Baby Nursery Photos

I finally get to post my baby nursery photos! I have been waiting because I had some artwork that I was working on but hadn't quite finished when Cooper decided to come a week early! Not to mention it has taken this long for me to convince Jason to get in there and hang everything where it needed to go. We decided not to do your typical baby nursery because they grow out of them so quickly. I decided on the Americana/Cowboy theme! I have to explain that I HATE the word theme....So really it isn't very theme-like! The cowboy is only brought out in accessories and was inspired by an old rocking horse that my husband had growing up. It currently isn't in the room but will be someday when he grows into it. Jason hung all the crown molding and taped off 145 pieces of blue painters tape to make the striped red border with paint at the top. We accomplished the striped effect by using polyurethane over the flat paint every two inches. I hand painted all the artwork over the changing table. I also made all of the baby bedding, window treatments and the pony throw on the glider. I selected all of the fabrics so that it would be very easy for him to grow into this room for many years to come!

Cooper is 3-months old!

Well, my baby is now 3-months old! I can't believe it, the time is just flying by and everyday is better than the last. I LOVE being a mom and hope that I can be as wonderful as he seems to see me! The way that your baby looks at you really inspires you to be a better person, or at least it should! When he looks up at me, it is like the purest love that I have ever seen in those little eyes. When we went to his last doctors appointment, which was over 3 weeks ago he was up to 13 pounds 8 ounces. He is a growing little boy. He has changed so much from those first few weeks home from the hospital when he had little skin folds on his legs because there was absolutely not any fat anywhere on his body! Now there are little fat rolls everywhere! He is absolutely precious and the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen. I even miss seeing his face while I am asleep! So here are his current pictures, we had them made at Baptist Hospital and the same girls, Amanda and Jennifer, who took his newborn pictures took these as well. They are awesome and love him to death. Cooper really likes Jennifer who is the assistant. We barely got any pictures of him looking at the camera because he wouldn't quit flirting and smiling at her and she was beside him trying to hold up his head. It was too cute!

Friendships with women

My best friends!

Dawn and my sister Sharon

I have so many wonderful friends. I truely feel blessed to have so many people that I can reach out to when I need someone who understands. Once you get married, I believe it is hard to maintain alot of your close relationships with other women. It is so important to work hard to keep the people that you truely care about in your life. Lets face it, as much as we love our husbands there are just some things that they can't and never will understand about us. Those are the times that girlfriends are so important! This article was posted on crosswalk.com and I thought it was a wonderful read. I hope that you enjoy it!

Build Solid Female Friendships
Whitney Von Lake Hopler
Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer

Friendships with other women have the potential to either enrich your life greatly or hurt you deeply. But you can navigate the complex dynamics of relationships well if you realize that God wants to use your friendships to help you and your friends grow. Grown-up friendships stretch and encourage both you and your friends to become more mature.
Here’s how you can build grown-up friendships:

Be willing to invest yourself in friendships.

Realize that good friendships don’t just happen; they take time and require risks. Invest the time and take the risks necessary to build solid friendships. Don’t settle for just fleeting fun marred by insecurity; pursue relationships that help you connect well with other women and experience deep joy together.

Discover the purpose for each of your friendships.

Understand that God has an overarching purpose for all grown-up friendships, which is that they should honor Him by encouraging the people involved to become the people He wants them to be. But ask God to show you the unique purpose for each of your friendships, as well. Ask your friends questions as you explore the potential purpose for your friendships with them, and pray about the information you receive until you discover what God wants to accomplish in each of your lives through your friendship.

Rank your friendships by intimacy level.

