Do you...

...see this little girl? 

I could just eat her up!!! 

#Novemberblogfest

Workin' Weekend

So I completely forgot to post on Saturday - way to go #Novemberblogfest!  But I'm trying to get better. 

But we certainly have had a busy weekend.  Friday night we had a mixer group at our house and had a great fellowship time, complete with some award willing chili!  Emmalee and I went to Canton with some of the ladies in my Sunday School class on Saturday.  We had such a great time and she was a PERFECT angel the entire day!  After church on Sunday Emmalee and I went to a baby shower for Nicole, the wife of my former boss, Adam.  Everyone had a fit over Emmalee and how precious she is.

This evening I've been working on a few new dresses for Emmalee and some new baby shower invitations and cards for a few clients.   

And then you Grieve

This morning I had no idea what to blog about.  It's November Blogfest (a commitment to blog everyday) and I like when my blog posts are happy, but today is not a happy day.  Today I just feel like grieving.

I am a firm believer that God gives everyone spiritual gifts.  They all have their pros and sometimes they have their cons, but its true that we all have them.  I have always had the give of mercy and compassion.  I have loved having this gift in working with teens.  Heck, I first started teaching high school girls all because I was a youth camp counselor.  One the last night - "decision night" - there was a group of junior girls who were huddled around on the floor together crying and praying.  The camp speaker, Jarrell Altic, came over to me and asked me if those girls were in my group and I said "no", but they were from my church.  And he looked me in the eyes and said "You need to counsel them."   

It was that night when I truly "embraced" the gift of mercy and compassion, and have sought to use that gift ever since.  I love people and when people are hurting, I hurt with them.  And it seems that in the past few months, my heart has been hurting for so many. 

If you have ever read Jamsie Beats the Tumor then you have probably cried out for this family.  Their 8 month old son died of a brain tumor in July.  I hate reading the blog because I can't stand the thought of this happening to me, but I hurt for Kara, the mother.  My heart is broken for her.  Some days I just want to drive to her house (only because she lives in Dallas) and hold her and cry with her.  

Then there is a friend of mine from high school.  We went to high school and church together.  He and his wife Lindsay were high school sweethearts.  I knew Lindsay and her sister, Devon.   I remember getting to know them at youth camp and remember how beautiful the love was between Gabe and Lindsay way.  They eventually got married and had two boys, Brody and Cash.  This past August, Lindsay past away due to complications with pneumonia.  Gabe is left to raise his two boys (3 and 11 months at the time) alone without his high school sweetheart.  Gabe started a blog called Part of the Miracle and every time I read his posts my heart breaks for him.  I have cried for him and for those sweet boys who will grow up without their momma. 

Then today, I learned about Natalie.  Natalie was one of the church secretaries where I used to go to church.  She was one of the sweetest people I have ever met with the biggest, brightest smile.  Natalie and her husband were expecting their first baby - a girl - any day now.  But the Lord had other plans and decided that sweet baby needed to be in Heaven.  Last night Natalie had to deliver her daughter; a daughter who didn't have a heartbeat.  So today I, again, feel completely broken.  I have cried tears for this family who lost their first child.  I can only imagine how their celebration and anticipation turned to brokenness and despair. 

I look at pictures of my daughter and I cry.  I cry because I am so thankful because she is here and healthy; but I cry because I wish so badly that others had the ones they love here and healthy.  I cry for the mommas whos' arms ache to hold their babies; I cry for a father who's arms long to hold his wife; I cry for children who cry out in the night for their mom to come and rock them back to sleep. 

So today I write this post and beg for your mercy; for your prayers.  Will you please pray for these families?  Will you pray that the Lord will rain down His peace and comfort on these families?  Will you pray for these mommas who cry for their babies?  Will you pray for a daddy who tries to explain why momma isn't here anymore?  I know I am  - the mercy in me is crying out to my Savior to heal hearts and brokenness.

Randomness

Oh "good gravey Marie" it has been a busy week!  I feel like the past few days have flown by and I havne't gotten a thing done! 

Last week I said I was going to participate in Tricia Nae's 30 day photo challenge - well I'm sure you can see how well that is going.  Maybe if I was a SAHM I would have more time to take pictures, but I'm not and I don't! 

