Mommy Moments Blog Hop!

Hey mamas!
Welcome back for another great week of Mommy Moments Link Ups! Thank you for linking up and for spreading the word last week! We love all of the great posts!

 This week's most viewed link belongs to Rachel from Dreaming of the Country! Her post Having a Baby on a Budget is a definite must read.

Now it's time to link up your posts! All you have to do is...

1. Follow Host: The Life Of Faith 

 Co-Hosts: The Not Quite Military Wife, Beautiful Family Affairs and The Mrs. 

2. 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!

3. Add the Mommy Moments button to your post or blog so everyone knows where you are linking up!

4. Explore some of the other posts in the link-up and say hello to some new blog friends! 

5. Tweet or Share the link up on Facebook so we can all make even more friends!

Tweet

<div align="center"><a href="http://the-life-of-faith.blogspot.com//search/label/baby" title="The Life Of Faith"><img src="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k537/faithkonrath/mommymomentsbutton.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!

Let's Make Habits: Week 1

source//words mine

I'm joining Jenny again this week in her series about making habits. Last week we talked about what our goal for this two month challenge. I decided my goal was to get organized, and you can read all about why here. This week we are to come up with a schedule.

Let it be known, that one of my on repeat New Years resolutions is to get organized, but somehow I always get intimidated by the overwhelming job it is to get organized. I seem to want to tackle it all in one go, get discouraged, and then I end up taking a break that lasts until the new year rolls around again. This time I'm coming up with a schedule to hopefully urge me on in my conquest to organize this house of mine.

Week 1 (August 18-24):

Kitchen

* clean out fridge

* organize cabinets

*organize pantry

* baby proof cabinets with cleaning supplies and knives

*dust

*mop

Week 2 (August 25-31):

Dining Room

* organze table

*clean up and organize "bar cart"

*dust

*mop

Week 3 (September 1-7):

Living room/Entryway

*clean up toys

*organize tv cabinet

*clean out fireplace

*dust

*vacuum

Week 4 (September 8-14):

Bug's Bedroom

*clean out drawers

*organize drawers

*change out clothes sizes

*put clothes that don't fit in storage

*dust

*vacuum

Week 5 (September 15-21):

Bug's bathroom/Master bath

*deep clean toilet

*deep clean tub

*scrub floors

*organize under the sink

*organize medicine cabinet

Week 6 (September 22-28):

Master Bedroom

*organize dressers

*organize closet

*go through clothes to donate old ones

*dust

*vacuum

Week 7 (September 29-October 5):

Guest Bedroom

*gut and start all over

Week 8 (October 6-12):

Hall Closets

*gut and start all over

My plan is to tackle things room by room in order for them not to get too overwhelming. Of course, the guest room is totally terrifying. It's been our "catch all" room and I'm ready for it to be better. I want to be able to walk in there without cringing. I also want to be able to find things in there. 

I think the end result will be the satisfaction of having a nice clean house where everything has a place and there's a place for everything. I also, just maybe, might splurge on some awesome new things for our house. We'll just see what ends up happening.

A Week In Review - A New Link Up!

10 August - 16 August

This week has been very...difficult. I have had a cold for most of the week, and now Bug has a cold. Sunday was a long day of work, and that coupled with being sick and a cluster headache, I was not a very fun person to be around. It breaks my heart that Bug now has a cold too. So we have really laid low this week. The weather the past few days has been glorious. Who knew it could be in the 70s in the middle of August in Georgia! Bug and I definitely took advantage of the weather and spent some time walking outside. Along, with the sickness, there's a lot of other stuff going on. Choices that need to be made. I'm not ready to go into full detail about everything, but there has been a lot placed on our plates. Right now, we're just trusting God to get us where we need to be. To put everyone's minds at ease, we are all okay, we're just having to rely on God for a lot of things right now. And that's okay. He has everything planned for us. We're just waiting on doors to be opened.

