The Diary of a Stay at Home Mom: A Thankful "Dr. Mom"

Tonight I put my baby girl down for bed and was just really overwhelmed by how much I love her.

I am so thankful for her.  She is such a beautiful girl.  She is incredibly sweet.  She is so smart and getting smarter.  The girl loves her some drama, but in time I pray that we can harness that for her good and the Lord's glory.  She is my morning, noon, and night right now - and I love it!

Since we've been back from vacation (almost two weeks) Maggie has been sick.  First, we were unsure of what she was dealing with and eventually learned she had "roseola" - basically it was a high fever (103ish) for 3 days and then when it broke (on Thursday night) she developed a complete body rash for a couple days.  We had a few days of relief over the weekend and on Monday, but Tuesday she started into a pretty fierce runny nose.  At first I attributed that to teething, but as it lingered it was clear she had yet another virus.  She now has a gnarly cold, with a hoarse, barking cough - and I tell you it is one of the saddest sounds.  You can hear how sore her throat is when she cries, and it really does break my heart.

It's super hard to have a sick little baby when you are a new mom; at least for this new mom.  I think I have said "I don't know what to do for you" (or some variation of that)  more than 100 times these past two weeks.  When she can talk or point to what's bothering her, I think it'll be much less difficult...or at least take out a lot of the guess work.  I'd go to the moon and back to make her happy, but this week what she needed most from me was patience (which I definitely lacked at times) and a lot of cuddle time, which I was so happy to do!

But, all of this to say...these two weeks have made me INCREDIBLY thankful for a healthy baby!  How kind is the Lord to give me the gift of a healthy baby girl - all of her organs functioning and bones straight and everything doing what it is supposed to be doing when it is supposed to do it!  That is a miracle, babies are a miracle; there is so much that could go wrong, but the Lord so graciously has given us this gorgeous, healthy girl!  That's not to say that that will continue, or our other children will be that way as well, although we do pray for that - but right now I couldn't be more grateful for His kindness in my girl, Maggie!

I really do hope my role of "Dr. Mom" comes to an end soon, but children truly are a blessing from the Lord and I am so in love with my lovey little blessing!  Hope everyone has enjoyed this sunny week!

Kauai 2012 part 2

More Kauai...

Zip-line video!  (did i mention it was pouring rain during half of this adventure!  thankfully not during this video, otherwise we might have ruined our camera!)

Kauai food court.  Obviously a highlight!

Waimea Canyon.  The "Little" Grand Canyon.

Robert went surfing!

And Maggie ate some sand...haha.  O well.

I love her fat, little nose.

Goodbyes are hard...

"Sister's Forever!"

Maggie's Aunt and Uncles (so weird my siblings are aunts and uncles).

One last family picture in this Paradise before a DAY of travel :)

What a great trip!!  Thank You, Lord, for safety and family and sunshine!  If you want to know more about our trip, just ask!  And now, we are very glad to be home!!!

THE END!

Kauai 2012 (part 1)

We had such a GREAT vacation!  Family, beach, zip-line, pool, sun, and lots of food - sounds amazing, right!  I'm so thankful to my grandparents for taking us and my whole family on this trip.  It was such a blessing from the Lord and such a special time!  So instead of a long narrative about all of the details about our vacation, here are a bunch of pictures.  Enjoy!

First day at the beach!

Maggie's fun new pool float!

She's too sweet!

My grandparents = awesome!  They started it all :)

My family minus my dad (who was taking the pic).

All of us!  The Bowens, Morales', Smiths, Watsons, and Wauhops!

Anniversary Date Night!!  Seriously some of the best food I've ever eaten, and I SO loved being alone with my man for 24 whole hours!!

A gorgeous hike on the coast in Poipu!

Crazy fun zip-line tour with Kauai Backcountry Adventures! (video to come!!)

I realized this was getting a little long...so, Kauai 2012 part 2 coming up.  Stay tuned!

Shout Out!!

I have a few friends who are great, entrepreneurial stay at home moms, and I just wanted to give them a  little shout-out today!  Check out their websites/blogs/products...

First up, my neighbor and friend Rebecca Leon @ Go Green Treasures.  She makes tons of really cool and beautiful wreaths for literally every occasion.  She can customize them, as well, to fit your specific need.  She also sells lots of homemade jewelry!  Check her out!

Next is my friend Monica Mehringer @ Hello Brielle.  Check out her blog and her etsy!  She makes (and sometimes even gives away) super cool prinatbles (invitations, party decor, etc.) like the one below!  She is very talented and would make a great addition to any event you might be having, so definitely check her out! 

Lastly, for today, is my friend and college roommate, Caiti Garter @ Knots For You Crochet.  She makes ADORABLE headbands, bonnets, hats, all sorts of things for your baby!  And she's a photographer - mega talented.  But anyway, you should definitely check her out as well!