Friday, July 22, 2011

For Caroline

Could you ever possibly know how much I love you?
Would you ever know what I feel when I look at you?
Do you know that it often feels like the world stops when you place your hand on my chest as you drift off to sleep?
People always told me that I never knew love until I would have my first child, and I scuffed at this ridiculous comment. But Caroline, my sweet, it's true. My heart feels as though it has exploded over and over again with more love than I could ever have imagined. You have changed the world forever with your grand appearance in your dad's and I's eyes. Nothing has been nor ever will be the same again. You make our life so rewarding as we watch you explore and find new things. We watch you become more and more brave as you expand your abilities daily. We see glimpses of your personality and the woman you will become one day as you begin to see the world as your playground. Everyday you amaze me.
I am desperately in love with you, and there are moments that scares me to death. Because I know at some point I will fail you, and you will question that love. But if you knew what I see when I look at you, you would believe that nothing in all this world could alter that. Life will change us and we both will get older, but one thing will always remain the same,...you will always have my love.
It is wider than the widest river. It is higher than the highest mountain. It is deeper than the deepest part of the sea. And it will stretch on longer than we both will live here on this earth. Because the only reason I can love you this much is because I know an even greater love. My sweet Jesus, Our heavenly Father, loves you this same way but more. Can you imagine it...He is so wonderful, and I long for the day you whisper His sweet name.
I love you. I really do. And as you grow into a young woman... don't ever forget this, I know I won't. I thank God everyday I get to be your mother. You make me a better person because I want to be better for you. And even though it's me writing this, I know your dad feels exactly the same way.

Just thought you should know,
Mom

Friday, July 15, 2011

Do it Yourself Friday! The Tom Kat Studio

Good morning everyone! Hope you are enjoying this beautiful Friday morning :) I am...my sweet Caroline is taking a nap,  I just spent some sweet time with my Jesus and now I am writing to all of you about my "relatively" new favorite blog.

Today for my DIY post, I thought I would share with you Tom Kat Studio :)  Her name is Kim and she is incredibly talented! I get on her blog almost everyday and am never disappointed with the cuteness and crafts she comes up with!  I have gotten a lot of ideas from her about how I want to do Caroline's first birthday, and today she is doing an awesome giveaway for a party! You have to check it out...let's just talk about the cuteness! (oh and you can enter the giveaway here )




Anyways... she also has an etsy site that is to die for... check it out here http://www.etsy.com/people/tomkatstudio?ref=ls_profile

I love this crab theme for a little boy, or golf and swim is too cute! All the stuff for the most part is printable and a great price!
PRINTABLE INVITATION Design - Nautical Crab Birthday Party Collection - DIY by The TomKat Studio

PRINTABLE Invitation Design - Golf Birthday Party Collection - The TomKat Studio


Anyways... I think you should hop on over to her stuff and check her out! And then plan your next party with her fun stuff!

Enjoy,
Lindsey

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Sleep Revisited Part 2

It's been a long time since I have updated you on C's sleep schedule and in lieu of this weeks big steps I thought I would share. I have stated before in the past 10 months of Caroline's life, the question I get asked more than any other would be..."So is she sleeping through the night?"

I DESPISE this question. Every time I would be asked it my first immediate thought would be, "Gosh Lindsey, your such a failure." I correlated Caroline's sleeping habits with my mothering skills. If I was a better mom, C would sleep through the night a) because I would have been doing the right practices at the beginning to ensure this b) I would let her cry it out or c) I am not sure what.

Either way this question always would shoot me over the edge. So to be honest, I wanted to lie and say yeah she sleeps through the night. Unfortunately that is not the case. So I tried lots of things... and to my dismay none of them really seemed to work. Until now.

Starting this past week, I have seen a glimmer of hope. 5 out of the last 6 nights my sweet C has slept through the night. And for the past week, her nap schedule has finally regulated. She sleeps two 2 hr long naps (or atleast an 1 1/2) a day. With maybe a 30 minute extra snoozer in there.

I would like to think it has something to do with the rigid schedule I am trying to keep her on. Or my vowing to stay home more so she can get her naps in or go to bed on time...but really I think it has everything to do with her. Yeah, the stuff I have been doing might help but C is almost 10 months old and I just think she is more tired at night from all the crawling, standing, cruising, playing and eating she does through out the day. I think she is plump worn out and thus sleeps longer.

I have learned enough over the past 10 months to know that nothing stays the same. In a moments instant things can change. So for now, I will take the 8 hrs of sleep a night. But to any mom out there who has lost hope that your child will ever sleep through the night, hang in there...it's coming. And for the moms out there whose sleepy child has been snoozing like a log at night since he/she was six weeks old...enjoy your nights sleep too! We all need it :) these little ones can wear us out!


A little more rested,
Lindsey

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Living in a Scary World

Did any of you watch the Jaycee Dugard story on NightLine Monday night? I did....and it has been on my mind ever since. Something was so disturbing in this story that I don't know what to do with it.

