Beyond Blessed

When Brad and I began discussing me leaving work I wasn't sure financially how we were going to do it.  On paper it looked like it might work but we just weren't sure.  But the more I looked into that sweet little nugget's face, I knew I would do whatever it took to make it work.

Brad and I both have been very blessed by the jobs we have had and financially we have not been without anything we needed.  But because of that I had never really trusted God with my finances.  But the day I turned in my letter to say I would be staying home I knew it was time to give over the control to God.

It has been the sweetest journey and has built my faith in so many ways.  I have been blown away to see how God has provided month after month for us.  Sometimes it has been through friends loaning us just the thing we needed or family surprising us with something for Westley.  At times it's been small things, like neighbors finding toddler's silverware from their little girl and giving it to us the week that West was starting to need it.  I know that seems silly but it was a need and it was met without them even knowing it.  Just this month while at the grocery store I had my ziploc bag of cash and knew that was it for the week. When the total rang up I was a little nervous it was beyond what I had. But I still had my trusty coupons.  After scanning all of them, my total came out to the penny what I had in my little ziploc.  I just stood there and silently thanked our sweet Father for showing himself to me yet another time.

It's been in these moments I've learned how freeing it is to let go and let God have the control.  He will provide my needs and my wants sometimes.  We are beyond blessed.

As most of you have read I had my heart set on a wagon for Westley. It's not a need, it's a want. In this last year I've learned that most things are just a want. But even in these things the Lord takes care of the desires of our heart.  When I got the call from my friend that the wagon I wanted was gone. I was beyond disappointed.  But I knew it would be okay.  It was not the end of the world, West didn't know the difference. I just knew it was a killer price for something I thought would be so fun for my little man.  Even while I was shopping I was okay with it. But, I'll be honest, while walking through the store I knew if I saw that wagon roll by I might just have to tackle the person that bought it. So thankfully I didn't see them.

Throughout the day I got several text and facebook messages asking if I'd gotten the wagon. I finally posted that it was gone but there was always next time.  Within 20 minutes I had a dear friend ask me about the wagon and then offer almost the exact one for us to use as long as we wanted. Even as I type this I know it's silly but I have tears in my eyes because I'm blown away by so many people's generosity towards us with Westley.  We have had countless friends offer toys, clothes, and shoes and it has meant so much to us.  I was so excited I didn't waste a day.  I got it just yesterday and my mom and I took him for a spin in it that afternoon and he LOVES it.

Um.....can you tell he LOVES it?!?

Perfect for greeting all the neighbors home.

 We went for a walk to the grocery store with Ouma yesterday and he was in heaven. He waved at every car that passed like he was in a parade.  As you can see above.  So Brandi, you made my day.  Thank you for being so generous and so thoughtful on something I had my heart set on.  As you can see we are already having so much fun with it! 

Shopping Consignments

I used to always hear people say you won't remember what you did before you had kids.  To be honest, I didn't believe them.  Because I remember....I used to SLEEP and I used to have time to myself.  But that time I had to myself becomes dimmer and dimmer and I am already forgetting what I used to do with that time to myself.  So they were right.  I was wrong. Mark it down, you won't hear me say that a lot.

I am beginning to realize that more and more because these days my time is filled with dishes three times a day, laundry that multiples as soon as it's clean, actually cooking meals now, and trying to figure out how to live cheaper. 

The last two weeks my time has been filled with consigning.  I was introduced to Duck Duck Goose when Westley was just a few months old. The first time I went I was totally overwhelmed.  I had no clue what I was doing.  And I wasn't even sure what I thought about consigning to be honest.  I didn't know you take your own bag to shop and that it's best to have a plan of action when walking into this massive warehouse.   These moms are serious about the sales and the momma bear comes out in everyone of them when going for something for their sweetheart.  

