Crafty Gifts for Babies

So before I became a Mommie, I had NO idea what to buy people. I wanted to buy them something that is useful but I had NO idea what they might need or want. So for any of you reading this and I bought you a baby gift pre-having a baby, I'm so sorry! I had no idea what I was doing!

Now that I have my precious Brylee Jayne, I know what I love so I thought I'd share. The timing of how old the baby is always difficult to figure out. If they're born in November and I get them summer clothes in 3-6 months, what good am I doing?

So something I love making for all my friends that are having babies are these little personalized onesies. I actually stole this idea from a friend of mine, that made some for Brylee!! So I can't take credit for it, but they are GREAT, inexpensive, but personalized little gifts. Here's a couple different ones I've done. Let me know if you'd like me to make you a couple...I've got all different types of materials/ cut outs for the front!

Some Mommies and I were talking the other day, about how cute monthly pictures would be in a onesie with the # month on the front of it. I need to get on this new project! I didn't do it for Brylee, I was too overwhelmed, but if there is another one, this will have to be a MUST!!

Also, if you have a sweet little girl, or know of a sweet little girl being born, I've got TONS of flower/ bows for the top of her head. As you have probably already seen. Most every flower/bow she wears, I've made...so let me know if you're needing some cute little accessories. My philosophy, The Bigger the Bow, the better;)

my baby girl as a teeny weeny baby:)  (with a hair flower I made). 

Another thing that we LOVE, are the hardback/ cardboard books. While I can't make these, Brylee and I will sit for HOURS, just reading (really I'm reading and she's playing at this age). But of course, as an educator this is a BIG thing for us!!


Crafting away, Meredith

Courageous....

Well...where do I begin??? On Thursday night Brian and I went on our 3rd date since Brylee has come into our little world. Dates are always exciting but especially the 3rd date in 8.5 months. So we had some friends that had extra tickets to preview the new movie Courageous. This film is one of the films done by Sherwood Baptist Church. Fireproof, Facing the Giants, etc. When I first heard christian movie, I was like "oh sign, me up..." (VERY sarcastically). But Fireproof was a life changing movie and so I heard Courageous was coming out and couldn't wait to see it!

So, Brian was supposed to be home a little before 5, help me load up the car, drop Brylee off and then off we would go to dinner. Well in an ideal world, where he would be able to leave work on time and not drive anywhere near 24/ 40 and 440, he just might have made it. But no, he did not. So I will spare all the details, but by the time I loaded up Brylee and ALL of her stuff, (bed, dinner, bumbo, blankets, toys, ipod and speakers, etc). I was sweating and 15 minutes late. Brian and I just met off the interstate he hopped in my car and off we go. So our date, that was supposed to be this GREAT, relaxing dinner and movie, ended up being a rushed, grumpy, irritated Husband and Wife.We flew through Chick fil a, scarfed our dinner and raced over to the movie theater. And Man oh Man were we in for a life changing movie.

I will not give away the entire movie, because I can't stand people that do...but here are a few key nuggets that we got out of it!


Parenting is SERIOUS stuff. It's so easy to get caught up in the rush of life, that we forget to realize and understand what our main objective is as parents: To raise our Baby Girl to love Jesus with her whole heart and live her life to serve Him. What we do and how we parent, should strive to meet that goal.


There is no guarantee on life; Ours or hers. I think of Tim MCGraws overplayed song, "Live Like You Were Dying". But its so true, take advantage of every opportunity. No matter how stupid you look or feel, your sweet children should know that we love them and will do anything for/with them. Be embarrassed; put away your pride to do something SO silly; it will mean the world to them.

Be Accountable. Every Daddy and Mommy should have people that they can live life with. People that will be real with them and help keep them accountable. Parenting is tough stuff and it is so easy to just go with the flow!!


Lord help us to be the Mommie and Daddy that YOU want us to be and that Brylee needs us to be. Help us to stay focused on raising her in YOUR ways. Lord may she come to know you as her personal Savior. Because there is no greater wish that we have for her. May we SHOW her how to live OUR lives for You. Help us to enjoy EVERY minute that you have given her to us for. May she grow up to be a sweet, godly girl whose confidence is found in being a child of Yours. Lord put people in our paths to help keep us accountable BECAUSE this is what we are called to do as Godly parents. Thank you for giving us sweet Brylee Jayne. We treasure and do not take lightly the special gift that you have sent us!


