Its been a while...

I'm sorry it's been so long since I last posted! Let me show you what I've been up to...

I decided this year to do a mostly handmade Christmas. And thanks to all of the wonderful people in blogland (and Pinterest) I didn't have to search very hard for ideas. So here are a few of the projects that I did, well I didn't actually remember to take pictures, so here are the originals that I was inspired by. ;o)

A super hero cape and mask for my nephew: Mine for the Making Cape

My mom and sis in law got silhouettes like these:71 toes (scroll down to the bottom)

My grandmother got a wreath inspired by this one: Craftaholics Wreath

I also took on the task of making Hannah a Strawberry Shortcake outfit for her birthday party. Thankfully this I have pictures of, but here is the site where I found the tutorial. Strawberry Shortcake Costume from Me Sew Crazy

And I'm not quite finished yet... I still have several pairs of pajamas to finish up before Christmas day and a couple of small projects for teachers and my in-laws. So we're going to be working right up to the last minute around here.

Here are a few pics from the Strawberry Shortcake party. My friend Toni and I threw a joint party for our two girls. She is in the process of moving but I'm sure once she gets settled she'll post a blog post here. But here are a couple of pics.

The birthday girls Cadence, 4 and Hannah, 6

Here's wishing you all a very Berry (Sorry I've still got Strawberry Shortcake on the brain...) Merry Christmas!!! Love to all! :o)

Happy birthday Dad!

Today is my dad, David's 55th birthday. So I thought I'd share some of my favorite things about my dad with you. My dad was the kind of dad growing up that you could always count on to be on the sideline of whatever event you were having. No matter what sport or band or school activity we participated in my dad made sure to show up, most of the time he'd even drive the bus.  I remember one time when we were in elementary school that my dad made 3 different trips to school to pick each of us up on his motorcycle bc he knew we'd enjoy riding with him like that. My dad also was always willing to defend us to whomever we felt wronged by. To my dad family was always very important.

My dad was the kind of dad that at the end of a hard day you could always crawl up in his lap and he'd wrap his arms around you and whisper "It's all gonna be ok baby girl. No matter what the problem is, tomorrow is still gonna come and it's all going to be ok!" Some days I'd give anything to be able to go back to those days when my problems were as insignificant as when I had an argument with a friend at school.

My dad also made sure that faith was important to us. He and mom together not only took us to church but modeled a relationship with Christ. I believe that a father's role in a daughter's life certainly is one of the most important and I'm thankful that my father cared enough to be in our lives and make sure we knew we were loved. I wish we saw my dad more often now and if I could change one thing in life, that would be it.

So happy birthday Dad. May your year be filled with joy and blessings! I love you!!!! :o)

Happy Fall Y'all!

I've been remiss at posting pics of the girls... It's been a crazy busy couple of months so here are a few highlights.  Here's how life in the Mitchell house really goes:

Bek continues her self portraiture

Sarah Grace isn't happy to be in the stroller

Hannah lost two teeth...

making that a total of 4 missing teeth (All I want for Christmas...)

 A friend of mine from college made the girls matching shirts for our beach trip that never happened (Thank you hurricane irene). So I got a couple of pics of them wearing them one day.

Check out her blog here: Sew Sweet Giggles

here's the applique up close. They're soooo sweet! :o)

Halloween... well what can I say... The girls dressed up in their flower girl dresses (I'm all about reusing things) and were all excited to go to the Fall Festival at HOP and it rained so hard all they got to do was toss a couple of bean bags and collect some candy. The most important part was the candy! So after we begged a guy to fill up their baskets we quickly headed for home where we hosted a few friends for a soggy after party. The kids could have cared less about missing the festivities but boy they sure checked over their candy several times! The parents sure had a good time "checking the safety" of the candy as well! Sarah Grace was going to be dressed as a bumble bee but she never made it into her costume bc of the rain. She stayed nice and dry in the stroller. So here are a few pics of the flower girls, or as they preferred to call themselves yesterday Fairy Princesses. :o)

Sarah Grace turns 1 yrs old in a few days... my how time flies! Happy Fall Y'all!

