White-On-White: Stop It

About a month ago my mother handed me a $20 bill and a tiny frame with a little post-it note attached.  It said, “Stop It.”  ”Blue and green.” “Small.”

It was her way of telling me that she wanted the words from Dieter Uchtdorf’s latest talk designed in some lovely way for her home and was willing to pay for it.  For Mother’s Day, I made this project for her and wrapped it up in a polka-dot bag with her $20 tucked inside.  To be honest, I love being able to give something that a person really wants so it was my pleasure to create this little treasure for her…minus the frame, minus the payment, and minus the blue and green color combo that she requested.  After all, I had thought of something so much more beautiful.  And cool.  Yes, I had to make my Mom’s gift cool.  She may be in her 70s but she doesn’t act like it so why should her home decor?

This phrase was just a part of a bigger message that has been put together nicely here by Nick Sorensen, but I like these two simple words – I think they can stand on their own.  I believe that everyone has something in their life that they want to change or improve and these six letters are a gentle but clear reminder to stop whatever it is we are doing in favor of making a change.  Chewing your nails, eating a bucket of fried chicken every day, choosing negative comments or thoughts…we have to just stop it, right?  Motivation doesn’t come simpler than that.

My Silhouette files this week were inspired by this project.  You get a variety of Lace Background Patterns (Chevron included) and Stencil Phrases in current themes to pair them with (Father’s Day, Graduation/Congrats, Thank You, Love Life).  I also threw in some borders and blank frames because I know how much we all need those as well.  They match the Artisan Chain design.  Hooray!

LACE PATTERN BACKGROUNDS

STENCIL PHRASES

ARTISAN FRAMES AND BORDERS

How did I make Mom’s “Stop It” wall art?

1.  Scaled Chevron Lace pattern to be 4″ wide and cut it out.  Cut out a background square as well.  White-on-white again – could anything be more beautiful?  And subtle.  She knows what it means and why she is inspired by it.  It doesn’t have to scream at her to get the point across.  Soft, lovely, approachable.

2.  Cut a piece of chipboard 4″ square and mount solid square and chevron pattern to it.  Cut out “Stop It” phrase from “Love Life” shape file.  Remove words from phrase (ungroup and highlight words then delete them) and cut out an extra solid oval.  Mount it behind the phrase so you can see what the words say.  I used a very, very light blue color.  Just a tiny bit of contrast to be able to read the words.  Again – subtle.

3.  Punch two small holes at top of 4″ square and tie a ribbon through to create a hanger.  The ribbon is the pale shade of blue I used behind the words.

Tiny.  Lovely.  Sweet.  Subtle.  Perfect.

She loved it so much more than how it would have looked in her fancy frame.  Dieter Uchtdorf’s wife is her friend so she asked for one more to give to her.  High praise, if I do say so myself.  Use any of the Lace Background Patterns and Stencil Phrases that I have uploaded this week in my Silhouette store to create a project just like this, a card for Father’s Day or Graduation, or just to say that you are grateful.  You’ll want all of the files this week – lots of uses and lots of choices so add them to your library and start creating.  Click here to go to my Silhouette store.

As you can see, I’m in love with white-on-white right now.  It’s so clean and fresh.  Check out this great technique while using color here at Inspiration Ave.

Happy cutting!

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Say It Simply

Yes.  I’m on a letter-size card kick.  I just love the perfection of this size of a notecard and how easily it fits into a regular business-size envelope.  Simple.  Oh, these look so yummy all lined up together – a phrase for everything.  Possibilities?  Yes, these create possibilities.  And love.  They are all about giving love.  Simply.

This week in the Silhouette store you get 10 sets of cards – all with a different theme and unique phrases.  Here’s what I would do.  Throw those puppies into your cart, get them in your library and cut out a couple of each.  Then stick them in a business envelope so that you can see the words when you flip through them and slide that envelope into a special spot in a drawer or on a shelf to reach for all year long.  Any occasion, any time of year, pop out one of those cards, jot down a note, stick it in a business envelope (or have some of these envelopes cut out already!) and you’re ready.  All it needs is a stamp and an address – or not, depending on where it is going.

Done.

Sometimes we don’t have time to cut out a new design at each moment that we need something to give. These cards solve that problem.  (Whether you need them to or not – they will solve that problem for you.)  Click on each of the above images to head straight to the store.

