Time Traveling

Have you ever wanted to travel back to a moment so that you could experience it all over again? Maybe change something about it?

Sometimes I like to pretend I'm time traveling.

Okay, hang in there with me. I'll explain.

A couple of nights ago it was "hurricane hour" as my sweet mother-in-law calls it. Andrew wasn't home yet. I had three pots on the stove, one of which was boiling over. Cheerios (most of them crushed and in a million pieces) were covering the floor. Barney,or something equally annoying, was singing (loudly) in the background about doing our share in cleaning. And this sweet little man wanted nothing but me.

He was crying, whining, yelling, pulling, reaching and had a book in his hand.

Now you might think that I tried to pretend I was time traveling out of this moment and into another. But what really gets me through these moments is to imagine that I'm 60 years old and wishing I could go back to that sweet time when my Little Man fit in my lap. When I could give him 100 kisses without it being strange. And I imagine that this exact moment is the one the Lord gives me.

What would my 60 year old self in a 28 year old body do? Why, I would be so thankful to the Lord for granting me this wish.... I would let that pot just boil on over. I would sit down on the kitchen floor, grab that pudgy ball of tears, pull him in my lap and read through the book. Twice.

And that's what I did. Thank you Jesus for the grace to time travel like that. It makes life so much sweeter.

Weddings

In the past 31 days, we have been to three weddings. I'm not complaining. I used to hate going to weddings before I got married. (Do I need to take a date? Do I have to go up for the bouquet toss? What do I do during the slow songs? Awkward!) But now, they are among my favorite things. A chance to get dolled up, free dinner, free band, seeing old friends, and witnessing the beginning of a family... how could you ask for a better night?

This weekend I got to witness one of my dearest, sweetest friends, Amy, get hitched to Lee! I love this girl. I met her at the camp I met Andrew at and we instantly became great friends. When I moved to Auburn after Andrew and I got married she was the only person I really knew already that lived there. I'm kind of emotional even thinking about what a saving grace it was to have her there... she even came to rescue me one night when the tornado sirens went off and Andrew was not home! I'm so thankful God has brought our paths even closer as her now in-laws live just 30 short minutes from our home in Mississippi! Hooray! I love you Mrs. Weiskopf!

I spent 95% of the reception holed away at a table with this BFF. I get to see her too.few.times.

These two spent the night in front of the Auburn game.... Yes, Amy had a TV room for the football-watchers. She is so kind like that.

Since the wedding was so close to the lake house, we decided to bunk there for the weekend. Andrew's parents were there, as well as four of our very good friends: The Delongs and the Kirsches! It was an all-around 5 star weekend. I'm thankful for those.

The Zoo

When Andrew and I first visited H'burg, we laughed and laughed about this little city in Mississippi having a zoo: "We should go to that there zoo and see us some squirrels!"

But when we bought a house in the zoo's backyard, I stopped laughing and saw the potential of a "get out of the house day" for a stay-at-home-mom like me.

I took W for the first time last week on a whim. I was in the middle of one of those zoning out moments while W laid a fifth book in my lap and said "Ree dat?"... and suddenly I knew I had to get out of this house.

I am so ashamed of my mocking now! While it was no San Diego Zoo, it exceeded my expectations and was, if nothing else, a venue to stroll Wilson around on a beautiful day. 

Trying to find the tiger... his favorite animal

This tiger was much easier to see

The peacock and peacock babies were his favorite. He actually almost jumped out of his stroller to see them.

Just checking out the lemur.

They also had a really great splash pad that we will be revisiting with a bathing suit. I didn't come prepared for that one.

A Family Pass is in the near future for us. I don't think that it stays cold around here for very long, so I think we will get some good use out of it in the coming months.

I love being able to be at home with Wilson, but the more mobile and active he becomes... the harder it is to be at the house with him. He never stays in one place for longer than a few seconds and is constantly getting into things that he shouldn't. It's so much easier when I can get him out of the house.

I don't want to wish time away, but I am looking forward to the day when I can put him in the backyard with Samford and let him play his little heart out without having to keep my eyes glued to him the whole time.

So there's #4 on my {28 Things}...Check!

A New Tradition

Thanks to {Pinterest} I got this idea of making a "loves" list for each age. I think I will frame them and put them up in his room... until he reaches the age where that is "not cool, Mom" and then I will cry and cry about how my baby's grown...

Sigh.

This was one productive thing I did this weekend. I also cleaned my bathrooms (hooray!) and marked something ELSE off of my {28 Things}. I know, right?? I still don't get the phenom of adding "right?" after statements... it sounds kind of funny to me, but I thought I'd try. Fail. I'll tell you about the mark-off later!

Praying for Wilson

Just an update on my {28 Things}... one of my goals was to daily pray scripture over W. I've definitely failed at doing it daily, but I have been doing it regularly.

Mrs. Libby, my sweet mother in law, gave me {this list} before I had Wilson. I really love it... it gives a virtue to pray for him along with a verse. I have it printed off on a pink sheet that is folded up in my Daily Bible.

