Wordless Wednesday: Noah the Tornado

This is what it looks like 15 minutes after Noah the Tornado hit played in his room. He has lots and lots of books!

Quote of the Week: Gift to God

This week's quote is a quote I heard several years back and instantly loved it. I even used to have it on my voicemail and whenever my BFF would leave a message for me, she’d say “Hi there, God’s gift” and make my day. But, I really like it because it reminds me that while I’m here on this earth I need to be doing things with my life, I need to be doing what God wants me to do with my life, and not just going through the motions and that’s probably something that we all need reminding of every once and awhile.

"What you are is God’s gift to you. What you become is your gift to God.”

Wordless Wednesday: The Clemson Bed Sleeps Better

Noah got the Clemson bedspread and sheets for his birthday. He LOVES them and tells me that the Clemson bed sleeps better than it did before it became the Clemson bed!

Halloween 2008

Noah dressed as a wizard this year and looks pretty cute in his wizard cape and hat don't ya think?!? (Ok, I think he looks cute in everything!!)

Once again, this year's costume was made by "Aunt Snowy." Thank you Aunt Snowy!!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Goodies

So we have been busy in our house today preparing goodies for the Halloween Party/Birthday Party/Carnival at Noah's school tomorrow. There's the Halloween Carnival that they have every year in the gym and then the Halloween party for his class which is mushed together with his and another classmate's birthday party.

Since Noah doesn't like regular sweets we got creative and made a version of the trail mix that my Mom makes. I put in some of Noah's favorite things and then threw in two sweet things that the other kids might enjoy so it consists of popcorn, goldfish crackers, mini pretzels, candy corn, and M&Ms. I'm sure the kids will love it!

While Noah was at school today I finished making the "mummy cups" which are a Halloween goodie for his classmates. They are just white cups wrapped with white fabric to look like a mummy and two wiggly eyes are glued on. Once Noah got home, we stuffed them with some goodies for his classmates and then I bagged them up and tied ribbons to close them.

So, we are ready for Halloween here! Come back tomorrow to see a picture of Noah in his costume!!

Noah's 12th Birthday Recap

Noah's birthday was Saturday. I am now the Mom of a 12 year old. Eeek! As I mentioned in the previous post, in the past we have had big parties but Noah would get stressed out so this year we opted for a very small party and I'm so glad we did! I kept the guest list super small and only included close family. Uncle Andy was able to make it from Charleston and of course Nana and Grandad were present as well as Aunt/Cousin Holly. Noah seemed to really enjoy himself and was happy while opening presents from Grandad's lap, eating chips and (spinach!) dip from Grandad's lap and blowing out the candles on his orange Clemson tiger paw cake. (Nope, he didn't do that from Grandad's lap!) The party had a Clemson theme - meaning we had orange decorations and a tiger paw birthday cake that I made. (Side note - it takes a TON Of food coloring to make icing THAT orange!!)

Noah received many nice gifts as always! Our living room was covered in orange either from gifts or the party decor! Noah received a Clemson bedspread and sheets, a rug with a tiger paw, a Clemson poster, a few other misc. Clemson items for his room, a big inflatable Clemson "tackle buddy," a Clemson polar fleece, books, and much more that just isn't popping to mind at the moment! Noah's room is definitely all decked out in Clemson colors. (We just need to paint the walls and his bookshelf!) Yes, ALL the boys in my life love Clemson.

I'm not that good at taking pictures at Noah's parties because I am typically so involved so this time I just gave my niece, Holly, my camera and let her go to town. (Thank you for being my photographer whenever I need you to Holly! You take much better pictures than the husband!!) She took a TON of pictures; so many that I am really having a hard time deciding which ones to share here!

All in all, my boy had a great birthday!

Celebrating Noah

Twelve years ago on this day at 2:12 in the morning an impatient tiny baby boy made his early entrance into this world. The moment he was born my life changed forever. His first breath took mine away - I was in awe. I was in love. I was exhausted. I was a MOM!

I was nineteen when Noah was born. We've grown up together in some ways. Noah has taught me more than he will ever realize and not just basic Mom things like changing diapers or staying up with a sick child. He's taught me about unconditional love. Because of him, I'm a better person. I've made many, many mistakes and I've done many things right. It hasn't been an easy road but it's definately been worth it. Today, we celebrate Noah! It will be a low key celebration. In the past, I've thrown these big parties but they just stress Noah out. He doesn't do well with a crowd so I hope he will enjoy this celebration amongst close family. BIg or small - we will celebrate the day Noah entered our lives and stole our hearts. We celebrate all that he is and all that he will become.

