Wordless Wednesday: Easter Morning

Noah wasn't really in the mood for pictures Easter morning but I took some anyways. 

Of course he is smiling in the pic with Granddad and Uncle Andy!

You'll notice that J isn't in any of these. He was having some problems with his shoulder and back and wasn't feeling well.

Linking to Special Exposure Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Special Needs

and Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Moms

You Were Made for This Easter Style

 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. 

Happy Easter!

Just wanted to take a minute to wish all of you a 

Happy Easter!

Two Things to Share

I have been swamped lately with semi-last minute stuff for the upcoming BirthMom Buds retreat, dealing with Noah, and just life in general but I have two different things I want to share really quick. (If we are Facebook friends, you might want to just skip this post because you've already seen these things.) 


First up is a radio interview. On Monday, I spoke on an internet radio show called Adoption Journey to Motherhood about BirthMom Buds. If you care to listen to my interview, just head on over to this website. Look for the 4/18 show on the right. I am the second interview at about 30 minutes in. You can pull the slider to that mark if you don't want to listen to the first interview.


Second, is a video. I shot this video of Noah and my Dad at last night's Miracle League game. They LOVE to steal bases and last night they were the first batters so they were able to steal all the bases. Check out the video below.

Have a great Easter weekend!

Bless the Broken Road that Led me Straight to Him

Ten years ago tomorrow, April 20th, 2001 at 6:36 PM there was a knock at my apartment door. It was my date, who you all now affectionally know as J. We went to a baseball game.


Little did I know, that knock at the door would literally change my life. Little did I know then that my date was destined to be my soul mate. 


Eight years ago today, April 19th 2003, at 6:30 PM, holding onto my Daddy's arm, I walked down to an "aisle" of 22 steps, through a military like arch of baseball players holding baseball bats onto that same baseball field, met J at home plate, and married him. 


It was a broken road that led me to J. But ultimately it was worth it because without that road, I might not have found him. We've had bumps along the journey - lots of them - but we are strong and together we can make it through anything. 


Happy Anniversary Babe!

"I set out on a narrow way many years ago,

Hoping I would find true love along the broken road

But I got lost a time or two

Wiped my brow and kept pushing through

I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you."

"Every long lost dream led me to where you are

Others who broke my heart they were like Northern stars

Pointing me on my way into your loving arms

This much I know is true

That God Blessed the broke road

That led me straight to you."

"I think about the years I spent just passing through

I'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to you 

But you just smile and take my hand

You've been there to understand 

It's all a part of a greater plan

That is coming true."

"Now I'm just rolling home

Into my lover's arms,

This much I know is true

God blessed the broken road that led me straight to you."

- God Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts

Quote of the Week: Rainbow

"Rainbows apologize 

for angry skies." 

- Sylvia Voirol

2011 Special Olympics

Noah competed in the local Special Olympics today. He competes each Spring and it's become something that we all look forward to. Just like with Miracle League, everyone wins at these Special Olympics. It's more about the participation and completing the event than it is about how fast you go. 


Every year, Noah's school gets shirts for their participants so that they can easily keep up with them and spot them. Every year they are a different color. This year they were PINK. I've always joked about buying Noah a pink shirt but never have. This was the first time I have ever seen him wearing pink and it's NOT his color! 


Noah typically participates in the 25 m wheelchair races and a ball throw but this year, he didn't compete in the ball throw but a 30 m slalom instead. There were cones set up and he had to weave around them. While he had practiced at school, he didn't seem too sure of exactly what he was supposed to do so they let J walk a bit in front of him and Noah followed him around the cones. 


He received 1st and 3rd place ribbons and as always, had a blast and was very proud of himself.


On to the pictures.....

Lined up and ready to race

And he's off.....

Love the look of determination on his face in this one

Little hands hard at work 

Slow and steady wins the race 

A little one handed racing

Crossing the finish line

Butterfly Quote Bag

I have been a busy bee lately working on other things, but the other night I decided I want to craft something just for ME. My new love is definitely freezer paper stenciling - I can't seem to get enough of it and I had some plain tote bags sitting in the closet that I got on sale forever ago for another project that never got completed (please tell me I'm not the only one who that happens to) so I grabbed the teal (one of my fave colors) one, some scrap fabric, some freezer paper, some scrap lace from my stash and some paint and got to work. 


