What's in a year?

What's in a year?
More specifically, what's in a Throckmorton year?

The 10 most significant things we did in the year 2013...

10. Packed away the bottles (and toys, and pacis, and blankets)
      ...and then got them back out.

9.  Saved up and bought a second vehicle with cash.

8.  Put our house on the market.

7.  Went on a 2 and a half week road trip...and survived!  (with only a few minor hiccups)

6.  Ellis turned one...10 weeks after finding out we were pregnant with number 2!

5.  I transitioned from working part time to staying at home full time...leading to the start of my new blog, online shop, and joining the Thrivemoms team.

4.  Ellis learned to crawl, walk, finally eat solid foods, and pull the dog's tail.

3.  Olive Ruth was born on October 23rd.  She learned to smile, coo, and aallllmost sleep through the night.

2.  Celebrated 5 years of marriage.

and the number one thing we did in 2013...

changed diapers.
Lots of diapers.
Around 2500 of them.


Thanks for journeying with me through the blog this last year.  I'm not all that sappy when it comes to starting fresh at the new year.  To me, the best thing about the new year is that we are that much closer to spring.  But I am excited to see what 2014 will bring.  I have a feeling this year holds something big.  Let's do this.

Peace out 2013. 

Fifty Two Pages | Dec 23 - Dec 29

It's monday.  Which means it's time for Fifty Two Pages!  

Please join us.  You won't regret it.  I promise.

It's a project on being intentional.  It's a project on making memories and keeping them alive.

It's your memories in Fifty Two Pages.

(If you are new here, you can click here for the FAQs page...)

Share your collages from the week on IG, Twitter or Facebook with tag #fiftytwopages

Bring on the Christmas pictures!!

My fifty two pages from this week:

Fifty Two Pages | Dec 16 - Dec 22

It's monday.  Which means it's time for Fifty Two Pages!  

Please join us.  You won't regret it.  I promise.

It's a project on being intentional.  It's a project on making memories and keeping them alive.

It's your memories in Fifty Two Pages.

(If you are new here, you can click here for the FAQs page...)

I had a slow picture week this time around.  But I can promise you next week I will not be able to choose...I just might have to make a few collages :) 

Go ahead and link up your #fiftytwopages on Twitter, IG, or Facebook

Also, while you are at it, would you mind pinning that super cool 5-step graphic up above?  

(Did I just break all social media "rules" by asking you to share something for me...?  Ooops.)  

But really...if you could that would be quite the Christmas gift to me!  :)

My #fiftytwopages from Dec 16 - Dec 22

Ellis Hay | 18 Months

For Ellis' first year I did these every month, and now that I'm switching that to every 6 months, I feel like there is SOOOO much to catch up on.  It's even hard to remember what all has changed in the last 6 months!  So bear with me, this one's a little longer than the rest :)

Weight: 27.5 lbs

Height: 3 feet tall!



Likes: 

You love people.  You love when someone new walks in a room and don't like when they leave.  You are a very social kid.  When it's just you and your mama at home, you tend to get a little board.  Going out in public and waving/talking to everyone is a fun afternoon activity!

Being outside.  You are all boy.  Nature excites you.  It stinks how cold it is getting because that's going to very much limit the amount of time we get to play outside.  And you are at such a fun, exploring age.

Your pacis.  I feel like the older you get, the more you are getting attached.  You only get them in bed, but you are becoming more and more excited about them when you see them.  You love going to bed at night and I credit this to the pacis in bed.  Seriously, we say "nigh-night?" and you bolt to the stairs.

You love getting your hair brushed.  You think it's so funny and you even try to do it yourself!

Trains, cars, and kitchen utensils are you favorite toys.  I think your very favorite would be the ladle.



Dislikes:  
You are starting to revert back to not liking baths.  I am not sure why or what happened, but it's hit or miss on whether you are going to cooperate in the bath or not.  

You aren't a huge fan of vegetables.  I think that a lot of it still has to do with texture.  You touch/squish every piece of food before you eat it to make sure it is just right before you eat it.  You are a silly boy.

The word no.  Yep, we have a toddler in the house.  And you are starting to repeat it.  Stop growing up please?



