Hmmm....

Hello August, I can't believe summer is almost over! We have been traveling quite a bit the last month and a half, visiting family in Lubbock, California, and a director's summit in Alabama but it's good to be home!  Time is literally flying by!

Grampy Sofu and Bowden gettin in the water

Let's see what's new, well we had a really bad food allergy scare in California. We are beginning to do more table foods (mostly to beef up this kid, doctor's orders) and up to this point I have been pretty cautious on new foods I give Bowden, he has done so good, fruits I'm allergic to, he loves so I was really hoping he was taking after his dad, who doesn't have  any food allergies. Unfortunately my side of the family has a history of food allergies.
I gave Bowden a lil piece of honey dew melon to try and he took one bite and instantly his face and hand began to swell, get red, and since we had never see anything so fast I rushed to get him some benadryl (so glad we had it on hand) and then he began to break out in hives, poor thing was scratching his face, neck, and hand like crazy! So we rushed him to the ER. Normally in a situation like that I would have lost it, and I almost did, thankfully my husband knows me well enough he was already on it on calming me down. Instead of freaking out, I did what anyone would do ....PRAY....PRAY HARD!!! Thank you God for answered prayers!!!
The Dr. said it was good we gave him benadryl, cuz they would have given it to him anyways and that anytime you try new foods you should have it on hand in case something like that happens. We just saw his pediatrician this last week and they can't do food allergy test until they are 18 months so in the meantime we are sticking to a bland diet, and no melons of any kind!
I think that pretty much started off the craziness of our summer along with that we have some transitions we are going through right now, so things are kind of hectic but we are excited for the future and where God is taking us. I have learned over the last few years that God doesn't just have a one goal, one plan dream for me but he has different seasons and to remove any pressures the world has placed on me to "finally arrive and achieve my purpose" but I do have a purpose, to love people wherever I am and in whatever I'm doing! I don't know where I will be in 5 or 10 years but I know I will still be serving the same God who has been with me my whole life and I'm perfectly okay with that!

Right now life is moving fast and I'm just trying to enjoy every day, I love the baby talk I hear in the back seat, I will gladly listen to that over the radio any day, I love that my son gives me kisses with his tongue sticking out, it might sound gross but I think it's funny, and I love that this month we will celebrating his 1st bday!!
Happy August!!!

A Very Special Mother's Day

This has been a very Special Mother's Day for me. I'll be honest, normally I kinda shy away from this day. But now being a mom it's definitely different for me, I always felt weird on this day ever since my mom passed away but now having Bowden I want to say Happy Mother's Day! Because of my mom I had an amazing example to follow and I hope to be the kind of mom she was. My memories are kind of vague of what I have of her but they do show up in times I need them. One of the memories I cherish most, and that has always stayed with me, was watching my mom get up every morning, read her Bible and pray, I'm so thankful for that memory.

So, today, on this Mother's Day:

 I am thankful for the blessing of motherhood, for all the moms, spiritual moms, friends, and mentors that have poured into my life in the times that I needed,

I reflect on the past and praise God for the mom I had and 

I look to the future and pray to be the best mom that I can be and give all the love God has shown me.

Happy Mother's Day!

Keep on Dating

 Amongst the busyness of life is usually a good time to have an evaluation on life and sometimes...well most times God is trying to get my attention to certain areas! Last week, was one of them, it was an incredibly busy week, we had just gotten back from a trip and so of course you have all the personal stuff to catch up on (cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, etc) and I can get caught up in all the "me stuff" I forget to remember what life is about. Good thing God doesn't let that happen to me! An amazing woman with a huge heart spoke words of encouragement to me and reminded me of a few things. I won't share all of them but one of them was to make sure my husband and I were doing good...and we are but we don't want to just "be good" we want to be great. Before we had Bowden, Lance and I went on weekly dates, usually on Mondays cuz that's our day off. Since we have had Bowden, we have gone on dates just not regularly and I didn't expect it would be the same. Lance is actually really good at making sure we have time together but I'm a person who doesn't like change and wishes things could stay the same...but they just can't and that's an awesome thing cuz "when you're through changing your through" I have had to realize that I can't have my weekly date just the way I want at least not right now but that doesn't mean we can't have different kinds of dates. And that's what we have been doing, dating!

