Seeking positivity

Two nights of less than stellar sleep on top of me and Meredith being sick has left me feeling a bit gloomy today. In an effort to cheer myself up, I thought I'd share some photos of things that are making me happy this week.

when bulk boxes of oreos are on sale, one must buy them, no?

a cute new baby swim suit that brings with it promises of summertime weather

my new milk glass (vases or candlesticks? it's a family debate) thrifted for under 2 bucks :)

the sweetness of little baby shoes

  

and, of course, this sweet sweater and baby face :)

and! last but certainly not least:

she's crawling!

Traditions

As a new mother, I feel a tremendous responsibility to be the bearer and creator of family traditions. I cherish the memories I have of family traditions done over the years. My tendency is to plan these things, force them to happen instead of letting them occur organically. But then, this weekend, Chris was making breakfast. As he handed me a plate of pancakes, I realized these things will happen naturally if i just let them.

We will eat pancakes with our children's initials. We will have dance parties  to celebrate Chris's daily return from work. We will build forts on snow days. We will do lots more things that are yet to be seen.

Steppin' Out: 2/4

On Friday night, Chris and I headed out for a fun date night. We enjoyed a dinner at Johnny Rockets and then saw The Fighter. Dinner hit the spot. I had been craving a greasy burger and chocolate milkshake and it was everything I hoped it would be :)

While we enjoyed a night out, Meredith had some fun, looking cute with her grandparents :)



linking up with harper's happenings!

answered prayers

 

I believe in the power of prayer. I really do. But I don't always make my highest hopes loud and clear. I often keep them tucked deep inside of me, in case they don't come to be. I peek inside myself to briefly ponder them every once in a while. Rarely do I pull them out, vulnerably inflating and revealing, like a child's parachute. At the start of this year, however, I did. I offered up some big things. And last night as I stayed up late talking with new friends, I sat back and thought for a minute, "This one was a yes."

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To your 16 year old self

Dear Meredith,
As I watch you learning to crawl and discovering how to scrunch your nose up like a little pug, it is both thrilling and terrifying to imagine you as a teenager.

Terrifying, because the pressures teenagers face are so intense. There is pressure to fit in, to grow up before you are ready, to try things that have huge consequence and risk. Thrilling, because I love to imagine you older, becoming a beautiful young woman. Thrilling, because being on the verge of adulthood with so much future ahead of you is an incredibly unique and special time in life.

My hope for you is that you will be confident. I pray you will feel as beautiful as you are. That you will make decisions you can live with and be proud of. That you will value yourself and value your faith. That you will have friends that call you higher and don't break you down. That you will know your mom and dad love you no matter what, and that, secure in that knowledge, you will free to talk to us. And if you don't feel like you can talk to us, that you will have someone older and wiser to talk to.

Lately, we've been taking lots of walks at the mall because it's so cold outside. When I see a mom and her teenage daughter walking together, I get to excited. I love to picture us walking through the mall together, shopping and having fun. This probably seems like a fairly shallow image, but I really hope we are friends. You might throw a snickers bar at my head one day ( I did it, too) and you might get really mad at me sometimes and you might get really embarrassed by me sometimes, but I do hope that there are also lots of days that you like to hang out with me, that you feel comforted by my presence, that I can say you look beautiful and you'll believe me.

Meredith, while right now you are so incredibly dependent on me, I know it won't always be like that. My prayers is that when the time comes to let you have your independence, that you will walk out secure in your parents' love and God's love and that this will be a guiding force in your life.
I love you now and when you are a teenager with an attitude,
Momma

Linking up with Mama Kat again. I chose prompt #4: A letter to your future teen. Head on over to see some more posts!