our family grace

30 June 2014

Mommy Moments Blog Hop!

Welcome to Mommy Moments! Last week we almost doubled in size with over 100 links! Let's keep it up by sharing and promoting the link up! I have enjoyed getting to know all the new mamas linking up and sharing their lives with us! I can't wait to hear more from you all again this week!

Motherhood has its seriousness and frustration as well as its laughs. That's why we are here. Life is much easier when traveled with companions! So mamas, let's join together in the spirit of motherhood and share our moments together. We want to hear the happy, sad, tough, terrible, hilarious moments that make being a mother the best job in the world!

In case you missed it, last week we had the 100th Mommy Moments Link Up! Woohoo! To celebrate, we are giving away $100 Paypal cash, $10 Starbucks Gift Card and a headband from Pearberry Pie. The giveaway is open for another week just so YOU can enter! Click on the link or photo below to be taken to the giveaway post!

GIVEAWAY POST

The top viewed link this week belongs to A Lavender Life and her post Confessions of A Second Time Mom. I laughed when I read this post because I know when the time comes for us to have our second that I will be the same way! I am actually looking forward to not being as over-protective and paranoid about things. Thanks for the great post Carolyn!

The Life Of Faith

The Not Quite Military Wife

Beautiful Family Affairs,

Like A Morning Cup Of Coffee

Alycia from Crazily Normal

Now, link up your post!

Post can include anything related to mommy-hood, children, homemaking, pregnancy etc. If you aren't a mom yet, feel free to link up your preparation for motherhood, your journey as you try to conceive, or even a post that would be encouraging to the other moms in the party!

Then, explore some of the other posts in the link-up and say hello to some new blog friends!

Please, pretty please, we'd love it if you would tweet or share the link up on Facebook so we can all make even more friends!

We would also love it if you could add the Mommy Moments button to your post or blog so everyone knows where you are linking up! If you are not able to copy/paste the code on your page, please e-mail one of us and we would be happy to send you the code!

<div align="center"><a href="http://the-life-of-faith.blogspot.com//search/label/mommymoments" title="The Life Of Faith"><img src="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k537/faithkonrath/cfa5ba11752f4e898055d03d33cf24e0.jpg" alt="The Life Of Faith" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

P.S. We will be having a new guest host every week! Want to be a guest host of the Mommy Moments Blog Hop? Send Faith a message at farmprincess14{at}gmail{dot}com. We would love to have you!

Colossians 3:17
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

An InLinkz Link-up

26 June 2014

Nightly Routines

I'm so sad that this is our last One Year and Beyond Link-up...but fingers crossed and we could do round two!

real life iPhone photo of Bug during naptime. yes, her nursery is a mess. it is what it is.

Today's toddler battle is all about bedtime. Bug's bedtime has changed over the past few months. We've gone from having a late bedtime, to an early bedtime, and then to a bedtime right in the middle. Why do we switch so much? To try and find what fits for Bug.

I originally wanted her bedtime to be around 7:30. But she didn't appreciate that, and I found that she would be up more throughout the night and she didn't have a restful night of sleep. It ended up being rougher on both of us, because I would be the one that was up and soothing her.

Then her bedtime seemed to center around 9:00. That was not going to fly for this mama. I had stuff to do and I needed to get some sleep too. So we battled with the 9:00 o'clock bedtime for a while.

Finally, we settled on an 8:00 o'clock bedtime. This seemed to sit well with both Bug and me. We start our bedtime routine at 7:00 and start off with a sink bath. She loves her sink baths and I let her play for as long as she would like, normally around 15-20 minutes. After that, we get our pajamas on and grab a blankie and paci. Then, we turn off all the lights and cuddle on the couch. At this time she brings me book after book to read or stuffed animal after stuffed animal to cuddle with. It's generally a quiet time that we just share together. When 8:00 o'clock comes around, I tell her it's time to go to bed and off she goes to her room. This is a new thing, but by her going to her room on her own, it shows me that she really is ready for bed and helps with the transition. Once we're in her room, we'll either rock and pray or I'll sway with her and pray. Then it's time for goodnight kisses and I lay her down in her crib and ask her to "dream big for Mommy." I think that's her favorite part because she always smiles, nods enthusiastically, and giggles.

Bedtime really is such a sweet and special time. I personally love putting my little girl to bed, and I hope she wants me to tuck her in for as long as possible!

