Challenges to being "Mommy"

Sometimes I get really bogged down in the day-in and day-outs of motherhood, discipline, messes, potty-training, diaper-changing, temper-tantrums etc. and it becomes hard to focus on the beauty of motherhood and the immense and immeasurable gift that it is... God has really been reminding me lately that these children are everything to him (as am I), he came and died for us after all! I'm working to treasure each day a little more and to see the bigger picture/plan as I stumble over toys and fight for good habits and discipline my children.

 A friend of mine recently posted a little poem of sorts that really struck a cord with me in this regard that I wanted to pass on to you.   Enjoy, smile, and remember your little blessings :)

yes, i'm a mom

my kitchen chairs are sticky
my hair is almost always greasy
i can't pick up messes faster than they are made
i rarely have a shower 2 consecutive days
my clothes are almost always stained
i have bags under my eyes
my patience is...b.a.r.e.l.y there
my make up is r.a.r.e.l.y there and when it is, it is b.a.r.e.l.y there
my laundry is never done
my floors are always dirty
my body will never be the same (even when the scale says it should)
my sleep is almost always interrupted
my train of thought is always interrupted

my car floor is full of cheerios and books and toys and socks and clothes
my mind is full of children's songs

but
my heart is full of love
my ears are full of laughter
my arms are full of little bodies

and i wouldn't have it any other way

Merry Christmas Friends and Family!!

Frosted Glass Snowflakes Christmas 5x7 folded card

Shop Shutterfly.com for elegant Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Christmas is coming!

It's Christmas time people.  Or so the stores have been telling us since before Halloween!  I actually have started doing a little Christmas shopping and am planning to get a move on a few more things next week.  It seems crazy to me, but I know that this season passes so quickly and if I don't get moving early it doesn't get done.  One of the things I really need to work on is Christmas cards.  I usually do something simple and cheap, but I always have trouble finding a photo card that I really like and that works for what I want.  My criteria is simple:

1.  It has to say "Merry Christmas".  I get so annoyed with all the "seasons greetings", "happy holidays" etc. cards!
2.  I like the picture to be flush with the edge, none of those fluffy borders that just make your picture smaller.
3.  I like it to be "religious", after all, Christ is what Christmas is all about and I don't what that to be disguised by secular fluff.
4.  And finally, no Santa, reindeer, snowmen, or other commercialized pictures.

You might be surprised that it is really difficult to find a card that matches those things... that's why this year I'm getting my cards through Shutterfly!  Haha... to those of you who were thinking "Why is she writing about this?"... Yes, (in the interest of full disclosure) I'm promoting Shutterfly because they're giving me 50 free cards for doing so.  But seriously, there is so much selection and variety in design, color, layout that you absolutely will find something that you LOVE!

So back to the point, do you ever find yourself in a similar dilemma, trying to find a cute photo card that expresses the sacredness of the season and suites your personality?  Well, here are my picks for the year.  Don't be surprised if you find one of these in your mailbox this season :)

My favorite folded Christmas cards:


Is that beautiful or what?



Ooohhh, I like this one too.



I like this one, but I don't think I have that many good pictures!


Hmmm... Classy.

So I just realized those are all folded cards.  Check out these flat cards:



I'm liking this one.



Or maybe this one too :)



This one's also pretty and has a little more room for text.

Now if only I could get the perfect picture and narrow down these cards to one!

By the way, in case you didn't notice, all the pictures are linked just in case you fell in love with one of these cute cards too!

If you're a blogger and want to enjoy this promotion as well, go here to sign up!

Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly, follow the arrow à http://bit.ly/sfly2010 

Joshua Ryan Sierra has arrived!

Joshua Ryan Sierra was born May 26th, 2010 at 11:04pm.  He weighed 8 pounds .03 ounces and was 20.5 inches long.  He surprised us by arriving two weeks early when we were definitely not expecting him.

To give you a bit of an idea of how surprised we were let me just say that we had finished painting the children's rooms two days prior to his arrival.  I had just that day finished washing all the baby clothes/linens and that evening we were rearranging furniture in the childrens rooms.  I fortunately had started to pack my hospital bag that weekend and so we did have some things together when my labor began, but I had to finish packing my bag and pack for Daniel the night we went to the hospital!

In addition to the surprise of when Joshua arrived, we were also greatly surprised that he was here within 2 hours and 44 minutes.  Yes, that's right, 2 hours and 44 minutes.  My water broke at 8:20pm and he was here at 11:04pm.  We never even made it to labor and delivery!  We were expecting something a little less sudden considering that Daniel took 12 hours to arrive.  SURPRISE!!  And shock really...