First I used my Silhouette machine to cut out a couple of different sized butterflies from the fabric that I had already ironed Heat-n-Bond to. Then I used the Silhouette to cut a favorite quote out of the freezer paper. I laid my butterflies on the bag where I wanted them to go and positioned the quote around them. I ironed the quote down and started painting. I just used regular old brown (ok, it's called espresso, much better name than "regular old brown") acrylic paint mixed with textile medium to paint on the bag. I then patiently waited for the paint to dry, peeled off the freezer paper, and it was pretty much perfect. (I love the high you get when you first peel off the freezer paper and realized it worked and it looks good!)  I ironed down my butterflies, glued on my lace and got this.....................

Ok, time to get back to all the other stuff I need to do! 

Linking up to the crafty parties listed in my sidebar
and

Clemson Spring Game

On Saturday, we decided to take Noah to the Clemson (a college that is about an hour away) Spring Football (scrimmage) game. We are always a little hesitant to do these type of things with Noah and don't do them frequently because he tends to get over stimulated and it just turns into a disaster where he is frustrated, upset, crying, yelling, and sometimes hitting. But we decided to give it a try. I'm happy to report that Noah did really, really, really well. J and I were both VERY impressed at how well he handled everything. 


They had a "Be a Tiger Field Day" for kids before the Spring game so we decided to get there while that was going on and see if Noah wanted to participate in any of it. They had different stations set up where the kids could do different activities (like a bean bag toss or drawing a picture to send to children in Japan). At each station, they got a tiger paw stamped on a little card and at the last station they turned in the card and received a t-shirt.


After Noah went to all the stations and got his t-shirt, we needed to find some lunch. We were (walking) and about to head in one direction when Noah heard a live band outside of a restaurant in the opposite direction playing a Beatles song. He asked to go there. We explained that they probably wouldn't be playing Beatles music the entire time and he might have to hear other songs he didn't like. (Noah is very sensitive music -  he loves some music but sometimes music - mainly slow songs - really upsets him even to the point of tears.) But he still wanted to go so we decided to give it a try and headed in that direction. We found a table outside and sat down and listened to the music. 


We ordered lunch and continued to listen to the music. I was shocked that Noah was tolerating it so well. They did play a slow song that he didn't like but we just reminded him that it would be over in a minute and he did OK with that. We just hung out there for over an hour until it was time to head to the stadium for the spring game. 


Noah did very well with the game too! He got so excited when the team ran down the hill, which was very near where we were sitting. He yelled and clapped at appropriate times. Towards the end, he did start to get a little antsy but never got out of control. 


It was a really good day and I'm really glad we decided to give it a try.


And now some pictures......

At one of the stations at the field day

Ready for the game to start

 Looking at the program book with Daddy

Posing by the rock that all the players touch for luck as they run down the hill to the field

He even sported his orange shoes and Clemson socks!

He now has a tiger tail. :)

Watching the game

Worn out

(on the ride home)

Quote of the Week: Page of your History

"Every day of your life 
is a page of your history." 

- Unknown

Friday Favorites #3: The One with Lots of Easter Stuff

If you haven't noticed by now, I think all of my Friday Favorites posts are going to be titled "The One with...." as a nod to Friends. Although I didn't actually watch that much of Friends when it was originally airing. 


So this is "the one with lots of Easter stuff." I have seen so many great Easter projects out there lately. I wish I had time to make 'em all but since I'm a busy bee with the BirthMom Buds retreat I won't have time to make them all. I have done a little Easter crafting and will share some of that along with my Easter/spring mantel next week. 


Enough with the babbling, on to ten of my faves.....

Easter Egg Paint Chip Garland

Adorable and a great way to recycle/upcycle and since paint chips are FREE that makes this a super inexpensive craft. 

Button Egg

What a great way to use some old buttons!

Bunny Pop

This is just adorable and would be so cute in a child's Easter basket or make a cute Easter treat for neighbors, co-workers, etc. 

Vinyl Dyed Eggs

I love these! I have extra vinyl so I'll be breaking it out when it is time to dye eggs. 

Chicks and Bunny Egg Pedestals 

Creative and cute! 


Easter Candy Jar

Love this simple but cute Easter candy jar!


Easter Printables

Printables are such an easy inexpensive way to change your decor for holidays and seasons. Just find one you like, print it, and pop it in a frame. Easy peasy! I could do a whole post on them alone! I've seen lots of cute Easter printables lately but this is one of my favorites because of the variety of different colors it comes in. There is a color to match any decor!


Spring Photo Checklist

This isn't totally Easter related but I couldn't pass it by. If you are a mamarazzi like me, you NEED this. It's a free, printable list of 50 different photo ideas for spring! 


Bunny Bars

How cute would these be in an Easter basket? You just print it, wrap it around a Hershey bar (or other types of candy bars would work too) and secure with tape. So sweet! 