The heartbreak of infant loss

The heartbreak of infant loss... This truly says it all. Our little boy, Jack, would have been 7 in February.

The heartbreak of infant loss
By Laura Schubert

Oct. 6, 2011 |(10) Comments

Did you know that October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month? I'll bet not. Despite the infant mortality crisis that's been at the forefront of Milwaukee's public health news for months, the only people who have more than a cursory comprehension of what it means to lose a baby are those who've lived it.

Infant loss is nature's cruelest practical joke. It's investing all of the required time and effort into pregnancy, only to be robbed of the result. It's cradling a body that grew within your own and trying to reconcile the cold, lifeless form in your arms with your memory of the baby who turned double flips in your womb.

It's worrying that you'll forget what your child looked like and snapping an album's worth of photos that no one will ever ask to see. It's sobbing so hard you can't breathe and wondering if it's possible to cry yourself to death.

Infant loss is handing off a Moses basket to the nurse who's drawn the unfortunate duty of delivering your pride and joy to the morgue and walking out of a hospital with empty arms.

It's boxing up brand new baby clothes and buying a 24-inch casket. It's sifting through sympathy cards, willing your foolish body to stop lactating, clutching your baby's blanket to your chest in hopes of soothing the piercing ache in your heart.

It's resisting the urge to smack the clueless individuals who compare your situation to the death of their dog or who tell you you'll have another baby, as if children are somehow replaceable.

Infant loss is explaining to your 7-year-old that sometimes babies die and being stumped into silence when she asks you why. It's watching other families live out your happy ending and fighting a fresh round of grief with every milestone you miss.

It's being shut out of play groups for perpetuity. It's skipping social events with expectant and newly minted mothers because, as a walking worst-case scenario, you don't want to put a damper on the party.

It's listening to other women gripe about motherhood and realizing that you no longer relate to their petty parental complaints because, frankly, when you've buried a baby, a sleepless night with a vomiting toddler sounds something like a gift.

Infant loss is pruning from your life the friends and relatives who ignore or minimize your loss. It's recognizing that, while they may not mean to be hurtful, the fact that they don't know any better doesn't make their utter lack of empathy one whit easier to bear.

My baby girl would have been 5 years old this month. I don't know what she'd look like, what her favorite food would be. I've never had the privilege of tucking her into bed, taking her to the zoo or kissing her boo-boos. I will never watch her graduate or walk down the aisle.

Infant loss is more than an empty cradle. It's a life sentence.

Laura Schubert of New Berlin is a mother, teacher and two-time breast cancer survivor. Email ljschubert@aol.com

Just keep swimming...

Don't give up on what God has called you to do. The end result is worth the pain. ~ Joyce Meyer


Joyce Meyer posted this statement on her fb page today and it just kept coming back to mind. (If you don't get her posts in your news feed, you should!) Something about this statement just really speaks to me. I realized after thinking about it all day that it applies to so many areas of my life. There is sometimes pain in the things that God calls us to do. Often I think of labor and delivery when I'm meditating on a difficult subject. There is no pain like labor pain. But there is also no joy like the joy of a newborn baby. Many times over I've had a soon to be mother tell me that she couldn't continue any longer. She is hurting, the pain is too great and she just can't continue. Although as a nurse you can't phrase it like this to the woman in pain, the truth of the matter is that giving up isn't an option. Once labor has started, there is no stopping it. The birth process, no matter how difficult has to continue through to completion. It has to keep going until the baby is born.


Not every situation in our lives has that level of commitment to it. Relationships can be walked away from, jobs can be quit, ministry calls can be ignored. But what God has in store for us can't be obtained without going through the labor process. We have to have the pain in order to realize the true beauty and joy of what God is trying to teach us. I believe that we can choose to see Gods purpose in our lives, even on the difficult days. Even when he's growing us, we can choose to praise Him! Friends I believe the real test is choosing to go through the storm and keep going until you find the rainbow on the other side, not turning back when the waves threaten to overturn the boat. Only then will we have true fulfillment and satisfaction in knowing that we're seeking all that God has for us.


For more info on Joyce Meyer look here.

81 days!

