many things that I could tangibly take a picture of to represent the idols in my life. The things that on my selfish days I choose before God. (obviously there are a lot more than what I document here)

I choose..

facebook, blogging, pintrest, etsy, pictures, online shopping over Him

I choose laziness and trashy t.v. over Him

I even put my kids and husband over my Creator

I put my housework and my desire to keep a "put together" house over my time with Him

I choose material possessions and shopping time and time again.

(that is a pillow on top of the Bible.. Ha! Hard to tell)
I choose to sleep in to the very last minute instead of waking up to spend quality time with Him

There you have it.. My little spiritual exercise that really helped me put my walk with the Lord in perspective. It's now documented in pictures and on my blog so I can't hide from the real truth ;). I am human, I mess up ALL the time, I give in to my selfish flesh time and time again.

The good news.. I have a God that is bigger than all of this and He loves me no matter what. He always welcomes me back with open arms every time I screw up and don't pick Him first. He is a good and gracious God. Like Paul says, "what a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God-Through Jesus Christ our Lord!" Romans 7:24

For those of you who know the same God I do, I hope you found this post relatable and I encourage you to do the same exercise. It really helped me put things in perspective and get my priorities straightened out.

3 Months!

2012-01-17T11:42:00.000-08:00

Another month has passed and we are in disbelief at how fast life is moving. In my opinion things start getting really fun after 3 months, so I'm looking forward to the changes we are going to see in these next few months. She is growing into such a fun baby girl. Here is a what little B is up to these days..

- She is still HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY. She smiles at whoever will look at her and she has started giggling a ton. It's adorable.

- She still sleeps a ton but is starting to be awake more and more. I have been putting her down around 7:30 in the evening and she sleeps until about 4:00 in the morning, eats, and then sleeps until 8:00. Some mornings she wakes up earlier. I am deciding on whether or not to let her cry out that feeding at 4:00 so she might start sleeping straight through the night but I still think there is a good chance she really is hungry after that 8 hour stretch. Any opinions?? She has about 1 hour wake times before she falls back asleep for naps.

- She eats 5 ounce bottles every 3-4 hours. Some days she has 6 bottles and on hungrier days she'll have 7.

- She is rolling from back to front like a champ. She actually enjoys tummy time which is new to me. Sawyer never liked tummy time which is why it took him forever to crawl. I have a feeling she is going to be early on everything. I left her in her room the other day for thirty minutes on her playmat and she somehow turned herself all the way around. I think she is going to be a mover.

-She has started grabbing on to her toys and actually trying to play with them.

- She is turning into a TALL baby girl. She is already in 6 month clothes because of her length. She still wears all of her 3-6 month stuff but most of it is too short. Who knows maybe she didn't get the Stowers curse with shortness. At her 2 month appointment she was 97th percentile for length and 60th for weight and 5th for head circumference. She does have the tiniest little head. She still wears all of her newborn headbands.

She is a joy and we are truly enjoying every second with this girl. Happy 3 Months baby girl! We love you!

Weekend in Pictures

2012-01-16T12:55:00.000-08:00

Besides the fact that we were CONSTANTLY talking about poopy in the potty and tee tee in the potty we actually ended up having a fun family weekend. Andrew and I had a date night and enjoyed a yummy quiet meal alone, I got to run errands all day by myself on Saturday while Andrew kept the kids and then Saturday night we went to the Razorback game with both kids. Sawyer LOVED it and it was fun to do something different.

Precious boys, love this picture of them

She stayed awake way past her bed time and quietly enjoyed the entire game.

Getting a Razorback painted for the big game

Someone LOVES her daddy

And one more just because she is cute.

Yummy Monday: Easy Pork Tenderloin

2012-01-16T06:56:00.000-08:00

Today's recipe is one of those that when you see the recipe you may think "Gross" but when it all comes together and the pork is complete you will care less about what went in it.

I am one of those who HATES mayonnaise! I hate the smell of it, the texture of it and most of all the taste of it. The mayonnaise in this recipe creates the juiciest pork and it creates a crust on the outside of the pork that is delicious. I guarantee you will have no idea that it was mayonnaise you used once this is cooked. Give this a try and I promise you won't be disappointed. It's an easy, easy, easy recipe!

1 2-3 lb pork loin (or pork loin roast)
1/4 cup mayonnaise (you want the real deal – no light mayo or miracle whip for this!)
Cavendar’s Greek Seasoning (if you want to control the amount of salt they offer a salt-free version as well), about 1/4 cup

Preheat your oven to 450. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick spray. Place the loin in the middle of the sheet and rub all sides with mayonnaise. Wash your hands very well and then sprinkle all sides of the loin liberally with the Greek seasoning. Once the oven hits 450 place the pork loin on the middle rack and shut the door – it has to STAY SHUT for the next 90 minutes! Roast at 450 for 45 minutes, then turn the oven off, making sure to leave the door shut – don’t check on it, and leave it in the hot oven for another 45 minutes.

Hope you enjoy this one! Happy Monday!