A Few of my Favorite Things {April}

Hello everyone! I have missed you over here on the blog. You may or may not know but I had a misacarriage at the beginning of the year. I have actually had a very hard time healing emotionally as we thought we were done having kids. Then surprise pregnant, fell in love, then had a missed miscarriage (when your body doesn't realize your baby has died.) And I am still working my way through the healing process. (I shared my story here).  Going through all of that, things weren't … [Read more...]

DIY Mason Jar String Art + Felt Flowers (5 varieties) Tutorial

Are you a crafty gal? I love crafts but I don't make time for them.  Sometimes when I want to do something I combine it with a Moms Night Out! So that's what I did a couple months ago.  I scoured pinterest for a fun activity, took a vote of several options and the string art/felt flower craft one won!! Much to my surprise it was actually a lot easier that I thought.  This would be a perfect Mother's Day gift!!  I shared exactly how I went about making this over on … [Read more...]

Draw my Life || The Story God is Writing in ME

Sharing your story sometimes can be hard, sometimes it can be difficult but did you know it can be healing? Most of us will go through some pretty tough times at some point in our lives. Before I shared my story, I didn’t realize the power and healing it would have. Your story, my story is a gift from God to draw others to Jesus. God is writing a GREAT masterpiece.. He is writing the stories of our lives! And we are all currently walking through different chapters and different … [Read more...]

I am having a miscarriage.

I had a miscarriage. Or maybe I should say, I am having a miscarriage. Something I definitely thought I'd never say again.  We thought we were done having kids. I was content. He was content. Our little family with 4 beautiful children. Going through ups and downs as parents, failures, successes to thinking we’ve got it a little figured out to downright low again. And then do it all over again. But we were content. Then one day, I felt off and my period was late, and I knew. … [Read more...]

The Birth Story of Baby #4 {Part One}

To begin this story I guess I'll have to take you back to the Spring of 2015. (if you want to skip all of the pre-story, scroll down to where it says Coby's Birth Story)  We were busy with life, work, kids' school, a 1 year old running around and our "husband and wife" time had been lacking. So I was trying to be more intentional to make time for that! ;)  We weren't sure about having any more kids but I certainly had caught the baby bug. I just count imagine that we were … [Read more...]

Natural Labor And Delivery Plans

Written by Courtney @ A + Life (originally published in April of 2015) My Natural Birth Plans I don't have plans to take these to the hospital with me. I'm not going to be the girl who shows up with a bullet point, high lighted, step by step birth plan..... mostly because my plans are "hands off, please". But, that's easy enough to say, and not necessary to be printed out on a piece of paper. I remember when I got pregnant with my first daughter, Abigail. Even though it had taken us a … [Read more...]

How to be less busy

Written by Lydia @ Frugal Debt Free Life, Contributing Writer Do you ever feel like you’re long on to do and short on time? I have spent so many months, years even, feeling that way. It wasn’t until recently that I came to fully understand the amount of control I actually did have over my time and how I spent it. In fact, it seems like that is one of the things that I do have near-complete control over. Sure, I have small children and a husband, a business, and obligations. There is a … [Read more...]

You’re more than “just a mom” + four ways to spark creativity

Written by Lydia @ Frugal Debt Free Life, Contributing Writer I don’t think she meant anything by it. This woman standing in front of me at the preschool Halloween party. “Do you work or are you just a mom?” I know she didn’t mean anything by it. It was a more a reflection she saw of herself than of me. See, she had labeled herself as “just a mom.” She told me she quit her job after her daughter was born. “I don’t regret is for a minute, but I miss the creativity,” she … [Read more...]

What To Do When You Pretty Much Blow It With Your Children

    Written by Karen @To Work With My Hands, Contributing Writer It was one of those Friday afternoons. School should have been finished early on that day. We worked hard all week to plan it that way - and that would have pleased me. But, one distraction after another, and there we were, wrapping things up at nearly 4:00. Those days happen. The swirling list of what I had hoped to accomplish during that "extra" afternoon was crashing hard against the clock and the … [Read more...]

A Need for Relationship with Other Moms

This may be surprising if you knew me five+ years ago, but over the past 3 to 4 years, since around the time we moved from one to town to another, I have went back to my introverted self. I'm not sure if introverted self explains it, but the comparison trap, am I good enough, I'm too shy, have so much to do at home, whatever the excuse is. Holding back, not taking a risk.  We were busy, starting a business, kids starting preschool, then on into elementary school. Encountering … [Read more...]