amos turned 2 (almost a year ago) and had a train birthday. yes, i'm a little behind.

I'm starting to plan my sweet boy's 3rd birthday. THIRD BIRTHDAY. As is standard in mom dialogue, this is absolutely insane to me. This train of "growing up" is happening way too fast - and it's thrilling and saddening all at the same time. 

His birthday party requests this year have already transformed multiple times from dinosaurs, to planes, to construction trucks, to helicopters, and now we have landed on Safari Animals - which I am super pumped about.

That being said, I realized I never blogged Amos' last birthday. I didn't get many good pictures... but it was such a joy to plan. His first birthday stressed me out, but I learned a lot and last years was much easier - with the addition of pinterest which makes planning anything and everything easier.

His party was trains and that was his current boy obsession. It was thrown at my in-laws home, as we were still cooped up in our tiny one bedroom city apartment. I am very excited to be throwing it on my own turf this year!

my little conductor. everyone got a bandana scarf [amazon], hat [amazon], and whistle [amazon] in their gift bag along with other treats.

banner made by me. find similar birthday party paper goods here.

part of the drink station. nothin' too fancy.

pom poms from martha stewart tutorial. wrapped wooden letters with yarn. made all the print outs. and my mom sewed the little gift bags. 

train tracks with electrical tape. sorta permanently stained their carpet, so try an inconspicuous area first!

he seems like such a small baby here...

so exhausted after his big event.

i think i love my iPhone.............'s camera.

my poor iPhone bit the dust... as in, got ran over at 75 miles per hour on the San Diego interstate. wah wah wah. not having my phone is quite liberating in some senses - being the introvert i am, it's a nice escape from connectivity. the thing i miss the most, however, is the camera. i actually might call myself an iPhone photographer. a boring one, yes. as i only photograph my children, and the occasional delicious cup of coffee. that being said, it has become my main creative outlet as a mother. my blog is a hit or miss. my shop is pretty much nonexistent. but my little phone, it's attached to me and has become the tool in which i chronicle my life. i use that little camera to transform my mundane moments (and wow! there are a TON of them) into spectacular microseconds. for me, it really has the power to help me see the beauty in the chaos that is my life.

often times i hear people complain about how social media gives an unhealthy view of people's lives. "people only show the good, pretty side of things." i still can't seem to understand why this is so terrible. i'm not one easily prone to comparison nor judgement (though i'm prone to a lot of other sins, believe me) - so i celebrate people taking the best of their day and sharing it with the world. no one wants to see my dirty bathroom, or my greasy messy bun, or my burnt pot of beans - or if they do, perhaps only for a glimpse here and there for the purposes of reality. but everyday? that would be exhausting. but maybe someone, somewhere wants to see the afternoon light casting a shadow on the one spot on my floor not covered in toys - and my son, for a brief, brief moment playing blissfully by himself at the kitchen table. maybe my little iPhone helps me pluck out the most beautiful, thrilling, and intimate moments of motherhood and sings a little tune that counteracts the world's message that a young mother is throwing away her talent, her freedom, and her "fun."

i don't know, for me, my iPhone camera does this for me. and instagram is my little microphone. it's an artist mother's canvas. it's quick, easy, accessible and i can tote in my diaper bag. it's my little voice.

anyway. R.I.P. iPhone 5s.

i'm almost 27 and here's a list of 10 things i've learned.

sometimes I find myself in utter shock that I am a 27 year old woman (almost, almost) and a mother of not one, but two children. I pay a mortgage. I am 3 short years away from 30.

my son has escaped babyhood, and my daughter can move about freely on her own.

remembering my teen years, and my early twenties - and what I was convinced these years would look like. what I thought was greatness, or God's plans and intentions, or the apex of adulthood and Christianity.

I thought it would be both wise and humorous to create a list of things I've learned about "life" over the past 2 decades. this is wise, as perhaps it can bring some aid to someone, somewhere. it is also very, very silly as I am sure, by the end of the next 2 decades I will chuckle at some of these thoughts. I am still a child. I am a teacher forever learning.

