Walnut Owlie

If you have been reading my blog for long, you know I have an affinity for owls. While visiting back in September my BFF's husband showed me this adorable owl he made out of walnuts. He even has a tutorial on his you tube channel on how to make it. 

Check it out!

You Rock

A sweet friend made me this adorable little "you rock" banner. We all need reminders like this from time to time. don't we? Every time I see it, I smile.

Happy Weekend! 

Happy Mail

Don't you just love "happy mail?" I do!

Recently I received some very happy mail from a friend.....

It's a box full of foam brushes! 200 of them to be exact! 

She found them on sale for a great price and thought of me. 

I am blessed to have great friends.

♥

Happy Friday!

Quote of the Week: Choose our Friends

"God gave us relatives but 

lets us choose our friends." 

- Addison Misner

A Sweet Surprise

One day last week I walked out on my front porch and found a surprise waiting for me. It was a FDT Flowers box. I recognized it and immediately knew I had received flowers but wasn't sure from who. I opened the box and found some beautiful springy flowers and a sweet card from some of the BirthMom Buds thanking me for all the hard work I do. Suddenly the random questions about flower allergies that my friend Monika asked before made sense! 

It was so out of the blue and made me feel very loved and appreciated. Thank you to my girls who sent the flowers! I love them!

Five Minute Friday: Community

It’s Friday – the day where I join other bloggers and take five short minutes to just write from the heart. Five Minute Friday is hosted by Gypsy Mama and this week’s prompt is COMMUNITY. 


How perfect is this week’s prompt of community! Along with my BFF and some other wonderful women, I have helped build a community of birthmothers from all over the place called BirthMom Buds. Though I don’t write about it very often on this blog, ten years ago I gave birth to and placed a baby boy in an open adoption and while it’s a bittersweet journey, I find myself proud to be a birthmother and more importantly proud to be a member of a community of such amazing women. 

On Thursday of next week, I will head to Charlotte, North Carolina where I will join other women from the birthmother community for our annual retreat full of sharing, listening, learning, laughter and probably a few healing tears.


This also explains my absence from blogging lately as I've been finishing up some last minute type things. I honestly probably won’t blog much until I am back! This year’s theme is a fiesta, so appropriate since it falls on the weekend of Cinco de Mayo. It’s been fun planning the décor though I haven’t been able to share it here but I will be able to once it’s all over!


So, I am ready – ready for a weekend of community and to hug the necks of some of these amazing women that I only have the pleasure of seeing once a year and some I have yet to meet face to face!

Easy Nest Treats Tutorial

Awhile back I pinned some cute little nest treats on my "Spring Fever" board....

My BFF saw them, loved them, and decided they'd be the perfect treat for her son's class. They are quite simple to make. Check out the video below as 7 year old Nicholas (who is named after me!) shows you how to make the nest treats. 

(Linking to the parties listed in my sidebar)

10 Year Friendaversary

Ten years ago today, I turned on my computer praying I could find someone who could understand the turmoil in my heart......


You see, I was a new birthmother and although I knew I made the right decision for my baby, my heart was breaking at the same time. I knew there had to be someone out there who could relate. I began typing adoption related words into my search engine and finally found an "Is anyone out there?" post on adoption.com that was written by another birthmother named Lani. So excited to see another birthmother of a similar situation I quickly typed up the following message,

"Hi. I just read your post and I'm new birthmother too. I gave birth to my son on September 20, 2001, just 4 days after you gave birth to your daughter. Our adoption is also open. I bet we are feeling a lot of the same things and maybe could help each other through it. Hope to hear from you soon." 


(Yep, Lani saved the email.)

When I typed that email, I just wanted my heart to stop hurting. I wanted to breathe without hurting. I wanted to laugh again. I didn't realize what a big part of my life that person behind the other screen would become. Now she has truly become (as she so eloquently puts it) "the sister God let me choose." She's "my person." (If you watch Grey's Anatomy you know what I mean.) She's laughed with me during the happy times and cried with me during the sad. 


Happy 10 year Friendaversary, BFF! You've put up with me for a decade now! I'm so glad God gave me you!

Five Minute Friday: Just Friends

It’s Friday – the day where I join other bloggers and take five short minutes to just write from the heart. Five Minute Friday is hosted by Gypsy Mama and this week’s prompt is in real life.

I love the opportunities for meeting people via the internet. I have connected with other bloggers and other crafters. I have connected with other birthmothers and other parents of special needs kiddos. I have been able to receive more support and meet more people in situations similar to mine because of the internet. I don’t think I could meet the variety of birthmothers and parents of special needs children in a real life support group versus the mass numbers I have been able to get to know online.

