25 Things About Me.

I was wandering around the blog-sphere and stumbled upon Meg @SheDoesJustice post on 25 things you might not know about me. I thought it would be fun to join in this link up. So here it is, 25 things you might not know about me! 

1: I am the oldest of two.

2: I married my best friend when I was 19 and gave birth to our first baby at 20.

3: I love American Sign Language and before getting married my plan was to be an interpreter.

4: I was homeschooled 6th-12th Grades but before that went to a Christian school.

5: I went to Africa on a missions trip when I was 16 on a foot washing team. A call God placed on my heart when I was a little girl.

6: I hate feet.

7: I am terrified of spiders.

8: I love the song "Its been a long day" by Rosi Golan. And on rough days I'll put it on repeat to remind me to finish strong. 

9: I have only lived in two houses in my entire life. The one I grew up in and the one we live in now. Praying that the next time I move it's into our forever home. I.Hate.Moving.

10: I LOVE COFFEE! (ok so you probably knew this one.) Especially when there is hazelnut in it.

11: My favorite Bible verse is James 1:27

12: Both of my childbirths were unmediated but both complicated. One almost required a blood transfusion and the second required a D&C. 

13: I babysit two kids 4 days a week.

14: I genuinely love my church and feel so at home there.

15: I dream of traveling. Greece, Fiji, Paris, Hawaii (again), every state, and Ireland.

16: We cloth diaper (you probably knew this already as well.) out of necessity at first and now out of love for my baby's bum, things reusable, and to continue to save money.

17: I have known my husband almost half of my life. We met when I was 13 and I knew my life would never be the same. We would start dating 4 years later and married 6 years after meeting.

18: I love to read.

19: I am currently reading Money Saving Tips for a Stay At Home Mom. I am the spender in the family and am trying to change this so we can get out of debt.

20: I really enjoy painting my nails and doing fun designs on them. It makes me feel feminine in a house full of boys.

21: I use to hate wearing dresses and skirts until I hit 20 and now I love it.

22: I prefer to be barefoot or in flip flops. 

23: I use to have my hair so long I could sit on it but now I never have my hair past the middle of my back.

24: I love to do crafts. Sewing, scrapbooking, crocheting, kniting, card making, doodling, beading, you name it I probably do it or would like to learn how!

25: Most importantly I am a child of God.

You can go HERE to see other blogger's 25 things.

This post may contain affiliate links.

On my heart tonight.

This originally started as a "Whats on your heart?" question on my fan page and as I started writing I realized I should just turn it into a blog post. So here it is.

I don't usually share what's on my heart as I really just love hearing from my fans but tonight my heart is heavy for the families in this news article.

My heart goes out both to the Begley family and to the woman who wrote the letter. I can't imagine being so heartless as to tell someone they need to kill their child. Seriously...my love for my kids is something fierce, does she not feel that way about her own children that she could actually suggest that to another mother? Has she not thought for a minute what if I was in her shoes? Would she really be able to put her own child to death?
I really have no words. I only have a heavy heart for her. I'm sad for her and the life she must be missing out on. I'm saddened for her children and the lack of compassion their mom must have. I am not trying to be mean, I honestly hurt for her and her kids more than I do for the Begley family.

I guess this hits really close to home for me right now as in our church there are two autistic boys, on opposite ends of the spectrum, who are brothers in our church. This past Sunday the oldest boy was having a really rough day and I heard him yelling and how unhappy he was but ya know what? Those boys are something special and so are their parents.

I have had the privilege of watching these boys grow and change so much over the past 3 years. I have seen the oldest come out of his shell more and the youngest create amazing pieces of artwork. I have heard them both say some of the craziest, funniest things ever and have no fear of what other people will think of them. They're honest and they will keep you honest. They take you at your word, end of story.

I have watched their mother and father worry about their boys and struggle with the unknowns of who will take care of their sons if something were to happen to them.
I have seen their dad cry telling stories of how closed off and in their on world they were and then how one day they got just a little piece of interaction they so crave with their boys.
I have seen their mom warn and stretched thin still speak grace and life into all four of their children.

I'm not saying all of this to put them up on a pedestal as I know they have difficult days and so many more challenges than I could imagine and we all have our breaking points. I know they have days and moments in which they aren't proud of. There are times that their mom has confided in me and been open and honest with some of their struggles. So its not that I think they are perfect or their parenting is untouchable but I know how much they love their children and celebrate each and every one of them.

 And God has a plan for their lives just as much if not more than He has planned for my life! I have watched numerous special needs kids be able to reach out to people in a way that you and I never could and pull them up out of everyday life and see the beauty in the moment.
Honestly, I can still remember the face of the little boy with down syndrome, who in just a quick moment in passing pulled me up out of my own petty problems, and made me see the world around me in a new light. I even remember what he was wearing as he touched my heart in a way no one else could that day.

