Christmas Spirit

The other night my friend and neighbor Eryn came over, and we attempted a Christmas Photoshoot with Cal. It turned out better than we expected! You can see the full shoot on Eryn's Blog {Here}.

We Got It!

It's that time of year again! The time when we go into the woods and hunt for our favorite tree! In 2012, I wrote a post about our first tree hunt adventure. So much has changed since then! Now we actually know where to find the best tree's, and we have a tiny addition to our family! We also have a awesome neighbor and best friend that is an amazing photographer! You can see more picture of our Christmas Tree Hunt on her blog {here}. 

This year we found are tree about 25 miles & 45 minutes up the mountain at about 6700 feet! 

Baby Food//: Carrots {Infantino Pouch System}

Baby food making is so much easier than I ever thought it would be! I actually enjoy making Cal's food, and it only takes a few extra minutes! We use our Bullet to puree everything. The bullet is awesome because the cups have steamer lids which allows you to steam veggies in the microwave. They make a baby bullet but we already had the regular one. which is cheaper and has more/larger cups! Since Cal is still new to solid foods, we are not mixing fruits and veggies. Here is some carrot baby food in the making1

A lot of my mom friends have been asking me about my Pouch making system. I use the Infantino Fresh Squeeze Squeezed Station. I love it! I only use pouches when we are 'on the go'. I use the pouch system when I make large quantities of food at one time. I fill the pouches and freeze them. When we leave the house I throw the pouches in the diaper bag, and by lunch time they are thawed and ready to eat! I would definietly recommend it to anyone who wants to make their own baby food! The other thing I love about pouches is that you can buy spoons that screw on to the tip. We have two sets of spoons; Infantino Brand and Plum Brand. Both work with the Infantino Pouches, I prefer the Plum Brand because the spoons are narrow and fit better in Cal's mouth. 

Lessons on Receiving...

In my life I have heard endless lessons on giving, but very rarely have I heard anything about receiving. Maybe it's because my parents were more than generous with their time and resources during my childhood, or maybe it's because it's easier to talk about giving than receiving. 

I can't remember a time where I really understood that I was on the receiving end until I reached adulthood. As I talk about receiving I'm not talking about birthday gifts or baked good, I'm talking about receiving from a real place of need. Maybe as child I did not understand my needs nor could I articulate them. This left me unsure how to receive gracefully to the point of shutting down even when someone offered a helping hand. In my mind, receiving tangibly or intangibly meant I was weak, or that I was not in control of the situation. I did't need help because I could 'do it myself'. It's even affected parts of my marriage, not being able to ask my husband for the help I clearly need.  It’s not until now that I realize how important it can be to “receive” well. 

As I reflected on my new understanding I was presented with more opportunities to receive. Being pregnant with Cal I was offered generous baby showers from friends and family, also there were times we would come home to boxes of diapers and wipes on our porch and even meals in our kitchen. We needed these things and having Cal would have been extremely straining without the help. I felt undeserving.

I was trying so hard to practice receiving well. Then my thoughts lead me to my spiritual life. 

If I can't receive from people without guilt or shame, how in the world can I gracefully receive the ultimate gift from God? 

My friends and family were being the face of The Lord, and I was being stubborn me. I have to learn to receive with love and gratitude because the ultimate gift is much greater than diapers and wipes. In my time of reflection the Lord spoke:

"You need to receive ALL that I have paid for" 

HE paid by dying on the cross so we could live freely and have eternal life. The "gift" is HIM suffering and dying, I need to "receive" it by living freely without guilt or shame. In dying, Christ asks us to enter into life with Him. He turned God’s wrath for us into favor. We are no longer slaves to sin, we are precious, we are bought for a price paid for with the blood of Jesus. 

He is giving us the ultimate gift, if we choose to, we receive it; every little piece of it. 

I'm convicted.

Yes, I have received the ultimate gift of eternal life, but there is so much I am not openly receiving. I need to receive ALL that HE paid for with an excruciating death. By not receiving ALL that He paid for I am saying I can do it myself, I don't need any help. What does the "ALL" that he paid for even mean? For me it is living without fear, being joyful, loving people, being humbled, having compassion, living free from the guilt of sin, breaking free from strongholds, and spending time hearing from HIM. He already paid for me to live like this, and there is a deep need in my life to live fully. 

For now, here are some pictures of our sweet 6 month old! 

Surviving Flying with Baby {Under One}

By no means am I an expert on flying with babies. In Cal's short 6 months of life I have flown across the country twice by myself.  Also, we have two more trips planned in the next 2 months! Here are some things I've learned along the way that have really helped make the whole experience bearable.