There is no getting around it, we live in a scary world right now. There seems to be nothing that is off limits anymore. It all seems to be so perverse. And if you need a heavy dose of just how bad it is just watch your local night time news. There seems to be more bad news than good news anymore.

I guess I always knew it was going on, but now that I am a mom the anty has upped. Sometimes I look into the eyes of my daughter and think "How in the world am I going to protect you?" and my mind wanders to the plethera of things that lie ahead for us. Deciding on schools, friends, parties, discipline and (to my husbands refusal to think about) boys are going to quickly be our reality.

But then there are the unknowns. The outside things that I can not control.  The things I so desperately want to protect but have no way of doing. The things I litteraly have to let go of and trust God. Period. Having a child will bring out the worst fears you can possibly imagine happening. And I want nothing more than to keep her safe from harm for her entire life. But I am not promised that, and unfortuanately neither is she. So the fear really does me no good and only steals worries on tomorrow.

So when I watch a story like the Jaycee Dugard one, I am facinated by the last couple things her mom said during the interview. It has to do with a kiss. She said that one moring she was running late for work and decided to not go in and kiss her children goodbye before she left. And for 18 years while her daughter was missing, she replayed that scenario over and over again in her mind. A kiss.

That's what I can't let go of. Every opportunity I have through out the day to kiss my little girl. To hug her. To tell her how much I love her. To pray for her. To teach her about God and how much He loves her. To rock her to sleep. To comfort her when she is sad. To enjoy every time she looks at me with those eyes.


Yes we live in a scary world...and yes there are scary people in this world. But I serve a Bigger and Stronger God, and I know that no matter what comes our way I will stand taller because I have Him on my side. He gave me this little girl knowing that I was the perfect person to be her mom. I am going to do my darndest (I know that's not really a word...but I like it :)) to protect her and teach her how to be wise and to discern good and evil. Then for the rest of it I trust God. Period.

Confident in Him,
Lindsey

Monday, July 11, 2011

And The Winner Is....

Hey Everyone...thanks for taking the time to enter my first ever giveaway! It was so fun to watch the entry list grow! We have picked a winner, but if you didn't win Rebecca has GRACIOUSLY decided to give you $50 Off for a full session with her. So make sure you book with her and tell her you entered the giveaway for the discount! I will be doing another giveaway soon...so follow my blog and stay tuned!

But for the big winner you have to watch the video below!! Congrats! Make sure you contact Rebecca through her site to set up your shoot!
(and don't pay attention to the cutting off of our heads towards the end :))

Excited,
Lindsey

Friday, July 8, 2011

Do It Yourself Friday!

So I have been wanting to get crafty for sometime now... and finally decided (thanks to the inspiration of a friend of mine) to get my act in gear. Thus this new Friday post titled DIY Friday! So excited about the possibilities of great craftiness! There will be things that I have done but also great blogs of other crafty ones.

So this first one is a tutu I made for my niece for her 1st birthday... if you go to the store these things generally range about $12 a piece. I actually found one in Franklin the other day for $24...no offense but this is a rip off because they are SO EASY to make and take NO TIME AT ALL! They are a great shower gift and also great for pictures! (which reminds me...make sure you enter to win my first giveaway here )

So here is the tutu I made :) It is a no-sew tutu (I also made the onesie but that's another post)


All you need to do is go to your local craft store ( I went to Hobby Lobby) and pick up the colors of tulle that you want. I used 4 colors for hers, white, sparkly, pink and silver. You will need a yard of each.
Then you need to pick up a yard of stretchy crochet headband material.  It looks like this
You can buy it by the yard in the ribbon section. I got a yard so that I could make sure I measured it for the right size. Once you get home and measure the size of the material based on your child. You want to start making the tutu.  Here is the video that I watched to help make this first one.

She makes it with ribbon... which you totally can do. I just used the headband material and threaded the tulle like she did through the bottom two layers of holes. Interchanging the colors as I went. So super easy and then to bring the back together I laced up the back with ribbon. (like lacing a pair of sneakers)

It's so easy and it cost me about 5 dollars to make :) Now that's a deal!

Happy crafting,
Lindsey

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

1st Giveaway!

So to celebrate my new .com status ( check out the new URL for my blog!!) I thought the best way to do that would be to finally do my first giveaway! Lucky for you it's a good one...

If you know anything about me, you know that I love getting pictures of my sweet Caroline. I have a great friend who also happens to be an amazing photographer. Rebecca Kelly Photography has agreed to be my first giveaway.
She loves taking photographs of families, babies, pregnancy pictures, weddings and  individuals (the picture above is from her daughters birthday). She is extremely talented and I am excited about you getting to know her!

What you will get:
A Full Session (up to 1 hr) at the location of your choice
A CD with all the prints

How to Enter:
2) Comment below this post (on my blog) why you want Rebecca to take pictures for you

That's so easy!!!! Now all you have to do is enter...and tell your friends to enter!!! We will pick the winner at RANDOM on Monday July 11th...so you have a week to get in the drawing :) Hope you win!

Excited,
Lindsey