Finding Balance

I'm going to warn you I'm little bit everywhere on this post.
Here it goes.
Having a big family is a challenge because

you have so many things that need your attention.

The kids need attention, 

I have one in in each stage of childhood 

a toddler, preschooler, elementary age,

pre-tween and high schooler.

my husband,

the house,

family,

friends,

my shop.

Sometimes I feel like I'm being pulled in many different ways

....I don't know which way to go. 

I need to find a balance. 

I don't want the kids to feel neglected,

I try to support each of them in all there activities.
It can be challenging at times...actually a lot of the time.
So what usually happens is that something is neglected and
for me that WON'T be my family.
So it is the blog and my shop. (And to be honest sometimes the house.)
My shop is not where I'd like it to be.
The blog is not where I want it to be.
But in the season of life that I am in,
it will have to be.
It doesn't mean I am not going to keep trying to grow/improve my shop or write on the blog.
Because honestly these two things release stress for me, it is my creative outlet.
I love making meaningful jewelry. (More on this later)
Also I have found I love to write and not only for me but for my kids,
there will come a day
when I can't remember
a story, or how I felt that day,
or remember how I felt when Daniel turned one.
Or perhaps our love story (which I still need to finish),
or our adventures.
The blog is where my kids one day can come and read about our adventures.
Maybe learn a lesson from one of my experiences.
It is a place where I can share my thoughts, my feelings and our journey.
It is my journal.

Anyhow, I guess what I am saying is that I won't beat myself up for
not writing as much as I ought to or want to.
I don't want to write just to put something on the blog,
I want my writing to be raw & genuine......to be me.
I won't be upset because my shop isn't as big as others.
I will continue to praise God for every order I receive,
which is a blessing from Him.
Because right now I have the most important job I'll ever have in my life and
that is to be a mom to these 5 amazing kids.
I don't want to miss out on being there for them.
They only stay little for a short amount of time.
I will be present and be in their lives.
I believe God will only give you so much you can handle.
He knows me better than I know myself and He knows whats best for me
and our family.
I will continue to trust in Him and praise Him.
Because everyday I need Him.
I can not be the mom, wife, woman, daughter, sister and friend that
He has called me to be on my own.
It is with His strength and grace alone that I can live each day.

So with that I hope you will stick around
and pop in every once an awhile
to see what we've been up to.

Life Lately

These past few weeks we have been trying to adjust to the new routine. We are back at school and there are no more care free sleep in days. Let me tell you it is not only an adjustment for the kids but for me too. Gabriel started kindergarten, which leaves me home with Daniel. I love that we get some one on one time together but we are still trying to find a routine. He misses his best buddy. As for Gabriel, he is still adjusting to waking up early and being at school all day. Kindergarten at our school is a full day not half day, so when the afternoon hits he is grouchy.


The Kindergartner

The Middles schoolers

Plus Gabe, he was so excited for his first day, he wanted to be in all the pictures. 

 The Senior

On Friday we went to the Harvest Crusade.

We heard some great music and a sermon from Pastor Greg.

On Saturday we went to the Dodger game.

Which started off great because this little guy slept until the top of the 9th. 

(Side note: He is two and he can't sit still)

I love him to pieces but this mama needed a little break after the crusade event, which he was a busy little bee. 

Love this guy!! Those are his thumbs up. :)

Ahh.......and here is Daniel after his lovely little nap. 

As you can see the first week of school was busy with jumping back into school routine plus we still had some events schedule. Phew....it was a hard week.

But lately we have still been just trying to adjust to the school schedule. It is really hard, with Dad's work schedule, the kids schedules, after school activities and the business. It's been a challenge and I'm just holding on. JUST BREATHE..., right??

Daniel's Speech Therapy

Daniel has always being very laid back when it has come to his milestones.  When he was born he took his time trying to learn how to latch on to nurse. But he eventually caught on. When it came to cooing, smiling, even his first roll overs, sitting up, crawling and walking, it was all in his time. Not in the time that the books all said he was supposed to. He was always off about a few weeks up to a month on some milestones. Daniel just wasn't in any hurry. Which I kept saying it's fine because I didn't want to rush him as he is likely my last baby {He is baby #5, if you didn't know}. So I want to enjoy his babyness.....(I'm not sure if that's even a word, but I'm going with it).

However, I could see his pattern and  I began to get a little worried as when it came time to talk. You see he was babbling but not very often. He has a very quiet, sensitive and shy personality. He is similar to his older brother, Jimmy who had a speech delay when he was three. Jimmy babbled more but we just couldn't understand what he was saying. We signed him up for Speech therapy through the school district (which was a challenge to get him accepted in to the program, more on that experience later) and started the program. He was blessed with an awesome therapist who helped him. He has since graduated from the program last year at the age of 8.

