My Girls:)

I Love Our Church

Today i walked into church, surprisingly on time. That never happens. There seemed to be a lot more people there today, which i thought to myself was so great. We recently have been blessed with a new Pastor, who is fantastic! About 10 minutes into church we take some time to say hi to people around us. When that time came today i turned around and found so many of our friends were there. It felt so nice to be the next generation of people raising our babies together in this beautiful church.

A little side note, our church, probably for the past 5 years has had a huge lack of younger people. It's hard to compete when you have massive churches opening all around our area.

So to see so many of our friends all here at the same time as us felt so fantastic. It gives you that happy giddy feeling. I love the church we go to, i grew up in this church, was confirmed, graduated, got married, My hubby is a Deacon and we Baptized both our daughters there. It means a lot to me that it does well and pulls people of all ages in.

Not a very exciting post, but it's what made me happy today!

Things I Have Learned In The Past Year...

Happiness is the key to everything

Alway make date nights, they are so important. Just you and your man!

God has complete control, stop trying to control everything in your life:)

Breastfeeding is so amazing!

Your mind is a powerful thing

Nothing feels better then being your own person, having you own ideas and everyone loving you just the same for it:)

Friends change, you don't need to be mad at them it's just a fact of life.

I need my bible studies (Beth Moore) to keep me grounded

Just because i am a mom doesn't mean i can't be stylish

ALWAYS make time for yourself, all by yourself

ORGANIC

I will never be perfect, and i am finally ok with that

I miss Isabel and wants her to move back to Chicago!

Running my first half marathon is a wonderful mental break:)

To love my puppies just as much as before my babies, they have feelings too!

I want 3 more babies and i want them before 35 (this goes back to #2, if i could choose i would have 5.     What God has in store for me is completely unknown)

Great friends are hard to find, i feel lucky to have a met a few lovely ladies and rediscover old friendships  this year that have changed my out look on everything.

Parenthood, it the BEST show on TV. Laugh so hard every week!

Age means nothing.

Times moves very fast, i now have a 26 month old and a 8 month old, i have known my husband for 12 years and been married for 4! Didn't i just get engaged:)

Giving birth naturally is the best way for me! Would never look back. It's so empowering!

I want to travel everywhere, i want to see all the beauty of this amazing world and i want my babies to see  it too!

Your neighbor does not have it better then you, everyone is fighting some sort of battle

It's important to always be a good friend

Finding the positive in everything is so much better then the negative.

Money will not make you happy

Real forgiveness feels so good

Gossip is very dangerous

Having a budget, surprisingly is so freeing!

My family is the most important thing in my life

A job is never real security, you have to be secure in yourself, your marriage and you family to have real security

Nothing taste as good as being thin

God always provides, ALWAYS

Giving birth is the most amazing thing I have ever done, I LOVE labor and delivery!

Finally, even though i don't always feel like Super Mom, I AM!

What I'm Loving Wednesday....

I can't tell you all how thankful i am to have such a wonderful set of BLOG girlfriends! I had the best conversation today, on the phone (thats right we took it one step further then the computer) with Mallory from A Day In The Life Of The Thompsons! We share a similar issue and had a great conversation about it. I love that there are a group of girls out there that totally get what we are all going through. Now why the heck do we all live miles away from each other (some of us right down the street:) )! It's interesting how God connects all of us, one way or another. I'm SO loving my blog girlfriends this Wednesday!

I Won Two Things This Week....

First off i want to thank Heather over at Live.Love.Laugh (one of my daily reads & prayers) for choosing my caption to the picture of her ADORABLE little lover, Brayden!

This was the picture, but he is adorable i had to add it! Check out her page she is adorable!

 &

Marie over at Button Blossoms for nominating me for the

This is my very first award! I absolutely love blogging and all the wonderful friends i have made doing it!

There are rules that go along with receiving the award.
1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award. 
2. Share 7 things about yourself. 
3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers.
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award!

