st pete

Last week our family enjoyed a "relaxing" vacation away in St Peterburg, FL. St Pete was recently named for having some of the best beaches in the US and with a direct flight there for us we thought it'd be perfect. Well this was the first time I booked the whole package together as one through Allegiant and we were a bit disappointed.


The flight there and everything at the airport was great - Lily did well flying, our bags made it just fine, we got our rental car with car seat, etc. however, upon arriving at our hotel I was on the phone with Allegiant seeing if we could switch hotels before even setting foot inside the rooms. It looked a tad bit ghetto, to say the least, and our beach was a pile of seaweed. Unfortunately I made the mistake of booking us a hotel on the bay side of the ocean, opposed to the gulf, and that's a big no no. I quickly found out that unless we wanted to pay full price for what we already had booked on top of another hotel bill we would be staying at this hotel - so of course, we stayed. Now I must say, it wasn't as bad on the inside as it looked on the outside. The hotel actually had 2 nice pools with plenty of lounge chairs, a nice playground area for the kiddos, a poolside cafe, and a beach side bar/restaurant. So - the rooms and hotel turned out fine, we were just going to have to drive across town any time we wanted to beach.


So the first day just as we get everything into the room and ready to change into our swimsuits it starts raining - lovely. Well we decide to just get things settled in, hit up Target for some groceries and diapers, and grab something for dinner. Well after getting lost and 2 hours of driving for a 30 min stop at Target we got what we needed, along with a screaming baby because it was late and we hadn't eaten dinner yet so we had to stop at McDonalds due to lack of any other options - oh the joys:)

After a second day of diasters at the beach and a nightmare dinner out with an almost 1 year old....we thoroughly enjoyed the last 2 days!

We hit up the aquarium, pier, and a baseball game one day and then spent the entire last day soaking up the sun on St Pete Beach.

All in all we made some memories we will definitely look back at and laugh about and really did have a good time. We just realized that relaxing and a busy 1 year old don't exactly go hand in hand and maybe next time we venture to the beach we will leave the little ones at home!

lily's version of breakfast in bed :)

taking a dip at the hotel pool

playing in the sand

our little fam

lily watching the sharks at the aquarium

enjoying the baseball game

summer bucket list

While I can't take credit for this idea I think it's fabulous and just had to share. Yesterday at MOPS we spent the day preparing for summer with our kids. We had "craft" stations where we made homemade play dough, bubble bags, colored pasta, and summer bucket lists.

The idea behind the summer bucket lists were to have plenty of ideas of things to do with your kids and/or as a family this summer in your community. I thought it was a great idea and while others used the poster board and markers to create their lists I decided to use the computer for mine :)  I use a weekly menu plan that was printed on computer paper and then put inside a frame which now acts as a dry erase board. So....I thought why not do the same thing with the bucket list. Create the list on the computer and then check each one off as we do them. To me that's easier than trying to find a place to hang a big poster board. Either way - CUTE idea!

And I must say for a small(ish) town our community has lots of great options for summer fun, lots that I wasn't even aware of until yesterday. So with my list all created we are ready to head into summer ! And those of you that live in the Cedar Valley I was told about a great website called macaronikids.com that shares local events taking place each day, in calendar format, and all activities listed are $15 or less so that may be another place to check out some fun ideas!

Here's a hypersnap photo of my list - which I had to tailor quite a bit for a 1 year old and 6+ month prego mama :)

being a wife and mother

This little poem/story was shared last week at the MOPS group I go to and I thought it was such a good reminder, picture, blessing for any mom and wife that sometimes feels unappreciated or that she isn't quite enough.

Recently I learned that my part time job was going to be going back to a full time position at the beginning of August and although I was offered the opportunity to stay in the job and thus go back to full time employment I declined as I know that I do not want to go back to working full time while having small children. However, it's gotten my wheels turning as I'm not sure I'm ready to stay home full time either. So what other part time opportunities are available or is this God's calling for me to do something completely different? Needless to say the last few weeks I've been doing a lot of praying about what direction God wants me to go. I've struggled with the role of a mom full time and really enjoy the balance of a part time job so to me what I had was a perfect situation. However, I knew this was a good possibility and it didn't come as much of a surprise to Jimmy or I. The tough part now becomes what I do next and where God's sees me planted.

