12.25.2011

.Christmas Morning.

Adam and I hosted Christmas Eve dinner and decided to have Christmas morning to ourselves. It was such a relaxing and romantic time for us filled with early morning snuggles, a Christmas story read through, thoughtful gifts, ham and cheese omelets, computer games, Christmas movies, and afternoon naps. We stayed in our pajamas well into the evening and ate leftovers for dinner. Adam and I truly enjoyed each other today and soaked in every moment in the comforts of our home. 
 Today my time was focused on this man:
Merry Christmas

.Oh Come.

Tears filled my eyes when I stopped myself from singing and simply listened to these words. 

Oh come all ye faithful, 
Joyful and triumphant!
Oh come ye, oh come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold him
Born the king of angels:

Oh come let us adore him, 
Oh come let us adore him,
Oh come let us adore him,
Christ the Lord.

Highest most holy,
Light of light eternal,
Born of a virgin,
A mortal he comes;
Son of the Father 
Now in flesh appearing!

Oh come let us adore him, 
Oh come let us adore him,
Oh come let us adore him,
Christ the Lord.

Sing choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation,
Sing all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God
In the highest:

Oh come let us adore him, 
Oh come let us adore him,
Oh come let us adore him,
Christ the Lord.

Yea Lord,we greet thee,
Born this happy morning;
Jesus, to thee be glory given!
Word of the Father, 
Now in flesh appearing!

Oh come let us adore him, 
Oh come let us adore him,
Oh come let us adore him,
Christ the Lord.

What a magical experience it must have been for all who witnessed the birth of Christ. Believers came to see Jesus; they knew He was sent from God above and was their Messiah. How strong their faith must have been to lead them to behold their King.


 It is a miracle and the greatest act of love how God sent His son to be born a virgin and appear in flesh as man. He did this to save me and to save you for that baby grew to die for our sins so we may know of eternal life.

Oh Come Let Us Adore Him Today and Every Day.

Have a blessed Christmas.

12.22.2011

.Rejoicing in Pain.

I have been in pain.

This past Saturday Adam and I attended a memorial service for our friends sweet baby girl. It was heart breaking viewing the slideshow, listening to the lyrics playing, and seeing our friends mourn. We are all comforted deep down inside knowing little Elli is with Jesus but our earthly bodies ache and miss her. Our friends spoke at the service and shared Elliana's story with us. It became evident to all Elli's life was short but had great purpose, she led people to Christ as her father spoke. It was a beautiful thing to witness.

My body has been the source of an excess amount of pain for the past 10 days or so. Remember when I shared this personal post about migraines and cysts? Well, more cysts decided to form inside of my body. This time 3 at once and all on the same side. I had a large cyst burst Monday morning and it woke me from sleep. I was not scared because the pain was familiar and with that, I found comfort. I praised God for allowing the cyst to burst on it's own and for answering my prayer. Earlier that week, I felt the cyst in me as I walked, sat, laughed, sneezed, etc and I prayed the Lord would heal me and have my body function on it's own, the way He created it, to bring relief. As severe pain entered my stomach, lower back, and down my left leg I was at peace and knew I was being healed. I woke Adam who, in a very sleepy state, simply turned over, held me, and fell back to sleep. I felt my Heavenly Father through Adam's touch and with a smile on my face I fell back to sleep. The rest of the week has been painful but since the cyst burst, it has been much improved. I have continued to watch the girls every day and will not lie, Netflix, our big couch, and warm blankets have been my saving graces.

I decided to follow through with a doctor's appointment to make sure everything looked alright and as normal as it possibly could since I was still experiencing pain. I found out this morning I still have 2 remaining cysts in me, one inside my left ovary and another floating around on the left side. The ultrasound showed a tremendous amount of fluid which took the technician by surprise and she asked how I had been walking around and working. She estimated the cyst that burst Monday morning was around a 5cm cyst which actually isn't the largest I have had. In the past, I have had a cyst 7.3cm in size which brought me to my knees when it burst. My doctor recommended birth control pills as a solution but once again I turned them down because they did not work in the past to prevent the cysts and left me a total emotional train wreck. I left with, "Take an advil for the pain and come back or go to the ER if the pain worsens." I was not discouraged this time around because I was not expecting any meds or a cure, I have accepted my body is one to produce numerous cysts. My biggest concern is a cyst growing too large while inside my ovary and causing it to twist which would require medical and surgical attention. Thank the Lord, this has never happened.

