Pearls & Grace

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Nashville Tennessee, Pearls and Grace

 

Honestly, I stumbled upon Sibi’s blog, Pearls and Grace, over a year ago when I was planning Miss Julia’s “Girls in Pearls” birthday party and googled the idea in search of inspiration.  Low and behold, I found this source of spiritual inspiration that just touched and moved me in such a sweet, precious way.

Sibi has an amazing testimony that she generously shares through the eyes of motherhood.  She is beautiful, her family is beautiful and everything she touches seems to just sparkle with loveliness.

You would think that she has had the perfect life–one to envy.  Yet, in fact, her story is one of triumph over a very dark start.

I am open about my own childhood.  My mom came from an extremely abusive home and was not affectionate at all to me or my siblings.  In fact, she could be down-right cold.  My parents were young and divorced when I was four, at the same time my beloved Papaw Bandy was dying of cancer.  Those two events were enough to instill anxiety into my fragile heart.  We were very poor and life was not easy.  But “when God closes a door, He opens a window!”

So many times, my search for spiritual guidance from others has led me to pompous, overly-sanctified, holier-than-thou individuals who have left me a little bitter, even sickened.  That is why I really like Pearls and Grace.  Sibi’s testimony is expressed with humility, calmness, and compassion.  It is sincere.

I feel like God is leading me to the upcoming Pearl Event II, and I am excited to be going with my precious cousin Susie.  We both need girl time away from our kids.  She has five, so she really needs time to herself.  And we need some family bonding, too.

Come join us, ladies! We would love to see you there. 

Also, if anyone has any suggestions for things to do and see while we are in Nashville, I would love to hear from you.  It has been about six years since I have been there, so I am open to ideas.

 

Mason’s 3rd Birthday Party {Part 3}

Tanya, My Mom, and Me

The Two Michaels

Poppy Steve

Jami and Me

 

Mason’s 3rd Birthday Party {Part 2}

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3rd Birthday Party, Chick-Fil-A Birthday Party, Chick-Fil-A Thomasville Georgia, Tupelo's Bakery Monticello FL

For Mason’s 3rd birthday, we had a Chick-Fil-A Cow-themed party.  Eleven of his friends came and helped us celebrate, and Mommy and Daddy even had some friends of their own come, too.  Meme, Poppy, Aunt Tanya, Uncle Michael, Miss Courtney, Miss Jami, and Miss Hilary (my friend from work) all came to the party.  We had a fantastically magical day.

I want to thank Kim at Tupelo’s Bakery in Monticello.  She created the super yummy and adorable cake and cupcakes for our party.  They were ADORABLE!

The Party Tables

Mason's Birthday Cake

Cow Cupcakes

My favorite part of the entire day was a visit from the Chick-Fil-A cow.  I had no idea that this was included in our party.  The kids loved the cow.  They gave him kisses and hugs.  I mean, just look at Mason’s face in the picture below!  Priceless.

A Surprise Visitor

Mason and Sweet Miss Aubrey

My good friend Jami came to the party with her precious son, Jackson.  We do not get to see each other often, but you would never tell it by how close Mason and Jackson acted!  They were practically inseparable the whole morning.

Mase and Jax

The BEST surprise of the day was a visit from Aunt Tanya and Uncle Michael! They drove three hours just to spend the day with us.  Of course, we had them over for a cook-out afterwards.  It was so great to see them and to watch them with Mason and Julia.  I feel blessed to have such wonderful friends and family!

Miss Julia With Her Aunt Tanya

Sweet Miss Julia

 

 

Mason’s 3rd Birthday Party {Part 1}

Tags

3rd Birthday Party for Boys, A Blissful Nest, Charlie Britches Etsy, Chick-Fil-A Birthday Party, Ferdinand the Bull

Mason’s birthday is really hard.  It is right after the holidays and the weather here is unpredictable.  Last year, we took him to the Jacksonville Zoo to ride the train, which he loved, and we all had a great time; however, it was freezing cold! We then had a nice party at my grandmother’s home with family and close friends from the area.

This year, we knew we wanted to invite Mason’s “buddies” from pre-school.  We decided to have his party at Chick-Fil-A in Thomasville.  Both he and Miss Julia love their nuggets, it is really nice and clean, and they love to play on their indoor playground.  I figured this was as good a place as any to keep little ones busy and contained for two hours.