In retrospect I'm really glad that he arrived so quickly, why prolong the pain right?  So here he is and 3 weeks later we are adjusting to life with a newborn again and thoroughly enjoying Joshua Ryan!  Daniel is a very good big brother and is always looking out for Joshua and wanting to "check on him" whenever he fusses.

And here's what you really wanted to see anyways... pictures...

One of the last pregnancy pictures.  Taken 5/19/10 at the beginning of 38 weeks.

At a baseball game with my boys the night before Joshua was born!

Joshua Ryan snuggling with Mommy for the first time!

Our precious boy is finally here!

Proud Daddy with his boy!

Josue shows Joshua the wonders of technology before he's even 2 hours old.

Sleeping in Daddy's arms!

Daniel Bronson meets Joshua Ryan for the first time!

Mommy and Daddy bring Joshua Ryan home from the hospital.  Look at that sweet face!

Precious feet.  They're big!  Perhaps he will be a tall boy.

Sleeping contentedly :)

Snuggled up on Daddy's chest.

I love all his adorable faces!

Bright eyed boy!

Who do you think I look like?

Brothers :)

Thank you for all your prayers and well wishes.  We would appreciate your continued prayers as we seek to raise these boys to be godly men and leaders!

The Growth of Baby Boy Sierra #2

Baby Boy Sierra is due today!  Perhaps he has already arrived, perhaps we are still waiting.  Either way, I scheduled this post to publish ahead of time so that regardless of what's happening at home, you get to enjoy a little update! 

Here's a little progression of how baby boy Sierra #2 has grown over the last 9 months :)

October 1, 2009 - 4 weeks exactly

The day we confirmed what we thought we knew - Baby #2 is on the way!

11.10.10 -- 9 weeks old (almost 10) at this point

Baby Sierra #2's first picture!  We didn't expect to get to have an ultrasound but he was moving so much that the doctor's couldn't get the heartbeat and so needed to do an ultrasound to confirm the pregnancy!  Yay for God's provision to get to see our little baby!

First "unofficial" belly shot - 11.16.10 - 10 weeks

I was already showing enough to have to use a belly band with my pants.  Amazing how much faster you show with the second baby!

Merry Christmas Eve!  12.24.10 - starting my 16th week

Showing a little bit here, definitely able to see the baby belly now!

Happy New Year!  1.1.10 - 18 weeks

First belly picture with cousin Laura and myself.  We're due 8 weeks apart, I'm 18 weeks and she is 26 weeks.

1.11.10 - 19 weeks along in this picture

And no, my belly isn't really lumpy like that!  It's just the maternity pants and shadow that make it look funny like that!

2.18.10 - at the start of 26 weeks

At Laura's baby shower - 2.20.10

I am 26 weeks and Laura is 34 weeks!  Baby Girl Moyer is coming soon!

3.10.10 - at the end of my 27th week

3.11.10 - just starting my 28th week

Off to a hot date with my hubby at the symphony!  Have to get that quality time in while we can!!

3.31.10 - 30 weeks
I spent the day helping Laura prepare meals to freeze for after her little girl arrives (she's 38 weeks)... I'm planning to do the same for myself when I get closer to my due date.

4.4.10 - Easter Sunday - 31 weeks

Trying to get these pictures in more frequently!  Baby boy # 2 is growing so fast!

6.8.10 - Well Baby Boy Sierra is due today!  Maybe he's already been born, maybe we're still waiting...  but just in case I've scheduled this post to be published just in case I'm not available to do so! 

Wish us the best and keep us and baby in your prayers!

Daniel's version of the "Bus Song"

One of Daniel's favorite songs that we have to sing all the time at naps and bedtime is the "Bus Song".  It's a very versital song and we've made up many verses to keep it fun and interesting.  The basic song goes:

The wheels on the bus go round and round.
Round and round,
Round and round,
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
All through the town.

And then there are various verses such as:

The lights on the bus go blink, blink, blink
The engine on the bus goes brrrm, brrrm, brrrm
The people on the bus go up and down

And so on and so forth.

Well Daniel really loves to sing and so you will often hear him singing his favorite songs as he plays.  Today though he (I believe for the first time) made up his own verses to go along with the "Bus Song".  It's super cute though Daddy certainly made out better than Mommy!

I managed to convince him to do it on video so here you have it:

Easter Sunday!

We had a lovely Easter this year and it was so much fun with Daniel now that he is a little older and could understand and enjoy things more.  (See the next post for a little story on our attempt to explain the resurrection to Daniel!)

