An open letter to mommies when feeding their babies...

Dear new mommy,

I have a piece of advice. When feeding your babies, put down your phone.

That's it.

Simple? No. Not for me. I'm the first to have to be told this. And, I have to tell myself this each and every day.  It's a habit for me to be on my phone. Even if I'm telling myself to not pick it up, I end up with it in my hand. So, as I was nursing my 9 month old today, I made it a point to leave my phone in the other room. That way, I had no choice. Instead, I studied her. I looked into her eyes. She was staring right at me. Touching my face with her little fingers. So happy to have my full attention. I remembered back to when my first child was born, 6.5 years ago, I didn't have a smart phone. I spent time taking him all in. I had no other choice in the wee hours of the morning than to just stare at him, talk to him, and touch every small little feature on his face.

Mama, the time that they are small enough to lay in your arms and nurse or take a bottle goes by so quickly. I feel it goes even more quickly when we have a phone in our hand. I had felt like my nursing time was a break for me, especially with having 2 other kids, where I could sit down, catch up on texts, see what my friends are up to on Facebook, pin some new ideas, etc. But, looking back, I regret this.

While I was "connecting," I was disconnecting from my new little one.

So, mommy, put down your phone. Kiss those toes and fingers, run your fingers through that hair and stare into that adoring gaze of your baby looking up at you like you are the most important person in the world. Because to him / her, you are.

Breathtaking image by Dewdrops by Amy McDaniel.

Wait, I have a blog?!?

So, I got to thinking today about what I used to do when I had extra time in the day (not sure I can remember back that far). But, back before I would pass out in front of my computer editing, late at night because it is the only time I can try and edit my sessions :). And, this blog popped into my head. Looking back at it, last I updated was when I was 20 weeks pregnant! That was A LONG time ago. It's amazing how fast time goes. And as much as I like to say "time slow down"... that is just never going to happen, so instead, I want to continue to say "help me to enjoy my time." Life is busy. And, I've come to realize that will never change. In fact, I feel life is busier since I quit my job. Not sure how it was possibly I fit 40+ hours into my life back then, but it happened.

Let's catch up quickly ...

• Photography has been picking up. I limit the time I'm in the studio, so I'm still home with the little ones some days. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my job. Cuddling and capturing those newborns couldn't make me happier. 
• We had Kolbi May in June.  https://animoto.com/play/VUsNfY6T02eA0sHvhH1aTA
• The first 6 weeks of Kolbi's life was her being held. All. The. Time. Kolbi was our fussy baby. :) But, I was surprisingly ok with it this time, knowing how fast that stage goes. (I even had physical therapy because of it!)
• I'm still training at Barefoot Fitness. Love it. Love the people.

So, the point of doing a post now? What's been on my heart lately? Being thankful. It's November, and "Thankfulness" is the talk of the season, but I'm truly so thankful for this time in my life and the place I am in my life right now.

My friends. I have such a great group of friends. People who love me and support me, life me up, and encourage me. I am lucky enough to work out with friends, go to coffee with them, have Bible / Book studies, share the same interests, etc etc. Seriously, I had no idea I would be so lucky and so blessed with a group of people (several groups of people) that are new to my life and several that are from my past. 

My family. This I can not say enough about. Since moving "back home" we are around Jason's family and my mom's side of the family a lot. Our kids get to grow up with their cousins, we get to attend the birthday's, sporting events, have weekend play dates, etc. We have people to help out with the kids. Grandmas and Grandpas loving on the kids all. the. time. Even my cousins, who are like more sisters to me, are close and I love spending time with them. 

To wrap this up, I guess what I'm feeling is so much peace and contentment with my life. I encourage you to just slow down and enjoy the time. You can't get time to slow down, you need to slow down. Be thankful for what you have. Spend time with your friends and your family. No family is perfect, and anyone who says that they are is totally lying. I believe God gives you your family and your situation for a reason. Listen to that still small voice and figure out what it is. 