And speaking of Tricia Nae, she and I FINALLY met!  Ever since we "met" in the blogsphere we have said we were going to get together - I mean we live pratically around the corner from each other, went to the same university, both love digital scrapbooking and blog designin...I mean seriously we have to be kindred spirits!  So we finally met last Thrusday and had dinner - its was FABULOUS!  I love meeting new friends.

Friday we went out of town to see my grandmother in Shreveport.  She recently had surgery so we thought it was time for a visit and she was dying to see Emmalee.  We had ag reat time and Emmalee loved getting to see her Meme.  We headed home Saturday night so we could teach our Sunday School classes on Sunday morning.  After church, Em and I took a nice 2 hour nap together, but then I had to clean the house and get ready for the week.

Monday night was Mason's last 7th grade football game so we had to go see it.  He is such an awesome kid and his team is so great!  they had their first loss Monday night, but they are still district champions!  Go Tigers!!!!  As soon as the game was over Sister brought the kids over to my house so everyone could go trick-or-treating.  We live in a big, older neighborhood with tons of kids so it is really great for trick-or-treating.  I stayed at my hosue to hand out candy while Mom and Sister took the kids around.  They took Em in her stroller simply because she loves to be outside.  She was zonked out when they got back. 

I've been obssessed with leg warmers lately!  I don't know about you but I love being in my comfy "play" clothes - we called them play clothes when I was a kid and I guess I never got the term out of my head.  So I figured Em is probably the same way - so lets be comfy in a onesie but I hate for her to get cold legs...so I got leg warmers.  They are so perfect for her since she is all over the floor and trying to crawl.  I found these at Hobby Lobby, of all places, and she HAD to have them!!! 

Then I found a new FABULOUS website, TDazzled - ever been there?  Well I found these adorable crib shoes.  My sister has been giving me grief lately for Emmalee not having a lot of shoes.  So, I have been looking for some but I'm not a huge fan of sqeaky shoes...so finding shoes that are versatile but comfortable has been harder than I thought.  But I found these precious things for only $3 on TDazzled.  Too cute! 

I might have also gotten some new leg warmers from there and some zebra boots and a crochet pink hat!  They have a ton of different stuff and for great prices - go check it out!  They have hats, bows, tutus, shoes, lega warmers...and the list goes on and on! 

On Tuesday I was looking on FB and Twitter at everyone's Halloween pictures and saw this.

I just LOVE it!!!!  Y'all know my addiction to CFA so I was just in awe of this.  So I begged Brant to let Emmalee be a Chick-FIl-A cow next year and he agreed! My word I can't wait !  She is going to be so stinkin' cute!  Love it! 

Ok - well I guess that is enough of my randomness for the day.  Back to work! 

Trick or Treat

"Happy Halloween" from Emmalee Caroline! 



Goin' for the "Good Stuff"!





I think our lil' pumpkin is ready for some trick or treat'ing!



An Only Child

Today Kelly's Korner SYUL is about having an only child. 

The crazy thing is that I almost skipped right over it because I have never thought of Emmalee as an only child, but I guess she is. 

Brant and I have always wanted to have two children.  I have always wanted more, but Brant said he would be very happy with two.  I also never thought it would take us 2 years to get pregnant with Emmalee, so we got a later start than we anticipated...so maybe two is all we will have...or maybe just one. 

After I stopped nursing Emmalee I wondered how long it would take for my body to ovulate and for my hormones to get "back to normal", or at least what would be normal for me.  I talked to my doctor's office and we set a "game plan," if you can call it that, maybe the word "timeline" is better.  Anyways, after talking with to the office, I talked to Brant about if he thought I would still be "out of whack" after having a baby.  It was an interesting conversation but it also made me think...what if Emmalee is our only child?

It wasn't an easy thought just because I've always had my life planned out and, in those plans, I am always having two babies...a girl and a boy.  But you know saying:

"If you want to see God laugh, tell Him your plans." 

But after a few days of this weighing heavily on my mind, I cam to realize that I am happy.  My dreams of being a mom came true the moment they placed that little baby on my chest a mere 6 months ago. 

I have an amazing husband, and a gorgeous daughter, a fabulous family, a roof over my head and a job I like...what more do I need?   So I am content to simply trust in His plan instead of mine. 

