| New Year // New Ideas |

Happy New Year!  

It's over a week into the New Year and the dust from the holiday's isn't quite settled yet.  However we are moving swiftly into 2015 with hope and joy of what it will bring. 

* * *

In the midst of the dust and trying to put away the things of the past and tidy up for 2015 I find myself dealing with all the beautiful cards we received over the Christmas season.  

SO much love and care is put into those cards that it's a shame to get rid of them!  So I'm sharing with you a new idea {which I don't remember where I saw it but it wasn't my own} for those beautiful cards. 

First I always post all the photo cards onto a door in our home {usually the basement door as everyone frequents past it} and then from there I move them to a post board in our mud room, somewhere that's tucked away but close enough so we see them on a daily basis and remember to pray for those near and far that we may not see often --- I love seeing them but I heard this new idea and thought it was BRILLIANT!!! 

Here's the most brilliant idea: 

- With your smart phone {mine is an iphone 4s} take a photo of the card {mainly the photo on the card}

- Go through your contacts to "edit" and you'll see a spot for a photo, click on that and it will give you an option to choose existing photo.  

- Simply choose the contacts photo, crop it to the size desired and save...see told ya, BRILLIANT! 

Every time you text or call your contact you see their lovely photo!  So simple and so fun!

I took some time with a latte and spa music playing on the tv and did it with all my photo cards this afternoon.  Took me all of 1 hour to take photos {doing this in daylight is best}, upload them to each contact then deleting each photo off my phone as it would just take up memory I don't have :-) 

Hope you've had a great first ten days of 2015 and praying this year is better than the last! 

XoXo

| Project Life |

I have made a resolution to not make a resolution this year -- weird, I know.  But my theory behind it is that I always fail at my resolutions..I can't remember anytime that they have ever taken root and actually happened.

Example: Last year I made a resolution to document our years {with kids} into multiple albums I have owned for 7 years {I bought them with this plan in mind}, I have moved these albums through three houses and two renovations and they are still empty.

So in my quest to not resolute my resolutions, I'm going to complete {and admit my failure from last year & 5 other years! LOL} I'm going to take a good kick at the can and document our lives.

This isn't going to be costly, I already have the page protectors, plenty of papers, the albums & anything that I may need to produce these 6 albums.

I have seen "project life" albums {that's the brand name for this specific way of documenting aka: scrapbooking} I LOVE the way they look...but..I don't want to invest in papers, pockets, washi tape if I'm not 100% committed to it.

I have also seen friends who just print off a few photos every month and keep them in an envelope and on New Years day they do up a two page spread of their whole year.  I LOVE this idea too...and initially I thought I could do this...

Yeah RIGHT!!!  What was I thinking!?!  I take blinking photos of everything! I enjoy documenting our lives through photos, my boys {all three} LOVE to look through albums and re-live our adventures. I adore digital life, but truly my heart belongs to paper...list writing, journal keeping, photo albums, worn pages of my favorite books...there is just something about holding it in your hands.

So this is what I've done thus far; I've organized the year in photos..hokey stink that's A LOT of work!  I had over 10,000 photos from 2013 alone.  Ridiculous!

But I did it and now I'm compiling them onto 12x12 sheets to be printed. I will add some journal details on scrap paper once I get them back from the printers.  

 So here, since I've sucked at keeping up on my blog for the past year I will just post my project life pages here...Here is our trip to Hawaii in three pages:

| Expectations // Mother's Day 2013 |

  I have seen many people’s posts on social media about Mother’s Day and what it means to them.

I have seen disappointment, contentment, excitement…the list goes on to express the feelings everyone feels on Mother’s Day.

It’s bittersweet in many ways; if you’ve lost a Mom, if you have been adopted and don’t know your “birth Mom”, if you had to give a child up, if you can’t have children and long for it so much or if you’re a Mom and you’re feeling underwhelmed at the attention paid to you on this specific day…it’s just kinda a crap shoot.

Yes of course there are the warm fuzzies that come with being a Mom on Mother’s Day, the home-made necklaces and cards, the extra cuddles but through it all the bum still needs to be wiped, the children still need to be nurtured and reprimanded, the dishes and laundry still need to be loaded and unloaded and as a Mom those chores are what we do.  We are MOM “Masters of Mayhem!”

 

{Good morning Mama!  Happy Mother's Day!}

The expectation: We expect that on Mother’s Day we are going to not have to do anything but what we need to do for ourselves…This is a lie from the pit!  How the heck do you think our husbands are going to do all of what we do when they normally don’t do much of it!?!?!  We have brought our expectation to lofty heights and in the meantime made our husbands feel like they aren’t good enough and there is no way they can actually reach our unspoken expectations. 

 {My boys}

I don’t know if your husband is the same as mine but mine wants to make me feel like I’m worth the world, but frankly it’s going to be done through his eyes not mine.  This means I’m still going to get the children washed and dressed as well as myself on Sunday morning, even though it’s Mother’s Day…that’s my job; it’s what I do. 