So this little poem was a perfect thing for me to read last week as my heart had been wrestling a little bit with where to go next. I still don't know what my future holds in terms of a work situation or if this is God's calling for me to stay home full time but we will see!

Continue On

A woman once fretted over the usefulness of her life.

She feared she was wasting her potential being a devoted wife and mother.

She wondered if the time and energy she invested in her husband and children would make a difference.

At times she got discouraged because so much of what she did seemed to go unnoticed and unappreciated.

"Is it worth it?" she often wondered.

"Is there something better that I could be doing with my time?"

It was during one of these moments of questioning that she heard the still small voice of her heavenly Father speak to her heart.

"You are a wife and mother because that is what I have called you to be.

Much of what you do is hidden from the public eye.

But I notice. Most of you give is done without remuneration.

But I am your reward.

Your husband cannot be the man I have called him to be without your support.

Your influence upon him is greater than you think and more powerful that you will ever know.

I bless him through your service and honor him through your love."

"Your children are precious to Me.

Even more precious than they are to you.

I have entrusted them to your care to raise for Me.

What you invest in them is an offering to Me.

You may never be in the public spotlight. But your obedience shines as a bright light before Me.

Continue on. Remember you are my servent. Do all to please Me."

The parts about what your husband is because of you was so powerful for me. I've never thought of our relationship that way because I know Jimmy respects, honors, loves, and adores me aside from anything I will ever do or be. But to see our relationship through God's intentions of me as a support for him and him not being who God called him to be without me was really eye opening.

I hope you enjoyed it and that you mommy's out there found you could relate as well :)

photo dump

I have a bunch of pictures I've been wanting to share but that don't quite merit their own post so here goes nothing.....

her latest trip - using the paper products basket to reach the 2nd shelf in the pantry

someone found a dandelion

bath time

helping daddy "pack" for china

1st taste of lemon

playing on the steps

climbing on the dish washer

playing in her friend lily's water table

her scarf

riding the 4 wheeler with daddy

"riding" cousin Eden's bike

first whale spout

11 months

Tuesday was Lily's 11 month old birthday.

I don't have a weight or height for her this month - we will have to get it at her 1 year appointment. This past month she has seemed more like a toddler to me than a baby :( On Easter she was with her two older cousins that are 3 and 6 and she just seemed to almost fit right in with them. While it's exciting to know she's growing and learning new things every day a part of me is sad to know that my baby is not so much a baby anymore and that time will only go faster as our lives change and so does she in the coming months.

New things for Lily this month include; mastering coming down the stairs (of course right when we get the baby gate for the top of the stairs!), she's working on the going up part but is doing well with that also, she can point to lips, nose and eyes when you ask her to, she loves to drink out of a straw - we have given her her camelbak since a young age but now she likes to drink out of any drink with a straw, she likes to "brush her hair" using my hairbrush, I painted her toe nails while she was eating in her highchair - so cute!, she likes you to "spoon" her - meaning she will turn so her bottom is facing you and wants you to put your arm around her :), she climbs into the basket containing the paper products in the pantry to pull things off the second shelf of the pantry, new foods were hot dog and strawberries and she loves both!

She is wearing 12 month clothes and some 18 month clothes. We have given up on the cloth diapers for a while due to issues with leaking and smell - still trying to figure it out and it's starting to annoy me! She is still taking 2 naps a day but that's usually a toss up, she either takes one really good nap or two short ones - we've been experimenting with one nap a day, we will see how that goes.

Other than that she continues to be incredibly happy, a good night time sleeper, and so fun to be around. She brightens every single day with her contagious smile and sweet giggles.

As you will see by the pictures it's becoming increasingly difficult to get a good picture of her sitting still because she is very busy but I think these still capture her little personality very well - enjoy!

our easter weekend

We had such a fun fun weekend spending lots of time together just the 3 of us as well as catching up with some of my family yesterday afternoon.

Friday both Jimmy and I had the day off which was so nice. We enjoyed some extra sleeping in time with a little one cuddled between us in attempts of getting just a little more sleep :) Friday consisted of getting things done around the house we'd put off for a while, mostly little tasks just here and there. Jimmy left this morning for another long trip to China so we got out the honey do list and checked some things off before he leaves us for a while. Seems like those are the things that don't get done much during the week after long days at work, dinner as a family, and a little play time with Lily before we are off to bed, or conference calls in Jimmy's sake, for the night. Jimmy is currently working on a project based in China with lots of work coming from folks in India too so saying he's been working long hours is a total understatement. It's been a long and tiring journey for our whole family as he works LONG days and then has to hop on conference calls during the night due to the time differences in those two countries, most nights lasting from 11am-3am. He has been such a trooper and he does what he has to do to provide for our family and do exceptional work in this job but it's been wearing on him and we will all happily welcome a new assignment come this fall! Anyways - back to our Easter weekend.