So here are some of my favorite dates:

Surprise Breakfast dates- I like these cuz one, I'm a breakfast person and two, they are spontaneous and never on the same day.

Family Dates- this one is kind of obvious but our lil family of 3 go on  lil adventures

Dinner dates- these are the ones where we get dressed up and we leave Bowden with someone

Movie dates- we love movies and since we don't go to the theater that often we will rent one and watch it after Bowden goes to bed (yes these are planned cuz I usually get tired early)

30 min drive dates- These are fun and low key cuz we just hop in the car go get either coffee or ice cream and just drive, talk, and Bowden usually falls asleep on the ride (Sometimes I forget he's there)

This last week we did our first Planning Date- we went on a morning date to simply plan out where we want to go for our anniversary this year. I'm a planner and a daydreamer so this was right up my alley.

Our 1st planning date

I know after having a baby I just wanted things to get back to being normal....lol what kind of world was I living in, things are different now and I just have been learning to adapt but not compromise the valuable things in life, which is God, my family,  and relationships.  So I say to myself "keep on dating, keep on striving to be better, keep on loving, and keep on living this amazing, blessed, and gifted life!"

Taking Risks

Gosh it's been over a month since my last post! Seriously the time is flying by especially now having a baby! Can I just say that I absolutely love being a mom, I know I had Bowden over 5 months ago but I didn't feel like this the moment I gave birth it's been a gradual feeling that just keeps getting bigger and better!! I love this age that he is at, he laughs, smiles, talks, grabs toys, and today he petted our cat for the first time (oh, silly I know but it's those lil moments)

 So that's been life with Bowden, loving everyday!

Well over the Christmas break I decided to start back up doing something I love and that is crafting. I like making things out of nothing or re-modeling things I already have, and really just anything that is fun and crafty!

So we decided (my husband and I) to do a team project, which I love cuz quality time is my love language. I talked about these in my last post I believe, about having a mantle piece that has our home mission statement on it. Well we decided to make a couple more. He chopped the pallets and screwed them together and I painted them! Here are some of the ones we have done:

With doing these pallets I got some encouraging feedback and I decided to open up an etsy shop! I was really hesitant about doing this because for one: I know I go on etsy all the time to see new designs and try to make them myself, so I thought who would buy one and two I thought it would take a lot of work to open a shop. But I think for me it's more than that, I want to inspire and take more risks this year! So even if someone just sees it to make it for them self than I'm flattered and it only costs .20 per item listed for the month and a small percentage once it sales! I"m stepping out and trying something new and I feel good (that's huge for me!)
Well there you have it. Here's the link if you want to visit my lil shop alwaysperseveres

Christmas Traditions

Tradition: the handing down of belief, statements, legends, and information from generation to generation

Since Lance and I have been married we haven't really started any of our own Christmas traditions together, I had some growing up as well as him and we have done some of each others but I think it's time we decide what traditions we want to continue in our family and some new ones we want to begin to carry! So I decided to write all of our traditions that our families started and then some possible new ones and go from there!

Christmas last year in Cali!

Old Traditions

Tradition #1: We always got an ornament every year since I was born and the year Lance and I got married my parents boxed up my ornaments and gave them to me to decorate our first tree..(I think I like this one for Bowden.)

My newest ornament that Lance got me from his trip to El Salvador

Tradition #2: We decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving...(I think we will keep that one...you have to decorate the tree sometime might as well be then :)

Tradition #3 Lance always got Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve and then on Christmas Day everyone would wear them and take pictures...I think that's cute and since we have been married they still do it (I think there was only 1 year we didn't get jammies and it was a big deal!)

Tradition #4 Our family would go to breakfast on Christmas Eve morning and then to the Candlelight service that night.....(Candlelight service is a definite keeper)

Tradition #5 Growing up us kids would get one "big" present that was the ultimate present and our dad would hide it and put the the first clue in our stocking and it would lead to more clues and then eventually to our present. I'm pretty sure we did this til we were in high school, then we got too smart for my dad's clues. (Maybe when Bowden is older we can do this)

New Traditions 

Tradition # 6 Get the kids a new Christmas book each year and read it to them and then read the the real Christmas story on Christmas Eve or Christmas day (We will definitely read the Christmas story)

Tradition #7 3 Gifts- I read this in a blog that a family does 3 gifts only, to represent the 3 wise men and another family I heard does 3 gifts: a "Want, Need, and a Surprise" I like this maybe combining the 2 ideas. Then kids won't get to greedy and it keeps it simple. (I'm not sure we will do this one but it's a good idea.)

