Archives for April 2019

Mother’s Day 2019 Gift Guide!

April 29, 2019 Leave a Comment

Mother’s Day is almost here, and if you are like me this year, you probably wait until the last minute for everything! I’m tryin’ to help you out, friends! I am rounding up all of my favorite ideas in one post to make your life easier. Have any other awesome ideas? Drop them in the comments!

Embraced by Lysa TerKeurst

Lysa is my girl! Everything she writes, I love. She is a fantastic instrument of the Lord and constantly pours out the truths that my heart needs to hear. This devotional was gifted to me, and it is hands down my favorite one, and I have gifted it to several women that I love. Highly recommend!

This great little prayer journal!

This was a gift that I received from my sweet husband for Christmas, and I love it so much! The layout is simple and straightforward, and it really helps me to focus my heart on reflection and gratitude to start my day!

Breastmilk Jewelry

Okay I know this one seems a little unconventional to some, but it’s actually really neat! As a mother who struggled to get pregnant and then struggled to breastfeed, my piece that I have coming is very, very special to me! They basically turn your milk into a stone…how cool is that?! And now I have an heirloom that I can give to my sweet Addilyn when she grows up.

Custom Sugar Cookies

If you are super fancy and love to bake, you can make your own set using my sugar cookie and royal icing recipe. If you aren’t into DIY, you can message me and place a custom order, or get the exact set above!

A Ninja Coffee Bar

Okay look. Us mamas need coffee. It’s how we survive. And in this house, we love our Ninja coffee system. It can do a full pot or various single sizes of coffee, but is way easier to clean than our Keurig was (no mold!). It also makes the coffee taste super flavorful and rich…even the cheap-o coffee that this mama buys on the regular! Michael loves to do the fancy drinks with it, too and they are totally not hard. I just don’t have time for all that.

The system is usually $199, but Amazon has it on sale right now for $119!! That is a fantastic deal! Get one for the mama in your life. She will thank you!

A “Naked Wines” Membership (Or one-time shipment!)

This mama also loves the occasional glass of wine to unwind at the end of a long day. We signed up for a membership a while back and love getting to try new things and support small wineries. You can customize your preferences and let them surprise you, or you can go in and manually choose what you want. Use this link and you get a $50 voucher to spend on your first case! If you are a mama reading this, get one for yourself! It makes a great gift for anyone, for any occasion! I also love having bottles on hand in case we need to grab a last minute hostess or birthday gift.

A Snuggly Soft Robe

I personally am hooked on Posh Peanut robes. They are super high quality, very comfortable and are great not only for maternity and nursing, but I still live in mine! Light enough to not be hot, but enough to keep you warm and cozy. Plus who doesn’t love the option of matching their little? This is a great gift!

A Massage

I took a poll on Facebook and this was definitely one of the top answers! Moms hardly ever take time for themselves, and a spa day is a fantastic way to give mom the gift of “me” time!

Someone Else to Clean Her House

Another top hit on the Facebook poll…even just a one time cleaning service is a HUGE treat! Seriously guys, we love this stuff. In fact for me, this may even be above the massage! Better yet, have the maid come while I am AT the massage. Hah! That, my fiends, is a dream come true!

A Macaron Cookbook

Okay, maybe this is on my personal list! But hey, if the mama in your life loves to bake, I have heard this book is fantastic! And who doesn’t love adorable little macarons?? They are super pricey, so the idea of making them at home intrigues me. It’s definitely on my short list. Package it up with a macaron baking mat, some gel food coloring, a cute apron (this “mama and me” set is adorable!) and some almond flour and make a sweet little gift basket!

Those are just a few of my best ideas! I would love to hear about anything special that you have done to spoil the mama’s in your life, or had done for you!

A New Chapter

April 27, 2019 Leave a Comment

“At once they left their nets and followed him.” -Matthew 4:20

I know that I have dropped a few hints recently that God was up to something BIG in my life. I have been waiting for some things to fall into place and now I can finally share what He is up to, but also wanted to share a part of the journey.

I have spent the last 10 years of my life building my plans and dreaming my dreams. I have had a successful career in the direct sales world, I have run a clothing business, we have opened and then closed a yogurt shop. And I have also felt the pull of God calling me to leave my “nets,” which up to this point I haven’t been willing to do.

The last few years though, I have watched my dreams and plans struggle. For the longest time, I was frustrated with God for “not blessing my efforts,” or working things out according to MY plans. I can see now that He was simply refining me, teaching me empathy, and a healthy dose of humility. It took me getting to a pretty low place to realize that He wants something totally different, and better, for me.