So, this season, forget the red cup debate, don't get wrapped up in drama, love people even if they don't love you back, and practice what Jesus taught us, grace, forgiveness, and acceptance. 

Hopefully it's not another 9 months before I'm back to write again :) 

It's been a while and a LOT has happened

September. That was the last time I posted anything. Then, well, life got really really busy. But, so much has happened! Let me give you a short list.

October -

• Worked really really really hard training to get my StrongFirst Certification. Went to CA at the end of the month, had 3 full days of intensive training and I PASSED! 
• I turned 34.
• Jason turned 35. (We were both 34 together for 2 weeks)

some of the ladies I met at my certification

It hurt.

November - 

• Was super tired and started to not feel the best. Took a pregnancy test and SURPRISE, it was positive! 
• Just tried to make it through Thanksgiving. :)

December - 

• Went to the doctor and found out I was already 10 weeks along with my little one! Fast first trimester. 
• Tried to make it to Christmas without giving it away to friends and family. Told everyone the news at Christmas. 
• Chase turned 5! 

My big boy <3

January - 

• Taylor turned 2. And I'm pretty sure grew a foot. 
• Taylor was dedicated in church. So special <3 
• I quit my JOB! I'm extremely blessed and get to focus on things I love. My family first and foremost, taking pictures, and helping others reach their goals through AdvoCare and Barefoot Fitness.

and my big girl <3

And, here we are in February! I'm on week 20 of this pregnancy (can't believe I'm 1/2 way there already!) I get to be home with my babies every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. I have already noticed a difference in them and in ME! Things still don't really get done around the house (sorry Jason) because I really do focus on playing with them. I'm loving it. I am hoping I can get into more of a routine and get some of the house finished eventually. 

I also feel like I have time to focus on relationships. 

• My family, again first and foremost, instead of allowing my 4 jobs to run my schedule, I'm scheduling around my family! I have 2 days a week now set aside for my jobs (which I really do love) and the rest of the time is theirs! 
• I have met some amazing women in Watertown and now have time to spend with them! We are starting a book study of "The Best Yes." From what I have read so far, it's so good and so applicable to how busy we are all in our lives. 
• Another relationship I feel like I get to spend more time on is my relationship with God. I was slowly getting through my "Experiencing God" study with another amazing woman I have gotten to know from church and now I feel I can focus on it. Although, there was a quote that really hit me from this past weeks reading. "People who struggle to spend time with God don't have a scheduling problem; they have a love problem." Ouch, right? Yes, I did need to get rid of some of the things in my life, but I should have never felt too busy or overwhelmed to spend time with Him! 

I'm so thankful for the relationships I have found over the past two years of being "Home" in South Dakota and it's amazing to me to see how these women are influencing my life. So excited to see what is to come. 

my whole world.

Puzzles

So, this isn't a typical "What's been going on the past month in my life" blog post. I will save that for another day (plus this past month has been so busy, I would be writing all night and I'm wanting to get to bed) ... But, I feel the need to share something from yesterday. I went running (that's not the part I felt I needed to share, I promise it gets better). I don't run often, but I try to put in a few miles here and there. Plus, I'm getting ready for another 5k and I really want to run it close to 24 minutes.  (5k Plug: join me Oct 5 to fight human trafficking ... sign up at www.pure5k.com). I ran while listening to a new album I downloaded. "The Young" by Marc Wymore. The music is more geared at teens, but I absolutely love the album. Talk about a self worth boost. And, my kids love it. They love to dance, and the album is some popular songs with Christian words. Seriously, check it out, even if you don't have kids. Ok, back to running ... I actually really enjoyed my time on the road. I most certainly didn't break any records, but wow, was it great. Marc was recently at our church and talked to a small group of us about worship. He said that worship is not what we do, it's who we are. Worship doesn't change based on our circumstances. So, as I was running, worshiping, at one point I stopped and reached my arms up, closed my eyes and was overwhelmed at the beauty around me. The rolling hills laid out before me, filled with corn, beans and cows, yes cows made me cry (I'm officially a crier now). I never thought I would end up back here, in South Dakota. The plan in my head was so far from it. Then, God put something on my heart for the rest of that run, and that's what I felt I needed to share ...

