Fill In the Blank Friday/ January Joy Dare

1.   One of my favorite things to do when I have free time is take a nap, blog, edit pictures, re-make my blog, catch up on cleaning, do some sewing.

 

2.   When I have free time I tend to relish it. "Free time" doesn't happen extremely often.

3.  If I had an entire day completely to myself I would not know what to do with myself! I'd probably clean the house, take a nap, call a friend, go to the beach, go shopping at girlie places, and do other things that I don't have much time to do (but don't really miss).

4.  I would prefer to spend my free time (alone or with others...) with others. It's no fun to be alone.

5.  Most of my free time happens  at night after Adrian goes to sleep. I love cuddling with Nick and watching movies and talking.

6.  The best thing about free time is  being able to relax and not worry.

7.  The next time I have free time I should probably fold and put away laundry, wash dishes again, vacuum the house again, wash the baby toys, clean the bathrooms or sleep but instead, I'll probably  just sit and enjoy sitting and either sew or blog or both.

 January Joy Dare

January 6th: One thing in your bag, your fridge, your heart

January's Joy Dare (Inspired by A Holy Experience)

A few beloved friends introduced me to the book, "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voscamp. It is a wonderful book, however, Mrs. Voscamp's writing style is extremely unique and I had a hard time keeping up with the entire book (many of my friends love it, and if you are reading this you should pick it up and read it too).  Despite this, I have grown to love her blog. It is deeply personal, very transparent, inspirational, and encouraging - plus, most of her posts include beautiful pictures that I really enjoy.  

When reading her blog today, I found this:

 

Too bad I found it on the 5th of January, but I want to join in! If you did too, let me know.

January 5th: Something you're reading, you're making, you're seeing.

Wordless Wednesday

Our Morning in Black and White

Hard-Core Xylophonist

 

Baby Rockstar.

New Years Resolutions

I always make new years resolutions. I always get excited about making them. I don't always keep them (not on purpose) but I like them. I have been thinking of things I want to work on for a few months now.

Here are my resolutions:

1. Quiet time with the Lord. I have ALWAYS struggled with this as I hate hate rituals (that often lead to complacency) with the Lord. I hate doing the same thing every day, and I hate feeling like I'm just checking a box with God when I sit down at a certain time every day to do it. This is not okay. I'm being really transparent with you here, but this is a real problem of mine. So, this year, I'm going to try extra hard to make daily, enjoyable, purposeful time with the Lord.

In that same note, this same resolution continues in my desire to work on and eventually become better at:

Praying for my husband and son

Thanking the Lord during prayer

Memorizing and applying scripture

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who truly struggles with being a daily, genuine Christian. I am constantly at odds with my flesh. My selfishness, my sarcasm, my hormones (or emotions or exhaustion or any other difficulty we as women/mothers face) often gets in the way, and too often trumps my desire to let my relationship with the Lord shine through.  I hate that.  I will never be one of those people who "gets" philosophy and theology easily, which may be surprising if you know my mother, but that's not an excuse for me to not try.

Encouragement for you, though, if by chance you are reading this and identifying with it - as Christians, we NEVER "arrive". There is never an end to God. We never stop growing. It is taboo in the church to admit that we are human and struggle with being like Christ, and I miss not having anyone to talk to about this and encourage together.

2. (On a different note) - I want to exercise/eat better during my next pregnancy. And yes, this is a new years resolution because we're hoping to have another precious baby in the near future.

3. I want to be a better housewife with a better attitude. I don't love to clean, I don't love to do laundry, and I don't love to organize anything. I don't even like it. But as I do it, I always am glad I did it, so I want to establish a better routine for keeping up the house and keeping it clean.

4. I want to build on the relationships I've been given. Relationships do not come naturally for me, and I want to be better at calling first/texting first/writing first with my friends (especially the ones who are relocating to far away places such as California).

I also want to be kinder, gentler, softer, more forgiving, more loving, quicker to hug, quicker to encourage, less emotional, a better friend, a better wife, a better mother. 

Happy New Year

Fill In the Blank Friday

1.   New Years is  a new beginning. I always love starting over and looking forward to the future. I have a lot to look forward to in 2012!

2.   One of my New Year's resolutions will be to be a better housewife, Christian, mother, and wife (more on that later this week).

3.  A New Year's resolution I've made in the past was to: I never remember my resolutions. Says a lot, huh?

4. The most time consuming resolution I ever made was  exercise every day. NEVER happened.

5.  This year I will be spending New Year's Eve  with our closest friends for a while, if Adrian is able to sleep in the pack-n-play. If not, we'll spend it around the fire pit at home! 

