:: March Madness, Part 2::

Easter was also in March this year and we were excited to get more Easter chicks for my "chicks". Between us and our nephews we had 6 chicks to love on! Parrish named them Otter jr., bunny and peep and enjoyed playing with them while his cousins were in town.

I don't think Knox knew quite what to think about the chicks! He just watched them calmly most of the time (there was that once he reached out, grabbed one and squeezed...ahhhhhh....the trauma!).

I love this picture of two little chicks.  His twirly toes remind me so much of his sister.

Later this week we'll take the chicks to live at a friends house. She keeps chickens and says she'll even share some of their eggs with us. Yum!  It will be so much fun to show Parrish what they look like all grown up.

The Saturday before Easter our neighborhood does a big egg hunt and this year we REALLY hunted in style. 4,000 eggs were dropped from a HELICOPTER for the kids to hunt! The picture above is Parrish staring at it taking off.  It was a surprise and the kids were all amazed. I can't say that I ever went to an egg hunt that involved a helicopter growing up! Where will we go from here?! Don't think the neighborhood will be able to top that next year!

Knox met the Easter bunny for the first time at the hunt and his daddy even helped him hunt eggs. In his words..."babies like to hunt eggs, too!" Ha! He'd hold him up to a egg and Knox would grab onto it with a precious, chubby little fist. The problem was getting him to let it go in the Easter basket!

Easter Sunday Cannon surprised me with an Easter dress! Can you believe that? It was so sweet I almost cried! I had been complaining the day before that I hadn't given any thought to what I was going to wear, so he took it upon himself to go buy me something new. I just love that man. He was even smart enough to buy it in two sizes! He really brought a smile to my face. What girl wouldn't like a new dress?

Another very special part of my ensemble was the beautiful, old-fashioned Easter corsage that Cannons sister Christy brought me to wear in memory of our precious Olivia. I loved wearing the dainty, pink flowers all day because they reminded me so much of the bouquet she carried at her dedication. It was a small but special way to help us feel like she was with us.

Here's a family shot from the egg hunt.  Parrish ADORES his cousins and it is fun to watch a house full of boys when they are all in town.  As you can imagine, there is lots of energy and never enough food to fill them up!

And of course the bunny made his appearance on Easter eve and left baskets for the boys to find in the morning. He brought Knox some super cool baby shades pictured below.  I couldn't believe they lasted 5 seconds on his little face, much less 5 minutes, so I was pleasantly surprised by how much he liked them!

The boys got matching shark bathing suits from the bunny.  I am dressing them alike as much as I can this year because I have a feeling that Parrish wanting to dress like Knox will be short lived.  I must take advantage of it while it lasts!

Knox's favorite part about his Easter basket was trying to eat the grass, of course.  Parrish's was his book of paper airplanes and of course all the candy!

Here they are in their coordinating Easter "finery."  Aren't they cute??

March was also a busy month for Olivia Charles Antiques!  As I mentioned in a previous post, we are partnering with Southern Stationery (SouthernDipity gifts) to offer engraved gifts like the cross above.  The back of the cross has the family name and each member's name engraved as well.  These have been selling really well (they are $30 + engraving cost and can be purchased here) in addition to the double cross (shown below in natural and red barn wood).

These crosses are $50 and can also be engraved.  You can purchase one here.  Please specify if you would like a red cross.  We only have one left.

 

Mary Catherine of Cotton + Quill has been engraving up a storm for us and here is a bathroom caddy engraved with the old fashioned word for out house, "Privy".  Clever, huh?  Mary Catherine has her own line of hand-drawn and custom fabric available to the trade.  Check it out here!

I promised a picture of the bedside table/bookcase that we did for a client and here it is!  The grass green interior is such an unexpected pop of color in an otherwise all natural barn wood piece.  I am in love with it and can't wait to see it in the room.  

These tables are a steal at $150 and I happen to have one more in turquoise.  If you are interested email me at info@oliviacharlesantiques.com and I can email you a picture of that color way and give you measurements.  It will also be for sale with our other items at the Mt Laurel Spring Festival which is next Saturday, April 13th!  I hope to see you there.

