The Essential and Eternal Role of Motherhood ... Mother's Day 2014

Tomorrow is Mother's Day, and I can't help but reflect on what that means to me, at this point in my life. 17 months ago, today, my sweet Ava Noelle was born. While looking back now, it was the greatest day of my entire life, but the days leading up to it were full of many emotions and uncertainty. We waited almost 5 years to become parents - and there were reasons for that. We needed time to grow as a married couple and to learn about ourselves. We were never fully prepared for being parents, but is anyone, really?

I was super scared to have a baby. The process of labor, yes, but scared to bring another human into our life. I'd finally felt like we'd figured out  started to maybe get the hang of marriage. And I was scared to change that. I'd seen it happen to other couples over and over. You have a baby and your marriage changes. Your husband is no longer your #1 priority - it's your kids. Your husband no longer gets attention - it's your kids. Your husband no longer feels "close" to you - it's your kids. I was scared of putting a wedge between my husband and me - yep - a baby wedge. I was so happy to become a mom - I've always only ever wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. Even in college and working - it all felt like it was just me getting through the time until I became a mom. But when it was suddenly happening - I was scared about change.

One best friend told me that doesn't have to happen - that your love only grows. It's impossible to understand that idea until you are going through it. I couldn't understand how adding more responsibility, stress and someone else to our life would only bring us closer and make us love each other more. Don't get me wrong - I was super happy to be pregnant - enjoyed every moment of it - had a super easy pregnancy and delivery {think 4 hours from hospital check in and 3 pushes later}. We were super excited and happy - I was just scared about the unknown and didn't want my marriage to change.

I was super right.

Choose Your Love - Love Your Choice

Today is my 6 year wedding anniversary. S - I - X. For reals? 6. What the crazy. I mean, I can't remember my life before him, but to say the word "SIX" sounds like a LOT. I remember when we first got married, a coworker told me she had been married for 5 years, and I thought, "WOW! You're old! That's such a long time." Now. That's me plus one more. Six years.

6 years is a lot to put into one blog post. In fact, I can't even do it. It would start with a story about a Tuesday night where I was wearing my "I traded my boyfriend for a sparkler" shirt and this cute american history major told me I could touch his KG's {those are basketball shoes, p.s.}, and somewhere in the middle would be a halloween at village inn ... lots of travels ... a little yellow house ... some crazy years of unemployment ... a whole lot of love ... and a little beautiful baby bundle. But, like I said, 6 years is a lot to sum up in a few paragraphs. What I do want to write about, though, is how amazing and trying and funny and crazy and hard and wonderful and perfect marriage is. 

free printable from Crafty Wife

{I love inspirational PINs, so you'll find lots of those helping me out!}

5 Truths About Dating (When Married) + A Cookie-For-2 Recipe ... Guest Post by Pamela of Macdonald's Playland

Hello everyone! My name is Pamela and I am so excited to be here today! (Thank you to the sweet and beautiful Daniela for having me during her special wedding anniversary week!) I am from southern California, am happily married to my husband Scott, and am the proud mommy of a beautiful 2-year-old girl named Lilly (with a son on the way, due at the end of March! Just a few more weeks to go!) I blog over at Macdonald's Playland. 

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My blog exists so I can share & hopefully inspire through my creative outlets and thoughts. I share a lot of crafts/DIY (I have no fingerprints), home decor (my bedroom is all WHITE - yes..even with a toddler), party planning (I'm a crazy party planning lady), and it also includes a smorgasbord (yes, I said "smorgasbord") of other things I enjoy in life such as recipes (I'm always rumbly in the tumbly!), fitness (or lack thereof), thoughts on marriage (TMI much?), and lessons in mothering/parenting (usually it's my child teaching me things!)  It would be fun to have you join me as I adventure through wifehood and mommyhood! I love writing & sharing things that hopefully help & inspire fellow women, wives, mommies, etc. to get through their own adventure...all while documenting my own :) And of course, I share a lot of adventures I have with my little family. We love Disneyland. Did you know I told my husband I was pregnant at Disneyland? You should read about it & watch the video. It was awesome, and he's so gullible.