1. Baby Wearing! (we have an ergo carrier, I can't live without it!)

Ditch the stroller! I checked mine with my carseat so I didn't have to deal with it until I got to my final destination. I've made the mistake of bringing my stroller and trying to juggle baby, diaper bag and collapse the stroller. Let me tell you, its not a pretty sight. Sometimes people offer to help, but other times I think people watch in amusement! Also, you can take the escalator and not have to hunt down an elevator in the airport!

2. Stoller Bags

My sister told me about these, every major airline sells them, as well as amazon. We bought ours the first time I flew with Cal at the southwest ticket counter. They are re-usable so you only have to buy them once. My carseat/base and umbrella stroller fit in one bag, but some people prefer to bag their carseat and stroller sepratly. They protect your stroller from wear and tear, loosing pieces and they will keep everything dry if its raining!

3. Standard Size Pillow

This was a life saver for me. A five and a half hour flight with a lap baby is not for the faint of heart. There is only so much room on your lap! Bringing a pillow allows for baby to lay flat and play with toys or sleep, also it great for nursing! This depends on the size of your baby, when they get to big the pillow is useless.

4. Disposable changing pads

I'm a little bit of a germ freak and flying is a germ breading ground! Munchkin Brand sells disposable changing pads that are awesome. Here is the link for amazon, you can also buy them at target! If you, God forbid, have to change your baby on the airplane these are great germ barriers :-).  Also I carry mini lysol spray in my diaper bag to disinfect everything, yes I know I'm a freak.

5. Hands free Diaper bag

A back pack diaper bag is best, but a cross body strap works too. It really makes a difference!

6. Paci Clip (even if your baby doesn't take a paci)

I am envious of babies that take a paci, are little boy has refused one pretty much since birth. The reason a paci clip is awesome, is you can connect any toy to it to keep it from falling on ground! What ever toy Cal was play with I would clip to him, so when he let go of it, we didn't loose it in the great abyss of the germ invested airplane floor.

7. Feed the babe during take of and landing, and any time in between!!!

Feeding on take off and landing helps their ears get adjusted, its similar to us chewing gum! Also, Cal is on a pretty stricked eating schedule, but when we are flying everything goes out the window! I feed on demand to soothe him when needed!



WHAT NOT TO DO:

Don't over fill your diaper bag! It's hard enough to reach down and get into it with a baby on your lap anyway. Pack three toys maximum! When you overstuff your diaper bag it become useless!

{DIY} Hair Elastic

Another birthday party, another DIY present. I have made these hair elastics on a few occasions, they are a great addition to any gift bag. They retail for up to $10 for 5 hairs ties, which is crazy! You can make 8 hair ties for $1.20. Yes, I said 8! A yard of elastic cost roughly $2, which makes 8 hair ties.
I bought my elastic at a local fabric store but there are a ton of online stores that offer elastic. Here is one that offers a yard of elastic for $1.20.

To make the hair ties you cut an 8 inch strip, fold the elastic in half, and tie it off! It's so simple!

I used a craft paper tag to display the hair ties. The other part of the gift was handmade ceramic initial disks, they are for sale on my etsy store. My store is currently closed as I build more inventory, I haven't quite figured out how to balance a new baby and my etsy store:-(

A tiny present for my favorite 9 year old! 

Celebrate Well {Being}

My family is currently healthy.

I don't take it lightly, good health is denied to many. Growing up with ‘my other favorite boy’ my brother, this lesson sits close to my heart. In most cases we don't even think about our health until something happens whether it be a small cold or something more serious.  In living life and reading countless stories, I've learned that sickness doesn't discriminate, it can happen to anyone at any time. So how do we not live in fear? If I’m honest, that fear occupies my thoughts more than I would like to admit.

So what do we do, what sort of action can we take? First, I go to the Lord, recalling and repeating that HE doesn’t give us a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind {2 Timothy 1:7}.

This is something my Nana would repeat to all of us so much so that it’s an immediate response to dealing with fear in my life.  HIS word is living and active, it takes up residence in our hearts and HE comforts us.

What else can we do to deal with fear?

We live!

Live fully, take nothing for granted. Linger in the moments. The snuggles, the tiredness, the conflict. Feel your emotions, fully! Let the tears fall. Those tears that you are holding back because you are worried what others may think; the happy ones, the sad and the compassionate tears, Let them fall. It means you’re here, you’re in it.

It can be so hard to let yourself experience your emotions. Oh so hard. I feel slightly hypocritical even writing about it. There is a struggle in my heart to 'fully' live. I need to speak these truths into existence, and do my best to experience life fully. If I don’t attempt to live this way I let fear win. It’s a daily battle, but it’s worth the fight.

Tangibly, I will let my words and photographs be evidence, and a reminder of truly living. Here are a few pictures of people we love, loving on our little boy! This is evidence, evidence of moments where life was lived.