My birthson turns 10 in 11 days. Just weeks after he was born and placed with his adoptive parents in an open adoption, I turned to the internet looking for support. I began an online friendship with another birthmother, Lani. We supported each other via email and phone calls and months later, met for the first time “in real life.”

Around the time our kids turned one, we decided birthmothers needed a central place where we could go and meet other birthmothers for support. Thus, BirthMom Buds was born.

Through BirthMom Buds, I have been able to meet SO many birthmothers. I consider many of these women some of my closet, dearest friends. I have been lucky enough to meet some of these dear friends “in real life” while others I haven’t had the privilege yet. But regardless of whether we have met “in real life” or not, we are supportive of one another. We are friends. Just friends with no “in real life” or “online” before it.  Just friends who are all so different but yet share a common bond and are there for one another.

Quote of the Week: Walking with a Friend

"Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light." 

- Helen Keller

Photo: Me and my BFF taken by the fab Monika in April in Charlotte

You were Made for This: BFF Style

When my BFF came all the way to me for a couple of hours so I could do her family pictures I made her pose for a photo just for me and do a little "You Were Made for This" photo. 

And she made me pose for one too.......

 Click here to find out the story behind my mantra, "You were Made for This."

Click here to see more of my "You were Made for This" photo series. 

Wordless Wednesday: No No and Aunt LaLa

My BFF adores Noah and he adores her right back. Because we live in different states we don't get to see each other a whole lot but she was able to spend a few minutes with Noah on Sunday before we took her to the airport. Noah barely wanted anything to do with me and only wanted "Aunt LaLa." So sweet. 

For more Wordless Wednesday check out 5 Minutes for Moms, Special Exposure Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Special Needs, and Wordless Wednesday Headquarters

BFF's Wedding

Over the weekend, my BFF got married. I was her Maid of Honor. I'd never been a MOH before and really enjoyed it although I don't I want to be a MOH again! Lani's wedding was beautiful and there are so many moments that I hope remain etched into my mind for years and years to come.

Below are a few of my favorite pictures from the wedding......

Lani and I before the wedding

The bridesmaids doing "the Charlie's angels" pose.

Mr. and Mrs. Wood

My BFF and I with our hubbys

The only bad thing about being in a wedding (for me personally) is not being able to take pics. I tried but it's really not feasible to be the MOH and take photos when you are supposed to be in them! I did get a few good shots in before the wedding. This is my favorite - classic bride.

BFF's Bridal Shower

This past weekend I traveled to my BFF's in the Atlanta area to host (along with the other bridesmaids) her bridal shower. We chose a fall theme for the bridal shower and I had a great time planning all the decorations, centerpieces, and what not. I think that everything turned out very nice and Lani loved it all. And of course, I have pictures to share! 

The centerpieces were (fake) pumpkins filled with (fake) flowers. They were sitting on a some scattered leaves and each pumpkin had a framed engagement picture of Lani and Clinton sitting next to it with a tea light candle on either side of it. 

Beautiful Cake

Bride to Be with the Cake

I love to watch Lani open gifts. She gets excited and animated. She makes each person feel like their gift was the best gift ever. You could give the girl a pencil and she'd make you feel like you just gave her a diamond ring or something. 

Lani pinning a "Mother of the Bride" pin on her Mom. 

Lani with her soon to be MIL on the left and her Mom on the right.

Me and my BFF or "the sister God let me choose" as Lani so eloquently says it.

My BFF's Engagement Photos

My BFF is getting married in November!

One of the things she and I both share is a love of photography. She's quite good at taking photos. In fact, some of my favorite photos of myself were taken by her. She came to my Mom's house on Sunday afternoon to join in on my Mom's birthday celebration and my pre-birthday celebration. We had previously decided to try and squeeze in a little time for me to take some engagement photos of her and her soon to be husband. Lani and I have spent hours online looking at photography blogs so I knew what type of photos she loves and what she envisioned. 

So we headed to this sweet little downtown area about ten minutes away from my parents' home. I didn't realize there were so many cute photo ops down there. A park, cool buildings, railroad tracks, and more! I took a ton of photos and have lots of favorites and they may not necessarily be a favorite for the quality of the photo but instead either something funny that was going on at the moment or the symbolism behind the photo. 

I had such a hard time choosing which pics to post here because I love so many of them, but here are a few of my favorites:

At the Railroad Tracks: 

  

Buildings, Alleys, and Areas Downtown:

 

 

 

At the Park:

 

 

At the Tree:
Back story: Clinton actually proposed to Lani by a tree so while this wasn't "their" tree, I still think these pictures have special meaning.

 

 

Fountain Area:

 

 

We have to have a few black and whites:

I'd seen a story board on another website and decided to give one a try.

Below is what I came up with.