I’m fortunate enough to have a friend who makes the most amazing Christmas treats. Without fail, Andrea begins her baking early and shares it with us each year (mind you… not only at Christmas). Simple enough to make with the kids. She once shared the recipe to a mind blowing dessert that can only be described as “Christmas Crack” (oohh yeah, it’s that good)! To my disbelief, it was pretty easy to make. My girls helped me try it for the first time and topped it with sprinkles and nuts as you can see from the photo below. INGREDIENTS 1 […]
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Top Holiday Designs, Motherhood and Overcoming self-doubt
Zazzle has selected their favorite Christmas card designs this holiday season and I’m excited and honored to be part of this group. I’ve now learned to create for myself but validations of my work is certainly welcome. Hey, I’m a real person and it’s amazing to get noticed and recognized. Designs from these collections have made the Editor’s pick if you want to check them out, here they are below. Minimalist | Modern | Greenery Wreath Christmas by Lorena Depante Minimalist Modern Merry Script by Lorena Depante View the full HolidayZ Design Challenge Winners post here. I’m always […]
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Keeping Family Night Alive
“Why do we have to do this?”, I remember asking my mother as a teenager. That’s because she insisted that every Wednesday night we gathered for Family Nights. I’m the first to admit that at the beginning I thought it was so corny. Being teenagers we felt we had so many other things we wanted to do. Like be on our phones or go out with our friends. At the time there was a lot of resistance. I have to give it to my mama for being faithful to having these evenings. Family Night just meant that we […]
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Do you dare to dream?
Some day I’d love to take the whole family on a vacation and see our kids splash in the ocean and play in the sand. Since my youngest was born we haven’t been. Do you have a dream board? Well I do. It hangs on our bathroom wall. I see it every day. This is one of my dreams. I also have other things on there. One in particular jumped at me a few months ago. It was “To give more” We had planned for our family vacation in October for our 10th anniversary but it seemed like it wasn’t […]
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First Day of Kindergarten – how I really feel.
I told a friend that I was emotional when my third child entered kindergarten a few days ago. He had this surprised look in his face as if to say… “Really?! Shouldn’t you be used to it by now” Maybe I should be, and maybe I could avoid feeling emotional. Truthfully, I don’t want to. I join the other mothers that want to feel, because I get to relive and remember the times my baby needed me. They all enter the big world with different readiness. And we are fearful how they will adjust to all the changes. I mean for […]
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First day of school – How to make it fun.
Oh I’m not gonna sit here and pretend that the first day of school is super fun! But there are ways that I have found over the years to help prepare us. When it was time to send our third child to kindergarten, we had him in pre-school activities to expose him to social settings and routine. I recommend doing that if you can. Making school a big deal — since it is — includes some creative and thoughtful planning. I’ve always admired those who post chalkboard signs. I love the answers children give, it changes over the years and […]
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You Are Loved
“I don’t understand why you don’t want to try, you’re brilliant and amazing!” These words caused my daughter Camryn to cry as if she had no idea. I remember thinking how can she be doubting herself already, she’s so young. Am I failing her?⠀ Our self image is shaped by everything around us. We are so sensitive to the opinions of others and form our own conclusions, not always to the truth. ——– On my 40th birthday I received a gift. The gift of delivering a very important topic to young adults in our Christian community. I say it’s […]
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Baby keepsakes, how much should I do? Tangible vs. digital
It’s so much easier nowadays to snap a shot, document your daily activities right in the palm of your hands. Leaving you with a keepsake all the time. #Poweroftechnology But do you wonder if there’s still a point to printing things or is the cloud enough? When I first got pregnant we received albums and books about baby’s first year. Being a new expectant mother, I dreamt of filling it up, I was fortunate that I kept some thoughts in a journal. When my baby was born I printed a few photos and wrote in the book but any new […]
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Milestone Birthday Party Theme Ideas
Metallic Gold, Boho Chic or Black and White. How does one choose for a milestone birthday?! Planning for a milestone birthday celebration is so fun when you’ve buckled down on a concept. I’ve been busy with themed party invitations, including my own, especially when I turned 40. Yup, I’m a 1978 baby…go ahead… do the math. I’m cool with it. 🙂 A lot goes into party planning, my post titled, 5 Tips to Party Planning may help you with that, check it out by clicking here. In my observation, a well put together party can jump off from these basics: Season, […]
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Safari birthday theme ideas – Drawing for my children.
My youngest is the first to celebrate his birthday every year and I was doodling his favorite animals for a safari theme. He’s my little party animal so it was perfect. I illustrated a tiger at first and expanded to more jungle animals such as the zebra, giraffe, monkey, hippo, lion with monstera leaves. Check out the process video below. I’m pleased to offer my safari designs for you to purchase as part of a new collection from our shop. Customize jungle-themed party supplies, safari t-shirt (for the celebrant, mommy, daddy), banners, decor and more. These easy to use templates […]
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