1.) A man who will be a good husband should possess the following qualities.
      - The ability to hold a job, whether he enjoys it or not. He must be able to respect and honor authority, be honorable when no one is watching, and be convinced God is His provider.
      -  He must be humble enough to admit when he is wrong (even if not immediately, but at least, eventually) and be willing to be trained and taught.
     -  He must be willing to be an open book. His phone, his email, his business meetings, his work relationships, his sin, his joys, his fears, and his dreams must be something he welcomes you into.

2.) Please do not, DO NOT, spend what you do not have. It's a messy thing to do.

3.) Train yourself to eat well. Find vegetables you like. Drink water. Go for walks.

4.) Don't let nature escape from your life. Go into it as often as you can. Take walks during your breaks rather than checking your phone. Camp. Swim. Sit under a tree. Remember God in the midst of it.

5.) Every movement of God has value. Every church (that which I am addressing would be the believing church, which proclaims Christ as the Son of God, and the only way to the Father - etc.) has value. Both these things are ushered and made up of broken human beings. Within every movement and church there are those who claim to be brothers, but in fact are not. Because of these facts, every movement and church has the ability to hurt and harm those within it. That is not to say that these are entirely bad, but that is why our hope is ALWAYS Christ and our foundation is ALWAYS the Word. With that we can remain gracious, forgiving, and honoring in the midst of these things - as they come and go.

6.) Healing is of God. He loves to heal. He will not always heal every time we ask. This should not cause us to give up on healing nor believe it is because we lacked faith. Healing is of God.

7.) Discipleship is so much the plan of God in growing and developing his people. The New Testament is essentially discipleship written out. Discipleship will not always find you, you must go find it for yourself. Seek wisdom. Seek guidance. Seek counseling. Etc. You were not made to live or figure things out on your own.

8.) While you are young, I think it is vital to learn these skills:
            - Time management. Learn to fill your time, not with iphones, facebook, sleeping, or chattering on about nothing. Fill these precious moments with reading, writing, service, etc. Learn a skill. Find a hobby. Be vigilant in pursuing things of greatness. If nothing else comes to mind, read your Bible over and over and over. One day you will have multiple children, only so many hours of the day, and you will long for those precious, lonely hours again.
            - The ability to be a self-starter and self-motivator. This ties into the previous point. Learn to fill your time even if no one has given you an assignment or a deadline. Set your own assignments. Make your own deadlines.
            -  Conversational skills. Ask people questions about anything and everything. This is how you will make friends. This is how you will form vital business connections. This is how church begins and continues. This IS marriage.

9.) The greatness of your life - is made up of little moments, seconds that turn into hours that turn into days. It is not one epic ministry opportunity. It is not even the wedding nor the birth. It is the hidden in between - found within the 4 walls of your home and the thoughts/motives mulling under the skin. It is the mundane. It is the responses to the husbands when the money is tight and the agitations brew. It is the disciplining, for the hundredth time, the same sin within your child. It is the coffee in the morning to which your heart overflows, "Today, today - I believe You are good, You are real, You are worthy."

10.) We do not find God. Therefore, we do not need to feel pressured to make life with Christ more appealing or more fun or more thrilling. God finds us. Provokes our hearts to believe. Keeps us. The call to follow Christ is a hard one, it is one that will include hardship, trial, and suffering. It can - at times - be isolating, confusing, and require longsuffering. It, however, WILL be rewarded. It WILL be (even now IS) worth it. and even if nothing would come of it (though it will) He is WORTHY of our devotion. That is why the gospel is simple and powerful. It is simple in what it requires of us in proclaiming it, which is exactly that - just PROCLAIMING IT. It is powerful in that it is where the platform is given for God to provoke a heart. Your work is to proclaim. His work is to make Jesus seen as that which He is, glorious, beautiful, and the Savior to the sinning heart.


xo a 26 year old woman with a lot to learn.