Introducing...

On July 23rd, after 14 long hours of labor, we welcomed our newest little guy into the world. My labor was a nightmare but the end result was a perfect gift from God. I will be posting the whole birth story this week or next. I just couldn't wait one more second to introduce you all to baby boy.

So here he is:

Corbin Grey. Born at 3:22am on July 23rd.

 Our big boy weighed in at 9lb 11oz and measured 21.5inches.

We are all loving having him here. He is the perfect addition to our family and everyone is so happy to have him here. Until I get the chance to post again, here are a few pictures to make your ovaries quiver.

 

Isn't he the sweetest? Yeah. I think so too ;)

On another exciting note, we are ready to announce the winner of the Target Giftcard Giveaway. Drum-roll please......

Jennifer Bryson!!!

E-mail me ASAP at Vesselhandmade{at}gmail{dot}com 

with your mailing address. 

Congrats!

Huggies Slip-Ons {Our New Way of Diapering}

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Huggies, but all my opinions are my own. #HuggiesSlipOn #pmedia http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO

In the past few weeks diaper changes have become so rough. Little man HATES to lay still. So when a friend told me about the Slip-Ons she was having her son wear, I was thrilled. A diaper change while still standing, Little Man and I had reached an agreement.

All I was looking for was an easier way to change the boys diaper but the perks just kept on coming. Little man has more energy than he knows what to do with. From the time he wakes up until he falls asleep, he is running, jumping and wiggling his little self around. Since using Huggies Slip-Ons Diapers, our little mover is less likely to leak.

They fit perfectly around his bottom. Although baby booty cheeks hanging out the side of a diaper can be super cute, it is not exactly good for preventing leaks. The awesome fit and stretch sides have made a huge difference in the amount of wet pants we take the boy out of.

In a lot of ways Huggies Slip-Ons remind me of a Pull-Up; easier changes and more flexible for a little mover. The difference is, a pull-up lets your kids know when they are wet and are not super absorbent. The absorbency on the Slip-Ons is amazing. Little man is able to sleep through the night without being changed. With a brand new baby in the house, this is a huge deal. I'm already lacking sleep. Not having to wake a sleeping baby to change his booty is enough to bring tears of joy to a mama's eyes.

When we first purchased our Slip-Ons,  I must admit I was worried about diaper changes while out and about. After opening the package, I was so excited to see that there are tabs, making it easy to remove and put on a new diaper. Granted it's not as easy as just slipping them on our runner but no more challenging than your usual diaper. Do you see what I mean about how "the perks kept on coming"? These Slip-Ons have been such an improvement in diapers for our Little Man.

And just wait, I have some perks for you as well.

First of all, a coupon, so you can try out these diapers on your little ones. The diapers are already a great price, they were $9.49 for the smaller pack and the bigger box (64 pack) was only $24.99. Click here for a $2 off coupon at Target and you are getting quite the deal!

Don't leave yet, I have another perk for you. It's a good one. How about a free $25 to Target? You can use it to buy a pack of Slip-Ons or anything else on your Target wish list! I know I am not the only one with a mile long list dedicated to Target, so go ahead and enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Corbin's Quilt

Well, we are about a week out from having baby #4 and this mama is in full blown nesting mode. The nursery is just about complete. We call it Corbin's Corner. That's basically what it is, about a third of Rhiannon's room that is all his own.

When we first looked at the space, I was super sad, just too little room for a baby. After moving things around and decorating a little bit I am happy to say that it does not look like we are putting the baby in a corner.

There are still a couple of things that need to be added to the room but I was so excited to finish his quilt before he actually got here that I decided to just do that before the whole room reveal.

I knew I wanted something simple for his blanket. He will only be in Rhiannon's room until Little Man is adopted or goes home, so at 10-12 months. Then he will move into the boy room where his theme will change.

We went with colors that we pulled out of Rhi's uber girly room. To save money on both the quilt and the baby shower, we made table runners for the shower and then cut them up for the quilt when it was over. Also, being the cheap person I am, decided to use bed sheets for table cloths...because.. well fabric table cloths are way too expensive. So I cut one of those up and used it for the border. Two birds, one stone...or is that three birds?

For the front, just basic geometric rectangular strips and a border. Simple, bright, fun. Done.

Looking at the picture, it clearly needs to be ironed. Eek.

 The back, we found a totally comfy and cute Chevron minky that matched the blue on the front.

I love the quilt. He can hang onto it for quite a while because of the simplicity and it only took a day and a half to make. On a very low budget.

