Bracelet

I have been wearing my Kony bracelet everyday since the day I got it. I often think of the children that had there lives stolen from them because of Joesph Kony. They were innocent children forced into slavery and made into killing machines. After my trip to Uganda I forever feel like a piece of my heart will always be there and I want to honor the children that never got the chance to be children. 

The string on my bracelet  was starting to shred.  

  I asked Julia to make us friendship bracelets.

 here's the step by step process:

1. you need something heavy to  hold one side of the  4 strings in place. ( Julia sandwiched them in-between the glass and the table base, I used a book)

 2. Separate one to the left two in the middle and one to the right.

 3.take the string on the left and cross it over the middle 2.

 4. the 4th string then is cross over the first string

 5. take the last string and loop it threw the back and into the hole on the left.
6. pull the left and right all  the way to the top.

 7.repeat
8.half way I added my Kony charm
9. keep knotting until desired length.

 All done

Martha Stewart magazine worthy

For my birthday my husband made me some M&M cookies.

The girls wanted to help Belle kept making this look and saying "PLEASE...."

 She knows her daddy can not resist that look. he gives in every time and tried to sneak her a raw cookie

 But Julia saw and she wasn't happy

 I asked her to please be happy on my birthday. she gave me this really fake smile.

It is not a fancy cake or Martha Stewart magazine worthy but  it was definitely made with a lot of love. 

That makes it the best present my girls could give me.

My husband is taking me out this weekend to celebrate my birthday. so excited!

2 months

recently a blogger daddy has gotten into hot water for saying his five year old is his favorite child.

normally I feel like people overreact to things but this one I can KIND OF relate to.

 I absolutely love all three of my daughters and although I don't have a favorite I do have an easy child,

granted she is only 2 months old and can't talk back or roll her eyes at me...yet.

I already feel like her personality is much less extreme than her sisters. 

 she sleeps almost all the time

she hardly cries just whimpers a bit,

well except when mommy is torturing her with picture time :)

 She loves to be held just like this close to my heart.

 it helps relax me too baby girl.

 

I saw this picture idea of a nursing mom bare chested in the woods feeding her baby. I don't have woods and we have neighbors all around us so I didn't bare chest it but I wanted something like that picture. 

Like I said I don't have a favorite

my girls all have wonderful qualities about them and they even have some that I don't care for, like the ability to conveniently forget to pick up dirty clothes.

 or have serious issues with thinking it's ok to lick people like a dog

 I love that their personalities, although much different, they still fit perfectly together.

It's crazy to think that Stella has only been with us for two months. she is so much apart of us and our family puzzle would not work without her.

 Happy 2 months Lil Stella bug

a true love story

First came love

Then came marriage

 AND GUESS WHAT'S NEXT!

 That's right! I am so excited to tell you that my dear friends Ashley, Travis and Lucas are excpecting a little one on Valentine's day!

We got together the other night to hang out at the park and take a few new pictures of Mr. Lucas for his 3rd birthday.

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY

Today is my birthday! I am the big 26! 

I decided since I honestly feel like I have everything I could possible want I will save you the money from buying me presents. instead all I would like is if you click here and visit the Cove alliance blog where I did a little guest posting!

Thanks bunches.

Pumpkin Waffles

 I found this in a magazine over a year ago:

 I kept it this whole time waiting for pumpkin season to come and I could try it out. it just sounded SOOO darn stinkin good!

here is the recipe

I haven't used my waffle iron in a LONG time:

Too much batter = Big mess!

 I never really figured out the proper amount of batter so none of them came out perfect circles but I think you have gotten to know me by now and NOTHING I do is perfect!

It tasted way better than I could have imagined!

Julia kept asking for more and Belle was so busy eating she didn't say a word at the dinner table. Brian even woke up this morning still complementing me about how good it was!

Stella wasn't able to enjoy any but I am sure this is going to be a recipe I will bring back for her  when she is able to eat waffles.

We love having breakfast for dinner!

Welcoming Fall....sort of

I am not a super fan of Fall and for one reason only, COLD!!!

I am probably one of the only people in the world that absolutly LOVES it when I get into a car that has been sitting in the sun all day long. 

to me that's cozy.

 not sitting in the house wearing layers of clothes and piles of blankets on top and still have goosebumps all over.

 seriously if it's anything less than 80 degrees outside I am freezing! I would much rather wear sundresses than sweatshirts any day!

 but no matter how much I hate it, Fall still somehow comes every year. (and it seems to stay way longer than I would like) So instead of dreading and feeling down about it I am going to try to welcome it this year.  

because I am hoping that saying about time flying by when your happy will come true :)

 I  made a wreath for my front door. to welcome this darn Fall weather.

 The best part those was it cost me NOTHING! I just collected sticks out of the back yard and hot glues some fabric roses on and then hung it up.

