Going to the Chapel

Some of you know that my cousin, Eden, was married last weekend to her new husband, Jeremy.  We've gotten to know him over the last couple of years, and I could not be more excited for her and for their future together.

Grayson was asked to be the ring bearer and I wanted to share a little video with you.  This is my first attempt at video editing, so I wanted to test it with you guys...I know you won't judge me if it flops. :)  I don't think I embedded Ava's first steps video correctly, so it wouldn't play....leave me a comment if this works/doesn't work for you. 

Okay....this by no means covers the entire wedding, but it was such a beautiful day and ceremony.  And I can't lie, I could not have been more proud of my little man.  Please notice when he gets to his spot, he finds his little piece of tape and promptly turns around to stand on it....quite a performer that day. 

(Note: To humble my serious pride, the day was not absolutely perfect as far as Gray's behavior was concerned.  About 9 pm at the reception, he began to take first his shirt off, next his pants.  We were out of there.  :)

What to do when it's raining....and Ava's first steps

This is definitely out of sequence with our life events lately but I had to share.

We've had Matt's sis and her two girls this week/weekend, and we've had a blast getting to spend time with them.

But....

Kids can only take so much rain and staying inside.  So, being the awesome mom she is, Lara set up an obstacle course for them in the newly finished playroom.

They loved it....as a matter of fact, Ava loved all the action so much she decided to take her first steps in all the excitement!  I'm SO thrilled I got a little of it on video.

WARNING:  there is quite a lot of kid noise.

:)

And We're Off....

We are having SO much fun around here!

Matt was travelling this week, so of course, a big milestone happened.  On Sunday (Mar 8), Ava said her first word..."da da."  I must admit my jealousy, but when he got home Sunday night and she reached up, touched his faced and coo'd, "da da," I was so touched and excited!  She is so sweet with her daddy...and he is smitten with her. :)

She's also been working on crawling for quite some time now, up on all four's, rocking back and forth, slithering on her tummy, and going backwards.  Yesterday, one of 4 days I've been without kids since Ava was born, she did it!  My dad and Tiki were watching her....

She's not cruising yet, but she is no more than a couple of days away from being all over the place.  Even right now I'm in the floor with her and she's giving me the eye like, "I'm coming to get you, mommy."

On another note, what's going on with the adults in the house....

Matt is still really enjoying work, the challenge and gratification of it all.  We are also in the middle of our attic renovation, adding a playroom, "theater", and my writing room.  Because of the craziness, hammering, and explosion of our belongings all over the house, some things like Tot School and general organization have fallen by the wayside.  At first I was feeling guilty about not doing much school with Gray, (then feeling guilty about not blogging about it :), but I've remembered that with life there are simply seasons, and our season for hyper-organized activities is not now and will return someday.  :)

My other blog is growing everyday and I have to say, because of my passion for writing, it is giving me such joy!  I pray that my motives remain pure and unselfish, wanting it to bless other moms, help them save a little when decorating, and generally encouraging them.  Check it out if you haven't yet...I hope you'll like it! Since the blog's following is growing, I've got a blog design coming too...excited about that. Because of my interest in restoring furniture and decorating on a dime, I've decided to start a little business on the side....Perfectly Imperfect (also my blog):Restoration.  I would love your feedback!  Visit my other blog to check out all the details.  For now, I'll mostly take pieces that clients bring to me and help transform them....one day I would love to treasure hunt all by myself and have a shop of my own.   I would love to have local clients, but I would also love to market online--there is such an interest that I didn't even know was out there!  (oh, for friends and fam, If you've got something you'd like done, let me do it for free for you--this will just build my portfolio of before and after's...plus I would enjoy helping you achieve that!)  It's really gratifying to take something old/used/dingy/tired on the owner's eyes and make it new and fresh again.  Again, something I never thought I would enjoy....God opens doors as we grow and our interests change.  In the midst of all the excitement, my prayer to be a wife and mother first, nurturing the spirits of my children.  I'm not so good at balance....so please pray for clarity and prioritizing for me! :) 

We are so excited about these opportunities and can't wait to see where they lead! 

Talking with you soon--

shaunna :)

In the Know

Just wanted you to be in the know again. 

I've been neglecting this blog a little.  I've been cheating on it with my other blog.

I'm thoroughly enjoying the more creative writing and keeping account of the many projects I come up with for myself.  And because of our attic reno, I'm just a little addicted to a good project.  Because one of my greatest passions is writing, I get a bit wrapped up in the pursuit of a "story" to tell my readers.  Growth is slow, but it is happening.  Is it silly to wish for blogger super-stardom?? :)

In all seriousness, it is a great platform...I also have some dreams about repurposing furniture and opening a place of my own someday....it's all connected to me.  (so, hey, when I get a button made for my sweet little blog, will you grab one to put in your sidebar and help share the love?? since you're mostly my friends and fam, you kind of have to :)

  So if you're wondering what I've been up to, head on over there to see. :)

At the same time, my number one priority is my faith and our family's pursuit of our God.  I've let my drive get in the way of my purposefulness as a Godly mother before, and I will not do it again.  My children are entrusted to me....I know Matt, too, but I am the one here all day.  So while it's important to me to use my talents and to pursue dreams, it is vital to me to pursue the Lord and take my family along with me--and to take care of this little blog so our children have their lives with us chronicled.

On to what our little ones have been up to....

Ava turned 7 months old on the 21st!!  I CANNOT believe how time has flown this time.  Grayson's first year was pretty fast, but our sweet girl is working on crawling and tonight, after Matt told her he loved her, she said, "la,la,la,la luh-hoo."  I promise....we made her do it again and again.  I guess I'll wait until she says it two days in a row until I count it as her first word. :)

She spends her days sitting and playing on the floor....

and scoots around on her little belly.

somebody favored her daddy in this one.....

And Grayon?  Well, he's up to his usual...running around, getting into trouble (then showing such kindness), wearing me out, making me laugh, and kissing me all the time!

Love him in footed pj's so I had to snap a couple of him.  The other day, he said to me and our kind neighbor, Mr. Jerry, "Mommy, I have an idea.  It has a hypothesis."  And Matt said that last night he said, "Daddy, my tummy is rumbling so loudly--it's fortissimo (this is from little einsteins- forte means lare/big/loud-and they use this to describe how loud the music notes get).  Priceless.

I find myself leaning on God hourly, not just daily, to parent him out of love and not frustration.  I'm reading Don't Make Me Count to Three: a Mom's Look at Heart-Oriented Discipline, and it's INCREDIBLE!  If you haven't read it, read it.  If you have, maybe read it again.

Ginger Plowman is the author and the gyst of the book is taking our discipline a step further.  It doesn't take much to teach our children to act like Christians, but to teach them to have the heart of Christ and to live like Him is a much greater challenge and one we've been called to.  I am finding that I am physically unable to do it alone--even though I feel like I've always tried this approach, now I'm being much more dilligent about keeping my calm and teaching him a heart lesson each time I'm correcting a behavior.  I am noticing such changes in him....I think our children want to please, to make us proud, so why not appeal to that side of them?  And who doesn't like a little positive affirmation?  Anyway, if you're thinking of it, please pray that I can continually lean on God for my strength and patience to guide me daily as I faithfully instruct our children.

Hope you're all having a great week!

-shaunna