I cannot tell you how easy it was to plan this birthday!  I put a small deposit down back in November to reserve the date and time, then worked with the store’s marketing representative, Tracy, to make the arrangements by phone.  And the price for the party was extremely reasonable!  When we got there Saturday morning, all I had to do was bring the cake and cupcakes.  CFA had a hostess for us who had set up our tables, complete with a balloon for each child, and flowers on the tables.

The cost of the party included a kids meal for each attendee, ice cream after their meal, and a bag of goodies for each, which contained a CFA cup, a pencil and a coupon for a free ice cream on their next visit.  We also had a special spotted visitor who came to our party to add to the fun!

Rebekah at A Blissful Nest created my party invitations and favor tags.  She always does such a fantastic job.  I usually just email her my theme and she does the magic.  Without fail, her vision always matches mine.   I told her I wanted a CFA “cow”-themed party, and this is what she came up with.  I love how the invitation turned out.

For our personal favors, I wanted to get each child a book.  I love giving gifts that have meaning and, actually, I ended up spending less on these than I would have had I bought numerous small token items.  The book I chose for this party was The Story of Ferdinand by Munroe Leaf.  The colors of the cover matched, and the story of the sweet bull Ferdinand is a classic.  I also picked out two other titles for the girls, Kiss the Cow by Phyllis Root and Cows Can’t Fly by David Milgrim.

Favor Tag

I also had Mason custom longalls made especially for his 3rd birthday party.  I know I do not have much time before he wants to pick out all of his own clothes.  So I decided to take full advantage now.  A twitter friend recommended I use Charlie Britches on Etsy to have these made, and Summer, the owner of the shop, did a fantastic job.  The longalls fit perfectly and went exactly with the theme.

My Sweet "Big" Boy

Surrounded by His Favorite Things

Wordless Wednesday

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3rd Birthday

Happy 3rd Birthday, Mason!

Happy Birthday, My Sweet Mason Man

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3rd Birthdays

At 8:14 a.m., Mason turned three. THREE! Oh my, how time flies.  I remember thinking that I would be pregnant forever.  Then I was in labor for what seemed like forever.  And, now, he is already so grown.  My 10-pound baby now weighs a solid 40.  As my students say, he’s a beast!

I know all parents think their children are special, but Mason really is exceptional.  He has the biggest heart of any human being I know and is teaching me about love in ways that I have never imagined possible. 

He is advanced verbally, and says things daily that astound Mike and me.  Just the other day, he said, “I adore Sissy.”  What todder says “adore”?  He frequently says, “Mommy, I love you with all my hearts,” and it warms my soul.  I like to think he makes “hearts” plural because Jesus is living in his.

Mason is also really strong-willed.  He gets a tad bit jealous of Miss Julia, but they are so different.  He is really good at play and has a very active imagination, even if he is also a bit rigid.  His favorite toys are his Match Box cars and his Thomas the Tank Engine trains.  He lines them up just so and talks to them, even role playing, using different voices for each one.  Of course, Sissy likes to come over and mess with him, which drives him nuts! She already knows how to push his buttons.

But he actually asks to go to “Big Boy School” every day and has a blast playing with all of his buddies.  He loves being outside on the playground, especially when playing ball is involved.  He talks about everyone in his class on a regular basis, but his best buddies seem to be Graham, Case, Brigs, and Aubrey.

Mason likes to read.  He loves the Thomas catalogues we get from Miss Linda at Shapes and More in Thomasville.  He likes Good Night Moon and can “read” us the whole story.  He also has the machine book that he calls his “excavator” story, and he likes that a lot.

He is a movie buff, too.  His favorites right now are Tangled, Beauty and the Beast, Thomas: Day of the Diesels, and The Lion King. 

Just the other day, Mason told Mike he needed to put on his work clothes to save Sadie Mae, our kitty, who was stuck on the ceiling.  The outfit above is his rescue garb.  And on Sunday, he sat at our desk in the back and told us he was “Mike Bonfanti” and that he “had to go to work to do his papers.”  Mike says he is going to be a police officer or some other type of authority figure.  I say he is going to be THE doctor who finds a cure for cancer.