Recognize that not all of your relationships are meant to be close. Know that, while you’re called to love everyone, you’re not called to share intimately with everyone. Put your friendships in the proper perspective by ranking them according to whether they’re acquaintances (people you know by name and with whom you usually share facts or clichés, such as a cashier at your favorite grocery store), companions (people you talk with about opinions or concerns, and with whom you share something in common, such as a hobby or children of the same age) or close friends (people you trust enough to share your deep thoughts and feelings together). After taking inventory of your current friendships, ask yourself if you’re experiencing true intimacy in any of your friendships, or if you’re spread too thin by trying to have too many intimate friendships. Identify those people with whom you sense God is leading you to become close friends, and become intentional about doing so while letting go of unnecessary pressure in your other friendships. Make sure that God is your number one close friend, and rely on the love He gives to love other people.

Open your heart, with God’s help.

Don’t close your heart off to people God wants you love. If you’re having trouble acting loving toward a difficult person, ask God – the source of all love – to help you by giving you the love you need for her. Be aware of how people press your fear buttons through their words and actions. Once you identify how they trigger fear in you, talk with them honestly about it, with the goal of sharing a loving conversation that will enlighten you both and draw you closer together. Constantly keep your heart open to receive God’s love so you can love your friends as He intends.

Set and respect healthy boundaries.

Pursue healing from any past wounds that are affecting your ability to build current relationships in healthy ways. Reflect on your emotions and what words and actions trigger them so you can understand how to express them at appropriate times and in ways that are most helpful to you and your friends. Make sure that your physical expressions of affection honor God and bless your friends rather than making them uncomfortable. Recognize that God has created you to be unique. Don’t try to become like your friends; embrace your own identity with confidence.

Embrace differences between yourself and your friends.

Accept the fact that you and your friends have different personalities and approaches to life. Realize that, instead of causing you to grow apart, your differences can actually improve your friendship if you respond to them wisely. Let go of attempts to change your friends and address frustrations and unmet expectations as they occur. View the differences between you as gifts rather than annoyances. Bring out the best in each other by inviting God to use the differences between you to teach you to love in deeper ways. Ask God what He is trying to accomplish by pulling you and your friends together, and keep His purposes in mind as you work through your differences.

Communicate wisely.

Avoid behaviors that erode the trust that must be the foundation of a safe friendship, such as: gossip, criticism, competitiveness, blaming, manipulation, an unwillingness to confront about issues, jealousy, too much emotional intensity, jockeying for position within a group of friends, and talking instead of listening. Create safety in your friendships by allowing each other to open up with each other and share your true thoughts and feelings. Honor each other by recognizing each other’s value. Realize when your fear buttons have been pushed, and learn how to manage your emotions so they don’t control you. Be willing to seek forgiveness when you’ve hurt your friends. Speak encouraging words to your friends. Avoid screaming, yelling, threats, and other unhealthy behaviors during disagreements. Create ground rules for your friendships that make it clear what constitutes acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. Be willing to confront your friends whenever you believe they have wronged you. Learn how to listen well (be empathetic, summarize what was said to make sure you heard it correctly, ask open-ended questions that lead to deeper sharing, and validate your friend’s feelings even if you don’t agree with them). Rather than harboring negative beliefs about your friends, acknowledge that your perceptions might be wrong and give your friends the benefit of the doubt until you can visit with them to discuss your concerns. Don’t make negative comments about other people in front of your friends when those people aren’t present to defend themselves; know that if you refrain from doing so, your friends will trust you not to speak critically about them when they’re not present. Take responsibility for what you choose to believe about your friends and how you choose to communicate with them; don’t blame your friends for your own choices.

Forgive and seek forgiveness.

Be willing to forgive your friends after they hurt you, and ask them to forgive you after you hurt them. Know that this is not an option; it’s something you must do to maintain healthy friendships. Remember that God has forgiven you and expects you to take His call to forgive seriously. Rely on God’s help to forgive and seek forgiveness, no matter what your feelings, and know that He will help you do so. Pursue reconciliation as well with those friends who are willing to restore their friendships with you.

Overcome destructive friendships.

