I'm extra excited for Mother's Day this year. We sort of celebrated a bit last year--as Daniel was currently in-utero at the time. But this year, my celebrating takes on a whole new meaning. Having met our son and taken care of him for the past nine months, I have a whole different perspective on celebrating. I appreciate being a mom on a deeper level. I'm so thankful for all of the moms around me, because I have now experienced a bit of what they went through to raise their children. 

Holy cow. 

To those of you who are reading this that are moms: Thank you, thank you, thank you for everything you have sacrificed as a mother. May 11th is for you! 

I know Mother's Day can be a bit daunting for some of you. I mean, come Father's Day, I have NO idea what to buy Jonathan (other than ammo or a new gun ;) ). So, I thought I would compile a few ideas for anyone who is looking to buy a gift for a mother. 

1. A Magazine Subscription: 

Go on Amazon and purchase a one year subscription to the mother's favorite magazine--or at least one that you think she would like. I love to do this (making sure that the subscription is sent to their house) and then I usually head to the grocery store and buy a card and the current issue of the magazine. That way I feel like they are getting a little something to enjoy until the subscription kicks in. 

2. Personalized Stationary:

One thing I love, love, love is stationary. I blame my grandmother. For Christmas or my birthday, she used to buy me personalized stationary. While I didn't quite appreciate it then, I now realize how fun it is having something with your name on it. These cards from Etsy are a good price and a fun color! Don't have time to order stationary? Head to TJ Maxx. Their stationary area always has a lot of fun styles to choose from. 

3.  Birchbox

Ok. I have to admit, I have always wanted to buy something like Birchbox for myself. Birchbox is a subscription service that sends you a host of pre-picked products every month. You can choose from categories like body, hair, makeup, etc. Not interested in sending your mom beauty products, check out other monthly subscriptions here. 

4. Custom Journal

I chose this customizable journal because I thought it would be fun to put the mom's initials on here. This suggestion isn't just for the mother who likes to journal, this can also take the place of a card. I recently saw this idea and thought it was brilliant!  To summarize, each year the journal can be updated by the givee with pictures, sketches, etc. It's sort of a Mother's-Day-only journal.  Do you want something that's personalized that doesn't cost an arm and a leg...this is the gift for you! 

5. & 6. Trellis Earrings & Tiny Squares Necklace

Last but not least, let's throw a little jewelry into the mix. I love the simple elegance of the Trellis Earrings. And the Tiny Squares Necklace (which you can personalize) comes from the same artist who makes the necklace I requested for Mother's Day! (I would have suggested it here, but it's sold out.) I don't think you can ever go wrong with some simple jewelry. 

I hope that the above suggestions help if your stumped on what to buy the mom in your life! And if none of these seem to work, for the mother that you are buying for, I always think a safe bet is a personalized card and some beautiful flowers or a giftcard. The card allows you to write a thankful little blurb and the flowers or giftcard take the whole thing to the next level.

Happy shopping!

Easter 2014

Easter was extra special this year as it was Daniel's first. Having a child adds a whole new aspect to holiday celebrations. As we go through each holiday with Daniel, I have been thinking about traditions and the various things that I want him to learn about each holiday. I love coming up with creative ways to combine the traditions that Jonathan remembers with the traditions from my family. My goal is to create meaningful holidays for our family. I want them to be focused on the real reason for celebration, our Savior, and to involve a lot of family time. 

This year we started things off simply. Because Daniel is only nine months old, I know he won't remember much and I didn't want to get bogged down by having too many things to do on Easter. Rather, I wanted to just be able to enjoy it as a family. I didn't stress about coordinating our outfits. I didn't worry about getting the perfect pictures. And I didn't have the day all planned out with tons of things to do. (Not that any of the above things is wrong, I just knew it would stress me out and I wouldn't enjoy the day)

Instead, our day consisted of a simple Easter basket for Daniel and Jonathan. We went to brunch at church and followed that by attending our Easter Sunday Service. The afternoon brought a nap for Daniel, a run for Jonathan, and a little house work for me. And then my dad joined us and we all headed over to our friends' house for Easter dinner.

It was a beautiful day filled with meaningful moments spent with family and friends--who have become family. I can't wait until next year when we can celebrate again and enjoy even more Easter traditions--an egg hunt anyone?! 

A Merry Christmas

This morning I'm thanking God for the blessing of His son. What a humbling gift to give. 

Today will be spent with family. A low key, lovely day is planned. I'm already enjoying it by folding some laundry and drinking eggnog in my coffee.  Here is a bit of our Christmas decorations for your viewing pleasure.

From our family, to yours, Merry Christmas!!

This Weather

Oh, this weather! I have been giddy about the weather that we are currently getting.

