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!

Texas or Bust

Last week the hubs, Bug, and I traveled to Texas to visit the hubs's grandparents. It was the first time they were getting to meet Bug! We left Friday night, after the hubs's long day of work and drove through the night, so that we could get there early on Saturday and have an extra day there. (If anyone is traveling with a baby, I highly recommend traveling through the night! But more on that later.) 

Packing with a baby is always very interesting.

14+ hours of traveling and she was still smiling.

My mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and nieces also made the trek out to Texas to see the family. Bug loved hanging out with the "big girls." She just sat down with them and hung out. This was the only time I got a brief second to myself.

Her first time meeting Pawpaw. Such a sweet moment.

The hubs wanted a picture of him and Bug on the front porch swing at his grandparents because he has one when he was younger.

This was a rare smile from this Bug. She wasn't happy not being in her mommy's arms.

She was saying "that's more like it!"

It was such a nice day thanks to the rain. The temperature had been in the high 90s and low 100s, but thanks to the rain they had dropped. It was nice to enjoy the outdoors and swing. Bug definitely enjoyed being outdoors.

Swinging on the front porch with Memaw. 

Memaw just loved Bug, and Bug loved Memaw. She especially loved when Memaw would sing to her.

This is a typical Bug face. She really did not like not being in my arms. It was a tough few days not being able to leave this little love bug for even a few seconds. Things are much better now that we're home again. She loves her daddy again!

Typical Bug face.

She was over being in her daddy's arms.

She's happy to be in Mommy's arms again, such a little stinker!

Baby-wearing was my saving grace! This Ergo came in mighty handy during the trip. It also helped when Bug wouldn't nap. We would start walking around and she would finally give it up. Then the trick was not to move her too much so she would stay asleep.

It was a great trip. I was so happy that Bug got the chance to meet her great-grandparents, and I can't wait to share these pictures and stories with her when she's older.