Pay no attention to the half naked toddler...comes with the job.

What projects are you working on this week?


Linking up with: Live, Laugh, Linky

Foster Care Questions Answered

A few weeks ago we told all of our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram friends and fans to send us their questions about Foster Care. We are an open book and want to raise awareness and keep you all as informed as we can. With each question that we can bring clarity, one more person may become one step closer to advocating, supporting or foster parenting.

Here are the questions we received:

Do I have to own my home to be a foster parent?
I have been asked this numerous times. A lot of people have been told that they need to own their home. This is not true. You need to be able to provide a stable and adequate home for a child. You can rent or own. As long as you have enough room, your living situation is stable and pass the home study, you are ready to go.

I'm a single working mom. So I can't foster, right?
Wrong. Eight of you actually asked this question. Eight! Not sure if this used to be a law or not but it is a very common one. Since it is somewhat of two questions, let's break it down.
Single:
You can be married or single to foster. From what I have heard is that some states will not certify homes that have unmarried people living together, with exceptions to relatives. This may be where the misunderstanding comes from.
Working:
Working outside of the home does not disqualify you either. You will need to find a qualified day care or school for your foster children while you are at work. That's it. Same as you would for a biological child. In some states and counties the daycare can be subsidized, in others, it will be your responsibility (that's where the monthly stipend comes in handy)

My husband is on active duty in the military, will that hinder us?
This one, I had to do my research a bit. After asking around it seems like it really just depends on where you are located. Even within the same state, different counties have different rules and standards. If you are a military family interested in fostering, I would say the first step would really just be to call a local agency and find out the counties rules.

I don't think I could handle dealing with the parents. How do you do it?
Okay, let's get real and personal. This started out as being one of my biggest struggles. Going in, I had no doubt I would love the kiddos but their bio parents, I was worried I would hate not like them.
It takes lots of prayer. LOTS. Being a foster parent has taught me a lot about love and forgiveness and a lot of that is because of dealing with birth parents.
I am not going to lie and say it is easy. It's not. But after praying for them, God has given me a glimpse into what their lives may have looked like. To have a little bit of sympathy for what they must face and feel. The first few months after our placement of Little Man, I was so angry at his parents. Now my heart hurts for them. I pray for them always and think I will continue to even if we adopt him. I went in wanting nothing to do with them and at this point I kind of want to keep them posted somehow after the case is all done and over.

What do I need to do to become a foster parent?
Your first step is going to be to contact a foster agency or your local DCFS (Deptartment of Children and Family Services) they will get you the info you need.To become certified you will need to:

• Complete the Training (we did ours in like 4 weekends at our agency)
• Complete CPR and First Aid certification.
• Everyone over 18 in your home will need to be livescanned (cleared through state and FBI), we needed to have 2 live-scans each, one foster and one adoption. In California, you need to be certified for both.
• Have a completed home study. This included a safety check of your home, with a long list of things that must be done. It also includes an "interview" with each member of the family.
• Have a physical. Include TB test.
• Provide references
• Keep up to date with 15 hours of training annually

I think that covers it all.

I only want babies. Is that possible?
Yes, it is. When filing out paperwork and speaking with your agency, you can be as specific as you would like. You need to make sure that a child would fit well into your family. If an age specification is what you think would be best for you and the child, by all means yes. It is actually recommended that any child placed with you be younger than the youngest child in your home.
Keep in mind when laying out your specifics (age, gender, ethnicity, ect.) that the more you narrow it down, the longer and harder it will be to find a placement.

These are all of the questions we received in the past few weeks. Thank you so much for showing so much interest. These babies need to be fought for and your interest warmed my heart. Please, please continue to ask questions. We would love to answer you privately and post any continued questions and answers monthly or weekly depending on how many we get.

Continue to pray for foster children, orphans, and the families that are caring for them.

A bit of Paradise

When my sweet husband and I were still dating, before kids and marriage and chaos, he was able to take a trip to Hawaii. He had just finished getting his AA and was blessed with this trip as a gift before he went back to school for the next degree.

From our first date (which I didn't even know was a date, have I ever told you that story? hmm.), we spent every waking moment together. Not a day apart. Not even one. Until he left.

When he returned he came home with a few things, one being a very very very high phone bill and the rest gifts. Little things he saw that reminded him of me.

Don't get to invested with your ooo's and awe's, this is not a romantic post at all.

