Win a Kodak ESP 3 All-in-One Printer

Like any other mom out there, I love to take photos! To win a wonderful photo printer, head over to 5 Minutes for Mom and sign up! :)
Tell them Milk Mama sent you. ;) Nah, you don't have to.... but do!

Scripture Sunday

Children are a Heritage of the Lord
Psalm 127:3

Photos of Anna's first day at the beach, June 15, 2007.
CLICK TO ENLARGE

(I have decided to enter the first of these photos, if I must choose just one(!!!) into the Mother's Day Photo contest at 5 Minutes For Mom. Click here for more details.)

These photos all represent my motherhood. I love spending time with my daughter, seeing that look of love on her little face... the way she touches my face and loves to give me kisses. Every day is a first. Every day is a new experience. I am so blessed by the God Above to be the one who is called Mommy by this special little girl!
Happy Mother's Day to Everyone!


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Beautiful Spring Day

Yesterday, the 25th--I'm writing this after midnight, the sun came out for a few hours (ah, the joys of living in Oregon! Seriously, though... I love it here. Just not the rain!!!) Anyhow, I took that chance to take photos of Anna. It was gorgeous out (for those few hours)! I had realized that I hadn't taken new photos of her for a while. My digital camera is actually on my video cam, so it doesn't take that great of photos unless it's in great light. So, I took new photos of her and then broke out Photoshop to create a great collage. I love collages! I'll share all of the photos this Wednesday, but for now, here is the collage!

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Today, April 26th, is supposed to be 70 degrees! Yay! Another sunny day in the midst of a thousand rainy drab ones! Thank God! I'm hoping we'll do something fun... go to the park, the zoo, OMSI... Hopefully something fun for Anna and us to spend time together.

Anna Has Baby Legs!

Just about a week ago I won a pair of Baby Legs on their website! If you go to their website by clicking HERE, you can enter. They hold daily contests. The first email of the day receives a pair of Baby Legs legwarmers! Baby Legs is in Seattle, so that means you have to enter at around midnight Pacific Standard Time. That was pretty easy for me. I entered 3 times and won on the third day. I was so excited!!! I chose the Strawberry Shortcake Baby Legs! I was surprised to receive them within a few days in the mail! Here are photos of my little pumpkin pie strutting herself in her legwarmers. I was surprised that she wore them. I expected her to rip them off the first chance she got---like she does with socks and shoes, but she didn't! (If she looks annoyed in the photo... I think she is! I was practically forcing her to stay still for the photo. Man, I want a new digital camera!!!)

Last Day of Bloggy Giveaways

There are literally HUNDREDS of prizes to be won at Bloggy Giveaways! But today is the last day, so head on over and enter as many as you can before you pass out at the computer from exhaustion!

Be a March of Dimes Sponsor

Their daughter, Audrey.

My good friend, Lisa, is raising money for the March of Dimes walk which I believe is tomorrow. If you would like to sponsor, please go to this link: CLICK HERE! Thank you so much!!!

Favorite Foto Friday

Anna at Christmas, 2007. She got a cute glow worm toy. She loved it!

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See more Favorite Foto Friday posts here at Safe in His Arms.
Also see more Favorite Foto Friday Posts at Kiss the Frog 4 Me.

Wish I Had A Camera

Where is that camera?! Anna loves to drink from straws and I just took away a full thing of old McDonald's soda (thank you to my In-Laws for that one! But I left her with the straw. I turn around and she had stuck the straw through the spout of her Nuby Sippy Cup (They have the soft spouts) and was drinking her apple juice (she's been constipated... hoping that helps!) through the straw! She was ignoring the sippy before. Maybe that'll help the juice go down and the poo come out!!!

How Goes the Breastfeeding?

