A New Year

What an awesome Christmas! This was my first Christmas away from my Mom and brothers and we were really lucky that our families were able to come to Raleigh. Liam was a lucky little boy, lots of gifts from Mom and Dad, Santa and all of his gramparents, uncles, and other family members. He was so lucky, I think it was a little bit overwhelming for him! Our dining room area officially looks like a daycare :)

I have put away a few things for later this year, like maybe his birthday. Things I thought he was old enough for now but are just a little bit too "old" for him. And I am still trying to figure out where/how to organize all of his toys. I want him to play with all of it but I think there is still too much out. Like I said...lucky boy :) He's not getting a single toy from us for his birthday! Ha! Clothes and books....which are good gifts for sure.

As the new year is here I keep looking at Liam thinking where the heck is my baby?! I can't believe he is almost 18 months old and in just 5 months he will be 2. INSANE.

I am looking forward to what 2011 will bring! Hopefully a job for me, lots of trips to the beach and lots of quality family time. Hope your New Year is wonderful!

Be the Change, Save a Life....

I feel like the phrase "be the change..." is something I have heard a lot in my life. Usually in the phrase be the change you want to see in the world. What does that mean? Sometimes I think I know, but I usually fail to do it or actually strive to BE it.

Tonight on ABC they are doing a show called "Be the Change, Save a Life" and have these AMAZING and sad stories and then tell viewers how we can help. It is a year long series that ABC is doing and if you missed it, watch the trailer here. Then watch the full episode. As a Momma, I can't imagine raising my child with the fear that the next sip of water he takes could kill him. I have been to different countries, Mexico and Haiti, both on mission trips. I remember how a lot of people were living, but I forget. I forget that a bucket of water can be a bucket of JOY and HOPE. I forget that there might be a creek right in front of your house, but in no circumstance should you drink it. I just can't believe it...it makes me sad that somewhere there is a child my son's age who is thirsty but has no clean drinking water. So I heard about this charity and it has inspired me to make a difference.

Have you heard about donating your birthday? I think I'm gonna do it. Hold me accountable. I might want a new vacuum but the one I have works just fine. Why do I want a pair of Sperry's? Cause I think they will help me fit in in Raleigh. They won't.

My son comes first. And if I can help someone else's child...count me in.

So what about you? What kind of change will you be today?

Getting in the Christmas spirit with Shutterfly!

Recently I heard about an AWESOME holiday promotion from http://www.shutterfly.com/ that if you blog about them and products that you love from them, you can win 50 FREE holiday cards! Not only do I LOVE Shutterfly, but I also LOVE free things.

They have some crazy cute cards to choose from this year....check out this one. I think Liam's cute face would be perfect on here! Shutterfly has some really cute Noel ones too, like this vintage one that I absolutely adore! You can check ALL of their cute designs for Christmas cards here though and choose one that fits your style. There are some cute holiday cards, this family Christmas letter card is a great idea if you want to include a letter with your picture card but don't want to write a whole separate letter. Here are the rest of the holiday card options. For real...way too many cute ones too chose from! I'm not sure which one I want to make yet!

The website makes it really easy to do your card. Create an account (new members get 50 free prints I think!) and all you have to do is choose a card (harder then you think since there are way too many cute ones!) and upload some pictures. I have used them to make our last 2 years of Christmas cards and am excited to make ours this year! Another thing I think I am going to make this year for the Gramparents is a calendar which you can check out here. Being 600 or so miles away from their only grandchild is hard so maybe looking at his cute face everyday will help the distance not be too bad. They are also super easy to make and make a great gift for the whole year!

Hope everyone is getting in the Holiday spirit as much as I am. I must admit though, I feel a little bit behind with the Christmas decorations and our tree but I need to remember...it's not even December yet :) We are getting our tree from a Christmas tree farm next weekend and I am excited! I have always wanted to get our tree from one of them and I am hoping Liam loves it! I think I am going to break out the rest of our decorations tonight even though the tree is not coming for a few days...gotta start somewhere with the decorations!

Have a great week!

