Take a minute and be grateful

We recently took a trip to Tucson, Arizona to visit some different museums with my family. As we were driving along the road, we passed a neighborhood that was filled with tiny, run down houses. There were sheets on windows, cracks in the wood, and literally tape on the outside of some of these houses. I mentioned to my husband how sad this was. How could I ever be ungrateful for having the smallest house in my neighborhood or for not having nicer couches and decorations. Do those things really matter? Or is it my family that matters? I tend to get these things confused because there are times, I feel I show my love to my children by making them look fancy or buying them fancy things. But what my kids need is me. Now I may not stop buying those fancy looking things, especially since most of them come off clearance racks and the money spent is the same amount I would spend at Walmart, but I have neglected blogging more often because I spend time with those two cuties that are sleeping right now. When they are awake, I spend time with them.

My son loves being held and smiles constantly if he is in someones arms so why not hold him more often? I know he needs to be on the floor to learn to roll and crawl and eventually walk ("cringe!") but my son needs love.

And then there is that sassy pants little lady in the house. I have read more books to her in the past week than I can even count. We just sit and read, sit and play dress ups, sit and talk and it is lovely! She understands so much and has become such a huge helper in this house. Hitting is her new thing and yet, I feel like we kind of nipped it in the butt by trying time out (because really, spanking her is not going to teach her not to hit). What a life saver! If she hits someone, she KNOWS to go in time out and we sit and talk about what she did, she gets up and says sorry to the person and all is forgotten. If ever I felt like a good parent, it has been when she knows the routine and it has slowly worked and her hitting problem is dwindling. I feel like supermom! And rightfully so because we dont butt heads as often (because trust me, I am bound to butt heads with this girl. We are just too darn alike!).

I guess my point is that most people who read this blog are not at poverty level and we need to take the time to be grateful for the things we have and stop worrying about the things we dont have. Often times we get caught up in who has more, who's kid is smarter, etc but what is most important is that we have our families. Some people dont even have that.

And that's how Suze sees it.

My Boys

If you ever wondered what love is all about, take a look at this picture.

The day I took that positive pregnancy test, our lives were flipped upsidedown. My 9 month old smiled at me as I walked out of that bathroom and I handed the test to my husband, who took a day or two to adjust and finally utter some words to me again. We were scared. We had no idea this would happen this soon. But soon was meant to be and soon it was. At 19 weeks pregnant, I walked into that ultrasound room praying for a little girl. In the back of my mind, I knew (or moreso feared) that it would be a boy but I hoped so badly for another daughter. My husband decided he wanted it to be a surprise (which lasted 24 hours) but that tech quietly told me my baby's gender and my world seemed to fall apart. I know you think that's ridiculous but it was what it was. I was so scared. I called my sister crying and told her the news. She told me to stop crying and be happy.

The day that baby boy joined our family, I couldn't imagine my life any other way. Sure, I cant put bows on him or dress him up in pretty dresses but is that really what life is all about? I did not know babies came as happy as he was all of the time. His precious, chubby smile is the best. His red hair is adorable. He belongs in this family and I will never ever regret that second child being a boy. I love him more than I thought I could love one small precious being. My boys [and my girl] are my life and I simply love the men that live in my house!

By the way, special thanks to SimplyYou Photography for this amazing photo of my boys.

Taken for granted

Today during my lunch hour, an amazing family friend made the comment that she loved reading my Facebook status' because they were uplifting and openly showed my love for my family. On something so silly as Facebook, this thought had never occured to me and it gave me great pride to know that I haven't failed as a mother! Just kidding...but it did force me to think about my situation a little bit and how much I truly take for granted.

(I'm not CRAZY about the necklace. I like it but am just not quite sure. My husband absolutely hates it. haha)

I take my body for granted. I think this above all other things Heavenly Father has blessed me with is something I truly take for granted. I don't find myself looking in the mirror and thinking, "I am so grateful that I have a functioning body." I usually look in the mirror and think, "Ugh, I need to lose more weight." or something along those lines. So today, as I was sitting in my office and work and posting charge after charge (I work in billing, remember?), I thought to myself, "I may not love the way my body looks but I love having a body." And how completely true is that statement? I have all of my proper body parts, I have mostly normal skin, teeth, hair, etc. so how is it that I never take the time and thank God for what he has most certainly blessed me with? A simple working body is a huge blessing! It may be tall, short, fat, or skinny but it is mine all mine. And truly, I don't think I am completely worthless and ugly.