 {Snip-its from my day /Mom & I at brunch/Mr. L with our new fire pit/meeting Miss. Carmen VanD at brunch/Coley in waffle heaven/my boys/rise 'n shine/playing in the rain/getting ready/JJ at brunch}

Mr. L tries very very very hard to make my Mother’s Day feel enjoyable and lovely.  And frankly he does a great job!  But the reason I think he does a great job and feels equally gratified is because I don’t pin him to a wall and say “now listen Mr. I’m the queen of this hive and you better make sure the drones are in your care tomorrow cause I’m taking off my Mom hat and just wearing the queen hat for the W H O L E day!”. Nope I don’t and by being fairly passive {although I do drop gift hints // not that it matters, he usually has a plan already made up in his mind} about what I expect, it makes my day that much better!

{On our way to church}  

There are surprises and little joys that make me feel loved and adored.  That’s really all that matters.

 

I still dress the kids, discipline the kids, rock the kids, wash the dishes, wipe up the floor, do the garbage, make the bed, organize book bags for school, make lunches…all that is why I am Mom, so why would I expect him to do all that when that’s the role I play in our home?

Yesterday morning at church our Pastor challenged the husbands to pray over their wives and to edify us in the role we play in the home.  Such a great word and amazing things will come out of a husband praying over his wife.  I’m thankful that I had both my little munchy boys and my Mr. pray over me last night.  Truly blessed.

 {in between it all I had made a mess of milk in the garage that my Mr. was cleaning up and we had found a leak in our car...see not perfect but keeping it in perspective!}

 

 {Time to veg out with my book, HGTV and an ice coffee was perfection especially since the boys were sleeping}

I always say it’s a matter of perspective.  My day wasn’t outstandingly amazing and awesome.  It was lovely.  It was nice. It was taking in all that has made me a Mom and who I am.  It was resetting myself on what I do and why I do it.  My perspective enhances the tone of my home and I want that tone to be beautiful and light.  So my response to everything that happens {or doesn’t happen} on Mother’s Day is with that thought in mind. 

 

 {The boys took me shopping to Chapters, they actually just wanted to play on the train table so I wandered around and did some shopping myself!}

I hope all of you had a wonderful day being celebrated and if you didn’t “feel it” this year, just wait…maybe next year your perspective will be different and you too will feel cherished and loved {with or without all the pretences and perfection}.

 

{this was the best shot we could get of me and the boys! Oy Vey!}

 And here we are again, I'm standing at my sink ready to do the dishes again.  But choosing joy when doing it cause one day they will be grown up and gone and I won't have any dirty dishes to clean! 

Much love and happy Monday Lovelies! 

{XoXo}

| Chaos |

This is what my kitchen looks like after school {post tornado children!} I know it doesn't look like chaos but to me in the rush of homecoming, homework, reading & dinner prep it feels terribly out of control! 

 Just in case you can't see what I'm talking about here is a run down of what I see/feel in this photo: 

1. Bags yet to be unpacked from school

2. Dishes to be put away 

3. Middle of deep cleaning the stove top 

4. Chicken that has to miraculously be made into dinner

5. My semi-warm semi-cold coffee 

6. Laundry in mid fold

7. My clothes that have yet to make it to my room

8. Laundry basket filled with hangers & clothes that need fixing {my children walk on their knees dontchaknow!}

  I know it could be much worse, but in my mind & the way it makes me feel is that it's chaos!

I don't know why I'm sharing this, my home is to be lived in and is a working home I just want to be real with all of you lovely ones...it's not always the photo of perfection, there are things that make me feel like a rotten housewife and mama.  But that condemnation doesn't come from the Lord! 

So I'm thankful for time to get everything re-set and the endurance to sort/fold/clean/organize all of my nagging jobs that as a "home executive" get pushed onto my plate. 

I've been watching bits and pieces of American Idol this season and I watched Angela Miller's performance the other night and it brought me to tears {hope the link works!} It just reminds me that I'm not alone in this race we call life and that He gives me courage, strengthens me and gives me a life set apart...isn't that a great reminder!?!?!

: Here are the lyrics :

You find me here alone
I hear a voice that’s so unknown  
It strikes courage up my backbone  
Strengthen my heart  
A life set apart  
I see that’s what you are  
You come, you come with open arms  
And you say “I love you for who you are”  
When I was haunted and alone  
With this baggage on my back dragging me down  
You set me free  
You set me free  
You set me free

Here's to a great weekend ahead and getting lots of time in as a family! 

{XoXo}

: Love Day 2013 :

 

I can't believe how fast these past few weeks have gone!  We start off the week full and as the week goes on nights & days fill up and boom!  It's Thursday and we're almost done another week! 

Well last week we celebrated Thursday in a special way because it was "Love Day" :: Here are my two littlest love bugs just before school

 DECOR : Love day style 

The boys had a few rough days at school through the first weeks of February, so we were not even sure if they were going to get a "Love Day Feast" {as we call it} unless they got their butts in gear at school.  So two nights before love day I brought out a few decor items as their behavior had changed and they deserved Love Day Feast. 

