22 Jan 2012

Sometimes you need a plan B....and a glue gun.

I thought I would take easy way out and try to make Valentine's Day Subway Art on a canvas, but when I realized this was turning out awful...I quit and had to think of something else to do with it. Bummer! Guess I should break out my Cricut and actually start using the thing! Right?! So here is a pic of the mess I made:

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So I painted it all pink, got out my coffee filters and glue gun, mapped out my heart and started gluing. 

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Final plan B product: 

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MUCH better! Haha!

16 Jan 2012

The Comparison Game

We all do it, some more than others, but we all have and will do it. Compare. I am the worst! I am constantly comparing myself to other women, moms, girls...comparing my kids to their kids, my family to their family...it's so exhausting, right?! And I find that I don't compare all the bad stuff...I compare the good stuff. It's like I pick and choose what I wish I had from other people...their home, her hair, those kids (hahaha jk!), her car, her sense of humor...the list goes on. So after I take what I like from about 30 people, I compare THAT to me and my life. So I constantly make an unrealistic list of how I should or how I want to be and I can never measure up to that...especially because I'm not 30 other people, I am ME. Dang it! Haha ;) I loved this post about comparison by Crystal at http://moneysavingmom.com/  ...maybe because I struggle so much with it! 

 

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About six weeks ago, I had a little extra time one day and was perusing blogs. I somehow stumbled upon this beautiful blog written by an even more beautiful woman.

As I read her posts, I began to feel very inadequate. She was pretty, in shape, creative, witty, had a gorgeous home, had more children than me, and really seemed to have it altogether.

I started to feel ugly, disorganized, out of shape, and like a really pathetic woman in comparison to her. But I kept on reading–and continued to feel even worse.

Then I landed upon a post where she talked about this woman that she so admired and wanted to be like. I was shocked when I clicked on the link and discovered the woman she was referring to was me.

Yes, this woman whom I felt I paled in comparison to wanted to be like me.

And then I realized how silly this was. Here she wanted to be me and I was secretly wishing I were her.

It hit me anew just how easy it is to want what we don’t have–better hair, better decorating skills, a better personality, more creativity, more spunk… there’s always someone who it seems we’d like to trade places with because they have what we want.

But trading places with someone wouldn’t fix anything; we’d just inherit a new set of things we wish we could change. No one has it altogether. Everyone has struggles and difficulties.

Comparison only leads to discontentment.

We can’t change who we are, but we can make the most of our situation. We can’t choose the personality we are born with, but we can choose to be thankful–even in the midst of difficulty.

And we can choose to be intentional and purposeful in how we live our lives so that we make the most of all that we’ve been given instead of wishing we were someone else.

I loved this part of Amy Lynn Andrew’s post on The Trouble With Blogging:

…Never forget that what you see on the screen is not the whole picture.

Never forget that the people behind the blogs are, well, people…with unorganized cupboards, unmanaged time schedules (ahem!), cranky children (ahem again!), painful stories, crafty train wrecks, struggling marriages, unpaid bills and burnt meat loaf. (Those are the examples I use, because those have all been me behind the scenes.)

Never forget that their story and their journey and their choices apply to them, not to you.

You are who you are for a reason. You are where you are a for a reason. Don’t do what I do and beat yourself up for not being where someone else is. It’s a colossal waste of time.

Appreciate everyone else’s outside, but embrace your inside. (Read the full post here–it’s fantastic!)

 

13 Jan 2012

3 Things Every Mother Must Hear

Another post stolen from Chris Spradlin. Loving his blog :

http://www.epicparent.tv/

 

 

I am sure that many of the EpicMom’s struggle with the same thing!  You doubt if your good enough, you doubt if you will ever get it all done, you doubt if your truly depositing Jesus into your kids and  you doubt, _________________________________.

So if your a mom that struggles with doubt…

Here are 3 things that every mom needs to hear and let it sink deep into your heart, soul and mind!!

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;  your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139: 13-14

  • DON’T FORGET WHERE YOU HAVE COME FROM!