Try to prevent being mistreated in friendships by depending on Jesus (rather than other people) to meet your deepest needs, asking God to help you become wiser and more discerning, being willing to trust others after someone betrays you, and seeking out healthy friends. Understand that a healthy friends: brings her own identity to the relationship, supports rather than acts as a caretaker, is honest and truthful but not critical, can make decisions for herself but does not need to make decisions for everyone around her, honors your other friendships while having a clear vision of the purpose God had when He brought you two together, does not try to manipulate you but encourages you instead, believes the best about you, forgives but does not accept recurring destructive behavior from someone who does not repent. Decide to give your heart in close friendship only to women you can trust to hold it well.

Know when to let go.

If you have lost a friendship because of another person’s choice, accept that you can’t control another person and don’t try to force a relationship when she doesn’t want one. If you’re dealing with a destructive friendship in which your friend is mistreating you and won’t change, realize that the best choice for you to make may be to let go of that relationship. After a friendship ends, try to learn from the experience by asking yourself: “How could I have done this relationship better?” and “What can I learn from this painful experience and apply to my other relationships?" Allow yourself to go through the grieving process for a friendship you’ve lost. Ask God to use the loss of a friendship to refine your weaknesses and draw you closer to Him.
Reach out in crisis. When you’re going through a crisis in your life (such as divorce, widowhood, a sick child, a death in the family, or your own illness), don’t hesitate to reach out to your friends for support. When your friends are going through a crisis in their lives, reach out to them to offer them some of the hope and help they need.

Pass on what you know.

Become a mentor (either formally or informally) to younger women who could benefit from what you’ve learned about building grown-up friendships. Model love in the midst of hurt, offer support in the midst of trials, pray for their friendships, and occasionally include them in fun activities with you and your own friends.

Press on.

Persevere through the challenges of struggles in your friendships, knowing that God will use all of your experiences to help you become more and more like Jesus.

Cooper and Sam

On Thursday, my dear friend Tanya and her new son Sam came over to visit! Tanya and I haven't seen each other in almost 5 years and we had such a wonderful time. Back in high school, 9th and 10th grade Tanya and I were BEST friends, she was really like a sister to me! But over time we lost touch and our lives went in different directions, as happens with many of your friends, but we recently discovered that we both have just had our first babies and they are both little boys. We both thought that we were the oldest of any of our classmates to have children this late in life...haha...But that is not where this story ends! Our sons...Mine...Cooper and Hers...Sam were born on the same day February 22nd and at the same hospital and we never ran into each other, our parents who have known each other forever never ran into each other...It's just been the best thing to discover and it is like a bond that was just meant to be! Now when Cooper starts doing something like chewing on his fist and slobbering, I can call her and sure enough Sam is doing the same thing. It is so reassuring as a new mom to know ok, so this is normal...He's probably not teething yet..He is just noticing his hands or his feet or he just figured out he has a tongue. It was nice to see them side by side and see how they are about the same size, when one cries you have to look around because they both cry the same. They make the same little noises and grunts and hand gestures and the smiles! So it has been a trip and I believe that God has brought us back into each others lives for a reason...Because if we had planned to have children together we never could have made this happen!

Here are some pictures of our beautiful, spoiled little boys! They are both 12 weeks old now...I can't believe it has already been 12 WEEKS! Neither of them really like to be put down and love to be held. This one picture of both of then crying cracks me up!

Tanya and Sam

Fun Times!

I have to tell you that my life is changed forever! People tell you and I have said it before, but you just have no idea until you experience it yourself! Things that used to get you excited...like going out for a drink with friends, just can't take the place of the utter joy of taking care of your precious little one. Don't get me wrong...I desperately need a girls night but then when it comes right down to it I just can't bear the thought of leaving him. He makes me smile and laugh and everything that he does I think is just the cutest thing a child has ever done...And that smile...oooohhhh, there is really nothing quite like it! I love seeing Jay come home from work and C being sooo excited to see his daddy. He will sit there and smile and laugh for the first 10 minutes Jay is holding him. I told Jay I was going to go out all day tomorrow (Saturday) just so he will be that excited when I get home...haha.....