Recently I've been so busy checking out everyone elses' blogs that I keep forgetting to update my own. I recently decided to make as many of our Christmas gifts as I could. Of course I can't divulge many of them yet bc my family reads this blog. But I will say that if you aren't on Pinterest... you should be! So many great ideas are shared over there! The only trick is actually getting up from the computer and getting started on the projects!


Y'all there are only 81 days til Christmas! The countdown is really on and if you haven't been inspired this year to try something new, well check out Pinterest for lots of ideas. If you need an invite just send me your email and I'll be happy to send you one! 

Serving my family

"You are as much serving God in looking after your ownchildren, and training them up in God's fear,and minding the house, and making yourhousehold a church for God, as you would be if you hadbeen called to lead an army to battle for the Lord of hosts."
Charles Spurgeon

I needed to hear this today! I pray that it speaks to you as well! 

Breakfast of champions... oh wait that's Wheaties...

Well it only took me 3 weeks to figure out what to do for Hannah's breakfast before school, but we finally did it! She is the child who likes to wait until she's been awake for a few hours to eat breakfast. So trying to find something that she would eat before school has been a real challenge. She's not a picky breakfast eater (lunch and dinner though are a different subject), she just isn't hungry. I'm not really sure why it took me so long to fix her this breakfast since we have routinely had them for breakfast, but that's when all of the fresh fruit is in season and it's right in front of me just begging to be used.


Ok what is this breakfast you ask? A fruit/veggie smoothie... I know not original... but I'm oh so glad that I remembered these tasty little treats as a breakfast option. We usually use fresh fruit, but I had some frozen so that worked. I also throw in a little yogurt, whey, honey, spinach or something green (shhhh don't tell...), carrots, and milk or fruit juice. The girls favorites are when we have blueberries, strawberries and bananas. But Hannah will drink any kind I make.  


So if your kid isn't a big breakfast right out of bed eater, consider the smoothie option! And if you're family are already smoothie drinkers, what are your favorite combos? :o)

Sorry, I can't today...

Maybe I'm the only Mom that this happens to, but when one of my babies is sick my world stops. I haven't accomplished one thing on my list today, nor did I complete my daily routine either. Work even called to ask if I was available for a few hours tonight and I had to turn down the extra cash (Christmas is coming came to mind.) It wasn't even a tough decision. That's because when one of my girls is sick my needs/wants/duties have to be put on hold. And hey guess what world? I don't mind telling you no! My girls are a precious gift that we treasure dearly, they're my priority. 


I currently have a 10 month old little girl who has been either crying or sleeping on me all day. She has a fever and is generally cranky. (Thankfully Daddy is home from work and can take a turn with her.) Conventional wisdom would say that it's probably just related to teething or a virus. But my nurse brain kicks in whenever one of the girls is sick and all of the what if's crop up. Just about every day you hear about someone who's child is really sick, weather its on the news, or a friend, or a friend of a friend... you're always hearing about something terrible happening to someone. Then when my child gets sick my mind always wonders... what if?  Well I'll tell you what if. If my child gets really sick we'll do everything that we're supposed to do and we'll just have to be ok with putting the rest in God's hands. We'll have faith for healing and we'll get the best medical care we can. And we'll believe that our God is big enough to handle it.   


So in any situation that the what if's enter your head, remind yourself that your God is big enough to handle any situation. And if you don't know this God that I'm talking about, He knows you and all you have to do is reach out to Him and he'll be happy meet you right where you are.  No matter what situation you're facing, He can meet your need. You don't need someone to lead you in a fancy prayer, you can just talk to him like he's your friend. But if you want someone to pray with you, please feel free to contact me anytime! 


Ok Mommy duties call... sorry I can't spend time tonight on my projects or in blog land... my baby needs me. All prayers welcome! 

Firsts

My big girls have both started school. Hannah started kindergarten and Bekah started pre-school. I must admit that I had a little separation anxiety today with both of them gone. Every time I got out of the car or went into some place I felt like I was forgetting something. I don't think they missed me nearly as much as I missed them. 