Milestones: 
You still love your sleep.  Some days you are just too wound up to get in a good nap, but for the most part you practically ask to go to bed.  And unless you are sick, you sleep the whole night through without waking.  You go down and wake up right about 7:30pm and am!

You are a crazy tech generation child.  You have figured out how to turn the TV on and off, how to scroll around on our iPhones to find the games you want to play and how to get up on mamas office chair and type on the computer keyboard.  You really do amaze us at the things you have figured out.  

You are in the toddler room at church now.  And you love it.  You get to run and play and even have a snack.  I think you would live at the church if we let you.

You are still about the same with words.  You like to "talk" a lot in your own little language, but we haven't picked up many more real words in the last few months.



Firsts: 


First time trick or treating!  Last year we got you dressed up and you went around in the stroller for fun, but this year you ran up to a house (maybe 2) with the big kids.  It was short lived, but you were the cutest little Pop-eye we've ever seen.  And you felt so cool with the big kids.  

Last month you had your first weekend ever without your mama!  Mama packed up and went to a 3 day conference and left you home with your dad.  You and dad had so much fun.  You went to a pumpkin patch and hung out with your cousins.  We think you really enjoyed your boy weekend!  And mama really enjoyed her "time off", but was very happy to see you when she returned!

Shortly after your first birthday you had your first haircut!  It was just a little trim, but you handled it like a champ.  With your crazy curls, you have had quite a few more haircuts since then.

We took our first loooooong road trip this past summer.  You were an absolute trooper.  We went from home to Carmi, IL for a week long mission trip.  Then down to Chattanooga, TN for a good HS friend's wedding.  We got to see your little buddy Grayson there!  From there we went to Salem, SC to see your great grandparents for a couple days.  After leaving there we went up to North Carolina to see your cousins.  We got all the way to the very end of our 2 1/2 week vacation before you got sick.  You woke up our last day in NC with a 103 fever.  Throughout the day it spiked to 106 and landed us in the ER.  Fortunately you were okay and had no side effect from the fever, though it was very scary.  We left the next day for home and stopped in to visit the Moore's in TN.  It was a very long trip and we all had such a good time.  I see this becoming a tradition for us each summer.  The extended vacation was good for all of us to just get away and relax.

 

Fun Fact: 
This month you became a BIG BROTHER. (a few days after you turned 18 months).  Your little sister, Olive, was born on Oct 23rd.  Let's just say you are smitten.  You are amazing with her.  You aren't overly attentive, but you don't ignore her either.  You will go say hi, give her a kiss, and then go about your business.  We are so proud of you, you helped make the transition to two kids very smooth.

post about pacis

Sometimes as a mom I find myself fretting about the small things.

I even sometimes convince myself that if I go easy on my son and let him break our house "rules" I will somehow break him.  I will somehow turn my kid into the bully in elementary school.  Or the detention bound freshman.  I don't worry about the big things.  We call those the non-negotiables around here.  The "don't touch the stove" the "don't sit on your sister" the "don't hit the dog…or your dad…or the wall".  Those rules are simple to keep.  They keep order.  They keep us safe.  

But the little things.  Man, that's where I slip.

We don't let him stand on the furniture.  But when I'm feeding the baby and he's dancing on the other side of the couch, sometimes I let it slide. 

We don't eat junk.  But when I'm sick and too tired to care, that's when I find myself letting him eat half of my pop-tart instead of cooking him eggs.

We watch a show in the morning and one right after nap.  But when he's walking around yelling for Thomas and I've run out of other things to do, sometimes we watch 1, 2, or 3 more just because it's easy.

And we only have pacis in bed.  Not even the car.  We are pretty strict on this.  But when your kid walks into the room beaming, after discovering his parent's hiding place, aka, the jackpot of all pacis…you just have to let it slide.  Because it's adorable.

So, why do I worry about these little rules?  Why do I hold myself up against all these "perfect" standards as a mom and judge my abilities based on the silly guidelines?  It's like a checklist of right/wrong.  And I pass or fail based on how many things I did right that day.

But this is so backwards.

At church this past week, our pastor asked us a question that changed me.  It has changed the way I think about my days.  It changed my perspective.  

"Are we simply modifying the behavior or shaping the hearts of our children?"

