Happy Mail Exchange (want to join?)

Raise your hand if you adore getting something happy in the mail?

I'll raise two hands to that! 

I am a magazine hoarder as most of you know.  Magazine days are great mail days. 

So are Amazon book days. 

What's the best though are days when I get something from a friend....

usually a thank-you card or something from my nieces/nephews. 

Christmas was wonderful-all those cards with beautiful faces coming so often! 

Let's do a Happy Mail Exchange, shall we? 

I'm never at a loss for a creative idea floating around in my head, but here's where this idea originated from.  I read a lot of blogs, on a daily basis.  Lately I've read several posts about a variety of conferences for moms/women that other people have attended.  I admit, getting to dress up and out of mom clothes, eat real food without holding a babe, girlfriend time.....

well, it all sounds fabulous!

I was talking to Brett one evening and wondered out loud at how nice it must be to get away for a day or two.....but that right now it's just not reality. And if anything I think us mama's of young babies need more encouragement than ever! (Can I get a hearty amen?!)

So, an idea was born.  We all check the mail.  It's a mundane job.  We all need inspiration/encouragement, and probably most of us don't have several hundred dollars to spend at a conference or the time to get there.  I think we should bring the party/refreshment to ourselves, right to our front door! 

Here's how it will work if you participate (and I hope you will!)

1.) Comment with your name below so I can match you with another reader randomly.

2.) E-mail me your name/address at sunshinebysara@hotmail.com

3.) Gather a bundle of treats, and mail it to the reader's name/address I email you. Please send the package within the next TWO weeks (by the end of May).

Easy :) Let's make a budget of $12 per happy mail bundle.  (that way with shipping you're not going over $15, which is plenty) 

{You could include: something handmade, stickers, notecards, candy, flashcards, journal, favorite recipes, photographs, scriptures, nail polish, lip gloss, spices, book, THE SKY IS THE LIMIT!)

I'll keep comments open 'till the start of next week (probably Monday or Tuesday) so everyone has a chance to leave your name and participate.  This'll be fun :)

now THIS is vacation.

 If you read my post a few days ago then you already heard the sad story of our Chicago vacation.  

I must say the rest of our vacation days went above and beyond to redeem the big city days. 

We ate hot dogs and hamburgers grilled on the back deck,

 Brett built Anna Ruth a "playhouse" (no roof on it yet) that has a water wall, and will soon have a music wall!  I'll post more pictures and thoughts later.  We could have just bought a playhouse, but 1.) we're cheap (frugal sounds better) and 2.) we wanted an exercise in creativity ourselves.  How will the girls learn to be creative if they don't see us in action? 

So we gathered all kinds of bits and pieces from the yard/barn and set out to build something fun. 

And Anna Ruth is in love!  

 Imagination at work....

 Brett built the playhouse (that's what we're calling this little structure) with two pallets and made a table at Anna's height in between them.  

 And Betsy Grace and I got to do a lot of THIS in the yard.  The weather was absolutely perfect. Warm weather, blue skies, and a bit of a breeze.  

I've been spoiled the last few days of vacation. 

Country music blaring, Brett home to have conversation with whenever I please (which is often), crafting away the night hours, spoiled with Brett's cooking, laughter, wonderful weather, putting chores off, letting the dust sit for a few days in the house,

kicking back and soaking in this special time of two babies, and a rich life. 

Home, sweet home.

{I've also been brainstorming ideas for the blog.
In the next week or two I'll announce details about a HAPPY MAIL exchange between readers.
I'd love for you to participate!}

There goes my heart.

 Have you heard the quote about how once you have kids it's like your heart goes walking around outside your body?  Let's add that to the list of things I thought was just ridiculous, before I had kids.

Then along came Anna Ruth.  As we made our way past the hard times of me learning to have someone depend on me 24/7 I realized my heart WAS crawling, and then walking around......in the form of Miss Anna.

Next up was Betsy Grace.  I'm gonna be honest.  Before Betsy was born I wondered how on earth I could squeeze any more baby love in my heart. I mean, I thought it was packed full with love alone for Anna Ruth....what would it fill like like to love another baby too?

 It's one of those things you just can't explain.  As soon as I met Betsy Grace I just knew...this girl had my heart too.  Those deep, dark brown eyes....her cuddly little body.  The way she raises her head WAY up and smiles from ear to ear when she wakes up.........her smell. Her tiny features. I love Betsy Grace AND Anna Ruth both deeply.  So now I can look at the both of them and say "There goes my heart".  :)

I know Mother's Day is past, but here's an idea for a special mama (of friend) in your life! 

Isn't this bowl beautiful?  It's a good thing my kitchen doesn't grow every time I see a bowl or dish I like.  I think it's just too pretty to sit inside a cabinet so I put a candle inside, with a handmade card (using washi tape and a journaling card).

If you have a mama, or mama figure in your life that lets you be their heart walking around,

thank them. :) 

Instagram: my new love

 I kind of picked out my Mother's Day gift this year.

Ok, and last year too. Do you do this?  It's not at all because my husband isn't thoughtful!  He knows my favorite gift from him is a handwritten note.  What can I say...I'm a romantic at heart :)

This year I was wanting a new phone around the same time as Mother's Day....

so I got a really, really nice gift and got an Iphone! 

