Happiness in the Small Stuff

Here are a few of the small blessings that I really enjoy and value. Life is about the small blessings in our everyday life. It’s up to us to stop, see and appreciate them for what they are….true blessings.
1. A kiss that comes out of no where
2. A smile from Itty Bitty like I just hung the moon

3. A fire in the fireplace
4. The smell of coffee
5. the taste of coffee
6. an afternoon nap

7. no traffic when you are running late
8. the way Matt smells after he shaves
9. Clean cold sheets
10. Goodnight kisses
11. Back rubs
12. Throwing my arms back and taking a deep breath. I call it “Sucking in the day.”
13. The way carpet feels and looks after you vacuumed
14. The sound of the birds outside my classroom door
15. Love notes like “just hit brew”
16. Not having to get gas for the car
17. The way my dogs love me no matter what

18. Being able to see all the beautiful colors God made
19. A cold can coke
20. Getting in a bed that was made up
21. A hot shower with a new bar of soap
22. Clear fingernail polish
23. The smell of vanilla
24. A decorating magazine
25. Getting a magazine in the mail
26. Netflix
27. Bananas
28. A food jar filled with flowers

29. High speed wireless internet
30. Still getting to watch Little House on the Prairie everyday
31. Apple butter on warm toast
32. A good writing pen
33. Getting to talk with my family on Skype
34. DVR
35. Floss picks
36. Starter logs for the fireplace
37. Hersey’s Carmel coffee creamer
38. Tomatoes sandwiches with lots of salt and pepper
39. Sweet tea
40. A curling iron that heats in about 20 seconds
41. A remote control
42. Walks on a warm spring/fall day with my family

43. Finding different ways to be crafty and frugal
44. Chocolate
45. An ice cream cone

I could go on and on. I would love to hear some of the small things that you’re grateful for.

God bless,
Farah

Itty Bitty is a Big Girl

It is so hard to believe that Gracelyn Faith turned four months old on the 30th. Without sounding like I’m bragging, even though I am, I must say she is such a smarty. She is very inquisitive and observant and wants to check everything out to see what it is. It is so true what people say about seeing things in a new way. Watching her stare at things with such amazement really does make you look at them in a different light too. Who knew the remote could look so interesting.

She found her feet last week and is totally enjoying them. They are in her mouth most of the time. Being that she is an Itty Bitty, every time she grabs her foot she grabs her clothes that are about two inches too long for her. It is just the cutest thing to watch her wonder where in the world her foot went. I should probably give her a pedicure so her toes are at least a little cleaner when she sucks on them.

I am very proud to announce that Gracelyn Faith is officially in her basinet and sleeping through the night. Go, Gracelyn!! Go, us!! She has slept through the night since about 5 weeks old, but it was only when she was swinging away in her swing. We didn’t think she would ever get out of that swing. I was starting to wonder if she would be taking it to college. Boy did we get use out of that gift! At three months old, we transitioned her to the basinet and she has done so well. It only took her a few nights to realize how great it was to stretch out. We can now just lay her down wide awake and she will fall asleep on her on. It is WONDERFUL!! In the next few weeks I hope to transition her to her crib.

Gracelyn loves to pull the covers over her head when she is going to sleep and sleeping. It makes me crazy and if I were to let the Devil win, it would put pure fear into me. I have decided to stand firm and let God protect her and her breathing. I must admit, it is cute to watch her rub her blankets on her face.

I hope you all have a blessed day!
Farah

Sweet Baby Girl and Her Mommy

Please keep my dear sister and her unborn baby girl in your prayers. She is having complications that are very serious to both her and baby. She will be 35 weeks tomorrow. I thank you for any and all prayers for Joli and little baby girl. This is a photo that I took of her and baby a few weeks ago.


God Bless,
Farah

Itty Bitty

On Tuesday, we had to take Gracelyn Faith to the doctor. Our sweet love has an ear infection in her right ear. While we were there, the nurse weighted her. Gracelyn weighs 12 pounds and 10 ounces and is 24 inches tall. I can't believe our little girl is getting so big. Well, not really. She is 25% for weight and 50% for height. She is really an itty bitty, but to me it seems like she is getting so big.