So this isn't an original idea but one that I thought was cute... We took pics of their first day holding up a sign to mark the occasion. And hopefully we'll do it each year and have a sweet book to make at the end to show how much they've grown up. 

Now that I have all of this free time... maybe I'll eat bon bon's or paint my finger nails. Or maybe I'll actually tackle all of the projects that I have lying around that need to be done. (Shhhh.... don't tell John! ;o) )

Teacher Gift

Ok for most of you know that among my friends I'm known as the super crafty, highly talented one... ok not even in the least. I routinely put myself in the un-crafty category when I see the amazing creations my friends can make. However, I recently ran across a craft from How Does She that even the scissor challenged can handle.

Hannah and I decided to make her teacher a box of goodies to start the year off right. So we bought a bead box from Wally World, decorated the top (Thanks to some help from the Amazing Toni!) And then filled it with supplies that Hannah thought her teacher could use. We finished it off with a card signed by Hannah. She is so excited to present her teacher with this little gift on the first day of school.

I'll let you know what Ms. Buyalos thinks! Happy September everyone! 

For all things craft related check out my friend Toni's blog:

http://amillerkindofworld.blogspot.com

Gratituesday

Gratituesday: Every Tuesday at Heavenly Homemakers is Gratituesday. So what are you thankful for today? I'm especially thankful today for such a fun filled summer. I'm thankful for a summer filled with giggles and swimming and play dates and luaus and sunshine and most of all 3 healthy children that I got to spend it all with. So here are a few pics of the last couple of weeks of summer.

SG chillin' at the pool while the big girls have swim lessons.

                                     Swim lessons with Ms Julie

Peek A Boo!

 

                                                         

 A special thank you to our friend Jamie for letting us borrow her pool for swim lessons!

SG playing with the toy Bean let us borrow 

 Walking with that toy obviously unassisted...

Bekah insisting that she needs help...

                                                     All ready for Brittany's wedding!

Now the count down to fall is truly on... Happy Tuesday everyone!

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

He Cares!

My two older girls couldn't possibly look more different. The oldest has dark brown curly hair and hazel eyes and looks more like my side of the family. The second daughter has straight blonde hair and blue eyes that are the exact shade of blue as my husbands mother. So when we found out we were expecting a third girl I jokingly said wouldn't be funny if we had a red headed baby? And then I actually started thinking about it and really decided that I thought it'd be really neat if 3 children from the same parents looked completely different. I mean what better way to showcase how amazing our God is than to have 3 children with the same genetic make up have different genes expressed? 


So I earnestly prayed that God would use our children to showcase his awesomeness in this way! I believe that God uses nature to reveal himself to us daily and it's the little things like this that totally make my day! Well wouldn't you know it, our third little girl's hair has a slight tint of red to it. Don't get me wrong, she wasn't born a carrot top. But when the sun catches her hair, it definitely glows red. And her eyebrows look red. Recently my father in law commented that he thought her hair was coming in red. My heart jumped with joy when he said this because it reminded me of my prayer. You see even if her hair isn't red, just the slight hint of red, I know that God hears my prayers and loves to give us the desires of our hearts. He loves to give good gifts to his children! This might seem so insignificant to you. But I could tell you probably a hundred stories just like this where I prayed for something seemingly mundane and the Lord answered my prayer. 


What's so awesome about this is that on a day when I'm feeling low or unloved, I can remind myself of these little things that God cared about and know that He cares about the bigger things in my life too. And I know that I don't have to try to overcome by myself because He's with me always! Be encouraged friends... He cares about me and He cares about you too! 

Matthew 7:11

New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

The Middle Girl

Warning: Bragging about my kid about to begin! :o)


I haven't posted about our middle daughter, Rebekah yet because she is such an interesting girl that there isn't one facet of her that accurately captures her little personality. At 4 yrs old she is by far our most spirited kid. She is up first thing in the morning bright eyed and bushy tailed. She helps when she wants to, smiles when she wants to, eats when she wants to... you get the picture? There is no amount of discipline or coaxing that will convince her to do anything that she doesn't want to do. Some days it drives me crazy, other days it makes me proud of her, every day she makes me laugh! Recently someone pointed out to me that while her bossiness/stubbornness is aggravating at this age, she'll be a great leader when she's older. And that accurately sums up how I feel about her. She (prayerfully) won't be the teenager who's does something just because her friends are doing it. She'll be blazing her own path! She is such a sweet and loving girl most days. I'm definitely proud to be her mama! 