My back has been another source of pain and something I was not expecting this week on top of everything else. I have been going to a chiropractor for almost a year now after having a pinched nerve last January. I felt the same area on my back ache and felt the numbness in my pinky and ring finger on my left hand. These were all signs of another pinched nerve. I saw the chiropractor twice this week and am now feeling my back heal. It is still very sensitive but I am relieved to be feeling an improvement.

I take it day by day and have learned to deal with pain. It is not fun and it hurts me and even my husband some days but I continue to pray and ask for God's provision and His mighty comfort. He has shown Himself to me this week through answered prayer. As I was sorting through my wording in my head to explain, a camper of mine posted this as their facebook status this morning,

The Lord says, "I was ready to respond, but no one asked for help. I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for me. I said, "Here I am, here I am!" -Isaiah 65:1

The Lord is waiting for us to ask. Be bold in your prayer life. Ask for help, ask for healing. I cannot help but think and picture a smile appears on our Lord's face when we cry out to Him as He shakes His head and says, "What took you so long child?" I have been encouraged this week because of my pain and have felt close and connected with my Heavenly Father. We must remember to rejoice in times of sufferings. Romans chapter 5 says,

"Also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."

Please find joy in the little things in life and lift your friends and family this Christmas in your prayers. Pain is not just physical, think of those who are dealing with emotional pain. Pour God's love on them and be encouraged knowing you are loved.
Happy Living--Happy Healing
and remember
--Little Things Bring Smiles--

12.16.2011

.God Is In Control.

God has taken control and revealed His plan to our dear friends Colt and Sarah.

Their precious baby girl went home to be with Jesus this week.

Elliana Rose Freeman was born on October 22 with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome.

Colt shared, "We are so proud of our little Elli, and the fighter that she continually proved to be. Elliana amazed the Doctors and Nurses daily with her resolve to breathe on her own, through paralytics and sedation. To respond to her Mother's voice and to hold her hand when it should have been impossible. To capture our hearts forever.

To hold her in our arms today was a privilege and even in the midst of such sorrow we cherished every moment. Pastor Steven said to me today that we walked her to the gates. 

I can think of no higher honor."
 Elliana and her beautiful, devoted, strong mother Sarah.
 Elliana in her father's warm and safe embrace.
Angels come in small packages.
 She knew her loving parents were always with her.
 Little Elli fought hard until Jesus came to take her home.

Jeremiah 29:11 states,
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

My heart aches for my friends. I have never experienced a loss this great. I can only imagine their thoughts-their pain-and it brings me to tears. God has a plan for every single person..for you..for little Elli. Here on Earth, we may never understand His timing and reasoning but we need to cleave to God's word and His promises. Our faith will lead and allow us to feel God-to be comforted by His peace..to be strengthened by His mighty power..to be filled with hope by His word..
and
..to wake each day praising Him because of His love and grace He has given us.

Friends, I ask you please pray for Colt, Sarah, and their families. 

Ask the Lord to reveal His plan to them. That they may be filled with joy for how long Elliana graced their world. For strength to get out of bed every morning. That they are comforted knowing their daughter, their precious innocent baby girl, is with you, her Heavenly Father. For peace in their hearts to accept what has happened. That others in their families may learn about you through Elli's passing. And most of all, they remember you are always in control and have a purpose and plan for our lives.

I praise you Father for the miracle of Elliana's birth and for every day she touched the hearts of so many.

12.14.2011

.Christmas came early for the Morrows.

Last week Adam and I felt like little elves as we were scurrying about our home and stores preparing for the Morrow family Christmas. 

We did it. 