That's me and my blog in a nutshell!

.........So, back to our regularly scheduled program! In honor of Daniela and her hubby's anniversary week, I wanted to share a post about dating in marriage :) 
 

I've found that dating, just as it was fun and essential during courtship, is just as essential and necessary in marriage. Finding that time to be alone with your spouse is so important. It's taking the time for the 2 of you. You both deserve it, and your marriage deserves it. I promise when you try to do it consistently, you can strengthen your marriage.

My husband and I are nearing our 5 year wedding anniversary in August, and we are celebrating our 13 year "dating" (since we met) anniversary in May. Through all this dating we've done in our 13 years together (that's a lot of dating!), I decided to share 5 truths about dating in marriage that I have learned along the way.

5 Truths About Dating (When Married)

1. It's not always "romantic."

Why Married Life, Is the Good Life ... Guest Post by Jorden of Showered in Sequins

 

On January 4th, 2014, I was married to my best friend for all time and eternity. It was the best day of my life so far for so many reasons. I learned a lot that day and on my honeymoon about marriage. I dated Evan for 1 year before we got married, and I have known him for 4. How could we possibly have more to learn about each other or from a marriage? I mean, we were basically just moving in together. Well, for the last 2 weeks I have thought about how some of my expectations for marriage were unrealistic and how some things have exceeded those expectations. I decided all in all, that married life, is the good life. These are my top 5 reasons why. :)

1. Your Life Long Partner

One of my favorite things about being married is that I have the security of someone who will always be there. I love knowing that when I come home, there is someone waiting for me. It brings so much joy to my soul knowing we will create a world all our own. I am no longer without a partner in my journey here on earth. It's a great feeling.

2 You Become Better

I have noticed that marriage and a relationship in general demands time, respect, love, compassion, patience, and selflessness. These are all attributes that I have strived for always, being married so far allows me to really put them to work and reap the benefits. If you work hard and are mindful, a marriage relationship can and will make you a better person.

3. Sex

Sexy time all the time. Yay! Haha, really though, it is a great thing about being married. Sharing my most intimate part of me to my husband. With respond and love, this is an amazing and exciting part of our relationship.

4. No More Blind Dates

YIPEEEE!! I love this part. It's always fun to date and be asked out, but it starts to get really annoying and old after a while when no one interesting is coming your way. The cool thing I've noticed about marriage is that Evan and I get to date each other for the rest of our lives. Date nights will happen and we'll do all we can to keep that young spunky part of our relationship alive.

5. A Best Friend Forever

Well, I hope that he never leaves me or I never leave him. BUT on my honeymoon I had a realization that I get to have my best friend, who knows me better than most, to be with me always. He gets to soften my sorrows, celebrate with me during happy times, laugh with me, cry with me and do all things in life with me. It's a great feeling. I feel so lucky to not only have my husband, but to have the opportunity to be married as well.

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Thanks, Jorden for those thoughts on marriage! This March will be my sixth wedding anniversary and this post made me remember how I felt those first couple weeks of being married. It is bliss! My husband and I are closer today than we were six years ago, and I'm so grateful for everything we've gone through that has brought us to where we are now.

You can visit Jorden's blog, Showered in Sequins, for more great thoughts from this newlywed. I highly recommend following Jorden on IG. Her taste in fashion and design is inspirational!

Showered in Sequins BLOG / INSTAGRAM / BLOGLOVIN / PINTEREST

Be sure to check back in next week, because lots of exciting things are happening at Put A Bird On It! Valentine's Day printables and a HUGE GIVEAWAY are headed this way.

Have a great weekend!

xo

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New Year's Resolution List 2014

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF 2014!

