Shop Small Saturday

It's Shop Small Saturday! After all of the craziness of Thanksgiving and Black Friday the small business world gets the spot light. I have been a small business owner for about six years. Before Madsy Bella Boutique, I made natural sugar scrubs, goats milk soap and organic lotion. I sold on Facebook and at our local farmers market. I didn't push it hard and I didn't pursue it for too long. When my youngest daughter turned two is when I created Madsy Bella Boutique. It was complete spur of the moment-I put ZERO thought into it. I made her tutu, took pictures and started selling them on Facebook. My shop has changed so much throughout the years and I've learned a ton. Now Etsy is my primary source of sales, though I still do some through Facebook and friends. March 2019 will be five years for the company and I'm thinking it's time to take the business in a different direction again. I added two Christmas bunting banners today and I'm thinking about focusing more on banners and possibly doing away with the onesies and tutus. I'd like to expand to more than just first birthdays as well. It's all spinning around in my head right now, so keep your eyes open for more details. Change is good. I thrive off of it. Now-for some new items in the newly winterized shop.

Winter ONEderland Onesie & Tutu Set

I love the mix of silver ribbon and gray and pink fabric. The onesie has the most adorable shimmery silver snowflake ONE. It's perfect for winter-just add some thick tights, they'll look great!

Next is the Buffalo Plaid Highchair Banner

Buffalo plaid is SO popular, for good reason! You can use this banner for a Wild One themed party as well and hang the banner in your little one's room afterwards!

Christmas Bunting Banner

I added this cute bunting banner to my Christmas mantle for photos. I LOVE how it matches the stockings and trees. This banner is fun and whimsical with the Christmas mustache print and classic with the buffalo plaid and solid red. It's such an awesome banner for Christmas!

Speaking of Christmas bunting banners, here is another option. This would be so pretty on a mantle, shelf, or your little girl's room! I feel like you can also drape it on a Christmas tree. MERRY is printed in glitter silver vinyl on each flag. There are lots of these available, order now!

Last is the Disney family tees. These are available in onesies to adult sizes. You can choose a Rudolph Mickey or Minnie. They are SO cute for your Disney Christmas visits! They're personalized with your name, so they're a great option for photos at the park as well. Don't miss out! 

Again, thank you so much for your support-whether you've purchased an item, told a friend or shared a social media post. It all matters and I couldn't have done it without you. I'm offering 15% off of my entire shop through Monday. Enjoy!

Happy Christmas season!
Leslie

Annabella's 4th Birthday!

Our spunky Annabella turned four on April 9th. She requested/begged to have her birthday party at the same place she chose last year: Night Owl. The girl loves froyo and owls, so how could we say no?

Here are some photos from her princess themed 4th birthday party!

We bought her a Frozen Fever Anna dress just for her party!

Waving money around, like she knows what it is!

The last two are pictures from her actual birthday, taken at her mini party at home. 

Happiest of birthdays to you, big girl!

Noah's 2nd Birthday

I began this blog as a way to journal about our beautiful family, but life has gotten in the way and I haven't posted any real family updates in a LONG time! I'm going to be updating the kids birthdays from 2016, beginning with Noah's. 

On February 1, our Noah turned TWO! He had a pirate themed birthday party and LOVED every second of it! Here are some photos from our big boy's special day. <3

He was so excited about the pirate themed cake that he got all to himself!

My parents gave him a pretend rifle that he absolutely refused to put down for his cake photos. And then he pointed it at everyone who would pay attention to him.

And here is the final picture from his actual birthday with one of the gifts Jonathan and I gave him.

Happy birthday, Noah!

The Girl's Christmas Parties 2016

Today Jonathan, Noah and I got to go to the girl's schools and join them for their Christmas parties. It's the first year both girls are in public school together, so it was a pretty hectic morning/afternoon! 

Annabella's class, along with the other pre-K class and kindergarten classes had their annual sing-a-long. Annabella is usually so shy and reserved, but she ROCKED her songs!! She did all of the singing and dancing and thoroughly enjoyed herself. She also enthusiastically waved at us each time she made eye contact and it was the sweetest thing! 

