Prayer.

There's always something, isn't there? It's not a perfect world and that's just unfortunate. I tend to be a real pessimistic person. It's good to be married to George because he counters my negativity with positivity. I see disaster and he sees opportunity. I panic and he remains calm. Just when I think things are gonna go our way, a huge door gets slammed in our face. I take the easy route: panic, cry, worry, stress, maybe spout off a couple profanities...whatever works for me...I'm currently trying to concentrate on the harder, but more peaceful route: thank God, count my blessings, trust George and move forward {wherever that may be}. Team Mekhail needs lots prayers regarding our housing situation. We currently have a home being built for us {due to be ready in October}, but have run into some trouble in what to do with our current home that we are living in now. Plan A has failed so now it's time for operation plan B and fast! Please pray that I can put my stress and worries into Christ, that we will seek His guidance every step of the way, that He will continue to open and shut doors for us so we know where we need to go with our finances and where we should live and finally that George and I will continue to work together in peace as God as the center of our marriage and family that we make the right choices for us & Kingston {right now I see cardboard box under the Aurora bridge...George sees Assets...quite a pair we are}. Thank you all!

Family Photo Slideshow!

[You'll need to pause the song on my blog below before watching! :)}

'a lighthearted take on everday life'

Raise your hand if you read Real Simple magazine? {*hand raised*} I came across this very interesting and almost "I wish they had a book like this for reals" piece in the most recent July 2009 issue. Go pick one up. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200 dollars {actually, if you are lucky enough to collect $200 dollars on your way, please, collect.}. It's a piece written by Sarah Schmelling and I have to say it made me chuckle. You ever wonder when you actually became a grown up? Or when it should be starting? Or sometimes you just find yourself sitting down and thinking, "What in the world do I do next?" Cause you just moved out of your parents house at the ripe 'ole age of 30, or you just quit your job, or you just got a new job, or you haven't married yet or you got married, but somehow you always feel like there should be a next step. Kinda like when you were in highschool and you just say to yourself, "Welp, I guess I'll go to college now..." Cause, that's what you do? Maybe I feel this way, cause I've been to college, got married, started having kids, bought a house and now I'm looking for my next venture. Who am I? Tori Spelling? Don't worry...I won't be opening any fry business anytime soon with a trillion million variety of dips to go along. However, I did try to convince George to "pretend" we were getting married again and to go ring shopping for the next great thing just so we can be in that stage of "going after something". He didn't buy it {the idea or the ring}. Maybe I'll start writing a book? Whatever it is that's coming my way, I do wish I had a What To Expect When I'm Expecting Life book. {Maybe I'll write it?} That I can just open up to MY year and see...well...what to expect! I'm coming up on the big 2-7 in two weeks. Yikes! It doesn't sound that old to most people but when you robbed the cradle and married a man who's 4 years younger? Let's just say my breathing becomes a little heavier at each birthday. It would be nice to open up to page 114 and have a well acclaimed new york times best seller say, "Your 27-year-old is looking younger and younger each day. She's a knockout of a woman and out to change to world. By this year, your 27-year-old should be able to text 100 words a minute, will probably be able to find her way around Whole Foods and may even be able to find that perfect outfit on sale to go with your matching bright colored Tory Burch cluth you just HAD to have."

Swaddle In Style.

Uhhhhh...could these be any cuter??? To swaddle in style and then top it off with an adorable matching hat? Motherhood keeps getting better and better! You'll be one lucky mom if your child loves swaddling as much as my lil' guy did! I'm for sure picking many of these up the next go around! A Lady & Her Baby sells these for both boys and girls. Go ahead and snag a peek when you get a chance. Oh, and husbands? Make you sure you clear up some breathing room on that credit card of yours if your haute mama is expecting anytime soon! :)

Celebrating 2 years as Husband & Wife.

I know what you're thinking: that George is one lucky son of a gun. I mean really...all the joy and love you experience by being married to me? Who wouldn't want that? But let me fill you in on a lil' secret {just a lil' one}, there is no one in the world like George. No one will ever compare. And I will never love anyone as much as I love George for the rest of my life. Today, we recognize...we honor...and we celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary. Seeing as though today is also a work day and George is the hardest working husband I know {sorry husbands, don't even try to compete ;)}, we did most of the celebrating last Saturday. George planned an entire day and evening for us while Kingston spent the day and night at Gido and Teta's home. The day didn't go ENTIRELY to plan, but we still had so much fun! We kinda forgot what it was like to not have an agenda and how much fun it was to just be us...together.