I have walked the hard, lonely road of fertility issues, miscarriage and then more fertility issues. I have walked the pressing season of being a new mom and all that comes with that. And I have felt the Lord telling me that He wants me to use my experiences to help others. To link arms and lift them in that hard place. He has confirmed through a lot of prayer and discussion that He wants me to focus on things of eternal significance. To make the main thing, the main thing. He has opened doors and made ways for me to walk away from my sales career with a pretty clean break, which has only affirmed this calling for me.

All of this to say, I am taking a huge leap of faith and jumping into full time women’s and family ministry. If you want to know more specifics, I am so happy to share and will be doing more so on Social media over the next few weeks, but the gist of it will be loving on and ministering to four groups of people:

1- Those going through infertility, miscarriage and child loss
2- Those in a crisis pregnancy
3- New mothers
4- Foster and adoptive families in our area

I am asking first and foremost for my friends and family to pray for me. The enemy loves to show up when God is up to something big. I also am asking that you pray for the hearts of those who I will be ministering too, as many are in a hard season themselves. Pray that I can be a blessing to them and that the love of Jesus will meet them where they are, through me.

My ministry will, however, be fully support based. I am trusting that the Lord knows our needs and will provide for each and every one. If you would like to partner with me through a financial gift, either monthly or one-time, I am set up to take funds through The Bridge Church. You can either mail a check (please message me for the address) or give at the link below (simply choose “S-17 Director of Family Outreach” -that’s me!- Where it asks you what “fund” you are giving to). Everything will be fully tax deductible. Thank you so much for all of your support over the years, and even moreso for your support as I embark on this beautiful new journey with Jesus! I cannot wait to share more with you!

https://thebridgechurchnc.com/take-action

Skinned Knees and Jesus

April 26, 2019 Leave a Comment

Addie girl is flexing her independence. Oftentimes, she would prefer to run and explore vs hold my hand, even on the times when holding my hand is necessary. As her mama, it’s painful to watch her fall (hello, first of many skinned knees), but it is just part of allowing her to realize that in some areas of her life, she needs mama. And when she refuses my help, things hurt.
⠀⠀
I wonder if Jesus feels this way with me? Sometimes I insist on doing things my way and don’t want to hold His hand and walk with Him. He can see the stumble coming, but in His love He allows me my free will. I am so thankful that just like I am to my sweet girl, I have a loving Father who rushes to pick me up, heal my hurt and place me back on course. My prayer is that I can learn to hold His hand as I travel through life.

Easter Treats!

April 22, 2019 Leave a Comment

I am so sorry for my silence this week. You guys, it has been crazy around here! We have been making up for our (my) lack of organization all year long by burying ourselves in tax paperwork prep. I also put it out there that I had made some extra Easter cookies and then was swamped with orders! I am so blessed to be able to share this passion with so many people, but it had me decorating and baking all day every day for the last week. Shew, I am tired!

I am recovering today and trying to finish up a few other things that I needed to get done, but I wanted to share with you guys some of what I am up to! And give a HUGE shout out to these fantastic Bakerpan food pens! I absolutely could not have pulled off the volume and quality of cookies that I did without them. They are the real MVPs! I use them to sketch out my design on my cookies and also to add details once they are dry. I am obsessed with them.

Okay, on to the cookies. Happy Monday, my friends!

Grab my No Spread Sugar Cookie Recipe HERE, and my Royal Icing recipe HERE!

I am new to the marbled royal icing technique, but I have to say, I LOVE it! Hooked is an understatement.

Growing up, my Grandma made us these beautiful buttercream and peanut butter eggs for Easter. I have such fond memories of them and wanted to continue that tradition now that I have my own little girl to make holidays special for. I always want her to have things that she can look back and remember fondly that her Mama did for her. So I set out to find a recipe that tasted just like my Grandma’s. These did not disappoint! I will be sure to get a recipe on here for you guys soon. Just know that they were delicious!

I know these aren’t “Easter” but I had a sweet friend that wanted some baseballs for her sons and they turned out so cute!

Hold the Moments

April 17, 2019 Leave a Comment

Motherhood can be so hard. It can be chaotic and stressful and lonely. Some days we wake up and have to pour ourselves out before we are able to be poured into. Some days we are asked to give from an empty cup. Some days that gets the best of me and I am not the best mama that I can be. Sometimes I get tired and flustered and impatient.

