Holiday Season Me Time

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Be honest. Is it just me or did this holiday season sneak up even faster than usual? I feel like out of no where, Thanksgiving is here and sorry to break it to you but Christmas, it's just around the corner!

This season has been extra busy for our family. We have one thing after another piling up. The piled up therapies and classes have meant good things for our family but it can be exhausting.

With holidays near, we have been adding extra therapy days and times to make up for the sessions we will be missing. Add in rehearsals for holiday shows, the prep for Thanksgiving and Christmas...oh man. This mama has been going non-stop.

All this to say, I needed a break. I needed me time to just enjoy some guilty pleasures. Luckily, I am married to a man who recognizes when I'm overwhelmed and is willing to get the kids out of my hair for a bit so I can do whole lot of zoning.



So I decided on my guilty pleasures of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (King Size baby!), a copy of People Magazine, my favorite soda and Grey's Anatomy. I mean I'm a multi-tasker. It's a talent really.

Don't laugh at me but after I finished getting the house together for visitors I totally made a special trip to Von's to prepare for my me time. I was that excited. Ha!

In all seriousness, it was really nice to just take a couple of hours to myself, by myself. People, maybe even myself at times, tend to glorify a busy life. It is not good. We need to take time to breathe. As moms, we need to take time to ourselves and not feel guilty about it. So step back for a minute and enjoy some quiet before the storm that holidays bring. I'm challenging you to do it.

If you want to copy my guilty pleasure - me time, head over to Von's and grab your supplies. Their magazine selection is fab, there were like 3 different issues of People Magazine in stock!

Oh, and if you head to their website they have a digital coupon for 1.00 with purchase of one PEOPLE® or Sunset® magazine and one REESE’S®, HERSHEY’S® or other selected King Size bar (2.1 to 5.0 oz.) The digital coupon is available through the Safeway Just4U online portal 11/21/14 - 12/19/14 (while supplies last) You have to register for Just4U to get access to the digital coupon.

Enjoy your me time and come back to tell me what you did! Oh, and let me know if you planned accordingly or if your kids showed up home before you were done and crashed the party. Not like I would know from experience...

On My Mind : Birth Parents

When we talk about being foster parents, one of the first questions or comments most people make are in regards to birth parents. Comments on how much we must hate them. Questions about how we deal with visitations and having to face them.

Before meeting Little Man's birth parents, I feared this so much. I doubted whether or not I could face these people who put my baby in danger. I wasn't sure I could reach out to them the way God calls us to.

I prayed often that God would give me a heart for them before I ever met them. Really before we even got Little Man. God totally met me in that place. The emotions I thought I would feel towards them never arose. The ones that did were not the ones that I would have thought.

First, hurt. The first day I met them, my heart hurt for them. Seeing the uncertainty, the fear and brokenness over having their child removed shook me in a way I never imagined. Their love for their son was written all over them.

My heart ached for them then and it aches for them now. Today I sat back and watched as Little Man danced and jumped around the living room. His joy fills these walls. They are missing that. They have missed every milestone. They never see him smile, hear him laugh or get to snuggle him before bed. How much pain that must bring them.

Second, love. I prayed that God would soften my heart. He went so far beyond that. He has opened my eyes to the life these people have come from. Given me compassion. Helped me to feel a bond and a love I never thought possible.

Lastly, an emotion I can't describe. I don't know what it is. Someone else loves my son. Not like my friends or family love my children. These people love my son like my husband and I do. I know that they are his birth parents. Of course they love him..,I don't know how to explain it but it is a weird feeling knowing that someone loves your child like you do. It's painful. It's scary. It's amazing. It's not something that I can put into words.

Foster parenting brings a lot of emotions. Birth parents are just one aspect. They have been weighing heavy on my heart lately. Maybe because we are moving forward. I'm not sure. Whatever it is, it is a reminder to pray for them often. To pray that God opens their hearts and eyes to Him. That through this, somehow they would find Him. That they would lean on Him when they hurt. To be praying for the words that I will need when Little Man one day asks. To give him a perfect glimpse of their love for him but also the brokenness. To let him see that he is where he should be but also that he is loved by two sets of parents. That even though they hurt him, even though he was taken from them, even though he may never remember them but instead the hurt that they caused, that they are part of his story. 