 And now meet my new love: Instagram.

Don't worry, I won't turn into a total convert and quit using my camera.

No way!  But I do like having Instagram to capture little moments here and there...

You can follow me (and I'd love to follow you back!)

You can find me by searching for:

sunshinebysara

Hope to see you there :)

Vacation: We didn't see THAT coming...

We went on vacation recently. To Chicago. I'd read about it for months and heard rave reviews about the city...and I love a big city (or so I thought).  We had things planned we just knew Anna Ruth would love and off we went. Both girls did great on the plane ride/subway ride there!  We were off to a great start..

I will recap the vacation quickly.....the girls had trouble sleeping (both for naps and at night) so after 24 hours there I tearfully told Brett I just wanted to go home.  And ya'll if this stay at home mama is ready to go home you know it's time!  Nothing was majorally wrong and typing about it, it doesn't sound like that big of a deal.  But little reasons all stacked up so quickly where the trip just wasn't fun...overall. LOTS of little things.  Our car battery even died at the airport parking lot in NWA so we had to get someone to help us start the car! Crazy! We did have a few fun moments though during our time there. Take a peek!

Our one big attraction we made it to was Shedd Aquarium. Betsy Grace made friends with the people behind us at the show...she made friends everywhere actually. She is her mama's daughter ;) 

It was unseasonably cold while we were there....

The city was full of beautiful flowers-everywhere!!! 

Plane ride..

Flower for Mother's Day given to me at the restaurant we ate at. 

I thought it was so kind....and was also surprised at how many people told me "Happy Mother's Day throughout the day...everywhere in the city.  Some told me quietly when I walked by. Others loudly.  So, so sweet. 

Anna Ruth loved the American Girl store.

And the Hershey's store! She got to pick out a treat from this cookie counter. 

I know, I know...you're looking at these pictures thinking it looks like a blast and wondering why in the world we came home so quickly, right? Hard to explain. I just know that in situations where you're working really, really hard to have fun yet no one is for the most part, change the plan!  A vacation isn't supposed to be about stress, upset girls, and tension.  So, as I'm typing this I hear the sound of the lawn mower and Hillsong playing. I see green grass, cows and clouds.  I know the rest of our vacation, Arkansas style, will be fabulous and full of grilled food, boats and fishing, cow checking. etc. 

This is just a reminder to all the readers that our lives get messy sometimes too. Don't be fooled by the colorful, happy pictures and think that we don't deal with real life too. We do. But for today we'll deal with our lovely real life in Arkansas. Gladly! :)

We'll conquer the city another time. :) 

Just you wait. 

The wonder of life...

This commercial has made me tear up enough times to stop and think-What in the WORLD is it about this silly phone commercial that gets to me? I think I may have an answer... one of the biggest reasons why I love blogging and cameras and photography is that it concentrates the eyes/mind on the good, the lovely, the thrilling and beautiful. I don't walk around with my camera looking for the worst parts of my days to photograph. My human nature all too easily remembers those things (when did we get trained to remember the frustrating over the fantastic?!) When I have my camera (or new Iphone!) in hand beauty finds me...or I find it. Some days I'm purposely looking for a piece of beauty among the ashes. Other days, it finds me. So, THIS is why I love this commercial. It shows the little pieces of hope, joy, laughter, and wonder that fill our earth. It reminds me of little glimpses of Heaven, God saying "I'm here, and there, and there".....surrounding us in the tiniest, yet hugest ways. I'm not sure the creators of the commercial were trying to say this or not (let's be honest-they probably just want you to buy the phone!). But it represents a larger message to me. That in the middle of____________ (tiredness, frustration, etc,etc) there are rich moments of life we might miss if we're not looking. I encourage you to look up, over, and all around today for the wonder that is life. :)

Blue skies and Pinterest fails.

 Isn't this gorgeous?  I could look at skies full of clouds like this all day long.  

There's just something so happy to me about puffy clouds and the bluest of skies.  It makes even the most dull day seem rather exciting and light-hearted. 

 These are our brussels sprouts growing in our garden!  Will they turn out??

That is the big question. I sure hope so!! These are some of my top favorite foods.

 Brett built this herb garden for us on the side of our house, using rocks from the land and a relative's place.  I think it's beautiful.

 The lettuce and onions in the garden are doing well also!  Have you had lettuce straight from the garden?  There's no comparison! I said just the other day that if everyone had tasted fresh food from the garden I bet people would eat processed food a lot less....

(well, if they had access to it I bet they would choose the fresh)

And now for the pinterest fail. Haha.  I helped Anna Ruth make bird seed cake things one day...somehow those pictures got deleted (It MUST be a sign that this really was a fail, I never delete pictures before posting them!) Anyway, we put the birdseed stuff in the cookie cutter forms and waited and waited to hang them outside. 

A couple of weeks later (we'd been busy ok? :) ) I go get the birdseed things out to try to hang them on string.  Out of about 10 of them only 1 had the hole intact to hang.

Long story short-we dumped the rest in this container and set outside for the birds anyway.

While trying to hold Betsy and get Anna to hand me the "good" birdseed cake she dropped it (on accident or in orneriness, still not sure) and we ended up with a lovely pan of crumbs for the birds.

"Feed the birds"........from Mary Poppins is coming to mind.