Now, we're trying to transition to her from her crib. Originally, we were going to go with a toddler bed and that seemed to be working out well. Then she got sick for a month and reverted back to her crib. Now whenever I attempt to put her in the toddler bed she freaks out. So we're thinking about switching game plans and moving her straight to a twin bed...I imagine our bedtime routine will change when we make that transition. Also, it'll change once little guy gets here. But, I'm hoping and the plan is to still set aside time for Bug and I to enjoy bedtime, just the two of us.

Like A Morning Cup of Coffee The Not Quite Military Wife

From Here To Eternity Words About Waverly

Pardon My French Beautiful Family Affairs

My Delicious Adventure The Life Of Faith

Running From The Law The Olive Tree

May 8: Taming the Temper Tantrums

May 15: Weaning from Breastfeeding or From Formula to Cow’s Milk

May 22: Dealing with Mommy Guilt

May 29: When People Share Their Opinions and How to Lovingly Handle it

June 5: Traveling with your Toddler

June 12: How to get your toddler to eat their veggies…or their food at all

June 19: How to make time to blog in the busyness of motherhood

June 26: Bedtime Battles (nap or bedtime)

An InLinkz Link-up

24 June 2014

Can We Go Back?

We spent the past week at the beach. Though I do enjoy being home, I am ready to go back. Here is a sneak peak at what we were up to.

Wandering around the huge oaks and Spanish moss.

The open fields were a dream come true for this little girl. She just loved to run and play.

She's not a ham or anything...

My little Bug enjoying her time at the beach.

This may be my favorite picture of my little Bug.

No babies were harmed in the taking of this picture...

Also, don't forget about this awesome Mommy Moments giveaway!

22 June 2014

Mommy Moments Blog Hop and $100 Giveaway!

Happy 100th Mommy Moments Link Up & GIVEAWAY!

In addition to winning the $10 Starbucks card and $100 Paypal cash, the winner also gets their pick of a Pearberry Pie headband pictured below!

Looking back over the best couple of years, I had no idea how this link up would change my life. I was just a clueless pregnant woman excited about becoming a mama! Turns out, this link up is where I have met some of my best friends and been so encouraged each week as a mama!

Because each of you are what make this link up possible every week, we want to celebrate YOU with a giveaway! Enter to win below and then link up your post for the week!

Thanks to all these wonderful ladies pictured below for their contribution to this fun giveaway!

This Marine Wife//A Cowboy's Life// Madly Wish//Foxy Domestic Side//The Life Of Faith// The Not Quite Military Wife//Beautiful Family Affairs//Just A Touch Of Crazy//The Everyday Momma//This Little Light Of Mine//The Peanut's Gang//Eat, Pray, Read, Love//Sounds Of My Pitter-Patter//Crazily Normal

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Motherhood has its seriousness and frustration as well as its laughs. That's why we are here. Life is much easier when traveled with companions! So mamas, let's join together in the spirit of motherhood and share our moments together. We want to hear the happy, sad, tough, terrible, hilarious moments that make being a mother the best job in the world!

The top viewed link this week belongs to Sweet Country Roots and her post Back To An Old Fashioned Way Of Thinking! I loved this post and the heart behind it. Even though we can't really go back in time, it's so important to instill some of the values from the past even in our current culture. Thanks for the great post Brittany!

An InLinkz Link-up

12 June 2014

Toddler Battle Ground

Eating has become such a battlefield recently. Really, Bug is a great eater. She'll eat almost anything, depending on her mood. Our biggest battle is how she eats. She has become Miss Independent as of late and that goes double for eating times. She absolutely must feed herself. No matter what. Also, she wants to cut up her own food, or in another instance, she just wants to pick up the whole plate and bite off one by one what she's eating.

A couple nights ago, we made burgers. The hubs cut hers into bite size pieces and covered it in cheese for her to eat. Something she typically loves! Did she eat it? No. She pitched a fit and kept pointing at my plate. Now my plate had a whole burger (not cut up), a different type of cheese, and onions. She wanted to eat my food! And, well, as most mommys know, you pick and choose your battles. This was one that I was willing to let her win. It was late, she didn't nap well, I was tired, you know how it goes. So I traded plates with her. She decided to pick up that burger whole in both hands and just take bite after bite of it. She devoured almost the whole thing, including the onions! Silly girl.

So really, I don't have any tips. I go by what kind of mood my little girl is in. If she appears to want to eat, then we eat and we eat well, but we have to do it at her pace. And you know what? I'm okay with that.

Oh. One more thing. My daughter LOVES eggs. I think she could eat eggs for every meal...so if we're having problems, eggs and applesauce are a go to. In my mind, as long as she's eating and it's relatively good for her, then that is all that matters in the long run.