Gone Glamping

While we are on the topic of parties, we might as well just get all the way caught up. The last one in our strand of birthdays is Rhiannon. By time her birthday came and went I was so happy that Little Man's birthday is separated by a little bit of time. Though we did go simple on this one...in terms of work and effort.



When discussing the theme, I will give you one guess on what my 6 year old girl came up with. If you guessed Frozen...well obvs! When I pointed out to her that the last 5 parties we had gone to were the same. exact. thing. She was willing to change it up a bit. Oh how I appreciate my daughters willingness to change it up a bit.

After lots of thought, the girly girl came to me with the idea of Glamping "you know, like glamour camping mom...it's camping but for girls like me". Up until this point, I was under the illusion she was turning 6 but apparently some time in the past year she jumped to 16. The girl growing up makes me so sad but the theme, yeah, I was thrilled.

Since things had have been non-stop and this was the third birthday in 4 months, I was uber thankful for Target's awesome decor. I made a few garlands and pom balls but for the most part, I was able to get the look we wanted and still have it mostly store bought. Thank you Target!!!

Food was basic, with pigs in a blanket and lots of sweets. And cake of course. The girl decided that I needed to make her cake with a Nutella butter cream. It was actually pretty yummy. I may have to do that again.

Since we had so much time to kill with it being a sleepover, we had more activities than I usually do. First, I decided an anxiety attack was in order so we did a craft...with paint and glitter. I deserve an award or to be admitted, not sure which.

Next up were a couple minute to win it games.

Then s'mores. On a vintage couch because Hello! It's glamping!

We laid out a bunch of tumbling mats, covered them with sheets and called it a giant bed. Boom! Glamping party done!

Talon Turns Four- Super Hero Style

Only one month after Corbin's birthday, it's time for Talon's. When it came to his party, this boy had so much input. Especially when it came to the food haha.




The party itself was a Super hero theme. We went extremely simple on decor and focused on the favors (capes) and the game. 

Our one game we played was a hit. Super hero training and challenge. We put together a mini obstacle course for the kids. Speed test, laser beam challenge, spidey senses web spray, and a hulk smash. The kids insisted on more and more turns. It was a blast.

Last up was the cake. After Corbin's big cake, Talon was set on three tiers with his favorite characters. Since he also wanted cupcakes, I was able to sell him on 2 with a big topper. First tier was the skyline with bat symbol and the next was a wolverine layer with his claws slashing the cake. On top we had a fondant hulk fist popping out. The boy was thrilled.

Now that it is over, Talon cannot stop talking about his next birthday. Let's not rush it baby boy!

MakeUp Monday - Younique

Hey y'all! It's Make-up Monday. I know, I know, I have been MIA lately and there has been little to no talk about Make-Up Monday lately.

Things have been crazy around here. In fact I have lots of updates for you about our Journey with Foster Care and Adoption, as well as Little Man's Specials Needs diagnosis. God has been so good to us and we have been busy enjoying it and fighting through challenges.

It has been that wonderful chaos that led me to step back from the handmade biz for a little while. It was a good decision but a sad one to make.

What does any of that have to do with make-up though? Well...a lot actually. Since stepping back from that business, I knew I needed something for me. Vessel has always been about more than a source of income. It gave me a place to be me. To communicate with people over 6 years old. I miss that. I needed to find something else I loved that didn't take as much time as sewing.

Although I was semi-looking, I feel like this adventure just fell into my lap. I recently started using a new make-up line that I fell in love with. A few of my good friends were selling it and my bestie pitched the idea of selling to me. Umm...yes. How could I turn it down? Have you noticed that I love make-up almost as much as sewing? This is the outlet I have been needing.

So here it is, my new biz. Younique. I'm hosting a launch party right now. The goal is to pay off my kit within the first month and then finish raising funds for our adoption attorney (not a fundraiser, we need a very small amount to complete of funds).

I would love it if you would take a look around. Shop. I can add you to the party group on FB too.

I will be creating a FB page, Instagram account and email once I come up with a name for my Independent Presenter business. Any ideas? Feel free to comment, I'd love the input.