I know one thing is for certain, if this little girl is an only child, its ok because this smile has absolutely stolen my heart!

Day 1 - 30D Photo Challenge

So I decided to participate in Tricia Nae's 30-day Photo Challenge...but you can't judge on the quality of my pictures because although my sister may be a professional photographer, I AM NOT!

So Day 1's photo challenge is a self portrait...and this is me!

Want to know more about me?  

All the cards out on the table:

• I'm 29 years old. I'm 5'7" with light brown hair and green eyes.
• I was born and raised in Texas, and don't ever want to leave...although I do love traveling to other places.
• I am a wife to Brant and we have been married 4.5 years.
• I am a momma to the sweetest lil' 6 month old, Emmalee Caroline.
• I am a little sister to Amanda, and Aunt Grabbie to her 4 babes: Mason, Connor, Kate and Ethan.
• I do work full-time as a corporate compliance specialist.
• I have a "side-job" as a custom blog and card designer.  Go to GreatGrabbieDesigns.com to find out more.
• I love to scrapbook, go on walks, swim, read, shop, play the piano, and I am learning how to sew.
• I have an amazing family that I love dearly.
• I graduated from Dallas Baptist University in 2004 with 2 Bachelor of Science degrees: one in Political Science, and the other in Sociology.
• After college, I felt the Lord calling me to go to Honduras for a 3-month mission trip at the Orphanage Emmanuel.  That experience changed my life.
• I love youth - especially high school girls.  I teach 10th grade girls Sunday School at our church, Walnut Ridge Baptist.
• I struggle with fear and worry, but know that God already has my life written according to His plan.
• I believe that Jesus Christ is my Savior.
• My biggest desire is fall more and more in love with Him each day, and show my daughter how to do that as well.
• I struggled for 2 years to have a baby, so I have special place in my heart for those who struggle with infertility. 
• I love to laugh and my goal is to live life to its fullest.
• My definition of "success" is entering the gates of Heaven and hearing "Well done my good and faithful servant."

Sweet Six {Months}

Growing little one, oh how much you have grown! You are now six months old and are the sweetest little girl  I know.  You are as beautiful as can be and always have a smile on your face.  Today we had your 6 months well-check and you weigh 15 lbs. and 10 oz (30th percentile) and you are 26 1/2" long (70th percentile).

You are still my lil' sleeper.  You go to bed around 8:00 and sleep through the night until I wake you up around 6:30 am.  You  have 4 6oz. formula bottles and eat solids 2 times a day.   So far the only thing you don't like are peas and green beans...everything else you eat up! 

You love being on the floor now - you get around by the army crawl and you roll all over the place.  Every now and then you pull your knees up under you and get on all fours...I think you might start crawling soon.  You can balance and sit up by yourself for a few minutes.  You still love your bath and love to splash.  As`always, you are my little social butterfly.  You love being around people, especially other children. 

You continue to be the light of our lives and make us smile everyday.

I love you more than you know baby girl, Momma

 Although Em is actually 6 months and 10 days, I still have to take our monthly picture...but it's hard to get a good picture when someone is always moving!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this sweet face!

A Sew-Sew Saturday

Well, It's more like a sewing weekend, not just Saturday!  

Saturday morning we got up and went to the JDRF walk in Trinity Park - it was fabulous!  I've got a whole different post for that one.  We got home around noon, had some lunch, then Emmalee went down for a nap.  Having some "free" time on my hands, I sat down at my sewing machine.

And this is my sewing maching - yes, it is over 35 years old, but it still runs like a gem and gets the job done!

 

First thing is first - ORGANIZE!  I really had no organization in my sewing space and it was making me a little crazy.  So, I organized! 

All of my "Stuff"!

Threads and bobbins

Ribbons, Scissors, Measuring tape, scrap fabrics and other "stuff".

  

All of the current fabrics I'm working with. 

Once that was finished, I got to work sewing!

This dress is actually for a friend but I still have plenty of fabric left over, so I'm sure Emmalee might have something made out of it as well!  

Dress#2!  When I saw this fabric the other day, I just fell in love!  I love all the colors in it - so perfect for fall. 

Now sometime between starting dress #2 snd beginning my new project, lil' bit woke up, so I just plopped her down in her excersaucer in the sewin room and just played.  We had fun together! 

