The Fam.

Happy Birthday to my nephew Alex!! He is such a fun, loving little man! He turns 6 today... it's hard to believe! It'll be weird when I'm wishing my kids a happy 6th birthday. Yesterday Levi was 8 weeks old on the dot. Also yesterday, we got our first family picture taken as a family of five! Unbelievable! Remember in my last post how I posted a link to the awesome photographer that took pictures of my friend's product? Well Kalaina Jolene Photography took us out last night and got some awesome shots of our family! I'm so happy with how it went and the way the pictures turned out. If you live in the West Michigan area and are looking for a great photographer you seriously need to get a hold of her! On top of everything, she was even great with my kids and very flexible as far as me wanting certain pictures. She took tons of pictures and I'd like to share a few with you all.

A precious (and brief) moment of my kiddos.

She's breathtaking.

Sister by chance, best friends by choice.

My dreamers.

Our family of FIVE!

Everyone have a great weekend and remember to check  Kalaina Jolene Photography the next time you want professional pictures! She's well worth every penny!

A new edition.

We are having another baby. This will make baby #3. It's funny how people are comparing us to the Duggars when we are no where near 19 kids. lol. We're excited and can't wait to meet our newest edition. Our due date is on June 30th. A summer baby? I'm a little bit nerveous to be pregnant in the heat but if other woman can do it I'm sure I'll survive. =)

It was weird because this time I knew I was pregnant right away. I told Marcus that I was pregnant a week after we got pregnant. I took a test to be sure of course and I was right! Well that is my big news.
I hope everyone has a good weekend. God bless.

One of THOSE days.

I had one of those days where everything was going wrong until my husband came home from school. Let me break it down for you.

FIRST, I was discouraged when I woke up this morning and came down my stairs to a messy house. It felt overwhelming. Before hubby left for school he sensed my mood and immediately gave me a kiss and ran out the door. lol.

NEXT... I had plans with my girlfriend Dani to work out doing Zumba. Getting the girls ready and out the door is a task by myself. As I was trying to get the girls in the car Mya took off running into the middle of the road. I set Kylie, who was already strapped in her car seat, down and ran after her. (Of course she is giggling thinking that me chasing her is a game) The neighbors probably think I'm a lunatic as I'm yelling for her to stop. She trips in the middle of the road and just sits there crying (she is not hurt, just sad the chase is over). About gave me a heart attack... thank God there were no cars in sight!

AFTER THAT... I lock the car seat with Kylie in it into place and she quits breathing, moving, blinking. (Mind you she was in her car seat before we got out to the car because I had brought the car seat in the house earlier to adjust it so she can fit in it with her coat on.) My heart drops as I thought I had just lost my baby in a quick second. I started tapping her, trying to get her out of her seat as fast I could, and saying her name over and over again, trying to make her aware, move, breathe, ANYTHING. She was still unresponsive. After the longest seconds of my life she just looks over at me and smiles. I have no idea where she went those long seconds. Was she in a deep daze? Did she seriously stop breathing? What ever happened I am just so thankful to the Lord that she is alive and breathing this very moment! Every parents worst nightmare is losing their child.

THEN... I didn't get to finish my workout at Dani's because Mya had one of "her days." The kind where her terrible twos is shining threw. Oh well. Life goes on.

BUT, just when I thought things couldn't get any worse Mya spills her entire bowl of cereal all over the diningroom floor. As I go to clean it up I just start laughing. It's funny how God shows himself sometimes. Through all my events today I was reminded that life is precious and I'm so thankful that God is there to pick up after all my messes in life... when I'm being careless, being selfish, saying things I shouldn't, and the list goes on. When I realized this and said a prayer my day turned around.

NOW I got a new vacuum that Marcus surprised me with and brought home, along with a $20.00 coupon off our next grocery bill. (The lady in front of him didn't want her coupons so my awesome hubby snatched those suckers up! lol.)

