Nursing Scrubs

You know those comfy scrubs nurse's wear? Well they're now available for beautiful pregnant women. These maternity scrubs have a stretch tummy panel and are the same comfortable, loose and cheap to replace scrubs.

Parenting Magazines

If there's a little gift on the way, consider getting a head-start on the post baby issues and concerns with parenting magazines. Subscriptions usually take a few months to start showing up anyway and a subscription for a year will usually cost the same as a few issues picked up at the supermarket or newsstand.

But if you're totally focused on the moment, I love you for it. Go with Pregnancy Magazine and be inspired!

"I'm A Beauty" Award : April

I never realized how difficult it would be to choose one woman to recieve the award for April. Each nominee has a unique brand of beauty and a story that speaks volumes about what it means to be a wonderful mother. How could I choose just one? I couldn't. So I took each beautiful nominee and assigned them to a month. Every month, the blog will feature a new beautiful mother to represent the award and what it means. This month the featured beauty is:

Azareel was nominated by her daughter, Corinne. Here is what Corinne shared about her mother and why she chose to nominate her:
"About a year and a half ago, my mom went through something a little scary called Alopecia Areata. It is a disease where you lose your hair. It came on all of a sudden. Before the diagnosis we weren't sure what was going on. Our family was very concerned for my mother's health. She was diagnosed with Diabetes 5 years ago. We weren't sure if that was causing it or she had something else going on. Needless to say, she lost 90% percent of her hair on her head. Through prayer and medicine her hair is now all back, thank the Lord.
So the reason I want to nominate her is not only because she is So Beautiful on the Outside...(that's a given *wink*) She is beautiful on the inside! She showed such tremendous strength and Faith during the whole time she lost her hair and the length of time it took to grow back. My mom is such a strong woman who never doubted the Lord for a second, never complained or cried or ever asked the question "Why me?" Instead she looked at the positive! I remember her saying once ..."Well I always liked hats and always wanted to wear them but couldn't because of my big hair...but now I can." What a tremendous example she was! My mom is beautiful on the outside but most importantly she contains a beauty on the inside...one that only comes from being a God Fearing Woman! A woman I hope to become one day! "




Thank you, Azareel for being a shining example of what a beautiful mother truly means! Your story has greatly touched me as I'm sure it will everyone who reads this.
Be sure to check back next month to find out who the next nominee is. There is still time to nominate a woman who may know exemplifies an "I'm A Beauty" role model. Simply email the name, picture and reason for the nomination to the email address in the side bar. Congratulations Azareel!

Come Spring

As spring gently coaxes open the gorgeous, vibrant blooms of her waking flowers, I am reminded of the beauty that is the journey into motherhood. I watch my still pre-pre adolescent daughter playing with her dolls and know that her childhood days are numbered. Soon she will awaken to a new stage of life, much like the once dormant flowers that blossom in the warmth of the spring. She will change into a curvaceous, delicate woman, shedding her once clumsy, scraped up shell. I will try to guide her into the enigma that is womanhood, offering encouragement and a shoulder to cry on when the need arises.

She will know the airy joy that comes with first love. She will suffer the heart wrenching blow of her first break up. I will celebrate and grieve with her. We will fight fiercely as she tries to exert her independence and have her own way. She will call me the enemy as her hormones rage. I will lay in bed and sob for the carefree days we shared not so long ago. I will sit up and worry obsessively when she is even one minute late arriving home from dates. I will urge her to spread her wings and soar. Then I will shed tears of joy and sadness as I watch her leave the safety of our nest, to venture out on her own.

I will be there for her victories and trials. I will stand for her at her wedding, as she comes down the aisle, on the arm of her proud daddy. I will look on, in complete awe, as she delivers her first child, as if I have never experienced the miracle childbirth before that day. I will revel in the sweetness of my grandchildren. I will cherish the new dimension of my relationship with my daughter. The dimension that can only come from the role of motherhood and the profound understanding that occurs when you hold a tiny baby in your arms, vowing to do whatever it takes to keep her safe and well. We will attain a deep and meaningful friendship. It will be the reward that I've waited for since holding her for the first time. It will be the bond that cannot be broken. It will be motherhood, come full circle.