Think of your life like a puzzle. If you are putting the puzzle together, according to the picture you have in your mind and you are creating, I guarantee you, no matter how spectacular your puzzle picture is, it's nothing like the final picture God has planned for you. But, that's the thing, God doesn't show you the final picture. You have to trust Him and put the pieces where He tells you to. Believe me, my puzzle was great (or so I thought) but it was a puzzle I was putting together on my own. It wasn't until that puzzle was dropped and broken into 1,000,000 pieces that I started depending on God to shape my life. Once I began to allow the pieces to be put into the places He guides, my entire life has purpose and I am happier than I could ever have imagined. A saying that has been stuck in my head for some time now is "When I was living my life according to my plans, I had success. When I started living according to God's plans, I had purpose." I come back to this often when I start to make my own plans. My current devotions stress not to make anything about me. Not even asking the question, "God, what is my purpose? ... That is still about me.  It says to find where God is working all around you, and meet Him there to do HIS purpose.

Another thing, you can't put 1/2 God's puzzle and 1/2 your puzzle together and make a complete picture. You can't hide any of your pieces from God. No puzzle is complete without all the pieces and you have to be working on the same picture for it to come together in the end for the puzzle to be complete. God needs COMPLETE control.

Maybe you have it all figured out. You have your picture in your head and you are headed for success. I'm not saying you aren't going to be happy or that you won't succeed. You might, but think about the puzzle you are missing, the one you were created to put together. Also, sometimes you need to be broken (like I had to be), before you will stop and pay attention to the puzzle He is asking you to put together. If that happens, don't pick up the pieces. Leave them in the past. You have new pieces. Trust God to guide your steps and your moves. His purpose is so much greater than anything you had pictured for your life.

That's a puzzle I want to be a part of. Good Night <3

Busy is spelled L I F E

Life can be overwhelming. At each stage, I have looked back at the previous stage and thought, I can't believe I thought I was busy then! So, I have no doubt that things will continue to get busier as life goes on and the kids grow up. I'm having to figure out how to prioritize. Not everything is getting done, and I have to be ok with that. Just typing this, I have 100 things going through my mind. Just to try and list everything going on: training for strong first, taking pictures, Chase starting school, finishing the house, AdvoCare, oh yeah, being a wife, a mom, and having a full time job, is overwhelming. I'm not sure how to fit it into a day. If I truly scheduled out my days, I would fill up 24 hours with what I want to accomplish, without scheduling sleep.

Breathe. Just Breathe. There is so much pain and destruction in our world right now, it's hard for me to focus sometimes. Everything going on in Iraq breaks my heart each time I look at my children. The only thing that gets me by is knowing that those poor murdered babies are no longer scared or in pain. They are happy and don't have to go through that horror anymore. And, I continue to pray for the ones that are still living it. We are so blessed to live in a free nation. My ancestors are from Syria, so it makes me wonder how many of my relatives are being affected. In all the chaos, I search for the moments that matter. I continue to live in a free world, and for that I am thankful. I move on, day by day, in a routine.

This past weekend, I attended an AdvoCare conference with Jason. I love spending time with people in that company. They are truly good people. It reminds me why I love that company. They care about people and they want to help people, with health, finances, self esteem, whatever it may be. We got to see some new products that were introduced (love them by the way). And, on Sunday, we were blessed to worship with Michael W. Smith. Such a powerful worship time and I'm so thankful for that opportunity.

