Cooper's Birthday Vest

When Molly was born, I had the idea to make a pillowcase to take to the hospital (add some spunk to the hospital room, know what I mean?) and then use that pillowcase to make an outfit for her first birthday. 

You can see pictures here of Molly's dress.

It was a little more difficult to pick the fabric for my pillowcase when Cooper was born, knowing that boy's outfits are slightly more difficult than a girl's dress.

Here's the best shot of the pillowcase in use. 

(Note: best shot of the pillowcase, NOT myself, HAHA)

And here is what I made of it for Cooper's first birthday party. 

I'm pretty excited about how it turned out, and love that I was able to keep this tradition for both kids! :)

Mike Griffith

In case you don't know, I have about the best father-in-law in the whole world - Mike Griffith. It's for real. I couldn't even begin to describe all that he means to my family. Mike- we love you. :)

A couple of things about Mike....

Mike has a passion for addicts and desires to counsel those who need and want help. He has a new website that you all should check out. Please pass this along to anyone who you think might need and want it! 

Click HERE to view his website.

And second, Mike is an incredibly talented musician and song writer and just released his first CD. 

It is available to purchase HERE. Please consider supporting Mike and his amazing ministry! 

I had the incredible experience of recording with Mike for one of the songs on his album. You can listen to the whole song on the above link. It's called Line in the Sand.

Don't forget to check out Mike's website and music and show him your support!

Cooper is ONE!

My little Cooper. Today you turn one. ONE!

I remember your Birth Day so vividly. (One of these days I'll finish all the details of your birth story and get around to posting that)

You big sister Molly was head over heels in love with you from the moment she saw you. 

You were a tough little guy when you were first born. By this face, you'd never know it!

Mommy had a tough time transitioning to two kids. But we learned so much about each other every day. Mommy grew closer to Jesus, and we are all better now because of it.

Since the very day you started smiling, you could light up a whole room with your smile. It's just that contagious. 

See what I mean? :)

Daddy and Mommy started looking for a house in the summer. I thought this one was meant to be....

We were so excited when the weather got nicer. That meant playing outside, which we did a LOT!

In July we traveled to Indiana for Travis and Elizabeth's wedding. You were the most handsome man of them all, if I do say so myself. 

You and Molly started sharing a room sometime in the summer. This went over very well. She sleeps through all your crying! ;)

A happy little pumpkin....

You and Molly play so well together. It makes my mama heart swell so big to hear the two of you giggle together. I am in love with the bond you share. 

My sweet Cooper. This past year has brought me so much joy. I am so happy to be your mama. Happy first birthday, buddy. Hope your day is full of happiness. :)

Twenty Fourteen

Remember back in March when I changed up my blog? 

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I knew I wanted something different, but I wasn't really sure what, so I temporarily wrote in the blog header:

to be changed.

And the more I thought about it, the more those exact words lined up with exactly what I wanted for my life. 

And thinking back on the year 2013, that is exactly what happened. I would most certainly say this was the most difficult year of my life, but it has also been the year that has brought me closest to the Lord. 

*funny how that works, am I right?

I am so thankful that I stand here in the beginning of 2014 a different person than I was at this time last year. I have a deeper understanding of what it means to live each day dependent on my Savior. 

So as I fix my gaze into the next year, I may write a few loose goals, but overall, I want to grow even deeper in my love and need for Jesus. I just want to be changed. Again. And again and again and again for as long as I walk this journey called life. 

One gigantic CHRISTMAS post.

Because, ya know, it's been a while. And New Years seemed like the perfect day to recap Christmas. :) 
This post is going to be long and picture-heavy...just a fair warning!

**************

Setting up the tree together was SO fun this year. Molly loved putting up the ornaments. 
Here she is right before putting the tree up:

We decided to get our kids a new ornament each year when we put up the tree so that when they leave our house, they have a box full of ornaments for their own tree someday! 
This year I got Molly a baby, because she looooves babies so much. Safe to say she was pretty excited about it. :)

I finally have a mantel to decorate! So fun!

We went to see the zoo lights on a beautiful night...see, we didn't even wear coats! We thought it wouldn't be that crowded, being a weeknight. Everyone else in Columbus thought so too. :)

Chris's work had a Christmas party one Saturday this month, which had a ton of fun activities. Molly was pretty unsure of the idea of getting her face painted, so I went first. Here are our matching bows:

And this was Molly's face when she first saw Santa. She immediately exclaimed, "I don't like Santa Claus!" haha

And yes, we got the classic picture of a screaming child on Santa's lap. 

Cooper, on the other hand, was infatuated with Santa. Especially his nose and his glasses.

Molly and I making Christmas cookies together:

We travelled to North Carolina to spend some time with my family before Christmas. It was nothing short of amazing. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family that loves each other and gets along so well. :)

My mom bought a bounce house! Yes, a bounce house! Haha. It was so cool, and the kids loved it!

We came home from our trip to a flooded laundry room. Just two days before Christmas. It was terrible timing, to say the least. Monday was such a discouraging day for me, as I was trying to keep my joy amidst all the crazy of the laundry room situation, our cars having issues, and just the madness that IS two days before Christmas. 

Then this happened. A sweet, sweet friend from church delivered this beautiful plate of goodies. It just couldn't have come at a more perfect time! God knows best! Thank you SO much, Mikayla and Whitney! 

The kiddies before Christmas eve service. You can see how much she adores her little brother.

Also, let it be known that Molly wore the same dress two Christmases in a row. My tiny, petite little girl. (last year on the left, this year on the right)

Molly at Grandma Dorothy's with the big giant Christmas bear:
(I'm not sure why there's snow on this picture, but it's kinda cool, right?) 

Christmas morning was the four of us at our house. It was so relaxing and full of joy. 

The annual stocking picture:

Chris had this incredibly old pair of shorts that used to be his dads that were getting super worn out. He literally could not take one step without them falling down (the elastic was so stretched out!) I was finally able to convince him to get rid of them, but without him knowing, I fashioned them into a pair of pants for Cooper.

I figure my sister-in-law is making babies to carry on to a third generation....I'll make a pair of pants to do the same! ;)

Hope everyone else had a Merry Christmas. 
Here's to a wonderful 2014!!!