Here she is at Christmas. See what I mean about she participates when she wants to? Truthfully I wouldn't have wanted to wear those stupid antlers either! 




Recently she has started taking pictures. She loves it! Every day she begs me to let her borrow my camera. I wanted to get her a "kiddie" camera to take pics with, but she's doing so good at it that I'm planning to get her a real camera of her own. I love that she's taken an interest in something and hope to really cultivate this talent. I fully believe that even young kids can show talent for art and I'm hoping that this is the beginning of a great love of art for her.  


So here are some pics from the world of Bekah: 

SG

 One of about 20 pics of the tv. I guess she couldn't get the exact angle that she liked...

Her toes... which she told me was to showcase that she needed her toenails repainted!

My beautiful photographer!

As I write this she's currently calling to me from her room saying "I'm asleep mom. Can I have my computer fixed now?" Man am I blessed to have this girl as my daughter!

We've got Spirit! Yes we do!

Can I get some spirit fingers up in here? 


I've been realizing recently that I don't do enough cheerleading in my life, especially to my husband.  My natural inclination is to always point out what he's doing wrong rather than to build him up in the areas that he's doing well. Every weekend I work 12 hr shifts on Friday and Saturday nights and he wrangles our 3 girls.  Usually when I come home from work the house is a disaster and I feel overwhelmed by being tired and by what I know waits for me on Monday morning. And everything in me wants to complain and point out to him everything that he didn't accomplish while I was away. But recently I've asked the Lord to remind me of just how fortunate I am to have a family and a home to come home to. And of course He's faithful to do just that! 


I need to give John credit for the work that he does while I'm away, he's not lazy, we just have different priorities. You see he's a "projects" kind of guy. He loves to clean out closets, exchange clothes for the season, organize things (things that I usually say I'll get to it eventually...) So in the mean time dishes pile up and laundry baskets get full. This last weekend he hung up new curtains in our bedroom and went back to school shopping alone. Two tasks that I was definitely happy to see him take on. 


So Sunday morning when I came home I was actually able to over look what hadn't been done and appreciate what he'd done.  The Holy Spirit was faithful to remind me that I have a loving husband who willingly helps with projects that I'd rather not do and does it well. He reminded me that I have a husband who is a loving father and takes great care of our girls. He gets the girls dressed on Sunday mornings for church and I think he does an awesome job! He works 10 hr days during the summer in the heat and still comes home and helps around the house. He is a Godly man who's constantly seeking ways to draw our family to Christ, as well as serve our church body. 


Now that the HS has reminded me of just how great my man is, it's up to me to act on that and tell my hubby just how much I appreciate him and all of the hard work he does. So John this blog post is for you. Thank you for being who you are, and for loving me in spite of me. I wouldn't want to do this crazy life with anyone else. I love you sweetheart!


Friends I encourage you to do a little cheerleading to the special people in your life this week! Tell them just how much you appreciate them and how special they are. You might just be surprised of the outcome!


^{1 Thess 5: 11} Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. ¹² Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. ¹³ Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 

End of Summer

Well the end of July is here and it's time to start gearing up for the end of summer. I don't know about you but I'm never a fan of the end of one season and the beginning of another. But it seems like just when you get comfy with something it's time to change. 


And so begins the next phase of our life with Hannah beginning "big girl school".  We really struggled as a family to decide what type of education she would receive. We weren't sure if we wanted to home school, send her to private school, or send her to public school. Keep in mind we have an awesome public elementary school literally in our back yard, and we have some really awesome families around us who are home schooling. We really agonized over making the "right decision" for our family. Ultimately we prayed about it and decided that God wasn't calling us to home school our kids. We felt like our kids could have a positive influence in their world if we let them. And as long as we were doing our job at home, their education would be fine. So we decided on public school.  


