Some of the Best Things in Life are Mistakes: March 2013

Because He Lives

You can print this subway art at The Girl Creative

Happy Resurrection Day!

He is Risen!

Luke 24:1-12

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened that while they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling apparel; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living One among the dead? "He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again." And they remembered His words, and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. And these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them. But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at that which had happened.

Time to Throw the Book Out

My sweet Ella Grace had her one year checkup with the Pediatrician yesterday. She got a clean bill of health. That was really good news especially since she has just recovered from the Rotavirus.

Ella was a little peanut when she was born, weighing in at just over 5 pounds. She entered the world in the 5th percentile for weight. She has now worked herself up to the 25th percentile at a whopping 20 pounds! At least a pound of that is hair!

Now that we have made it successfully through Ella's first year, it is time to pass on my well worn copy of "What to Expect the First Year." I think almost every mom has owned this book. With my oldest daughter, I read this book from cover to cover and referred to it often. I was a new mom and had about a million questions. I was not confident as a mom.

Five years later, my son was born. I was more confident this time. My oldest survived my parenting skills so I felt better about being a mom this time. I still referred to this book on occasion since it had been five years since I read it last.

My third, Ella, arrived only 18 months after her brother. I had the hang of this mom thing so I referred to the book infrequently. Now that Ella is one, it is time to toss the book. I am 100% sure that there will be no more babies produced in this factory since I had a hysterectomy 2 months after Ella was born. The book has served its purpose! It is a little sad to think that Ella is the last baby I will have. I have to remember that I am blessed to have had three babies and to focus on their future milestones.

For any new moms reading this blog, please know that it does get easier. You can do it!

The Easter Bunny

Does anyone else think that the Easter Bunny is creepy? I found a bunch of pictures of my sister and me from the 1970's. My mother used to take us to the Brunswick Square Mall every year for pictures with the Easter Bunny. He is so scary looking!

1976

1977

1978

1979

It is amazing that we are actually smiling in the pictures. How were we not terrified of those bunnies?

My Struggle With Envy

Our Home

The sin that I struggle the most with is Envy. This past week I was struggling more than usual. When I got divorced, I bought this two bedroom townhouse. At the time, it was more than enough space for my daughter, Sydney and me. Now five years later, there are five of us living here. It is pretty tight!

Sydney's father remarried and bought a new home. It is a really large home with about five times the space that we have. My old enemy, envy started to creep in. I started to feel bad that I could not give Sydney her own room and all of the things that her father could. It is so easy to start going down that road.

Sydney set me straight. I asked her if she ever wished that she had a bigger house with us, like the one that she has with her dad. She said, "Mom, the house doesn't matter. I come here to be with my family, not the house."

How is it that a seven year old can see that so clearly but I can't? Why do I struggle with envy? Why is it so hard to be content? I need to remember what Sydney said and be content with what we have, to be happy that our family is here together.

"A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones."- Proverbs 14:30

Sydney and her sister, Ella

My 100th Blog Post

I started blogging in December 2012 and this is my 100th blog post! Will I be able to come up with another 100 posts? I have had almost 40,000 page views! I am really enjoying this writing adventure and hope to continue throughout this year.

So many of you have asked how my sweet Ella is doing after her encounter with the Rotavirus. She is up and about and has regained her appetite. She has her energy back and is walking all around. Here is a little video of her from yesterday:

What Word Comes to Mind...?

When you hear the word "mother-in-law," what comes to your mind? You may start to cringe and vomit a little in your mouth. This is the reaction for many daughter in laws. You have heard the stories. The relationship between a mother and her son's wife can be difficult and strained.

Nana with Ella just a few hours after she was born

I am so blessed to have a wonderful mother in law. She is literally the nicest person I have ever met. Those of you who know her in person know that I am not exaggerating. She is the Proverbs 31 woman! She is the mother of 8 children (4 boys and 4 girls.) She has 6 grandchildren (3 granddaughters and 3 grandsons) and her 7th grandchild (a girl) should be arriving in a few weeks!

Lucas helping Nana cook dinner

These past few weeks, our family has been hit repeatedly with illnesses. We would not have gotten through that time without "Nana's" help. She watched the kids while I was in bed recovering. She never sits down, she cleans and does dishes and laundry while she is here. It is amazing what she gets done while watching the kids. They adore her and love when she is here.

I thank the Lord for giving me such a wonderful mother in law. I know that I am blessed!

DIY Easter Bunny Banner

I have been a little banner crazy lately. I made this St. Patrick's Day banner

and then I made this First Birthday Banner

So I started searching Pinterest for an Easter banner. Of course I had to make my life more difficult by deciding to design my own instead of just copying one off of Pinterest.

This is the final project:

1. I gathered up all of my pastel colored scrap paper to use for the banner.

2. I found a template that I liked and was easy to trace. You can print yours here.

3. I free handed the inside of the bunny ears and drew a face on that I liked and was easy to replicate. I also drew some faux stitching around the edge of the flag. I also free handed the flag so that it would be the exact size I needed.