My Favorite Moments {2013}

The last day. Of 2013. I can't believe how fast this year has gone and all that has happened since it's beginning. Last year, to recap 2012, I wrote about the most and least popular blog posts. This year, instead of looking at the stats, I decided to write about what I cherished most about 2013.
First, I decided to reflect on the two words I chose for 2013 - hope and blessing. If you want to read about how I fared in living out those words this year, visit my guest post at proverbs2v6 today.
Second, I decided it was only right to share some of my favorite moments of 2013...

1.  TAKING MY OLDEST & HER FRIENDS ON A LIMO RIDE FOR HER 10TH BIRTHDAY
2.  SPENDING THREE DAYS AWAY WITH MY HUBBY FOR MY BIRTHDAY. LOVE THIS PLACE!
3.  OUR DISNEY ADVENTURES. DAY ONE, TWO & THREE
4.  MY FIRST-EVER FASHION POST
5.  OUR BEACH VACATION
6.  O'S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
7.  WOMEN'S RETREAT. HUME LAKE, CA

Third, in terms of blogging, my favorite, and most challenging month was February. I participated in a daily scripture challenge and ended up with a total of 27 posts that month! Here are some of my favorite verses...

VERSE 1 - STRESS // VERSE 3 - ANXIETY // VERSE 4 - WORRY 

VERSE 11 - BRINGS ME JOY // VERSE 12 - PRAYER

I am looking forward to 2014 and the surprises that await in this new year. Wishing you all a Happy New Year!

A Little Late to the Party

In mid-December we had a party. I have been trying to find time to sit down at the computer and edit photos ever since. However, I am just now getting to it. After Christmas. Oh well, you could always pin it and save a little inspiration for next year. :)

This first centerpiece ended up being my favorite. I used it several more times during season. It was so simple. I tied a piece of burlap into a knot on one of my crystal candlesticks. Then, I added some holly berries I had in my boxes of Christmas decorations.

These dishes are my "original" Christmas dishes. I found these the Christmas before M and I were married and ended up with the whole set. Growing up, my mom collected Christmas dishes and I always knew I wanted to do the same. The only downside, they are not dishwasher safe. The candlesticks and candles are from Pottery Barn...from about eight years ago.

I arranged the dining table similar to last year, with greenery and my white tree candles. This year, though, I bought a new shimmery, white tablecloth at TJ Maxx and added a few more white candles and pine cones.

A few more shots, pre-party, my tree included. Because there were about 25 people attending the party, we rearranged our living room to accommodate two of the three tables.

M AND I THE NIGHT OF THE PARTY

THE LADIES

THE WHOLE GANG

As usual, we had a great time with all of our friends! We are hoping to host again next year, making it an annual tradition...three years and counting.

How Trains Saved My Son

I woke up Christmas Eve, rolled over, and because of what was next to my bed, began to cry. It was O's train table, and it had been in the exact same location since Thanksgiving. We had moved it into our room to accommodate our dinner guests.
I wasn't crying because it was in my room. I was crying because O hadn't asked about it or played with it in nearly a month. There was a time when this would've been unheard of, when the mere movement of one train would have caused a huge meltdown. While, this new development meant growth, maturity and progress, it also meant that my little boy didn't need his trains anymore. 
There was a time when they were his only source of enjoyment, his coping skills and his mode of communication. Now, they were simply collecting dust. I wasn't crying for today, I was crying for the days of the past, when things were so much harder. 
Since this blog is less than two years old, it wasn't around when O was born. So, unlike many other mommy's who blog, I do not have my children's birth stories here. However, today's story is of O's re-birth...and how trains were involved.
It was when his speech therapist brought out the starter train set, with Thomas and Percy, that O's love affair with trains began. He had watched episodes of Thomas and Friends on PBS, but had never been so interested in them, until he played with that train set. Then it was all about Thomas, who he first called "ba-ba" because that was all he could say.

We bought O his first train during our summer trip to Discovery Kingdom. We also visited Thomas Town there and rode on Thomas. Although O doesn't remember that trip. I do. He was so excited, to see all that was previously in his imagination come to life.
He took that first train everywhere with him. It seemed to make everything easier, as long as he had that train. 

The Christmas that he was two, Santa (aka my dad) made him a train table. And, every birthday, Christmas, and trip to Target after that, we added to the collection. The trains were his way of escaping after a hard day. They were the way we could get him to learn new sounds and words. They were everything to him.
And, while this was sometimes difficult. It was so nice to have that safety net. That thing that could always make him happy. Not everybody has that. He needed those trains...and so did we. 
Over time, O has begun to find interest in things other than trains and Thomas. He has begun playing with other toys, and the trains have been used less and less, especially since he started kindergarten. Although they have been replaced with other play things, it's more than that. They've been replaced with more topics of conversation, more typical ways of learning and ever-growing coping skills.
The train table and it's cast of characters are collecting dust. Still, I think O knows that they are there, in my room, just in case. 
I don't know when we will ever be able to pack up the trains for good. I'm sure that day will come. And, I will probably cry that day, too.