The next thing I completely take for granted is my husband. This was also the second thought I had in my office. "I may argue with my husband and get so frusterated with him but I am so lucky to have a husband." The guy loves me. He truly truly loves me. We have an odd relationship filled with sarcasm and jokes but that is how we are truly happy and in the end, we laugh and say, 'I love you'. We have many deep conversations and serious talks and I love that we both agree on almost everything when it comes to raising these two precious children. There are many things we don't agree on but we both like having it that way. It sparks many conversations and helps us understand each other deeper. I love my husband and grateful he is not only married to me for eternity but that he is still on this earth. I can't imagine losing him.

These last chickadees, I will admit, I take for granted less than the other two. I don't have the luxury of being with them full time yet and I know a couple of people who have lost a child. But don't get me wrong, there are still times. There are times I just want to relax and blog while they are awake but I try and remember that they are so precious and they need my attention. I love Petey's quirky smile in that last picture. That is 100% my girl! She is spunky and sweet. And Spidey, oh my loving boy. I can never get enough of these kids. I also want to stress on the other end of things how much I am grateful that I can easily (too easily?) get pregnant and have these wonderful children. I know women who cannot get pregnant and this is something I have taken for granted. I can complain all day that my kids were born via c-sectiong but in the end, I am so completely lucky to have had them through my own body (which goes back to being grateful for my body). So for my third thought of the day, "My kids may sometimes be hard to raise but I am lucky to have had them and am lucky they are alive and well."

Check it out!

MakeitandLoveit is having a giveaway!

Shewearsflowers is giving away a $25 gift card!

Go on over and check out their dresses. They are absolutely adorable!

Baby Fabric Rings

I originally found this tutorial HERE and revised the last part to make it my own (and maybe because I could have possibly broken my mother's sewing machine...love you mom!). I think my problem came up because I put too much batting in each one of the rings...guess I'll do better next time but I know my chubba wubba is gonna love these! (Ill post pictures sometime when it's not midnight and he is actually awake)


Ok, start with different strips, 2 1/2 in by 8 1/2 in. You can do as many strips as you want. I made 6, messed up 1, so my end result was 5. =D

Fold each strip in half, right sides together, and sew along the outer edge.
I have NO idea why it posted the same pictures twice and it wont let me delete them so...in case you missed the pictures above :)

Now flip the fabric right side out and sew along one edge. Stuff with batting, enough so it is soft for baby to play with but not packed tight so they wont bend easily.
Now on this last part, I busted my mom's sewing machine by trying to feed the rings through and sew them together so after ruining one ring, I decided my best friend (the hot glue gun) was my next best option. I folded the open end of the ring in about a 1/4 in, applied the glue all around the inside of the ring, and the shoved the sewn side in and pressed down hard so the glue would hold everything together.
Ta-da! Baby rings for my drooling boy. What's lovely is that you can pop 'em in the washer! Dont put them in the dryer if you end up using the hot glue like I did...itll melt and the whole thing will come apart.

And now onto my last picture of the day...Petey's new embellished shirt. Tutorial for the rosettes was found HERE. They were super easy and I never had to bust out a sewing machine!

True Compassion

As I sit here, deciding what to type, my almost 2 year old is spraying herself in the face with a spray bottle. She has been entertained by this for maybe 20 minutes now. Who knew?!

Today, my husband had to leave halfway through church to head off to work. I am grateful he could help me with the kids before we sent Petey to her class. When church was over, I gathered my bags and children and headed out the door to the car. As the door opened, I was so upset to find that it was not raining, but pouring and our car was in the second row of the parking lot. Many people were huddled right outside the door, waiting for someone in their family to drive the car up to the curb but I had no one. I got worried that Petey would slip and fall since I couldnt hold her hand out to the car or that someone might hit her in all the chaos. As I started to worry, an older gentleman leaned to me and asked, "Is there anything I can help you with? Can I drive your car up to the curb, stay with your children, or at least help you get them to the car?" I thanked him so much and told him I was worried that my daughter would slip so if he would like to carry her to the car, I would really appreciate it. He walked with me out to my car and put her in her carseat while I buckled Spidey up in his and then walked back to see if others needed help. This is the kind of person I want to be. Selfless, helpful, always striving to serve others. I know that it sounds ridiculous that rain made us have a chaotic afternoon (especially if you live anywhere besides Arizona) but it was just the thought that someone put us before himself, was willing to get soaking wet and help me out to my car. I will forever be grateful to him and grateful to belong to this wonderful church ( go here to learn more about my church and what I believe). There ae many times we have had a harder time fitting in and feeling cared about in our "new" ward (ok, we have been here for almost 2 years now). Our first ward right after we got married had some of my husband's family in it so it made it easier to adjust and feel welcome. Our new ward has been harder but I have come to a point where I know more people in my ward and feel comfortable there. I also got released from my calling this week (teaching the 9 yr old class) and feel that maybe things will be easier now that I will be around adults for a change.
I hope that things continue to get better and I know that it has to do with me also and how hard I work at it.

And that's how Suze sees it.