On a good note: Bug said her first word! "Mama!" My heart is soaring sky high to hear my little girl say "mama." The hubs was giving her a hug before he left for work and she wanted to come back to me. I told her "not before you say 'mama'." And by golly, she said "mama" right then and there! I can't make this stuff up people! My heart is so incredibly happy right now.

top left://Bug's Christmas Eve jammies came in! Now to put them away and forget about them until Christmas Eve is actually here! top right://This is how Bug naps on sick days. She refused to lay down in her crib, so Mommy's chest would have to do. I don't think she was complaining. bottom left://The hubs took an extra day off work for our anniversary, so we went and wandered around the new outlet malls. It was 68*F outside. 68*F. In August. In Georgia. bottom right://Bug is so close to crawling! It'll be just a matter of days before she's following me around everywhere.

feel free to grab a button and link up!

<div align="center">
<a href="http://beautifulfamilyaffairs.blogspot.com/2013/08/a-week-in-review.html" title="A Week In Review"><img src="http://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/j370/eawoody09/aweekinreviewbutton.png" alt="A Week In Review" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

4 Years Ago...

4 years ago today I married my best friend. 

Photo taken by Mandi @ Making Memories Photography 

I can honestly say that I love him more now than I did then.

He is truly my best friend.

And the greatest father.

I am so thankful that I get to spend the rest of my life with this man, and I can't wait to see where God takes us on this journey!

Gitchee gitchee goo!

Let's Make Habits: Choosing a Goal

I have been following Jenny over at her blog for a while now. Both Jenny and I graduated the same year from Berry College. I found her blog and just got pulled in. She has such a creative spirit and is incredibly talented. 

She has created a new series called "Let's Make Habits" where we come up with different goals and over a 2 month period we work toward making those goals a habit. 

So now I have to think of what do I want to make a habit. Immediately my brain starts spinning. I want to work out, I want to get outside more, I want to start eating clean. But I think the one that stands out most in my mind is: I want to get organized. 

With a 7 month new baby and an almost crawler, anything out of place and on the floor has a flashing light that seems to attract her. She's at the curious stage where she just wants to explore and if she can put it in her mouth, she most certainly will. Hence my new goal of getting organized. I know it's impossible to keep her out of everything, but I would be happy with at least attempting to get things neater and find a place for things that as of now don't have a place. 

Also, there are toys that come along with a baby getting older and older. These toys need a place to go. So not only do I need to organize, but I need to find a new home for all of these toys and things. 

See what I mean? We've been over run with toys. 

So here it goes...Two months to get organized. Check back next week to see my progress and my plan of attack!

Mommy Moments Blog Hop!

Hey mamas!
Welcome back for another great week of Mommy Moments Link Ups! Thank you for linking up and for spreading the word last week! We love all of the great posts!

 This week's most viewed link belongs to Cara from The Building of a House And Family! Her post Paci And Potty Training must have sparked something last week as she had over 20 visitors from the link up alone! I guess all moms want to know the tricks to taking the paci away and of course, potty training. Well, stop by and see how Cara did it!

Now it's time to link up your posts! All you have to do is...

1. Follow Host: The Life Of Faith 

 Co-Hosts: The Not Quite Military Wife, Beautiful Family Affairs and The Mrs. 

2. 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!

3. Add the Mommy Moments button to your post or blog so everyone knows where you are linking up!

4. Explore some of the other posts in the link-up and say hello to some new blog friends! 

5. Tweet or Share the link up on Facebook so we can all make even more friends!

Tweet

<div align="center"><a href="http://the-life-of-faith.blogspot.com//search/label/baby" title="The Life Of Faith"><img src="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k537/faithkonrath/mommymomentsbutton.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!

Friday's Letters

Dear Friday, Welcome. It has been a hard week with me being sick since Wednesday. I'm looking forward to the weekend, even though it's going to be busier than my week was. Dear Bug, You have been extra cuddly this week. I'm not complaining one bit! I like my cuddly baby. Dear Hubs, I am so incredibly proud of you! I'm sorry I've been sick, but you've been amazing! I'm so proud of how you are leading our little family. Dear Sore Throat, Please go away. I'm really over this whole being sick thing. Dear College Football, Just a few more weeks until you're here! It's been a long, long spring and summer without you!

From My Kid's Closet: Mom and Me

This picture was taken earlier this summer, but I absolutely love it!

My Outfit: Shirt - Old Navy; Shorts - Old Navy; Boots - Horse Town

Bug's Outfit: Bow - Dainty Diva Bows; Dress - Bass Pro; Boots - Belk

FOYP

I need football in my life.