After her sing-a-long, we had lunch with her in her classroom for her class party. Noah is so cute when he goes into Anna's class because the teacher is incredibly inclusive and always lets Noah join in in everything they do. He got his own chair at her table, ate with her and got to make his own reindeer food!

Once we were done with Annabella, we took a short break and got to join Madelynn's class for her party. Today was a special pajama day and they got to eat pizza, have a book exchange, and they sang 3 adorable songs for all of the parents. She wasn't feeling 100%, but she still enjoyed herself and was ecstatic about checking out and going home early!

I am so excited to start winter break with my babies and squeeze in all of the traditions (old and new) that we can before Christmas gets here on Sunday! 

Our Growing Babies

It's been quite a while since I've given an update on the kids-or updated the blog at all. I'm busy with daily life and often forget to record our memories. It's something I'm hoping to improve going forward because these little ones are growing faster than I ever imagined and I don't want to forget a second.

     Madelynn: 5 years, 10 months

Madelynn is a month and a half away from finishing kindergarten and turning SIX. Her birthday is on the last day of school this year and she's been planning her party for months. She is thriving at school. She's doing far better than I could have ever wanted. She has tons of friends, is doing first grade work, reading like a champ and truly loves learning and playing with her new friends. She started soccer this month which has opened her up to more new friends and gives her something she can do that's just for her. She's playing at Blue Springs, where I played as a child, and I absolutely love the nostalgia. I never thought I'd be watching my little girl play on the same fields that I learned how to play soccer on. 

Madelynn is a natural leader and teacher. She comes home and teaches her sister things that she learned throughout the day and she loves teaching Noah how to do new things. Her relationship with Annabella and Noah is so sweet and unique. There is plenty of fighting and arguing, of course, but most of it is because Madelynn is trying to take control and they don't like it! She's kind, smart, funny, goofy, adventurous, fearless, helpful and loves Jesus. She accepted Jesus into her heart in October and was baptized in November. She goes to school and tells her friends all about Him and it makes my heart explode with pride. 

     Annabella: 3 years, 11.5 months

Annabella will be the big FOUR in 10 days. It blows my mind that my little girl is getting so big. She's finishing up her last month and half of preschool and is LOVING every second of it. She only goes twice a week, but she would be perfectly happy going full time. She's friends with her entire class and comes home talking about all of the fun things she did that day. She's recently learned how to write her name and she's doing really well writing all of her letters. At the end of class, her teacher lets them get a lolly pop and each day, she gets her little brother one. She has such a giving heart. 

Annabella is funny and has the silliest facial expressions of any of my kids. She's also intensely emotional and we're learning how to teach her to control her outbursts, but it's part of her personality and I love it. She's inquisitive about everything-always wanting to learn more and more, always asking question after question. We asked her if she wanted to go to pre-k at her current school or if she wanted to go to Madelynn's school and she immediately chose Madelynn's. So next year we'll have two littles at the same school. We're also putting her in gymnastics soon and I can't wait to see her individuality come out trying something new. She still LOVES little toys and creates stories with them all of the time. She's very creative, imaginative and loving. She still loves to curl up and snuggle with us and lately she's been asking for "a hug and a kiss" out of the blue. I love how affectionate she is. Three days a week, she's home with Noah while Madelynn's in school and their relationship has grown so much. They play together so well and love each other so much. She's not quite as selfless with him as she used to be and now that he's older they're fighting a lot more, haha. 

She loves to help me around the house and is finally starting to clean up after herself! She's also drawn to animals and animals seem to be drawn to her. We call her the animal whisperer. While Skillet will run from Madelynn or Noah, she lets Annabella pet and kiss her without flinching. The other cats and Dexter are the same way. She's very gentle and has a sweet, sweet spirit. We can all sense that. She talks about Jesus and asks questions about him all of the time. She's still in my Sunday school class at church and she's soaking in every last detail of our lesson each week.

