~ Grooming ~

Please be patient with us while we do a little grooming and try a few new things.

Blessings,
Anna

~ Mommy Moments - Post from Anna of Anna & Co. ~

Have you enjoyed the Mommy Moments series so far?  

We will continue as long as it seems to be going well. 

We’ve had some great guest so far and I’m so thankful that they shared with us their mothering experience.

We have several more guest lined up, but I wanted to take a moment to get down to the nitty-gritty of mothering and take us a little deeper in the dirt of mothering...so to speak.

~ Eat More Chicken ~

I think all of us know that most of our mothering experience is great!

There are beautiful blissful mothering days where you couldn’t imagine life any other way.

Agree?

But there are days…

Days when your children wake up wearing the devil’s cape.

When there isn’t a positive word to be found on their tongue.

When beds aren’t made, homework isn’t done and teeth aren’t brushed.

You see, I had it all planned.

I was going to be the perfect mother and my children such as me.

That’s when God got out his snuggie, popcorn and hot tamales and nestled in for a good comedy and said…”THIS IS GOING TO BE GOOD”.

Then it happened…

The first “strong will” battle, the first toy thrown, the first door slammed….

What?!

This isn’t suppose to happen, because I’m suppose to be a perfect mother, right?!

You know the days when you go to the grocery store and the lady across the isle has it together.

She’s wearing the whitest of white summer dress an her children are dressed in matching outfits & shoes, matching bows, the whitest of teeth and say “Motha, may I have a box of almonds to have after I eat my broccoli and steamed asparagus” in their perfect well-groomed voice.

All the while, your children are lucky to have clothes or shoes on, they are crying for a sucker and you are wearing black because white isn’t an option anymore.

Ok, I’m exaggerating a little.

Really, my kids aren’t this bad, but you know what I’m talking about, right!

There will come that day when you realize that PERFECT and MOTHER can’t be in the same sentence and if there is a possibility of those words falling adjacent to each other that you have a whole lot of work to do.

via pinterest

The caption above reminded me that if I strive for perfect, I’m setting myself up for failure.

There are a million ways for me to be a GOOD mother.

Like finding alternatives on “those” days.

I’ve resulted in taking my little ones to Chic-fil-A before just because I knew they would be happy there and I could have a good cry breather then ice cream...for $1.

You see, being a great mother isn’t about being perfect.

It’s about loving unconditionally.

Teaching diligently.

Praying endlessly.

Giving Tirelessly.

So, the next time you are having one of those days, remember this post and a good cry at Chic-fil-A is good for the soul.

Oh yeah, and

Take it easy on yourself, this mommy thing isn’t for wimps.

I would love to hear about your mothering experience.  Please do share.

Also, if you would like to contribute to the Mommy Moments series, please send me an email at annabledsoe@comcast.net or notify me via the Anna & Co. Facebook page.
I look forward to hearing from you.

Blessings,

Anna


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~ All is Well...sort of ~

We just completed the annual Well visits with the doc and what a difference a year makes.

Ethan has grown 1+ inches and has put on a little (to say the least) body mass.

Kenzie has grown 3+ inches. Oh my!!! Seriously, 3 inches?!!!

All is well, or so we thought until we got to K's hearing test.

Ethan passed his hearing test with flying colors which is odd since he was my “9 times in one year” ear infection baby.

K heard everything perfectly fine in her right ear, but failed the hearing test 4 times in her left ear.

This makes my heart sad. Poor baby.

Our nurse had another nurse come in to assist with the duplicate test and then the doc and still no successful results. *sad face*

She almost starting crying because they kept asking her if she could hear and should couldn't.

Broke my heart.

The doc seems it could just be seasonal/allergy related since she's had a cough.

So, we are trying a few things and will retest hearing in one month.

So, help me pray for my little one and that all is well with her little "drums" when we retest.

Overall, the annual Well visits went great and the kiddos are thriving.

Blessings,

Anna

P.S. Have I mentioned that we have the sweetest pediatric staff around in these parts?! For real!!!

Love Ms. Elizabeth and Dr. Morel!!!

~ Just Because (MaKenzie Grace) ~

K and I were playing around the other day with hot rollers and bows and she asked me to take her picture.

So, the Canon and I gladly accepted.

We asked E to join us and he declined.  It's not really his idea of fun.

We slipped on a dress that she's had for some time, but has always been too big for her to actually wear, but it seemed perfect for this mini session.

We found a neighborhood prop (stop sign) to compliment her dress and started too goof off!