Jason and I continue to work on the house. Going from almost 4000 square feet to around 1100 is tough. We have had to get rid of a lot of things, but things are feeling less and less cluttered everyday. As I look around this little house I realize every day even more how it's all we really need. We didn't need all that stuff. We have everything we need, we aren't lacking, I am happier now than I was in that 4000 square foot house. It's not about the house, it's about the people in it and what is important. Here are a few more pics of the inside. You have now seen the whole "first floor" after my last post showing the bathroom and the breakfast nook. Here is the living room and the kitchen (as well as the laundry) :)

We have an amazing view and a wonderful garden that has started to produce for us!

I'm starting to be very strict on my diet again. No processed food. All "real" foods, so the garden is wonderful. I'm excited to see how diet, my strength plan, and my AdvoCare product routine helps get me prepared for my Strong First Certification in October. I have taken my starting body fat percentage and I know how many lbs of fat and muscle I am starting with. It will be fun to see what happens in the next 2 months to those numbers :) Chase and Taylor love it here. Chase now has a "chore chart" and one of the things is being nice / respectful. Amazingly, he finds things to do for his sister to get a sticker! lol. Here he is helping her out drinking. She adores him. Every morning, the first thing she wants is a hug from brother. And, he will hug her back. Melts my heart.

Chase starts school this week. We just went to the open house tonight where he met his teacher and saw his class room. He held my hand the whole time and smiled shyly. I don't want those days to end. Not yet. So, I will cuddle a little longer at night, tell an extra story, draw an extra picture on his back and happily move over in bed when we have 2 additional sleepers in the middle of the night that join us, because life will continue to be busy, it will continue to fly by, they will continue to grow. And, I will be thankful for each and every moment I am blessed with in a nation where I have the freedom to enjoy my life and my family. Instead of living my "Busy is spelled L I F E" life, I think I'm going to focus on living my "Life is spelled B L E S S I N G S" life.

Don't call me Martha just yet ...

I'm becoming more "domesticated" :) ... Since being on a "real food" diet, I have had to get creative. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. For example, we are finally starting to get some of the food from our garden (which was planted extremely late). So, I made salsa! It had a mix of cilantro, basil, mint, tomatoes, avocado, peach, and onions. It was pretty tasty. Jason and I ate it up within 24 hours. :) Then, I tried some healthy banana bread. This consisted of almond flour, eggs (which is just ground up almonds), no sugar, and a few spices and baking soda. This did not go over as well. I don't mind it, but it's definitely not banana bread. However, when you don't eat sugar or processed foods, it's really not that bad. My family begs to differ. Jason has been eating it with peanut butter -- also not on my list of approved foods :) The kids do eat some of my creations from time to time. Here is gluten free pancakes (of course, they did have whipped cream and syrup on them). Also, for those with a sweet tooth like me, freeze your red grapes. Seriously, do it. You're welcome. :)

Since this blog is named after our little house in the field, I thought I would show you a bit of the inside. It's not completely finished yet, but it's getting there. Here is my bathroom.

I love the old dresser Jason made into our vanity. The detail is wonderful. This is a piece I bought, I did not make. I would love to figure out how to do this sometime, but that time is not now. It was actually finished by one of my good friends from High School, Audrey, who I have had a chance to catch up with a few times since being back in SD.

Then, we have a little kitchen nook for our eat in area.

We also have a few seats available at the kitchen island, but no formal dining room. We have stored our table and chairs away in case we add on in the future. I couldn't get rid of them. :) This bench was also refinished by Audrey! And I got the adorable chairs and chalkboard at Lucky Day Sale. (Check it out on Facebook, the fall sale is coming up very soon, and they have the CUTEST stuff!) I do still need to paint the table. So, I eventually have to figure out how to paint and create the distressed look, but for now, the table cloth will suffice.

Jason has been working hard on finishing things around the house. He cleaned our our garage and the kids took advantage of the room with their toys and bouncy house. :) It's all coming together nicely.

