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)