Shopping- check!
Cleaning- check!
Wrapping- check!
Cooking- check!
Decorating- check!
Hosting- check!
Making sweet memories- check!

My parents from NJ along with my brother, sister-in-law, and little niece from Chesapeake all came to our home to celebrate Christmas early this year. This was the first time my brother and sister-in-law have been to our new house since moving in and we were ecstatic to show them around and the changes we have made. It was wonderful hosting everyone, cooking for them, serving them, loving on them--it was a good Christmas indeed. Our days were filled with strong coffee, yummy food, great conversation, afternoon walks, gift exchanges, and playing with little Emma. Our evenings were filled with more food, Christmas movies, and late nights playing board games. By the end of the weekend my cheeks actually ached from smiling and laughing, true story friends, true story.

 God has blessed our family tremendously and I am fortunate to be loved by such amazing people I respect with my whole heart. Spending time with everyone was the perfect gift this year..especially in my own home! Here are snapshots from our "early" Christmas morning together. Coffee, pajamas, smiles, and no make up were the trend this year :)
Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

12.12.2011

.Our House at Christmas.

This year I wanted to make decorating easy, lively, and affordable. 

I hope you enjoy our simple colorful Christmas.
Learn how to make your own felt trees here and visit back for my DIY Sunburst Mirror Tutorial coming soon! 

Thanks for visiting our home at Christmas.

Happy Living--Happy Decorating 
and remember
--Little Things Bring Smiles--

12.05.2011

.My Blog Looks Funny?.

Why yes, yes it does!

Playing around and changing a few things today. It will make sense later on in the week. In the meantime, just ignore the off centered titles/headers/etc and just look around :)

Happy Monday!

12.03.2011

.Felt Tree Tutorial.

I'm back in tutorial mode.
Sorry it's been this long.
I finally decided to stop my real life for a day {laundry, nannying, cooking, and cleaning} to simply
c r a f t .
It was a fabulous afternoon and night.
I made these little beauties:
Felt Trees
This project was simple, quick, and actually stress free. I will write out the steps for the easy peasy way and if you are like me, the OCD "perfectionist" way :)

Materials needed for Felt Tree:

- Foam Cone 
- Colored Felt (6 pieces for large, 4 pieces for medium, 3 pieces for small)
- Glue Gun
- Glue Sticks
- Sharp, Craft Scissors
- Optional: Ruler

Preparing your Felt: 

1. Select color(s) of your choosing
2. Select the amount of sheets needed for size of your foam cone.
3. Cut the entire felt sheet into strips. If you are like me, use your ruler to measure out 2 inch strips on your felt sheet. Do this for every felt sheet you purchased.
4. Cut out your strips using your sharp scissors.
5. Using your hot glue gun, draw a thin line onto one edge of your cut out felt strip.
6. Simply fold your felt strip in half pressing down on the hot glue line.
7. Cut small lines on the folded edge of your glued felt strip. If you are like me, break out your ruler again and draw a line about one centimeter up from your folded edge and trace with a pencil. This will act as your height line while cutting small lines on your folded edge so they are all even.
8. Repeat step 7 over and over again until all of your strips have small lines cut in them.
9. Bust out your foam cone(s) and remove plastic wrap.
10. Choose one felt glued/cut strip and wrap around cone. The felt sticks to the styrofoam which is convenient and the felt also can stretch to make itself longer if you need.
11. When your glued/cut felt strip is in place, hot glue the edges onto your styrofoam cone. If you are like me, you can alternate the pattern the small cut lines making them alternate or you can keep line lined up. It will appear like this after using 3 strips:
As you get further up your foam cone, your strips will be too long. Simply cut off the excess and save it! I used mostly all of my scraps for the top area of the cone. It is important to keep all "seams" on one side of your cone so it can be the back and you are left with clean lines in the front and sides.
12. When you reach the top, it will be more challenging. Cut out a small circle from leftover felt and hot glue it in place. It will not be pointy but still look like a evergreen tree! :)
Enjoy your trees!

Happy Living--Happy Christmas Crafting
and remember
--Little Things Bring Smiles--