We spent yesterday at my in laws. They were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary! I love being around family and Chase and Taylor love playing with their cousins. I'm once again reminded about how lucky we are to have family all around us <3.

I did however eat cake. Oh, did I eat cake. I'm one of those people that is a complete sugar addict. I know this about myself and I honestly can't just have a "little" piece, no matter how hard I try. This is why I'm normally so strict with myself and really don't allow cheat foods. I. Can't. Stop. and yesterday was no exception. In fact, I still feel sick. That in a way is a good reminder about what that food does to my body. Ugh. It's toxic almost and I don't want my body to get used to it again.

Jason and I are getting ready to go to AdvoCare's success school this next weekend. I can NOT wait. AdvoCare is unlike any company I have every encountered. The speakers and leadership are genuine good people. I don't know how to explain it. Many other direct sales companies I have seen focus on what you can get, how much money you can make, how you can earn this car, etc. AdvoCare focuses on helping others. Many of the leaders stories are around this and I love that atmosphere. My favorite part of the weekend is Sunday worship. Michael W. Smith will be there again and last time, he sat at the piano and led worship. It was amazing. I can not wait. I'm sure I will be posting a recap after the event. :)  We are staying an extra day to have a little "date" time. Very much looking forward to a weekend get-a-way with the hubby too.

We had a wonderful message at church this morning, and my thoughts keep going back to it. Pastor talked about keeping our kids safe, pure, and innocent. Protecting them from this world. The lessons I want to continue to drive home with our kids. We don't need a big house, we don't need cable, we don't need a lot of things, etc. I want to live a lifestyle that teaches those lessons. Once that sin has been in our lives, our nature doesn't let us "forget." Yes, we know we are forgiven, but we don't forget. The analogy was a glass of water that had dye added. You can't get the water to be clear again. However, if you continue to pour in more and more God into that glass and add it to a bigger container, it will dilute. I want to continue to have more "God" poured into me. Day after day. I can tell the days I don't spend reading my Bible or my devotions now. I am more agitated, not as at peace, etc. I know I have to continue to make the time to schedule that into my life. That needs to be my first priority, daily. Still working on figuring out how to fit it all in.

Well, I'm going to go back to editing photos and doing some online shopping for a pull up bar. Lots of maternity and newborn sessions coming up in the next few months, and I am starting to train to get ready to attend a StrongFirst Level 1 cert next calendar year! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and God Bless!

Introducing... me, us, whatever this is...

I've decided I am going to start to blog. I have no idea how often I will get to it, or if it will even the least bit interesting to anyone, but I'm doing it, so here we go.

These last 2 years I have been on a journey. I have learned more about myself, my health, and my roles & responsibilities as a child of God / wife / mother than I have my whole life before that. I work daily to bring better health and well being to myself and my family. I want this blog to touch on those things. There is no way I can possibly put all of what I want to touch on into an intro paragraph, so you will have to trust that maybe at some point I will touch on something you are interested in learning about, or not. :)

Let's start with just a little background. We moved "back" to SD from IA about 2 years ago. We moved back near family to the area where my husband, Jason, and I met, in High School. (Warning: Sappy / Mush Alert Ahead). I still remember the first time I saw him. It was at "Pheasant Lanes" and he held the door open for me and my friends. We got into the car and I asked "WHO WAS THAT?"

We love being back close to family. Our kids will attend the same school we went to. We just finished building a small loft house in the middle of a field (hence the very creative name of my blog, Little house on the prairie was taken). We moved here at the beginning of June and there are still lots of projects to be completed, but I'm loving life back in the country. Jason built this whole house. He is simply amazing and I have no clue how he knows how to do it all.

 Let's move on to my passions and what this blog will most likely be about...