     Noah: 2 years, 3 months

This little boys is still a wild card! He is fast, loud, wild, silly, cuddly and such a joy. He loves pow-pows (pretend guns), pirate swords, all things pirate and dinosaur, and BATMAN! He calls Batman, Bat-guy and it's so cute. He plays with action figures, has a Batman baseball cap and several other trinkets that he carries around regularly. He has a great appetite, but he can be pretty picky at dinner. He loves going to church and gets along with other children seamlessly. He's a lot like Madelynn socially-he jumps right into the chaos. He LOVES his sisters and has recently started calling Madleynn "Maa" and still calls Annabella "Sissy". He watches Madelynn play soccer, so he runs up to every ball and yells "kick!" He talks SO much! He pretends to work on his cars with screwdrivers, he LOVES having his hair done and will get the pomade for me to style it, he loves to help and he loves to play outside. 

Noah's rough, tough and fearless. Next year he'll be going to preschool twice a week to help get some of his energy out. :) He's a mama's boy, but man does he adore his daddy. He's very independent and has just started asking to go potty, so we're working on that right now. He is also sleeping in a toddler bed at night and rarely wakes up and comes downstairs. He's growing so much, so quickly, but it's so fun to watch!

I feel like this year has been the year with the most noticeable growth. The girls matured so much once they started school and Noah is gaining so much independence. Raising them is so much fun and it's such an honor to be able to watch them flourish. I'm so blessed to be their mommy. 











  

Life Lately

When you have three kids, there are lots of surprises. LOTS. They're good and bad. I find myself constantly learning and lately, I'm learning that life without being pregnant or having a small baby is so easy. I was pregnant and/or had a small baby from 2009-2014 and while those moments are precious, I'm so glad that the kids are getting a little older. I've also learned that siblings are the BEST, which I already knew but everyday it gets better and better. Their bond gets stronger and the little ones are growing and maturing, able to do things they couldn't just a few months ago. Here's an update on each of the kids this summer. 

Madelynn
Age: 5 years, 2 months

Words cannot describe how quickly Madelynn is growing. To me, raising her is the toughest because every stage that she's in is a stage that I've never experienced as a parent. She keeps me on my toes, but it's such a magnificent experience. Madelynn has a HUGE imagination and is constantly displaying that with her stories, plays, concerts, and how she plays with her siblings. She has never met a stranger, so she makes friends instantly with whoever she sees. She's fearless, stubborn, loving, cuddly, smart, wild and super fun. Kindergarten starts in less than a month and she is thrilled. She has also asked to start playing soccer, so we're looking into getting her registered for fall. She has a passion for Jesus and is always asking so many questions about him and she learns so much at church. On Saturdays, we go to the Farmers Market together and she's my salesman for Madsy Bella Boutique. She has a gift, seriously. I hate that she's getting older, because that means that she's getting a year closer to being grown up, but I love that she's getting older. Our conversations are deeper, she's learning so much, we're seeing her personality develop and a little lady take over. It's a privilege to raise her. It really is. 

Annabella 
Age: 3 years, 3 months

Annabella is one of a kind. She's easily the loudest person we've ever met! We constantly laugh at how loud she gets when she's excited. She is slightly timid, but she'll try just about anything after a little convincing. Once she's tried it, she decides immediately whether she likes or dislikes it and if she dislikes it, she's done for life! But that's good, because she's decisive and knows what she likes. Her relationship with Madelynn has always been special, but her relationship with Noah is growing. As he gets older, he's able to play with her and they are spending more time together as Madelynn goes off and does big girl things. We're seeing huge changes with Annabella as she gets older. She's becoming more confident in social situations and is completely comfortable playing with other kids, even when her sister isn't there. Which is great because she'll be starting preschool part time in the fall. Her imagination is huge also and we love listening to her stories and imaginative play. She loves tiny little toys and we always laugh at her love for her plastic jungle animals. So far, she hates sports! She's the sweetest, cuddliest little one of all. She loves nothing more than one on one snuggles and will curl up like a baby right in our arms. She'll fight tooth and nail over a toy with her sister, but if she has something her brother wants, she'll give it right to him with no argument. She's a caretaker, a lover, cuddly and amazingly sweet. Raising her is an honor. 