Friday afternoon we had a checkup baby appointment with our OB then came home to spend some time with friends, Eric and Emily and their two kiddos who were in town for the weekend. It was great to catch up with them, see their kiddos, watch Lily play with their older girls, enjoy some pizza for dinner, and then we were off to meet some of my family for Good Friday Service at a local church.

Saturday was more time for just us - after a yummy breakfast at home, more home projects conquered, we let Lily dig into her Easter basket and boy did she enjoy it! She played with all her new toys and carefully inspected each item as she took it out of her bag. We then ventured out to run a few errands before going out for dinner at a local habachi grill - that may be my favorite food, so yummy! Then a quiet night in after putting Lily to bed. Jimmy and I snuggled up to watch a terrible movie "Young Adult" and eat half a container of orange sherbert ice cream. Isn't it funny how your idea of a good time together changes as your life stage changes and as you get older? 

lily's easter basket

she wasn't sure about the bunny ears

distracted by barbie

Then yesterday we attended church together as our own little family of 3 before heading over to my grandparents for Easter lunch. We of course had all the traditional Easter items - ham, potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, fruit, salad, and dessert. I was in charge of desserts this year and made a homemade Chocolate Chip Cheesecake and Triple Berry Cobbler - yum! We also had a little easter egg hunt for the kiddos - it was funny to watch Lily crawl from egg to egg and enjoy a little of their contents along the way. She also indulged in her first sucker, compliments of Grandma, and she really enjoyed that - so much so that she was very upset when mommy took it away!

our family of 3 - next year will be 4!

the easter bunny for the day

hunting for her eggs

getting out the cheerios :)

the kiddos eating their suckers

All in all we had a terrific weekend spent together as a family of 3 with some extended family time mixed in as well. We will definitely be missing Jimmy in the coming days and it's great to have weekends like this that remind us all what is most important in life. Celebrating our renewed life in Jesus and time together with family is what holidays like this are all about.

16 weeks

Tuesday marked 16 weeks of pregnancy for me. Hard to believe that I am almost half way through this journey of pregnancy #2! The time seems to be going so much faster this time around - maybe it's because I spend half my days crawling around, playing with, and kissing on a sweet 11 month old instead of counting down the days of pregnancy! Isn't it funny how with your first you know EXACTLY how far along you are, like down to the day, but on your second and probably any there after you know about what week :) I don't think it's because you love little miracle growing inside your belly any less, it's just that you have other another sweet baby/s occupying your heart, thuughts, and life now.

So far this pregnancy has been good but different than my first. I have been more sick - nausea in both the mornings and night which I've found by eating smaller meals more frequently that has helped, a lot more tired, and I feel much bigger at this point than I was with Lily - which is probably also very common the second time around.

I felt baby move a few weeks ago already. I think it was a combination of knowing what it feels like and that classic night time stillness that actually allows your body to feel the life inside of you.

We have only had 1 appointment with our doctor at this point but have another one later this week. We will have the big ultrasound on May 1st which is when we will find out if it's another sweet girl or a new adventure of a baby boy! We really don't care either way. We know, God willing, we will have more so it really makes no difference. We just pray for a healthy sweet baby! I think it'd be fun to have another girl simply because they will be so close in age, 16 months, but of course a little boy would be just as precious!

So that's about it on the pregnancy front. I am feeling good and big :) and anxious to see our little peanut on the ultrasound again in a few weeks!

And here's a baby bump picture in all it's glory!

first babydoll

Funny story.

I've noticed lately that Lily has been interested in babydolls when we go to other friend's houses that have them or she sees them around. So I thought that'd be a good little gift to add to her presents for her birthday. I picked one up at Target, kept it in the bag, and set it by the stairs to bring downstairs next trip down. I left the room for a few minutes only to find upon my return that Lily had found the baby doll in the sack, was trying to pull it out, and crying because she wanted it so bad! Who knew I needed to begin hiding things from my child at 10 months old! So, she got an early birthday present and I think it goes without saying, she loves it!