Changing Plans

While getting ready to go to the gym this morning, my dad called.  He wanted to make breakfast for Eli and I.  Hmmm... Gym or food?

Food of course!  And Elijah soaked up the change in scenery...

Our plans for the afternoon consisted of meeting our playgroup at the Glazer Children's Museum in Tampa.  The news had advertised free admission for the afternoon, and we very obviously were not the only ones that had heard about it.  The line to get into the museum wrapped around the entire building.  Knowing that the boys wouldn't be able to stand the wait to get in and the place would probably be too packed to bring much enjoyment, we decided instead to spend the day outdoors, exploring the playground outside and taking in the beautiful view of the river...

I can't get enough of these fun days filled with little boy smiles :)

With Love,

Danielle Renae

From Rush To Hush And The Little Bits In Between

Today has been one of those days where I've felt like I've done everything and nothing at the same time.  I woke up early, packed a lunch for my husband and made breakfast for the little one... just like every other day.  Then before I knew it, it was 10:45 a.m. and I was rushing out the door, trying to make it to the gym in time for a quick workout before the "kidz club" closed for the afternoon.  So long, morning...

The afternoon brought lunch and a nap for Eli.  And by nap I mean a 30 minute snooze which was interrupted by a lovely little diaper surprise.  There was no going back down for my blue-eyed boy.  Thankfully, he remained happy and content for the rest of the afternoon, allowing Mommy some time for crafting :)

My brother-in-law has been working on starting up his own clothing company.  I am so proud of him and I have no doubts that he will be successful if he keeps at it.  Anywho... he asked me to throw around some ideas for hand-made tags to go on his T-shirts.  Twist my arm why dontcha! ;)

Craft time was followed by cuddles with my favorite short one and splashing bubbles around in the tub.  Now my Elijah is sleeping soundly and dreaming of happy things.  Cliff is working late tonight.  The house is too quiet.  I miss my boys when they're not with me.  Still, gotta take advantage of the alone time when it comes around, right?  I'm sure there's a chick flick around here somewhere just waiting to be watched...

With Love,
Danielle Renae

Sincerely Sunday : Espresso For The Crazy Folks

Things I'm Thankful For:
1. My new espresso machine.  While I do think my husband has created a serious caffeine addict with his thoughtful gift, it has been delightful and is saving our bank account from numerous trips to Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts.
2. Good health.  For several weeks, our home battled colds, the flu and bronchitis.  Watching my little darling cough so hard and seeing the sickness in his eyes from his fever broke my heart.  I know I'm not the only mother that struggles with feeling so helpless during those times.  The house was a complete wreck as it took every ounce of energy I had to take care of my boys (and myself).  Having things back to normal is such a relief!
3. Fresh starts.
4. The living word of God.  I am constantly amazed by the fact that I can read the same scripture over and over, and each time, the Lord has something new to teach me through it.
5. Comfy, cozy slippers.

Things I'm Looking Forward To:
1. On Tuesday, our playgroup is changing our usual morning routine and heading over to the Glazier Children's Museum in the afternoon - For FREE!!! :)
2. Date night with the hubster on Friday.
3. Enjoying a bon fire with both sets of parents (and hopefully siblings too) on Saturday night.

Things That Made Me Smile This Week:
1. Spending a hysterical evening bringing in the new year with good friends.
2. I know I already mentioned it in yesterday's post, but hearing Elijah's sweet little voice say "I love you" before I got to it definitely made me smile :)
3. The innumerable silly moments I've had with my husband this week.  I love being married to someone I can play with!

Favorite Quote:
It's not actually a simple quote, but a conversation between Cliff and I...
Me: "My legs really hurt."
Cliff: "How about you stop whining?  I've already had to listen to Eli go on for like three hours tonight."
Me: *Fake cries*
Cliff: "At this point, I'm not even sure why I married you."
(LOL.... That boy sure knows how to make me smile!)

Current Like:
Homemade lattes

Current Dislike:
Homemade messes ;)

Scripture Verse:
"For whatever is born of God overcomes the world.  And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith.  Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" -1 John 5:4-5

Here's To New Beginnings

Today has been a day of things fresh and new.  The first day of a new year.  The day that my Christmas decorations were stored away for another year and the house received a good cleaning.  The day full of self-reflection, motivation, and excitement over things to come.  The day that my growing little boy beat me in saying "I love you" first at bedtime.

I've never been one to make new years resolutions.  Mainly for two reasons: 1. I have a horrible memory and can never remember the ones that I make and 2. when the new year begins, I have a hard time thinking up realistic resolutions that I can actually stick to.  But this year is different.  This year, I can't help but think of the goals that I want to accomplish...

I want to fall madly in love with the one who gave His life for me.  I want to spend more time in His word, soaking Him in and hearing all that He has for me.  I want to spend less time talking at Him, and more time hearing Him speak.  I want to love His people with passion and be willing to follow wherever He leads.

I want to be a more patient and loving wife.  I want my words and actions to be more loving towards the man who works so hard to take care of his family, and less impatient and judgmental.  I also want to work as hard to keep our money as my husband works to make it.  I want to be a better help meet by taking better care of our finances.

I want to embrace motherhood and all it has to offer.  I want to laugh and play with the boy that holds my heart in his hands.  I want to explore, create and enjoy life with him.  I want to teach him.  I want to cherish every smile, every hug, every laugh.

I want to have a more positive outlook.  For instance... instead of being frustrated that my almost-two-year old will not go to sleep... I want to appreciate the fact that I am loved so much by his sweet little heart and that he wants nothing more than to cuddle with his mommy ;)

After months of feeling worn down and exhausted, having motivation and new hopes feels so good.  I am full of joy and am expecting great things this year.

Wishing you and your families a year of good health and lots of smiles!