I missed the first storm of the season--we were out of town for Thanksgiving--so, this new storm is just what the doctor ordered :)

These are the days that I have dreamed about sharing with my children. Even though Daniel is still too young to comprehend the beauty of what is going on outside, I'm determined to share it with him.

We have played under the Christmas tree. He has watched me excitedly open the many packages of gifts coming in and then watched me wrap said gifts. We have snuggled and enjoyed lots of time curled up in our little house. Guys, let me tell you, this house becomes magical in the middle of winter. It is like a warm cocoon for my little family. We love it.

What I'm most excited about is the fact that they are calling for more snow!

More snow?! Man, I'm a lucky girl. 

Excuses.

Today I'm just feeling the urge to blog. There are so many things racing through my head. It's times like these that I wish I were a better writer. I need practice. In these moments I am able to formulate various blog posts without an issue. They sound great (in my head) and make tons of sense. But when I sit down to write them, they come out jumbled and confusing. Maybe if I took a few writing classes it would help. Fellow writers, any advice?

Moving on.

This time of year always has me thinking about the start of the new year. It's almost like a have a month to prepare for my new life. The start of a new year makes me want to be a whole different person. I find myself saying things like "from this day forward..." or "after today I won't...." Yea, then nothing ever happens.

I have been focusing on my motivation (or rather, lack there of) lately. I'm starting to realize that motivation isn't something you necessarily have, rather, it is something you do. Recently on Facebook, I asked a general question about motivation: "Where do you find your motivation?" The answers that I received back, were not what I expected. The majority of people said that they just. do. it.

Maybe Nike is on to something-ha!

Of course there were some very good ideas for holding yourself accountable and self motivation, but the comment that was the most frequent was to just put one step in front of the other. Maybe this is something that a lot of other people don't struggle with, but it is definitely something I do. I am able to generate a lot of ideas for things that I would love to do. They sound great in my mind and I think "oh that should be easy!" but then, when I attempt my idea, it turns out to be easier said than done. The process usually ends with a lot of excuses as to why I didn't accomplish my task. Anyone else have this problem? Please tell me I'm not alone.

Slowly God is doing His work in me. He is showing me, at a pace that I can handle, that all of my excuses are empty ones. They have no substance. They may be fears, shortcomings, or just plain nonsense that I have developed in order to justify my lack of motivation. When you really don't want to do something, or something becomes hard, it's easy to find a reason not to. I often find myself asking if it is really worth my time or energy. Rationalizing an idea away can be quite easy.

Trust me, I'm an expert at it!

All my life I have been concocting all sorts of reasons why I can't accomplish my on going to-do list. I don't want to do this anymore. By second guessing myself and coming up with excuses, I'm left believing that I'm incapable of doing a lot of things that I can definitely do. It's almost paralyzing to some degree. I think enough is enough. 

As this new year approaches, I have a new perspective. Not only to I want to focus on giving myself realistic tasks to accomplish, I also want to make sure that I'm not creating any excuses. I want to be sensible about what I want to tackle and set up a plan to finish those tasks. And when I start hearing myself make up excuses, I want to be able to immediately put an end to them. With a lot of prayer, focus, and understanding, I think 2014 will be completely different than 2013.

I'm excited! I'm excited to grow even more as a wife, mother, and follower of my heavenly Father. I'm excited to show my little boy how healthy his mom can be. I'm praying that God will continue to create in me the mother that my little boy deserves. I'm so thankful that through Him, and Him alone, I can be changed into an entire new person.

Thank you Lord for your amazing power and understanding. 

P.S. These pictures have nothing to do with the content of this post, but you have to have pictures right?

Don't Worry!

Everything is OK here.

I promise.

My month long stint away from my blog has nothing to do with something being wrong. Though I'm truly grateful for the concern you all have. :)

I feel special. 

No, my month long break has more to do with me absorbing everything that is going on around me. I'm trying so hard to be completely present in my life.

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Too often, I think we focus on a life that isn't ours. It's the life that we dream up for ourselves, hoping that we will make it there someday. Now, don't get me wrong, it is definitely good to have dreams and aspirations. BUT, and yes...it's a big BUT, it's SO important for us to remember to be content where we are too.

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God puts us in the here and now for a reason. This moment right now is an important stepping stone for the future. Without our current life, we wouldn't be able to get to our future life. God has been showing this to me over and over again.

He has showed me that His timing is beautiful. purposeful. full of intent. 

He never wastes a moment. Every second of every day has meaning...and if we are focusing on the future all the time, we could miss it.

Isn't that a bit much to take in? Isn't that a beautiful thing to think about.

