One Month

Likes:  Eating, being rocked,
Dislikes:  Diaper changes, baths,
Eats: 3-4oz of Formula each feeding
Sleeps:  5-6 hours at night and 2-3 hours for naps
Mom's favorite memory: Dressing you up to go to my first Mother's Day brunch as a mom.  All the ladies loved your pink collared onesie and bow tie!
Dad's favorite memory: How you always had your hands by your face, even when you had been swaddled.

Around The Table

So, I already missed two days, but with a newborn I found it a little hard to fit a craft project in this week.  Hopefully this weekend will provide me some time to get working and then I can share with you next week!

I had a post all planned for yesterday, but never found the time to sit down and share.  Yesterday, I found myself so excited for dinner.  My church has a meal every Wednesday and then youth programming that follows.  My husband and I work with the high school group, so I have always looked forward to Wednesday evenings for that reason.  However, yesterday I realized that I was excited in a different way than I usually am.  It's always nice to not have to cook or worry about what to eat on Wednesdays, but I realized that what I was most looking forward to was who I would gather around the table with.  It is always a different group of people that we end up eating with, but it is always so nice to share a meal with these friends and loved ones.  I also believe that holy and Godly moments happen when we take the time to sit down and live life with other Christians.  I am encouraged on Wednesday evenings.  I am uplifted on Wednesday evenings.  BUT maybe more importantly I get to BE encouraging and uplifting!  Last night one of the junior high boys sat at our table surrounded by adults in their late 20s.  He wasn't shy about it or upset that his friends didn't save him a seat.  I just think it was a beautiful picture of the Kingdom-people of various ages coming together and sharing life.  We got to hear all about his new job that he had just started that day.  A simple conversation, but a huge moment in his life!

I am so thankful for my church family.  They have gone above and beyond welcoming and loving Sven.  (We haven't had to think about meals yet!)  They truly care about Paul and I and we couldn't be more blessed by them.  I pray that we can continue to find ways to connect and love each other and also to find ways to share Jesus with the community around us!

A New Chapter

A fellow North Park Early Childhood Education major of mine has me hooked on her blog!  I didn't know Rachel super well outside of class at NPU, but stumbled upon her blog about a year ago through Facebook.  She posts simple updates on life with her two sons, updating a home, being a wife, recipes, faith and style.  I found myself really appreciating how she portrays her life and her faith and longing for a similar outlet.  I am beginning a new chapter of life as a mom and while I'm loving that role I want to make sure that I don't lose other aspects of life that I love.  Therefore, I'm going to see how this whole blogging thing works again and focus on a specific part of my life each day.  

Paul and I have been working our way through Dave Ramsey's seven steps to financial peace for the last year and it has become a really important and steadying part of our relationship.  We don't fight over money and instead are controlling it!  On Mondays, I hope to share our story and tips on budgeting and taking control of the money that God has blessed us with.

I love Pinterest and creating in general.  On Tuesdays, I'd like to share something that I've created with you.  This will keep me focused on this aspect of my life, even when life gets crazy!  Creating something relaxes me and excites me at the same time!  Pinterest will keep me full of ideas I'm sure!

A central part of my life is my faith, but I often let being too busy become an excuse to let my relationship with Christ fall to the wayside.  I hope that each Wednesday I can share a scripture that I'm wrestling with or a new song that I've discovered!  I have some new bands to check out that will be at CHIC (a conference for high school students) this summer!

Thursdays will combine my new found role as "mom" with my role as "teacher".  I love young children and being a part of their lives.  They are always surprising me and I'm sure having a child of my own will bring a whole new perspective to my early childhood studies!

Lastly, I have lost a love of photography over the last few years, but I have a cute new subject to help me work on my skills.  On Fridays, I may just share a picture or two from the week or share a new tip that I've learned about photography.  I hope this will force me to begin to understand my camera more and how to successfully take awesome pictures.  I love capturing memories and want to be able to capture special moments in Sven's life.

So, here's to seeing where this takes me and if I can continue to find joy in these areas of my life!

#7-10

7. fresh smells from a garden















8. the first taste from my garden!















9. rearranging furniture to make a space feel new

10. summer rain

4.-6.

4.  Experiencing the change of seasons
5.  The smell of summer in the air
6.  Budding blossoms

3.

3. A struggling student getting it

I have just started tutoring a 5th grade boy mostly in math.  I love math and it has always come easy to me, so I love spreading the joy of math to others.  Today he was getting it and man did he have a big smile across his face!  It's nice to know that you're helping someone, even when it seems like you're doing nothing.

2.

2. New life

This past weekend I got to meet my new baby cousin Nathan.  I don't think I've ever held a baby that small.  My roommate became an aunt last week and a friend from my small group became an aunt today.  What a blessing from God!