how to use your bachelor of fine arts as a stay at home mom

will is potty trained but he still has trouble sometimes stopping play to go poo poo. i decided to make this chart so that if he goes 5 days in a row with no accidents, then he gets a caboose to add to his thomas the train take n play set. he really likes looking at his chart.

i knew i got that B.F.A. for something!

perfect peace

stay close by my side
keep your eyes on me
though this life is hard
i will give you perfect peace

in this time of trial
pain that no one sees
trust me when i say
i will give you perfect peace

and you'll never walk alone
and you'll never be in need
though i may not calm the storms around you
you can hide in me
burdens that you bear
offer no relief
let me bear your load
cause i will give you perfect peace
stay close by my side
and you'll never walk alone
keep your eyes on me
and you will never be in need
though this life is hard
know that i will always give you perfect peace
i will give you perfect peace

perfect peace
song by Laura Story

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:6-8

²⁸ Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. matthew 11:28-29

babies don't keep

"The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep."

Ruth Hulbert Hamilton

i read this today and cried. having a second one has made me realize how they are babies only for a little while. what a gift they are. what a miracle they are. how sweet and short this time is.

Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him.
Psalm 127:3 New Living Translation

victoria bryant camping

water was cold. will got in and played, but it took a little persuading. a toy bucket helped.

Rice Creek

phoebe's first camping trip. 12 weeks old. she did great. she is such a trooper.

victoria bryant state park campground

i enjoy camping. grew up camping every summer. this was a good trip despite a very cold first night - 45 degrees - and the fact that our air mattress deflated every 4 hours. but, it really showed me how much my babies can handle. they did better in the cold than i did, and they slept through the air mattress blower.

it was a great opportunity for family to get together, to get away, and to enjoy outdoors. and it always makes me appreciate my home more - makes me see how easy i have it.

more Easter pics

it's been a long day.

i love my hands.

my first easter

the best picture we got.

Easter 2011

open them, shut them

open them shut them
open them shut them
open them shut them
give a little clap

open them shut them
open them shut them
open them shut them
put them in your lap

creep them creep them creep them
right up to your chin
open up your little mouth
AHHH
but do not let them in!

future blackmail

my Help and my Strength on this journey

My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
psalm 121:2

Our help is in the name of the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
psalm 124:8

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.^[d]
They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.
psalm 84:5-6

will isms at 2 1/2

i can't know
a little bit
you only did a good job
i only want to watch my train video (the boy is obsessed with his alphabet train video)
no, my not
no, you're not
my not need to take a nap today
my not need to wash my hair
it's oat ay Heebe
i love you the most too

he loves his ABCs. he will sing the whole song. still can't pronounce C, G, P, and T. he used to sing the last line, "now my ABCs i love, next time won't you sing with me?"

PC is one month

today phoebe had her one month check up. first month has flown by. never thought i'd say that. barely survived first month with will.

phoebe is doing great! tall girl.

weight - 9 lbs. 46%
height - 21 3/4 " 70%
head - 14 1/4" 58%

at one month, will's weight was 10 lbs. 15 oz. and his height was 22 ". big boy.

mommy thoughts

thankful for all the support i had while lee was gone to portugal last week. makes me realize how much easier it would be if it were like the olden days when families lived next door to each other or with each other. makes so much sense when you have little ones. so hard - almost impossible to do it alone.
praise God for his help.
phoebe is 4 weeks old today!
daffodils are blooming - started blooming at the end of february - seems early to me but love it. can't wait for daylight savings time next weekend - we can have evening walks again. looking forward to getting the rest of this baby weight off. i'm nursing and i feel like i have to eat all the time. need to get smart about my snacks. made some trail mix today. it's hard, cuz most of the time i get really hungry at about 3 or 4 in the morning whenever i get up to feed phoebe. have to eat something or i can't get back to sleep. but i have to be careful about what i eat - has to be something that won't keep me up. larabars are so yummy, but keep me up after i eat them. think they are intended to give energy so that would make sense. any good ideas for middle of the night snacks for a nursing mom?
phoebe gets up 2 or 3 times between 11:00pm and 8:00am.

sugar and spice

me and my children. now multi-tasking is a must although i'm still not very good at it.

not even one day old. with daddy in the hospital.

i made this!

this is a diapee and wipee pouch i made for phoebe a few days before she was born. can you believe it? i made this! they are 14.99 in the store. it took me less than an hour to make and was prob less than 2 bucks in materials. got the fabric at joanns. still need to put velcro on.

