One Day at a Time...

I heard the new song by Jason Mraz yesterday called "I won't Give Up." I just love it. My favorite part is: "And when you're needing your space /To do some navigating /I'll be here patiently waiting  /To see what you find." I was crying in my car last night listening to it and thinking of my boys and how quickly they're growing. How darn hard it is to make the right decisions for them. To find the balance between protecting them and letting them find their own way....

Sometimes I think that we are so lucky to be parents in today's time. We have so much information right at our fingertips. Got a question? Just Google it! How different it is now from when my Mom was raising babies. I remember her telling me how she could only even talk to her Mom once a week because it was long distance. I'm so blessed that even when we lived in another state, I could still talk to family daily. We have countless resources of information available 24 hours a day. But, sometimes it's overwhelming trying to weed through all of that information to make an informed decision. It seems like you can easily find articles on both sides of any fence. At the end of the day, you still have to make your parenting decisions based on instinct, you just have to read a ton of stuff before you feel comfortable doing that.

When my boys are grown, my hope for them is that they are grateful. That they have peace in this world that is filled with mayhem. That they can find moments of silence in every day to reflect, to talk with God and to feel surrounded by beauty. And, most of all, I want them to be joyful. I don't think that our society actually encourages these things. In our adult lives, we have to make a point to carve out time for this and to be these things. It is intentional. It is a choice. It's important to us (Shane and I) that we teach them the power of reflection, of listening to your inner voice and of following your heart. These are the things that are way more important to us than anything else. If you are grateful and you have joy, happiness will find you.


I'm not sure if the link will work for the you tube video, but here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1-4u9W-bns

Here are the lyrics:

When I look into your eyes 
It's like watching the night sky  
Or a beautiful sunrise  
Well there's so much they hold  
And just like them old stars  
I see that you've come so far  
To be right where you are  
How old is your soul?
 
I won't give up on us 
Even if the skies get rough  
I'm giving you all my love 
I'm still looking up
And when you're needing your space  
To do some navigating  
I'll be here patiently waiting  
To see what you find
 
'Cause even the stars they burn  
Some even fall to the earth  
We've got a lot to learn 
God knows we're worth it  
No, I won't give up


I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily  
I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make  
Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use the tools and gifts  
We got yeah we got a lot at stake  
And in the end, you're still my friend at least we did intend 
For us to work we didn't break, we didn't burn  
We had to learn, how to bend without the world caving in 
I had to learn what I got, and what I'm not  
And who I am
 

Posted in: on Friday, April 20, 2012 at at 9:53 PM 0 comments  

We spent Saturday at the Live Green festival. The boys really enjoyed it! We all learned a lot! They also had kid friendly activities scattered throughout, which helped keep him interested in everything.We learned that off the coast of CA, there is a trash dump that is twice the size of TX and 90 feet deep. I don't think Logan will ever forget seeing the pictures of the sea life getting sick from eating trash. I think that he will be our "green helper" from now on!

Posted in: Graham, Living Green, Outside on Monday, April 16, 2012 at at 9:38 PM 0 comments  

Just a quick update :) We spent the first weekend of April in The Woodlands, TX with my Granny. The boys enjoyed the road trip, the hotel (such a treat for them!) and getting to spend extra time with family.

Here is my favorite picture of the boys taken with one of their Great Grandmothers (my Dad's mom.)
Side Note: It's amazing because they have 7 living great grandparents!!

Here is G hanging out on the deck where we always go to feed the ducks. The boys got to enjoy an Easter Egg hunt and yummy cupcakes while we were there too!

A few days after we got home, G came down with Hand, Foot and Mouth. It. Was. Awful. The poor thing had blisters all over--from his face to the bottoms of his feet. He is just now (a full week later) starting to feel better. So, consequently he had to sit out some of the Easter fun this year.

My sweet boys. You can still see the remnants of the blisters on Graham's face here.


I still have a few more cute pictures that I'll add in when I get the rest off my phone. Good night for now!

Posted in: on Tuesday, April 10, 2012 at at 11:52 PM 2 comments  

Tonight as I was putting Logan to bed, he said the sweetest thing: "Mommy, I love you soooooo much. I love you so much that I can't sleep! I really want to dream about you, but I can't...."

Melt. My. Heart.


This is what Logan's room looks like all the time--trains and cars set up in elaborate designs. However, this day he created a zoo and wanted me to take his picture. So cute!

If you could, say a prayer for our sweet 11 year old kitty, Sebastian. He is doing okay, but has lost a lot of weight and had elevated white blood cell count. The vet did an antibiotic shot, and now it's a waiting game over the next 2 weeks until we can recheck his blood levels. Logan LOVES him and we're just hoping it's a little infection and his levels will be normal in a few weeks...

Posted in: on Friday, March 16, 2012 at at 8:29 PM 0 comments  

I took Graham to get his first haircut on February 24th. Shane was working, and I bravely thought that I could manage it by myself. Logan's first haircut was a breeze! (See for yourself http://www.kamionedayatatime.blogspot.com/2008/12/first-haircut.html) So, I thought that Graham would do the same. I was very, very wrong. He started screaming the second that we set him in the chair. I didn't even get a good before shot because as I was trying to keep him from catapulting OUT of the cute chair, she started cutting. I quickly snapped this picture and then moved in to hold him again. She was going so fast that I realized I was going to have no pictures of my second born's first hair cut (insert major mommy guilt here) so, I called Logan over to be photographer.

And, these are the pictures that he took.
As soon as it was over, Graham was just as happy as could be. Figures. He does look adorable with his new hair cut, and Daddy is happy that it isn't in his eyes anymore. I did remember to get a lock of his hair for his baby book. (I'm counting that as points for Mommy.)

Posted in: on Tuesday, March 13, 2012 at at 7:39 PM 0 comments  

For some reason these pictures taken with my phone are blurry, but here you go anyways :)

Sweet little man playing on our swing set in the backyard.

And, my big news is that I got a new embroidery machine! I LOVE it!! Here is a picture of her. (She still doesn't have a name yet, but I think she needs one!) I bit the bullet and upgraded to a commercial machine and I am soooooo happy that I did. I've been shopping around for awhile and every professional that I asked recommended the machine that I bought. I really think it is going to be perfect for my business. It is a 6 needle machine, which means it loads 6 thread colors at one time. It does a lot automatically, including trimming my threads and switching colors. It is going to cut down the time that I spend working, and enable me to take on more business in the busier times, not to mention the quality of my appliques and embroidery will be top notch. I'm keeping my old machine since it is an awesome sewing/embroidery machine. I plan to use it for sewing and back up/secondary embroidering. I've already had nights where both the machines are running at once! I've had it almost a week, and am just now fully getting the hang of all of the functions. (It's all touch screen, so I had to read and re-read the manual to learn how to program it.)

Posted in: on Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at at 7:46 PM 0 comments  

So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Luke 11: 9-11

Posted in: on Sunday, January 22, 2012 at at 11:07 PM 0 comments