Tradition #8 This blog has some creative traditions to do like sprinkle magic reindeer food on the lawn so santa knows where to lead the reindeer (magic food is oats and glitter) that's a cute idea

Tradition #9 This site also has some great traditions like having a baking party and delivering the cookies to local fire station or hospital. 

Tradition #10 Baking a cake to celebrate Jesus' birthday (I love this one)

So many great traditions out there, it's hard to choose! I know that this time of the year gets really busy and sometimes it's easy to loose sight of the real reason we celebrate Christmas. Lance and I went to the ice display a couple weeks ago and it's all decked out in Christmas but our favorite part was the last scene and it was an ice sculpture of the nativity scene and it was beautiful and it made my heart happy to see it! 

Then last night Lance got us tickets to see the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular for our anniversary and the show was amazing but the best part was the end, they told/sang the Christmas story and at the end people were clapping and saying "Amen". I loved it! All that to say, is we love traditions and will probably do most of these and maybe add more but the one tradition that we will carry on is making sure we celebrate Jesus' birthday and not forgetting that this is what Christmas is all about!

I don't care what people say "Jesus really IS the REASON for the SEASON"

Schedule Training

It's been a month since my last post and for a good reason I have been working on putting Bowden on a schedule and folks it's been a success! At 3 months Bowden is sleeping thru the night at 10 1/2 hours and with 5 feedings during the day! Thanks to Baby Wise and my sister in-law I finally got Bowden on a good schedule that works for our family. So I wanted to blog mostly for future purposes, so that someday when we decide to have another child (yes I said when :) I can look back and see what we did, in case I forget..which these days I forget a lot lol.

First off I wish that for the first 4 weeks I wouldn't have stressed so much about a schedule because for one, all they do is sleep and there's not much you can do about that. But then again when your not getting much sleep you feel the need to try something! But at that time I put Baby wise into affect: eat, wake time, sleep. Sounds pretty easy except the wake time was a lil challenging. At 6 weeks Bowden started sleeping 6-7 hours at night so I knew then that he could go awhile without a feeding.

Next pick what time I want to start the schedule, I started at 8am, so regardless his last feeding I would wake him up at 8am feed him and get him ready for the day, trying to keep him awake for atleast an hour. So the schedule for that day was 3hr feedings 8am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm, 8pm, and last one between 10-11. Then he would usually wake up between 5-6am so I would feed put him right back down and then wake him up at 8am all over again the next day. Eventually he started sleeping through the 5-6am feeding so then that feeding was cut out. By 9 weeks he was sleeping 9 hours and 10 weeks 10hrs. So these last couple weeks I started cutting out the last feeding of the day. At 10 weeks I started moving up his 11pm feeding by 15 min and sometimes he was so tired he moved it up himself. This week, 13 weeks we were able to cut out the last feeding, I would feed him at 8pm and then a cluster feeding at 9 but as a few days ago we cut that feeding. So now his last feeding is anywhere between 8-9pm, 8 if he is really fussy. So far its going good, he goes about 10 1/2 hrs, so now he is waking up between 7-7:30am but he is now starting to go longer between feedings so I am usually back on track to feed him at 11am. Next goal is to move him to 4hour feedings, and the way its looking he will probably move himself. They say not to do 4hr feedings until they are sleeping thru the night, they don't act very hungry or you have to wake them up to feed and are at 5 feedings, so I'm not going to rush it. 

But yes this schedule worked for us and I would do it again!  Some things to remember, growth spurts, they last a couple days, but usually he would go right back to his schedule. 

Next, a sound machine, I noticed that during naps it was hard for him to fall asleep unless he was in his swing so we bought him this cute lil giraffe 

it plays 4 different sounds and has a timer, plus it latches onto anything so you can travel with it! It works so good, we love it! 

