Calling all the mamas out there

Hello ladies. I have been meaning to do this for some time now and just haven't!

I think I mentioned earlier this week that we have not purchased a single item for the baby yet...we've looked around at things like cribs and a few others, but that's the extent of our window shopping at this time. As we are getting ready to venture in to this new world, I would love to get advice from anyone willing to give it regarding all baby items.

• what works - must have
• what doesn't - don't waste your money on it
• what could you not have made it without
• what are good little bonuses - made things nice (or would have) but not a necessity

...and anything else you feel would be good for us to check in to or know about! If you could also include the brand that you recommend, since we know there are options out there for just about everything - that would be awesome.

ALSO - if you're at a stage in your child's life where you don't need something (or soon to be)and are OK with lending or leasing it out to us - let us know! We definitely don't need brand new everything. This also goes out for any maternity clothes :) Anything you're not using for the next 4 months or wanting anymore - let me know!

So please feel free to shoot your info over to me. If you have a friend that could help us out with this info as well, we're OK with receiving info from anyone!

Have a great weekend!! And Happy Father's Day out there to all the daddy's of the world :)

Beautiful Wedding

Not only am I a sucker for weddings, but I've been hearing about this adorable love affair between John & Monica for 2 years now (they've been together longer, but I met Monica 2 years ago)...loved hearing about getting details set for the wedding (although I never really knew specifics, so the wedding itself to me was a complete surprise) and it was just such a neat event to witness for so many reasons!!

The post that I put up recently (about our active child) that displayed some amazing talent at the wedding happened here! So, while I know that the majority of you do not known these two lovebirds, I just had to share a little of our evening with them, with you!

The bride was absolutely breathless. She looked like a model...well, I guess since she does print ads she is one - but still :)

As you can see, the color was purple - my favorite color :) Even their puppy was all dressed up for the event!

Tyler took a pic of one of their framed pics they had out. They took some really great pics that they had displayed throughout the wedding spots.

I loved the purple flower decor that she had - you can barely see it here, but she had some beads hanging from the top here...

and the center pieces were just gorgeous!

The happy couple

The location was a gorgeous place on a hill, so there were several levels available to the wedding... they house wild animals (Tyler only ventured off to get a pic of 1 :) )...amazing scenery - wish we'd have gotten more photos!

Here's a link to Rancho Las Lomas, where the wedding took place. There are a few more pics there, and also if you're looking to get married near Orange County, look them up!

...and our clan :) This was the gang that was there from JAMZ :)...minus Tyler, unfortunately. While we were there socially, he was asked to be taking pics throughout the event :(

The gorgeous cake - I loved the feel of Alice and Wonderland to it...or at least that's what it made me think of.

...and the fun with the cake

...and our evening ended as it was dancing at cocktail time. Generally, would be a fun time however, we left to go hang out with some family in Huntington Beach, since we were so nearby.

Ok, that's 2 of 4 weddings for 2010! Next weddings are in August and December (yay I get to be a bridesmaid 1 more time!!) I so love weddings.

Plans, plans...and more plans

Was reading one of my crosswalk emails yesterday and my thought for the day was what it made me ponder: most times (ok...all the time) our plan 'b' is God's plan 'a' for our lives. (to read the email - which I recommend!- click here)

Many of you know this but I'm a ridiculous planner. Truth be told, I think it's driven Tyler a bit nuts these past few years that our lives have merged. I had such a rigid schedule for absolutely everything: what night of the week I watched a movie, when I paid bills, when the bills were sent off, what nights I would call friends to catch up, when my 'free' nights were to make plans with someone. Seriously - from the random to the extreme; if it were something to do, it was planned.

After life started happening, or shall I say, God started to take over (wish I could say I asked Him to, but sadly I wasn't asking Him, so He just did it himself without waiting on me, bless His little heart!), I could no longer 'plan' out each detail of my life. I couldn't even make a list of to-dos or organize my week. I was a complete scatter brain. I got this bad after my dad passed away. I used to cry because I felt like I just had no control over my life...and boy was I right! This was also the point of my life when I realized I have no control over my life, it's all in God's hands...and I was finally at the point where I quit resisting and controlling and gave it all up.

Back to planning. I had every stage of my life planned out. I wanted to get married after I was 21 (check) get pregnant when I was 28 (ok...I'll wait), I had a 5 year plan at work (we all know how that ended, right?), and on and on. No where in my plan did I ever have a divorce, losing my dad, a miscarriage, or a struggle with God's timing when it came to having children. My plan 'A' so did not work out...and I am so eternally grateful for that! God's plan 'A' has been so much better, and I feel like it's just at the beginning of it! I think he let me do my own thing through my 20s, so that I could spend the rest of my life realizing His plans are so much greater! I think when I was trying to live out my 'A', it was my molding and 'learn from all these mistakes' time. "...Many of us make the mistake of forgetting that Jesus promises to produce maturity, righteousness, and love by letting us go through trials."

I know many of you know the 'planner' side of me, which still exists, don't get me wrong!! This is why you absolutely cannot believe that we did not find out the sex of the baby. Tyler being my opposite, and resting in God, I have given some of the crazy planning up :) Man has it been nice, too!! So much less stress. I do still plan out my days and weeks, so I can be sure to get things done...and it also helps me feel productive (I heart seeing my items crossed off!!). But I've also realized that I have to allow for God's 'inserted' items in my days that I don't always 'plan on'...and just that things don't always go as planned.

OK so those are lots of thoughts and background to swallow :) Thank you for letting me share this since I no longer have an outlet to 'talk' and think out loud each day!!