Spoiled or Loved?

I have a "habit" of holding my baby. I am a little on the fence on this subject because I NEVER was the mom who wanted to hold their baby all day long. I actually never understood how anyone could hold their baby all day. How do they get anything done? I read up on all the advantages of wearing your baby. I loved all the benefits. Everywhere I go I usually have both children with me. Here is a picture of all 3 of us....

Me, Baby Girl in her sling, and Little Buddy:)

I carry Baby Girl in her sling everywhere! I even use it at home when she is having a cranky day and I need to do some things. She sees it, gets excited and knows that she is about to be held. Little Buddy likes it because then he knows that I can help him too with both my hands free.

What I wasn't prepared for was the people that don't understand. I get comments every week like..."Well, she just hasn't cut the ambilical cord yet.", "She is spoiling that baby.", "She is never going to walk if you carry her all the time.", "You need to put her down more.", "She will never like anyone else if you don't get her out of that thing", "Why do you wear that?", "She always is holding that baby.", and the comments go on and on.

It kind of hurts my feelings a little but then again I really don't care because they are your children. This is my baby. At home she is a confident (almost) 9 month old baby who loves to discover her world. She plays with her brother and chases the dogs. She is about to start walking, which is just way too early for my taste, but it has to happen. But from her mother's hip she is confident in a world that she is still discovering.  

I want both my children to be confident and be able to stand tall in a crazy world that we are raising them in today. I want them to know that they don't have to have EVERY toy in the store because we have all we need : the grace of Jesus and each other. I want them to be friendly in a world where people NEED a friend. I may keep them close to me all the time, but so does a mother hen (no one says she is spoiling her young!). Psalm 91 says that we are in the shadow of His wing and I would say that is pretty close.

So yes, I do spoil my children with an over abundance of love. I want them to know that I love with all my heart. I spoil them by sharing God's word with them daily and telling them that He loves them even more than I could. I spoil them by teaching them manners and to treat their friends with respect. I would rather them be spoiled this way than any other way!

*** I got my sling at Mommy Secrets. I was not paid to "review" this product. I purchased this product for my personal use.

Tasty Tuesday :p

My family LOVES pancakes. We usually have them on our grocery list and I feel like they are being constantly made. I knew there had to be a better way...Why can't I make these myself? I have now found the most awesome recipe for pancakes...

Little Buddy got a little crazy with the syrup:)

Pancake Recipe:
1 c. of Flour
3 tsp. of Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. pf salt
1 tsp. of cinnamon (optional)
3/4 c. of milk (sometimes I add more because they seem to thick)

These are super yummy! I have also added cocoa to make chocolate pancakes. You can add fruit in them too! Have fun and be creative:) I have also made these and kept them in the freezer until Little Buddy requests one.

Thirsty Thursday!

I know I am a day late but I really want to share this with you! I have been diving into an Old Testament book about an orphan Jew named Hadassah. She was also the most beautiful girl in her time. If you guessed this girls name as Esther you would also be correct.

She was between the ages of 14 to 20 years old. She was being raised in Persia (better known to us as Iran) under the rule of King Ahasuerus (aka King Xerxes, at least some scholars say it is the same person). His wife Vashti was summoned to come before the king and the people in his party and she refused. He was angry that she didn't "obey" and so he banned her from the palace and took away her crown. Then his "princes" (those closest to him) told him that he should hold a beauty contest and find a beautiful bride ~ one that would please him.

So why Esther? What can we learn from her?

1. There is a preparation time. She allowed herself to be prepared for the task.  I am sure that Mordecai taught her how to pray and all of the ways of the true King, the Great I AM. I believe that she knew the stories of David, Moses, and Abraham. She was a Jew and this was her heritage. So when she was taken away & put in the Kings palace I am sure that she knew that the Lord would always be with her.
While she was in the palace she received 6 months of oil & myrrh and then 6 months of perfumes...they liked for their women to smell good! I am sure that she also received teachings on hair, makeup and of course all of the "rules" of the Persian government. After all they were trying to find a queen for the king!
The refining of our character is very essential to God's plan for our life. What is your character and does it resemble Jesus? The Bible tells us to constantly examine ourselves. We are to be cities set on the hill for all to see Jesus shining through us!
God CANNOT use a proud woman or man. There are several verses that states that He does not like the proud. Let's boast about Him and all that He does and not ourselves!

2. We need the favor of God. Esther not only found favor with the King but she found favor with Hegai (the kings eunuch). I am sure that because of her character she found favor with the other girls that were there with her as well. Read Esther 2:9 and you will see the favor that Hegai gave Esther:)
Even Jesus grew in favor with God and man~ Luke 2:52.
When  you live a life pleasing to God, by OBEYING His will, then you will find favor in Him. God will also bless you with favor with the people around you!