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I know I feel blessed by my month long hiatus...it has helped me to really focus on the true meaning of Christmas. It helped me to regain my perspective. It has helped me to feel more in tune with my daily life.

But I'm definitely ready to get back into the swing of things! I miss journaling our lives. I want to write down every little part, of every single day and never forget the blessings that God daily pours into all of our lives. I miss all of you and your encouraging words! Having a blog has been such a blessing to me.

So, shall we get back at it?

Will you join me?

The Day After/Before

It's the day after Thanksgiving. 

We have so much to be thankful for. 

I will always remember our time spent with unofficial family (love you all!). I will remember delicious food, a rambunctious dog, and a lazy morning spent with my husband. 

But it's the day after Thanksgiving, where chaos ensues in the stores, 

and everything goes back to normal at home. 

Leftovers are to be had--which are, sometimes, even better the second time around. 

I am enjoying my morning view. 

With one lonely light on and a warm cup of coffee, 

I am reflecting on all I have to be thankful for and thinking ahead to preparations for Christmas.

I am also excitedly anticipating the storm that is brewing. 

Our town is under a lake effect snow advisory. 

Heck yes. 

This morning is the calm before the storm. 

Figuratively (Christmas chaos) and literally (lake effect).

Either way, I'm going to grab more coffee, 

a good book (hello Inheritance series, it's so nice to finally meet you), 

and enjoy the fact that my husband is sleeping in. 

I'm enjoying this bit of calm. Are you?

Giving Thanks.

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As Thanksgiving gets closer, I'm reminded of the reason that we celebrate this holiday. The pilgrims wanted to pause and take a moment to be grateful for all that they had. Living in America at that time was surely a strenuous task, but they saw through the difficulties of everything and realized that they still had plenty to be thankful for. Shouldn't we all be doing the same?

So, a bit on what I am thankful for.

I am thankful for...

...a Savior who never lets me go and promises never to.

...a husband who loves me unconditionally, even when I'm a ridiculous klutz and break all of our drinking glasses (can you say two sets in two years of marriage?--yea it's pretty bad.) He is truly my soulmate.

...family who is always there even when they aren't here. I miss you all! Can't wait for Christmas!

...the ability to read. I don't know what I would do without books and blogs. I cherish stories and come from a long line of great story tellers. It's in my blood I tell ya!

...our home. Even though it isn't even close to how I wish it looked, it is still ours and that makes it perfect. There is nothing better than walking in the back door to a place that screams "I belong to Jonathan and Liz!"

...feisty puppies that keep us on our toes. They are my companions all day and I love that (most of the time! ha!).

Happy Thanksgiving all. :)

Cocooning

Winter and fall have always been my favorite seasons. Looking back, I'm surprised that I didn't get married in the middle of either of them. Couldn't you picture a beautiful fall wedding complete with hayrides, pumpkin carving, and all sorts of fall activities?!?! I guess I just wasn't patient enough to wait until then :)

As you know, we have been getting our house ready for winter. In these here parts it is important to ready your house for lake effect snow and the months of cold weather that will soon blanket us all. Since our house has little insulation, single paned windows, and a very old boiler it is important for us to be as efficient about our energy use as possible. Think: good window coverings, door draft guards, and alternative sources of heat. 

Today we will be having an energy audit done. We are hoping that the age of our home and the condition that it's in, will qualify us for a grant of some sort. That would be awesome considering we still need to update at least ten windows, upgrade our boiler, and insulate. Not to mention all the other places that I'm sure "energy" isn't being used efficiently. I'm very curious to see what the auditor says.

In the meantime, I will be cocooning. Yes, cocooning. 

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Last week I received my Garnet Hill magazine. This is the front cover. See in the bottom right corner?

Cocooning is the perfect word to describe what I do during the cold months. Yes. I realize that I'm crazy, but maybe there is someone out there who does the same. Can I get an amen? Someone, please?!

During the cold weather, I love to create a space that is warm, cozy, and comfortable. I drink lots of tea and coffee. Meals are often made in the crock pot or the oven. Our bed has lots of blankets on it and I love when it gets cold enough that I can pull out our big wool one. I'm always making soup and baking bread. I crochet a lot and drink lots of chai. Fall and winter are perfect. I love this time of year!

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I'm always in socks, a scarf, and a hoodie these days. Jonathan loves to make fun of me, but I just absolutely love  it. If you know me, you know that I'm a perpetual-scarf-wearer. My neck gets cold ok? :)

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I can't wait to go on a hayride, carve pumpkins, bake lots of goodies for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and ski. Oh skiing. We haven't been able to go, but once,  the past couple of years, so I'm really hoping that we will make it to the slopes more often this year. 