Together again

Well, we made it! We are finally all moved in to our new apartment in Raleigh. Our weekend started early Friday morning by dropping off Liam and Ellie at our friends house, picking up the truck and then heading back to the house to start the packing process. Everything started out smooth, we packed up our house in about three hours then headed over to my in laws to pack some more stuff we had in storage there. Once that was finished, we waved goodbye to Louisville and headed to Lexington for the night. A bit of a side note here so the rest of the story makes sense: Liam had come down with a nasty stomach virus that was going around. He passed that on to his friend Olivia (sorry Ness :) but both of them had different symptoms...Liam had diarrhea and Olivia was throwing up. I didn't really think much of it since the most I ever get from Liam is a cold. HOWEVER...Thursday night my friend Amanda came over to help me finish packing and she did stellar! But at 5 am I got a text from her saying she had been up all night, sick to her stomach. Uh oh. Surely, I wasn't going to get it or I already would have....right? Hmmm. So Friday as we were finishing up packing at my in laws and I ate my mother in laws stellar tuna sandwich, I didn't feel so good. And by the time we got to my Mom's that night, I was done for. I skipped dinner, laid on the couch, and ended up crawling into bed around 8. By 9...I was sick to my stomach. I was up all night with the worst stomach virus I have had in years if not ever. And yep...I was getting up at 430 am to make the 8 hour drive to Raleigh. UGH. So 430 came around and I felt awful. I was still sick and got even sicker right before we left.

And then...a miracle. I was fine. My Mom drove the first 4 hours and I hung out in the back with Liam and by the time we stopped in Virginia, I had a sandwich and a Sprite and drove myself, Liam and my brother the rest of the way home. By this time, Liam and I were both on the mend and had no sickness...thank God! A miracle is all I can say. We had a lot of help from Justin's awesome co-workers, who by the way I was so embarrassed to meet as I was not feeling good and had driven all day! Anyways. That night, my brother got sick. He ended up staying with us an extra day while everyone else left yesterday at noon, desperate to escape the sick ward :)

Our first full day in NC was good until last night...Justin got sick. OY VEY. I was now taking care of my child who was so confused about where he was and was still trying to catch up on sleep, and two grown men who were sick as dogs. In a new town. Where I know no one. And know where nothing is. But thankfully, both started feeling better a mere 12/24 hours after they got sick and we were able to put my brother on a plane tonight so head back to Lexington. Justin is sleeping it off, he had an earlier bedtime then Liam tonight!

So I feel like right now is the first time I have had in the last few days to wrap my head around what's going on and where I am. I am thankful for Panera and free wi-fi so I can come at the end of the day, listen to my ipod and just think about this new journey. I am in such a different phase of life then I was when I moved to Louisville. I am praying that friends come quickly.  And a good babysitter. Mommy and Daddy need a date night :)

This one's for the girls!

I have lived in Kentucky for 12 years now (moved here from Chicago). I haven't always lived in the same city in Kentucky but I have ventured from Lexington to Bowling Green to Louisville. Along the way I have met some amazing friends which was and always is a big fear of mine because I used to be really shy as a kid and when I moved to Lexington 12 years ago, I knew I had to change. I had awesome friends in high school, some who I am still close to, some am I not. But these 3 girls are the ones that I have been closest to since I moved here.  We have been through a lot-I can't even begin to explain the hilarious things that happen when we are together! Being able to share high school memories together is priceless...I love reminiscing over old stories (half of which I can't remember!!).

Inky's Circa 2008

 

After high school, I went to WKU and met another group of awesome girls. Without these girls, I'm not sure I would be who I am today. Together, we grew in the Lord, learned about faith and who we were and what we wanted to be "when we grew up". There were MANY times in college when I needed a good kick in the ass, and these girls were the ones to give it to me. What's really funny is that boys used to be scared to date any of us because of our bible study leader, Merideth. She really wanted us to date outstanding men of God. and sure enough, those of us that are married...we are married to AWESOME guys :) I am so thankful for these girls investing in my life!

Bemis Hotties Circa 2002

Then...after graduating in December of 2005, my husband and I moved to Louisville. At the time, we were involved in Young Life and became leaders right away. I happened to meet another amazing group of girls that were other leaders or who were involved in college/post college YL group. I have had AMAZING memories with these girls, I can't even begin to describe how fun they are or how influential they have been in my life. I mean...I never used to wear big earrings before I started hanging out with these ladies :) But seriously. What a blessing to have another great group of friends!