Courageously Parenting,
Meredith

So here is your chance, to be a part of this AWESOME, LIFE CHANGING movie!!
                                                     Courageous

Letting her crawl...and climb.

This weekend we went to a Children's Consignment sale and picked up some great deals. Brylee is moving from the sitting, to the mobile stage. We realize that while she doesn't need every kind of toy, she still needs something to occupy her time. So we went to check out the sale! We went on 1/2 price day and SCORED! We got a little stand up learning table, a little piano, a toy that sings and counts (VERY against her Daddy's wishes:) and a little alphabet/number block. We got it all for 12 bucks!! They have another one coming in Franklin in a couple of weeks...I'll post when I find out it is.

 So this morning as I was cleaning and getting some baby food going on the stove, I decided it would be a great time to let her get her new toys out. (after I scrubbed them all down with bleach yesterday:) I am in the kitchen, and she is in the living room playing away. All the sudden, I realize it got very quiet, very quickly and I go into check on her and she is climbing UP  the entertainment center. She has the remote in one hand and her feet on the bottom shelf, clinging to dear life with the other hand. I couldn't help but LAUGH hysterically . I ran over there to get her and I just held her and laughed with her.

I realized a lot of things in that moment. The first thing was to enjoy her "mischievousness". This is the phase we are in right now. While, I'm not saying let her get away with anything I am saying, that it's easy to get caught up with "training" her right from wrong that we miss out on the sweet innocents of exploring. She has no idea what shes doing, all she sees is a stand full of "toys" for her to get into.

Something else I realized is that I have to be able to let her crawl and get into things. Lately I have been nervous to let her stand up and more often than not, topple over. I keep telling myself to not gasp when she does fall:), but how will she learn if she cant figure out some of these things  on her own. My friends and I joke about not letting them crawl, stand up, or take baby steps because we don't want them to grow up so fast. But really, what kind of parent holds their child back, for the security of themselves.

As I sit and watch her explore these new things, I am excited yet dreading what is to come.Knowing right from wrong, making great friends and great choices, schools, (as much as I hate to say it, and her Daddy wont even talk about it), boyfriends. I realize I can sit and worry about these things, or I can just start praying now. I wont ever be able to prevent everything bad from happening. But My God, is bigger than me, my thoughts and my desires.He knows whats best and as a parent I have to do my very darn best and then let Him take care of the rest. So as she is 8 months and getting older, I have to teach her right from wrong and how to make good choices, but I have to begin now, practicing on "letting go"... I cant do things for her so she wont ever fail. (even if it is as little as tumbling over right now).  Because in failure, is when we often learn the most. One of my favorite quotes and I have no idea who said it is, "No mistake is too great unless you learn nothing from it".

I am sure I will have to be reminded in a couple of years when these things seems to get bigger and the choices she makes just get harder.

Until then, crawling and climbing we go, Meredith

Books and Babies

So at the beginning of the summer, I was looking for some great things for Brylee and I to do together. I came across whats called "Books and Babies". It was at the Smyrna Library every Friday at either 9:30 or 10:30. We found the 10:30 class to be less crowded and the babies were a little bit more "behaved". :) It lasts for about 45 minutes and they sing, a book and then do another book with puppets. The kids LOVE it. When I first started, I was nervous that Brylee would be too young. She was not too young and it was great to get her around other children in such a stimulating environment. She is such a sponge and she just soaks up everything that is around her.


The toys they have laying around are from Lakeshore (we use this company in Kindergarten).They help create a great, learning environment.

As a mom of a young baby, you look for places that you can go that you wont get stared down if your child starts squealing or screaming. This was great for me to be able to not stress out and have fun all at the same time.

I will give a warning, sometime, it can get very overwhelming (especially the 9:30 class). There are not only babies there, but sometime older siblings running around. Brylee and I sat in the corner and we were usually ok, away from the stopping feet, but beware!!