10 Reasons

Blogging for me, lately, has taken a backseat to many other things...working, wrapping presents, baking, helping kids with homework, etc. These are all good things, well...with the exception of working too much, but it has been hard not to have time to be here. To write and express the many things I am contemplating during this season. 
Fortunately, I have a post scheduled to publish on Unveiled Wife today. It is a post I am super-excited about because in it I got to brag about my husband. You see, M had a birthday earlier this month, and in honor of that, I wrote a mushy and gushy post about him and some of the many reasons that I love him.
It has been a good reminder to me to have this list, especially during this season of hustle and bustle, when those we cherish the most often get lost beneath the to do's of getting ready for Christmas.
I hope you will read. Not so you can learn how wonderful my husband is, but so that it can inspire you to write a list of your own, about someone you love!
10 Things I Love About My Husband

My Holiday Home Tour

With Christmas being less than two weeks away (I can't believe it!), I have finally finished my decorating and am ready to show off some of my favorite vignettes.

HARK! FOUND THESE ANGELS (ON CLEARANCE) AT A LOCAL BIBLE BOOKSTORE

 

RE-PURPOSED MY BELIEVE BANNER FROM LAST YEAR'S MANTLE

COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS PRINTABLE

MADE BOWS BY CUTTING STRIPS OF THE REMAINDER OF THE PLAID PLACEMAT 
I USED FOR THIS YEAR'S MANTLE

GOT THESE POTTERY BARN LOOK-A-LIKE LANTERNS AT IKEA LAST YEAR

 

NATIVITY - WILLOW TREE  //  PRINTABLE - HERE

Have you finished your Christmas decorating yet?

 

P.S. Once I get my presents wrapped I will be showing off my Christmas tree...hopefully early next week.

Helping a Friend

Everywhere I turn it seems as if there is a need. Someone or something vying for any extra resources, anything I can spare. There is the local food bank, angel tree, toys for tots, and many more organizations that seek help during the holidays. 
Then, there are friends and family, people I know personally, who may be struggling in some way. My problem is not with the need, but in how to choose. My heart tells me to help everyone, even if it's just a little. Because, if everyone does a little, together they can accomplish a lot.

Today I want to share with you a friend in need. Jessah is a friend and fellow blogger. In fact, if not for her, this little blog of mine would not be here. It is because of her willingness to share her story honestly that I felt the courage to share mine. Not to mention, she helped me get my blog started, answered my crazy questions and translated the confusing blogger language.

Jessah blogs at Dreaming of Dimples. Although she blogs about many things, the most prevalent topic is her five-year struggle with infertility. She also writes about her faith and how she is able to make peace with God's plan for her life.

Jess and her husband have a desire for a child. I understand this desire, as it is one that my heart has felt numerous times. Fortunately for me, that desire was fulfilled relatively easily. What I've learned, in my relationship with Jess, and since meeting so many woman in blogland, who are struggling to conceive, is that this is not so easy for everyone.

In life, there are many decisions to be made. In infertility there are even more. One of the recent decisions that Jess and her husband have made is to attempt to conceive through IVF. I don't much about IVF, but I know that it is costly. This is the need that I come to you with today.

A close friend of Jessah's has set up a fundraising site for those who may be interested in off-setting the costs of IVF for this amazing couple. If this is something that is close to your heart or if you feel led to contribute, please follow this You Caring link.

If you do not feel led to contribute financially, I ask for your prayers for Jess and her husband as they go through the difficult process of IVF. While I don't know if God's plan is for them to conceive a child, I do know that He desires the best for them. He desires for them to have peace and joy, in the life that He has gifted them.

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Romans 15:13

A Vision of Joy {Christmas Mantle - 2013}

Decorating my home for Christmas is one of my favorite things about this time of year. The decorations go up the day after Thanksgiving and remain until after the new year.
Over the next couple of weeks, I will be sharing bits and pieces of my home with you. My mantle, my tree and other miscellaneous decorations will be making their appearance on the blog.
The inspiration for my Christmas mantle this year actually came from this post at A Thoughtful Place. In it, Courtney shared photos of her Thanksgiving mantle and I absolutely fell in love with the framed plaid fabric. Since I had just purchased some plaid placemats from Target, all I needed was a frame and I had my starting point. I found the frame at Homegoods for less than ten dollars.
{Please excuse the poor lighting in these photos. My mantle is right next to three huge windows and I can never seem to find the right angle to reduce glare and shadows. Also, taking a photo into something reflective means that you will see me taking the photos in the reflection of the window}

I have had these stocking and stocking holders for several years. I found the stockings at TJ Maxx and the stocking holders at Pottery Barn, all during after-Christmas sales. Each year, I update the photos in the stocking holders.
As part of my Black Friday shopping this year, my mom and I visited a local Bible bookstore. I needed a focal point for my mantle and was hoping to find it there. Last year, I used the word believe in a banner on the window above the mantle. This year I chose the word joy. 

  My one semi-DIY project for this mantle came when I decided to spray paint my candlesticks. These three came as a set and I have had them for close to ten years. They have been taking up space in my bathroom. So, I decided it was time to give them new life, with glossy black paint. It suits them, don't you think?

In the midst of red, glittery letters, plaid fabric, and spray paint, I kept getting strange looks from my husband. As I added items to the mantle, I could tell he wasn't sure about it all. I told him, Don't worry. I have a vision. He just couldn't see it, until it was all done.

My vision for the Christmas season is joy. Joy in celebrating Christ's birth. Joy in the processes of baking and decorating. Simply, joy.

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. - Luke 2:10
Linking up with Holiday Cheer in the Blogosphere