Today is the first day of the BEST YOU EVER. Today is the day to make your new year's resolutions. It's kind of awesome, because you can be whoever you want to be this year. Forget the old YOU and become the NEW YOU. I am really really really ridiculously awful at setting goals. And probably even worse at keeping them. I always kind of have the things I need to work on list in the back of my mind, but it probably should be a longer list and I probably should have it written down somewhere I can actually SEE it. This year, I designed my own resolutions list for 2014. And I'm sharing it with you! 

*watermark will not appear when you download from the link below*

download PDF new years resolution list here

I'm really going to set some goals and try my darndest to keep them. I know I won't be perfect and will forget and that list of things I need to work on will grow every day, but I really want to try this year to actually become a better human being.

Here are some pics that helped inspire me. Maybe they will inspire you, too! :)

 

OK OK. For reals. :)

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Surrounded by Colours

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

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Nelson Mandela - Living the Legacy

In honor of the passing of Nelson Mandela, I write this post. My husband served a two year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Johannesburg, South Africa. He has loved Nelson Mandela for as long as I have known him {on our first 'hang out' he told me he wanted to name a son after him!}. He did a tribute post on Facebook and, in it, was the following quote.

CLICK HERE to download this free printable

I wish I could write a long post about Nelson Mandela...his life...his legacy, but I am sad to say I don't know very much about him. Only what Conrad has told me, which is enough to know he fought for equality of all people, democracy and learning. While on trial, facing the death penalty, he said:  

“I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

CLICK HERE for a link to learn more about this amazing man in our world's history. My husband has encouraged me to read "Long Walk to Freedom" {Nelson Mandela's autobiography} for 7 years now. I think it's about time I do.

 

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Doubt Your Doubts {free printable}

I don't normally post on Sunday, but I wanted to share a FREE PRINTABLE I made that shares one of my most favorite quotes. It is from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Whether you are Mormon or not, this quote can mean something for you.

I teach the 12-14 year old youth in Sunday School at church {www.lds.org}. This month's lessons are all on becoming self-reliant. Today's lesson was on finding answers to your own gospel questions. At the end of the lesson, I felt compared to share this very quote. "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith." I think it is easy to have doubts -- and hard to have faith. The negative always seems to stick out more than the good, in any situation. But it shows true courage, I think, to doubt your doubts and rely on your faith. Find the good in everything. Have hope. Believe.

If you care to read the talk from President Uchtdorf {give during the October 2013 session of General Conference for the LDS Church}, you can find it by clicking HERE {Come, Join Us}.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

Download "Doubt Your Doubts" quote

Come back TOMORROW for a chance to win a SUPER CUTE way to display your favorite quotes!!

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Make the Most of Conference ~free printable~

You may know this weekend is General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! If not, you can go HERE {www.lds.org} to find out more about this fantastic weekend, where people all over the world get together at the conference center, stake centers, ward buildings, and their homes to listen to a prophet's voice. It truly is a weekend just meant to inspire, to uplift, to lighten the load, and to give hope! Well, it's not just for adults -- it's for kids, too. And as hard of a time as I have sitting still during conference (yes, I admit to being a phone troll during a talk or two), it is even harder to get kids to get excited and interested in remembering conference weekend.  My husband and I teach a youth Sunday School class for our church, the kids are ages 12-14. I wanted them to remember conference weekend! So I found this cute handout reminding the kids to Make the Most of conference. I found the phrasing online, but created my own, simple version of the handout in cute fall colors. I attached it to packets of M&M's, used some cute ocean blue ribbon to tie it together, and delivered it to our Sunday School kids the day before conference -- to remind them to watch! I hope this small gesture helped them tune in to a talk or two -- because you never know when you are going to hear something that just might lift your spirits or make your day a little easier.

As always, here are your links to download!!!!!

Make the Most of Conference PDF

Make the Most of Conference Silhouette Studio File

Wouldn't the M&M's be perfect to then use for Conference Bingo?!?!