Good Morning Friends! I'm excited to be guest blogging over at my friend Darrell's blog 'This Is Me Thinking.'
He's doing an NCU Alumni week series! I'm excited that I get to kick of the series with today's post on a few lessons I've learned along the way in ministry over the last six years. Stop by his blog, you can check out my post by clicking here.
Thanks Darrell for allowing me to be apart of this series.
It's a whole new world for us having Orion home with us on the weekend, one that I am enjoying so much but I'm still getting used to having him around! I've been trying to find family things for us to do these days, it's summer and I want to enjoy every moment of it. Ava is walking now, and we try to get her out of the house on the weekends since during the week she's at daycare. She's a lot more mobile now and interested in things so it makes it a lot more fun.
Tolmachoff Farms is a local place here in Phoenix, we visited them last year during the Fall for their pumpkin patch. Turns out they do a "family farm day" in the summer time full of activities. The summer heat has come early this year in Phoenix, we got there around 9 am and it was already almost 100 degrees! Yowzers! We braved it though.
Ava found this little wooden house she could go inside of and she thought it was the greatest thing. She kept going in and out of it. So cute.
Orion entered a watermelon contest, mostly because he was so hot and wanted the refreshment. We cheered from the side lines.
We stopped at the petting zoo to see some animals, played in the corn kernals, and walked around in the hay! Grandpa would be proud!
Then by 11 am we all went home, Ava napped and Hubby and I worked on refinishing some night stands. Then we stopped over to bring dinner to our friends and see baby Emery. It was a perfect Saturday! How did you spend the weekend?
How was your weekend? Mine was so fun. Weekends are for family time, they are for getting projects done, and relaxing! Saturday we spent the day at a local farm enjoying some "farm day" activities. And then went to visit our friends who recently brought their baby girl home from the hospital.
Sundays are resting days.
I had the worst headache Sunday morning when I woke up, that quickly turned into a migraine by the time we got to church. I came home and took 3 hour nap! Um, thank you to my Hubby who watched Ava while I napped and felt better after I got up.
I also like to take a break from the blog, emails, and everything else Internet related on the weekends.
I've been finding all sorts of awesome things all over the Internet lately, and I've been compiling them all in Pinterest! Here's a look at a few of my "pins" on Pinterest to get you in the mood!
I really want to do something like this for a future play room.
It's becoming slightly addicting. Such a great way to keep all your creative ideas organized and together. Let me know if you want an invitation. If you're already on Pinterest, I'd love to follow you and see what you're "pinning." Leave your links here and I'll come by and visit, leave a comment and probably re-pin your ideas too!
Also, there's just a few more days to donate & enter to win some amazing prizes by donating to Project Baby B! If you haven't donated yet I invite you to pray and think about donating to this amazing family!Go here to donate!
Ava is now 14 months old! A full fledged toddler on our hands, a big girl if you will! I thought it was time to give you an update on our girl. She's now become a confident walker, and into anything and everything.
She now weighs about 20 pounds, still kinda small for her age but her Doctor is pleased. She's been discovering lots of things these days. We let her walk on her own as much as possible, one of my favorite things to do with her is taking her to the park and letting her just walk around and discover the outside as much as possible.
She's been trying all sorts of new foods lately too. We've discovered she doesn't like blue berries, but she loves strawberries, bananas and apple sauce! She's a pretty good eater with almost everything but she still loves cheese and milk a lot!
She moved up into the toddler room at daycare, and is now bringing home pictures and paintings. We hang them all on the fridge proudly. It's so fun watching her play with Bentley, they are pretty cute together.
She mimics when we sing the ABC's to her making the same sounds too. She says "uh-oh", and we're working on "thank you" as well. It's fun listening to her try to talk.
She's wearing size 3 diapers and size 3 shoes. We tried Target brand diapers this month but she broke out into a horrible rash so back to Pampers sensitive it was. She's got terribly sensitive skin.
She has 4 molars coming in, which brings her tooth count to 12! She's been pretty sick the last couple months so we're trying to get her healthy and keep her that way! She had pink eye and an ear infection in the last couple months.
Every day she does something new, and I'm loving this stage that she's in right now.
I love to search and scour online to find great deals on things. There's a few places I always go to find good deals on kids, baby and home stuff. I thought I'd share a few with you that other's have introduced me to and I love them! All these sites are ones that you sign up for a weekly/daily deal that is sent to your inbox.
For the HOME:
They have great amazing home stuff for at least 50% off or more. I love to look here for pillows, rugs and decor stuff!
For the LOVE of FASHION:
Rue La La I first heard about while watching The City, but Mrs. B told me all about them a few months ago and they are great site to get deals on name brand/ high end fashion. Click here, to be taken to their site and sign up for daily deals!