Take A Peek!

Happy April Fool's Day! I am pleased to share the "I'm A Beauty" award icon that will be bestowed upon the winner of this month's title:


The actual icon that will be available to place on your own blog or website, will be smaller, but you get the idea! There are still a few submissions that are without photos. If you wish your nominee's profile to include a picture, please email it to me immediately. I am working on the post this week and will be publishing it on Friday. Hurry and get in your last minute submissions for this prestigous award! Have a beautiful April 1st!

A Much Needed Lift

My lovely cousin, Melissa and I, are putting the final touches on the "Precious Note" project. Having never designed a website before, it has proven to be a tad difficult. But the message behind the project is so powerful that I feel compelled to put my heart and soul into making it as wonderful as possible.
I'm not saying that it hasn't has its trying moments, however. During the process of installing various HTML codes, I was failing miserably and ready to bawl my eyes out. April first is right around the corner and the site is not ready. Then I pulled out my photo box to find a picture for the profile page. The first thing my hand grabbed was a photo of Grandpa holding me as a toddler. The tears flooded my face as I recalled how he encouraged me to persevere in the face of adversity. He never did anything for me, in the event that I struggled. Instead, he patiently sat by my side and taught me how to do the job right. I secretly wished that he was still with me, offering his words of wisdom and undivided attention.
Then, as i was checking my email, I came across one from my cousin. This was the message:

"Mama's note for the day: Don't waste time waiting for inspiration. Begin and inspiration will find you.
:o)
~M"

Her words, combined with Grandpa's memory, gave me the gentle upward nudge that my spirits needed to once again take flight. "Precious Notes" is a labor of love and the product of a loving mother's wish to continually guide her daughter, after passing on. No matter how lacking I am in the areas required to make this project aesthetically perfect, my heart is in it. I will give it my all and pray for guidance from the Father. No matter the outcome of our efforts, I will always know that we tried our very best. It is a beautiful project that I am proud to be a part of.

Precious Notes

I stink at keeping secrets. So I hope that my cousin will not be angry that I am letting you in on this one! My cousin, Melissa, was adopted as a baby. Her dad left her mother and her when Melissa was a teenager. Then, ten years ago, her mother passed away from ovarian cancer. She was recently reunited with her father when he suffered a horrible stroke and my grandpa (his brother,) was contacted by a nursing home. Melissa is currently trying to sort out his affairs and get enough money to move him to CO, so she can take care of him. Melissa has more than her fair share of heartache in her life. Yet, her light shines through all of the pain and she continues to be a ray of sunshine to all whom she meets.

Melissa shared something with me the other week and it touched my heart so deeply that I couldn't help but want to be a part of it. Before her mother passed away, she left little notes for Melissa. They were placed in a box, to be read whenever Melissa was feeling down or missing the love that only a mama can deliver. It reminded me of the hearts that Jo Frost implemented in our own family. I immediately got excited when she told me of her dream to make the precious notes from her mother, into a tool for all parents. April 1st will mark the tenth anniversary of Melissa's mother's passing. It is her desire to launch the project on that day.

My aunt was an exceptionally beautiful woman (inside and out) and it is very obvious that she passed her love and beauty, down to her daughter. As soon as the website is up and running, I will place the link on all of my blogs. I ask that any of you who have blogs or websites, place the link on yours, as well. We need to get the word out to all parents. We know not the hour or day of our departure from this beautiful earth. We should make the most of it while we are here. We should leave our children a legacy of love, lessons of kindness and precious notes filled with our memory. These are the greatest gifts that we can bestow upon our offspring. My aunt did it for my cousin and she is forever grateful to be able to pull out a note, read her mother's sweet words and feel the connection that she can no longer physically have with the woman who lovingly chose her for her own.