cousins

Ryder loves his cousins.  He can't get enough of them...

I love how close they are! 

I am so excited to watch them grow up together♥.

time with friends

Last week, we went on our annual weekend get away with our close friends from college.  we have been doing it for at least the last 6-7 years and each year brings more joy and community. 

This year we headed up to Big Bear.  

We went on a nature hike and picnicked by the lake.

Man does this sum up our lives right now!

The guys had some time to go and have some fun talking around a good game of Catan.

One day we all headed to The Village to eat our lunches and to get ice-cream:

 bubblegum was the flavor that he picked...

 Eden had to get in on the action too:

 Yep, she's a fan!

Then the girls took some time and went thrifting and talked over coffee:

(I love these women so much and could not be more thankful that they are in my life!)

Each night a few couples shared and then we had a time of prayer over each couple.  It was such a powerful time and the encouragement and community that was shared was precious to Kit and I.

And of course we needed a picture of the Littles:

 We loved the time that we got to be together and we are so excited for when we get to do it again!

Big Bear

We are in Big Bear with our close friends from college this weekend. 10 adults and 11 kiddos under 7.  It's going to be crazy (and probably a little sleep deprived...♥) I can't wait to tell you about it... 

I hope you have a great weekend!

the passion flower

My sweet cousin Nancy shared this story that goes with the flower that Ryder and I found on our walk last week.  Remember this one?

Ryder and I were fascinated!  So My Aunt Jean used to tell Nancy about how it represents the Passion of Christ.  So here is the history/story:

The "Passion" in "passion flower" refers to the passion of Jesus in Christian theology. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish Christian missionaries adopted the unique physical structures of this plant, particularly the numbers of its various flower parts, as symbols of the last days of Jesus and especially his crucifixion:

Blue Passion Flower (P. caerulea) showing most elements of the Christian symbolism

• The pointed tips of the leaves were taken to represent the Holy Lance.
• The tendrils represent the whips used in the flagellation of Christ.
• The ten petals and sepals represent the ten faithful apostles (excluding St. Peter the denier and Judas Iscariot the betrayer).
• The flower's radial filaments, which can number more than a hundred and vary from flower to flower, represent the crown of thorns.
• The chalice-shaped ovary with its receptacle represents a hammer or the Holy Grail
• The 3 stigmas represent the 3 nails and the 5 anthers below them the 5 wounds (four by the nails and one by the lance).
• The blue and white colors of many species' flowers represent Heaven and Purity.

These flowers generally bloom around Easter too!

Nancy~  

Thank you so much, my friend for sharing this with me!  Aunt Jean was one smart lady... I will now share that story with my kiddos!  You are so loved!

core challenge

In about one month, I will be celebrating my 10 year wedding anniversary with Kit in Napa.  I can not tell you how much I am looking forward to it.  The thing I am NOT looking forward to is being in a bathing suit.  (Seriously, just seeing them hanging in Target could cause me to break into a full rash!)  So in our house, the rule is, you can't complain about your weight unless you are doing something about it so I have started this core work out regiment found HERE:

 I am so excited about taking steps toward getting healthy and feeling better.

(I have not done any core workouts since I have had Eden so I know there is NO strength in my "middle" right now... I have a long way to go.)

PS, planking is going to be my nemesis in this whole thing, I can tell you that right now... 

Eden is 14 months today:

She brings such joy and delight to wherever she goes...

trying to give a little effort

A couple of months ago, I gave myself the challenge of trying to put a little effort into what I was wearing.  I would say that 90% of the time, I looked like this:

 As I have been coming out of the fog of those early months with Eden, and adjusting to two kiddos, and figuring out how to actually GET ready with two little people, I realized that I really wanted the challenge of actually caring how I looked when going out into the civilized world.

(I was getting dressed to meet with a team from our school district at the beginning of March.   They were going to evaluate Ryder's speech development and I felt the need to dress up,  and when Ryder saw me dressed up, with make up and all, he said, "WAIT! We going to church now Mama?!?"  Apparently me dressing up is a rarity, reserved only for going to church...)

I have had fun feeling girly and putting little outfits together and I love when my little guy will look at me and say 

"You pretty, Mama!" 

(Plus, with Eden having weaned herself over a month ago, clothes have just been more fun!)

So here are some of my favorites from the last two months.

*Note, this is definitely NOT a fashion blog, as seen by the photos♥.  It's just fun to look back at these...  Plus, look at what I normally wear!  These are a step in a good direction.

Have a great day! 

Angelina and Baby Seth's Shower

On Saturday I hosted a baby shower for my very dear friend Angelina.  It is always so fun to celebrate close friends!  I had so much fun with all the little details!

It made me fall in love with baby boys all over again...

 Prayers for the Pavone family:

 I loved making the banners:

I can't wait to meet this baby

And while we were having some fun, so were our kiddos:

(They have the best dad's ever!)

Eden was a little out numbered:

It was a wonderful day!

a grand thing...

I came across this quote in my Real Simple the other day, and I really wanted to share it with you.   

It reads:

"I like living.  I have sometimes been wildly despairing, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be ALIVE is a grand thing."

~ Agatha Christie

Reading it gave me a HUGE sense of gratitude and thankfulness.  (Isn't it funny how the most random things can do that?)  I am going to focus today and being thankful to God for this life He has given me and that I have the privilege to LIVE it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend, my friends!  I am hosting a shower tomorrow for my friend Angelina and I can't wait to celebrate her and baby Seth!

creating: (more) magnet boards

This post should be titled: I think I might be addicted to magnet boards.  I really like their versatility and  they have been so easy to make, so of course, if one is good, than four is better♥...

I do have a method to my madness.  Ryder has three specific things that we use the boards for: speech therapy projects and homework, daily devotionals and projects for church, and photos and special notes.  I have noticed that as we have gotten further and further along, having a little more space for each thing has turned out to be really nice and has helped me stay much more organized!

I had these frames from when we initially did Ryder's room:

I can't tell you how many times I almost donated them, but I am so glad that I kept them.

So Ryder helped me transform them:

(He ONLY watched and stood on the metal sheet to feel like he was part of the process.  I think it was too dangerous to have him actually help because of all the sharp edges of the metal.)

 Tin cutters are one of my favorite tools...

 I used these small felt circles to make sure the metal was flush with the frame.  

(These are also the felt pads I use when I have made tile coasters.)

We added them here in his room:

Before:

After:

I love how it fills the wall space!

With our stuff on it: 

I hope that you have a great day my friends!