This Girl

This precious girl is on my heart today. 

There are so many times when I feel I am not giving her everything she needs. All children have different needs right? Different ways they need to be loved to nourish who they are. J is full of energy, ideas and things she wants to accomplish. Every day is something different. Sometimes it's tiring, or I'm letting my "to do" list get in the way of really listening to her.

There are days I think "why does she need so much attention from me?" 

Of course she needs my attention. I'm her Mommy, the woman she looks up to and wants to impress. She wants to know she is pretty enough, smart enough...good enough.  I can let myself be tired now, but how does that serve her?

 It doesn't.

  So I'll be praying for my heart and mind to be continually open to her needs. Praying for God to remind me I will never get these moments back. This is my time. These are the years to show her she is more than good enough. 

This is my time to show her what a gift she is to me and that I'm her biggest fan.

It may just require more coffee!

Friday is the last day to enter this giveaway.

I'm Over Here Today

Hi friends! I have a little guest post over at Kathryn's place. Come visit and give her some love.

Thanks for having me Kathryn!

Don't forget to enter this great giveaway!

I'm Going to BlogSugar!

You now that feeling you get on Christmas Eve? The excitement and anticipation? You don't know exactly what to expect but you know it's going to be great?!
That's how I feel about Blog Sugar!!
I really still can't believe I'm going. I saw the button on Rachel's blog back in April and clicked on it. Within 5 minutes I had purchased my ticket. Whaaaat? I don't do things like that. And I definitely don't do them without talking to hubby first so he can tell me if I'm crazy or not.

The conversation went something like this...

Me: "I'm gonna go to a conference for Christian women bloggers in September. What do you think...I already bought my ticket...but I won't go if you don't think I should."

Hubby: "What is that, I mean what will you do there?"

Me: "I'm not really sure but I just feel like I need to go."

Hubby: "Ok, that sounds great!"

See? He could have told me I was crazy and if I remember correctly his tone kinda did say I was crazy, but whatever.

I felt such a leading to go. I wanted to be a part of this amazing event with these amazing women.
My first thought was "I must go and soak up every ounce of knowledge these women have!" I admire so many of the lovely ladies speaking and read their blogs all the time. {I promise not to bring my Minnie Mouse autograph book}.

What God has done since I bought my ticket is what I am so thankful for. I have started to build relationships with some inspirational women who I admire very much. I can't wait to spend time with them face to face. I can't wait to have coffee, lunch....laugh...probably cry. Whatever it is I know it will be amazing. Spending time with and learning from women who's goal is to serve the Lord and bless others? What could be better?

See you in September!

Life Handmade - Giveaway!

Well I haven't done a giveaway in a while and I'm so excited to be doing this one!

Meet Amber

Isn't she adorable? 

She has such a sweet heart and a great blog where you can read all about her daily adventures.

Amber is giving one of you lucky ducks 2 beautiful headbands. Hello! She is also offering my readers a 15% discount so go get on that. Her stuff is gorgeous!

Here are all the places you can connect with Amber:

                      life...unscripted -blog
                        life handmade - shop
                      life handmade - facebook

mandatory entries:

be a follower of Call Me Blessed

go visit Amber's shop and tell me your favorite item 

extra entries:

follow life - unscripted

add life - handmde to your favorites on Etsy

"like" life hanmade on facebook

tweet this giveaway, include @callmeblessed31 in your tweet

Good luck! I'll announce the winner on Saturday.

My Lovely New Closet

I made a decision to get help in simplifying certain areas of my life. My closet was one of those areas. Seriously people, it was a mess. So I asked, maybe begged {ok there may have been some weeping involved} my hubby if we could include the cost of closet organization in our construction budget. If you aren't a regular visitor, we had a flood and are in the process of putting the house back together. Because he loves me so much, or maybe because he doesn't know what to do when I cry, he agreed. And now my closet is one of my happy places!

Here is what it looked like before...

My scarves are so well cared for right? And my shoes so nicely displayed and easy to find? UGH!

The lovely Sarah from Chic Closets made over my closet for me and I love her for it. If you are in the So. Cal. area you have to call her. She can do a wonderful job on almost any budget. She cleaned everything out, including putting together a rack of items she suggested we donate or throw away, and organized it from top to bottom.

Drum roll please... here is my new closet!

Matching hangers! WHAT?!

My hubby can actually find his ties now. You're welcome hubby.

And my favorite part...my shoes. They look so lovely.

You can see many more before and after pictures on Sarah's blog.

Birthday Girl

We had a very simple celebration for baby C's birthday this week. And by simple I mean basically she ate cake and that was about it. I know, mother of the year. But judging from this picture I don't think she minds.

Encouragement

I've read so many honest blog posts lately about us bloggers comparing ourselves to each other. Looking at how many followers someone else has, their beautiful blog layout or wondering why they get more comments than you. While this hasn't been something I have struggled with regarding my blog, I think it is something we can all relate to. I'm grateful I have found a community of women who really open their hearts to their readers. 

This got me thinking...why not take this a step further? An easy way to stop comparing ourselves to each other  is to encourage others. Encouraging others takes the focus off ourselves. I am blessed daily by comments like these...

