The Bunny Trail

Posted on March 28, 2013 by vanderbiltwife

It’s amazing how much chocolate you can accumulate without actually leaving the house.

‘Cause you see, this year, we have our own little Hershey kiss.

So we haven’t been out and about much. But one trip to school, one short Easter egg hunt at church, and one birthday party in the past two weeks were enough to supply Libbie with three month’s worth of treats. (What can I say? I’m the mean mom who limits candy in a major way.)

And then there’s this SWEET basket I got in the mail from Hershey’s!

This year I chose a giant Cadbury chocolate bunny, a Reese’s egg, mini Reese’s bunnies, and mini Cadbury eggs. Um, yeah. Chocolate, chocolate, and chocolate. And peanut butter. Apparently I was having some cravings when I “put in my order” for this!

So thank you, Hershey’s, for filling this nursing mama’s Easter basket with chocolate to help me get through these first few weeks of newborn madness. I will not be sharing.

Happy Easter! Hope you get your fill of Cadbury cream eggs!

Joshua

Posted on March 17, 2013 by vanderbiltwife

Joshua Thomas
born March 16, 2013 at 10:20 a.m.
7 lbs. 7 oz.

Cute as a button!

We’re so happy to have all three of these awesome kiddos!

36 Weeks

Posted on February 22, 2013 by vanderbiltwife

I’m pretty sure I’ve doubled in size in the last 3 weeks. Wowee!

Joshua is very healthy, though, and in good birthing position. I can’t wait to meet this little guy sometime in the next month or so!

Day 14: Light of Your Presence

Posted on October 14, 2012 by vanderbiltwife

original photo source

Vacation and a Wedding

Posted on July 26, 2012 by vanderbiltwife

Despite the crazy circumstances leading up to our vacation/wedding trip to the Outer Banks, I think I can file it away in my memory as pretty fabulous.

I got to see my little ones see the ocean for the first time, to dip their toes in the water and dig up sand with their hands and shovels. Libbie got great kicks out of waiting by the water until the wave rolled in and then scurrying away from it up the beach. Her leg muscles are obviously in much better shape than mine!

I always enjoy seeing my parents and my sister love on the kiddos. The kids love it, too! They adore Nana, Poppy, and “Ashy-Roo.”

I was amazed at how much Libbie loved exploring the historical Roanoke Island site we went to. I wasn’t sure I would be able to drag her off the ship!

And to top it off, I got to be in the wedding of my very best friend, my soul sister, and get reacquainted with friends from college. We’ve vowed to not let it be so long between visits the next time!

Somehow, I have no pictures of me in my bridesmaid’s dress! I thought it was quite pretty and I loved my hair and make-up.

This week we’ve been in recovery mode, I think, from all the travel and moving. I am flat-out exhausted. As soon as I pull this apartment into shape, though, I’ll share pictures – especially of Libbie’s precious pink butterfly room.

Easter in Pictures

Posted on April 10, 2012 by vanderbiltwife

Libbie and her little buddy Hollyn

Family photo

My guys

Mr. Cute Stuff looking all grown-up!

I hope you had a lovely weekend and a very happy Resurrection Day!

Added to Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom.

Celebrating Holy Week: Update on Day 1

Posted on April 2, 2012 by vanderbiltwife

I tried.

Unfortunately, much of the day was summed up in this Tweet:

Yeah, Libbie was throwing a tantrum because I wanted her to dance to music that wasn’t Gourds Just Wanna Have Fun.

We did all the things on our list other than read from the Jesus Storybook Bible because I CAN’T FIND IT TO SAVE MY LIFE. Eeeek! How is that possible? I’m going to keep searching because I really want it this week. I read to Libbie from my Bible instead.

It was another really hard day with Libbie. She didn’t even nap to give me a little break. She broke every rule, ignored everything I said, and refused to get excited or have fun. But I just kept trying … and didn’t yell TOO much.

Tomorrow we’re talking about the anointing of Jesus at Bethany and His preparations for the Last Supper. Our outline will be up in the morning. And tomorrow’s another day … right?

Third Time’s a Charm

Posted on February 20, 2012 by vanderbiltwife

There have been five Blissdom conferences, and this will be the third one I’ll be attending. (Four, if you count visiting last year’s with my eensy-weensy baby boy, but I didn’t actually go for more than a few hours!) This year’s 800 attendee hoopla with Rascal Flatts and Joe Jonas is a far cry from Blissom ’09, where I spent most of my time nursing a baby Libbie in the hallway and actually meeting a lot of bloggers who could qualify as famous nowadays.

I’m not really much of a conference girl, honestly. I doubt you’ll ever see me at BlogHer unless someone approaches me desperate to pay my way. I’m more about writing and less about building my blog; I have a freelance career and that is where I make money, not here.

But Blissdom has always been about relationship, and I couldn’t pass up a chance to see Mary, Jill, Tricia, Christine, Jen, Laura, and many others when the conference is a mere two-hour drive for me. I’m mostly considering it a well-earned vacation from mommyhood where I can sleep in a hotel room without being woken up four times a night, take a shower in peace, and feed myself without having to get up to take care of little people every 30 seconds.

I’m not saying I don’t love and appreciate being a stay-at-home mom, but we all need a vacation very once in a while, don’t we? Whatever our job is?

I can’t think of a much better place to relax and learn than the gorgeous Opryland Hotel with 799 of my closest friends.

Here's a picture so you can find me.

If you’re going to Blissdom, I really want to meet you! Please leave me a comment so I can be sure to find you this weekend.

Saturday Linky Love

Posted on February 11, 2012 by vanderbiltwife

Here’s a picture I scanned this week. Libbie and I had an argument over whether it was me or her. Hehe. You can tell by the darker hair and 80s furniture that it is, indeed, me!

Links for this week:

A Picture is Worth: How I Write a Blog Post at OhAmanda – Amanda is doing a series on how she writes posts. Read them all! (Especially the one on editing and proofing. Ahem.)
Lean Into It at A Deeper Story – talking about faith-doubts and her journey through them
6 Ways to Get a Workout WITH Your Kids at Inspired to Action – good tips!
Homemade Cereal Bar Cookies at Once a Month Mom

Did you read or write anything great this week?

Added to Saturday Stumbles at Simply Staci.