Well I've been converted. I am THAT mom now.  You can't beat the prices and I am very picky about the toys I pick out.  And the clothes. Good mercy, we save so much money on clothes for West.  They are in fabulous condition and he gets probably about 5 times the amount of clothes doing it this way.  But it gets worse. I have the laundry basket on wheels so I can carry more stuff and be hands free. I have everything I want on note cards categorized by the section of the store they are in. And I even signed up to volunteer at the event so I could get in early to shop and to be able to scout out what was in the store.  I've had my eye on a wagon for days at a ridiculous price and in a matter of hours I'll know if it's mine or not.  When I see it in writing I feel like such a nerd.  But I'll do anything for my little nugget. He is worth it.

And times have changed.  We went from a two income family down to one and then added a family member.  We live on a strict budget and when the money runs out of the envelope for that month there's no option to just swipe the card. That's it for that month.  So consigning has really helped us be able to still get what we need and make it work for our budget.

So I'm a fan. As long as Duck Duck Goose is around I will shop hard core twice a year for that sweet little man and I'll do whatever I have to to get him what he needs!  If you need any tips, I'm more than happy to help out.  Wish me luck today. T-minus 2 hours and I'll be shopping.........

Lovin' Spring

I am definitely not complaining at all that spring has sprung so early this year.  To be honest, the walls were starting to close in on us during winter. I was quickly running out of rooms in my house to play in.  So I was thrilled when the fresh air outside warmed up so quickly.

Since Westley was just about 3 or 4 months old he has loved being outside.  Anytime he got fussy in the late afternoons we would go just sit outside and he was a completely content baby.

But now a year later our big (not so little anymore) 14 month old has been putting in some miles on our driveway every afternoon.  He LOVES being out there and over the last month has gotten very serious about waving at cars.  So we try to go outside when kids are coming from school and everyone is heading home from work. Because then he can wave that arm as much as he wants and greet everyone home. 

Here he is in action:

One of my favorite purchases this spring: 

He is so ready to walk, but prefers to use his dinosaur. And on this day, sporting his new shoes!

On the lookout to make sure he didn't miss any cars passing by.

I think my favorite part of this early spring has been enjoying time at various parks around town.  

I look forward to the next couple of months of this warm weather with my two favorite boys.

All Boy and Fearless

This past Christmas, Westley got his very first slide.   When he first opened it, he didn't want that much to do with it.  But just about 2 weeks ago he crawled over to it and with his precious "please" in sign language was ready to try it out. 

At first, we held onto him really tight so that he wasn't scared. But after just a few days of sliding, we realized we had a real dare devil on our hands.  He DOES NOT want any help, he will brush your hands away, and he leans forward as far as he can until he takes off!  It's precious and I realize that we are going to have our hands full with this little one. 

Happy 1st Birthday Westley

Happy 1st Birthday to our Sweet Westley London!

It is so hard to believe that our little nugget has been with us a year exactly today.  It truly is a day of celebrating having him in our lives. But to me it's also a day to celebrate the fact that we are all still alive and survived this first year together!  We had no idea, I mean no idea, how drastically different our lives would be.  Brad and I used to talk with all our friends about things we would NEVER do once he came along and I now know they were listening sweetly, but in their minds saying, "these two have no idea what is about to hit them." And BOY WERE THEY RIGHT!!!!

We do everything we said we wouldn't do; but I'm okay with it. It's worth it.  Totally worth all of it. 

Since West has come into our lives, I feel like I am a TOTALLY different person. Quite often, I hear that I have shocked more than just a few people by the way West has radically altered my life.  I rarely have time to just sit and think about it, I'm too busy living it.  But if I was to just list a few things, it would look something like this:
I used to be so organized and manage major events.  Now, I sing Old McDonald about a million times a day and have gotten exceptionally good at the peek-a-boo game.  Getting 9 to 10 hours of sleep was something I did on a regular basis and having a clean house was the norm.  Now I'm lucky to catch 7 to 8 hours (which I know is a blessing), but I'm ALWAYS tired.  I'm still shocked at myself that I quit my job, but I did not quit working.  My new job is now being a stay at home mom and the hours are ridiculous.  I used to feel like I had some sense of fashion, but now anything with a drawstring will do just fine because it's going to get a stain on it at some point in the day.  I used to feel like I somewhat had control in my life and my sassy personality has crumbled into a hot mess of blubbering hormones.  The list could go on, but I don't want to bore you.  And to be honest, he's worth everything I have given up and makes life more fun than I ever dreamed.