Recently, G & I have been reading a parenting book called Parenting with Love & Logic. I read it first, loved it, now George and I are reading it together and still love it. Our Saturday celebration was built around this book. If you haven't read it, it is basically about teaching your children to make their own decisions early. Give them choices. So when we loaded up the car bright and early Saturday there was a sweet love note from George and my intinerary for the day and night. He planned the entire day from breakfast, to many series of activities, lunch, dinner, movie and thensome. And for each category, there were 2 choices to choose from. I had so much fun picking what I wanted to do and trying new things together! Of course, no day goes perfectly and we had minor hiccups here and there, maybe throw a marital spat in the middle of the day and by the end of the day dinner, movie and getting home to bed early soon became a..."Hey, let's invite our friends out to eat with us!" Which then turned into a night out on the town, a late night and a very miserable and tiring Sunday. But, we made up for the dinner and & movie tonight and had another great time out! Happy Anniversay baby! I love you lots and can't wait for many more years!

Book Recommendation.

I certainly do not know in the name of Mary why I have never even talked about this book. (I know, some of you are probably super bummed it's not a photo of Mommywood, or Baby Proof...excellent reads by the way...the chickest, flickest books since the day they invented the printing press and so entertaining!) It has been such a blessing these past weeks, even days to watch, observe, enjoy, interact, talk, laugh, sing, pray and so much more {with my son}. It brought me back to this book that George and I bought at the beginning of my pregnancy with Kingston and just today, thought to myself, "Why in the world am I keeping this book to myself!" This is a wonderful prayer journal for expectant, new and 'already been down that road...several times in fact' mommies and dadddies! Lord, Bless My Child by William & Nancie Carmichael has opened up a whole new realm of connecting with Kingston and in our prayer lives. I feel like it is far to easy to just "pray" for our kids. As an expectant mom it was, "Lord, thank you so much for this blessing you have bestowed upon us. Please be with us throughout the pregnancy. Wrap your arms around our little one and keep him healthy and strong until his debut into this world. I pray you keep me healthy and strong as well. Amen." However, this book opens your heart, mind and soul up into praying not only for their health, but their CHARACTER. To pray for the character of God in my child. George and I have been lifting Kingston up to Christ since we found out I was pregnant and it wasn't just about his health. We prayed that Kingston would have a compassionate heart...that he would develop a love and passion for God at an early age...that he would learn humility, obediance and responsibility...that he would make good choices...that he would be creative, thoughtful, so full of joy and laughter...that he would have a heart for missions...that he would learn to share, be a good listener, stay pure and convicted in his own personal walk with Christ and so much much more. I almost cry just thinking about it! There are 52 "chapters"...one for every week out of the year! And you just keep reading it back through....over and over and over again. Never stop. Buy one to use for all your children or buy one for each of your children! Each week will bring you to your knees and bring you to God's word to reflect, pray, teach you some insight, how to incorporate each "little blessing" into your families everyday life and space to journal. This is truly one of the greatest parenting books you can get your hands on.

A Good Refresher {Now & Then}.

As much as a nice ice cold blended strawberry lemonade sounds right now, it's not the kind of refreshment I need these days {Although, I'm for sure running to the nearest Starbucks for one shortly cause now I just don't think I can go one without one:)}. One of my fav's in music is Shawn McDonald. If you can, play the song below and I'll let you in on one of my most biggest struggles in life: calming the crap down.

Sometimes I feel like I'm racing through life and can't catch a breath. And I can't be the only one feeling this way. I don't know what it is for you, but for me just in the past week? Let's see: My son's first birthday, our 2nd anniversary coming up, a messy house, a trillion things going wrong with George's car including being hit in a parking lot, our freezer DE-freezing and everything I just bought at the grocery store RUINED, chasing baby, and stupid stupid stuff like I gotta get a blog in or OMG, I didn't set my DVR. I stress over that people and much more. My anxiety runs high and it's all I think about. Sometimes I skip breakfast or lunch just so I can either get stuff done or so I can sit on my lazy bum and think about all I have to do. Yup, I just admitted I sit alot just to stress over what needs to be done. But check me out...I'm not a total Debbie Downer {wah wahhhhh} cause in Christ is where I find peace. In Him, I soar. And TO Him I can say, "Pour out your mercy and clear this busy mind...You are all I need." So much stuff is gonna come and it's also gonna go and what matters is how I handle it. Do I tend to handle it the right way? Eh...not so much. But I try. And I just found out that over half the stuff I stress about it not even a big deal. {I know, right?} Like, on a scale from 1-10, one being not a big deal at all and ten being hold up mr. lover, that's HUGE deal...I think everything is 10. It's a huge deal in and of itself that I think everything is a HUGE deal! I would have to say I cause alot of the chaos in my life. That's just my life. And it's a refreshment I need everyday to know that I am able to follow the footprints of Christ and know that he embodies the peace I need to catch a break in this world.