In the midst of those hard days (today has definitely been one of them) where it feels like I just can’t catch a break, I am telling myself to take a breath and slow down a second. Those little legs will only be this small for such a short while. She will never be as little as she is today and tomorrow she will be older. She will never need me in quite the same way that she needs me in these very minutes. Life only moves in one direction and babies don’t keep. Our job as mothers is to hold the moments, because one day we will look back and those will be the most important things. Not how many errands we ran, bills we paid or chores we accomplished. It will be the times that we danced and giggled, even though all we wanted was to sit down. Or those times when we scoop up a fussy toddler and soothe their big feelings when we truthfully need someone to scoop and soothe us.

Yes, motherhood is hard, but it is a beautiful duty. Being a “moment holder” is one of the greatest honors of my life.

Our Bedtime Routine (and Must-haves!)

April 15, 2019 Leave a Comment

Let’s be friends! Connect with me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest!

As I mentioned in my post about how I sleep trained Addie the gentle way, our bedtime routine is super important to her getting a good night’s rest. Even in the old days of not sleeping well at all, I have always been pretty adamant about establishing a routine that we could stick to. Not only does it help her wind down to sleep well, but it gives us some good quality time that I truly enjoy! This may not work for everyone, but I have found that it really works for us and that by the time I get her to laying down in her bed, she’s ready for sleep and typically goes right down for the night!

After we have a good dinner, we spend some time really playing with her. This little window between dinner and bed is my “Addie time.” I wash up the dishes and then I try to give her my full attention for the rest of her evening. We play and chase and burn off energy. We do not watch TV with her during this time. Sometimes a sporting event or something is on in the background, but it is never anything she cares to pay attention to.

Somewhere around 8:10, I sneak out and start warming up some milk for her and run her bath while her daddy plays with her some more. I check her room and make sure everything is cozy and ready for her, removing unwanted objects from her crib and making sure her spare pacifiers are there. We use Johnson’s Sleepy Time bath and lotion pretty religiously because it smells delicious and helps her relax. (I’ve been buying these big refill bottles, too!)

Once her bath is ready, I plop her in there and let her splash and play a bit! She loves these little sea critters that squirt water, especially now that she has figured out how to do it herself. After I have let her have some fun, I typically wash her up a little. In this phase of toddler-hood, I find myself washing her hair most days. She loves to run her hands through it while she is still sticky from eating, so it is kind of a necessity. Usually by this point, she is pretty much ready to get out. I put a hooded towel (we love these!) in my lap and scoop her out to dry off.

Next, it’s time for lotion, an overnight diaper (we are trying out the Huggies Overnights…my girl goes a lot at night!) and some cozy pajamas! We do any nail trimming, cleaning and hair brushing that needs to be done. I put on her Owlet (seriously a life-saver and worth every cent!) and go ahead and make sure the base station is on and ready so that I don’t forget!

We go grab her milk (currently in a Dr.Brown’s bottle, but we are about to transition to a using her Miracle 360 cups at bedtime too) and settle into our cozy rocker for some cuddles and bedtime stories! I’ll drop links to our favorites at the bottom of the post, but we absolutely always read God Bless Our Bedtime Prayers. It is the last book that I read right as her bottle is running out, and she has learned that it means sleepy time is coming. I absolutely adore this book and I am so glad that we can establish a special time of teaching her to talk to God every day.

At this point, we call in Daddy for some bedtime kisses. He gets some special snuggle time with her (which usually includes some peekaboo and her shoving her “pass” into his mouth and laughing), and I do one final check to make sure we are ready. I absolutely love watching this part of her day. The bond that she has with her daddy is a special one and I am so thankful for the man that he is to her. He was away for work a few days last week and she struggled to go to bed without this step of her routine. Kudos to you, babe, for being the best dad ever!

I switch on her nightlight (which doesn’t stay on) and turn on her white noise machine. We have taught her from literally day one to sleep with white noise and it helps her so much! Plus it gives a little grace to our creaky floors and loud-walking dog. Daddy kisses her one last time, hands her back to me, shuts off the lamp and closes the door. I cuddle her up to me and we say her prayers and then I turn off her nightlight so that her room is totally dark. I rock her and sing her a song or two and then kiss her goodnight and lay her in her crib. Most nights, since we sleep-trained her, she snuggles in and goes right to sleep! This usually all wraps up by 9pm and she typically stays in bed asleep until at least 8:30am!

Do you have a special routine with your little ones? I would love to hear it! Check out our bedtime must-haves and favorite bedtime stories below!