July Favorites

Dining Room Table 

One of my favorite pieces of furniture is our dining room table.  It is one of the first pieces of furniture Raleigh and I bought when we moved to Atlanta and it is a total work horse.  It is from Nadeau and was totally affordable {although I do think they've increased their prices a bit over the last few years}.  It is made of teak wood and I love that we don't have to be super careful with it.  Of course it has been used for many meals, but it is also our craft table and the space where Beau stores his creations{when he needs them to be out of reach from his brothers}.  I love that the dining room table really is a usable space that we use every day.   

City Select Stroller 

My parents gifted us with our double stroller the month before Palmer was born and I would venture to say I've used it almost every day since then!  I love it and find it to be really easy to use.  It can hold the two big boy seats or a big boy seat and an infant car seat.  It is fast and easy to fold and put together and it makes going on walks and errands possible.  I do want to get a cup holder attachment, but other than that it is perfect.  It is quite an investment piece, but if you have multiple kiddos who enjoy riding in the stroller, you'll get your money's worth out of it!   

Landing Zone

If I was designing a dream home, I'd definitely try to include an awesome mudroom/landing zone.  But for now our very small landing zone in the foyer is fulfilling that purpose.  I desperately needed a place for Beau and Palmer to keep their shoes so they could independently put them away and find them when it was time to go somewhere.  The shoes are never not always this organized, but it is always this functional.  My mom found the hooks at Nadeau   and my father-in-law graciously hung it.  It is nice and sturdy because the boys pull their backpacks on and off all day long and it hasn't fallen down yet.  I love how the print from Naptime Diaries is one of the first things friends and family and guests see as they enter our home.  

Under Eye Concealer
My precious son Rhodes still does not sleep through the night so this concealer is a must.  It is a big time splurge for me, but it is awesome and stays on all day!  The tube also lasts a long time.  I've been using a tube since Christmas and it is just now running out, so that helps me justify the price.

Teachers
All of my teacher friends here in Atlanta headed back to work this week.  I have many family members in education who will be heading back into classrooms soon.  I have 2 sons who will be going to pre-school this fall.  Teachers matter.  Teachers work hard, long hours.  Teachers spend their own money prepping their classrooms for the kiddos who will call the room home for a school year.  Love on all the teachers in your life! Thank the teachers in your life!  Let's celebrate and pray for teachers as they gear up for a year full of long hours pouring into the lives of children!

Labor Pains by Shannan Martin
Do you read Shannan over at Flower Patch Farmgirl? This post was a beautiful reminder of God's goodness in and through adoption.  We are blessed to be loved well by our friends and family who cheer us on as we parent all of our kiddos, regardless of how they joined our family.  

 ...If there's someone in your life who has adopted, you can offer them the same. Be their safe place. Get loud about the ways you see them. Cheer them on. Root for their kids. Do they parent in strange ways? I sure hope so. Do some of their kids have massive feelings that spill out in some pretty frustrating and annoying ways? I'm sure of it. Love them anyway. Love them just the same as if they were quiet and tidy. Let them be sad with you. Celebrate success. Believe what they tell you....

Choosing Life by Jay and Katherine Wolf 
God used the miraculous story of Katherine's life to break our hearts for the things that break his and open our eyes to building our family through adoption.  Katherine and Jay recently had their second handsome son {on Beau's birthday} and their story continues to shine bright for the Lord.  Katherine and Jay's words are full of grace and a beautiful representation of God's goodness in the hard.  {If you aren't familiar with Katherine and Jay's story, you can read more here.}  

 ...Yet we know, not just in theory, but in hard-won reality, that through our fears, tears, and pain, through the great seasons of suffering in our lives, we have seen God alchemize our despair into a golden hope. Even those who don’t know Him, we ask you, can your heart be vulnerable to even the slightest possibility that on the far side of your worst pain you might find some unexpected goodness? If there is a chance for goodness, then hold on to it....In the mysterious economy of God, we’ve seen that He wastes nothing, not one joy, not one tear. His works are revealed through our great triumphs and perhaps more profoundly through our great losses...