Is another great site for fashion finds! They have great deals on both men's & women's items. Click here to be taken to their site!
For the KIDDOS:
Zulily is my #1 go to for unique kids stuff! They have the best deals and the most adorable stuff for babies, kids and Mommys! I visit their site daily and look for deals, this is where Ava's tutu came from that she wore for her birthday! Click here to be taken to their site!
Mrs. B also told me about this site too, and now I'm passing it along to you! Great items for kids, and Mommy too! They also sometimes have home stuff too in their weekly deals! Click here to be taken to their site!
Also you can look below for coupons and deals on some great offers from our sponsors!
{all opinions are 100% mine, I will recieve referal credit for anyone who signs up for an account and daily deal.}
I decided to go along with my girl Andrea, {girls named Andrea are just plain awesome} and do a 30 day photo challenge. Join me for 30 days won't you!! You don't need to have a fancy camera or anything, this is just a really fun way to maybe grow your photography skills/perspective and have some fun along the way!
Follow along with me on my photography site, I'll be posting these challenges here and talking about them.
That's what Orion called Ava the other day, as she was walking around the house. He said;
"Look at her, she's such a tiny human."
Beside the obvious that she's a small little baby, she's only in the 10% percentile for height of kids her age. She's not destined to be tall by any means with parents like us. It's not in her gene make up, although maybe some of those Dutch genes may have skipped me and gone straight to my children, we'll see.
Every day I'm always thinking about the overwhelming and joyous responsibility that we have as parents. There are days when I'm overwhelmed by the responsibility. Days when I think about all that I want to teach her, my mind revels with ideas and thoughts all the time.
But mostly, I am just in awe of who she is. Her personality, and how she changes daily. Being her mom, becoming parents has blessed me in a way that I never imagined it could.
We get to raise her. Be there for her and our future children. Teach them things. Smile, laugh and be silly with them. I think about how I can't wait to bake cakes with her someday, go on more family vacations, attend dance recitals or whatever other activity she is apart of. Parenting is a big job. One that I am excited to have, but feel so under qualified sometimes for. But, I try to remember that God has equipped me for it. He's my strength when I am weak and don't feel cut out.
With a year under our belts, can we call ourselves veterans?
Mother's Day has always been a big celebration in my home growing up, with my Mother's birthday either on or after Mother's Day depending on the year it falls. We always celebrate big. Father's Day too is much the same. I'm the girl who walks into Target and comes out with a handful of Father's Day cards to give to all the Dads in my life.
I didn't grow up with a "traditional" Dad relationship. My biological father was absent most of my life, and isn't in my life now. At a very young tender age I accepted Christ as my Savior and I truly believe that he protected me from feelings of abandonment, hurt and anger towards my own Father. Sure, I had those thoughts and feelings from time to time, but mostly they stemmed from not understanding. Until I came to a point where I realized I will never understand why my own father left, why he never saw me or my sister growing up, I probably could go on an on about a lot of things "he didn't do."
When I say the Lord protected me, I truly believe it. And more than protected me he blessed with with a loving Step Father who was more a Father to me that my own bio logical father. He raised me, taught me the value of right and wrong, provided for me, and loved me even though I wasn't his own. I became his little girl. For that I am forever grateful and thankful for.
He will be a father to the fatherless.
Psalm 68:5
Orion's Dad left when he was 13 years old and he hasn't seen him since. There's so much of our past that comes out in our daily lives, so much of it affects what we think, how we feel and how we respond to life. My husband didn't have a Dad around to help shape, grow and nurture those formative years in his life. But, the Lord had a plan and placed amazing Godly men around him in his life to teach him, be there for him and grow his relationship with the Lord.
I am so thankful for a Godly husband who loves the Lord and will help guide and direct our children.
Proverbs 22:6
New Living Translation (NLT)
6 Direct your children onto the right path,
and when they are older, they will not leave it.
We may not be able to control or change the past but the wonderful thing about being parents now is that we get to choose the way we parent, and how we're going to be there for our children. It's so amazing this love we have as parents.
Our past has one story.
But, our future has an even better one.
Neither one of us grew up with our Dads in our lives, but we've allowed God's love to overwhelm us and we've chosen a better path.
I heard this song a while back, and I just love the words. As I sat listening to it, I imagined Orion with our children. He's already an awesome Dad to Ava. The way he loves her, plays with her, and protects her is amazing to me. It's such a blessing to have him so passionate about being her Daddy.
She loves him so. I look forward to watching their relationship grow. I look forward to seeing his role as her Father take shape.
I am so blessed.
If you'd still like to donate to the Brooker's adoption fund please GO HERE, donations will be open till June 10th!
