A year? Are you kidding me?

Today is my baby boy's birthday.

Well, its almost over now.
And he must have known it was ending
cause he didn't want to go to bed tonight.
And he usually goes down like a champ.
(It was either that or the
huge amount of ice cream he ate tonight...)

{Blink}

I can't even describe how much I love this kid.
What mother can?
But I DO finally understand how our love multiplies.
When I was pregnant with him
I wondered how I could ever love a child
as much as I loved his big brother.
Guess what.
I love him just as much.
And I know my love will multiply again with the next baby.
Amazing how that works, isn't it?
Our God is an awesome God.

Once Christmas was over my mind went into party planning mode again.
Ok, not even.
Christmas Eve I finished sewing (yeah, stupid I know) and wrapping
Jaymin's presents, fell into bed, and drifted into a NIGHTMARE
about Jettison's birthday party.
Nothing was finished or ready and guests were showing up.
That's pretty much my equivalent to the nightmare
where you find yourself naked in front of your classmates.
Or however that one goes. I've actually never had that one.
Moving on!
So this week has been dedicated to his par-tay.

Can you guess the theme?
Ok, the color scheme is obvious but there is a theme as well.
Stay tuned!
Hopefully it turns out better than my dream. ;)

Happy Birthday my sweet Jettison!!

{his birth story}

a mother's ponderings.

Last year, at this time, I was very...very pregnant.

{Jettison was born 3 days after Christmas.}
And there was just something so very magical about carry a child,
a baby boy no less,
during this very special time of year.
I somehow felt connected with Mary in a way.
{In a non-immaculate-conception kind of way of course... }

You know she was probably only 15?
Do you know what was done to women
during that time
for getting pregnant outside of wedlock?
Can you imagine traveling,
10 months pregnant,
on a donkey,
for 3 days?
Can you imagine giving birth,
for the first time,
in a dirty cave or barn?
Can you imagine her fear?
Can you imagine being chosen
to carry and bear our Lord and Savior?
What a burden.
What a gift.

My favorite song this time of year is
Breath of Heaven
and it says:

"I have traveled many moonless nights
cold and weary
with a babe inside
and I wonder what I've done
Holy Father
you have come and chosen me now
to carry your Son

I am waiting in a silent prayer
I am frightened
by the load I bear
In a world as cold as stone
must I walk this path alone
Be with me now

Do you wonder
As you watch my face
if a wiser one, should of had my place
But I offer all I am
for the mercy of your plan
Help me be strong"

If only we all could be so trusting and willing to live out
God's plan...whatever that may mean for our life and our safety.
Most of you readers are mothers.
We know what it means to love a brand new, tiny miracle
with every fiber of our being.
And would lay down our lives
in a heartbeat
for that child.
Can you imagine that child being Christ?
And knowing, that He was going to die for you.

Another one of my favorite songs I listen to this time of year is
Mary, Did You Know:

"Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has come to make you new?
And this Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will calm a storm with His hand?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little Baby
you have kissed the face of God?

The blind will see.
The deaf will hear.
The dead will live again.
The lame will leap.
The dumb will speak
The praises of The Lamb.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
And the sleeping Child you're holding
is the Great, I Am. "

Amazing.

I gave birth a year ago to a baby boy.
Just a regular, healthy baby boy.
No halo or choir of angels singing.
But I know that I have a very important job too.
To teach my boys the incredible story of the Baby Jesus.
And what that Baby did when He got older.

{merry christmas}

Christmas in our house...

We're very much in the Christmas mood
here in the Hatfield household

and have been enjoying the very lazy schedule we have this week.
We haven't done a whole lot other than lounge around the house
playing with new toys and watching
"How to Train Your Dragon" 27 times in a row.
(You guessed it. New dvd. Nevermind the fact that we have all
3 Toy Story movies now too.
Let's just watch the same one on repeat all. day. long.) :)

Jars of goodness.

Some of my favorite ornaments.
(The stars are from Ten Thousand Villages.
Our church purchases ornaments each year to give away
to people who make donations to a specific mission we're supporting.
And then those ornaments serve as a reminder to pray for those people.)

My favorite ornament of all.
And this little baby goes to the very top of the tree.
I mean, the thing is like air & glass.

We got a real tree again this year.
Jeff and I had a real one our first year of marriage
and then I didn't want the hassle of them anymore.
But after organizing our storage room and
having NO room for a crappy tree without a box we
decided to pitch it and go "all nat-u-ral" again. :)
I must say, it smells glorious.