Whether our children follow all of our rules or not is not the only gauge.  It's their heart.  Why are they doing the things they do?  Why are they making the decisions they do?  When Ellis ran into the living room juggling 9 pacis and the biggest smile on his face…he wasn't being disobedient.  He was overjoyed.  He was proud.  He was so gosh darn adorable.  At one point he literally just sat down and looked at them.  Spread them out and touched each one slowly.  And I let him relish in that joy.  I let him enjoy his treasure.  

...But after some time of enjoying, when I asked him to put them away because it wasn't bed time, he did.  He listened.  He wasn't driven by fear of rules.  He was driven by the direction of his mama and he obeyed.  

Do we live our lives like this?  Are we driven by the fear of a rule book?  Do we treat the gospel as a book of right and wrong and judge ourselves based off of it?

Or do we live a life in which we respect our heavenly Father and and Love him enough to follow his instruction.  Do we keep the "non-negitiables" but trust God to guide us daily in the little things?

Now, please hear my heart.  I am not saying that we do not need to be faithful in the small things.  Because we most definitely do.  But that's not what this is about.  This is about freedom from the fear of being perfect.  This is about not being so afraid of the rules that we miss the moment.  That we miss the joy.  That we miss the relationship with the rule maker.  

So seek His direction.  And when He gives you good gifts, relish in them.

…and when he tells you to put the pacis away, put the pacis away. 

You are valuable || free print download

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Matthew 6:26

I was watching Jessi Connolly's wild moms influence net class tonight and wow.  If you all aren't members of the influence network, stop what you are doing and go sign up.  Please oh please.  

Jessi is beautiful in and out and this class was an absolute home run.  

3 kids, a missionary husband, and funds were tight.  And she recalled a time where she heard one of her kids say "we can't afford that".  And it stung. She decided then and there that they needed to stop and change their way of thinking.  Nothing is outside of the Lord's reach.  Why should we limit God's ability?  

I need to let this rub in.  I need to soak in this.  I need this truth in my life.  And my kids need it.  

We need to be careful that we are not speaking lies into our kids without even realizing it.  Whether it's money, dreams, goals, daily life…we need to stop setting our own limitations.  We need to stop thinking that we can't.  We need to start asking God.  Not that everything we ask for will be fulfilled in an instant, but that who are we to be the ones to say no?  Be vulnerable and ask.  

If it's going to be a no, let God be the one to say no. 

When you don't think you can.  Or you think you aren't enough.  Remember, you have value.  God will take care of you.  Don't limit yourself. Soak in this.  

 Matthew 6:26 print  |  download here 

(click link then click small down arrow in upper left corner to download)

Christmas Traditions | Thrive Moms Link up!

I'm linking up with the other lovely ladies of ThriveMoms to share my favorite Christmas tradition.

We are christmas lovers around here.  But we do practice some restraint.  If you start too early, you just ruin it.  So, we always put aside the day after Thanksgiving for our decorating day.  Black friday scares me, so we avoid it.  I'd much rather camp out at home and decorate while drinking hot coffee than deal with the mess of crazy that is happening out in the retail world anyways.

We moved over Christmas our first year we were married and didn't have much decor.  I can't find any pictures.  But here's a little picture story of every year since :)  Enjoy...

2009:

2010:

 2011:

2012:

And then this year.  We had a lot of fun!  Ellis actually "participated" for about 15 minutes.  He then spent the rest of the time watching Thomas in his chair.  And, of course, miss O slept in her swing the entire time.  We didn't even think to get a picture of her, but there's proof she was at least in the room in the last picture :)

What's your favorite Christmas tradition?

Fifty Two Pages | Dec 9 - Dec 15

It's monday.  Which means it's time for Fifty Two Pages!  

Please join us.  You won't regret it.  I promise.

It's a project on being intentional.  It's a project on making memories and keeping them alive.

It's your memories in Fifty Two Pages.

(If you are new here, you can click here for the FAQs page...)

Here is my #fiftytwopages collage for the week!

If you haven't started yet, gear up and get ready because a new year is just around the corner.  You can join in at anytime, but I know a lot of you were waiting to start January 1, so…let's do it!

Little fun fact…each week I have used a picture of Olive in a striped towel after her bath.  This is my little photo project within the photo project. (see what I did there…) Not only is she just really cute and happy after her baths, but it will also be a fun way to track her growth throughout her first year!  