A Dinosaur Please

Noah always asks for the funniest things for Christmas and his birthday. For the past few years at Christmas he has asked for a real live reindeer and last year he upped the anty by asking for TWO reindeers; a Mommy and a Daddy reindeer! Two Christmas ago he asked for a space shuttle with keys! Not a toy space shuttle – a real live space shuttle he could drive. Last year for his birthday, he wanted a school bus. So, when talking to my Mom last night, she thought it would be funny to ask Noah what he wants for his birthday and see what was in his little head. (His birthday is Saturday.) True to his character, it was over the top! He’d like a dinosaur please. Yep, he said please! Silly boy!

Born a Momma

Noah was at my parents' house today and they were looking at pictures on the big screen which is one of Noah's favorite things to do. (My Dad has pictures on the computer and it's hooked up to the Television so that you can view pictures on the TV.) So, they were looking at pictures and my Dad put up some of me as a little girl. Noad did NOT like these and did not want to look at them. They tried to explain that it was his Momma when she was a little girl but he didn't want to hear any of that. When he got home, I talked to him a little bit more about it. I showed him a picture of me as a little girl and he said it was not me. It seems he thinks that I was never little. He thinks I was just born his Momma! He's a silly silly boy! Maybe I was born to be a Momma but I wasn't BORN as a Momma and those pictures of me at three years old is proof or that baby would have whiplash from the way I was man handling her! And what good Momma dumps out all her blocks and is really destructive right next to her baby's crib? I was really cute though, don't ya think?!? :)

Review: Craft Mates Ribbon Storage Container

I love ribbon and have gobs and gobs of different types of ribbon. I will buy it for no real reason, just because I think it is cute. Luckily though, I use ribbon in a lot of different craft projects so it does not just sit and collect dust.  With all the ribbon I own, storing the ribbon can sometimes be an issue. In the past I have had to come up with creative solutions of how to store my ribbon. I have written before about using photo storage boxes to store my ribbon and while this worked it was also a tad time consuming to put holes in the sides of the boxes and sometimes the ribbon got stuck and wouldn’t thread through properly. It was working but it just wasn’t a perfect system.  And then I received one of the new Craft Mates Ribbon Storage Organizers. These organizers are made out of a hard durable plastic and are clear so you can easily see what ribbons are stored on the inside if need be. There are no decorations or anything on the containers however it does say “Craft Mates” in small letters on the front. It has seventeen plastic dividers that can come out easily so that you can store up to seventeen different ribbons in the container. If your ribbons are wider, it will hold ribbons up to 3 ½ inches wide. Once inside the container, the ribbons slide through a little plastic part and hang out. You can easily roll out whatever amount you need and snip it off. There are also two little locks on each end of the container so that it won’t accidentally come open. If you have lots and lots of ribbon like I do, don’t worry, you can easily stack these containers on top of each other creating a great storage solution for ribbon. Thus far, I have no complaints with the Craft Mates Ribbon Storage Containers.

The 32 Year Old Me

I took the pictures of myself featured in this layout the day before my 32nd birthday. I usually don't like pictures of myself very much but for some reason, I liked these so I decided to make a little "32 year old me" layout. I love the way it turned out and think this is something I'm going to start each year!

I used a digital scrapbooking kit by Shabby Pumpkin but I don't think her kits are available anymore.

Charlie's 7th Birthday

Today is Charlie's (my birthson) birthday! It's hard to beleive that he is seven years old. It seems like only yesterday I was holding him as a tiny baby in the hospital preparing to let him go.

Over the seven years that I have been Charlie's birthmother my life has changed drastically. I was given a second chance and I have sincerely tried to make the most of that second chance. I've tried to be the best Mom to Noah and an advocate for birthmothers. While I know placing Charlie for adoption was the best choice I could make at that time in my life, that doesn't mean that my heart doesn't ache at times. Birthdays are bittersweet. I usually get to spend time with Charlie and his family on his actual birthday. This is the first year we haven't been able to do that. Charlie's Mom's best friend's husband (that's a mouth full!) died and the visitation was last night and funeral today so it just didn't work out to get together today. A (Charlie's Mom) wanted to try and get together tomorrow evening but I'm afraid that will mess up Noah's routine too much and (I hope this come out the wrong way) he is my priority. She may try and re-arrange things so we could get together Sunday afternoon but I'm not getting my hopes up in case it doesn't work out. If nothing else, I'll see Charlie next weekend for his birthday party. Happy Birthday Charlie! (Photo taken on Charlie's 6th birthday)