This was confirmed to us as Hannah came home from the first day of summer school (CH has a pre-k socialization program) informing us that she'd invited her entire class to VBS and to church the next Sunday. She has since invited just about everyone in our neighborhood to church. Each day she wants to see who's outside so she can talk to them about Jesus. My heart bursts just thinking about the level of faith that she has and the boldness with which she proclaims Christ. I've certainly been convicted about my own lack of sharing my faith. Then she surprised us all by going forward at VBS to accept Christ as her own personal savior. Now my little girl isn't just sharing what she's heard all her life, she's sharing her OWN faith! Its hard to watch my girl grow up but this is one area that I couldn't be happier to see her mature in.


So here is a pic of our little girl headed out into the great big world. I often wonder what she will do with her life and I can only pray that she will continue to put Jesus first in her life! And share it with those around her... I pray that you have a blessed end of summer and that your changing seasons would bring about new wonders in your world!

On her way to summer school

This little girl changed my world forever. I pray she changes the rest of the world too!

It's a CRAZY life!

This summer has been so busy that it seems like June never existed... Between Han starting kindergarten, Bek turning 4, SG learning to crawl, celebrating birthdays and holidays, work, church, friends... life seems busier than ever. How in the world do Mom's of more than 3 manage? I guess you just learn to adapt and find a way.


Some days I feel like I'm just barely hanging on and then some days I think, "ok, I've got this Mom thing down." There are days when I look around at all that I have to do and wonder how in the world I'm supposed to manage it all. There are still days when I wake up and I find myself feeling nostalgic of my pre-Mom days. But then very quickly one of my girls will do something sweet and I know that I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. John got to go on two missions trips this summer and at first I felt jealous that I wasn't going on the adventures with him. But very quickly the Lord spoke to my spirit and reminded me that I'm in a very important (admittedly probably the most important) season of my life. The call to raise my girls the right way is probably more important in my life now, than it ever will be. "Train up a child in the way he should go..."
So in my overwhelmed moments I remember the words of Paul "I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." And I remember that I'm working towards an eternal purpose, not an earthly one. I also remind myself constantly that the Lord is faithful to complete what He starts in our lives and that I don't have to do this daily stuff by myself! Friends He will be your ever constant companion if you let Him! Your peace in the chaos! We can choose to not let the struggles of day to day stuff overwhelm us!


I love my life, it is a crazy life, but one that I wouldn't trade for a million bucks... ok well maybe just for 5 mins of uninterrupted bathroom time, I might consider...  <3 <3

How Time Flies



Welcome to the world Sarah Grace 11-9-10



I can't believe that my baby is 6 months old already! It's amazing to think about the development that occurs in the first months of life. How anyone could believe that we're created by anything other than an all knowing, perfect creator is beyond me. As always I'm astounded by the things that my daughter can now do that she couldn't do just a few weeks ago. She can sit up, laugh, smile, roll around on the floor, reach for things she wants. Most of these things aren't things that I taught her. I certainly didn't model rolling around on the floor for her (that was John's job... ;o)) I'm amazed at how we are created in such a way that most of our growing occurs in the first year of life. How awesome is our God? Here are a few pics of the first 6 mos.

 

2 mos



We've used this frog to measure the growth of all of our girls, 4 mos



This is the probably my favorite pic so far. 5 mos



"I don't particularly care for this avacado Mom." 6 mos





"But I can definitely go for the sweet potatoes!" 6 mos



"Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him." Ps 127:3

We're jumping on the bandwagon!

Well I finally decided that I should jump on the bandwagon and start a blog so that our out of town family and friends can keep up with the goings on in our world.  Things change so quickly when our kids are little that it's hard to keep everyone updated. So here goes...

I may as well start with the ballet recital. We just finished the girls first ballet recital and while it was so much work for me, my girls loved it and are already talking about next year. Everyone keeps saying that I don't know what I'm in for with having girls in dance. But I do know that I was one proud mama watching my little ones do their dances. So here are a few pics:

The price of beauty

Hannah, 5 and Rebekah, 3

Me & My Teddy Bear

With Mrs. Robin, their teacher