You will also see some delightful little swallows (Vintage Swallow, Vintage Swallow Perched and Vintage Swallow Perched 2), the perfect Bracket Frame Set and a Thick Flourish Set that match my monogram cards.  A little bit of everything this week.  Click on the name or image to find them in my store.

Oh, how could I forget my favorite shape of all – “Thank You Lace.”  What?  What does that mean?

lace + thank you = Thank You Lace.

This collage of gratitude bundles up all that you would want to say in one 5×7 shape. Perfect for a card but I’ll show you how I’m going to use it in a couple of weeks.  I think it deserves to be framed.  More on that later….

Happy cutting!

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Life is Hard

Sometimes I think my life is hard.

Like last night when I was running to the bathroom to throw up because of food poisoning and Cole was crying in the kitchen because he thought it was a race and I had left him in the dust.

Or lots of times when I have to fix a “quadriplegic emergency” – which actually could be anything from nursing a bedsore to running to the garage because Jason has gotten stuck on the ramp.

I saw a story today about a family who has eight children, four with muscular dystrophy.  As the line of family members traveled along, with three wheelchairs interspersed, I said to Jason, “Just when I thought my life was hard.”

I don’t know what it is like to deal with many of the trials and challenges that people face in this world.  But I do know what it’s like to live with someone in a wheelchair.  And while our lives are rich beyond measure, there are still hard things.  No matter what adversity you might face or what joys you experience, there are still hard things.

But I am so grateful today.  Not for the food poisoning.  Not for the “quadriplegic emergencies.”  Not for the three-year-old always wanting to “win” whatever competition he is participating in.  I’m grateful for you.  For your stories.  For your moments of strength that beat out the moments of struggle.  The smiles in spite of the circumstances.  The life lived well – or as best as you can live it at the moment.

The picture of the jar of butterflies that I used in my last post came from this etsy shop.  I used it simply because I liked the picture for what I was trying to say about my One Little Word.  Today, I still like it.  I like it so much that I just bought those little butterflies.  And I can’t wait to receive 100 butterflies in my mailbox.  I know.  Now you want some, too.

Lucky me.  Life isn’t so hard after all.

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I’m Grateful For…

Jason and I love to go to Broadway shows.  When we lived in Connecticut we were just outside of New York City and would head into Manhattan on a regular basis to check out the new plays and shows.  We started collecting the window card posters of our favorites, thinking that we would use them someday in our home.

Someday has arrived.  For Christmas to each other, we decided to frame our window cards so that we could put them up in our home.  We have this big tall wall that is right in front of you when you go down our stairway.  It’s a challenge to know what to do with a space like that but inspiration struck and we decided to put all of our window cards there.

Collections have the most impact when you group them together so we chose 18 window cards, had them framed all the same and then sat them on the landing in piles until I could put them up.

They sat there….and sat there….and sat there….for the last month and a half.  I admit, I was scared to put them up.  I knew we wanted three columns and six rows but I was nervous about getting everything straight and evenly spaced, etc.  Plus, the top row would end up about 18 feet above the landing and I was a little apprehensive of that height.

Last night we had our neighbor, Kevin, come over to fix a few things for us and Jason asked him to help us put the pictures up.  I had gotten halfway up the wall with the first three rows – and trust me, there were many more nail holes in the wall than just the nine that were supposed to be there.  It was really hard to make them look right!

But Kevin, a true professional, pulled out his level and his laser surveyor (I wish I had one of those!) and went to work measuring and marking until he had nine more holes placed in the wall – the top three rows.  When I handed him each picture I was shocked and DELIGHTED to see that his system of measuring and planning lead to perfect placement of each picture – on the first nail hole try.  I felt like I was watching our own show on HGTV.  Kevin was a rock star.

So now we have all of our window cards up on the wall and they look stunning, if I do say so myself.  And Kevin’s perfection on the top three rows help my rows look even better.  As a whole, they really make an impact.

Thanks, Kevin.  I’m grateful that you stuck with us so long to hang our pictures in such a professional way.  I’m grateful that you are so easy-going and kind.  I’m grateful that now we have such great memories in a place that we can enjoy them every day.

And I’m grateful that you were the one on top of the ladder instead of me.

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Project 365 of Gratitude – Jim

Yes, it’s true.  I’m grateful for Jim.  When I first started my boot camp workouts I was driving to Jim’s Gym and realized that in the rush to get Cole to the babysitter’s, I had forgotten a towel and my knee braces.  I ran into the Walgreens pharmacy that was on the way to Jim’s thinking that I would find both there.