:: Our kitchen chalkboard ::

:: Computer Nook ::
 

:: Counter top details ::

 

 : I spent a few hours making these little lolli pops I had seen on Pinterest.  We gave these away to Cole's class and I made sugar cookies {I have an awesome recipe from my Aunti Pam} for JJ's class, no photo of the sugar cookies as it was well into the night on the 13th when I finally finished them! :

 
 

: Love Day Feast :

On Valentines day we do a meal that we call a "Love Day Feast of Roast Beast" :: We have a full roast beef dinner with all the trimmings, this year I made a strawberry {because it's pink of course!} cake with cream cheese icing as our dessert.

: Here's the table all decorated :

 : Our cake on the table :

: I picked up three balloons for the boys and to use as centerpieces, since I had the polka dot wrapping paper {thanks Ikea!} left over from Christmas it really looked quite coordinated without me putting too much effort into it! :

 : Jacob's place setting :

 : My Mr. came home with a growers bunch {20 stems} of white casablanca lillies.  He had thrown me off the night before saying that roses were the true love flower especially red roses, I however disagree in a major way and don't LOVE roses and especially RED ones, white yes...but not RED! So he did good with the growers bunch and he also got them at cost so that also made me VERY happy ;-) :

 That's it for today, I hope you all had a wonderful LOVE DAY and if this one wasn't that great I pray that next year you can celebrate LOVE in a special way.  We have had our share of not so lovely "Love Days" and I truly consider myself blessed to be able to celebrate our love as a family. 

{XoXo}

: Fathers Day 2012 :

This week has been such a blur...between end of the year celebrations {2 for each child} plus fathers day on Sunday then my nephews dedication as well.  Oy vey, what a week!  

But let's just chat about fathers day :: We usually do our fathers day celebrations with Paul on Saturday as both our dad's are celebrated on Sunday.  But this year I have been fighting a raging cold and when I woke up on Saturday it was a full blown cold.  Plus there was something happening with Paul's family so he had to go off for the better portion of the day and so we didn't get to celebrate on Saturday. 

 

So Sunday morning I woke up at the crack of dawn and made a nice little home made breaky for my man, my baby daddy ;)

French toast was on the menu

 With a nice side of fresh strawberries & cream

 

Yummo :: Poor Mr. L was a little shocked by the early wake up as Sunday mornings we easily sleep in till 8 am and by all wonders and miracles end up at church on time at 9am.  So a 7am breaky came really early to our bleary eyed faja. 

 Mr. L & the boys...they gave him a new car magazine and a new O'neil t-shirt, I got him a pair of golf shoes he had ooogled over at Costco a while ago, however they were a half size too small, but thankfully he found his size in another Costco.

Mr. L :: I'm so thankful that God arranged for us to be together and for you to be the father and daddy to our boys, we cherish and love the man that you are.  No need to shout it from the roof tops for it's evident by your provision and dedication to our family that you love us eternally.  

*** 

And to my Daddy, thanks for always being there to celebrate the small and the big milestones, for knowing that I can trust you and for being an excellent example of what I should look for in a man.  God blessed me when he gave me a Dad like you.  Love you always & forever! 

 I'll be back posting on all of our end of the year celebrations this weekend.  The forecast is calling for rain and thus we'll be hunkering down and getting cozy, happy summer ;) 

{XoXo}

: Jacob's 6th Birthday :

Back in the first week of June we celebrated Jacob's 6th Birthday.  It was a flight party and we were ready for take off!  I am anti-character parties {at least for my kids} I don't mind if they do basic parties with themes, for example: trains {we're pro @ doing train birthdays}, teddy bears, ducks etc.  but not specific characters like Thomas etc. So this flight party was right up my alley!  

{Warning!  Photo overload!}

Here's the invite to all of his guests

The  front entrance with his current photo along with his treats for each guest

Here are all his friends from his "kids" party :: this afternoon was slightly crazy and I was zapped from all the party prep, kids, food, cakes :: But it was all worth it, JJ came home from school and wouldn't stop squealing about how great everything looked, he noticed every little detail which makes it all worth it!

 

 Random details from the parties {same set up for both the kids party and family party

 My boy got two cakes {lucky bum!} but unfortunately with all the mayhem of the kids party I neglected to get a photo with my nikon, so here is his second cake from the family party

 Here is Jacob with Grammie & GG {great grandma}

 Daddy & Uncle Jamie doing kitchen work {can't mess with the chef!}

 Grandpa & Papa chilling on the deck :: Thank the Lord for a sunny afternoon!

 Birthday boy in front of the original birthday sign, hoping it lasts through all their growing up years...this is a tradition in our home!

 Opening gifts with Daddy

We got JJ his first baseball glove and ball, he's very excited to start to use it or learn to use it ;)

 Couldn't resist posting this shot of cousin Jack, he was so excited that the sweets were out and cotton candy eating could commence!

 Our family :: Jacob wasn't too sure of the whole sparklers vs. candles on the cake...he tried to be brave but r e a l l y hates fire - ha ha!

And last but not least the thank you's to all the guests for coming to his party

Such a great time of celebration for a beautiful little being that we get to share our lives with! 

***

On the morning of his birthday I posted this on Instagram the first photo of him and the most current photo on our bed opening presents on the morning of his actual day

Happy Birthday JJ -- We love you a bushel and a peck! 

{XoXo}