Louisville Girls Circa 2010

I pray HARD that I find amazing friends in Raleigh. And also that Justin finds some amazing friends too...it's important that the hubs has some good dude friends too. I am confident we will find good couples to share our lives with. 5 days and counting!!

One week!

I am back! I haven't blogged for awhile and here is why...I felt like if I continued to write, I would be a Debbie Downer. These past four months have been hard on me and I never wanted my blog to be depressing or a place where I was just complaining about the place in life that I am in. Typically, I am a glass half empty kind of gal (at least I know it, right?). When things get stressful or a situation doesn't work out as easily as I want or expect it to, I kind of freak out. It always works out in the end but for some reason, I sometimes don't have a cool head about things. That's kind of the way this whole moving situation has been for me. There were times when I could confidently say that I was trusting the Lord and I knew that when it was time, it was time. But then other times....whew. I was crying on the phone to my husband, or crying to a friend or crying after Liam went to bed.  Or just being really mad at God because I didn't know why our family had to be separated. Thank goodness for my husband! We really do balance each other out. When I freak out, he calms me down. When he doesn't think a situation through, I bring him back to reality. He has always been willing to work hard for our family while having a great balance of work and family. I think if we were both hot heads we never would have been able to do this :)

I would try to remind myself it could be worse....I have a few friends whose husbands are in the military and have been gone or are gone right now for a year or more. But...it has worked out. Like it always does. It has been quite a journey but I am excited to see this season of life pass us soon. Next week, we are packing up all of our belongings and headed to North Carolina! I am thankful for the person moving into our house. It's a cool story and a huge answer to prayer and I am thankful that our house will continue to be used as a place of ministry for our church and to our neighborhood.

In other news, Liam is amazing. As always. Was that ever in question? I am biased as I am his Momma but seriously. He is so cute and so wonderful.

Halloween was a hit :) Cute costumes, candy and getting to stay up a little past bedtime? He loved it all!

Inspiration

Have you ever had those days that you are just knocked down onto your knees in prayer because there really just aren't any words or anything else that seems right to do? Today was one of those days for me.

I have these two friends, Brooke and Brandon. They are friends of mine from high school. Brooke and I have so many fun memories together and Brandon was one of my first friends when I moved to Kentucky.  You know those people that everyone wants to be friends with? Brooke and Brandon are those people...they are so wonderful! Brooke got pregnant this year and found out very quickly that their baby had something called anencephaly which is a fatal neural tube defect. Due to medical reasons, Brooke was induced early (30ish weeks) on Thursday and in Brooke's words, Briar was born at 338 am to be with Jesus.  I have seen a few pictures that she has posted at her blog and they are precious and sweet. We know that Briar is with Jesus, but as a mommy, it is sad to hear and see something like this. I can't imagine something happening to Liam.  If you have time, read through Brooke's blog. She blogs about her pregnancy and her faith in the Lord during this tough time.

What an inspiration. She has just faced a huge trial and has her trust 100% in the Lord. I pray that my faith is this strong all the time and that my strength comes from the Lord. Last night, I was packing a few boxes and organizing the closet getting ready for a showing tomorrow and song came on on my itunes. It is called "I Have to Believe" by Rita Springer. It is an AMAZING song that we sing at our church Sojourn sometimes. I started to cry just thinking and remembering that God said He can move mountains and that He is our strength. Here are some lyrics:

I have to believe, he sees my darkness

I have to believe, he knows my pain
I have to lift up, my hands to Worship
Worship his name
I have to declare, that he is my refuge
I have to deny, that i am alone
I have to lift up, my eyes to the mountains, thats where my help, it comes from

He said that he's forever faithful
He said that he's forever true
He said that he can move mountains
If he can move mountains
He can move my mountain, he can move your mountain too

I have to stand tall, when the wind blows me over
I have to stand strong, when i'm weak and afraid
I have to grab hold, a hold of the garments, the garments of praise

He said that he's forever faithful
He said that he's forever true
He said that he can move mountains
If he can move mountains
He can move my mountain, he can move your mountain too

I have to sing praise, when the hour is midnight
He unlocks these chains, that bind up my soul
my sin and my shame he has forgiven, and made me whole

Wow. If you don't own this song, get it. It's wonderful.
If you can, pray for Brooke and Brandon. Pray for healing and for strength.