I grabbed the braces I needed to keep my knees from getting loosey-goosey on me and went searching for a towel I could buy.  All I could find was an endcap full of Thanksgiving dishtowels (which I thought was pretty early for them, if you want to know the truth).  I chose one as quickly as I could and rushed to start my workout.

At first I assumed I would just use that towel one time and then move it to my kitchen but as I saw the words embroidered on my towel hanging there on the equipment, it made me pause.  It said “Give Thanks” and as I used the elliptical machine I began to do just that.

I was grateful that I have the means to go to Jim’s Gym.

I was grateful that I have a fabulous babysitter for Cole that made it possible for me to do it.

I was grateful that Jim has the skill to help me work harder than I would have on my own.

I was grateful that I have little Coleman – the “baby-belly” reason why I was even at the gym in the first place.

I became more grateful – and as I did so, the workout started to go from misery to something a little better than that.  Yes, that was the day that I threw up so obviously the workout wasn’t easy.  But being grateful helped me get through it easier than if I had chosen to just complain.

I take that towel a lot to Jim’s.  It’s not cool or even remotely sporty enough for the gym.  But it reminds me of the gratitude I feel for the opportunity to get fit.  Opportunities for giving thanks are all around us and it’s remarkable how our perspective changes when we see the world through grateful eyes.

What are you grateful for today?

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Download Day – Teacher Appreciation

Teaching 4th Grade

I was looking through the Back to School issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine and came across an idea from Becky Higgins that struck a chord with me.  When I taught elementary school I always received many thank yous from students and parents at the end of the year and that felt great.  But Becky put a spin on that idea and decided to give her children’s teachers a thank you note at the beginning of the year – thanks in advance for a great year.

I have thought a lot about that since I read the magazine and have decided that it is a far more effective tool of building positive relationships with a teacher than one might first imagine.  Setting an expectation that you are going to have a great year with a teacher can actually help you get closer to achieving that great year than anything else.  By giving a thank you like this in the beginning, you are telling yourself, your child and the teacher that what is to come will be positive.  You are telling the teacher that you support them and recognize what they are doing for your child.

All in all, this idea of “thanks in advance” becomes of tool for building the kind of relationship that each parent hopes for with their child’s teacher.

So that is my download today – a “thank you in advance” label in traditional school colors that you can use on a card for a teacher.  Or simply trim around it and it becomes a flat card on it’s own with no other work involved.  Jot a note on the back and you’re done.

And as I have thought about this principle of pre-thanking, I have decided that there are many other situations that would also benefit from establishing a foundation of gratitude.  Any time we work with someone else toward a common goal we are more effective.  Why not thank your spouse or partner in advance for something they will do that is important to your family?  How about thanking your children before they clean their room or make good choices as a way to encourage them to make it happen?  What about thanking a neighbor for the support and memories that you will share in the future?  So I am also giving you other color versions of this download so that you can have one for any situation.

Pre-thanks.  It’s an interesting concept that can help create powerful results toward a positive relationship.  I would love to hear your thoughts about this idea so feel free to share your comments, thoughts and experiences about “thanks in advance” here.

We can never be too grateful so why not give generous gratitude a try?

Here’s to a great school year.  Enjoy!

please click on image to download pdf

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Postpartum: Project 365 of Gratitude

My neighbor offered to pick some things up at the store for me - a small gesture in her mind but an enormous one in mine

I admit that I haven’t kept up with the journaling part of my Project 365 of Gratitude album during my postpartum issues – I’ll get to it (see #2 on my last post).  But I have tried really hard to take photos of things I am grateful for, print them and insert them into my album.  It’s interesting to see how the things I am grateful for have reflected my thoughts and feelings of going through this experience of postpartum.  That’s the point of the project, I suppose.  Capturing the moment – day by day no matter what is happening.  I have taken photos of things that I never would have thought to preserve before and I’m grateful for the chance it gives me to store the little memories that happen as we journey through the ups and downs of daily life.

But the real reason I kept up with my daily photos is because I know how healthy it is to have to remember to be grateful – even when I haven’t felt 100%.  Having to find something…anything…to be grateful for is part of the healing process.  Not only does it help us to maneuver through the twists and turns of life but it is the balm we need to overcome the obstacles we face.  Gratitude is the secret weapon for happiness.