Here are a few shots of our fun...

This was back in May. She couldn't sit up yet:) 

Wiggling and Giggling...

This was this weeks...the last one for the summer. 

Do you see my snaggle tooth? 

Crawling and playing all over the place. Mommy couldn't keep me in one spot! 

Forget Me Nots

So this past year I had the wonderful privilege of serving several great families. One of these will always hold a special place in my heart. Their thoughtfulness and kindness was a bright spot every day.  This little girl, in her braided pigtail, tutu and converses, would see me coming down the hall and yell, "Mrs. Hale, HEY!!!", every single morning. She is very sweet and will be missed so much next year. She is switching to another school in the county where her mommy works:(. Man will I miss her and her hugs!!

The last day of school she came in with the special little gift, all wrapped up. It was a plant potter with seeds and dirt.  The seeds were Forget me Nots. On the little Popsicle stick she wrote, "Forget me Not". On the plant potter she cut out some pictures of her and I am then mod- podged it. So on my windowsill I have this sweet little memory of this special little girl. What a GREAT, CREATIVE, way to "Forget me Not". Well I planted the seeds at the end of school and they are finally sprouting.

What a thoughtful gift. As a teacher, I pour my life into these kids. I don't expect anything in return, but when someone has the thoughtfulness to do something so small, and mostly inexpensive, it means the world to me. If you are looking for a way to melt your teachers heart...this is one of those ways:)

If you are reading this "R" family, thank you for being so thoughtful! I love you guys and you WILL be missed at HES:(

When change just seems too tough...

As this summer quickly flies by I've been convicted, challenged and contemplating change. As I put all my precious Brylee's "tooo small" clothes away I am hit in the face with change. As I stare at her and the "new thing" she is doing I realize this too is change. Change is all around me.
This summer has been a great, but honestly, difficult summer for us. We are having to "change" some priorities in our lives in order to make things work. We are trying to simplify some things in our life to better the quality of our lives. When it comes to our lives, more is not better. We don't want to be spread so thin that we reduce the quality of our lives and we feel like we have been in the past.

The first change we have is a for sale sign on the back of Brian's truck. He bought this truck about a year ago and he loves it to pieces. We have 3 vehicles currently in our driveway/garage. While the jeep is our summer toy, it cant be driven comfortably all winter. He needs another vehicle to drive, but do we need 2 car payments. (His truck and my Pilot)? Or can we get away with saving a little bit up and paying cash for something that will do the job! More, is not better!!

Our house is another change we are being faced with. While we love our house and don't want to have to move, do we really need all this space, if we are trying to simplify? Well in this economy, it may not be so easy. Both Brian and I drive over 30 miles to work every day. Originally when we moved into this house, our intentions were for me to be able to stay home. Well we aren't at that point in our lives yet... and so we are driving and spending too much in gas every month. We would love to be able to sell/rent our house out and get into something smaller and closer to my school in Thompson Station. We are looking at all  our options but yet this is another change we are having to think about. More, is not better!!

Another change, and the one that bring me to tears the most (unbelievably enough), is finding our great, girl boxer, Roxy a new home. Roxy needs more yard/land than we have. She loves being outside (as long as she can sleep inside:)) She can play outside all day and we just don't have the yard for her. While we absolutely love having the 2 dogs together to play with each other,Ramsey is plenty of energy and maintenance. if we are looking at having to rent another home, it isn't  a guarantee that wed be able to find a few acres..... I don't know how Ramsey will take the change (or me for that matter),  but...More, is not better!!



One day, through tear filled eyes, I opened my devo book that a dear friend gave me, "Jesus Calling". by Sarah Young.  I totally recommend this book for short,  uplifting little passages. Here is the one I read during my self- wallowing.