Welcome Fall! but feel free to leave anytime soon :)

Push

 "Would it be ok if I was in the hospital room this time?"

My mommy asked earlier this year while talking about Lil Stella's arriaval.

I didn't want anyone eles but me and Brian in the room when Belle was born but this time around I wanted my mom with me too. Not only because she is my mom but because she was a labor and delivery nurse for over 15 years! I was nervous about all the problemss my pregnancy was giving me that maybe something would happen and I wanted her to be there to explain any and everything that could posssibly happen. 

Stella was born perfect and without any complications but I was still glad my mom was there with us and plus she got some awesome pictures of that day!

 

lets rewind a bunch now 

all the way back to when my mom was a full time nursing student with three kids. Her dream was to be a Labor and delivery nurse. She is the most hard working dedicated person I know and she achieved her dream.

fast forward a little bit:

I was about to gradutae highschool

my mom was now working even harder! she was a single mom of 4 and worked very hard to provide for us and give us everything we needed and wanted. but news came that her hospital was closing down it's labor and delivery department she decided it was time for a change so she tried different areas in the nursing field. 

fast forward just a tiny bit (highschool wasn't that long ago right?)

My extreemly hard working mom now married and down to just one more child left living in her house was starting to miss the fun and love she felt for being a nurse. She wasn't happy and dreaded going to work. But then came the day of my induction to have Lil Stella.

My mom realized she needed to get back to the delivery room. it was after all the whole reason she became a nurse!

I am so proud and happy and excited for my Mom because today is her first day at her new job!

She is back doing what she is suppose to be doing, helping God and doctors bring babies into this world!

and I also take some pride in knowing that my daughter gave her that last push she needed to change something in her life that she needed to be happy!

Jim and Lisa

 I have mentioned before that I used to work at Olive Garden. I remember telling one of my managers about my plans to go to Africa. I explained how our group was planning a spaghetti dinner. I was hoping my manager would donate a few things for us to help raise money for the kids in Uganda. Lisa way out did herself! she provided all the salad and bread sticks to feed hundreds of people! We raised enough money to build the ground, start the basketball court, buy soccer equipment and many other things. I was so excited and grateful for all the help Lisa gave us.

Fast forward a bit and Lisa contacted me about doing her wedding pictures! I couldn't say yes fast enough! I finally got the chance to do something for her! 

Lisa and Jim make the sweetest couple. I loved the way Lisa and her soon to be sister in law were just so excited to become family. They started tearing up when they talked about what a great guy Jim is. Jim was all smiles the whole day! He knew what a lucky man he was to be marring Lisa and he was not hiding that one bit!

Congratulations Jim and Lisa!

Photo slideshow made with Smilebox

birthday suit

If you stop by my house chances are Miss Belle is wearing her birthday suit. 

she's potty training and instead of extra laundry it's easier to let her be naked.

 When she does want to wear clothes it's usually these two outfits to choose from:

fishy shirt

 or kitty pj's

 

I can talk her into wearing dresses but she only has a handful of them. so I found this tutorial and made her a new dress.

 it's not perfect, but really nothing I do is so she deals with it.

Going viral

As of right now over  22,000 people "like" the picture and story of my little gift.

That number is mind boggleing to me! I want to thank everyone for their sweet kind comments about my husband and I. I was in tears reading how nice everyone was. I want to print them off and put them in a book for Stella. 

When I think back to that day sitting in the doctors office alone, I remember that split second of thinking I can't do this! But then God stepped in and showed me that I was not alone. He has a plan.

I refused the invasive testing. I needed to trust in my faith in God that his plan for us was the only way to go.  

Stella was born perfect and healthy. After reading through all the comments and emails I received about how other people went through the same thing we did, a small marker turned out to be nothing,

 or how their child did have down syndrome and yet they have been the biggest blessing. 

80-95% of pregnancies with a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome are terminated, according to studies provided to me by Dr. Brian Skotko of Children’s Hospital Boston. That's a huge number! it makes me incrediably sad to think of all those innocent lives ended. 

I am not here to start a war about abortion or quality of life. I have my beliefs and you might have different views. I just want to thank the lord everyday for being there with me and blessing me.

 I Love my daughter and there is no doubt in my mind that we would have loved her just as much if she did have a mental deformity.

My hope is that someone out there going through the same thing would do more research, ask more questions about the testing accuracy or what life is really like with a special needs child.  Being a parent is hard regardless of what the situation is but  God has a plan and a reason for everything.

uncle Gage visits

my brother is on his two week leave from the army. So last night we had him over for dinner. yep I cooked! 

Then we had picture time

These two are seriously made for each other!

She loves her God father

 Well actually they all do!

 He is a goofy guy.

I can not say enough about my brother Gage. He is truly an awesome person! I am extremely proud to be his sister.