When You're Letting Go of a Piece of Your Heart {Motherhood}

I opened the white, front door of our family home and stepped outside. Cold morning air hit my face and I remembered that it's not summer anymore. September is here with a hint of fall and changes with it. Down the stairs and a few steps onto the street, I was trying to remember the shopping list that was his first school year's necessities. Lunch box, sneakers, uniform, light jacket, and snacks. I reached for the handle of the car door and reminded myself that I wasn't going to cry when I will be dropping him off in a few days. I will smile, wish him a good day and tell him that I will be back soon. I won't make it a huge deal and inflate this out of proportion but at the same time, I will make this milestone a little bit special. I reminded myself to add another thing to the list and drove off.

My big boy, my first born baby is going to school, pre-k to be exact. To some it may be just another trip down the road but for me it was an end of an era. It's the beginning of the end of innocence, carefree childhood and flexible bedtimes in the middle of the week. It is what so many mothers experience this time of year. 

It's a time to embrace the new and remember the old. 

It's a time to give yourself a pat on the back that you've made it so far but to roll up your sleeves and get to work on their homework. 

It's a time to clean out their room and help them settle in their dorm room, while leaving a twenty dollar bill under the rug for a rainy day. 

It's a time to give yourself a break when your last one boards the bus and waves you good bye, leaving you home alone not sure what to do with yourself.

It's a time to give yourself permission to have a good cry and watch a sappy chick flick in the middle of the day, then throw some pizza in the oven and call everyone for dinner. 

It's a time to make homemade cookies when they come back from their first day. 

It's a time to settle down and buckle up, to face the reality of your kids' abilities and push them harder to reach for more. 

It's a time to let go of the extra curricular activities that break up your family time, make your head spin and your hands reach for fast food more times then you should.

It's a time to plan family meals and listen to their conversations.

It's a time to invite the Lord into your morning devotions with your kids before they board the bus.

It's a time to encourage them and uplift them

It's a time to pray for them while they're away 

It's a huge change that brings painful and joyous moments with enormous challenges.

It's an adjustment of routines, bedtimes, shopping lists and budgets. 

It's an expansion of our hearts to find the space and strength to forgive those who will hurt our babies, those who won't understand them and those who will reject them. 

It's an appreciation of those who take the extra time and put extra effort in their success because let's face it, we can't do it alone. 

When you are letting go of a piece of your heart, let God take over. Trust Him to take you through this uncharted territory of firsts - first unaided written letter, first A for enormous effort, first totally failed exam, first oppositional college professor and even first love.

As moms we go through a lot and we all go through similar situations. We all need each other to learn from, to share with and to uplift. It's a tough job and we shouldn't be going at it solo. Find friends who will encourage you, who have gone through similar situations and those who will uplift you in their prayers.

Mama, you are strong, persevering, tough,  unbreakable and courageous. One who wants her child to not just follow the rules, but follow God Himself.

Let me take your hand. And stand with you.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

Summer Happenings {Family Photos}

 Taking family photos is the most labor intensive job out there. Kids are running around, adults are cheesing and you are desperately trying to look natural but have the perfect photos at the same time. Well, I'm loving our these photos we did couple of days ago! We got all dolled up and made a trip downtown to one of our local landmarks and snapped away. Thanks to the talented and patient photographer TC from the Thenappan Picture Gallery, we got some great shots! I honestly want to post all of them - there is so many good ones. If you are in the area, I recommend you hit him up for some photos because honestly I didn't even edit any of these. I also can't wait to frame them because we don't have many recent pictures of all of us together. Hope you have a great weekend and enjoy the weather because it's not going to last long (especially around these parts).

Thank you for stopping by! 

Summer Happenings {Berry Picking}

I love summer! Around our parts, it is very short, hot and humid. But those days we savor every minute and try not to complain about the heat. We go berry picking every year. Starting with strawberries, then raspberries and blueberries. They are in abundance in upstate New York, which we absolutely love. This year strawberries weren't very good considering all the rain but we are looking forward to canning some raspberry jam and eating tons of blueberries. 

We went later in the morning which turned into a muggy and hot afternoon. It wasn't all that popular with kids who wanted to get outta there asap. But nevertheless, they had fun. It's so sweet watching them discover things. Abbie was so excited finding all the ripe blueberries and caught on very quick that only blue ones are yummy. She wasn't a fan of raspberry picking because leaves a bit prickly. Jonathan was a great sport, while I was carrying Abbie around, he picked quite a few berries on his own. I was so very proud of him! 