Paint, paint, and more paint

I'm one that constantly likes to change and update things in my home. When we first moved in, I knew I wanted to paint the nursery yellow. I love the yellow that is in there. It's such a happy color. It's bright and airy and is just a happy room for my little girl. But I tire of colors very quickly, much to my husbands annoyance. 2 years in this house, and I'm already ready to repaint (let's be honest though, I've been ready to paint after the first year).

The first room we conquered was the bathroom. We did a complete overhaul in there. Right now, we're just waiting on the bead board and baseboards to get installed, and then it'll be finished and I'll update with pictures!

The next two areas on my list of never ending things to do are Bug's room and the master. Currently, the nursery is yellow. Like I said before, I love the yellow. But I think I want to go with something slightly more neutral. A brown of some sort. Maybe the color of warm cinnamon or Martha Stewart's brown sugar.

  

                    Martha Stewart's brown sugar                 warm cinnamon

Now are master bedroom is a dark green. I like the color, but I've never been in love with it. There isn't enough natural light in our master bedroom to pull of such a dark color. In an attempt to lighten things up, we're already repainting the trim white. At the moment, it's that ugly 80's stain. The white trim is definitely helping brighten things, but in my opinion, it's not enough. So now I'm thinking of doing a yellow and grey combination. Our new (washable) bedspread is yellow, and I love it. But the green doesn't really go well with it. So now, it's time to paint.

grey possibilities

I love these greys, but I did tell the hubs that he could pick out the grey in order to get him on board with the master bath redo. 

I don't know if I'll actually get to do these redoes, but a girl can dream right? I'm hoping that when baby #2 is on board, we can redo the nursery to accommodate. I guess I'll just have to wait to see. 

Mommy Moments Blog Hop!

Hey mamas!
Welcome back for another great week of Mommy Moments Link Ups! Thank you for linking up and for spreading the word last week! We love all of the great posts!

 This week's most viewed link belongs to Brit from These Happy Times! Her post Oh Hey There highlights her summer including a peek at her adorable baby bump.


Our guest host for this week is the author of Keeper of Reign, Emma Right! Go check out her great blog and her book too!


Now it's time to link up your posts! All you have to do is...

1. Follow Host: The Life Of Faith 

 Co-Hosts: The Not Quite Military Wife, Beautiful Family Affairs and The Mrs. 
Guest Host: Emma Right

2. 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!

3. Add the Mommy Moments button to your post or blog so everyone knows where you are linking up!

4. Explore some of the other posts in the link-up and say hello to some new blog friends! 

5. Tweet or Share the link up on Facebook so we can all make even more friends!

Tweet

<div align="center"><a href="http://the-life-of-faith.blogspot.com//search/label/baby" title="The Life Of Faith"><img src="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k537/faithkonrath/mommymomentsbutton.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!

Friday's Letters

Playing with Mommy's iPhone

Dear Friday, My days are so messed up! You snuck up on me. I'm okay with that though. At least, I think I am. Dear Hubs, I don't like this new schedule, but I do enjoy our mornings together. Bug really likes eating breakfast with you. Dear Bug, Please stop growing already! You are getting so big. I do love the stage you're in, you're learning so many new things! Dear Football, I can officially say that you will be here this month! Thank goodness! I've been going through withdraws. The past week I have worn my football shirts, watched football movies, and talked football. Oh and next Thursday we're going to a preseason game! Go Falcons! Dear You-Know-Who-You-Are, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! That is all.

6 Month Photo Shoot

I captured Bug's half birthday while we were in Texas.

This one is by far my favorite. I just love that little poochy lip!

And now for a quick comparison:

She's getting so big so fast! Can time please slow down! She's definitely developing her own little personality. I just love how it comes through in her pictures.

Christmas

It's July and I'm already thinking (and planning) for Christmas this year. It's going to be a special year: Bug's first Christmas. To say that I'm excited is an understatement. I already love the season, and now that I get to share it with my daughter, I don't know if I'll be able to contain myself! I know she won't remember this Christmas, but I will and I look forward to telling her all about it in years to come.