Noah

Age: 17 months

Noah. Where do I start with this one? He is so curious, wild, stubborn, funny, smart, sweet, independent, and challenging. Raising a boy is so different than raising girls. Now that he's able to do so many things on his own, he is adamant about doing almost everything on his own. He's determined to be a big boy. He climbs, jumps, grabs, and helps. Something sweet that he does is take the girls juice to them. When he sees their cups sitting down, he grabs them and takes them to his sisters and it's so sweet. He plays, runs, chases and squeals right along with them. He has no idea he's as young as he is. He rarely wants to be held or cuddled anymore unless it's night time. Jonathan and I put him to bed in his crib every night and we hold him for a few minutes and sing to him before putting him down. He hugs and squeezes us while we sing to him in the dark. It is by far my most favorite part of the day. I think that Jonathan and I secretly try to be the one who gets to hold him before bed because of how precious that moment is right before bed. He will break out in a dance in no time and he loves doing anything that makes us laugh or smile. As challenging as raising him can be, it's so incredibly amazing. 

As my kids are getting older, I'm seeing that I'm starting to gain some of my independence back. They're happy playing in their playroom in the basement or upstairs in their rooms without me. They dress up, have tea parties, build, draw, run, squeal and have a blast together. I'm somewhat dreading how the dynamic will change once the girls go to school. Life will be very different and I don't like when my schedule changes, but life does that. Life is full of moments-periods that you think will never end-but they do end. And before you know it, your babies aren't tiny babies anymore. I know that sounds crazy because Noah literally is still a baby, but because he has older sisters, he's more mature and independent than other kids his age. When the girls were 17 months old, I was 4 months pregnant with their newest sibling. Not this time. I think we've decided that we're done having children and we're comfortable watching our precious babies grow and flourish, just the three of them. God has truly blessed me and I could not be more grateful.

The Kids Art Space REVEAL!

I've already mentioned that the kitchen was #1 on our list to renovate when we bought our house, but the runner up was the basement. The previous owner had partially completed some of the drywall, but there was still a TON to finish. He had even taped dirty carpet to the floor! His decorating style definitely did NOT match mine! 

It was essential that we finish the basement quickly because we wanted to create a fun family space in the basement that we can all enjoy. Our new house is slightly smaller than our old house, so we needed the extra square feet. So far the room is finished, painted and floored. I'm slowly decorating it and dividing it into three zones: an art zone for the kids, a family room space with a TV and the kids toys, and a space for Jonathan's guitars, amps, etc. The family space is in progress, but the art zone is COMPLETE! This is what the basement looked like when we moved in:

And this is what this sad, dark, partially finished corner looks like now!

There are no windows in the basement, so it's necessary to decorate with light colors. The walls turned out darker than I wanted them to be, but the room is huge and I didn't realize it until I was finished, so I wasn't about to repaint. I'm sure I will later. The ceiling is also painted a pretty light blue, which is the same blue as in our kitchen. Jonathan installed the floors himself and we are in LOVE. We bought them from Lowes and they were insanely easy to install. Even though they're not real wood, it's next to impossible to tell.

For the kids' space, I used items that we already had. I bought NOTHING new. It is a HUGE boost of confidence for kids to see their art and their photos displayed. Their framed art work is from their old playroom. As they create new masterpieces, we'll swap them out with the old. The kids LOVE seeing their art decorate the room. 

I also displayed some photos of the kids next to the bright art on the other wall. There's a photo from each of their birthdays this year and a silly Madsy and Anna superhero photo. The cabinet was a find off the side of the road! It was sturdy and the drawers looked great, so after spray painting it (and a good scrub down!) it was the perfect addition to this corner. The drawers are wide and deep, so they easily house all of the coloring books, construction paper, paint, Playdoh, etc. 

We bought the easel and hanging storage from Ikea. Their coloring pencils, crayons and chalk are stored in the buckets.

