Soaking up the love.

Landon doesn't spend too much time on the floor these days because busy bee big sister likes the way her foot feels on his face. But, every now and then I will stay close and let her look (and poke) at him. This day however, she wanted to give him a kiss and my heart grew a little bigger. 

I know there will be a time, years from now, that sitting in the back seat together will be pure torture for these two. But, for now I am soaking up the love and sweet moments they are sharing. 

DIY: Ombre Utensils for Mom.

Hope all you mama's had a super special Sunday.

I sure did! I was surrounded by those I love and my sweet littles. Madelyn had the tail end of a yucky virus so I didn't have high hopes for the day. But, she said happy mother's day by taking a solid nap in the morning which allowed me to put my make up on at home instead of at a red light. It was a great day.

We went out to lunch, played by the pool and celebrated my birthday with family, too. Two celebrations in one day? I'll take it!

I gave a few handmade mother's day gifts out this year. Thought I would share one with you, here. I followed an easy tutorial but tweaked mine a bit, that's the beauty of making your own gifts. Here's the set I made. The steps are very easy to follow and I was very happy with the outcome. My mama was too!

Find the tutorial I used: here

Before:

After:

Really wish I would have made myself a set while I was at it!

Real Beauty.

I often pray for my children and think about their futures. 

I dream about what their personalities will be, their interests and who they will choose to spend forever with. I pray for their friends and positive influences.  Against, peer pressure and bullies. I think about a lot, what parent doesn't? I think about a lot of things that really don't matter right now and won't for a while. 

But, one thing I find myself thinking about often is, how they will view themselves. Especially, Madelyn. I think girls battle self worth more than boys. So many young girls let their peers define them. They allow society to mold them into what "beauty" is. They will alter who they are to fit in with people they want to be. I can say I struggled with those areas growing up. High school is a tough environment, I don't care who you are. It's an awkward stage. 

A few weeks ago, I watched a video that Jodi, a friend/family/fellow blogger shared. She's a great gal and you can read her awesome, real writings, here. I have since seen it many other places. You may have already caught a glimpse of it. If not, here you go. It will bless you.

Really makes you think, right? It's real. And it's reality for most of us. Even as adults. After watching it, I thought about my girl and the journey that is ahead of her. A journey filled with a corrupt view of beauty that our society portrays to us as such. I want more for her. I want confidence. I want purity. I want strength. I don't want the opinion of herself to be written out for her by her peers. I want her to see herself, how God sees her. As a daughter of The King. A treasure. Beautiful. A masterpiece. 

Along side of their peers, daughters watch their mamas. I want to be a Godly example for my girl. How will she view herself as beautiful and walk in confidence if she hears me constantly tear myself down with criticism? Don't get me wrong, every one has things about themselves they wouldn't mind changing. I get that and I'll be the first to admit it. But, I want to help her to focus on the things that are great. Because, there are great things. Why put so much focus on the others?

May.

I love May. It's my favorite month. Lots happen around here in May. It's my birthday month, mother's day and our anniversary. Along with many other exciting things all crammed into 31 days of awesome. See why it's my favorite?

The kids and I have been on a mission to find new parks the last week or so and we definitely succeeded! We found one that is my favorite so far, Madelyn agreed!

With the summer coming and the insane heat, I wanted to find some "splash parks" in the area. They are parks with playgrounds and water areas too. It's a great way for the kids to cool off and for the mamas too. 

Madelyn is a huge fan of the water area. Maybe a little too much. Nothing like trying to drink a little city water. Gross.

This park overlooked a huge lake, it is so pretty. She loved watching the boats.

Hope you are having a great week. It's almost over already! Oh yeah.

Along with looking for new parks we are also looking for other fun summer activities, too. How do you plan to spend your summer? Have any toddler activities you would suggest for a busy little bee like this one?