First and foremost, I try and live every day to serve God. I have recently started a study with a lovely lady at my church. It's called "Experiencing God" and it is simply amazing. I would highly recommend it. It's so practical and talks about hearing from God and knowing what you are supposed to be doing for Him. I'm only 5 lessons in and I can tell it will be amazing every step of the way. My iTunes is playing "Rescue" by Newsong at the moment, a new favorite.

My family. Really, what can you say about this? I love being a wife, mom, sister, aunt, you name it. I love having family around. I love that the kids will grow up with their grandparents and cousins and extended family. I feel we are right where we are meant to be. (yes, I know this picture didn't center, and I don't know why. I'm still new at this, so you will have to live with left justified for now). 

 Health and Wellness. Over the past year I have lost 75 lbs. I have tried to lose weight my entire life and guess what, it's not about dieting people! I finally figured it out. It's a complete lifestyle change and figuring out what works for you! I only work out 3 times a week, at Barefoot Fitness. They are wonderful people. It's a community like I haven't experienced before. You get a personal trainer, a nutrition coach, and the other people in the gym are so supportive. I feel like there is a Barefoot family. And I'm so happy to be a part of it. I take AdvoCare products, as many of you know. These products help me with my overall health. I get the nutrients I need. They give me energy. Pretty much all I could ask for. (Check out our AdvoCare page if you'd like www.whatisyourdirection.com) I have focused more on the performance side in the past 6 months and have lost 2 more sizes, 2% body fat and only 5 lbs. I have been able to lean out and build muscle with my training and products and I love the way I feel. That's another lesson I have learned. The scale doesn't matter and guess what? I don't count calories! Shocker, right? Trust me, I know. I tried it all. and then some. I basically just avoid processed foods as much as possible. Eat real food. That. Is. All. Finally, in this area, I have been converting our house and personal product use into chemical free. I buy from several companies, Honest, Ava Anderson, essential oils, etc. Never thought I would be the one to make my own toothpaste and healing balm (that happened last month!) Much more about health and wellness in future blogs I'm sure...

 Photography & Babies - Put the 2 together and what do you get? Newborn photography! I am doing newborn photography in my "spare time" and I LOVE it. I get to cuddle with brand new babies and create art their parents can have to remind them of just how little they were, because, as we all know, that time goes way to fast. Check out my page: www.sherristormophotography.com I'm addicted to the cute props there are out there. This is a full industry people! I have taken special "newborn posing classes" and safety classes, etc. But seriously, I love it. Tell your pregnant friends.

Ok, that's a LOT for an intro. If you are still reading, I'm impressed. I will try to keep adding in pictures so you at least have a little more to look at than just words on a page.

If I didn't have to write a big long introduction, I probably would have written about StitchFix. So, I'm going to do that. You can read on or maybe save it for tomorrow if you've had enough for the day.

I got my second StitchFix yesterday. And I pretty much loved it all. For those that don't know, it's a personal shopper that follows your Pinterest boards and the profile you submit about your fashion likes and dislikes. I really wanted to keep everything, but I'm also trying to follow a strict budget on what I'm spending. We have a plan and a goal to be complete debt free, so I need to reign in my spending habits. But, here's what happened... As I was trying to decide what I keep and what I don't, I posted a picture to Facebook.

All of my friends gave me the advice to keep a pair of green jeans that were sent. I really wanted to keep them. They were cute. But, lately I have become involved in bring awareness to human trafficking and the problem it is, not just in other countries, but in MY STATE! So, instead of spending the $88 on those jeans, I sent $88 to http://www.crisisrescueinternational.com $88 could potentially buy a child. That's right, I said buy. In other countries, babies are sold out of hospitals for $80 - $200. This organization buys and houses them so they do not get bought by a broker that places them in a brothel. What an amazing organization. When I saw this picture on my Facebook newsfeed, it broke my heart.

I'm also involved with planning a 5K run through my church that will raise money and donate to organizations right here in SD that help girls get out of trafficking and get them help. No one should ever have to go through that, and little by little, I want to make a difference.

 Thanks for reading!