Getting Ready for Phoebe

phoebe's room is finally ready. i think i have everything i need. i feel like i've been nesting for 8 months. we had to rearrange a few rooms, clean out some closets. plus, i know what's coming this time and i wanted to be really organized.

it's a good thing she is a girl, because i had lots of girly things.

phoebe has the nicest room in the house. i think it's the largest bedroom and it has crown molding.

this was me on friday night. 3 days shy of 38 weeks.

me, phoebe, and wild man

the other morning will and i were eating our oatmeal. i was finished and will asked me if i wanted more. i said, no, i'm full. he said, you have a baby in your belly. i said, yes. he said, i'm gonna take that baby out. i laughed and said, no, God is gonna take the baby out.

will is 2 1/2

we made chocolate reindeer cookies for the first time. some of will's reindeer had two noses and three eyes. now whenever i eat a peanut butter m&m, will asks me if i'm eating a nose.

he had a blast. it was very messy. it was worth it for the memory and the second round was very yummy. i hope we can do this again next year.

a picture of will in november - he is too big for that shirt now.

will is a little jackson pollock. i don't allow him to sit up on his desk anymore, but i wish i could. love action painting. inspiring.

this is my will! he is a lot of fun.


will is now 2 and a half! i don't know how much he weighs or his height because our appointment was cancelled due to the big snowstorm that hit atlanta this week. we got about 4 or 5 inches.

in the past three months will has become VERY active, bouncing and running and talking/singing nonstop it seems. for awhile he was taking about 2 naps a week. a few weeks ago i realized he still needed that nap (and i desperately needed it too!) so i began to try whatever i could to make him take a nap. this has worked for the most part and now he takes about 5 naps a week. he has also cut his last 4 molars since my last update. no more teething - yay! will's interest in the potty has diminished - now he has started not even telling me when his diaper is dirty. he simply does not care. so gross. maybe he'll realize it's gross soon.

he can spell his name - W I L L - that spells will cox!
he says mommy A LOT!
he still loves puzzles, books, playgrounds and music.
he likes to watch elmo and curious george (george monkey) in the morning.
he likes to tell his babydoll (my old cabbage patch doll) and stuffed animals to take a nap - he lays them down and tucks them in.
we have to watch what we say now because he will repeat it!
he loves repetition.

songs he knows and sings often: angels watching over me, go tell it on the mountain, kum ba ya, jingle bells, silent night, God is so good, o how i love Jesus

books he loves to read over and over and over and over: the little red caboose, the train to timbuctoo, mother goose, freight train, and many more. he enjoys goodnight moon and ten, nine, eight. he's getting into anything ABC lately too. he knows B is for baby, D is for daddy, M is for mommy, N is for nana, and W is for will.

he can be disagreeable, but responds to discipline. he is getting better at controlling emotion and cutting off the tears. he still struggles with "mine". but he is learning to ask to take turns.

will had his 30 month check up recently and is healthy as a horse. he is 30 lbs. and 36 inches tall.

and he will be a big brother very soon! praying for as smooth an adjustment as possible for him. and for me.

right now, we are ready for this snow to melt - it has been 5 days. at least today the temp got above 31 and hit 40 degrees.

Heart of Worship music service

this is the close of will's "singing" at church last sunday night. it was his first time doing anything like this. as you can see he sat down in the middle of it. but, i thought he did wonderful!!! and i know God was pleased.

God is Love

Wellspring Upscale Resale

okay, i love shopping for little girl clothes!!!! here are some clothes i picked up for phoebe at the local Wellspring consignment store. it is in duluth next to the publix at old peachtree and buford hwy. i think i paid $5 total. they were super cute, in great condition and the money goes to benefit a girls home and a women's recovery home here in georgia for victims of sexual abuse, forced prostitution, and human trafficking.

here is more info on Wellspring.

PLEASE NOTE - THEY MOVED LOCATIONS TO ACROSS THE STREET (BUFORD HWY) AND NO LONGER SELL BABY CLOTHING. SAD! BUT STILL A GREAT STORE! JANUARY 2011

baby's growing up

i was looking through a lot of old pics last night. this one was taken exactly a year ago. made me cry! he was such a little baby then. i'm finally realizing they do grow up fast.