There are endless photos of her being silly, but I thought I would share a few of the better ones here... just because.

Now, I just have to get Ethan in front of the camera.

Easier said than done these days.  Grrr!!!!

Blessings,
Anna

~ Love is patient ~

Love is patient.

Do you ever HAVE to remind yourself of this?

I DO… every single day.

You know when you walk through your house and trip over a toy that you asked to be picked up an hour ago?!

Or, when you just cleaned off the counter only to find 5 minutes later there are receipts and pocket change everywhere again?!

How about when you turn the light off in the kitchen and turn the corner and it’s on again and no one is in the room…REALLY?!!!

Ahhhh!!!!

Oh and this is the best, you get home from work and all you really want to do is go pee alone (forgive my blunt style). You get banging on the door, little eyes and fingers under the door and a loud “Mommy, let me in!!!!”.

Just 5 minutes please… 5 minutes to think… to breath… to rest.

Are you with me yet?

Patience.

Love is patient.

If I want to show them love, then I must show them patience.

Easier said than done, right?!

If we aren’t careful, impatience will breed anxiety.

It will rob you of stability and rational thinking.

It will quickly induce failure in EVERY situation.

It will tell our children their interest don't matter because we don't have time for them.

I know none of us want that, right?

Our patience will achieve more than our force. Edmond Burke

Patience is learned. It can be cultivated and nurtured.

It’s a virtue, the Bible says so.

It’s the companion of wisdom. St. Augustine

If you are a parent, you know children test your patience every day.

If you work, you know that co-workers test your patience every day.

Fact is, if you are breathing, your patience is tested every day.

If you long for more patience like me and you want to show the people around you love through patience, then come with me on this journey to acquire it because love IS patient!!!

Here is a video to get us motivated.  I stumbled upon a new favorite site of mine values.com during my personal devotional on patience.

http://www.values.com/inspirational-stories-tv-spots/107-Wet-Cement

Oh my!!!

Here are a couple of steps that might help get us target patience:

1 – Make a decision that you are going to change your attitude and approach and cultivate a more patient approach. EVERY change begins with a decision.

2 – Identify those things that are triggering impatience. We are typically impatient due to this fast paced life we lead. We need to remember that most of the time this isn’t our children’s fault…they are just along for the ride and are easy targets to release anger which is part of the failure of impatience.

3 – Don’t expect perfection and remember that everything should be age appropriate. Just as we are still learning patience, your children are still learning lifestyle and time management. They are still learning everything really.  Be patient with them because "Wet Cement" doesn't mean the same thing to them.

4 – Expect the Unexpected - I think from the start of parenthood this is important. Things are not always going to be as planned and schedules are sometimes going to get off. Most things take twice as long. Take a deep breath. Yelling at your children doesn’t change a plan that went astray, it only induced further plan failure and a situation that will unravel very quickly. The Bible says that anger sits in the lap of fools.

5 – Does it matter? This is a BIG one that helps me.  I’ve been asking myself this question a lot lately. In 20 years from now, will this matter? That puts out a lot of fires that could get out of hand. Ask this question, it really does help.

A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly. Proverbs 14:29 NIV

Now, let’s work on this together.

I would love to hear from you on how you practice patience or what works for you. Please do share.

Blessings,

Anna


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{Mommy Moments} - A guest post from Heather

Meet Heather, a dear friend of mine.

  Heather is one of the funniest people I know.

If you want to laugh, constantly, you need to meet her.  In her raw form, she is hilarious.

While I'm not hilarious, I've always said the she and I were cut from the same cloth when made, simply because of the way we think.

Meet Gentry, Heather and Micah's miracle.

I'm so happy to have Heather as a guest today. 

This is what she had to say about her motherhood experience.

~ For this child I prayed ~

Wow, there is so much I could say about “Mommy-hood”, where to start?

To give a little bit of back ground on my journey to motherly bliss….I knew early on that I would most likely have problems conceiving, but it was always in the back of my mind and a moot point until the day came that my husband and I wanted to have children. In the spirit of full disclosure, I told Micah (my husband), all about my “issues” prior to marriage. He, being the kind of man he is, told me that he was marrying me for me and not for what I could give him in the form of children. Little did I know I would hear those words come from his mouth several times in our 13 year struggle to conceive?

Several surgeries, procedures, failed attempts, pills, shots and one ectopic pregnancy later……..I FINALLY had a two liner on my test strip. From the very minute that we realized that hey, we were going to be parents, this thing is real, there is a human in my body and growing, we were head over heels in love. I went on to have a very healthy pregnancy and a gorgeous 8.5 lb miracle baby boy named Gentry Jax. That’s when the real fun began.