I want to close with a prayer request and some words from my heart.  I have been struggling this last week emotionally.  When you loose a child, every day has it hard parts and lately there have been more of these moments.  I mourn our little girl, and the loss of normalcy for us.  It is tiring going out into the world, living a daily, normal life, but always anxious because you don't know when you're going to be put in a situation where you are expected to talk about our loss, especially with people you don't know well.  It's like having a wound that has scabbed over, but suddenly is ripped off.  Emotionally and mentally I don't feel strong enough to talk about this personal, deep loss with people I have just met.  And that makes me want to isolate myself from situations where this might occur.  Please pray for courage, strength, and endurance for me in these situations, in addition to Cannon and Parrish as it is just as hard for them, but in different ways.

We took Parrish to visit Olivia's gravesite for the first time on Easter and it was a bitter sweet time, but he was ready.  He had asked several times to go and see it so he could bring her the minnie mouse ears that we bought for her birthday while at Disney.  And he really, really wanted to take his new paper airplane book there so we could fly airplanes "with" her.  And so we did.  At first it almost felt disrespectful to fly airplanes with him there, but gradually I felt a peace that she would want to see him happy there.  What a study of opposites.  I place full of sorrow suddenly filled with the joy of a little boy flying paper airplanes.  

What broke my heart the most was him asking for some privacy to go and talk to her.  As I walked toward the car he was sitting on her bench and all I could see was his swinging little feet as he spoke to her.  He is so young to have endured so much and I am so proud of his sweet, tender, and strong little spirit.  

Last week I learned that some old family friends lost their second child.  Their first son in a pool accident at least 20 years ago and their second son, a college student, just last week in a car accident.  Please keep this family in your prayers.  It is unfathomable to me how a family could endure the loss of a child for the second time, yet I know they will have no choice but to do just that.  You don't ever think that lightning is going to strike in the same place twice and hearing that it has has been a hard reality for me to take in.  My heart aches for them, but the only thing I know to do for them right now is to pray, so I would ask that you please remember them in your prayers as well.  

"Now you don't need to be afraid of the dark anymore, nor fear the dangers of the day; nor dread the plagues of darkness, nor disasters in the morning." Psalm 91:5-6

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BUSY-Being Under Satan's Yoke

I've had these pictures uploaded for a week trying to find the time to blog and finally decided to just post them and be brief....it's the best I can do this season!  

We spent Thanksgiving in Andalusia with family and friends and it was a fun visit.  As usual though, it was tempered with longing for our sweet girl to be there with us.  The only difference is that this year, we had this cute bundle in our arms and I cannot express in words how thankful we are for him.  He has given us so much to be thankful for.

While we were in Andy Parrish got to play with his cousin Ada...she is quite possibly the best babysitter around.  She did whatever Parrish wanted to do...including building this fun fort in Glorio's yard.  It had rooms divided by hanging towels, duck blinds, broom closets and beds made of leaves....imagination at it's finest.

Knox enjoyed his time with Miss Ada, too...laughing at his great-gradaddy and getting snuggles (below) from his great-Glorio.

Right before Thanksgiving we had Parrish's school turkey trot and he ran with his new classmate and buddy Cole...the top three finishers got frozen turkeys and everyone else got certificates and turkey beads.  It was pretty funny seeing all the costumes - dogs and humans dressed up like turkeys!

Even Knox "ran" with us, although as you can see, he was content to nap and be pushed.

Cannon and I are struggling up the hill to the school in this picture trying to keep up with Cole and Parrish, who were like bolts of lightning!

Parrish and his classmates Cole and Drew showing off their certificates...

After the turkey trot it was off to see Santa.  Knox was just along for the ride this year.  I wonder what he'll think next year!

Parrish still had his face paint on from the turkey trot that he cherished and I didn't have the heart to make him take it off (if you were wondering why on earth I got him all dressed up only to paint his face!)

Parrish always taps his chin while he's thinking.  Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas and the contemplation required some serious chin tapping.

Ok, maybe Knox was not just along for the ride this year...he was happy as a clam as always.  The one exception has been the past week...we have all had a cold and he has not been his normally happy self. He finally got a good night's sleep last night and he was back to his cooing self today.  Now maybe his mommy and daddy will get a good night's sleep tonight!