(Disregard the change of art over the storage cabinet. I changed my mind after hanging these photos, they just weren't taking up enough of the wall)

We bought this Alex art table from Learning Express 4 years ago. It had obnoxious bright circles painted all over the tops of the table and stools, so earlier this year I repainted the surfaces with chalkboard paint. They love drawing on the table and it's even something Noah can do without worrying about the mess. 

I can't wait to finish the rest of the basement and show y'all very soon! For fun, here's a before and after! 

Have a great weekend!!!

10 Tips if you're planning to become a ONE income family

Since 2012 our family has been a one income family. The day that I found out I was pregnant with Annabella, Jonathan and I decided I would not go back to work after she was born, unless it was absolutely necessary. I was determined to be a stay at home mom to my girls. Working mothers have the absolute hardest jobs of all. They have to juggle their jobs, homes, children and husbands all at the same time. Jobs are not flexible for mothers and the guilt is overwhelming. So working moms, I salute you and I feel for you. And if you choose to work, I applaud you and you have my total support. Staying home has it's benefits, but it definitely has it's challenges. The number one challenge being the lack of money. Losing my income was a huge hit for us and we had some serious adjusting to do afterwards. I've learned a lot in the past three years and now we're a family of FIVE living on one income. If you're interested in becoming a stay at home mom or if you're struggling, read the tips that I've put together below. This is how we have survived the last 3 years.

Tip #1- Save up BEFORE you take the plunge
In our situation, we had a built-in timeline. After the baby was born I would go on maternity leave and towards the end of maternity leave, I would resign. We wanted to wait until after the baby was born and we had adjusted to living on one income for a couple of months before we made it 100% final with my job. My boss knew that I was up in the air about returning, so it wasn't a complete shock when I resigned. We had about 7 months before I was leaving work to save money. That meant cutting back on spending significantly, which ended up helping us learn to live without spending immediately. It's amazing how little money you actually NEED to live. If you're trying to make the decision to stay home, set a goal with your husband. Plan to pay off some debt to reduce your monthly spending before you resign your job, or take your income (minus gas money and lunch) and put it in savings, living like you aren't even making the money. Make sure you have a nest egg before you quit-a couple of months worth of money at least. 
Challenge: Write down everything you spend for a month. Or print it off of your online bank statement if you exclusively use a debit or credit card. Color code your spending by food, gas, personal, etc. Add up the money you spent that you could have avoided spending. Notice where you spent the most money and put a plan in action to spend less in that area also. 

Tip#2- Grocery shop SMART & meal plan
Most grocery stores offer store cards that give you extra savings. Kroger offers a gas point for every dollar you spend and on the weekends you get double the points. Once you get 100 points, you receive $.10 off of gas, so you're saving on gas and groceries. Publix offers weekly BOGO offers on a large variety of items. Sunday nights I check their BOGO offers and go to strictly shop their sale items the next day. Take the time once a week to go through your local grocery store sales items online. Make a grocery list by store and go crazy on BOGO, especially if it's items that you use regularly. Stock up! It'll save you when you're having a tight week. A lot of grocery stores offer digital coupons, too. 
You also definitely need to meal plan. I have written out a list of all of the meals that I cook. Then I put those papers in page protectors and go through with a wet erase marker and decide what meals I'm going to cook for the week. Buy everything at the store in one trip and that will reduce your trips to the store, reduce your gas used and reduce eating out. If you already have meals planned, there's less chance for eating out because you're unprepared for dinner.

Tip #3- Evaluate your utilities and insurance
Going from two incomes to one is the time to see where you can decrease your spending-in all areas. Maybe you can cancel that expensive cable bill because you can survive off of Hulu and Netflix (less than $20/month verses $100/month). It's also a good time to rate shop insurance. You can bundle car and home insurance for a discount, and there may be other discounts that you're missing out on through your insurance companies. Do your research, don't pay for something if you don't have to.

Tip #4- Be mindful of wasting utilities
By this, all I mean is don't waste power and water. Turn off lights, unplug TV's, go easy on the AC and use ceiling fans, open the windows in the fall, take baths instead of showers, etc. The biggest way we save on our power bill in the summer is by barely using the AC. We live in Georgia, so it can get pretty hot. But the kids and I are home all day, so we use the ceiling fans, dress lightly and play in the water outside. I don't ever turn the AC lower than 77. EVER. Our power bill certainly reflects that sacrifice.

