In the blink of an eye.

{see jaxon's 1-12 month pics here}

We had a great weekend… family visited, Cohen's birthday party as well as his dedication at church, Fall Festival, and lots of love and laughter.  Tons of pictures coming your way this week.

This morning the little guy had his tubes surgery... it was so quick, before I had time to even dwell on what was going on he was already in recovery.  I had a tremendous amount of peace this morning and I know it was because of all of the people praying for us... thank you!  He was SUPER fussy in recovery and after surgery but is now napping peacefully in his crib.  I am praying he's back to my happy little guy soon.

Hope your weekend was amazing as well!  Have a fun Halloween.

Picture dump.

Wilson's visit was fun while it lasted, but quite catastrophic when it ended.  I somehow was able to calm him down after telling him maybe he'd come visit again soon.... Christmas time, perhaps. 

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Cohen never seemed to get better last week even after starting his new antibiotic and my Mama intuition just kept telling me something wasn't right.  Saturday night when his fever hit 106.7, we rushed him to Childrens Mercy.  They ran a series of tests and xrays... all of that only to be told that they didn't know what it was, "probably" a bacterial or viral infection.  (Sound familiar?)  His fever finally broke last night (after 4 days of it being 102-106) and despite not having a temperature anymore, he is still not himself.  Praying for wisdom in this situation and I'd love it if you'd join us in that.

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Before our chaotic Saturday night at the hospital happened, I was able to sneak in a sweet family session with a beautiful family from church.  While I was headed there, I was gripped with fear... but it all turned out great.  Getting 3 kids/2 adults to look at the camera was not an easy task, but it was done quickly and the kids were all awarded with gum at the end of the session... hey, whatever works!

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I am swamped this week cleaning and prepping for Cohen's birthday on Saturday... can't wait to celebrate with our family and friends!

invite design by thatangiegirl

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I'm sure you've heard buzz around the blogworld about Erin Condren life planners.  I've been wanting one since last year when I first heard about them, but the price tag always turned me away.  Plum District is currently running a special that you can get a $50 voucher to ErinCondren.com for only $25, so if you're wanting a life planner or anything else off her website, now's your time to snag the deal!  Also, use the code "fabulous" to get an extra 10% off.  Here's a link to Plum District if you don't already have an account:  https://www.plumdistrict.com/?ref=u4531cfd4cda

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As most of you probably know, we don't "celebrate" Halloween around here, but the boys do dress up for fall festival at our church each year.  Because I waited so long to get them, they were both 60% off so I was able to get both of them for less than $20.  I hesitated buying costumes at all this year but with their $8 and $12 price tags, I couldn't resist.  Of course you know me, pictures will come soon.

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I love getting phone calls from my newly-married Sister throughout the day.  Love hearing about her setting up their new house, love the questions she asks, love the chats we have.  

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Cohen's surgery for tubes is scheduled for Monday morning (yep...Halloween) at 7:30.  I keep hearing about how minor of a surgery it is, but for any Mama, you know nothing is minor when it comes to their baby.  However, I can't wait to see my baby happy again.

All that to say... Happy Tuesday.  

I will praise Your name, LORD, because it is good.

Psalm 54:6

Yesterday.

do you see a recurring theme in those pictures?
it was a rough day for cohen.
ear infections are the worst... thank you Jesus there's a solution in sight.

here's to praying today is better!
a new day, full of grace and new opportunities.
happy friday and happy weekend!

I'm here.

Just in case you wondered where I've been...

My sister's wedding was this past weekend... it was gorgeous, elegant, beautiful, perfect. Pictures coming soon.

To help with wedding preparations and to simply give 100% to my Sister last week, my boys went to Nana & Papa's house for 3 nights.  There's no denying saying goodbye to them was tough, but I am so grateful for their help... we were SO busy all week that I hardly had time to dwell on how much I seriously missed them.  I know they both had a great time and were in great hands.

Cohen has his 8th ear infection in 6 months, which means it's time for tubes to be put in.  Surgery will be scheduled next week after our consultation with the ENT doctor.  I've already had tons of people tell me how quick/painless it is, but the thought of my baby going under freaks.me.out.

After being so busy the past few months with wedding events, I am looking forward to a weekend full of complete devoted family time.  Hoping to hit up a pumpkin patch and just relax.  A date sounds enjoyable as well, but that may be pushing it.

I can't believe my sweet baby Cohen will be a year old next weekend.  Birthday party preparations are in full swing.  That's just life isn't it... one big thing after another.

Ever heard of the train show "Chuggington"?  Jaxon was selected in a contest to have Wilson (one of the train characters) come visit him as Wilson travels the country.  We have to take Wilson to Jaxon's favorite places and upload the pictures to the Chuggington facebook page.  I have a feeling it's going to be a pretty traumatic thing for my 2.5 year old to understand that we have to send Wilson to the next family after 5 days.  Yikes.

That's just a quick glimpse of what's happening... I'll try and be back soon after I get myself out of this ginormous pile of laundry and catching-up that's waiting to be done.

my boys at 11 mo

jaxon on left, cohen on right

Grateful praise.

For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies;
For the love which from our birth,
Over and around us lies;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the beauty of each hour
of the day and of the night,
hill and vale, and tree and flower,
sun and moon, and stars of light;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of ear and eye,
for the heart and mind's delight,
for the mystic harmony,
linking sense to sound and sight;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise. 

For the joy of human love,
brother, sister, parent, child,
friends on earth and friends above,
for all gentle thoughts and mild;
Lord of all, to thee we raise
this our hymn of grateful praise.

For Thyself, best Gift Divine,
To the world so freely given,
For that great, great love of Thine,
Peace on earth and joy in heaven.
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

Time.

I've been thinking a lot this past week about how I spend my time.

How other people need my time.

How our world tries to demands how I spend my time.

How I choose to spend it... what I'm doing... what is it benefiting... who is it for.

Some of this is good, some of it is not so good.

I am trying to be intentional about my time and learning to manage it well.

Shutting my phone off, leaving it inside when we're outside.  Not turning on the computer unless my boys are asleep, and setting a timer when I do.  It's easy to waste an hour, or two, doing absolutely nothing, when there's so many other things I need to be focusing on.

Spending time in the Word more frequently, without distractions.  Keeping up with the messes the boys make throughout the day, instead of letting it all pile up.  Staying on top of laundry, dishes, meals.  Being a better friend and live life with people.  Being a better wife.  To love without expectations.

So many times in an effort to be productive, I multi-task.  Then I find myself struggling with not giving 100% to something, but giving 50% to everything.  Is there a happy medium somewhere in that struggle?

I want to learn to soak in the beauty of silence.  To throw away the hustle & bustle of this life, and find complete rest in Him.