I've been busy wrapping some gifts with these super cute yarn pom poms I learned to make on (where else) but Pinterest!  Basically you wrap the yarn around 4 fingers several times, slide off your hand and place in the middle of a short section of yarn that you then use to tie in the middle.  Next use your scissors to cut the loops on either side and that's it.  Easy and super fun.  I am one of those weird people that actually looks forward to wrapping gifts.  And the yarn is inexpensive and comes in lots of fun colors.  I especially like the red and white and lime and white that looks like baker's twine.

For classmate treats this year Parrish and I cut out and sewed kraft paper in fun Christmas shapes to form pouches filled with m&m's that his friends can rip into, then eat.  We put "Have a rip-roaring good Christmas" on the tags.  Parrish loved sitting in my lap and sewing...we experimented with different stitches and I let go of my need for perfection and just let him sew his where he wanted.  I love doing projects like this with him and I love seeing his creativity come out.  He has opinions on what color thread, shapes and stitches he likes, placement of stickers, etc.  I know the days of him being interested in doing these projects are coming to an end soon and I am cherishing each moment with him now.

Here's another picture of my jute webbing obsession.  I used it on my wreaths this year and attached old skeleton keys and my house numbers to hang from my front doors.

And I couldn't resist using it as a tree topper as well.  I'm telling you....this stuff has 1000 uses!

The picture below is a terrible one from my phone of my mantle.  I used an old "P" wreath form and wrapped it in yarn and Christmas lights then stuck in some cedar clippings.

Creativity is an outlet for me and something I enjoy very much, and I know a lot of you who read are the same, but I almost didn't post all of these "project" pictures today because I was convicted in my bible study this week that I have been too busy lately....not taking the time to enjoy the season and letting my to do list have all the control!  I loved that our leader said that BUSY is an acronym for "Being Under Satan's Yoke".  So true!  Satan loves nothing more than for us to be overwhelmed during this season that is supposed to be filled with peace and joy at the thought of the birth of the one who has saved us all.  When we're focused on our "to do" lists, we don't have the time to focus on the gift of Jesus and the hope he brought with him.  

  Our kids won't remember whether our house was decorated perfectly, but they will remember all of the fun times and traditions of the season.  They will remember us sitting down with them each day to read a bible verse and talk about Jesus's birth and life and to answer their questions.  They will remember baking baby Jesus a birthday cake with you each year or fun family outings to the ice skating rink or live nativity.  

So here's wishing you a season filled with peace, joy, and hope, and the ability to say "no" to your mile-long "to do" list in favor of family fun!  At our house just seeing this gummy smile can make it feel like Christmas morning every day.  Here's to the simple pleasures!  Merry Christmas to you and yours!

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:: Life the last 6 weeks... ::

Life over the last 6 weeks has mainly been consumed with this sweet little face...

But in between the diaper changes, feedings, soothings, Kindergarten work and my 5-year-old's activity schedule we've also squeezed in some time for a few other things, like a special family dinner to celebrate my 33rd (yikes!) birthday.

My "boys" made me a yummy lemon cake and a precious "Mommy" banner (and yes, with all those candles it seemed like we might set the house on fire - and the sad thing is, it wasn't even all 33!)

Parrish starts deciding what he is going to be for Halloween in August (I guess I can thank the big retailers who think it's a good idea to put holiday stuff out over the summer for that!) and has been talking about being "GI JOE Snake Eyes Black Ninja" (whew - a mouth full!) for a month.  I tried in vain to get him to be something like batman that would be easy to coordinate with his baby brother (wouldn't Knox make a cute bat?!)  No, he said...Knox can be a ninja like him.  Well, let's just say that there is not exactly a cute infant ninja costume.  So instead I saw this baby sushi costume DIY tutorial on marthastewart.com and decided that would be a precious combo.  CC came up with the idea to let the boys hand out fortune cookies, too.  Adorable!

So I followed the easy steps and came up with this costume for baby Knox.  Don't you think he'll make a cute baby shrimp nigiri?

Our photographer Alisha Baker also gave us a cd of beautiful images she's taken of my family over the course of my pregnancy and Knox's birth and I wanted to share them here.  I love all of them and appreciate her capturing these special moments in such a beautiful way!  I want to add 3 new canvases to our family canvas gallery on my stair landing and try as I might I cannot narrow it down to 3.  Any votes??  Please help me decide!