Tip #5- Have fun for FREE
I have three kids and they love to go out and do stuff. Since they're 5 and under, they're not too picky on what it is they're doing. Your local library probably has story time in the mornings, as well as other fun events during the summer. You can also get free family passes to various attractions throughout your state, including your local zoo at Pines libraries. In the summer and fall our town has a farmers market and we take the kids every Saturday. Free concerts are also a lot of fun in the warmer months and in the winter, your town may do a lot of fun, free events like ours does. You can always take them to parks, book stores, fast food playgrounds, find a mommy group, etc. Look online and find restaurants that offer kids eat free evenings-lots of restaurants have a day a week that they do that.
Something that I've recently started doing is becoming a secret shopper. Lots of businesses look for secret shoppers that they pay to visit restaurants and other attractions for a clear understanding on how their employees are doing. I'm a secret shopper for Stone Mountain Park and they pay for all of our attractions, parking and food-for up to 6 people!

Tip #6- Hustle! 
Chances are, you have a talent that you can share with the world. Start a blog or an Etsy shop, sell at farmers markets and craft fairs. I started Madsy Bella Boutique on a whim and I have been in business for over a year now. I have an Etsy shop, Facebook page, I sell at our Farmers Market in the summer and fall and I participate in events throughout the year with other local artisans. 
If you aren't artsy or crafty, you probably have a ton of crap in your house that you could stand to get rid of-especially of the baby variety! Our town has a flea market Facebook page where locals sell their gently used, unwanted items. Then we meet in a public place to complete the transaction. Craigslist is another idea-but much riskier, so be careful!
I've also taken online surveys through Opinion Outpost. You receive points for every survey you take and after a certain amount of points, you can cash them in for a variety of things. I usually go with $10 in an Amazon gift card and use that money for Amazon Pantry items or things for my business.
Regardless of how you earn extra money, it always feels good to make your "own" money. Save it for Christmas or put it toward bills when you have a rough month.

Tip #7- Join a church or participate more if you're already a member 
If you get stir crazy and need to get out of the house more, joining a church is a great way to get out of the house and spend time with like minded people. Churches have so many needs and are always asking for volunteers. Our church offers fun things for the kids to do throughout the summer also. If you are already a member, participate more! 

Tip #8- BUDGET! 
This is kind of a given, but you must budget. Budget money for going out too, you and your family need time out. Eating at a favorite restaurant or seeing a movie is a fun treat. I use the previous month's income to pay the current month's bills, so we always have money in our checking account, in case of emergencies. We no longer use any credit cards, but we do have one for emergencies as well as a savings account. Budget down to the smallest thing and save the rest of your money. You'll need it. I promise.

Tip #9- Support your husband 
Support him when he has to work late, encourage him and always have his back when he's working. He doesn't want to be at work longer than he has to any more than you want him to. But he's doing it for you and if he gets overtime, that's a bonus! We made a big sacrifice after Madelynn was born and Jonathan made the decision to go back to school. He took online classes and he's currently working on his master's degree. It's expensive. It's time consuming and it's stressful for him and for me. BUT, it's all for the greater good of our family and his career. School is temporary, but it has lasting benefits. If school isn't your husband's thing, encourage him to climb the ladder at his current job or to take the plunge and get a new job! Don't let him settle. Don't let him work in misery. Jonathan left his job of TEN years on a leap of faith. We were terrified. There's truly no "job security", but being at the same job you've worked at for ten years feels much more secure than leaving it for a place you've never heard of when you have two children and a pregnant wife. Especially when your health insurance won't kick in until after her due date. My point is, there is never a good time to get a new job, but if your husband isn't using his full potential or making the money he could, encourage him to step out on faith and try something new. Talk about it together, pray together and find a solution you're both comfortable with. But most of all, love him and let him know how much you appreciate him. Seriously.