6.  If I could wish one thing for my new year it would be lean on the Lord in a deeper way, be a Godly wife and a dedicated, patient parent.

7.  2012 is going to be  filled with happy changes, hope, and optimism (hopefully - I'm just starting it out right). Can't wait to see what the Lord will do!

Every man should be born again on the first day of January. Start with a fresh page. Take up one hole more in the buckle if necessary, or let down one, according to circumstances; but on the first of January let every man gird himself once more, with his face to the front, and take no interest in the things that were and are past. ~Henry Ward Beecher

In 2011, I gained an unknown amount of baby weight.

I lost most, if not all, of said baby weight.

I stopped painting (not on purpose, but it's hard to do with a baby. I hope to get that back up soon!)

I started sewing, and opened Sewing for Samuel.

I was hugely satisfied by becoming a mother. Motherhood is more than I ever thought it would be - more wonderful, more difficult, more exhausting, more rewarding, more exciting, more emotional, more precious.

And frustrated by my short nursing experience.

I am so embarrassed that I lost a very large amount of my hair 3 months postpartum.

Once again, I was blessed and encouraged by the Lord's continued faithfulness in our lives. When I am weak, He is strong - He has proven that over and over again!

Once again, I did not become a fantastic exercise diva (as planned).

The biggest physical difference between me last December and this December is I am not pregnant! This week, Adrian is 42 weeks old, which means I have been not-pregnant as long as I was pregnant!

I loved spending time with my husband and son as a family, with our close friends here in NC that are like a precious family to us, with our family at different times in the year, with our new friends we made at Kellum Baptist Church. Also, blogging, of course.

I should have spent more time organizing the house before Adrian was born. I felt ready, but I really wasn't that prepared for what was really important.

I regret buying a billion nursing clothes. I barely used them.

I will never regret buying our video baby monitor for $80 at Walmart even though with that money I could have bought diapers, formula, baby clothes, etc.

I stress out way too much.

I didn’t seek peace in the Lord enough. This is a lesson I always need to re-learn.

The North Carolina summer heat drove me crazy.

The best thing someone did for me was providing for us when we were financially hurting. We are blessed with THE best friends and family. Again, thank you, thank you.

The one thing I’d like to do again, but do it better, is pregnancy, and the newborn stage. I learned that not everything is as big a deal as I was making it.

Homemade Christmas Presents!

I am such a pinterest fan. Seriously.

If you aren't following me yet, you can follow me here: http://pinterest.com/abi_fasciano/

I am so very thankful for Pinterest this year, because I got some great ideas to make homemade gifts for all of my family. I love being crafty, and I was able to get great ideas in one place, in a short amount of time, for things that don't cost a lot of money, and turned out really cute.

You be the judge :)

I started making things in October, and I can honestly say I did something Christmassy every single day until it was time to celebrate. It was fun, and I felt good about putting time and thought into gifts instead of a lot of money. If got decides to bless us financially in the future, I still think I may give gifts in this way :)

Here's what I made, thanks to pinterest:

Salt Dough Ornaments (hand and foot prints)

I made these because I KNOW I will want to remember Adrian's cute little hands and feet when he was 9 months old on his first Christmas. This recipe is not so easy - it's easy to find all over pinterest and google, but here are some of my tips based on my experience:

1. Microwaving the dough will make it puffy and ugly and uneven. Don't do it.
2. My oven bakes unevenly, but if your's works great, than use it.
3. Otherwise, letting it air dry will take two weeks or more. If you set it outside, don't forget it in the rain (been there, done that).
4. If you have even a microscopic paper cut, the dough will really really really hurt when you are kneading it thanks to the salt.
5. Besides all that, it's great :)

(The finished product, now hanging on my living room wall)

PhotoCopied Hand Print

When I saw this on pinterest, I had one of those, "wow, why didn't I think of that?" moments, that I'm sure all you other pinners have had. Instructions are easy:

1. Place hand on copier over baby's

2. Photocopy

3. Frame

So cute! This is also hanging on my living room wall :)

Wreath

There are A MILLION (or more) wreath tutorials on pinterest. I didn't use any to make this wreath, but I love how it turned out. I used ribbon, hot glue, and flowers from Michael's. This was my mom's birthday present - I wanted it to be feminine, sparkly, and pink, like her!

Tip: Michael's has printable coupons online. Print and use!

Cinnamon Dough Ornaments:

This dough recipe was SO MUCH easier than the salt dough recipe. All you need is cinnamon, apple sauce (I used cinnamon apple sauce) and elmer's glue.  I cut them into star shapes and tied them onto gifts for sweet-smelling happiness :)