               "You are on the Path of my choosing. There is no randomness about your life. Here and Now comprise the coordinates of your daily life. Most people let their moments slip through their fingers, half-lived. They avoid the present by worrying about the future or longing for a better time and place. They forget that they are creatures who are subject to the limitations of time and space. They forget their Creator, who walks with them only in the present. Every moment is alive with My glorious Presence, to those whose hearts are intimately connected with Mine. As you give yourself more and more to a life of constant communion with Me, you will find that you simply have no time for worry. Thus, you are freed to let My Spirit direct your steps, enabling you to walk along the path of Peace. 


Lord help me to live every moment to its fullest by being in constant communion with you. Thank you for walking with me in the present. Help me to not worry about the future but rest in the fact that you are directing every change.

Convicted and Challenged,
Meredith

Special Memories with Special Cousins...

I have had the AWESOME privilege of having my cousins, Emilie and Ashley here for the past (almost) 2 weeks. While we were on vacation in Florida we decided it would be a great idea for them to drive back up with us so we could spend some more time with each other. We had toooo much fun and really enjoyed making more memories together.

Growing up, we lived right by each other and sadly enough, you never realize how great you have it until it is gone. These 2 weeks really made me realize this even more. Emilie is 17 and Ashley is almost 16. I left Florida when they were young and so we never really developed a friendship, it was more a kid-cousin relationship. Well this week was great. While I had Brylee, it changed our shopping/swimming/laying out schedule. But I still really enjoyed the time I had with them.

Opryland

On Sunday we headed downtown to be tourists. It was really fun for Brian and I to do this...how often do you get to be a tourist in your own city, So with country music blaring we started driving...We started off at Opryland Hotel and MAN I was reminded how extravagant it really is. I was astounded to think how this place was completely under water just a year ago.

Brylee and Mommie at Opryland. 

Our sweet Family of 3. 

Here is the shirt Brylee needs for her Cowgirl shoot next year! 

SO we left and walked a to mile to our car (so we didn't have to pay 18 bucks to park...and Ashley was DYING of hunger (seemed to be a theme the past 2 entire weeks:):) Man that girl can eat!! :) So we headed to Chipotle because I had to convince her that it was better than Moes. Check out Brylee eating her beans and rice. MAN she is big:) 

We headed down to The Country Music Hall of Fame. AND there is a funny story about this one. We walked in and just looking around the gift shop. Well we saw there was an upstairs but we had the stroller and so I decided to just hang out downstairs and let them go up. So the next thing I knew, they had found an elevator for us to go up. SO an employee swiped his badge and off we were through the museum. Having NO idea it costs anything to get in. Needless to say, we ending up getting in for free (would have cost us 80 bucks), thanks to the employee that swiped us in...and we were very impressed:) 

Ashley 

Em didn't want me to take this...as you can tell! 

Brylee found the little horse she wanted, but she didn't have enough money for it!
(were on the Ramsey Plan with her too).

Overall we just had a wonderful time laughing, crying and just getting to become friends...not just cousins. I love these two girls and cant wait for their next trip!! 

What would be a Currie pic if it weren't silly!! 

some pretty sweet shades...that should be half price:) 

 

Freshness...it must be Summer Time!!

Ahhhhh!! Is all I kept saying as I walked through the Murfreesboro Farmers Market(FM) . The sights and smells put my into my happy, summer sun, place. This was the 2nd time I have been here, so I would not say I am an expert, but I am all about some yummy veggies and fruits, as well as supporting our local farmers. I love to get more for my money as well as use my money to help families that live in my community.

So this past week, and for the next week, my cousins from Florida are spending time with us (another post to come about how I am LOVING my time with them). This morning we got up and and headed off to find some deals at the FM.

Abbey                            Meredith                           Ashley                    Emilie

The method to my madness is...
When I get there, I like to walk around and see what my options are. I talk to a few of the farmers as well as customers. Today, (at the bank while i was getting my cash) a girl was eating a peach. I asked her how it was and where she got it. She said it was the best peach she has ever had. 

Needless to say I found out which tent it was at bought about 10 lbs of the juiciest peaches I have ever tasted. 

This picture is of me...of course, and if you know me you know I LOVE a good story so here it goes...Ashley is holding the basket of peaches and drops them in the middle of the ROAD! So this picture is of me frantically dodging cars to catch my rolling peaches. GREAT time!! 