My sister told me about this program that could help Daniel. They come to your house every week and work with him and it's free!! I didn't even know there were programs available to help with speech at 19 months old, let alone that they come to your home for free!! Oh my!! I was so happy, that just maybe someone could help us with Daniel and that we wouldn't have to wait to get help until the age of 3.

So we called & made the appointment for an evaluation to see if he qualified. They would evaluate him to see if he really needed any help at all. So I took him to the office and I was nervous. Part of me wanted him to qualify but at the same time it would mean he was behind. I didn't want him to be behind, but if he needs help I want him to be able to get the help he needs. I had a mommy feeling that I knew he needed the help but part of me was hoping I was wrong.

So they evaluated him in:
cognitive skills, fine & gross motor skills social skills, language (expressive and receptive) skills and self help skills.
He scored low in some of the areas.
So they were going to send someone to help in all areas that he was behind in. The following week after the evaluation we started his sessions with a sweet and patient therapist.

I wanted to share this with you because this is a chapter in our story and
I want to record it.

Also, sometimes as mom's we can second guess ourselves and not listen to our instincts. If you have a mommy feeling it's always good to listen to it. There are times when I should have listened to my feeling rather than someone else. Remember you know your child better than anyone, listen to your instinct.

Daniel has been in ST for 6 months now and we can see lots of improvement. He still has a long way to go and it can be frustrating at times, but he'll get there, all in his timing.

Trust in Him......And A Shop Update

I have been slowly sketching some new designs out for the shop. I am hoping to work on them this week and get them listed. Balancing a handmade business, being a wife and mom is a lot of work. I really am trying and it is coming along slowly but that's ok. I am so blessed that my shop is continuing to grow and am still maintaining my role as wife & mom. It is hard but I know that God will provide me with only what He knows I can handle. I don't want to neglect my first job of being a wife and mom. And I don't want to do a rushed job on my jewelry. I want to give my family the best me and my customers my best work. With that being said sometimes I'm a little behind here on the blog. Ok, all the time. I am a work in progress.

Shop Update:

At the end of May, our church announced that they would be having their first Artisans and Craft Fair  called Lovely Market at the end of the woman's conference this summer. As I sat their listening to the pastor asking for anyone who has a handmade shop to apply for the craft market, I thought,"I wonder if I should apply?" But soon doubts filled my mind and I thought they'll never pick me.

In the car on the way home my hubby asked, "well are you going to sign up?" I was a little surprised he would ask me that. I told him how I was feeling and he just encouraged me to try. I love that man so.

So we went home and I applied. They said they'd email me in a month to let me know if they choose me to be a vendor. I told my hubby that on the application it asked if I've ever been a vendor, which I haven't so I didn't think they'll choose my shop. My hubby said well if it's meant to happen God will open the doors. So we prayed and just left it up to God. I didn't think much of it the whole month as we've been really busy.

The first of the month came and I checked my email which I saw a message from the church.
I thought oh, its probably thank you for applying but we didn't choose you at this time.......It wasn't!!
It was a Congratulations, we picked you! I couldn't believe it! I know this may not seem like a big deal to many people, but for me and my little handmade shop it is. I prayed to thank God for the opportunity and I called my hubby at work to tell him the good news.

This just reminded me it's all in God's timing and this is another example of Him showing me his grace. If I didn't put my trust & faith in Him and had listened to the doubts that filled my head, then I'd never know if this was the next step for me.
God is good and He knows what we are capable of and not. He knows whats best for us better than we know ourselves.


So now I'm excited, nervous and frantically trying to prepare for my son's 2nd birthday this month and for the craft fair.

So I am pleased to announce Regina Ann Designs will be at it's first craft fair this summer at www.LovelyMarket.Harvest.org on Thursday August 1st from 11a.m. - 7p.m.
If you are local I would love it if you would come by and say Hi!!

San Diego Trip

This summer we went to San Diego for a few days. Here is a peek at our little vacation....

 
Our view from our room....

Then the next day we headed to Sea World.

We t3ouched some starfish....

                   
                     Daniel liked splashing in the water...

We saw some sharks...

      We touched some bat rays....

                                                             
They felt kind of rubbery.

 
    The hubby and kids had a fun time spraying the people on the rides.....so much fun they didn't want to leave. I think we stayed there a good thirty minutes before I tore them away from the spray guns.

Played in the sand with the cousins....

Playing at the beach.....

Fun in the pool....

The hotel had these huge trees outside our room and of course the kids wanted to climb them.

On our last morning in San Diego the kids went down to the beach and decided it would be ok to let Daniel get in the water, even though he was in his pants. While Dad and I packed up the car with the suitcases. 

But they did take some nice pictures, so I wasn't too upset. 

Look at these smiles, how can I be upset. 

Oh how we will miss you San Diego.......until next summer!