Happy Birthday Claire

We had Claire's first birthday party on Saturday. Her actual birthday is on Wednesday the 15th. It really turned out so nice! It was so great to have our friends and family there with us to celebrate this special day! I can not believe it has already been a year! I am amazed how fast the year went by! We are so blessed to have her in our lives! God is so good! She has started the walking process, taking about five to six steps. She is getting more brave by the day. I posted a picture of these adorable zebra print boots that her Gran Gran Debbie got for her at Kiddie Couture Boutique. The are too cute! I also made a matching hair bow which is shown in the photo. I am having her pictures done in them. She received wonderful gifts from everyone! My mom ordered he a pink chair like Connor's She absolutely loves his chair and Connor shares sometimes but mostly he say "mommy sissy bothering me!" lol So now she will have her own little chair to watch cartoons on. It didn't arrive on time so I will take pictures once it does. We all had an awesome day! Heres to you baby Claire! Happy Birthday!!

Exciting News

I have some exciting news! I have decided to start making and selling hair bows! Jason is working on my website and I can not wait until it is finished! I truly enjoy doing this in my spare time. Well, o.k. I really do not have any spare time. lol It is usually after the kids are in bed and I stay up until midnight or one. I have made Claire some bows for Disney. FUN FUN! My website is clairemichelleboutique.com It all started because of her so I thought it was only fair to name it after my inspiration lol Feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you think. I will let everyone know when the site is launched. In the meantime if there is anything you may want, let me know. I would love to make a creation for you and your little princess!

Summer ends again

So this summer has flown by! Fall is near. Connor is getting ready to start preschool at St. Paul next week. We had orientation last night and he did not want to leave. Everything went really well! I am very excited for him to be attending this school! It is going to be very good for him. I think this going to be harder on me then it is on him. lol He is only going two days a week for three and a half hours. I just can not believe he is three years old! Where has time gone? Claire is already ten months old and will be walking before I know it. I am already planning her first birthday party. I am sure you are not surprised. lol It makes me so sad that my babies really aren't babies anymore!
We are getting ready for our trip to Disney in a few weeks. We are super excited! We will be there for an entire week and I am stressing about having enough of everything! I am such a scatter brain anymore, I forget everything. Make a list you say? Tried that and I still manage to forget something! lol
I have been working on a few projects for the past couple of weeks. I have made some hair bow holders and clip boards. I have had fun doing it. I will post some pictures below. I made one for Claire and I do have to say it is super cute hanging up in her room. I am sure you know how I love bows and well I most desperately need a place to put them! lol
Until next time.

Full Circle

Have you ever had one of those full circle moments when you are able to see God's plan come together? Or as Oprah would say an ahha moment. lol I did just that. There was an event that took place that I could never make much sense of it. I now see Gods plan! I have developed a friendship which I hold very close to my heart! I feel so blessed to have her as my friend! I am amazed everyday on how God works. It is so hard for us to accept things that happen asking God why?? It is so hard for us to be patient and remembering God has a plan. I am so happy to say I have come to see his plan. He has blessed me with a true friend who I love and adore! She is real and honest and I could not ask for more in a friend! Thank you Jesus! Thank you for being my rock though this journey. I love you!

I said to the Lord, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing." Psalm 16:2

I lift my eyes to the hills where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2

Jesus extends two invitations

I have been reading tender mercy for a Mother's Soul by Angela Thomas Guffey and thought I would share a little with you. I really found this interesting and oh so true!
Many of us have come to Jesus for salvation: a life-changing experience from which we receive forgiveness of our sins, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the assurance of our eternity with the Father. But then many of us wander away from the One who has saved us. We have forgotten that He calls us to come and remain...abide...stay.
When I invite someone to my home, especially someone that I love, I don't leave that person standing at the front door or even in the foyer. If it's someone whom I really want to spend time with, we always end up in the kitchen, sitting around the table, watching the children play (and fuss), talking, laughing, and lingering in the pleasure of each other's presence. I especially love to go to someone's house of for dinner and have that person hand me something to do. I feel welcome, needed, and loved. I don't want to sit in a stuffy chair in the dinning room and wait until something perfect is presented. I want to be in the kitchen, chatting, stirring, and serving. Many of us have invited Jesus in but left Him standing at the front door of our lives. We have put Him on the stuffy chair reserved just for our guest. We occasionally acknowledge his presence with a polite conversation but never allow Him into the kitchen of our hearts. He must be in the center of our lives, active and involved. Let Him come and abide in you. Remain with Him. Linger in the pleasure of His company. To come to Jesus for salvation is only to taste of the pleasures of the Father, but to remain in Him is to eat at the feast of His goodness until your hungry soul has been satisfied. For me that means spiritual fullness, a supernatural contentment that wraps itself around every part of my life, a great peace that comes in and ministers to my family, the blessing of knowing real joy in simple moments. To abide with Christ-to stay with Him and to learn from Him-is to continually receive eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart yo obey.

Again that was all from a book I am reading. This really spoke to me and it was a great reminder how easy you can get caught up in everyday life and only acknowledge God when we are in need. Jesus extends two invitations to us. The first is to come to Him and be saved and the second is to remain in Him. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:4-5 This is a great reminder on how I need God in my everyday life in order to grow and become what he wants me to be. Thank you Jesus! I love you!

She is growing up too fast!

Claire is already four months old! I can not believe how fast she is growing! It honestly seems like yesterday I was bringing her home from the hospital.

Have I told you...

As I sat in church this weekend listening to Bryan preach he proposed a question that really made me start to think. If we only had 30 days to live would there be things we would do different? Have we told that someone just how much they mean to us? Have we forgave someone that has hurt us? I have to say several things came to mind.

One person who I thought of was my papa. Have I told him just how much he means to me? Let me tell you a little bit about me and my papa. This man has given me some of my most cherished memories! Let me share a few with you.

I can remember spending the night at my grandparents house waiting for my papa to arrive home from work. He owned his own business doing construction. First thing I would do when he walked through the door was run into his arms. He was always dirty from work so he would want to go and take a shower. Before he did that he would let me take off his work boots for him. I always got a kick out of that. So he would patiently wait while I unlaced each boot and pull them off his feet. After he showered he would sit in his recliner and I would jump up in his lap. I always wore his white T-shirts are my night gown. He usually had a little dirt under his finger nails and I wanted to clean them for him. I would say, "papa I'll clean your nails if you pay me a dollar." So thats what I did.

I remember a time a fell off the swing set. I was standing on the swing which was wooden tying to reach the top. I was a gymnast you know. lol I fell and the wooden swing came back and hit me. I can remember my papa running to be. My mom says she has never seen Cy run like that before! lol He pick me up while I was bleeding from my eyebrow. I felt so safe in his arms. I did have to get stitches in case you were wondering.

Every morning for as long as I can remember he would have breakfast fro me when I got up. Even f he had something to do that morning he would go and get breakfast and leave it there for me It started out being donut holes. I loved those things. Then after I became diabetic it was Burger King crossandwich. I felt so loved and important!

He had a tire swing at the house that I was on all the time. It was a plastic tire swing not a real tire. I fit just perfect in it. lol I would say, "papa push me, push me higher papa make my belly laugh!" And he would do just that.

I see the way my kids look at their papas and I can only hope they have memories just as I did!

I can honestly say I have always known his unconditional love for me. I always felt so safe and important to him! He is always telling me how proud he is of me, and he knows how to build me up! I only wish he could see himself through my eyes. I think the world of him!!