 

So a highlight of my day was one of the tents we went to. It was called Justlove. This hits close to home because just last year my sister called me and told me about this. Part of the proceeds go toward helping families raise funds for their adoption. I've posted a picture of my sweet nephew Kenian. Lord, we are so thankful for him coming into our family! 

Support this cause if you get a chance!  

SO these are my goods...fresh corn on the cob, tomatoes, sweet and green peppers, zucchini, peaches and blue berrys. At the FM this cost me 39 bucks.

Estimated at Kroger, it would have been about 50 bucks.
If you are here...try out the FM on the square, Saturday mornings. If you aren't, look up to see where you can try one out! GO here and type in your zip code! It's a least worth a try!




Supporting Locally, Meredith 

A Clean House is a Happy House (and Mommie).

So today, I had the greatest friend in the WORLD come hang out with me... Abbey Henley. This morning started off with a yummy pancake breakfast (whole wheat and sugar free jelly...hello southbeach for me). After breakfast we headed to the farmers market (a new post to come on our findings). After we walked around and enjoyed each other and the farmers market we headed home and got a sudden urge to clean. (Just an FYI to all those reading, you can come to my house ANY time with an urge to clean and I will have plenty:)

We started with the pantry. We forgot to take a before picture, but here is a pictures of all the "pantry goods" emptied all over the place.





After everything was all emptied out, we scrubbed it from top to bottom, left to right and started putting it back in ever so neatly. I now have a breakfast, lunch, dinner, baking and paper goods spot  on all the shelves. Ahhh...organization is a lovely thing I need more of.

Here are the nasty dog bowls (I'm embarrassed to put these up) before I scrubbed them.

And here they are after they were scrubbed and bleached...I bet dinner even tasted better in them...:):)

Ramsey and Roxy saying thank you for the clean bowls!















So here is a picture of before we scrubbed and cleaned the kitchen... and let me make a disclaimer, while I do not put everything away all the time, this next picture is of all the pantry emptied out onto the counters, my counters do NOT always look like this:) (and there is sweet Abbey in the background...scrubbing away:)

After a full day of work...this is what my BEAUTIFUL kitchen looks like....














I LOVE you Abbey!! Thank you for being Jesus to me today!
Exhausted But Thankful, Meredith

When Days Fly By...

Oh I love the summer...I cherish every moment. We do not talk about the summer coming to a close...I get tears in my eyes at the thought of heading back to school and leaving my baby girl. This summer has been by far, the best summer I have had in a very long time. I just cant get enough of my sweet baby girl. Every minute it seems like she is doing some thing new. It hurts my heart to think she will begin so many new things while I am not there. The past 2 weeks she has gone from army scooting to crawling, giving kisses, giggling and smiling at just about everything. She eats anything and everything I will give her and has now moved to most table foods. I did a closet cleansing this week and she has now moved into 6-9 month clothes. (this is HUGE, the first time her clothes match her age.)

If I could freeze time I would. I would capture every minute and record exactly what she is doing and when she does it. I pray these sweet memories I am building this summer will last me through the next year, at least until my next break:) I always say if I have to work, teaching is the job to have...breaks and summers to build memories together...I'll take it.


TO all my stay at home mom friends, cherish every minute, as long as your hours/days may feel. You have what so many of us mommies wish we had. Build a network of like minded mommies around you. Make your time count...make the 9 or 10 hours you have with them worth it!
TO all my working mom friends, I get it!! Getting up, getting you and them ready, getting them packed for the next day, they're screaming (or poopie, or both) when you drop them off...it all goes on and on. Life can seem to slip by us...we get into the habit of our schedule and we miss out on the little blessing and events. Stop, and take a breather and just enjoy your little family. Time will be gone, make the hours you have with them count. I promise that what you do is not worth more than who you love.


It is so hard to believe my sweet Brylee Jayne will be 8 months on Sunday. Where has my last 8  months gone? My greatest fear is that I will wake up what seems like tomorrow and she will be 10 years old. Lord Please help me to cherish every minute I can with her.

Vacation is restful???