7 things about myself, hmmm
- I am a sucker for romance
- God has blessed us with two baby girls 
- I LOVE blogging & meeting new people
- I'm a runner
- I am married to a wonderful Man who i have known for almost 12 years now!
- I love being out doors
- I love to craft 


The blogs i have nominated are:  
Appreciate Each Day
Strong.Happy.Mom

Ashley Gierke
Two Sister Two Suppers
A Day In The Life, The Thompsons
A Pretty Cool Life 
Steve, Monica & Ashley  
5th Belle Avenue 
Ben and Katie 
Tickled Pink 
I Will Never Fail You Or Forsake You 
Better Bitty Bite 
The Chronicles of Nernia 
Quinnterruption  
Some Catchy Thing 
Sassy Sawyer Adbentures  
Series of Steps 
Kara's Kolumn 

I LOVE all of these blogs. There were a few more that i adore, but they were already nominated! Yeah to all my wonderful blog friends! Love you girls!

He was meant just for me...

One of my good friends is in the hospital and was diagnosed with MS today. I have been friends with her since sophomore year in college. She just delivered a beautiful baby boy 6 weeks ago and is now faced with this new hurdle in the road. She is strong, smart and wonderful and she will deal with this crazy new issue just beautifully.

She said to me when we were talking today that her husband is so amazing and was made just for her! Who else would deal with everything that Melissa is? I started laughing. She is one of the funniest people i know. I know that Brad doesn't deal with her, but loves everything that she is. When you take those vows, for better or for worse, (shockingly there are still a few of us left who actually believe in them) you have to know that while there is a lot of "better" there will also be a few "worse" and sometimes those "worse" moments seem to outweigh the "better"ones.

It got me thinking of how i feel the exact same way about B. We have had our ups and downs and i sometimes think the very same thing Melissa thought. How in the world does B put up with me sometimes. I mean lets not get to out of hand, he is handful at times too, but who isn't. I feel like we are puzzle pieces and we fit together just perfectly. Our whole beings were meant to melt into each other.

Anything that is weak inside me is strong inside B and vise versa. When B may be weak in something he is normally strong in i instinctively become strong. It's amazing to think that God made B just for me and me just for him. It's amazing to me how God let us become best friends before we became lovers. It's amazing how he knew all about our lives and the minute we would meet for the first time before we had any idea. It's crazy to think that we defiantly crossed paths in high school (while he was probably chasing after another girl and i another guy) and didn't even know that our soles were meant for each other. Ok i am going off on a tangent now. Back to the point. It's wonderful to think that during out "worse" moments in our lives we have men here to keep us together, to be our crutch and to be our biggest cheerleaders.

Melissa and Brad are such an amazing couple and so adorable together. Better then that you can tell the love they feel for one another. Brad is so caring and so reassuring for Melissa whenever she is doubting anything and Melissa will laugh at whatever Brad says. This is defiantly an interruption in their lives, but i know they are both strong and will get through this with flying colors. Melissa, Brad was meant just for you and you for him. I love you guys!

Please pray for them both:)

Ask and you shall receive....

Do any of you moms out there feel like you just can't do it all?!?!? Or maybe you can, but you can never manage to do it 100%. I do! I struggle with going back to school to get my masters, work, take care of my babies, my house, my man, work out and try to get the girls involved in everything possible. Did i mention getting some good sleep? While i was in my bible study this week it hit me. I CAN'T DO EVERYTHING!

So i asked myself what does God want me to do? Whats my place in this world at this exact time? We have some older women in our study who are so smart and so amazing to listen to. One of them told me that she still struggles with this issue. Her advice was to obviously pray about it and listen to what God is saying to you. So thats what i did....

Here is what i got, Katie, all you need to do in this time in your life is be a Mom & Wife. Raise the most amazing little girls you can. God gave me two little girls very close together for a reason. Pay 100% attention to them and soak up every single minute of them, because they will grow up very fast. I mean baby W is already 7.5 months old.