With a new baby, the hubs and I are starting new traditions, and continuing old ones. One tradition that we have is shopping for the Christmas tree. We go the Sunday after Thanksgiving, this way, we can enjoy the tree for as long as possible. This year we're adding to this tradition. To help make it more special, we'll be buying an ornament for Bug (we've actually already bought her ornament this year when we were in Disney) and letting her "open" it that same day. This way she has a special new ornament to put on the tree.

Another tradition will be with her presents. I don't feel like Christmas should ever be about presents. It's about the birth of Christ and the time we get to spend with family. In order to hopefully minimize future drama (I know I'm kind of dreaming, but maybe if we start early, it'll smooth things over) but we're going with four gifts: wear, need, want, read. (I believe I read about this somewhere on Pinterest, if you know where, please help me so I can give credit where credit is do!)

Wear: This one is self explanatory. Bug will get a new outfit every Christmas. In my mind, an outfit starts at the head with a bow or headband and ends at the feet with new shoes. We'll see if the hubs agrees with me.

Need: This year this is an easy-ish one. Sooner than later, Bug needs a new car seat. That being said, this will most likely be her "need" present this year, even though we'll get it before Christmas...she won't know the difference though.

Want: One of the two things Bug gets to ask for. This year we get to choose her "want" and at the moment I'm leaning towards getting her a teepee. She'll be 11 months at Christmas though, so I don't know if this will still be a relevant gift at the time. Any recommendations? I personally think it would be fun for her to have and she can grow with it, which is a bonus. I love gifts that can last.

Read: I'm a huge advocate for reading. For this gift, Bug can request a book (when she gets of age to pick out books). This year we get to pick out a book for her. 

I'm hoping to get an early start on shopping so that I'm not bombarded all at once. Plus, I don't think our pocketbooks can handle that much cash flow in one stop. 

Mommy Moments Blog Hop!

Hey mamas!
Welcome back for another great week of Mommy Moments Link Ups! Thank you for linking up and for spreading the word last week! We love all of the great posts!

 This week's most viewed link belongs to one of my personal favorite bloggers Paula from Beauty Through Imperfection! Her post 8 Reasons Childbirth is Easier Than Pregnancy definitely caught my eye in the link up as well!

It's such a hilarious post, especially for someone who is pregnant and dreading childbirth! I had a pretty rough pregnancy and labor and I honestly can't decide which was worse. I'm just happy to have gotten my baby out of it all!

Our guest host for this week is Jennie from The Diary of a Real Housewife!

I'm just now exploring Jennie's blog and I think I'm gonna like it and I'm sure you will too!

Now it's time to link up your posts! All you have to do is...

1. Follow Host: The Life Of Faith 

 Co-Hosts: The Not Quite Military Wife, Beautiful Family Affairs and The Mrs. 
Guest Host: The Diary of a Real Housewife

2. 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!

3. Add the Mommy Moments button to your post or blog so everyone knows where you are linking up!

4. Explore some of the other posts in the link-up and say hello to some new blog friends! 

5. Tweet or Share the link up on Facebook so we can all make even more friends!

Tweet

<div align="center"><a href="http://the-life-of-faith.blogspot.com//search/label/baby" title="The Life Of Faith"><img src="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k537/faithkonrath/mommymomentsbutton.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!

Post-Baby Body Blues

There is so much stress women put on themselves to get back to their "pre-baby" weight. Even I find myself falling into this category, where I stress about getting back to my before baby body. But now I find myself with mixed emotions. I find myself getting upset with others who complain about all the weight they're gaining. I find myself thinking about all the women who long to get pregnant and can't, and it puts it all into perspective for me. Recently, a friend on Facebook posted a quote from Andreae Callanan. She put into words what I couldn't:

"If you ask me, our society is way too hung up on the idea of women getting their pre-baby body back. What’s wrong with post-baby bodies? They’ve made babies, for goodness’ sake! With all that we have to deal with in the early years of parenthood, do we really need the pressure of having to look like this whole baby thing never happened? And really, would we want that?

Having a baby is amazing. It’s something that changes your whole life. How could it not change your body? For every woman who feels terrible about her poochy belly and stretch marks, there is, no doubt, another woman who wants desperately to have those problems, and all that they signify.

And just think of what the quest for a pre-baby body says to that wonderful baby who gave you that belly. You may say the words, “I just want to get my body back to the way it was before you were born,” but how do you know that she or he doesn’t hear, “Mommy used to be so pretty before she had you”? What must that make them feel like?