Here is a picture of our itty bitty. This picture was taken today after church...right before nap, so it was not the best time to try and take photos. She is wearing a dress and hat that my sister, Joli, and I found at a second hand store in Charleston for $8. Charleston has the best second hand stores.


Well, I need to get ready for the week. God bless!
Farah

Gracelyn Faith

Okay, Matt has Gracelyn Faith so I have a few minutes to update about everything that has been going on the last few days. It has been busy. My in-laws left, we took the Christmas decorations down, I cleaned most of the house, changed a lot of diapers, nursed a sick husband and I started an online business…well, in the process of doing it.

Well, on to more info on my new business adventures. Being the brain dead mom that I have become, I could not think of a cool, yet pretty, yet sweet name for my new business. I wanted a name that was about Gracelyn Faith…being that she is my inspiration and all. Well, I asked my ever so wise sister and she nailed it on her first try. Gracelyn Faith. No, not my little girl, it’s the name for my shop. What prettier name is there?! None! So that is the name. It couldn’t be sweeter, cooler, or prettier. It is kind of like Vera Bradley or Michaels.

At Gracelyn Faith, I will be selling heartfelt and love filled handmade items that are completely inspired around our Gracelyn Faith. I will have items that I have made for her or am making for other people. I am so excited! I will be sure to post a link when I have everything up and running.

Gracelyn and I went shopping yesterday for items that we needed for all our upcoming crafting. We had the best time. I am so grateful that she loves to shop. After visiting my new favorite store, Hobby Lobby, (I have been there 3 times in 4 days and it is 45 minutes away) we went to have a delicious lunch at my favorite coffee place. It is a little place called Starbucks….ever heard of it? Gracelyn had yummy Similac Organic milk and I had a humongous Mocha Frap with sugar free caramel and a bacon sandwich.

Gracelyn has started this new thing of playing with her food. She likes to stick her tongue out and roll it around the nipple of her bottle. It is rather cute and funny so you can’t help but laugh at her. This of course makes her do it even more. Then, she starts laughing and her milk goes everywhere. Well, Gracelyn was doing this in the busy jam-packed smallest Starbucks ever and of course I laughed at her and had to take so pictures. This went on for a few minutes and when I looked up, I noticed the we had an audience watching us. I just smiled because I knew they could not help but look at my too cute baby girl. That was such a cool new feeling!

Well, Matt just came and handed me Little Miss. He has to get the money ready of the pizza guy. Pizza---yum! We better enjoy it…diets start in the morning!

God Bless!
Farah

Loving Life

This has been the best Christmas. I have enjoyed every party, meal, laugh, conversation and minute that I have had to spend with my friends and family.

Christmas morning was the best. At about 5 am, Matt woke me up and asked if I was ready to open presents. He said that Gracelyn was awake and ready, but when I looked over at her she was sound asleep. I could see the excitement in his eyes so I could not resist. He looked like a five year old that had been waiting for hours. So after waking our soundly sleeping 12 weeks old, we quickly made our way to the tree. We spent several hours just taking in every minute of everything...the dogs enjoying their new bones, Gracelyn's sweet morning giggles, and reading the bible with her.

After presents, we headed to the kitchen to make a delicious breakfast. We had yummy frittatas with sausage and potatoes. As Matt cooked, I called our families on Skype to share in their mornings. I love Skype. It was so wonderful getting to see all their faces even though they are so far away. The best part was seeing the kids (Joli and Sean's blessings) faces and hearing about all the new gifts.

The Sunday after Christmas, we headed to my grandma's house. It was the first time Mama Pat got to see Gracelyn Faith. I could see the joy and love in her eyes when she got to hold her the first time. It was a moment that I had dreamed of for almost eight years.

On Monday, my wonderful in-laws arrived from Illinois and have been staying with us. I love having them here. I am so blessed to have married into a loving family. I loved them from the moment that I meet them, but my love has grown in a new way since seeing them love our precious baby girl. They are so sweet with her and love her so much.