"i love u friend, just thought u should know :)"

"just wanted to let you know that your post touched me.even made me cry. i don't think it was an accident that the same night my husband and i had a fight i read your post and was reminded how i was to treat my husband and see him through the eyes of Christ. not my own. (very hard by the way). when i saw the title of your post i even ignored it a couple times. thank you for your words. i am your newest follower :)"

These are from women I have never met face to face and yet they take the time to write me these loving words. They take the time to let me know that something I have written spoke to them.  My goal is to do the same for others. I rejoice in the successes of my friends and I pray for them when they are hurting. If you find yourself playing the "comparison game" go read some of the amazing words you can find in the blogging community and leave them some love.

I have a wonderful circle of family and friends around me for which I am always thankful. Family and friends who bring me meals when someone is sick, or take my kids when I need a little break. Now God had blessed me with this wider circle of wonderful women who show so much love to each other! I never expected this when I started blogging.  We share our loves, fears, families and just the fun little things with each other and I love every minute. I've sought out advice, given advice and made some true sisters in Christ.  Thank you friends for walking this journey with me and showing me such grace.

"Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another."    Romans 12:15-16

Linked up with Casey and Walking in His Grace.

PS: I'm going to try and sleep peacefully tonight even though this post has no pictures. OCD kickin in. 

Come Out & Play

Now that it's Summer the kids are outside... A LOT. They love it and I don't think there is anything better for them.

Our friends gave us this great new play set when they moved and a $10 sprinkler from Target and we are all set.

my oldest showing off

a bucket swing for her birthday and all is right with the world

I would love to buy her a nightgown that doesn't make her look like the before version of Cinderella...but she loves this one!

and is there anything better than a pile of dirt to a 3 year old boy? I'm pretty sure the doctor said not to get the cast dirty...whatever.

Linking up with Gussy.

Summer Dreamin

For months now my hubby has been saying he wants to do an outdoor movie night. How fun would it be to invite all or friend with their little ones for a movie under the stars?! Well of course I had to go to Pinterest to see what great ideas I could find. Here is what I'm lovin for outdoor movie night.

Can you say comfy?

source

And of course you have to have fun food!

source

source

So do you think I can get my act together enough to make this happen? I'll keep you posted!

Dear Baby C

Dear Baby C,

Today you turn 1. I still can't believe a whole year has passed since I first held you in my arms. What a beautiful girl you are.  

My prayer for you is...

 you grow to love the Lord with all your heart

you are confident in your identity in Christ

 your life is filled with laughter, joy and lots of ice cream

you choose friends who will lift you up when you stumble and rejoice in your victories

you never settle for anything less than what God created you for

you find your passion in life and pursue it

you serve others

you choose a husband who recognizes your worth

you always know you have a family who adores you.

Daddy and I are blessed by every moment with you and promise to try to point you toward Jesus at every turn. You are pure joy my little princess. Happy Birthday!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to the love of my life!

And to my Dad... you are truly the greatest. I love you with all my heart!

Come Visit Me

I have the privilege of guest posting on one of my favorite blogs today. My beautiful friend Casey is a treasure that I am supremely grateful for. "Meeting" her has been just one of the many blessings of this little blog of mine. Thanks Casey!

Gettin All Emotional on Ya

I wouldn't say I'm a super emotional girl but when I do get emotional, it's not pretty. I'm feeling a bit in a ditch today. At first I wasn't sure why. I don't really have anything to be upset about. In fact this afternoon I had a couple of girlfriends over and one of them has "real" problems. Like, life changing devastating problems. Of course that just makes me feel guilty for being in a bad mood to begin with, but that's a whole other post.

With some thought I realized what was bothering me. I had big plans for summer. We wouldn't be taking a lot of trips because we have a lot of work to do around the house but the kids and I were going to enjoy having no schedule. Spending lots of time together just doing whatever we wanted.

The first day was great! Lots of this..

Now it's mostly this...

I was going to spend time with each of them, reading, discussing what we were reading. Well that was not supposed to happen with the 1 year old but you get the idea. I was going to sit outside and soak up the sun while they played on the new fabulous swing set our friends gave us. Oh and also, I was going to be serving lots of healthy snacks and dinners with only the freshest produce{stop laughing at me}. 

Most of you know me well enough by now to know that I do not suffer from "Wonder Woman Syndrome". I have never been under the impression that I can do it all and I certainly have never thought I can do it all well.  So why did I have this vision formulated in my head? And why am I now so upset it has come down to a constant sound of the word "Mooooooom!", bickering and yes...pudding and bags of cheerios for breakfast. Taking four kids to the grocery store? No thank you.

I know why...because I love them with every fiber of my being. I want them to have a joy filled and relaxing Summer. I want them to play, laugh, read great books and snuggle on the couch together watching movies. What I keep forgetting is that those things are happening, just not every moment. I'm letting the not so great parts feed into my fear that someone is getting lost in the shuffle. I want them each to get attention from me. I want to REALLY know each of them.  I am forgetting that I do. I had so much fun going to the library and picking out books I knew they would each love. It was easy... I knew just what topics would bring them joy.

  

I am forgetting that God called ME to be their mother. He has prepared me for such a time as this. I need to focus on the blessing, not the difficulty. God will give me all I need to do this wonderful and difficult job if I just seek Him first.

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:5

So I will enjoy my after nap snuggles

and the few minutes I have alone with her during bath time

and the moments they are loving on each other {watching the Upside Down Show...upside down of course}

Because as much as I love them and want them to feel treasured, how much more does God want that? 

"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands." Isaiah49:15-16

What a beautiful thing to know that my children and I are engraved on the palms of the one who created us. How grateful I am for that kind of love.

Tomorrow is a new day. And at the end of this difficult day I still get to line these up...

Thank you Jesus!