In my last post I shared some of the mundane things I have been grateful for over the last couple of months and here are a few more.  Gratitude is truly all in your perspective.

I actually weeded the yard myself - with Cole's company, of course

Nausea from the medication made me feel like I was having morning sickness again. G2 is my beverage of choice in that situation.

This was the first time I felt like I could tackle going to the store - it just seemed like such a big place it overwhelmed me. Coleman is doing a good job holding the cake Jason bought.

Jason taught my church lesson for me so I wouldn't have to worry about it

I actually finished the content for another month of our BPS workshop - that was a hard one for me

I could have taken a photo every day of these two - they saved me

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Download Day – Friendship

I was just having  a conversation with a neighbor a few days ago about friendship and including people into our lives.  I’ve thought a lot about this topic over the years because although I feel like I am a good friend, I’m not necessarily the one putting myself out there to seek out new friendships.  I get nervous.  I’m not ever sure what to say or how to do it.  And I am very comfortable with having a few close friends and many, many acquaintances.

Jason, on the other hand, can make friends with a person while they wait on a street corner for the light to turn green.  It is his gift and talent.  He has and makes friends everywhere.  Thomas Hughes wrote:

Blessed are they who have the gift of making friends, for it is one of God’s best gifts.  It involves many things, but above all, the power of going out of one’s self, and appreciating whatever is noble and loving in another.

In the last 16 years (almost 17 – I can’t believe it!) of our marriage, I have often used Jason somewhat as a crutch when it comes to this friend-making ability.  When we go to a new place, he is in charge of making the friends and forging a path in the “building relationships” area.  With him paving the way in this partnership of sorts, I then have more courage to follow along, using his strength to help me be more brave.

However, as we have recently moved to a new town, I have decided that I want to become better at doing this myself.  I believe that people can change.  It’s true that we come pre-wired, so to speak, with certain attributes and characteristics that make up the essence of who we are.  On the other hand, I also believe that we each have the ability to adapt or change, improve or get rid of certain qualities that we don’t like while adding characteristics to ourselves that we want to have more of.  With desire and hard work, we literally have the chance to become the best version of our own selves that we can be – no matter what our past has doled out for us or what our natural tendencies are.

So, with that in mind, I have worked on developing this quality of making friends in my life over the course of many years.  I want to be more like Jason.  I want to be more comfortable and open and able to create more meaningful relationships with those around me.  Throughout this personal quest for the ability to make friends more easily, I have learned something.  Having acquaintances is easy for me.  I have a lot of those.  I have business acquaintances, church acquaintances, neighborhood acquaintances, and so on.  I try to be kind to all those I meet – whether they are the person at the checkout stand or someone I pass while taking Cole for a walk.  That’s not the issue.

The trick for me that I have been working on is in developing those deeper, lasting relationships that mean more than just a wave or a hello in passing.  And the hard part about that is one simple thing – it takes a lot of time to build a strong friendship.  It takes effort.  It takes moment after moment after moment, all piled on top of each other to create something more substantial than a friendly smile to an unknown stranger.

But I’m working on it.  I am mustering up my inner courage and I am getting better at it.  I am taking the initiative more to be “that friend” to others.  I am stepping out of my comfort zone on purpose – with the understanding that if I truly want to become better at making new friends, I have to be willing to put in the time and effort to develop something with more meaning.  How do you do it?  Think about the best friendships you have – and they can include family because sometimes those are the hardest ones to maintain.  What do you do to develop and cultivate meaningful friendships?

With those thoughts in mind, here’s today’s download.  You can use it to make a card for a friend or maybe you are a little like me and you want to become better at creating strong friendships in your life.  If so, perhaps you’ll want to print it out and frame it as a reminder of this inner characteristic you are trying to develop or strengthen.

