"Walk You Through the Night"

I wrote the following post for our family blog about a month ago. Here it is, with a few edits. :)

It's no secret that my favorite musical group is Mercy River. I was so excited to buy their new CD today, "Come Alive". As I popped it in tonight for the first time, the song "I Will Walk You Through the Night" touched me so deeply. I scooped up my baby girl and danced her around the room. She smiled and I adored every second of seeing that sweet face. :) I could tell she was tired, and her big brother was already asleep, so as the song was playing I rocked her in her room until she fell asleep. I held my sweet girl for a long, long time after that and just soaked up the happy feeling of being her mom. Tears streamed down my face as I was overwhelmed with love and gratitude for both of my children in my life. Heavenly Father gave me some sweet babies. I'm so lucky to be their mom. It all seems so simple when they're asleep in my arms. :)

I whispered for Jared to come and take our picture. Even though my hair is greasy and there's drool on my sleeve, I adore this picture of me and my girl because it captured a moment of pure joy for me. :) 

Here are some of my favorite lines from this sweet song that prompted such a wonderful moment for me. These aren't all of the lyrics, but almost. :) I don't know if I can adequately put into words how special this experience was for me, but I'll always remember the joy I felt, especially as I listen to this song and recount the words. I can't help but cry each time I do, for many reasons. :) (You can listen to it here).

"I see you're having trouble sleeping, so am I.

I've been hoping I'd know how to raise you right.

I can't cast a magic spell, but I can take you for a trip around the block.

Rest your head now while I hold you tight

and I will walk you through the night.

My mind slips through the future

To the troubles you could have.

And I don't know how to fix them, I just have to guess.

You are bound to have some nightmares, so am I.

You can count on me to hold you when you cry.

I can't take it all away,

but I can tell you,

I've been down this road before.

I can't promise that I'll always get it right.

But I will walk you through the night.

I may not be the best at very many things.

But I believe I love you perfectly.

Time goes by so relentlessly.

And I hope that you outlive me, it's how it's meant to be.

And I believe in heaven,

but there are still some things that I just can't fully fathom;

I just have to guess.

If God will grant my wish, I will wait for you.

Beyond the veil, just before you slip through,

and as you softly close your eyes,

I will sing my lullabies to you,

and before you make your way into the light,

I will walk you through the night."

I want my children to know that I will always be willing to walk them through the night and hold them tight when they  need me. I will sing to them and teach them and love them forever and ever. They are my greatest treasures, and I love them unconditionally. Oh those sweet babies, how they melt my heart. :)

Sisal Rope Bucket (Inspired by Censational Girl)

After seeing this post on Censational Girl, I knew I had to make the same kind of sisal rope bucket! It's so darling. And from her tutorial, it looked like a doable DIY craft for an excited but not always spot-on crafter like me. ;)

Here we have my finished sisal rope bucket. LOVE! It isn't perfect or near as amazing as the inspiration, but I am quite happy with it. :)

Below is the bucket I started with. After scouring a few different stores, I finally found this perfect bucket at Hobby Lobby. It was something like $7, but then I used a 40% coupon, of course! :) I also got the sisal rope at Hobby Lobby with one of those sweet coupons.

 

  When I'd finally collected all of my supplies, I got out my trusty hot glue gun and a whole lot of glue sticks and got to work. And now my cute little bucket sits on our kitchen counter holding the apples that otherwise would have been in their ugly plastic container or bag, cluttering up the counter. This is so much better. :)

 And say hello to my new, gorgeous bowl from Hobby Lobby. I've had my eye on it for years probably. I finally picked it up one day when there was a 50% off sale on it. :) Now the bananas have a proper home as well. And even though the styles of the blue bowl and sisal bucket are worlds apart,  counter space is limited. So they are together and I don't mind at all. :)

 And sitting in the middle is one of my favorite clocks, probably the first I bought after we were married. I found this one at T.J.Maxx. I'll have to do a little clock tour sometime. I love to collect them!

 Another shout-out to Censational Girl for the awesome tutorial and inspiration! :)