Your masters will be there for you to get in a few years and so will jobs. I am finally ok with all of this. I feel like the most important job i have right now is to raise my little girls, once we are done having all our kids (God willing 4) all those "other" things will still be there waiting for me. On the other hand my babies won't be frozen in time and need to be nurtured, loved and given a lot of attention to right now.

This new revelation has given me the space to breath again! Its a new fresh outlook on life and what my purpose is at this exact moment. I am still going to run the Soldier Field 10 miler this May and have little delights for myself, but that wanting to be everything to everyone is simmering on the back burner. Its all about my family at this point. Couldn't have asked for better direction from God! He really does answer if you ask!

Happy Valentines Day

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY TO MY FAVORITE 

3 PEOPLE! 

Our Engagement Shot
Tao From Lenswork Stuido 

Heart Shaped Brownies

In light of the fact that my kids both have ear infections and i haven't been able to get out of the house in two days we decided to make brownies. Not just any brownies, heart shaped brownies. We made them for my mother in laws birthday. Olivia helped with the whole process. It ended up being a big hit, especially since they were heart shaped! Yum, always a great go to desert! Happy Thursday Everyone!

Our Snow Day...

We live in the Chicgaoland area and last week we had AMAZING SNOW! Our day consisted of, sleeping in (thats like 7:30am for us) making pancakes, getting all of our snow gear on (which took like 15 minutes), playing in the snow. It was so much fun!!!

Loosen That Grip...

I heard a quote today:

"Whatever you are holding on to in this life, hold it loosely so it won't hurt when the Lord has to pry your fingers open to take it away." 

WOW, i mean does that just stop you in your tracks?!?! I had to bold it, italicize it, change its color and make it very big so that EVERYONE could see it! This quote smacked me right in the face and made me really think about the things i hold too tightly, (monetary things, fears, our house, people), i thought are they really worth that tight grip (the one thats totally cramping my style) i have on them. As i was thinking about each of these things individually, I was able to loosen that grip on a lot of them and be ok with it. I even feel a little less stressed knowing that i have no control over any of it anyways. I know it will take longer then a day to get that thought to be a constant in my mind, (a habit is formed after doing something everyday for three weeks) but i think it is something worth wrapping my pretty little head around.

If you think about it, at any moment you could loose a job, a friend, your house or a battle. What really is the point of holding on to these things so tightly? Think about it, make a list of what you feel could be holding you back by holding on too tightly. Go through that list and loosen your grip, it feels so good.

My Daughter's Eyes

"In my daughter's eyes I can see the future

A reflection of who I am and what will be

Though she'll grow and someday leave

Maybe raise a family

When I'm gone I hope you see how happy

she made me

For I'll be there

In my daughter's eye"

I was in the car with Olivia this morning and a song came on the radio called My Daughters Eyes, by Martina Mcbride. I have always liked this song, but i guess i have never really listened to it. Maybe it just didnt hit me until i had a little girl or two for that matter. Seriously, the whole song is a tear jerker for anyone who has a little girl. It was just me and O in the car and it was early morning. The snow was still falling (yes thats another 5 inches for us) and this song came on. I looked in my rear view mirror and she was quietly just staring out the window. It mealted my heart. As the song was playing i was thinking about her and what she will become and how i will impact her to become a stong beautiful women, wife and mother one day. It doesnt make me sad that they are growing up so fast. It does make me aware that all the things i do will impact their lives forever. It makes me proud to be their mama. Why am i so emotional? These hormones are taking over again:)

7 Months Old....

I can't believe my second baby girl turned 7 months yesterday. Honestly where has the time gone??? I feel like i just had her. It must be what happens when you have two babies under 2:)

Other then being sleep deprived i feel like this has been a pretty easy transition for all of us. With O, i sadly wasn't able to breast feed, but with W i have been doing it for 7 months now. I wasn't sure how long i was going to do it. I decided i would take it one month at a time. There were times i totally wanted to throw in the towel, but i stuck with it. I thought i would stop at 6 months, but here i am at 7 and still feeling good about it. W has teeth now and she was very dangerous with them in the beginning, but now she never bites. So i'm a pretty happy mommy. She is sleeping through the night, which is wonderful. I have been able to get out the door, shockingly by 845 every morning to work out and the girls love the daycare at the Y. I like the fact that i can work out and they can play and socialize with other children. Its a win, win in my book:)