The best friendships are built piece by piece, conversation by conversation, kindness by kindness, memory by memory.  A million little things that each take a little time – but as that time passes, we emerge with more of our best selves invested in someone else’s life and deeper, stronger, more meaningful friendships.

please click on image to download pdf

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Giveaway Winners + A Little Gratitude

Wow!  What a great response we’ve received regarding the fabulous ideas for taking meals to people.  Thank you, thank you for posting!  If you have any more ideas then please continue to post so that we all have a place to go for our info.  I have learned TONS and don’t feel so much like a fish out of water any more now that I have an arsenal of easy, tasty recipes and tips right here ready for me – you all are awesome!  I had Jason randomly pick two winners of my stamps giveaway for us and here they are:

Daniela
Submitted on 2009/04/04 at 10:14am

I just found this recipe on Carla’s blog…I am always looking for new ideas and this would be perfect:

1 pkg. frozen cheese (or meat) tortellini
1 jar pasta sauce
1/2 c. melted butter
1 c. seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 c. parmesan cheese
salt, pepper, italian seasoning
1-2 c. mozzerella cheese

Directions:

Boil tortellini according to pkg. Toss with melted butter. Mix bread crumbs with parmesan, salt, pepper, & italian seasoning to taste. Gently mix bread crumb/parmesan mixture with tortellini. Pour into baking pan (spray with PAM or coat with oil, etc). Drizzle with pasta sauce, sprinkly mozzerella cheese over all. Bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes.

I would include a note with a recipe and my number if they have any questions or need anything else. I would bake the dish in something that they do not have to wash or return. I would include something to drink.

and

Melinda Wilson

Submitted on 2009/04/06 at 9:58am

Some of the foods I like to send are soups – Santa Fe Soup and White Chili. I will make this up and then send it in Freezer bags so they can warm it up when they want it or put it in the freezer for later. I have grilled boneless chicken breast and taken it with salad mix and dressings. Should they not want to eat it then, the chicken is great on the salad when it is cold.

Winners please email me directly (kolette@kolettehall.com) and tell me where to send your prize.

Because of the fabulous collection we’ve created here on this blog regarding meals, I also wanted to thank Carmel – our reader – who started this whole thing by asking her simple question last week.  Carmel, please send me your address because I have something for you, too!  I appreciate you reading, commenting and sending us in this direction.

This goes for all of you – whether you are a commenter or a lurker (I know you are out there) I thank you for following my blog, sending your support through cyberspace and being interested in what seems like just an ordinary life to me.  Thank you!

In the spirit of thanks – I was planning on snapping a photo of my tulips that are just starting to open up in the middle of my daffodils this morning for my 365 Days of Gratitude when low and behold – I saw this!  We live on a golf course that supposedly was some kind of wetlands years and years ago but I have never had any ducks come to visit us before.  I ran for my camera and got this shot as this partnership was getting up and walking away.  I wish I could have gotten them from the front but they were headed off to their next destination – didn’t they know that I have a project I needed them to pose for?????

I’m not a farm girl, although I like some open space.  I am allergic to just about all animals, including my neice’s bunny “Pete” from 1985.  In spite of that – I loved having these visitors right outside my office window this morning.

Today I’m grateful for ducks.

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365 Days of Gratitute Update

I’m sure that it comes as no surprise that my 365 Days of Gratitude project has taken a sharp turn when it comes to what kind of photos have made it into the mix over the last 6 weeks.  And although I am consumed by the amazingness of this little guy in our lives I have realized some things when it comes to what I am grateful for each day and how I document that gratitude.

The 1200 photos that I have taken since January 27 (I know, it’s ridiculous!) have been whittled down to 500 (still ridiculous!) that have actually remained in my iPhoto Library and then I have carefully picked from those as I decide what actually gets a spot in my Project 365 album.  So yes, many of my current photos revolve around life with Coleman – how can it not?  I see things to be grateful for from every direction…people just can’t seem to help themselves when a new baby is around.  They just want to love and hug and play with him – all under the guise of “babysitting.”  How can the gratitude I feel right now in my life not be centered on the miracle of a new life in our family?

So whether my photos are focused on the people who come to visit us, the grandmas who take a burden from my shoulders to allow me time to learn a new way to work with a baby around, the meals that are brought over, the great ideas that Jason has in order to provide more “hands-on” care than we thought would be possible, or the funny little changes and growth that we see each day in Cole himself, my album has changed.   And I’m ok with that.  It’s one of the reasons I chose to do this project this year and in this particular way.

And I’m really glad I did.

Mary Ellen Edmunds once said, “I’m glad I wrote in journals because I never knew when I was at the beginning of, in the middle of, or at the end of a miracle.”