Although I am very goal oriented person, I try to relax and enjoy kids and see it for what it's worth. Of course, we didn't pick many berries but we enjoyed our time together and the kids learned too a few things too. Hope you get to enjoy some fresh picked berries this summer too!

7 Things You Can Do Now to Get Ready for Christmas

Christmas is coming! The more we plan for the expenses that occur during December, I believe the more we can truly enjoy the season. Here are ten things you can do in the next few weeks to ensure your Christmas is restful, enjoyable and frugal!

PLAN

1. Determine what type of Christmas you want this year. This will help you make every other decision as you prepare for the season — both how you budget your money and how you spend your time.

How To: Take Family Photos

When it comes to family photos, everyone wants to have them but no one wants to put the work into them. Recently we got our brood ready and ventured out for a photo shoot. Here is what I learned.

1. Wear Coordinating Clothes

Since photos are all about the aesthetics, make sure they look cohesive. It is not about one person therefore nothing should be standing out. Do not wear the same colors because you will blend in but have styles and colors that complement each other. Think about the background you are going to have and how you want the photos to look. Is it a formal shoot or do you want the photos to have a relaxed feeling? If you do not think it through, you will be wasting your time and money, and won't like the results. 

2. Know What You Want

Look through Pinterest for ideas, research poses and settings, because not all photographers are alike. The photographer should be prepared and know about family set up but they may have different things in mind. Unfortunately, not all photographers know how to put families together in a creative way and you will be disappointed when you receive the photos. Find the type of photographer who will be able to carry out the service the way you like so ask how they do their photo shoots. Gather reviews from other people who have been photographed and ask for sample work.

3. Make Your Expectations Known

Before you agree/sign a contract, make sure you tell the photographer what you want. If you want more family, artistic photos or individual portraits. You will be disappointed that there are not enough group photos if that's what you were looking for. Also, tell them how much editing you want to be done (ex:.high contrast or soft neutrals) and what you want edited out. Photographers should edit obvious things (feet in the background) and do most of the work without saying. As a customer you should be relaxed and it is the job of a photographer to tell you if you hair is in the way, or hands are in the wrong position, or your smile looks too strained. Lastly, ask about their customer satisfaction policy.

4. Pay After Seeing the Final Product

As a customer who's paying for a service, you have the right to inspect the final product before paying. If you are not satisfied with the photos, make your concerns known. If you are disappointed be ready to justify why (ex. the quality of photos is bad, things are not edited out). Customer service should be part of the business and your satisfaction is what every photographer has to be to looking for. Whatever the reason, if you don't like the end result, it's your right as a customer to voice it.

5. Be Prepared (for anything)

Although you should expect the photographer to be prepared (ex. a blanket for children to sit on), think things through. Bring extra change of clothes, especially for children and think about secondary location (or talk about a re-do) in case it rains. Also, if you end up not liking the photos be prepared to dispute the fact and bargain for lower price. That may cause some problems between you and the photography service but don't hesitate to voice your concerns. After all, you are the one who's paying and therefore 100% in the right.

Thank you for reading!

Family Photos

If anything was keeping this babe from showing up, were our family photos. I've been a huge procrastinator this time around, waiting until I was 39+ weeks pregnant to do a belly family shoot. Honestly, I'm glad we finally got that done and she can come any minute. Please say a prayer for this mama who's more than ready to get the show on the road. Have a great Monday and the rest of your week!

Family Vaca Recap

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that we were taking a family vacation. It was the first time we took Jonathan with us while going away from home. He had the time of his life. From (super nice) family relatives with stayed with to the daily activities, all attention was on him. We visited the local zoo, took walks in the park, went to the beach, ate at cool local restaurants and visited the coolest aquarium I ever saw. It was nice to get away and do things as  a family. Although hubby and I didn't get a chance to get away just the two of us, we enjoyed our selves very much. The roughest part was driving for sixteen hours straight. We had a few bumps along the way - one of which was me falling on and bruising/scuffing my knee. I'm doing ok but the knee will take some time to heal, making me not a very good candidate for fashion posts. Ha! Thank you for stopping by.