Gentry is full of personality and speaks with his entire body. He is very dramatic and no, he didn’t get that from me at all! ;-) Since he is 2 now, I find myself with the constant battle of wanting my little 6 week old back, but at the same time he is at such a fun stage and everyday I see his personality blossom even more. So, what is a mother to do to indulge herself…I mix the two worlds. I started “pretending” that Gentry was a baby and taught him how to mock cry like a baby and now he thinks it’s hilarious. He likes for me to hold his sippy cup like a baby or hold him in the cradle position like a baby just to play around and goof off. The other night I got him out of the bath tub and wrapped him in his favorite lion towel, and he asked to be a “baby lion” so I played along. Like I often times do, I equate the precious, pure things that Gentry says or does to a Godly perspective. Like being a baby and feeling that comfort of your parents arms or that soft sweet nurturing voice when your child needs consoling…sometimes we as parents get so caught up in working, living, dreaming, housework and hobbies that we forget to just lean back, relax and just let the Lord rock us and cradle us and help us know that with Him, everything will be okay. He is in control. That is very hard for me to do, but with each day that passes, I learn more and more that I need His “cradling” to help guide me into being a Godly example and parent. I want to be the best example in front of Gentry that I can be so that he will have a firm foundation when it’s time for him to stand on his own two feet and live his life according to the Word.

In the early days of infertility issues, I learned to lean on a lot of scriptures such as,

“Be Strong and WAIT on the Lord” (Psalms 27:14). Trust me, 13 years felt like a lifetime to WAIT on what Micah and I longed for the most, but oh trust me, Gentry was so much more than worth the wait. I also clung to the phrase “great shall be your answer”. What I know for sure is that when God does it, He does it right! I can’t imagine having a child to raise other than Gentry. God paired the 3 of us up in a way that only He can. Although 13 years seemed to have crept by, the last 2 years have flown by. I often find myself trying to memorize every look, expression and sweet word uttered by Gentry. I want to capture and hold all those memories not only in my mind’s eye but also in my heart. I am a richly blessed woman!

For this child I prayed (1 Samuel 1:27) hangs as a small plaque in Gentry’s bedroom at my eye level because I never want to forget the power of prayer and faith and what a true miracle He entrusted me with.

Thank you, Anna, for the opportunity to share a little bit of my heart. I feel so honored to be asked to speak on your blog. You are a wonderful role model of what a mother should be and thanks for letting us “new comers” into parenthood glean that from you. Much love my dear friend!

Thank you Heather for taking a moment to share your mommy story with us.

It bitter sweet to watch our little ones grow up.

It's joyful to see the new and watch them discover, but with each passing moment you watch them develop into something so far from that newborn you once rocked.

So, it's so important to live in the now and cherish every moment, document it as much as you can, start traditions that your children can cling to and hold them until you can't anymore.

I remember praying with Heather for Gentry.

I was so glad when she told me the news and it was a day of rejoicing when I was able to visit this newly designed family at the birth of G'bug.

A perfect reminder that EVERYTHING is perfect in His time.

If you would like to contribute to the Mommy Moments series, please send me an email at annabledsoe@comcast.net or notify me via the Anna & Co. Facebook page.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Blessings,

Anna

~ K's Colorful Day ~

This past weekend we celebrated K's 4th birthday Kenzie style!

We had an ART Party!

It was so much fun!

We kept it small and she invited 3 of her girlfriends.

Gabbie, Emma and Sophie.

The party was simple, fun and calm.

It looks like a lot of chaos, but it was actually the calmest party that I've had to this point.

The styling was so much fun, but there is a horror story behind the scenes of this party.

First of all, let's mention the party took place an entire month after her actual birthday.

I've been slammed... to say the least.

Here's the kicker...two days before the party, my house was completely torn apart.

I wish I would have taken pics, but I was up to my ears in chaos and simply forgot.

All of our furniture was in the middle of the house because my husband decided to replace the carpet.

He called me Wednesday and said he was headed to Dalton, GA to pick up carpet.

We spent Wednesday afternoon texting back and forth carpet pics and deciding on carpet via the iPhone.

Crazy, I know!!

So, up at 6a.m. Thursday morning getting ready for construction workers to be in my house all day.

Then, I spent all day Friday pulling the house back together and cleaning....again.

Nice week off work, huh?