I am feeling the truth of that statement so strongly right now.  I have to laugh at the photo in my album of the day before my water broke and we rushed to the hospital (I posted it last week but here it is again) I never would have taken this photo if I wasn’t doing this project.  And what a memory to have recorded – my thoughts and feelings, unaware that it was just a few hours before my life changed forever.  I will never have that memory again and I am so glad I have it captured.

That is why I am doing this project.  To capture the moments when the moments actually happen.

But now that I have had a few months to work on the project I have refined my system and I thought you would like me to share it with you.  First, you know that I went through my whole album and inserted the “week” cards (labeled with the dates already) and the journaling cards (blank) along the bottom of my album pages.  So that part is ready to go.  I also placed one strip of days of the week stickers in the Saturday pocket of each week so they are handy.  Finally, I have my clear dot stickers for each day of the week that go on the photos themselves in little individual bags by letter (one for “S,” one for “M,” one for “T,” etc.)

But I already told you all of that if you click here.

The part that I have figured out since is how I maintain my album as I go along each week.  If you are using Becky Higgins’ kit like I am or adapting your own supplies to work, it is helpful to have supplies on hand that make the decisions each week simple and quick.  I found that I had quite a few extra supplies from my kit – such as the tri-fold journaling cards.  I wasn’t sure where I wanted to use those but needed them handy for when I felt like writing more than just what the normal cards would hold.

I also found that each week I was using other supplies as well and wanted them handy as I added to my album.  So, instead of hanging onto all of that stuff, all of the time, I have used one of the boxes that came with Becky’s kit for my “go-to” supplies.  Each week when I have a new batch of photos to include in my album, I pull out this little box and it has everything I need to whip up that week’s worth of memories.

In my box is the following:

• journaling pens (Micron 01 tip for the journaling cards and Sharpie fine tip for writing on photos)
• circle stickers backed in cardstock for each letter of the week (I keep the “S” ones together even though I use them for both Sunday and Saturday, and the “Ts” for both Tuesday and Thursday)
• adhesive to adhere the circle stickers to each photo
• scissors to trim the circle stickers that I have hang off the side of the photos
• tri-fold journaling cards (just a few of each design – I replenish when I need to)
• white-out (just in case)
• extra regular journaling cards that are left over from when I replace them with photos or the tri-fold cards

All of that fits into one little storage box.  I print my photos for the week, pull out my box and my album and can do a week’s worth of journaling and photo placement in about 20 minutes.  Then I stash my little supply box and it’s ready for the next week.

I have also been printing my photos with a thin white border because I like the look that the border creates on each page.

This is a year of gratitude for me.  Every year should be but I’m so glad I decided to really focus on it this year.  I love looking back at what I wrote each day and the photos that capture the most important parts of our lives.  I love it when other people come to visit and browse through the album and see our lives at a glance.  This project is already a treasure in my mind and I’m so grateful – yes grateful – that I’ve chosen to tackle it this year.

I know that you haven’t been able to see the photos I have included over the last 6 weeks of my blogging hibernation but here are some that have made it into my album:

I'm grateful to finally have "baby stuff" intermingled with my own things - I've never had that before.

I'm grateful that my brothers are all such great dads - here's Kent and Kam. Kamron drove all the way from Washington to surprise me in the hospital.

I'm grateful we work from home so we can take photos like this all day with our gorillapod!

After trying and trying, I'm grateful Jason & my mom finally said it's ok to bottlefeed instead of nurse. The guilt we women put on ourselves is ridiculous.

The generosity of neighbors bringing in meals was astounding. Thank you, thank you.

Coleman (and I) are so lucky and blessed to have two grandmas close by who love to babysit - it really helped me learn how to get back into a work system easier to have them available.

I used my iPhone as a way to keep track of feedings, naps, etc. - I finally felt like I knew enough about his schedule that I could give up the list-making after 4 weeks. I'm proud of myself for that.

I'm grateful that my sister borrowed Cole for the afternoon so I could work on finishing his room - it was the spur of the moment and I had a hard time seeing him drive away but knew he was in good hands.

We got a sling for Jason to use but I'm grateful that it works for me as well when I need to have both hands free at the computer and Coleman needs a little bit of "Mom Time."

I'm grateful I don't mind doing the laundry - even the little loads of baby things each day that I do to make sure he always has his little gowns that I love to keep him in right now

This was my 38th birthday shot - I'm so grateful for the men in my life.

This is who I am right now – yes, our focus has become little Cole – but that’s ok.  This is my life and I love it.

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