-Danielle Renae

Wordless Wednesday : Eskimo Kisses

My Hiatus

Hey there!  Remember me?  I'm the girl that used to write blogs but seems to have disappeared.  Sorry 'bout that.  Rest assured, I'm alive and well!  After the cruise (which went mostly well, aside from my husband being seasick almost the entire trip), I was swimming in housework and trying to get caught up with everything.  I'm still working hard to keep up with things as well as support my husband who has been working ridiculous hours, but I wanted to drop ya'll a line and let you know I haven't forgotten about you!  With my head being flooded with deadlines for christian retreats, craft fairs, and fun things I want to do with the family... I can say that my blogs may be a little more sporadic in the coming months.  Please bear with me!

Lots of love from Yours Truly :)

Wordless Wednesday : Color Me Happy

Sincerely Sunday : Fall Is In The Air

Wow, it has been a long time since I've done a Sincerely Sunday post!  Here we go...


Things I am thankful for:
1. The relationships that I am building with the other young moms at our new church home.  It's refreshing to meet other women that are in the same place in life that I am in.
2. The unique opportunities that my son will get to experience in his lifetime.  I've been realizing lately that between Cliff's family and my own, Eli has so much at his fingertips.  My dad has a lot to teach him about gardening (and Eli LOVES watering the plants with his Papa!) and is a bee keeper.  My parents also have a good, healthy appreciation for football.  Cliff's parents always have odd animals for Eli to play with.  Right now, they have a young deer that hangs around and will come right up to you looking for food and licking you like crazy.  It's so much fun to watch my son interact with him!  My husband's family would be happy to live on the boat, fishing full time and are eager to teach Elijah everything there is to know about the sea (and from what I can tell, the ocean already holds a very special interest with my little man).  His uncle Matt can't wait to get him on a surf board.  Then there's my husband with years of experience as an artist and musician.  I cannot wait to see what Eli's interests will be!
3. Our new air conditioner (which should be saving us about $100 a month on our electric bill!) and the way God provided for it :)
4. Pumpkin spice lattes
5. Quiet evenings at home


Things I am looking forward to:
1. I previously purchased a season pass to our local zoo.  This month it is also good for the Florida Aquarium.  Tomorrow, Eli and I will be going to see the fishies with my long-time friend Amanda and her daughter.
2. Thursday night we'll be joining the family at Cliff's aunt's house to celebrate the birthdays of Cliff's father and great aunt.  I am so blessed to have married into such an amazing family and I cherish time spent with them.
3. Saturday morning, Cliff and I are heading out for our first cruise!!!  We'll be spending 5 days at sea, visiting Grand Cayman and Cozumel.  Part of me is nervous... Eli will be staying with his grandparents while we're gone.  Not that I worry about him being with them at all... I've just never been away from my baby that long and I know that I'll be missing him.  But I am definitely looking forward to having some time away with just me and my wonderful husband!  Woo hoo!!!!


Things that made me smile this week:
1. When I was a little girl, I loved spending time coloring with my mommy.  This week we introduced Eli to crayons.  I've been spending a lot of time coloring with him and it makes my heart smile every time :)
2. For some reason, I woke up feeling very motivated on Wednesday.  Coincidentally, my mom watches Elijah for a few hours on Wednesday mornings.  This combination allowed me to get a ton of cleaning done around the house!
3. The fall-ish weather that we've had the joy of experiencing this week.

Favorite quote:

"Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die." -My sister

Current like:
The beginning of fall and the anticipation of the upcoming holidays!


Current dislike:
The stress I have in knowing that the holidays are right around the corner! lol.  I have so much to do in the next couple of months!


Favorite blog post I came across:
Roots & Wings shared her delicious-looking Pumpkin Pie Spiced Pumpkins recipe.  I cannot wait to try it myself!


Scripture verse:
"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." -2 Chronicles 7:14

Loofah! Loofah!

This morning Eli and I were blessed with a tasty breakfast and some quality time with my wonderful parents.  Sadly, I only had my camera phone but it's better than no camera at all, right?  Right.

After breakfast, we headed back to my parents' house.  It's nice to do things outside of your own home, ya know?  Papa and Eli had lots of fun playing with trucks and trains...

Later, we went out to my dad's garden to see what was new.  As I've mentioned in previous posts, my dad has quite the green thumb (something I do not posess).

Have you ever seen where loofahs come from?  I hadn't either.  Maybe it's just the nerd in me, but I found it very interesting!  They grow on vines and start out looking something like this...

You know they're ready to be picked from the vine when they're all brown...

First, you break off one of the ends and shake all the seeds out...

They have a lot of seeds.  Next, you start peeling off the outer shell...

Until you're left with this...

Cool, huh?  For some reason, I never thought of loofahs as growing on vines.  I want to live on a loofah farm.  It's just a fun word to say... looofaaaahhhh.  Moving on, lol.

And of course, a big thanks goes out to those hard-working girls that make all that gardening stuff possible...

:)

Now it's time to go cut up some freshly baked brownies and take them over to my former co-workers for a bit of afternoon cheer.  This life sure is a busy one, but I wouldn't trade a moment of it!

Wordless Wednesday : One Cool Dude

Wordless Wednesday : Afternoon Smiles

Labor Day Weekend

Well after a long, tiring day of laundry and trying to get things back in order, I am very ready for bed.  But first... a look into our long Labor Day weekend at Ft. Pierce...

We had such a great time!  I woke up every morning to watch the sunrise, got on a surf board for the first time (notice I said that I got on it... not stood on it, lol), spent some time fishing, soaked up the sunshine, and enjoyed spending three days with the people that I love the most (minus my parents who couldn't make it... Missed you guys!!!)


Oh how I wish we never had to leave...