The Old Rugged Cross Specimen Art

While bunnies and chicks are oh-so-cute, this craft reminds me of the true meaning of Easter. 


Seen any cute Easter crafts out there lately? Please share!

Busy Bee

Over the next month my posts will probably get less frequent. This is my busy time of the year. Every year, the weekend before Mother's Day in BirthMom Buds hosts a retreat for birthmothers in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is such an awesome and healing time for all of the birthmothers who are able to attend.


For the main event of the retreat, the Birthmother's Day Celebration, we decorate the room according to the retreat theme for the year, which means I get busy at this time of the year working on centerpieces and decor as well as adminstrative type stuff like creating the program and a slideshow. While I try to do as much as I can ahead of time, there are somethings that can't be done too far in advance making this crunch time. 


The theme for this year's retreat is Breakfast at Tiffany's. I have some neat ideas planned but can't share them just yet. But I promise to share lots of pics of the centerpieces and what not when it's over!

So, if you notice my posts are less frequent, don't worry, we are fine; I'm just busy preparing for our retreat!

Watching Baseball

Noah and I have been taking walks a lot lately and our favorite place to walk is to a nearby baseball field where one of the local high school teams practices. (Come to find out I went there as a teen to watch a minor league baseball game.) He loves to sit there for a few minutes and watch them practice. 

Linking to Special Exposure Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Special Needs

and Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Moms

Music From the Heart

There was a special moment on the Country Music Awards last night. Well, many special moments for many artists but the one special moment I'm referring to was one for adults with developmental delays and special needs. 


Darius Rucker sang a special song called Music from the Heart. Last year during the ACM Lifting Lives camp for adults with special needs, the campers along with songwriters Chris Young and Brett James, wrote the song. Twenty five adults with special needs sang the song live during the Country Music Awards.


What a special moment for them! I got tears in my eyes as I could see the excitement and joy on their faces. 


You can watch the video below.


See how much they are getting into it! See the beams on their faces? Beautiful. Just beautiful. 

Quote of the Week: Don't Make the Mistake

"Don't make the mistake of letting 

yesterday use up too much of today."

- Unknown

Friday Favorites # 2: The One with the Fuzzy Lamp

I saw so many fun craft posts in the past 2 weeks!  There were lots of Easter projects which I'll be sharing some of my favorites with you in the near future so stay tuned for those. 

Crafting

Damask Lamp Shade 

Look closely - the paint is fuzzy. Well, velveteen technically. This would look awesome in my bedroom in a lighter shade of teal. In fact, my lamp in there is rather blah and I had been brainstorming ways to jazz it up. This just might be the answer. 
I really think that paint is neat too - might be cool sometimes when freezer paper stenciling. 
(ETA: I scored some of this paint with my 40 % off coupon at Hobby Lobby! I think it would be cool to use in freezer paper stenciling on shirts and stuff occasionally too.)

Spray Painted Shoes

If you know me well, then you know I have a slight addiction to spray painting things. I say if it sits still I'll spray paint it. (I even spray painted my refrigerator!)But I never thought of spray painting SHOES! What a great way to give an old pair of shoes new life! (And that color of spray paint on those shoes just so happens to be my fave color of spray paint!) 

Chevron Stripes Board

Chevron stripes are one of the hot decorating trends right now. I have not bitten into this particular trend.... yet. I really love the way this board looks on their mantle. Yellow isn't really my color but imagine the possibilities. 

Recipes/Cooking

Greek Baked Fish (or chicken)

This is from a newly found blog called Cooking Lean Like Paula Deen (except Paula Deen doesn't really cook very lean!) but this blogger takes recipes from popular cooks like Miss Paula and Rachel Ray and makes them over into lighter versions. I've got this recipe on my list to give it a try but with chicken instead of fish since I'm not a big fish person. 

Inspirational

The Best Me 

I’m loving this post written by my weight loss accountability partner, Monika. It’s been a really hard week for me weight loss wise with Noah being on spring break and the rainy, cold, yucky weather we haven’t been able to walk at all and I can’t make it through an entire workout dvd without a zillion interruptions. In this post, Monika talks about how she is trying to become the best her for everyone in her life and that’s just the motivation I needed. My family and friends do deserve the best me and even if I have days where I’m not able to do all I intended to do, I’m still on a good path and I’m becoming a better me and that's all I can strive for is to be a better me. 

Personal Faves

Fave Memory: 

Noah's big smile while playing his first baseball game of the spring season

Fave Photo:

This one of my Dad and Noah running to first base


Most Read Post:
Drink Mix Packet Holder Thingie-ma-Jig

And if you need just a little smile, go check out this street art at Color Me Katie. Makes me grin every time.