Lastly, it was a lil tiring at first because I would want to just sleep thru his feeding if he was still sleeping but I couldn't I had to be disciplined and then I would reward myself by taking a nap when he napped....which you definitely have to do otherwise it's hard to function!

Okay that's it, that was my homework assignment that I think deserves an A, thank you Baby wise and Lacey Ainsworth aka "the baby whisperer!"

This month Lance and I celebrate 4 years of being married! 

It's crazy how fast it's gone by! Since Lance was going to El Salvador for a missions trip on our actual anniversary we decided to have a family date the night before and I rather enjoyed it, life is definitely different now but I wouldn't change a thing. 

 We went to the Gaylord's Ice Display! Of course Bowden is too little to remember but it wasn't really for him lol I love Christmas and we tried to go last year but it was too warm on the day we went so they cancelled it.

 It was 5 degrees in there so they give you these jackets to wear, don't worry we had Bowden all bundled up.

Our favorite scene was the nativity scene

For my anniversary gift we are going to see the Rockettes Christmas Show and I'm sooo excited!!! Happy Anniversary Babe I love you more and more each day!!!!

Life Lessons from Bowden

It's been almost 7 weeks since I had Bowden and if you asked me 5 weeks ago how I felt, I would have told you that "I just want to feel like a normal person." I never thought that day would come, these last few weeks have gone by slow in the fact of my body healing but fast in the sense Bowden seems to be growing more and more! My husband laughed at me when I told him I just want to feel like a person because it's crazy how much your body goes through after delivering a baby. Today though I feel Good and am ready to get back into shape!

 I'm realizing how fast babies grow, bowden doesn't fit on my body the same when I hold him, :( so these days I am enjoying every minute I can to let him cuddle with me

Lessons I have learned from Bowden...

1. Be a quick diaper changer and be able to laugh at yourself when it happens...I can't tell you how many times he has peed on us and probably will continue to do so.

2. Don't be in a rush to feel like you have to know everything about babies, they will teach you something new everyday and eventually you catch on.

3. They are only little for a short time so don't be afraid to let them sleep on you!

4. Having a child makes you very protective and sometimes a worry wort that it takes you trusting in God up a notch

5. Lastly, my eyes and heart are more open now to the amazing love God has for us when I think about how He sacrificed His son, Jesus for us, I can't imagine giving up my son and I am so much more grateful for the gift God has given us.

John 3:16
  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

3 hour time frames

Im writing this in my spare crunch time, it's amazing to me how my schedule is not my own anymore but it's Bowden's. My days are now broken up into 3 hr time frames, if that. I have managed to take a nap in one of those times frames, clean the house, admire Bowden, run errands, grocery shop, eat a meal or two, and again look at my baby. You really begin to realize how time goes by fast and slow but mostly it's just priceless and to cherish every minute!  I know eventually things will change but for now I'm just trying to recover, relax, and live in the moment!

 A couple weeks ago my sister in law took some newborn pictures of Bowden and once again she is AMAZING and so good with babies!

Right now I have come to the conclusion that Bowden has my nose and eyes and everything else Lance but he is already changing so much it's incredible.

 

 

Wrapping up this post mostly because I hear someone waking up!

No one told me....

When Lance and I first started dating, he told me that he wanted 10 kids...I laughed and thought that was cute...4yrs later I ask Lance do you still want 10 kids....his response....(hesitant) I don't know lol...

Well it's been quite an experience these last 2 weeks! A roller coaster of emotions, physically draining, but lots of joy!!!

I knew it was going to be different and even challenging but no one told me it was going to be hard the first 2 weeks, and I know why....the joy that lil baby brings you....it can wipe all that away in seconds!!!

I don't want this post to be negative at all but I do want to share some things that I learned that will definitely help me for next time.

1. Increase my fiber intake right when I get home and stool softners are your friend...say no more

2. When everyone tells you to sleep when baby sleeps do it...it can really do some damage on your body from going to some sleep to no sleep!

3. Breastfeeding is hard painful...I wasn't prepared for that and  thanks to a friend I learned that medela lanolin cream works better for me than the lansinoh cream

4. Let people help if they want...Normally I feel bad when people want to help but let me just say having my mother in law here was such a blessing and having friends bring dinners was a huge help and blessing as well!!!