So, when I ready my Daily Bible I do two of my goals. When I don't, I fail at two. I'm so thankful I'm under grace and not law.

Today I am praying for his joy. "And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit" 1 Thess. 1:6.

I do pray that Wilson would know the joy that comes from being right with God because of what Jesus has done. I pray his joy would run deep and that no circumstance could shake it... that he would always be confident in God's secure and sure love.

What normally happens when I pray for him is I get a little selfish and start praying these for myself, too. I don't think Wilson would mind. :)

Little Man and a Wreath

My little man, a writer in the making, just posted about his 13 month milestone over at {the other blog}. He's kind of stolen my heart, that boy (the part that belongs to little boys and not to men, which is secure with Andrew).

Along with my heart, he has also taken off with my time. I've thought about lots and lots of things to write about while I've been cutting up unending vines of grapes for his lunch, dragging him away from light sockets, and snuggling with him when he refuses to go to sleep. Unfortunately, those profound thoughts have disappeared somewhere with my 8 hours of sleep and you, wonderful readers, are just going to have to settle for something really shallow.

Don't worry. It's not about coupons...I made a wreath! Let me give you some symbolism to make up for this very house-wifey post. I really like wreaths (and most circular things) because I think they represent eternity and completion at the same time. I'm not being facetious... I think there is something warm and welcoming about them and I like having them on my door. So here is my fall wreath... all ingredients were from Hobby Lobby: a straw wreath, a hot glue gun, moss covering (it had a paper backing to it... so easy to use!), burlap, plastic pumpkins and a fabric flower.

And just for kicks and a dose of reality (and so you can see the awesome moss paper)... here is the mess it left for me to clean up when it was all said and done. It also sheds into our foyer every time I open the door... but I guess it goes under the "Beauty is a Pain" category.


I hope I've inspired someone to make a fall wreath! It's such a satisfying use of time and so, so much cheaper than buying one. I think my total was around $10.

Wilson's First Birthday

I have to admit, first, that I ended up eating the words, "I'm not going to make a big deal out of Wilson's birthday... he's not even going to remember it." It only took a couple of looks around on Pinterest to be  bitten by the party-planning bug, and ladies there is no cure for the bite. I was itchin' up something terrible to create and execute the cutest party ever for my Little Man.

I thought I was above it, but there is something in me that wants the absolute best Wilson, even when it comes to shallow things like his birthday outfit (which I shed a few needless tears over when I thought it wouldn't be here in time.. it was.)

Now onto this fiesta of uno! Only because I got some alligator thank you cards on sale last year did I decide to make the theme of Wilson's party the said reptile. And, you have to admit, they are pretty darn boyish and cute. Here is the birthday boy in the aforementioned stress-producing birthday outfit saying "Ta-da..." (he really can say that) "...It's my birthday party!"

 I ordered the outfit from a lady I found off of Etsy and she finished it in record time. The possibility that it might be late was all on me. The "dunce hat," as my loving husband called it, was something I found at Hobby Lobby last year for a birthday wreath... I saved it and I'm so glad I did. The elastic I added was a little tight so I didn't make him let him wear long. 

We had his big birthday celebration the Saturday before his birthday and we decided to do it at Andrew's parents' lake house which was a more central location for everyone. It was perfect to house everyone and to provide a really neat back drop for the party.

My friend Rachel designed these sweet invites that we sent out:

She also designed some cupcake toppers that dressed up our Sam's cupcakes. I know it sounds crazy, but I've discovered that Sam's Club has some of the.best. bakery items around. Their cakes are really moist and I love their icing... I also really love the price which is why I use them for all parties/showers. 

I got a couple of ideas off of Pinterest to decorate for the party...the first being the balloon wreath, which was one of my favorite things.

It was really so easy. I just tied balloons to a wire wreath that I found at Michael's. It took two big packs for Wal-Mart and about 15 minutes to do. Then I added some ribbon (I keep a lot of ribbon on hand... I love to use it for showers and parties to add playful touches on serving dishes) and a little badge I also found at Michael's with one of the cupcake toppers. 

The other idea I got was for a birthday banner.

 

I used this tutorial to cut out the fabric... and then my God-send grandmother and mother-in-law sewed and threaded them the night before the party. My grandmother (who is a sewing guru) told me that the pattern didn't allow enough room for her to pull the fabric inside-out, so she did some tweaking that I wish I could tell you about, but I was making potato salad while she was doing hard labor. My mom cut out the letters with a circuit cutter and we hot-glued them to the fabric. I am excited that I can use it for birthdays to come.

Another decoration I added was his month-by-month pictures. It was really fun to see side-by-side how much he has changed over the year... I got pretty teary-eyed putting it together.

It turned out to be a really sweet birthday party... not because of what I did, but because of all our dear family and friends that came to celebrate. Oh, and the cupcakes were pretty good, too.

 

I think I really love planning birthday parties. So much so, that a few days later on W's real birthday... we did it all over again!

 

I can't believe our Little Man is one! I am looking forward to many more years ahead... even the days when he won't let me put party hats on his head.