Well our first 12 day- family vacation is over and we are back to reality. What a crazy but wonderful time we had. We started off driving through the night after Brian got off work on Thursday June 23rd. We pulled into Sebring, Florida bright and early (7am). We had a great time seeing Marissa (my older sister) and Doug and my precious nieces and nephew. Melanie(sister right under me)  and Drew also came in late Friday night. All 4 cousins were  together and we really enjoyed snapping pictures left and right, but that is another blog for another day.
 My grandma got remarried to a wonderful guy names Ken. (Grandpa died about 4 years back).(Yet another blog for another day) There is not a ton to do in Sebring, (ok so there is really nothing to do) so we cooked out, swam and just loved being together as family.


WOW was I reminded how hot Florida is. My gosh, you walk outside and you get slapped in the face with nasty humidity.   I don't know how I lived there for 15 years. On Sunday we headed for Tampa to visit my moms side of the family. We had great fellowship and it was wonderful to be back in Florida after it had been about 4 years.My moms side of the family is absolutely hilarious. We were able to stay with my Uncle Bernie and Aunt Lisa. There were many moments of laughter!



Monday we headed for the beach for Brylee's first beach experience. I am not sure who loved it more, her or us. She loved the water, not so much the sand. ( I think she gets that from me).









Wednesday was probably one of the highlights of our trip. We left out early that morning with a stop to Dunkin Donuts and made our way to Busch Gardens.

We thought with Brylee we might be there for a few hours and then leave but she was quite the trooper. She did so great and made it most enjoyable for all of us. Unka (Drew) was all of our hero and stayed back with her while we crazy roller-coaster riders got jostled around. We bought our tickets online with the all day food pass and let me just tell you, that is the way to go. With the online deals, the food pass ended up costing us 9 bucks each. One meal, costs between 30 and 50 bucks. We made out like bandits and enjoyed endless drinks, all day, FOR FREE!!!




During this day especially, I was reminded how a baby changes everything. We rode many rides, but the shows were some of our highlight. Before Brylee we would have done more rides, but she LOVED the shows.

We took her to a Sesame Street show (A is for Africa) and she was GLUED! She was laughing and smiling;  it was absolutely adorable. Her favorite was for sure Abby-Cadabby. I was reminded about how life is just not about me anymore...but to see a smile on her face was all I needed to enjoy myself.

 We ended up staying until about 6 pm and my "so comfortable", yellow box sandals were no longer comfortable. I rubbed 2 HUGE blisters on the ball of my foot and had a very hard time walking on Thursday. But oh...what fun we had!
Thursday we headed for North Carolina to stay with some dear family friends in their beautiful home. This dear family has known me since i was 10 and are a huge part of not only our family but of our Awana ministry. They generously opened their home to 13 of us and what a blast we had. Our days were filled with golfing, boating, jet skiing, swimming, "bobbing" , and of course eating.
I was reminded during my time in North Carolina about what generosity really is. While money is the first thing I think of (and probably what we have the least of), generosity is not only limited to that.  I was convicted of being generous with my time, talents and encouraging words.  (There will for sure be more blogs about this).
But man oh man did we have fun. What a wonderful time to spend with family. The older we get and the more we procreate, the less likely it is for all of us to be together. What a great 4th of July Rhodes-vacation this was. While we weren't all there this year, hopefully next year a few more will be able to come.

First Post, First Blog...

Here is to my first post, on my first blog. As I sit on vacation, I'm a little bit nervous to start this. I can barely get done what I need to get in my every day life, let alone start a new blog. I am a new Mommie, a fairly new wife (we just celebrated 4 years), and a full time teacher. So what am i doing on a blog you ask, well life is too short and I am reminded of this every day in so many ways. If we don't stop to enjoy our life, if we get wrapped up in so much and we make ourselves so busy, our lives fly before our eyes and I will be sitting in the audience of my baby girls high school graduation, or worse, her wedding. My goal is to love life and enjoy every moment.

This week has been a wonderful reminder of what is most important in life; family and friends. We have enjoyed 12 days in Florida and North Carolina. Later posts to follow what we have done our wonderful vacation.