5.  You're gonna be emotional....No one told me that...the tiniest thing would make me cry lol.. like rejecting my cat because she can't sleep in my room anymore...

6. Your heart will completely be taken away... I didn't know it was gonna be like this and that I would feel the way I do but Bowden keeps stealing my heart

 People told me that having a baby would change my life and make me wish I would have had one sooner and that I would just absolutely love it but... those words are all underplayed...no one told me that I would want to look at my baby all the time and see the amazing creation of God at hand, no one said that my selfish ways would begin to decrease and the way I pray would completely change, that I would become so protective it almost makes me scared and I have to direct my mind to God right away to calm my thoughts, that when he looks at me he knows that I'm his mom and he knows I love him!! I have learned that this experience, this journey has had its ups and downs but with just one look at Bowden the downs begin to disappear and it makes me more excited for the future!

I just love this face!

I did it! I'm a College Graduate!!!

Wohoo!!!!! I'm so uncontrollably excited you have no idea..so let me tell you! 8 years ago I made a decision to not focus on school and focus on ministry, which has been amazing and is what I needed to do! Well 2 years ago I made a 5 year goals list and I put school back on this list, to finish and get my bachelors, not sure how or where I was going to accomplish this I just knew it was something I wanted to do. Well last year I was blessed with an amazing opportunity... I was given a free scholarship to finish school and get my degree! So who wouldn't jump on that train. I decided to add that to my New Years Goals List and finish school by the end of the year. So I began to work.... at a rather slow pace and then I found out I was pregnant....hmmm....so I decided to pick it up a lil faster. Then one weekend in January I went to a women's conference and a truly, amazing young girl, inspired me and challenged me with her testimony. I walked away that weekend with a new, New Years Goal.... to finish school before I have Bowden (who is due any day...August 27th is my due date) wow I must have been crazy but I wasn't...I was motivated and ready! I just told Bowden he can come early but only after I finish school!

Well friends, I'm here to tell you that I did it!!! I accomplished that goal, I am going to graduate with my bachelors degree in business administration!!!! So Bowden, you may grace us with your presence any day now!!!

I'm so thankful to my husband who has encouraged me along the way...especially the days I wanted to give up and the day I found out I still needed one more class! Also my sweet friend who shall remain nameless, you are truly an inspiration and I'm so grateful for your life's testimony that motivated me and challenged me!!(ok enough with the academy award speech)

Anything is Possible, and most days you have to be your own encourager, just don't give up and if you have a goal write it down. It's so neat because the 5 year goals list I made 2 years ago, half of those goals are coming to pass!!!

Oh ya I forgot to mention that my husband gave me a lil incentive, he said that if I finished school before Bowden comes he would buy me a watch!

Let's just say I have been celebrating all week!!!

Recap

Week 37

WEIGHT: 137

FOOD CRAVINGS: McDonalds cheeseburger and fries...a lot of sweets

SYMPTOMS: started having more braxton hicks contractions, some cramping, a random hiccup every morning I wake up...it's pretty funny

WHAT'S NEW: I am dilated to a 2 so my Dr. says Bowden should come a lil early...that would be nice!

Getting ready and getting Bigger

As we get ready for lil Bowden to come, more and more "stuff" continues to fill our plate...but in a good way! We have just bought our first house, which is a dream come true! It's really funny how God works because I always said I wanted a house before I had kids and that was just a personal desire of mine and we weren't really planning on getting a house but everything just fell into place and it all happened so quickly! We literally started looking the 2nd week of June and we just moved in 2 weeks ago so it just goes to show that God really hears our heart and wants to give us even the little desires of it! I'm so grateful for this blessing and can't wait for the memories to take place in our "New Home."

Some Pics I took, we still have some painting and decor to do, but for now it's home!

 Our home minus the PT Cruiser (that's our realtor's car lol)

 

These next few weeks I will be focusing on the nursery, hoping to get that all put together by the end of this month so that Bowden can grace us with his presence early :) They say at 35 weeks I should have my bags packed and ready to go, so thanks to my friend stacey I have a hospital check list that I got from here, "The Bump" is a sister site of "The Knot", so if you used the knot when you got married you can still you the same login info and it's neat it gives you checklists and different tips. So I will begin to gather all those things so I can be ready for the big day!