I still remember one morning so vividly walking into his room, seeing that sweet smile sweep across that precious baby face.  In that moment, I realized I love this little guy more than I could ever have imagined and I have been changed forever, for good.

I'm not going to sugar coat it.  Becoming a mom and keeping a child alive for one year has been the hardest job I have ever taken on in my entire life.  It's hard. Some days I hated it. The crying, the feeding every 3 hours, barely sleeping, and not having one minute to myself.  But now that I have crossed from the darkness of those first few months into this wonderful stage of chasing each other down the hall, babbling and growling back and forth at one another, and watching this very strong willed personality develop, I'm loving it.  The days are still long and tiresome, but they are filled with so many sweet moments and sweet kisses, even sometimes without being asked.

Well, I think you can tell I love being a mother.  Coming from a girl who wasn't even sure she wanted to have kids, I can honestly say I would have missed out so much on this life.  The laughs and tears that Brad and I have shared over this little man have brought us so much closer and our relationship is so much sweeter.

Besides my relationship with God, and Bradley - West is the best thing to ever happen to me. I feel like God used him to help soften my heart. To learn to really love and to teach me that I am not in control.  I love him unconditionally, absolutely, no matter what he does.  (Brad calls this...Grace)

So Westley, thank you for the best year of our lives.  Happy Birthday my sweet little boy!

I will say though, as much as I hated being asked when we would have kids,  I will loathe even more the person that dares ask me when we will have another.  Unless you are willing to quit your job, help out everyday with everything and move in with us to be able to help take care of more children, just keep your sweet comments to yourself.

The Sweetest Sound

For months I have been hearing "da-da" and I have been so happy for Bradley.  But..... I can't lie, I have been so ready to hear those sweet little lips say "ma-ma."  And that day finally came a week ago.  While sitting in our family room at church, ever so randomly I heard the syllables I have been dying to hear.  It brought tears to my eyes and was a sweet moment.  I was so glad Bradley was in there with us to witness it. 

It's taken a few days to capture it again, but tonight, I was finally able to. So enjoy!

Let the New Year Begin

Happy New Year 2012

Yes, we are a few weeks delayed, but that's how things role around here these days.  2012....I'm very excited about this year coming up.  This time last year I was so anxious and had no idea what to expect with the arrival of our little nugget.  I could have never dreamed how much my life would change.  (My next post will be about all those fun and crazy changes)  But looking towards this year, I am excited to be sleeping again and to be able to do so many new, fun things with Westley now that he is on the move and getting so much bigger.

It's a sweet thing these days since Westley has become mobile to be able to just sit still and play for a little while.  So over the holiday break we really enjoyed our play time having Bradley at home with us.  And this picture captures just one of so many favorite memories of this past holiday.  It's just the simple ones, our little family of three playing together!

Here's a couple new things West has been up to since we rang in the new year:

 We are still slowly working on introducing finger food to Westley.  And I think you can see that black beans have become a favorite to our little man.

This one is just showing off how cute he keeps getting each day.  These sweet onesies are my favorite!

Westley is a very affirmed child.  We always clap after he has done something well, to let him know what a great job he has done and he's just so cute doing something new.  So now because we've done it so much, he even claps for himself. 

 Some of our dearest friends taught their little girl some words through sign language at West's age so we decided to try it.  It took West a few months to learn the first one:  "more."  But over the last two weeks we have introduced "please" and just in the last few days he picked it up so fast and it's` just precious.  He stands next to some of his toys and gives us the please sign because he's ready to play.  It's just amazing to be able to communicate with him like this and just downright precious to see him do it.

West got some of the most fabulous new toys for Christmas.  But go figure, this homemade wagon has been his favorite to be carted around the house in. 

He keeps us busy and on our toes, but it's worth every minute of it.  So now, the countdown begins until our baby boy is 1.