A Family Stitched Together With Love Seldom Unravels

This afternoon I was sitting in the nursery as James finished painting. The room is dusted in pink and smells fresh like baby powder from the open candle on the bookshelf. The chandelier is hung and gives the room the perfect touch of ambience needed for our little girl's big debut. As I sit here, I am flipping through parenting magazines that have a wide array of vendor advertisements from florists, to cake decoraters to photographers of course, just waiting for their phone to ring so that they can be the one to capture that "perfect moment" that you as a parent will cherish forever. As I think to myself, "wow, so many options and so overpriced!", something caught my eye that made me think. In the middle of the page was a small ad for a family photographer. It had a sample photo of a loving couple and their three children, all smiling perfectly. The family was beautiful but it was the phrase below that really captured my attention. "A Family Stitched Together With Love Seldom Unravels". Hmmm..now here's a thought to ponder. I began to think about the similarities of a family and a quilt and how this simple advertisement had much more meaning behind it then most may realize. Picture a quilt, maybe even one that you have at home or that has been in the family for years. The quilt is unique and there is no other like it. It is probably loved by many. Each piece of the quilt is essential to completing the whole. Each piece is tightly bonded to the next with boundaries on all sides. It took time and an investment to make this quilt.  Someone stitched each piece together with patience and love, paying special attention to detail. Someone has cared for it over the years and preserved it. The quilt is designed to provide protection, warmth and comfort to all who use it. It best fulfills it's purpose when used and not just on display. It may get tossed around a bit throughout the years, it may get dirty or even a little worn but it somehow makes it stronger. No matter how old it gets, it is still the one thing that you think of when you think of "home". To touch it and smell it brings a sense of peace and security. To see it represents a lifetime of memories made. Sounds like a precious and valuable piece of fabric doesn't it? As James and I embark on our next journey as a couple, raising not two but soon three of God's precious children, I want for our family to resemble the quilt. We will work together side by side to build a heritage that will hopefully be passed down from generation to generation. One created with love and patience and the investment of time. One that will be loved by many and one that will hopefully bring joy and comfort to many as well. One that can take a beaten and get dirty but no matter the circumstance, will forever remain strong and never unravel. This is my prayer for our family and for yours. Life goes by so fast and we so often forget the importance of raising our families. We get side tracked by our to do list for the day which I am learning may not necessarily be God's to do list for our day. There will always be a load of laundry to do, a rug to vacuum or a table to dust but the window of opportunity to stitch together our quilt will soon be gone. Children grow up so fast and we only have one chance to raise our family. As we stitch together our quilt, let us do it with love, with patience, intentionality and with God guiding our shaking hand.

Heart Stolen Today By Two Young Men

The heart of a mother was stolen today by two young men. The first, a dashing young fellow, age 6, treated her to a gourmet meal in the Rossville Elementary School cafeteria. They gazed in each other's eyes with love and appreciation over a dimly lit room (teacher turned the lights off for talking:P) while enjoying heart shaped cold chicken nuggets, green beans, frozen succulent strawberries, a glitter dusted sugar cookie and milk a la strawberry. The second gentleman to wisp her off her feet was a soft spoken little man, age 4, who sang to her a new and improved version of Mr. Golden Sun while enjoying an afternoon of games complete with ISpy, Guess Who and Connect Four. They shared a bowl of raspberry frozen yogurt over a piece of Valentine's Day Cake provided by the fabulous chefs at Target Bakery. It was an amazing afternoon for the young woman as she tried to appreciate every moment, knowing that next year will be much different and that these young men will grow up quickly and soon ask another to be their Valentine for the day. What an honor it was to share this special day with them. A day I will never but they may soon ..forget. Loads of love to the two youngest men in my life...Jalen and Jameson. Mommy loves you now and forever. Happy Valentine's Day.

Now We're Cookin

Do you ever look at the clock at 5:00 and think, ugh, its time once again to fix yet another meal? Well, that happened to me last week so I decided that I wasn't going to do it this time. Nope, it was someone else's turn to do dinner duty. Needless to say, Chef Jameson and Chef Jalen did an outstanding job filling in for me as they prepared a handtossed meatlovers pizza with a fabulous little minty number for dessert, also known as "Mud Pie" which is featured in this week's recipe section to the right. Here are the chefs at work along with their finished masterpieces. I think I'll take the night off more often.

Back in the game

Oh friends, yes I do realize that it has been since October since I last posted. I figure by now, you have all but given up on me, but wait! I'm back! Yes it's true that I did have a season where I just simply could not muster up the energy and motivation to post. Who knows why really? It could have been that the holidays hit, or that my munchkins were sick, I was feeling a little blah due to the pregnancy..I can give you excuses if you really want them but why don't we just let the past be the past and pick up where we left off? As I sit here this morning, I feel a bit like an oompa loompa straight out of wonka land with my short legs and oversized belly just waiting on my next piece of chocolate or the perfect time to explode, which ever comes first. Only 11 weeks left until our little girl gets here and I am beyond ready for the big moment to arrive. Really quickly to bring you all up to speed, we are now 29 weeks pregnant and expecting a little girl on or around April 26th. After much debate, we have decided on naming her Jacey Noel. We are currently enrolled in Bradley classes and plan on delivering at Clarian North in Carmel. Moving on...I decided to update the blog to make it a bit more fun and friendly. I will continue to post adorable pictures of the kiddos and stories to go along side but I wanted to do something more. In the left hand column, I've added a few new additions! Frugal and Free will be an area that I post upcoming deals and community freebies on. This is my new addiction. What can I get a really good deal on this week or better yet for free! I'll share each week's discoveries with you in Frugal and Free. As most of you know, I truly love to cook and have a deep respect for a new recipe that is warranted "a keeper" from my fellow Gilbert critics. Each week I'll post one or two new recipes that have been tested and approved. Beyond the above, I'll also add craft ideas for the kiddos, any good books that has my attention or links that I think a wife and/or mother cannot live without. Wow! I suddenly feel better and although I'm sure you all have your doubts about my upcoming plan to be more diligent, I feel like I've redeemed myself for being a slacking blogger for the past 3 months and that our online relationship can sky rocket to a whole new level! Having that said, I hope you'll give me one more chance to prove myself as your fellow blogger. Enjoy reading and catching up with the Gilberts via The Sweet and Salty Life - The New and Improved Edition:)