Please join along!  I'm still having some technical issues with my Linkup button, I'm sorry!!  I hope to have it all straightened out by next week! 

Until then, go ahead and link up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram with tag #fiftytwo pages! 

(and while you are at it, check out a few of the other collages…it's fun to see how others' pages are coming along!!)

This and That

As of today, I officially have a 7 week old.  She's letting me sleep a liiiiiitle bit longer at night, but there's still room for improvement.  But then there's this, come on…

We've got a busy week around here...including a blog rebrand install and our annual Journey to Bethlehem interactive nativity that our church puts on.  If you don't have plans this weekend, please oh please come check it out.  You won't regret it.  Oh, and there just might be a certain little 7 week old girl wrapped up in a (heated) manger.  Just maybe…

In shop news, we had a great response for the Keep + Give Giveaway…but you'll have to wait just a few hours for the winner reveal!  I will announce it on IG and twitter during nap time.   While you are waiting though, we still have a few sets available in the shop if you are in need of any last minute Christmas gifts!

For those who don't follow me on Twitter, you missed my mom-brain moment last week.  I hadn't blogged it till now because I was just too upset.  I ordered Olive's birth announcements and may have forgotten to put her birthdate on them.  Okay I did.  I forgot.  I forgot to put my daughter's birthdate on her birth announcements.  Go ahead and send in those nominations for mom of the year.  I'll take you all down.  So, please, shoot me your best ideas on how I can DIY the date on these suckers.  Please?

That's all I've got for now.  But I'll leave you with some pictures that will make you swoon even more than those chunky cheeks up above…

your welcome. 

DIY Salt Dough Christmas Ornaments

I get some of my best ideas in the middle of the night.

Whether it be in dreams or in my half-awake stumper as I'm feeding my youngest.

I mean really good.

Like the time I woke up and grabbed my phone to type this genius thought about an upcoming sermon Bryan was writing,

    remember:  tell b to play the "guess what's in the banana" game on stage.

(and yes, I thought it was brilliant, and no, I have no idea what in the world the "guess what's in the banana" game is…)

or the time in college, where I was sharing a bed with my roommate and I thought it was a great idea to poke her in the forehead with my pointer finger as hard as possible.  It had to be done.  In the moment it was necessary.  Afterwards I spent a very long time apologizing and laughing hysterically. 

All to say, I have great ideas in the middle of the night.

Last night while I was feeding Olive, I had one of my greatest ideas yet.  Ellis and I should make Christmas ornaments tomorrow!   As always, I got out my phone to take a note of my idea as I knew I wouldn't remember in the morning.  

Come morning, when Bryan and Ellis came barreling up the stairs to wake me up, I could remember I had had an idea, but couldn't remember what it was.  I got out my phone to look at the ideas that I had written down.

Make ornaments with E:  Salt dough.  cooking cutters.  make hand print turkeys.  let him paint them.  

Well, I was 3 for 4.  

But overall it was actually a great idea!



Salt Dough Ornaments:

1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
(I added a bit more water and then dredged in flour while rolling/cutting)

You just roll it out and use whatever holiday cookie cutters you have available.

Or, if you want to do handprint turkeys, err ornaments, I just split my dough into 4 pieces, balled it up and then smashed down into round circle like shapes.  Man, this is a super professional DIY.

I didn't get any pictures of the hand printing stages.  It happen very quickly and I tried not to make a big deal about the fact that we lost one of the circles due to an overzealous toddler who tricked me by doing the first 3 perfectly and then grabbing the last one so lightening fast and shoving half of it in his mouth. boys.

Take a poking device (I used a straw) and make a hole in each ornament for hanging.

Bake at 200 degrees for about 2 hours (or until they are no longer squishy)

Then strip down (your child or course) and paint away!




I was quite impressed with how much he actually painted the ornaments.  Of course there was a little leg painting…but that was to be expected.  Honestly, I was bracing myself for a lot less ornament painting and a whole living room covered in paint.






A little celebratory dancing while the ornaments dried.  He was so proud of them he just wanted to stand and look at his creation.  While it may not be the prettiest ornament on the tree, it most definitely is my favorite.