I didn't get home with the cake until almost 10pm. Friday evening and didn't finish styling the party until 1am. Saturday morning.

Back up at 8am. Saturday to prepare for guest.

Yikers!!!  I need a vacation!!!

It was worth it to see her face when we cut into that cake!!!

~ Cake inspiration via One Charming Party ~

The cake was made by a co-worker that has a passion for all things cake.

It was delicious and so amazingly pretty.

Thank you Charity!!!

~ Decor, Invitation & Party Printables via Anna of Anna & Co. and inspired by the colors of the RAINBOW ~

I googled art quotes and landed on this one for the logo.

"Every child is an ARTIST" - Pablo Picasso

Kenzie was feeling a little overwhelmed during the spotlight event and all the eyes that were on her.  She enlisted Ethan to assist with the grand moment.  He blew and then she blew the last two out, but we didn't capture that photo.

'Tis so sweet!!!! 

~ Art decor via MaKenzie Grace's daily ART collection ~

~ Guest's ART from left to right ( Kenzie's Canvas, Sophie's Canvas, Gabbie's Canvas and Emma's Canvas) ~

~ Drying Station ~

We did a pinwheel tutorial, pipe cleaner flower and many other "whatever the girls wanted to do" projects.

~ Love from left to right (K & Mommy, K & Daddy, K & Great Aunt C and K & Papaw Donnie) ~

There were other friends and family present, but managing the camera, cake and crafts left me spread a little thin and I didn't grab all the guest with K.

However, a dear friend of mine was present and she just happens to be a professional photographer.

Thanks Allison for filling the gap when I couldn't be behind the camera.  :-)

~ Kenzie, Daddy & Cousin Gabbie ~

Overall, it was a super fun day and I'm so glad K loves ART!!!

Happy Birthday to my little starving artist.

Blessings,
Anna


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Tip Junkie Parties

~ Gratitude ~

It’s easy...

To fall into the trap of envy, discontentment, wanting, “needing” and the list goes on.

I’ve caught myself a time or two…maybe even five or ten times (*wink*) on Pinterest getting sucked into that world.

Don’t get me wrong,

I love to dream and I love Pinterest!

Dreaming is okay.

Wanting to better my home, my life, myself…it’s okay.

However, I have to have major self discipline if I happen to find a few minutes to sit and browse.

It’s so easy to start thinking that everything you have is crap and not good enough.

It’s so easy to get sucked into those thoughts of “I wish I would have chosen dark wood instead of natural” and that one thought leads you down a path of thinking everything you have is worthless.

It’s such a lie from the enemy to have us get caught up in that game.

I’ve witnessed a pattern over and over again to the point you would think I would learn.

You know, you needed something so bad and it was going to change your life and your happiness meter,

but you quickly found out the new wore off and it was just another piece of junk.

I want my life from this day forward to ONLY consist of things that matter.

Things do not matter!

Say it again…

THINGS DO NOT MATTER!!

Perhaps I should say this every day when I wake up in the morning.

THINGS DO NOT MATTER!!!

I’ve been praying for constant reminders that will drop gratitude and contentment in my heart.

Lord help me be grateful for the things you’ve blessed me with in this life.

Help me find beauty in simple.

Help me be content with just being, loving, helping and serving You.

Yes, I’m shocked!!!

Shocked that it’s actually happening... because I’m human like that.

I'm being stopped in my tracks sometimes.

Asking myself, "Anna, in 20 years from now will this matter to you?".

When I want to act out and say poor pitiful me and start banging pots and pans and throwing a mommy tantrum,

for a brief second, God touches my heart.

Reminds me of what I’ve been praying for.

So, today I’m grateful for daily reminders that let me know God is working on my heart.

I’m grateful that in spite of the chip in my brain that tells me everything has to be in its place and perfect…
sometimes it’s not and it reminds me to not to sweat the small stuff, because it's not important.

I’m grateful for moments like these.

I’m grateful for things THAT HAVE MEANING... like "pink baby" that has been there through every sleepless night.

I’m grateful for 40 fingers and 40 toes that fill my life with chaos every day.

I’m grateful for daily random silliness.

I’m grateful that I can dream of all that is in store for them when they slumber.

I'm grateful for a father to my children that shows up.

I’m grateful for wild flowers picked from the yard because they mean so much more.

I’m grateful for SIMPLE.

I’m grateful for this life…MY LIFE.

Challenge: Find at least one thing every single day to be grateful for… you can do it!!!

Blessings,

Anna


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