W is sitting up, scooting and is days away from crawling. I have given her the occasional Cheerio and she loves it. O plays with her all the time, which is adorable. She can make her giggle better then we can. Last night Brad found O reading to W on the floor (cutest things ever), I can tell W loves her big sister because she is ALWAYS watching her. If there is one reason to have them this close together its the fact that they get to be best friends. It's a built in playmate.

7 Months has gone by so fast and i am so excited for this summer. I can't wait to get out of the house, go to the zoo, turn 30, celebrate W's 1st birthday and the 4th of July, family vacation in RI, go to the pool, ride bikes, watch W take her first steps and BBQ as much as possible.

What Verses Help Keep You On Track???

²³ Search me, God, and know my heart; 
   test me and know my anxious thoughts. 
²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me, 
   and lead me in the way everlasting. Ps. 139:23-24

I was doing my bible study during our huge blizzard last night and came across this verse. This verse always touches me and i seem to always come across it when i need it the most. Isn't it so reassuring that we are not in this crazy, big and sometimes intimidating world on our own??!?!

We are currently doing the study on Jonah by Priscilla Shirer. She is absolutely fantastic and i am thrilled to be a part of yet another wonderful study. The study is based on "interrupted lives" and how we approach and deal with them. Do we consider them an interruption or a Devine Intervention? Do we run and hide or embrace what has been placed in front of us? Its such a mind searching study that your likely to get lost in thought. I find myself thinking back to all the different situations i had been in that seemed like huge interruptions in my life, when in fact it was clearly a Divine Intervention. Of course you don't see that when your in the situation. I think what Priscilla is trying to get across is how to react to situations when you are in them. recognize what God is trying to tell you. Look at every situation as a opportunity rather then an interruption.

One of the things i really enjoy about the studies we do at our church is that they allow you to work on yourself and make yourself a better person. It is so wonderful to feel the presence of God all around you no matter where you are. I've decided to have stuck to my mirror or somewhere in my house for my family to see and remember. I think it is a great little prayer to say, so that you can continue to make yourself better and remember you are never alone in this big crazy world.

What are some of your favorite verses, that help keep you on track???

The Windy Snowy City....

It's about 11pm on Tuesday the 1st day of February. I have all of my yankee candles lit, a very nice glass of red wine, both girls tucked into bed, my hubby sleeping on the couch with the dogs and there is complete silence, ahhhhh. Well except of course for the very load wind howling outside my window. I mean really??? There is a blizzard with lightning and thunder. It's actually really amazing. I really have no problem with snow, in fact i love it! Chicago and the surrounding suburbs are getting hit hard. Its about time, can't let New York get that fun snow ALL winter long. Right now the snow is half way up our windows and there is a complete white out, outside. I can't even see the houses across the street. This is a major storm, but to me it's pretty exciting to see how crazy mother nature can be. Whats even more exciting is the EVERYTHING is going to be closed tomorrow. Thats right the hubby is staying home with me tomorrow. Nothing will be open, stores closed, banks closed, YMCA closed (until 3 at least) and every other institution that can suck away your day a little at a time. This storm gives everyone a chance to lay back relax (how does that work again) and be with family (my favorite place to be in the whole world). Nothing can take your time away. We can play with our babies, do art projects, have lunch in the playroom, bake cookies, jump on the bed, make snowmen (great photo op opportunity) and just enjoy each other. I'm also intending to get a big chunk of my bible study done once the girls are napping. I think God gives us these days so we will just sit back and enjoy ourselves and families. It's like if he doesn't give us one of these days every few years we won't do it for ourselves. I really appreciate it! Hope everyone is have a wonderful Tuesday night and their Wednesday will be even better. Stay warm and safe all you midwesterners! Look forward to all the pictures from our family snow day!