Jaymin's favorite part.
He was all excited to help me decorate the tree
and after about 5 seconds got bored and said,
"tell me when its time for the star" and left. :)

Little Jettison all jammie-clad as we trim the tree.

He was very excited as you can see.
That and he makes this face whenever he sees a camera now.

And here is our 2010 Christmas card
(that I am very late in sending out).

I love how it turned out.
The gorgeous photos are by my sweet friend Allyson.

Still left on the "to-do" list?
Go see Santa.
Make Christmas goodies.
Watch Christmas movies
(our favorites: The Muppet Christmas Carol & The Polar Express)
Wrap a few more gifts.
Drive around and look a lights.
Snuggle on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate
and stare at the tree (my favorite!).

Merry Christmas!!

slackin'.

I have totally been blog slackin'.

I realize that.
But I've been so busy "doing" and "living"
that I haven't had time to blog about it.
That's a good excuse right?
Well, its a quiet Saturday morning in the Hatfield household,
Daddy & Jaymin are out together, baby boy is sleeping,
Mama is enjoying the peace. :)

So I guess I'm still getting the hang of this
being a "parent of a child in school" thing.
I did not even THINK about gifts for Jaymin's teachers
until the day before the last day of school.
Whoops.
You would think with Jami & Emily
posting so many ideas for homemade teacher gifts
it would have hit me a little sooner.
So, being that time was an issue and I'm running
REALLY low on creative energy
(since its all being funneled into Christmas gift making)
I resorted to the old fashioned
"make candy and put it in a jar"
routine.
But I tried to make the jars look cute.

I used Jami's mom's toffee recipe,
and,
YUM,
seriously.
I'm just proud of myself that it worked.
Candy making is not my forte.
(Even though its in my blood AND upbringing.)
Apparently its something you have to "master".
Yeahhh...
Not a lot of time for "candy-mastering"
these days, mom.

Today is our first of FOUR Christmas celebrations.
Gotta love big divorced families.
Well, other than all the headaches in PLANNING
that many Christmases,
its actually pretty fun to celebrate over and over again. :)
Here is what I'm bringing for the "girl" gift exchange today.

Think they'll like it?
I hope so, no one wants to be labeled as the dud-gift-bringer. :)
And yes, this is all I do now.
I am so addicted to making these.
I mean, they're cheap, easy and I LOVE doing it!
I think I have made a total of 11 of these babies
for Christmas gifts this month.
(And that's not including the 3 I made for myself...)

Ok.
Better get back to Christmas gift making & wrapping,
and Christmas card stuffing!

Merry Christmas!!

I was totally serious.

When I said I was going to make like a thousand of these.

I am having so much fun making these headbands
and have started making them for Christmas gifts (thanks Jami!) ;)

These are some I made for my girlfriends.
I really wanted them to fit each one's personality
and be something they would actually wear.
So some are very simple...
And some are a little more dramatic...

By the time I was finished,
I didn't want to give ANY away! ;)
I seriously would wear all of these...
...and did!! (For a quick photo anyway) :)

Merry Christmas!!

What's your Christmas style?

Mine is vintage {of course}

with a touch of glamor {I heart glitter at Christmas time}
& homemade...ness.
My living room turns into a pale blue, silver & gold explosion at Christmas.
But this year I'm decorating with a more simplistic approach,
{which could also be interpreted as laziness -
our December is out-of-control busy}
and just doing small touches here and there.

I've been struggling the past few years with what to put on my front door
and then last year this long time friend posted this beautiful wreath
and tutorial on her blog and I knew
that's exactly what I wanted for my front door,
in my own Christmas colors of course.

It wasn't nearly as simple as I thought it was going to be
and then it turned out to be too thick to fit between our two front doors.
This year Judy helped her daughter make a peace sign wreath
{adorable} and posted that how to as well.
I ended up using that tutorial instead and it worked much better.
Thanks Judy! :)

Oh yeah! I also stuck some in ornaments that I covered in blue yarn.
An idea I took from some really adorable Christmas decorations
in my kitchen that my mom stole from Starbucks.
{Ok, so she bought them,
but it felt like we were getting away with something!! :) }

I love how it turned out and think it totally fits my style.
{And something about it even seems a little retro to me... :) }

Merry Christmas!!