AND he helped me clean and organize a lot of our house today. God has blessed me with an amazing husband. I love that he sensed my need this morning and went out of his way to make my day better. He had no idea how my day was shaping out to be and I would have to say that overall my day was good and blessed. God is good ALL THE TIME!

My girls.

It's been a while since I've kept up with my blog and read up on others. I just wanted to share a little. The girls are doing well. It makes me happy to know that my girls love each other. They are to the point where they play together now. I caught Mya teaching Kylie how to dump out all the toys from the little toy box in the living room. Bless her heart for teaching her how to be messy. lol. It was great though because the whole time they're cluttering the living room I kept thinking, "Aw, they're bonding." Then a few days later when Kylie was crying, Mya walks over and says, "Hi," suddenly Kylie was all giggles. What the...? What a special bond they have. God is good.

Joy.

The house is quiet this morning. It feels strange. It makes me think of what life will be after all the kids move out. Somedays, I'll be honest, I can't wait for that day to come. (Those are the days I usually call up my mom and bag her to take the girls and don't give them back until they are under control. lol) Other days, which is most days, I'll think I will miss them and miss hearing them laugh, cry, needing me, hugging me, and all the other little things we do together as a family on a daily basis. I feel so blessed to have married my best friend and know that we can make it through anything, and the beautiful babies we created just add to the happiness I feel when I think about my life. I can smile. A smile seems so simple but there is power in it! It can brighten someone's day, or make someone who is crying feel better, or build a connection. So smile about your life because everything works out in the end. When it seems real hard and you don't see an end to the madness, someday you'll look back and be happy that you had that experience because I bet you learned something about yourself you never knew. I know I do. So find something that makes you happy and hold onto it during the ups and downs... you'll need it to see some calm in the storm. For me it's Jesus. I cling to him at all times. He brings peace and understanding in my life. What brings you joy?

I hope everyone has an awesome day.

Blessed Beyond Words.

I have a BIG vision! A big vision will result in big results if I commit, stay excited, and push threw! I stinkin love my job and I'm so happy God has brought this blessing into my life. He knew I would need Premier. Seriously, ever since I've started selling Premier Jewelry I've seen God's hand more in my life than ever before. I'm loving it! 

I got a phone call from my brother today (he's in Afghanistan right now). That made my day until my phone died on him. Seriously, my phone is always dying. LAME! Anyways, he is coming home soo soon... I just can't wait! My little brother is one of the coolest guys alive! If you don't know him then you're missing out!

On another note, everyone have a blessed day!

TA-DA.

WARNING: Today's post is going to be all over... random!

I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July! Mine was great even though I had to work. We had breakfast at my parents where I made breakfast pizza (mmmm) and then after work I rushed over to my in-laws where my family was and watched the fire works with everyone. It was worth the rushing around to get there... Mya was adorable. She oooed and awwwed and gasped. Love her.

On another note, I never let you all know how my 5K went... well, I made it without stopping to walk although some of the time I was running as fast as the walkers. lol. So happy that Marcus did it with me. He stayed by my side the whole time encouraging me and pushing me. Half way through I turned and said to him, "I'm going to die!" He just laughed and told me to "pick it up". lol. I really didn't want to let myself down and I didn't. I'm proud of myself for doing it. I loved every painful moment.

So a funny Mya story... Mya and I had a mommy daughter date the other night (because I messed up on dinner. lol.) and as we were waiting for our food I asked Mya, "How old are you?" "Two," she said. Then I asked her, "What's your name?" She answered loud and proud, "Princess!" I couldn't stop laughing. She is in the stage where she says the funniest things all the time. Let's not forget about Kylie... =) She has two bottom teeth and just started eating baby food. She is in love with her food and wants to feed herself already. She has the cutest smile, you can see her two bottom teeth.

I also just recently had a Premier Designs Jewelry party. It was a lot of fun... getting free jewelry is always fun. right ladies? Anyways, I'm thinking about becoming a consultant. I really love their jewelry and they are an awesome Christian company. If you could all keep me in your prayers about this, I'd appreciate it.

