The Combs Krewe

I joke with my mom that she has asked me if I'm pregnant every month since I was 15. Five times I've said yes.  A couple of weeks ago my mom shared her heart with me. "I hope you don't have any more," she told me. She explained that she wanted me to have a life of my own, things of my own. "It's a big sacrifice being a mother," she remarked.  My mom is seeing me be a mom. Seeing me struggle. Seeing me feel overwhelmed at times. Seeing me do without. And I know that's hard for a mom to see, because as parents I think we all want our children to have nice things, good experiences, and a happy life. It's pretty common for parents to want "better" for their kids than they had.  For many, "better" means bigger houses, shinier cars, more stuff. If you haven't guessed by now, it's hard to keep up with the Jones with a large family. There are a number of reasons I've heard as to why people shouldn't have "too ...

I read a blog post the other day entitled, "Toddler Logic." It talked about how like toddlers who don't want to share, adults often have a self-centered attitude. We expect everyone (spouses especially) to cater to our needs. If we get our feelings hurt, we take our ball and go home unless they downright grovel in apology. I have to admit, I am that way.  The next day however I was feeling even more toddler-like. The kids were being difficult; it had been a hard week. At least one person in our family had been throwing up for seven days straight. I was tired. I was cranky. And I was trying to do more than I should have.  During weeks like this I suppose a mama really should just enter survival mode. Lock down and wait for the enemy to retreat. I, however, didn't want to. I wanted things my way--perfect. I wanted to still do school. I wanted to play outside with our new kites. I wanted to maintain a clean house. I wanted to cook hearty suppers. And like a toddler who h...

Don't get excited; I'm not pregnant. But a lot of my friends are. Several of them asked for name suggestions, and that got me thinking. I made a huge list of names that I like which I grouped into different sections based on type. (Because even when I'm making pointless lists I must organize!)  One of the groups is virtue names. I really think if I had it to do all over again I would name my children virtue names. I love them so. Here are some of my favorites: Mercy (#1) Miracle Serene True Glory (#2) Justus Ransom Noble Innocent  If I have another baby, would it be weird to name them something totally different than the rest of the bunch?  Did you have a theme in mind when naming your children?

Brooklyn and Braelyn are one year old!  Over the last month Brooklyn has learned to scoot around pretty fast and can now pull up on her own. She has crawled a very short distance on her hands and knees a couple of times. She still nurses throughout the day and night and eats solid food well. She is not picky at all! Her favorite toys by far are balls. She actually has a pretty good throwing arm! Braelyn is a super fast crawler now! She has stood on her own twice. Braelyn nurses more frequently than Brooklyn often throughout the night. She still prefers sleeping with mama. Braelyn is a bit of a picky eater. She has to check out what we are offering her. She loves eggs and peas (though not necessarily at the same time). Like her sister she loves playing with balls. She also hugs and kisses her babydolls.  We celebrated the Saturday before their actual birthday with a princess party for the twincesses! Lots of friends and family joined us. We served crown-shaped sandwiches, fruit...

I've been following a girl on Pinterest who posts "Modest Monday" outfits each week to give other ladies ideas on classy dressing that is both modest and trendy. Her style doesn't always match mine but I do find her to be inspirational.  I have been pinning lots of outfits then attempting to put them together from items already in my closet. I thought I would share what I wore last Sunday in a similar way that the other girl does.  My inspiration outfit from Pinterest: My outfit: Cheetah print skirt: free (given to me) Red shirt: free (from the SWAP shop) Black cami: $5 (from Walmart) Denim jacket: free (from the SWAP shop) Red heels: free (given to me) So basically I had a $5 outfit that I felt really comfortable in! Obviously not everyone has access to a SWAP shop (it was on the seminary campus where we lived) but you could always host a clothing swap amongst friends. I bet all of our closets are full of things we hardly ever wear but that a friend would appreciate....