 I know this probably seems like a "duh moment" for what I am to say but these last few months have been a lot of preparing, planning, anxious thoughts, and I haven't always taken the time to reflect on God's creativity and workmanship and this is just one little trademark out of a million. I can't believe that Bowden will be here soon and these last 8 1/2 months I have got to witness a miracle of life being created in me and I'm sure I will be in even more amazement when he's here but for now I reflect and think about such things and know that I serve an amazing, all powerful God and He can do anything! So that's that.... just some things on my heart I wanted to share! In the meantime this lil guy is only getting bigger!!! 5 more weeks to go until then I will enjoy the ride!

 Addy having some bonding time with Bowden, he is definitely going to know her voice!

RECAP

35 Weeks

WEIGHT: 134 (I have gained 26lbs since my starting weight, geez that's crazy!)

FOOD CRAVINGS: Hmmm it's kind of been random... from chocolate chip pancakes to Mcdonalds french fries lol and one day this week I had a growth spurt as you can tell from the pic, I seriously could not get enough food into this belly!

SYMPTOMS: swollen feet or bigger feet, my toms shoes are a lil snug these days. Oh and I woke up with a really sharp cramp in my butt that shot pain in my back, I could hardly get out of bed and literally started crying...but it eventually went away thank you Jesus!

WHAT'S NEW: Sleep is not fun anymore, I can't sleep so Im more tired throughout the day, I literally have to pee every 2-3 hrs, (3hrs is the max) Bowden is stretching and punching my ribs which is uncomfortable. My legs are swollen or retaining water which makes me feel like I'm carrying even more weight!

The first movement and much more!!!

As my tummy begins to expand (along with my appetite) I have begun to wonder "When I will feel this lil thing." Well, friends it happened! I was laying in bed this week, ALONE because my husband was on a mission's trip and feeling a lil more lonely and emotional without him, I was needing a special touch. I guess you could say it was more than a Special touch. God sure does know how to lift me up and just the right moments. Well anyways, it's kind of hard to explain and honestly I didn't know if I really felt it until it happened again a couple days later. Lately I had been wondering what it would feel like, "Would it hurt?" "Would it make me jump or be sick"? LOL I know I'm weird but it was like soft and yet so loud to me at the same time. And no it didn't hurt or put me in shock, it was pretty cool! I'm not really sure how else to describe it but I felt the baby!!! Since then I have felt the baby every day and I love it!!!
Well it only gets better!!! Yes it does!!! On Monday my husband came home from Guatemala and we had to go straight to the baby apt. I went into this apt with a lot of expectation. You see, a couple weeks ago a friend of mine game me a girl's number who is practicing to be a sonogram technician and needed practice so she connected me with her. Well I set up an apt hoping to find out the gender of the baby, and the night before the apt she cancelled on me due to the weather :( I was so bummed. So this apt put me at 19 weeks and technically my dr. waits til 20 weeks but it was my lucky day!!! She was able to tell us!!!
Let me rewind a little, so last summer before we got pregnant I had a dream that I was pregnant and had a little boy (blonde hair, blue eyes...he was beautiful) Before that dream I had always wanted a girl but after that dream something changed and I have wanted a boy. These last 4 months I have had 2 more dreams about having a boy and of course my gut feelings were telling me, it's a boy. So my heart was at ease Monday to find out that yes we are having a BOY!!!

 

 We bought our lil guy his first Teddy and a very soft teddy jumper!

 We are so thrilled!!!! My dreams are literally coming true!!!!
Now all the fun planning begins as we get ready to tackle the nursery and decide on his name.

RECAP

WEEK 19

WEIGHT: 112 (told you my appetite grew)

SYMPTOMS: This past week my back has been hurting (not sure if this lil guy is sitting on a nerve or what)

FOOD CRAVINGS: Still liken those cheetos :) Also I have always had a sweet tooth but kinda laid low with it since I got pregnant but now it's back!!! UH OH (P.S chick fil-a re-did their brownies....amazing!!!!)