Tip #10- Have faith and tithe 10%
Quitting your job, losing a ton of money and becoming a stay at home mom is a HUGE leap of faith. Only God can bring you from living a life with two incomes and barely enough money to a life with one income and enough money for your family. It doesn't make sense, but He did it for us and He'll do it for you. The Bible tells us to give our first fruits to the church, 1/10 of your earnings. (Proverbs 3:9-10) Put tithe into your budget so you're already taking it out of your earnings before you accidentally spend it. I PROMISE if you tithe your money, God will absolutely bless you. The Bible promises it. The Bible does NOT lie. TAKE A LEAP OF FAITH, FRIEND.

I hope this blesses you with the courage to follow your heart and change your life. Do you have anything to add? Is there anything that you do that is saving you a TON of money as a SAHM? Do you have any questions about any of my tips? Let me know in the comments!! 

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Currently

I would be lying if I said that life has been easy lately. Moving our family of five into a new home, celebrating two birthdays, updating our new home and experiencing day to day life has been challenging for the past couple of months. Without my amazing husband and our incredibly helpful and loving parents, I would be a complete wreck. Thankfully I am beyond blessed with an amazing support system and my kids are pretty much the best kids on the planet. ;) 

Here is a Currently post to update everyone on our busy lives.

Working on...a million things at once. The basement is under construction right now. We found an awesome guy who is finishing the walls, ceilings, steps and installing doors. Once he's done, Jonathan and I are installing new flooring and then we'll furnish it for our family room/super awesome kids space. I'm also painting Noah's room, as well as the girls' room and arranging furniture and organizing toys in both of the rooms. We still need to install the range fan in our kitchen as well as paint the trim and finishing decorating the walls. The office is still mostly packed up and there are several boxes full of frames and other home decor in our master. It's slow going, but I'm working on the house daily. I can't wait to start photographing each room and posting our progress on the blog.

I'm also working on my Etsy shop a ton. I'm going to be participating in the local farmers market this summer, so I'll need to make a lot of inventory and get my booth planned out. My shop is doing great, I reopened halfway through May and am blown away at the orders. I have given God my business and am doing my best to be obedient to Him and allow Him to grow my business where He sees fit. My main goal right now is to make enough money to send Annabella to preschool at our church. I have absolute faith that God will make that happen.

Reading...Jonathan bought me a new Bible (for the busy mom) for Mother's Day. It has so many quick devotionals throughout and I'm really enjoying it. I'm also doing a couple of devotionals through an app on my phone. Before the move I was reading Beautiful in God's Eyes and I hope to get back to reading it very soon. 

Preparing For...Madelynn to go to school! She's all signed up for kindergarten, so now all we can do is wait for Open House in August. She's thrilled and talks about it all of the time. I am a nervous wreck and am praying that I handle it better when it's time for her to go. I'll also be sending Annabella to preschool for two days a week. It'll be good for her to be around other children without her sister and I'm so excited to see both of my girls flourish and make new friends. Noah and I aren't going to know what to do with ourselves!

Thankful For...Every single second I get to be a wife and mommy. It took a while for me to embrace this role after being an independent working woman for so long. When I had Annabella and became a stay at home mom, I was over the moon excited, but not quite sure what to do with myself or who I was. It's been three years and I am 100% confident in my abilities to love and care for my family. I am beyond grateful to God for blessing me with this life and I know without a doubt that I am exactly where I am supposed to be. Raising these babies and teaching them about their Savior, managing our home, earning money and expressing my creativity through my shop and supporting and encouraging my amazing husband throughout his endeavors. Thank you God that I finally know who I am. I am Yours.

Reminiscing About...Our long weekend at the lake last weekend. We took the kids Friday after Jonathan got off of work and spent Memorial Day weekend with his family. We had Friday and Saturday morning to ourselves and then the rest of the family arrived after lunch on Saturday. The kids had so much fun and it was so nice to be able to relax and not even think about my never ending to do list. We even got to take naps in the afternoon! It was so much fun and much needed. 

Here are some super precious photos from our weekend at the lake to wrap up the post!