So after getting the dresses down and feeling more comfortable with what I'm doing, I decided to tackle something other than a dress...a cute little top!  I loved this fabric and I got a great pattern here at Prucdent Baby...which has become an awesome source of information on sewing and making infant clothes! 

It definitely took me much longer than I ancitpated (as in it wasn't finished until Saturday night - like 10:30 at night - but I still got it done!)  But now that I've done it once, I'm certain I can do it again... and much faster next time! 

Sunday, we went to church and I let Emmalee wear hew new dress.  How precious is she? 

Love this toothless grin!

My perfect little model! 

And here is a sneak peek of Emmalee's Christmas outfit!  I found these fabrics and knew instantly that I had to have them! 

Sally the Seamstress

Ok, so my name isn't Sally and I'm no seamstress, but I want to be!  Several months ago, actualy it was before Emmalee was even born, I saw this fabric remnant at WalMart for only $2 - seriously, how could I not buy it?  I had inteneded to give it to my friend Kristen (who make the Em's Halloween dress) for her to make something cute out of it but I never got around to giving it to her.  So last night, I decided that I would make something out of it! 

So Em and I ran to Hobby Lobby so I could pick up a few sewing necessities...like thread!  We came home, Daddy gave Em her bottle, I rocked her for a few mintues, then she went to her bed.  As soon as she was in bed I started my master plan!  Within an hour and a half, this was the result! 

I'm not going to lie - I was totally proud of myself!!!!!!  Of course, I did take a bit of a shortcut because I just used Stitch Witchery to attach the ribbon and then just sewed the ribbon where it met the seams.  I'm not a perfect straight-line seamstress yet, so I figured this would work! 

And this morning, here is my darling girl! 

Just love, love, love this sweet face!

LAST DAY!

Ok y'all, so far my company has raise over $350,000 for JDRF (Juvenille Diabetes Research Fund) and the JDRF walk is this Saturday!  I still need to rasie about $50 to reach my goal...so will you help me? 

Today is the last day to order your discounted custom card design and/or custom blog design! 

• Custom card orders are $10.00 (printing not included)
• Custom blog designs are $25 for a basic design and $30 for a deluxed design! 

Help me reach my goal of $250!!!

More information here!

Weekend of Memories

 This past weekend we went to Texarkana (the AR side) to visit Nana and GrandBob!  Friday morning I asked Emmalee if she was ready to go and she squealed with delight - I think she knew that she was about to be spoiled ALL weekend long!

Saturday we all slept late and pretty much just had a fun, lazy day.  I still can't believe that Emmalee was 6 months old on Saturday - where has the time gone?  Saturday afternoon GrandBob took Emmalee on a little nature walk in the backyard. 

Everytime Nana would hold Em, she kept bending her knees and trying to bounce - I'm not quite sure why she thought Nana was her excersaucer, but she did.  So, we ran to Target and found a Johnny Jump Up.  We thought we'd see how Em liked it.  It took her a few minutes to get the hang of it, but she seemed to enjoy herself.  

While Emmalee played, my sweet MIL gave me a few sewing lessons.  I remembered some of the basics from Home Economics (8th grade), but I definitely needed a refresher course!  So we started with something quite simple - a pillowcase dress.  It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be!  Here is my finished product!

Y'all, my MIL is so sweet that she gave me her sewing machine to bring home - the machine, the table, and extra supplies!  I am so excited!!!  I cannot wait to make some more dresses for Em!

Saturday night we took a walk - before the Rangers game, of course!  Had some delicious spaghetti, then watched the Rangers kick some Detroit Tail! Our Texas Rangers are, once again, World Series Bound!!!!  

On our way to church on Sunday, we found a little garden center that had all sorts of great fall decorations and pumpkin arrangements outside.  So as soon as church was over, we headed over to get some pumpkin pictures.  I really wanted to get some 6 month pics of Em in her Halloween dress! 

 Em was quite impressed with the pumpkins - so impressed she thought would be a nice treat to eat!  

Crazy girl!

Since we wouldn't let her eat the pumpkins, she thought she'd try the hay!  

 My little angel!

Emmalee and Nana

Sweet Lil' Grin!

  This little girl loves her daddy!

 Our Pumpkin Princess!