When you look at your baby, you know with certainty that she or he is the most beautiful baby that has ever been born. It’s an indisputable fact.

You should know that, when your baby looks at you, she or he knows, with absolute conviction, that you are the most beautiful woman on the planet. Belly, stretch marks, and all."

I want my daughter to know that what's on the outside isn't what matters. It's what's on the inside that counts. I know that's cliche. But it's the truth. I want to be known as a loving mother, not as a skinny girl. Yes, there's a point to being healthy and fit, but why obsess over it? There is a new baby in the world that loves you unconditionally. 

I hope I haven't offended anyone with what I've said. These are my personal feelings, and I don't mean any harm.

From My Kids Closets: Under $25

If I were honest, I would say that every outfit Bug has is less than $25. They're all hand-me-downs. I don't think we've actually bought her an outfit. Maybe a shirt here or a skirt or shirts there. We've been very blessed with all things hand-me-down. 

This was such a nice outfit to have out in Texas. It's just a simple onesie, but I think it's super cute! 

Mountains, Gandalf, mountains

source: national geographic

"i want adventure in the great wide somewhere, i want it more than i can tell." - belle; beauty and the beast

"i want to see mountains again, Gandalf, mountains." - bilbo baggins, lord of the rings

do you ever get the urge to just pick up and go somewhere? the hubs and i have been talking about what the future holds, with his job up in the air, we don't know where that may lead us down the road. we've been here before. the week before we got engaged, the hubs lost his job due to the economy. he was in between jobs until a week before we got married. God always provides. then, in the last couple of months of my senior year, the job that he was in ended. we were again without a job and i was still in school. God provided again with a job, but this job forced us to move 45 minutes away from my school. God still provided. but that was just a temporary job, and 3 months after receiving this job, it ended. i had graduated from school, we were living with my parents, and the whole world was in front of us.

this is when the talk of us moving to Peru to do missions. we prayed about it. talked to the church we were attending then about it, and we were willing to go. we prayed that God would provide us with clear answers as to what He wanted us to do. we left to go visit Texas with an open heart as to what we would do when we returned home. God again provided and let us know where He wanted us. He provided both of us with jobs back home before we left Texas. we knew what we were coming home to. 

We have scrounged for money, been completely up in the air with our future, had no idea where the LORD was going to take us.

Now, after 3 years of consistency, with the hubs having a good job, myself having an amazing part-time job, a beautiful daughter, and living in our house for 2+ years, his job is once again being held in the balance. we've been told that things are changing, but that is the extent of what we've been told. we don't know when things will be changing or how they will be changing, just that things will be changing. 

here we are again at a crossroads. we don't know where God is going to take us this time. all we know is that God will provide. He has provided over and over again in our past, and we trust that He will continue to provide in our future. 

saying this though, i'm here, looking at our unknown future, wanting to go out and explore the world. the travel bug has bitten. i want to go out and explore the world, and i want to take Bug with me. i want her to experience new things and see the beauty that God has created. i want to live simply. love more. and solely trust God to provide everything we need.

do you ever get this way? does the travel bug ever just bite you and make you want to go out on an adventure? i'm thinking out west sounds good about right now...

Mommy Moments Blog Hop!

Hey mamas!
Welcome back for another great week of Mommy Moments Link Ups! Thank you for linking up and for spreading the word last week! We love all of the great posts!

 This week's most viewed link belongs to April from Always Trusting God and her post I'm Going To Be A Nana!  

No matter what the circumstances, a baby is always a blessing from the Lord. That's what Mommy Moments is all about! Congratulations to April and her daughter!

Now it's time to link up your posts! All you have to do is...

1. Follow Host: The Life Of Faith 

 Co-Hosts: The Not Quite Military Wife, Beautiful Family Affairs and The Mrs. 

2. 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!

3. Add the Mommy Moments button to your post or blog so everyone knows where you are linking up!

4. Explore some of the other posts in the link-up and say hello to some new blog friends! 

5. Tweet or Share the link up on Facebook so we can all make even more friends!

Tweet

<div align="center"><a href="http://the-life-of-faith.blogspot.com//search/label/baby" title="The Life Of Faith"><img src="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k537/faithkonrath/mommymomentsbutton.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!