Happy Sunday...

Happy Sunday to you all! My family and I are currently in the airport. My husband is cuddling our daughter and sleeping on the floor. It's 5am and we are ready to be done traveling. We are starting our new adventure with the plans that God has laid out for us. I thought this verse was fitting for our life at this time. Always remember:

                                                                         Source: familybees.blogspot.com via Tory on Pinterest

I earned a badge...

Right now my hair is in a bun, I have dark circles under my eyes, my hands are chapped from washing them too much, I have a headache and an achey cough that hurts deep down within my chest, not to mention my back is aching due to this pregnancy. But I have something important to declare. I earned another badge on my Mother's Sash. I'm not saying this to gloat, be prideful, or to "toot my own horn". No, I'm saying this because it's something important for me to remember as a wife and mother. It's important for me to remember how I was able to deal with such a hard night. It's important for me to remember that I am capable and able to take care of my family even in the toughest situations.

Last night I put on my superwoman cape and took care of my family. As I said in the previous post, Bria has been sick for the last week (we have checked with the clinic and there is no sign of RSV, it's simply a bad cold that has been going around the entire village). Last night, Clint came down with something as well. Between making 2am bottles for babes and 3am Ibuprofen runs for my husband I sat there and was praying to God. Praying that he gives me strength. I no doubt was up every 30 minutes either taking care of my baby, or taking care of my love. The Lord provided. I was supercharged and ready to give them my full attention and my heart. Between running to get kleenex and extra blankets, I felt a sense of peace and identity. This is me. I am a wife. I am a mother. I am able to take care of my family in the wee hours of the night even when I, myself don't feel well.

I say this because with life changing rapidly and sometimes a little too quickly, it has been easy for me to forget the important role that I have for my family and have the need to want to be selfish. I have been wanting to get a mani-pedi and my hair done. But right now, that can wait. I feel as a wife and mother that my family is more important than my wants and needs at a time like this. Last night reminded me just how important it is for me to open my heart to my loves and take care of whatever their needs are before mine.

So, to all you Mama's who have gone before me, I applaud you for what you do for your family. To all you soon-to-be Mama's I am here to tell you that you are capable and also a superwoman. When times are tough, put on that superwoman cape, ask the Lord for strength and you will conquer those challenges you face.

{My Mother's Day Card from Bria!!}

Baby Blues

It's been a whole week. A whole week of our baby not feeling good :( ... She came down with a cold last Tuesday night and has been having trouble sleeping ever since. We took her to the clinic and there was no sign of ear infection or anything and were told to just wait it out with some Ibuprofen and tylenol. I stayed home with her on Wednesday and Thursday and again on Tuesday (today). I love just cuddling with her. The way she just wants to sit on my lap and put her hand on my face, almost as if I'm the one who needs comforting. 

I snapped the picture above last week and it was too precious not to share. 

Also, our baby is a binky baby: 

I will try and get a belly post up soon, but with a sick baby, cleaning and packing, not much time to make myself look "presentable" in front of the camera. Maybe I"ll do just a belly shot for ya! 

Photo Challenge: The Sun

There are lots of things that I am going to miss about White Mountain when we leave in a week. One of them is the vast tundra scenery-it's like no place on earth. I love every season in the tundra (obviously some more than others, especially when the winters here are so long!)

I am linking up one of my favorite photos that was taken just two weeks ago. We have been playing around with the fisheye lens on our DSLR and couldn't be more happy with the outcome:

I am entering this photo in the weekly photo challenge over at Our Reflections! This week's theme is The Sun.

Go visit Laura over at Our Reflections for other amazing sun shots! 

"I Am A Princess"

Me: Today we are going to have a princess party. Do you know the definition of a 

princess?

A Girl: A princess is the daughter of a king.

Me: Did you know that I am a princess?

Girls: (Looks of awe and amazement....) Really? Wow!

Me: Because Jesus is my savior, God has adopted me into his family. He is my father

 and he is the King, and that makes me a princess....

-Taken from my friend's FB page. She hosted the toenail party I helped with. 

Because we are all princesses in God's kingdom, we decided to do yet another toenail party for the girls here in White Mountain. This is such a fun and creative way to share the Gospel and to show these girls just how beautiful they are. And obviously, to tell them that if Jesus is our savior, we are princesses in God's kingdom!

We had tea and cookies to start the party:

{Photo courtesy of Mary Hansen}

We then washed the feet:





After, there was toenail painting:

Then on to decorating our flip flops with jewels....Because you know, princesses have jewels!

I think i'm going to have to adopt this tradition when we are in Ketchikan doing kids' ministry! What a fun way for girls to understand that they are princesses in the kingdom of Heaven! 

My Heart...

Happy Monday, friends!

I am once again entering a photo contest over at Our Reflection. This week's theme is My Heart...  This weekend while I was cleaning up, I noticed that Bria can climb on the couch all by herself. This time, she wanted to visit Sierra. It's funny how pets seem to act and get treated as your child until you have your own, then they are pets once again! I'm so happy that Sierra and Bria are growing up to be so close. I swear, they love each other more and more each day!