“  For you created my inmost being;…” Psalm 139:13

Mom’s when you are having a bad day, when you don’t like what you see in the mirror, when you feel like the top candidate for the worst mom in the world, or when you are screaming mom  don’t ever forget where you have come from.  You are a DAUGHTER OF THE KING!

  • GOD DESIGNED YOUR DNA!

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb Psalm 139:12

I remember when all of our kiddos were young, 3 under the age of 3, Jodie broke down one day and yelled, “what is my purpose in life”?  She was neck deep in diapers and was struggling to find God’s call and purpose for her life.  The reality is that God has crafted each and everyone of you intentionally, he designed your look, personality and DNA!  If you struggle with purpose, please know that God has designed your DNA and has a purpose for your life.  Here are several verses every mom should memorize…  Genesis 1:27, Jeremiah 1:5, Jeremiah 29:11, Ephesians 2:10

  • YOU ARE FEARFULLY & WONDERFULLY MADE!

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:13

We live in a world where many mom’s are discontent with what they see in the mirror.  If you have enough money you can make big stuff smaller, small stuff bigger, get nipped, tucked, injections and tightened.

The reality is that all mom’s are fearfully & wonderfully made!

NOT BECAUSE OF WHO YOU ARE – BUT BECAUSE OF WHOSE YOU ARE!

You are fearfully & wonderfully made because you are a daughter of the King, because you were created by perfection, because you were created by a good God!

12 Jan 2012

If _____, then GOD.

I struggle with anxiety. Bad. So much so that I am on medication. I worry....about EVERYTHING. I think of the most impossible scenarios and think they will happen to me. I'm scared of dying. Yes, I'm a Christian, but I am terrified on the unknown. I'm scared of loosing a child. I'm scared of loosing my husband...my family....anyone I love. I'm scared of getting shot every time I'm stopped at a red light and a ghetto, loud car pulls up next to me. NOT EVEN KIDDING. I'm ridiculous. Up until last July, I was terrified of being put to sleep... Fear paralyzes me. WAY too often. I don't need to hear "God is in control" I know that. God's plans scare me. I started doing so much better with my anxiety and fear, and then I lost my son. He doesn't make sense to me. I wish He did. I wish he sent me daily emails to explain everything to me and tell me "Breanne...today you won't get shot through your window and John will make it home safely." "Breanne, Jackson is sitting on my lap and he is healed and he loves you. Lives were changed because of this baby. There was a reason for this and it's this......" OR maybe one that said "Breanne, you will get pregnant again and have a beautiful/healthy baby and you won't bleed to death. You will raise that baby, along with your other two beautiful kids and watch them grow up and have babies of their own." Well, as you know, God doesn't work that way. Why the heck not?!? Well, I guess we wouldn't need faith then....sounds good to me! Faith is SO stinkin' hard...I have trust issues. Duh! 

On Tuesday I went to see my amazing Doctor and had an ultrasound done to check and make sure everything has healed properly. It's been past 6 months...wow! Are you kidding me?! So, everything looked good, got the big OK to start trying to get pregnant again. AWESOME?!? Right?!? No. Well, yea. But no. For 6 months I worried about getting pregnant again, but didn't REALLY worry about it because we couldn't for 6 months. Now that time is over and it's up to me. Well, John too...but ya know what I mean. Freaking SCARY! Another baby?! Another pregnancy? What if my placenta ruptures again?! What if my uterus ruptures this time?! What if I bleed to death and leave my husband with 3 children to raise?! What if.....trust me, the list goes on....and on......and on.....everyday. Over and over in my head. Yes I'm still on medication. I'm jacked up. And that is why I listen to this over and over....because someday I'm going to freakin' win this battle and not let fear captivate me anymore. Because IF_________, then GOD. And I need to rest in that. Listen to segment from Beth Moore's Esther series....you won't regret it....unless, of course, you never fear anything...ever. 

 

12 Jan 2012

UPDATED: 5 Things Every Son (& young lady) Needs From His Mom

Breanne Blanchard's Space

I'm a Wife and Mother of 3. Malachi 3, Presley 1, and Jackson who was only 4 days old when he left us to be with his Heavenly Father.