Lately all of my pins on Pinterest have revolved around new crocheting patterns, yummy warm-weather-recipes, and cozy clothing. It's all I can do to not splurge and buy a bunch of new sweaters, a fun pair high boots, and wool socks.

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Cold weather in Western NY is a beautiful thing. I can't wait for the lake effect snow to roll through.

Are you feeling at all nostalgic about this time of the year? What are your favorite cold weather activities? 

You Win Some, You Lose Some

It's fall right? 

Finally!!

I decided to get into the fall spirit and do a bit of decorating. We are on a tight budget right now, so I wanted to gussy things up without spending a lot of money. Dollar Tree to the rescue! I always love Dollar Tree as a resource for decorative items on a budget. 

As I was walking around, I spotted these paper doilies  and came up with the idea of putting them all together and creating a runner. For three dollars, a half hour, and some tape I had on hand, I figured I could create a great piece. I was inspired by this runner by Ashley Ann and thought that I may be able to recreate. 

My first attempted involved layering them. I would overlap them and just sort of put them together at random. Whatever I thought would look good. Well, I ended up getting rid of that. It was too...cluttered.

Then I decided to put them together with more space in between them. It turned out better and I put it on our buffet and proceeded to accessorize. 

 I went around the house collecting a bunch of things that I thought would work for a fall-ish feel. I gathered a few accent jars I had on had, a bunch of candles, some fall decorations from last year, a bag of split peas, a bag of popcorn, and some decorative squash that I picked up from a local produce stand.

Then I just started layering them on the buffet and worked with things until I had them the way that I wanted. I also kept in mind that I didn't need to use everything on the buffet because I wanted to put some stuff on our coffee table in the living room too. The result was satisfactory enough. I wasn't sure how I liked the runner that I had made, but I decided to live with it for a day and then decide.

In the basket I crinkled up some paper and then layered the decorative gourds on top. I followed that by putting the two scarecrows, that I had, in the back. A set of Fiesta salt and pepper shakers made the perfect compliment to the pitcher on the other side of the buffet.  Then to top the grouping off I used a mason jar, split peas, popcorn, and a candle to create a fun decorative piece.

On the opposite side, I used a large glass vase I had leftover from our wedding and a small votive, to do the same decorative element I used with the mason jar. I decided to move the pitcher with flowers from its spot in the living room, because the colors worked well with the overall scheme I had going on. I also decided to utilized the 'fall' decoration I had purchased from Christmas Tree Shops on this end as well.

It all came together in the end. The colors from my mom's picture, that hangs above our buffet, and all the colors of the adjoining rooms seem to compliment everything nicely.

Then in the living room I decided to do a small arrangement and I used some more doilies, a wood chicken (left behind from the previous owners of our house), a couple of glass votives, a decorative tray, and a pumpkin I had on hand from last year.

The goal was to do something simple, but fun. I attached the doilies to the bottom of the tray, with tape. Then I layered in the chicken and candles. The pumpkin went on the bottom shelf. I also love how the baskets I have holding our magazines, are made with chicken wire. In the end, there was an overall country theme that I didn't plan for!  :)

This is where I was originally planning on ending the post, but after living with the doilies for a day, I decided that I wasn't a huge fan. So, I removed them from the buffet and this is what it looks like now.

I like it a lot better... I think. Oh! I forgot to mention that I also put our ipod and its speakers back on the buffet. Function is way more important than beauty, around here. 

So, what do you think? Do you like the display better with the doily runner? or without? Honestly, I'm not 100% convinced either way. I'm thinking that I might try to make a new runner with just the sunflowers or the leaves and see if I like that better. Some input would be greatly appreciated :)

A Family Tradition

For The Fourth of July, my side of the family always gets together at my Grandparent's house, which is situated along Lake Erie. For years, this has been the usual thing to do. We bring food, invite a bunch of lovely friends, and enjoy bonfires and personal fireworks displays.  The Fourth will always be my favorite summer event. 

My grandparent's house is situated on one end of a little bay. So, the way that their backyard is set up allows for a perfect view of everything that is going on. You can see all of the bonfires along the beach (each person tries to build the biggest and best), witness multiple fireworks displays as each family tries their hand at a show, and its also fun to see the many groups of people gathering together for one purpose: to celebrate our freedom! 

I love watching the fireworks come off the beach. We used to go to our local fireworks display after spending the early evening with my grandparents, but this is just such a unique tradition, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love the feeling of community that exists along the lake. Everyone wants to be part of the festivities.

So, my little brother, husband, and I sat along the concrete breakwall and enjoyed the show. The whole time I sat there, I thought about all of the past years and reflected on the joy that such a simple gathering brings.

Do you have any family traditions for the Fourth?