One more random thing... A NEW RECIPE!!! Made Cookie Dough Cupcakes for my jewelry party and they were sooo delicious.

For the cookie dough...

2 sticks of softened butter
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
4 tbsp. milk
1tbsp. vanilla
2 c. all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. mini chocolate chips

Combine butter and sugars in a mixing bowl and cream on med-high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in milk and vanilla until incorporated and smooth. Beat in the flour and salt until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

For the cupcakes...

1 box of white or vanilla cake mix {along with ingredients for the mix}

FREEZE THE COOKIE DOUGH

Let cupcake cool a few minutes then core the middle of the cupcake and pipe the cookie dough into the middle. Let them completely cool then frost with vanilla iceing. Add mini chocolate chips to top it off.

Top Five.

In honor of Mother's Day this weekend I thought I'd make a list of the top 5 reasons why I love being a mom! I'd also like to say thank you to both of my moms. They did a great job of raising myself and Marcus and they are still there for us whenever we need them. Love you Mom Wags and Mom Moran. Now on to my list...

1. I get to wake up to giggles and snuggles... most days.
2. I never thought my heart could love anyone as much as I love my girls and it's the best feeling to be loved unconditionally back. I will always love them.
3. I think I have the best and cutest girls and everyone else should adore them too... anyone who doesn't is dumb. lol.
4. They laugh at me all the time. I don't know one adult that would laugh at me for making a funny face or simply laugh because I'm laughing. They have the cutest giggles too. I'm sure the world would be a better place if bad people were locked up with laughing toddlers.
5. I love watching them learn and grow. There is nothing more rewarding then seeing my beautiful girls grow and discover new things about themselves everyday.

I love you Mya Kay and Kylie Lynn... you make being a mom the most exciting adventure in my life.

I see you.

I see you Kylie. I see your big blue eyes. I see you getting stronger everyday. I see the love you have for your sister, mommy and daddy, grandparents, cousins, and aunts and uncles. I see your beautiful smile that makes me forget everything else on my mind. I see you Kylie. I see you curiously watching everything around you, taking in each and everything. I see you cry when you want to be held and snuggled, I know that cry. I see you Kylie and I simply wanted you to know that you are loved, watched over, and are beautiful inside and out.

She.

She is a happy girl and has her daddy wrapped around her finger.

She looks 98% like her dad. Just beautiful.

She likes to color on anything. This includes her face, the table, books, and television.

She enjoys eating strawberries and bananas. You will always hear her say, mmmmmm, while eating them.

She wants to do everything herself. She especially wants to hold her sister and pick her up by herself. She says, "I old her." She doesn't say the H of hold.

She says, "Thank you" right on cue. It's pronounced "tank ta" in her language.

She wants to go outside all the time and play with bubbles. She pops the bubbles like Dora taught her.

She has a contagious laugh. When she giggles it seems like the whole world is happy.

She is going to be an amazing woman someday. I can't wait to see the person she becomes and all the things she is going to do for the world.

She is an awesome two year-old-girl.

My 2 year old.

So I haven't had the chance to update in a while because I've been so busy. My Grandma isn't doing too well and she lives in Florida. My mom went down there to help out. She needs a lot of prayer. She is in a lot of pain and wants to be with Jesus now. When my mom got back we worked on getting things ready for Mya's 2nd birthday party. We had her birthday party at the Comfort Inn where we went swimming. Mya and her friends had a blast.

She is a little fish.

So the party was Sunday the 3rd and her birthday is the 4th. We went to Fredrick Meijer Butterfly Garden for her actual birthday. She loved it. She kept holding her little arm out for one of the butterflies to land on her but none did. You could tell she was taking it all in becuase she was so quiet and listening to everything her daddy was telling her about butterflies. I love watching her learn.

 Marcus and Mya

 Some of the butterflies.

Mya being a butterfly.