On the sweet side, Mason is also a home body.  He does not really like to travel and is satisfied putting on his PJs and snuggling on the couch under his “softy” blanket.  He is his Mommy’s child.  

And my guilty pleasure is that he also likes to crawl in bed with Mike and me.  I know this is a parenting NO-NO, but I do not care.  I like having him in the middle and I like having him rub my hair in the morning and tell me that he loves me. 

Afterall, he will only be three once.

I Never Want to Forget

On this day, three years ago, I was in the hospital being induced. I was surrounded by Mike and my mom.  My Daddy, Steve, Joe and Robin, Meme and Pete, Pastor Greg, Carl and Katie, Jami Lewis, and Courtney Rubin were all a phone call away.  I was ready to meet my sweet baby boy.  I watched Pride and Prejudice (the Colin Firth version) and tried to sleep in the lumpy bed.  I watched Mason’s healthy heart beat strongly in the monitor.  And, still, he did not come.

This Post is Gross. Really Gross!

Potty training has been the hardest thing I have ever done.  Ever.  And I am still unsuccessful.  I am not use to failure, but, alas, motherhood is humbling.

The day before Christmas weekend, Mike and I had a lunch date and last-minute shopping, so the kids went to their respective day care locations. 

When we picked Mason up, there was a fill-in person in charge, and she was in the process of changing Mason.  Mason was crying.  Apparently, she had strongly urged him to use #2 in the potty.  He refused, got upset, and wanted me.  Then he had his accident.  The teacher got onto him pretty hard in front of us and sent him on his merry way.  Apparently, this really bothered him (and us) and, from that point on, he decided not to go.

Long story short, we ended up in the doctor’s office on Thursday afternoon with me describing Mason’s lack of bowel movements.  I am someone who is NOT comfortable commenting on bodily functions normally, and as I was teary-eyed, talking to our very calm doctor, I broke out in laughter and told him in shame that I was going for a drink of wine as soon as I left his office.

Motherhood is humiliating.

The truth is, I was terrified that Mason had some sort of abdominal blockage.  Our doctor thought correctly that it was just him asserting control.  He gave us advice on what to do and, thankfully, Mason spent all weekend…and I mean ALL weekend, doing his business.

Man, what a way to start the new year!  Needless-to-say, we are giving potty training a break for a little while until he is ready to resume it on his own.

Happy Birthday, Elvis!

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Elvis Presley

I grew up listening and watching Elvis Presley with my Bomba, and I am still a huge fan.  Nothing makes me happier than his gospel songs on a Sunday morning, I tell you.  To me, he was the epitome of a Southern gentleman and of cool, sexy charm.

Graceland

I have been to Graceland twice–once with my best friend Angie and then with Mike.  I cannot wait to go again and take the kids.  Already, I have a couple of Elvis’ CDs that I keep in the player in Miss Julia’s room, and they will turn them on and dance.

Elvis and His Hound Dog Last Halloween

Today, in honor of what would have been Elvis’ 77th birthday, I decided that we would have a little fun with our Sunday dinner.  We used the proposed selection in Paula Deen Celebrates! and made a scrumptious spread of country fried steak, rice and gravy, country cabbage, fresh sliced tomatoes, biscuits with peanut butter (that’s my own family’s tradition) and, for dessert, Southern Plate’s banana pudding.

We listened to Elvis while we ate, of course!

For the record, here is a list of my favorite Elvis Presley songs from my Spotify playlist.

Elvis Presley – Kentucky Rain
Elvis Presley – See See Rider – Elvis Live version
Elvis Presley – Suspicious Minds – Elvis Live version
Elvis Presley – Never Been To Spain – Elvis Live version
Elvis Presley – You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling
Elvis Presley – Burning Love – Elvis Live version
Elvis Presley – Such A Night
Elvis Presley – That’s Alright Mama
Elvis Presley – Always On My Mind – New Sound Remastered
Elvis Presley & The Jordanaires – Are You Lonesome Tonight? – 2003 Sony Remaster
Elvis Presley – Love Me Tender – 2003 Sony Remaster

Count Your Blessings {I Thessalonians 5:18}

"Count Your Blessings, Name Them One By One"

"Count Your Blessings, See What God Has Done!"

"Count Your Blessings, Name Them One by One. Count Your Many Blessings, See What God Hath Done!"

*Lyrics by Johnson Oatman, Jr.