It's been a while since I've written about how my breastfeeding experience is treating me lately. Well it is going fine as usual. I'm trying to dissuade Anna from nursing during the day. She is + or - 25 pounds so breastfeeding her more than 3 or so times a day drains me to the point where I just want to sleep all day! She's getting big and so is her appetite! She wears an outfit that is 24 months and although I don't put her in her in her 24 month clothes now she could easily wear them. The 18 month stuff is looking like it fits well, but not yet tight.... you know the stage. She often comes to me during the day and lays herself across my lap and either starts crying, fussing, putting her hand down my shirt, or a mixture of those things. ;D I wouldn't mind if it weren't for the fact that if I were to let her nurse whenever she came to me, I would probably nurse her 10 or 12 times a day. I nurse her before bed and in the morning with the occasional midnight snack. I am all for the child-led weaning. I believe it is healthy, but I don't think my daughter quite knows that it's for nutrition mainly. She mostly wants comfort. When I want to cuddle with her and hold her close most of the time she'll turn herself sideways and try to get some milk... she shows her signs, makes a silly laughing sound and/or tries to put her hand down my shirt... even after she has been fed a meal, so I know it isn't simply for hunger, and more for comfort than anything. I am starting to think because of these thoughts that my daughter is one of the children that needs to be mother-led when it comes to weaning. Otherwise she might be one of those 8 year olds that still breastfeeds I'm not saying that mothers like that aren't nursing their much older children out of love... but let's just say THAT'S NOT FOR ME! I love nursing my daughter beyond age 1. That was my goal and still is! I hope to wean her around age 2. That is only 6 or so months away, which now doesn't seem very far away at all! I honestly don't know when she'll be weaned, but I can tell you... she will not be 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, etc. when she is weaned lol. 3 is a possibility... 2 is very very likely! We'll see, we'll see...

Wordless Wednesday: Back Then

Photos are of me and my siblings as children. The eldest is Melissa, followed by Jen, then Me, and my brother Sean.
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The Red Thread Stitches

I came across a wonderful blog today! It's called The Red Thread Stitches. The creator of this blog (sorry, couldn't find her name) sews to bring her adopted daughter, Mia Hope, home from China. It's a beautiful story. She's been waiting over 2 years to bring her home!
About her clothing, the workmanship is beautiful. Any little girl would be blessed to dress in these gorgeous outfits! Handmade, and inspected by her daughters themselves, the outfits are ruffled and pleated to her heart's content with the love of Mia Hope in mind. And what about the prices? They are very reasonable for such beautiful outfits!
Here are some examples of her work...

The Tiffany Twirl Skirt($18-25, depending on size purchased, sizes 2-8):


The Emilee Dress ($32-38, sizes 1-8):



And my favorite, can be worn as dress or dress w/pants. Comes with personalized purse.
The Staci Dress ($35-38, sizes 3-8):

Donating Blood Today

Today I'm going to donate blood. It's the first time in a long time. The last time I donated blood was a few months before I got pregnant with Anna... so a little over 2 years ago! Wow! I encourage you all to donate blood every so often. I went straight to the Red Cross website and followed directions on finding a blood donation near me. It was really simple! I'll actually link this post to the website. Just Click Here! You can find out your nearest blood drive and even find out if you're eligible!

Cheerios .50 a Box at Kroger

Money Saving Mom shares the scoop on her blog! Find out how to buy your cereal SUPER cheap! Just click here!!!

The Rights of Christians Under Attack

Thanks to Safe In His Arms for this article....

The rights of Christians are under attack again! Consider what has happened just in the last week:


* In New Jersey, East Brunswick High School officials told football coach Marcus Borden he cannot kneel and bow his head while members of his team have a student-led pre-game prayer. (source)



* In Wisconsin’s Tomah Area School District, a teacher refused to give a student identified only as A.T. a grade on an art project because his work included "John 3:16" as well as "A sign of love." However, Buddha, Hindu and sorcerers are considered “approved” forms of art by the school. (source)



* In Mt. Vernon, Ohio, school leaders told teacher John Freshwater he must put his Bible out of sight when students are in his room. Mr. Freshwater has refused to do so. He has had a Bible on his desk for the past 18 years. (source)





Take Action!

Join AFA in expressing appreciation to the two teachers and student mentioned above for their bold stand. Despite overwhelming pressure, Marcus, A.T. and John are standing firm in defending our rights.

Sign our “Petition of Appreciation!”. Help us gather one million signatures supporting these three individuals for standing strong for our religious freedoms. AFA will present a Plaque of Appreciation to each of them, which will include your name and state (no address).

You Wouldn't Believe...

You wouldn't believe what the lady upstairs gave us! She gave Anna this:

It is a Turtle Play Stove from 1969! It even was in the box! (This picture I stole from EBay, but it looks exactly like it!) How crazy is that? LOL! Anna likes it. She keeps trying to sit on it like a chair!
The box even has the price sticker on it. It was marked down from 9.99 to 7.99! I found this playstove... the exact same one, doesn't even have the box, for 129.99 Buy It Now Price on Ebay!