Ovarian Cancer Awareness

My blog (and I) are wearing teal in honor of a beautiful and amazing person who was taken from us too soon.  My friend Nicole was one of the sweetest people you will ever meet.  I often described her as "the most beautiful woman I've ever met in person, both inside and out."  Her story and some beautiful photos are here.  She was diagnosed two years ago today and passed away last week.  Her life, her light, and her testimony of her faith in Christ will live on in every single person who ever met her.  We will miss you Nicole - and I (as well as many others) will take carrying your legacy very seriously.  I will live my life with love, laughter, and singing, just like you did.  I look forward to seeing you again one day, my friend.  I love you.

Here are some links to more about Nicole and her story.

Legacy Photo Session
Blessings
Bald is Beautiful Blog Post

50 Things That Make Me Smile/Laugh

Things that make me smile

1. A job well done
2. A great song on the radio
3. A delicious meal
4. My husband
5. My son
6. My mom
7. My dad
8. My niece, Hannah
9. My nephew, Noah
10. My nephew, Kohl
11. My sister
12. Knitting
13. Completing a project
14. Learning something new
15. Singing with people
16. Singing alone
17. Feeling like I look great in what I'm wearing
18. Looking a photos of Nathan
19. Looking at our wedding photos
20. Chocolate
21. Cake
22. Watching a good show on TV
23. Writing
24. Snuggling on the couch with the hubby
25. Playing with the dogs
26. Watching Kaylee and Simon play with each other
27. Watching Nathan play with his toys
28. Watching Jon play with Nathan
29. Getting an answer right on Jeopardy
30. My online birth club, The Pumpkin Patch
31. Watching Jon do something he loves to do (painting, gardening, gaming, etc)
32. Reading a great book
33. Memories of my childhood
34. Being outside on a pretty day
35. Being inside on a rainy day
36. Watching a movie with Jon
37. Cuddling with the dogs
38. Cuddling with Nathan
39. Cuddling with Jon
40. A hot shower
41. Knowing I'm loved
42. Friends
43. Keeping up with people on Facebook
44. Baby kicks
45. Fall TV previews
46. Whenever Jon tells a joke
47. Watching Nathan grow up
48. Being part of something important
49. Gilmore Girls
50. Showing love to others

Dear Nathan (23 Months Old)

Dear Nathan,

You are obsessed with trains.  Seriously obsessed.  I've never seen a kid love something so completely.  It's a single-minded obsession.  You love the show Dinosaur Train - not because of the dinosaurs, but because of the train.  You walk around the house saying choo-choo.  It is the most bizarre and interesting thing.

To feed your obsession and make sure you would have a really good time one Saturday, we took you to the train museum.  You didn't want to leave.  They have a small train outside, which you had to hug.  They also have a couple of real, full-sized train cars.  You loved those the best.

There's a room with model trains that you can just watch go around and around an entire little town with all the details.  Old-fashioned cars, little people going to church and sitting in restaurants, a circus, a drive-in movie theatre... just everything you can think of.  You watched the trains go around and around for probably an hour without really looking up.  I think you had a nice time.

You have continued to expand your vocabulary, sometimes saying words we wish you wouldn't have heard!  But mostly, you are just saying all kinds of useful and interesting things.  You love to laugh, and will take any opportunity to do so.  Even if you have no idea why other people are laughing, you will join in.  And it's the biggest, happiest laugh in the room.

Daddy is busy building you a bed for your birthday.  A Big Boy Bed.  I can't wait until you see it.  You're going to love it.

I love you, sweetie.

All my love,

Mommy

Dear Nathan (22 months old)

Dear Nathan,

I'm going to steal some Facebook posts to share some special memories of this month with you.  

Nathan made me cry a little bit this morning. As I was leaving him with my mom so I could go to work, he waved and said " I love you." For the very first time. 

Of course, it sounded more like "I rub Jew," so maybe he was saying something completely different. 

And then this one:

Last night Jon asked Nathan if he wanted to hear his baby brother or sister's heart beating. He climbed up on the bed beside Jon and watched him as he got the doppler ready and put it down on my belly. When he could hear the heart beating, we told him it was his baby brother or sister, then he snatched the speaker out of Jon's hand and held it up to his ear like a cell phone and said "hi." I asked him if he wanted to say hi to his brother or sister and he grinned and said "hi boter." So I guess he thinks we're having a boy. It was seriously the cutest thing ever.

We found out the sex of your younger sibling this month.  It's another boy!  You'll have a baby brother soon.  I'm looking forward to seeing the two of you wrestle and play with each other.  You will be sharing a room for awhile, so hopefully you will get along well.  I want you to know that this baby will in no way take your place.  Nor will he take any of my love from you.  You will always be our sweet, funny, awesome Nathan.  The new baby will be someone else and we will love him too, but that will in no way take away from you.  I promise.

Love you, baby.

All my love,

Mommy

Influenster #VowVoxBox!

So I got another box from Influenster - a box filled with products for me to test and talk about.  What a neat program!  I seriously love it.  This one was for brides, wedding party members, and wedding guests.  I had indicated that I was going to be a guest/participant in a friend's wedding on my survey, so that's what qualified me, I suppose!  But really, these products are for everyone.

The box contained, Olay Regenerist Luminous, an EcoTools Pure Complexion facial sponge, a Tide To Go Stain remover, a Sally Hanson nail polish in a beautiful light blue, and Pure Silk shaving cream.  Great stuff!  I've tested each one and can say without a doubt that they are all fantastic.  The facial sponge gets my face so clean!  The Olay lotion has already started to make a difference in my skin - my face looks... brighter, I guess is the right word?  I've always loved Pure Silk shaving cream, so no problem there.  :)  The nail polish is so pretty and goes on very smoothly.  And my favorite thing in the box - the Tide to Go pen is something I try to keep with me all the time.  As someone who tends to drop food and get ink stains and other things on my clothes, the Tide To Go has saved my wardrobe many times!  

So thanks, Influenster and thanks to all these great brands to giving me the chance to test these products and talk about them!

It's A...

We let Nathan announce the sex of the new baby to our family.  He cared more about the balloons than he did about the baby brother.  ;)

Dear Nathan (21 months old)

Dear Nathan,

We've been busy!  You got to go fishing with your daddy and your grandpa!  And you got to play in your dragon pool.  And you had a great doctor's appointment, but that included a shot, so it wasn't so great, I guess.  :)

You are still our smiling, laughing, sweet boy.  I see no evidence of "terrible twos" appearing yet, thankfully.  I think we are going to be okay on that front.

The funniest part of this month was that you discovered you have a taste for dog food.  Yeah, kibble AND milk bones.  We are hoping this is a phase you grow out of.  It's really high-quality dog food, if that helps!  ;)

I have a few pictures from this month, so I'm going to go lighter on the text and heavier on the pictures this time.  Love you!

Hiding in the cabinets.

Playing in your pool.

Fishing with Nana, Grandpa, and Daddy.