A Sneak Peek.

Sunday afternoon Team Mekhail went to Juanita Beach Park and took family photos since Kingston turned one. {I'm gonna go ahead and plug Amy Walton Photography here...she's done our belly shots...newborn shots...and much more for us! A-mazing!} I'm not gonna lie though...it was sorta difficult. It was a tad windy at first and Kingston was super cranky. I don't even know if we got any smile shots of him :( BUT, Amy did say she did get some GREAT ones so I can't wait to see! She sent me a few over now, but it will be about 2-3 weeks for the rest!

A Frog Prince Birthday!

Who will forget your lil' boy's first birthday? I sure won't! I threw Kingston's first birthday party last Saturday at my parent's home. It was so much fun to plan and the day turned out so well. Thank you to all our family and friends who came. We feel so blessed to have you in our lives and appreciate so much how much you love and support Kingston! Here's some moment's of the big day!

You're Invited...

The "Welcome" table, featuring: goody bags for the kids, a personalized matte frame for the guests to sign and of course, a photo of the birthday boy!




The candy bar!


Our centerpiece for the table. :)

Happy Birthday to you...

Don't be fooled...he screamed and cried and refused to eat any cake. Not even a finger dipped into it...

Check out my new shades from Grandma & Grandpa! Matching Ray-Bans for daddy and son. :)

I ordered awards for "Best Daddy" and "Best Grandparent's" (for each of the grandparent's) and then I totally forgot to give them out to them at the party! :( I'm so bummed! So I will be delivering them. Below is a picture of G's acceptance speech...It was so funny. Too bad, I was the only one who saw it.


Kingston enjoying his new rocking horse from Teta and Gido!

Happy Birthday Bubba!

Today is Kingston's FIRST birthday!

A year ago today, our sweet lil' boy entered the world.

Now, he's grown up into such big boy!

I feel like even from 11 months to one year, he's changed so much! His walking has gotten so better, he even tries to run. However, that's when he tends to trip over his feet. :) Kingston's back to teething too...he has 2 more teeth coming in on the bottom, which will bring the grand total to 8 teeth! Wow!

We had his one year check up today at the doc. Healthy as a clam. Is that the saying? Who knows...but he's perfect! Still a little peanut: 30 inches in height and weighs 19 pounds. The greatest news of all is the nurse said, "Wow...he looks EXACTLY like you!" And was looking at me! ME! Not George...ME! Did you hear me? ME! She made my day! Yup...she said he was a spitting image of me, just a tan version...ha!

I can keep going on and on and on about Kingston...he is so sweet, so funny, so handsome, so everything! As you can see above, he is such a daddy's boy. To think God has entrusted us with this precious lil' boy is just so A-mazing. We feel so blessed and can't believe one year has gone by so fast and that we actually survived it! :) G and I have absolutely no idea what we are doing, but we're doing it together and that's all that matters. We seek Christ everyday to give us the strength...the patience...the wisdom...the love...to raise our son. If you are any sort of reader of my blog, please...continue to lift our family in prayers that we will continue to seek Christ as we journey through life, build and raise our family in this crazy world and lay your hands over my son and future children, as I lay mine out for yours, that they will learn to love Christ at an early age as much and George and I do! I love you bubba! Happy 1st Birthday!

P.S. We're have a birthday party for Kingston this Saturday and taking family photos at the park on Sunday! Stay tuned for blogs about those! :)

A Simple 'Thank You' Is All I Need.

I do not care who you are, how old you are, where you were born, where you were raised, what kind of car you drive, how many kids you have, what kind of music you listen to, who you voted for or who your father is...where's the common courtesy on the road these days? Let's see: I'm the one who's been sitting in a single long line of cars, trying to get through a traffic light and pass the road construction. I didn't HAVE to let you in, as you sat pathetically, with the sun beating down, in your run-down with probably no air-conditioning car. I realize you've been sitting there waiting to turn. Probably not patiently either. I've got a screaming toddler in the car, who's hungry. He wants to eat. I want to eat. I still stop and let you go cause even on the flip side, I can't stand it when people see you waiting and waiting and waiting and no one let's YOU go. So I let you go. Then YOU see me stop, smile, wave for you to go and YOU stare at me, go, and keep going, arm hanging out the window and all. What? No courtesy wave? Rude. Get a clue. You're lucky I'm somebody's mother.