Peggy (my mother in-law), Gracelyn and I had a girls shopping day today. It was so nice and relaxing. We were on a hunt for craft materials for me to make a few things for Gracelyn. If all goes well with hers, I hope to sell them. I have been praying for God to tell me a way to make some extra money or better yet, allow me to stay home with her. I guess I will have to wait and see if this was His answer.

Well, my Little Miss is finished eating and I need to put her to bed...or swing.
God Bless!

It's Starting to Feel A Lot Like Christmas

I would like to start by apologizing if I ramble and jump all over with my thoughts. I guess that is the “stage” of mommy hood that I am in right now. My brain is all over the place, but I want to get my thoughts down before I forget them. So here goes…I hope you can make sense of my spastic thoughts.

It’s our first Christmas with our Little Miss and we could not be more excited. There seems to be a new long awaited peace in our home this year. We have dreamed about this Christmas for the past eight years….I just got a little chocked up typing that. Thank you, God for your precious son and your precious daughter that you have trusted us to raise!

For the most part, the house is decorated and the tree is trimmed. I still do not have all the decorations up, but I really don’t care. It is amazing how my priorities have changed since Gracelyn’s birth. In years past, I had to have everything completed in a day—two tops. Now, here it is Christmas Eve and I still have a pile of decorations at the front door for our front porch and gifts in the middle of the floor unwrapped. Oh well, I don’t care and thank goodness Matt doesn't either.

This year I am all about starting new traditions as a family. I want there to be special little things that Gracelyn looks forward to each year. Little things like making handmade ornaments together. Gracelyn and I made ornaments for the tree using cranberries a few weeks ago. They look and smell great. I made them last year, but it was so wonderful to have her to make them with me this year. I look forward to many years to come of us making things together. We made some for a wreath in the dining room, but it only got half way done. As a family, we are also going to bake Jesus a birthday cake. I will talk more about that below. If anyone has a family tradition that your family enjoys, please share it with me.

Matt and I bought Gracelyn a very pink Christmas tree for her room. We decorated it was words of encouragement and little wooden blocks that her Mama Donna made her. It is so cute and I know that in a couple years she will love it.

Being that Gracelyn Faith is only 12 weeks old, she cannot open her gifts. Some wise person, I don’t remember who, suggested that I buy her some things and Matt buy her some things and then we open each others. We thought that was just the coolest idea so that is what we are doing. I cannot wait to see what Matt picked out for her. The thought of him shopping for our little girl warms my heart with such love and joy.

A couple days ago, Gracelyn and I went shopping for a few last minute gifts for her and Matt. We had the best time. She is such a wonderful shopper….thank you, God! I can’t say what I bought yet…Matt may read this today. But, tomorrow I will post lots of pictures of Gracelyn’s gifts that she receives on her first Christmas. I sure do hope she like what I picked out. While we were shopping, we had to take a “bottle” break so we joined her daddy at work for lunch. It was a nice relaxing lunch and Gracelyn even left her daddy a “gift” all over his shirt when we left.

I can’t wait to start all our celebrations. Tonight we are going to a Christmas service at church. We can wait to have fellowship with our church family and praise God for sending His son for us. Tomorrow we are going to celebrate Jesus’ birthday with a birthday cake. Gracelyn and I went to the grocery store yesterday to buy the items needed to make His cake. I really wanted to make a red velvet cake. I thought that would be fitting to symbolize the blood Jesus shed for us and red also symbolizes new begins and birth…thanks, Joli, for telling me that part. Well after searching in a busy grocery store two days before Christmas, I am told they were out of red velvet cake mix. I was so disappointed. I ended up getting strawberry. I figured that was almost red. Jesus knows I tried so I am sure He will like the strawberry just the same.

Well, nap time is almost over, so I will stop rambling for now. I would love to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I pray that you all remember the true meaning of Christmas and invite Jesus to your celebrations, into your home and into your heart.

God Bless!