So we've had a really good last few days of celebrating. I really appreciate everyone who helped us celebrate... especially my mom she made Mya's cake and helped me out a lot. She is very talented... I had to show her Elmo cake off. It tasted yummy too. 

A good laugh.

So my cousin Jeremy is on a missions trip in Africa. He is experiencing God in a whole new way and I'm so excited to listen to all his stories when he gets home. Luckly I don't completely have to wait for all his stories because he has a blog he keeps updated. Recently he wrote the funniest blog that I just have to share. Maybe it's just funny to me because I can hear him in my head as he's writing this but I just think it's hilarious! I hope you enjoy...

http://kenya.adventures.org/?filename=i-like-big-butts-and-i-cannot-lie-minus-the-i-like-part

Oh yes, and please pray for him and his team. He is coming home soon and we all can't wait to see him. It's been since Jan.

Here I go again.

First off, Happy Birthday to my handsome husband Marcus! He is 25 years old today! We had a good day of relaxing. The girls and I got him a charcoal grill! We are going to have some good grilling out this summer! We're all excited for this.
The other thing I did that is a big change in my life is join Weight Watchers. I use to be on WW (Weight Watchers) after I got out of college and had gained 20 pounds my freshman year. I lost 16 pounds before I got married. Three months after I got married I got pregnant with Mya... after Mya I never lost my baby weight before I got pregnant with Kylie. Now that I feel stuck with this post baby weight I decided I needed to make a change. WW worked before and I enjoyed it so I figured I'd give it a shot again. I have about 40 pounds to lose. I hope I can do this... if anyone has any encouragement for me I would appreciate it. It's hard eating right and staying motivated to workout.
I just want to be a good example to my children and want to "win" my husband back in the "my wife is hot" way. He tells me I'm beautiful and I believe him but I know I don't look the way I use to when we were dating. I hope I'm explaining this well. Anyways, here I go. I'll keep y'all updated with my progress.

Capture each moment.

I always think my almost two year old, Mya, doesn't know things and needs help with everything. She's been showing me that she's not so little and incapable anymore. Today, after making a mess while throwing a fit, Marcus told her to pick up her mess and she did. She also knew that we were at McDonalds and asked for fries... p.s. we don't get fast food often, maybe once a month. Marcus and I just looked at each other dumb founded. When we got up to the window we had to ask them to add a small fry to our order... we just went there to get shakes. lol. I feel so proud that she is growing and learning but at the same time I don't want her to grow up. Things are so simple for babies. Then I got to thinking how Kylie, my 2 month old daughter, is going to be walking by Christmas. Oh man, I'm starting to freak out. On top of all that Marcus and I just celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary... wasn't that just yesterday?
It's amazing how much can change in such a short period of time. We got married and now have two babies. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful little family that keeps growing. (No I'm not pregnant but we will have more babies when the right time comes.=D) Maybe I shouldn't sleep or blink. lol. I want to enjoy every stage of my family's life and make the most of it. This is why I feel it is very important to take pictures and document them so that memories can be perserved. I can just picture my grandchildren looking at how young their parents were and see all the fun and mundane things they got to do. What a blessing. This is why I support project 365. I take a picture a day, whether it be something exciting like a birthday party or not so exciting like laundry. It's made me see life in a whole new way. I'll start posting some of my pictures.

  These are some of my favorites...

This was just yesterday's picture. We watched the movie

How to Train Your Dragon.

My girls, Kylie and Mya  

My sassy and adorable two year old, Mya.

Terrible twos; Learning as we go.

Other mothers will know what I am talking about when I say, "I make it up as I go."   My two year old still has a pacifer. Today I cut off the nipple and told her it broke. She just kept saying "ugh oh-oh man." She didn't know what to think until tonight when it was bed time. She has some lungs on her, let me tell ya. It took some time but she finally settled down after daddy rocked her a while. I'm blessed to have such a great husband. Pray for us... we're going to need it the next few days. =D