Although these pictures paint a story that can only be seen as idyllic, and these moments ARE just that, in the interest of being completely honest and painting a picture of our TRUE lives and not just the life that we want others to see on this blog, I will tell you that mixed with the complete joy has also at times been a sense of a disconnection from God.  When you are sleep deprived everything in life seems just a little bit harder.  The crosses you carry seem a lot heavier.  The "why's" and longing for Knox's big sister Olivia weigh us down more.  Not a day goes by that I don't imagine what their interaction would be.  I imagine her joy and curiosity at her little brother.  Some of Parrish's new Kindergarten friends have sisters that are exactly the age Olivia would be.  When we meet them at the park to play I think how perfect it would have been to have her there to play with them and the wounds re-open.

I went on a run over the weekend and this song by Heather Williams played from my playlist:

Wish I knew what I'm supposed to say to you
What you're going through
But I don't know what you're feeling
Does anyone know what you're feeling right now

You're afraid
The future's like an enemy,
and you just wish you could see
'Cause you don't know where you're going
Don't let it keep you from hoping right now

Yeah we've all been lost and we've all been hurt
Where our hope is spent and our faith don't work
But nothing lasts forever
The only thing that matters
Is God is still God and He holds it together

So hang on now

He's been there, walking in the wilderness
When it's hard to see the end
But He had the strength to do it, so He can help you through it
So hang on now

So even when you lie awake
And bend until you almost break
The darkest time is right before the dawn

This is often how I feel.  I know no one can know how I feel or even what to say, I know our problem is not of the "fixable" variety.  I long to know God's plan for my life and our family's future.  And this song reminds me that even when I don't have the answers and I feel disconnected from him, to hang on, because God is still there, waiting for me to wake up from my sleep-deprived fog and reach out to Him for clarity.  My sweet sister Caroline painted me a beautiful watercolor painting for my birthday entitled "clarity of the mind."  Appropriate, don't you think? 

My favorite line in the song is that the darkest time is right before the dawn.  Isn't that true?  Our darkest time was before our sweet Knox was born and his birth was our dawn.  He has filled part of the vast void that was left in our family when we lost Olivia.  We still have moments of darkness intertwined with our happiness, but we are hopeful.  

I ran across this quote the other day when I was reading and it's truth resonated with me:

“We don’t look at problems. Whatever you look at becomes bigger.
We look at God.” – Pastor Spinoza

When we stew on our problems they do become bigger.  When we look at them and not at God, that is when the darkness sets in.  So we stay busy and try not to do that.  We don't always succeed, but we are trying!  

One of the ways we stay busy is working, and because of this I am so thankful to Shelby Living Magazine for featuring our Olivia Charles Antiques and Foundation on the cover of their October issue.  This exposure has been wonderful because it has had the double effect of increasing our business and raising awareness about our foundation and it's mission.  You can read the full story here.

 Thanks to this exposure we are working on helping to provide burial assistance for our first family, and it is this family that I want to ask you to pray for.  You can visit their Facebook group at Prayers for Ryan.  Little Ryan has been battling brain cancer that has recently returned and there are no more treatment options available to him.  His family is working with many others to fulfill many of his dreams over these last weeks and and also asking for donations to help them with burial assistance when/if he does go home to be with Jesus soon.  I know what it is like to loose a child, but I have no idea what it is like to anticipate the death of a child on a daily basis, living with that looming over your head, so please pray for Ryan and his parents Jasmine and Greg.  On their Facebook page they are asking for people to mail him cards of encouragement, etc and if you feel led to do that I'm sure it would be appreciated.

And one last prayer request is for a family from Montgomery whose son Preston was found in a pool and rushed to Children's in Birmingham to be put into a medically induced coma.  I do not know this family personally, but they are friends of our friends, so I have been following their FB page "Prayers for Preston" and praying for their specifics needs and would ask you to do the same.  From what I understand they are in the process of bringing him out of the coma to assess his condition and this seems to be a long and tedious process which is very stressful for the family.  Please pray for their hearts and minds, the doctors, and God's perfect peace to settle on his parents during this nerve-wracking time.  We are working to get them a prayer pager and will provide that number once it is assigned. 

Thank you for lifting these families up!!

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