I was reminiscing this morning how two years ago Easter was the first Sunday that Josue and I made it back to church after Daniel was born (we left Daniel home with Grammie).  And then Daniel attended his first family gathering and met his Great Grandpa for the first time.  How quickly time has passed!

Anyways, we spent the afternoon enjoying family and delicious food!  And after Daniel napped we had a little egg hunt and gift for him...  Here are some pictures, enjoy!

Definitely the right way to start the morning!!! Pecan sticky buns :)

Grabbing a family picture before we totally forgot!  What a beautiful day we enjoyed today!

Daniel playing cars with the "big boys" after lunch!  They were so good with him!

Daniel and Daddy playing outside with the teather ball!  Daniel had so much fun with this!

Oh how I love that sweet, sweet face!

Thanks for taking the picture Micah!  Too bad Daniel wasn't ready :)  Daniel and I enjoyed some dessert outside on the lawn.

Daniel hunting for eggs!  He had so much fun!!

After finding each egg he had to stop, open it and eat whatever was in it (or put on the sticker as was the treat in some of the eggs).  So cute!

Finding another egg in the chives!

Trying to smile with Grammie for a pic, the sun was too bright!

Daddy helping Daniel find any Goldfish or Craisins that he missed and eat them :)

Daniel openning his gift from Mommy and Daddy, a bucket with some gardening tools so he can help Mommy in the garden this summer :)

Happy Easter everyone!  May you have had a blessed day and a wonderful time celebrating our risen Lord and the blessing of Life he has given you!

He is Risen Indeed!

It really is difficult to explain to a two year old how Jesus died and then rose from the dead.  Comparison sometimes works - in our attempt to get the point across to him we compared Jesus' death to him killing a bug the other day...  And then explained that while the buggie was still dead, Jesus isn't dead anymore.  I'm not quite sure how effective that was as death is so abstract at this young age.  However, when asked if Jesus was alive he did correctly answer "Yes!" and then proceeded to confirm, "Buggie still dead!"

LOL!  Love my boy and his simple understanding of things so much!

Happy 2nd Birthday Daniel!

My little boy is 2!  And time has flown so very, very fast!  If you read my previous post you got to enjoy hearing about many of Daniel's milestones over the past year so I won't include that here...

The day before Daniel's actual birthday we had a little party for him with just the Grandparents and Great-Grandparents.  Who to invite is such a dilemma because we have such a large family!  So we decided to keep it small this year.  The birthday boy was very excited about his party and especially about having cake!  So much so that I had to not talk about it for the week leading up to the party otherwise I would have constantly been trying to explain to an excited boy why we were not having cake today!

Here are some snapshots of the party - we enjoyed lunch with the grandparents after church and then dug right in to presents and then cake!

The birthday boy on his special day!  He was super excited to have a birthday shirt with a picture of cake on it!

Daniel opens his first gift from Great Grandpa and Grammie the Great - "I've Been Working on the Railroad" book with wheels!  He totally loves this!

Daddy has to read it right away!

Opening presents after lunch - this is one of Daniel's new favorite books - Richard Scarry's "Cars, and Trucks, and Things that Go!"

Daniel opens another book, "Curious George Makes Pancakes", and we promptly sat down and read it right there.  I love how our boy enjoys reading!!

Daniel received his first soccer ball this birthday!  Start 'em early!

When it was time to open gifts from Bua and Abuelo (Josue's parents) we did a Skype video call with Bua so that she could watch Daniel open the gifts.  This is how all video calls with Bua start out - silly faces!

Such a "funny boy!" as Daniel would say!

Daniel received a John Deere tractor apron and various child-sized cooking utensils and baking pans from Grammie and Grandpa.  He loves helping Mommy in the kitchen so this was so perfect!

Curious George tea set from Grammie and Grandpa!

Daniel knew exactly what is was and what to do with it!  I drink many cups of tea per day now!

Blowing out the candles - Daniel got them both all by himself!

VERY excited about eating his inchworm cake!

Quick picture with Mommy and Daddy before we dig into the cake.  Such a wonderful boy we have!

Mmmm, mmmm good!

Having some more tea at the new table from Mommy and Daddy!

Enjoying his bubble mower from Bua and Abuelo before crashing for naptime!

We really had a fun day and I think Daniel really enjoyed it.  At this age the simplest things make a child so very happy.  It was fun to just enjoy a relaxed afternoon and let him have the fun of being the center of everyone's adoring attention!

May God bless the coming year as deeply and more as He has this past one!!  As you remember us please pray that we will honor and glorify God with the way that we raise Daniel.  And that by God's grace we will train him and help him to grow into a Godly boy who understands God's love for him and loves Him back!