So tonight I am praying for all of the mommies and daddies of special needs children. Praying for a little extra grace. For someone to speak a little extra life into their hearts.

And I'm praying for the woman who wrote the letter and for all of us who even for a second judge another parent for a screaming, difficult, wild child. Praying that we as parents all take a moment to remember that this thing called parenting isn't for the faint of heart. That this is the most difficult job we will ever love. That we have no idea what else might be going on in their lives right then and that we all have bad days.

Summer Baby Loving Event

Welcome to the Summer Baby Loving Blog Hop Giveaway, hosted by Cloth Diapering Again, The Inquisitive Mom, and Our Piece of Earth, in celebration of babies and mamas! There are two grand prizes up for grabs, one open to US and Canada, and one open just to the US.

Don't forget to enter the grand prizes!

I am really excited to be able to be apart of the Summer Baby Loving Blog Hop! There are a lot of fabulous bloggers who are all giving away great prizes! So be sure to go and check those out at the bottom of this post. Now on to the giveaways! 

Etsy is a project I have talked about and wanted to do for quite some time now.
However, for one reason or another it was never the right time and so it hadn't happened.

Until now.

I am very excited to announce that my Etsy shop is officially open!

This shop isn't just about me making money though.

I love to do crafts and this gives me a great excuse to do them.
It also gives me something to do that is just for me.
I plan to run my shop on my time, whatever that may be.
One of its main purposes is to be relaxing and fun for me.

As a stay at home mom I think this is so important to have something you do just for you.
But its also going to be used to bless others which is so exciting for me.
I'll post on that part more later but to celebrate the opening of my shop I'm doing a giveaway!
WOHOO!!!

I am giving away a $25 Credit to my shop.

Currently I am opening the shop with custom children, toddler, and infant tees.
Eventually I will also be adding paper crafts as well. 

Born out of a mommy's need to create and a little boy's need to fly comes a custom superhero tee for the little hero in your life.

I currently offer sizes ranging from 0-3 months all the way up to a children's 2x.
(Color options vary between Toddler's and Children's sizes.)
I will also be adding other custom applique items to the shop very soon.
So help me celebrate by getting the perfect gift for the little hero in your life.

This giveaway is open to US and Canada!

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

Go here to enter to win a grand prize!

Each blogger has a prize worth at least $25 on their blog, so hop around on the linky and enter to win some summer baby loving.

Cloth Diapering Again, The Inquisitive Mom, Our Piece of Earth, and Summer Baby Loving Blog Hop Giveaway participating bloggers are not responsible for prize fulfillment.

A year gone by.

Dear Bug,

 Today you turn one, and I can not believe that a year has gone by.
It feels like just yesterday I was still pregnant, 6 days overdue, and anxiously awaiting your arrival.
I know when you wake up and I see your smiling face, I will think through everything we have gone through over the last year.
I have already been thinking through the events leading up to your very eventful birth.
I know that when I come back to here and now I will look at your sweet little face and realize you grew up over night, right before my eyes.

I love everything about you.
Your goofy smile when you're being silly.
Your genuine smile when you're happy and daddy is playing with you.
The way your face lights up when your brother walks into the room and says hi to you.
The way in which you love your brother so much and willingly kiss him every chance you get. (Even if you wont give me a kiss!)
I love the way you play with my necklaces and try to share the teething necklace with me.
The way in which you get so excited when it's bedtime and end up with the nighttime sillies and we laugh and play for an extra 30 minutes.
I love how you are my little shadow.
And with your piercing blue eyes you melt my heart every single day.

You have such a great personality already and it is so much fun to watch you learn new things every day.

There are still a lot of unknowns as to why you weren't growing properly but we're looking forward to your upcoming 1 year checkup to see just how much you have grown over the course of this last month.
I have gone through so many emotions with you over this last year.
From the moment you were born and I heard you get a Zero for part of your Apgar score I knew this would be a rollercoaster year.
We've had some lows but more than anything you bring so much joy into our lives and you make our family complete.

And I have to tell you more than anything I am so thankful to and for your daddy with how hard he works so I am able to stay home with you and your brother and watch you both grow.

I pray for you every single day my sweet boy.
I'm praying for the man you will become.
I'm praying that you will love God with all of your heart and follow Him wholeheartedly.
I pray that your daddy and I listen to God's promptings and raise you in a Godly manner.

I am so looking forward to spending your birthday the four of us and spoiling you a little bit.
Know that no matter what, no matter what mistakes you make, or the roads you take, I will always love you with every fiber of my being.