3. God works in His own time and season. Esther got her timing right. If you are in God's word and resting in Him then you will know when you are supposed to move. Allow Him to lead you and don't just jump!

Let's look again in Esther....by this time the king had named Haman his "right hand man". Haman was an evil man who hated the Jews with a passion. He became furious when Mordecai refused to bow to him and then even more so when he had to parade Mordecai around town proclaiming that he was a great man because he had saved the life of the king. He decided that it wasn't enough to  just kill Mordecai but he wanted to eliminated ALL Jews. Mordecai heard of the plan and became upset. So he told Queen Esther and now the lives of their people depended on her.
Esther 4: 13-16..."Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more that all the other Jews. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Then Esther to them to reply to Mordecai Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And I will go to the king, which is against the law and if I perish, I perish!"

She was going against protocol! She could not go before the king without being summoned. She did go before the king and he lowered his scepter which excused her action. She invited him and Haman to a dinner to plead her case for her people.

4. Your background  DOES NOT hinder your future with God. Esther had not told the king-up to this point- that she was a Jew. She was told to keep her identity a secret but now this had to come out. Your past does NOT determine what God can for with you. Jacob was a Master of Deception, Gideon was a Self Doubter, David was a Premeditated Sinner, Solomon was an Unwise Lover, Elijah was a Slow Learner, Jonah was a Prejudiced Prophet, Rahab was a Prostitute, Abraham was a Liar and Impatient....BUT God used all of them to do GREAT things for HIM!!! God is merciful and will use you if you are willing to be used! When you know who you are in Christ then you can stand up taller!

Hazelwood Necklace Review!

I contacted Inspired By Finn (famous for their Amber Necklaces) about their Hazel Wood necklaces. I have never read a review about this product and the effect it had on babies. So I was dying to know if it would work for us, well actually for baby girl and her reflux. You can read below in my blog posts where she was diagnosed with Sandifer Syndrome.

Why a Hazel wood necklace and how is it supposed to help? ~ Beaked hazel wood can relieve acid-related ailments such as acid reflux, ulcers, heartburn, and other acid-related ailments. Our necklaces are a great remedy to take the edge off of heartburn and morning sickness during pregnancy. Hazel wood also helps relieve skin problems such as (psoriasis, eczema, acne, and diaper rash) constipation, headaches, migraines, canker sores, and the occurrence of dental cavities when these ailments are related to excessive acid in the body (and sometimes they are not). Historically hazel wood has also been used as a teething remedy, but our customers’ experience tells us that generally Baltic Amber provides greater relief for teething discomfort than beaked hazel wood. Overall, it is very important to our physical well-being to maintain a slightly alkaline balance in the body. This can be difficult for many to achieve as the diet in our culture tends to be too high in sugars and sugar substitutes, white flour, processed foods, and animal protein, and too low in fruits and vegetables. When the body becomes more acidic than alkaline the medical condition of acidosis develops. Acidosis weakens many of the body’s systems that help keep it healthy and disease free. (from their website)

Yes, It worked!!! I really do believe that this necklace has helped her tremendously! She was having "episodes" all day long for hours and now she may have one or two episodes if that a day:) Now I am able to target what foods to stay away from and which ones are safe for her. I love that it is a simple necklace and goes with everything. We chose the hazel wood with amber, but they do have colorful one too. 

She wears both necklaces all the time. A couple of weeks ago we lost them both and I was panicking. She was a completely different baby without them. She screamed more, starting having the "episodes" more often, and she was completely restless. I was so thankful when I found them. I am now very careful where I lay them (can't wear them in the bath and shouldn't wear them while sleeping) and put them on as soon as I can:)!

my sweet Baby Girl with both of her necklaces:)

I am so happy that I found this necklace and I am thankful that Inspired by Finn allowed me to review this product at a discounted price! I have one of their Amber Necklaces as well and you can read my review for that here. I would totally recommend all of their products to any of my friends and I have:) These necklaces are also for adults not just for babies or children.

So much to say...

WOW! I just realized that I haven't written in quite a while. My family has been super busy with Baby Girl and everything there, Little Buddy finishing up school, trying to help my husband in other ways, trying tofind a home, spring cleaning, purging my house of all things uncessary...it's been CrAzY here:) But I am back!!! I can't wait to read other blogs and see what they have been up to as well:)

I can't wait to actually sit down and write again. I feel like this is my place to be a grown up. I have some ideas for Tasty Tuesday's (hope to write it tonight), I want to schare with you on Thirsty Thursday and I also have a review from for an awesome company that I can't wait to tell you all about!

Well, baby girl just woke from her nap and it's a little hard to type while she is tryi8ng to type with me so I will be back in a little bit;)....