You want to know the most important part of this little story? This stuff right here:

Maui Sundown. An after sun soother. It is this white girls favorite thing ever. After being in the sun, you apply this to your skin. It is heaven. It smells like paradise and keeps your from burning.

While we were dating and newly-weds, I really liked this stuff. It was awesome after days at the beach. Now that we have kids and only go in the sun on occassion, this stuff is my best friend. Less time in the sun = no permanent base tan. For a very very white girl like myself, it means lots of burning. Unless I use sunblock and my dear friend Maui Sundown.

Now here comes the extra serious part. Steven brought home a few bottles on that trip long long ago. We are on our last bottle. It is half gone. I am in complete panic mode.

I checked the website on the bottle.  Gone.

I called the phone number. Disconnected.

I searched everywhere on-line. Nothing.

You've gotta help me. Tell me you know where to find it. You have a relative that lives in Hawaii and can find it there. You are the google search master of the universe and you will save my day.

First person who recommends Burt's Bees Wax gets a charlie horse. I don't want it. I have never tried it but it's all that pops up in my searches. I don't want it. I want Maui Sundown. ::Enter toddler like tantrum here::

So can you help me? Tell me you know something and it is not gone forever!!!!

Our Mission Field

We are foster parents.

We started fostering while we already had two small children at home.

Children who don't quite understand and whose innocence we still needed to protect.

When we accepted our first placement (you know him as little man) we decided to share a little bit with our kids about foster care. Only enough that they would understand that the child they knew as their brother could one day leave our home. We worked and prayed hard to find the right words. The words that would inform but not rob them of innocence.

Not knowing what our cases would look like, we simply told the kids that the babies who came to stay with us had another mommy and daddy who couldn't take care of them right now. That we didn't know their situation yet but they might be sick or have to go away for a little while. If they got better and were able to take care of the baby, the baby would go home. If the mommy and daddy stayed sick or in another place then the baby would stay with us forever.

Talon who is still only two, had no clue what we were talking about. Rhiannon who is 4, seemed to understand quite well. She is proud to be a foster family. She informs people often that Little Man is our foster baby but he is still her brother right now. When she grows up she wants only one baby to come from her belly and the rest will be foster babies. She wants to love and help the babies and their mommies. 

She got it. We were good. We thought.

Then this week as we talked about the new baby coming soon, As we shared our joy of baby Corbin, a look of fear washed over her. She looked at me and stated sadly "and if you and daddy get sick, he will go live with another family".

My heart broke. While trying to protect her we put fear in her little heart. We had explain a little bit more about Little Mans family. We spared as much detail as we could.  It was still more than we wanted to say.

The truth is, we live in a broken world. We live in a world full of scary and not so nice things. Things no child should have to try to understand. 

We speak often about how our home is a mission field. By being foster parents we are reaching out to a broken world starting right within our own walls. This is the first time our lives have really had the effect of it all. It was rough.

As I sat saddened by the fact that my four year old had to hear of some of these things, my heart ached. It ached even more thinking of how my one year old has had to live through them. He had to witness them first hand. 

Our baby who is only one has lived and seen more of this broken world than many adults. He didn't have parents who were protecting his innocence. 

But he does now. 

Our children need to be protected. They need to be allowed to believe in a world that is better. 

They also need to understand that we live in a broken world. A world that needs Jesus. That they are the light that can shine for Him. 

I just wish it could start later than four years old.

My girl knows The Lord though. She knows that she loves Him and He loves her. She wants to serve Him. She already desires to mother orphans. To follow His will. 

Foster care is tough but it has built us up. It has helped us grow. To serve. To love. It has molded and shaped all of us. 

It has done this by breaking us first. We have to surrender daily. We have to seek The Lord regularly. He have to be ready to hear from Him and trust in Him to help us answer even the tough questions. 

What I Wore: Maternity Style

Last week I was lucky enough to attend the VIP Grand Opening of The Land of Nod at South Coast Plaza. As I have mentioned before, dressing the bump is tough. It is only getting harder.

Until...about a week ago when I was able to start wearing pre-pregnancy pants again, with a belly band of course. Ohhhh how life is making it easy on me. Thrilled. Like, on the real, I got giddy.

32 week baby bump

 Jeans: Target ::Not Maternity::
Hidden Belly Band: Motherhood Maternity
Tank: H&M
Cardigan: Target
Sandals: Big Surprise...Target again
Necklace you can't see: Premier Designs
 

Oh and for your viewing pleasure, this fab accessory is from The Land of Nod.