I suggest you head on over and check out the other My Heart images. There are some sweet, precious ones! 

Happy Sunday!

                                                                       Source: jeniferjernigan.com via Cheri on Pinterest

Today's {Love} Letters

Source

Dear Bria Eden,

Last night you did it again...You melted my heart Miss B. When I was trying to put you to sleep, you grabbed my hand and started stroking your face with my hand, I proceeded with your request until you fell asleep (I stroke your cheeks a lot to calm you down, or to put you to sleep faster :). Just when I thought you were sleeping, you grabbed my face with both your hands and planted a big kiss-a-roo on my lips with a big *smack*and smiled. Then you closed your eyes and were sleeping soundly. I don't think  Mama's realize how much we need our babies, perhaps it's even more than babies need their Mama's. Thank you Bria, thank you for filling my heart with love and joy. Love that I could not get anywhere else.  You amaze me in your ability to make anyone smile and laugh. You truly are one of a kind, baby. I pray that you will let the whole world know you are your own :)

Love,
Your Mama.

***********

Dear Bailey Ann,

I don't know what it is with my babies, but both you and your sister seem to know exactly what I need, when I need it! I had a not-so-fun dream the other night, and to reassure me, you moved around all day in my tummy as if to say, "mommy, I'm here and I'm not going anywhere!" Thank you sweet child, for giving Mama what I need, when I need it. Already you are a sweetie with a good heart. I can't wait to meet you. You, Bailey are so blessed. You have a Mommy that will love you, a Daddy that will treat you like the princess you are, a big sister that will teach you the ins and outs of babyhood, toddlerhood and more! You have a puppy that will love to lick your face, especially when you have food on it! Keep growing baby girl, grow strong and healthy. We are waiting for you with our arms wide open!

Love,
Your Mama.

In the Nick of Time...

One of the neat things about living in rural Alaska is that people like to send care packages of things that we normally don't get here, or we get, but they are too darn expensive to buy.

My sister so graciously sent a package. I know it's really close to us leaving, but thankfully it arrived today and Clint was oh so happy to have more chocolate in the house. I sure didn't complain either.

Jamie, my sister also sent something very useful at a time like this. We have been a little stressed out with the move, cleaning our classrooms, having scholarship notices come in, signing up for Masters courses, and potential interviews with a couple jobs down in Ketchikan...

{It is a good cure!}

I also couldn't get a picture fast enough of all the goodies she sent! Clint quickly ripped open every container and started eating out of each bag.

Jamie, you are a life-saver in the chocolate craving department! Thank you :)

Well, we did start off the weekend on the right foot! How could you not with all these goodies :) 

Kuspuk In The Making...

Do you remember my new project that I have been working on?

Well, fortunately last night I was able to work on it again. It's so nice to have a girl's night every once in a while full of crafting and making things. It was refreshing and I'm so excited to share these pictures with you! This is serving as my evidence that I am creating this by myself. Some of you maybe surprised that I am actually sewing, but I am so thankful to have the chance to learn from a wonderful seamstress. I have learned so much already....I think it might be time to put a sewing machine on my ever growing wish list :)

Here are some pictures taken by Mary, my friend.

{You can so totally tell I'm 7 months preggo in this picture!} 

{Working on my mad sewing skills!}

{The picture is a little blurry, but you see the pocket in the front? I did all that last night!}

A Kuspuk is a traditional Inupiaq/Yupik overshirt type garment worn by both men and women, although men tend to only wear them during ceremonial type situations, where women wear them as everyday wear. Basically, a kuspuk is a long sleeved hooded slip over shirt with a large pocket in front of it. The cuffs, pocket and hood are sometimes trimmed with rick-rack or similar decorative fabric. 

I can't wait to wear mine. Although, I won't be able to finish it until after baby is born and i'm back to my regular size. Right now I can hardly put the front and back together because of the baby bump! hehe. 

So excited to show you the results of this project, soon! 

Wordless{ish} Wednesday

Yesterday we sent the last of our boxes down to Ketchikan. We have nothing left to send, our house is packed up and we are in the process of major cleaning, getting rid of more stuff, and making sure we have enough room for the rest of our clothes and Bria's cloth diapers in our checked baggage. We have been also cleaning up our classrooms as we don't want to have to do everything the last week of school. 

I don't know what I am feeling about there only being 2 1/2 weeks left of school and only 2 1/2 weeks left of living in White Mountain. I'm excited for summer and meeting our new baby and being surrounded by family and friends, but then I get sad leaving a place that is familiar (I know Ketchikan is familiar, but it has been 4 years since we have lived there) and a place where we have grown to love the people and surroundings. 

So for now instead of saying goodbye, because goodbyes are always hard, I will say...Bring on summer and warm weather. Also, see you soon. 

Happy May Day

Wouldn't you know it... It was in the negative temperatures today! Not cool weather, not cool at all.

Anyway, I wanted to post this to make my day more sunny and warm: