momspirational mondays: Lauren Attaway

I'm so excited to introduce our next momspirational mondays contributor, Lauren Attaway. Lauren is my good friend and also my current hairstylist! She is not only a superstar with hair but she is an amazing friend, wife and mama! Lauren inspires me in so many ways but her soft spirit is what I find most inspiring.  In all situations she is calm and level headed which are qualities I strive for but don't always get quite right.  I'll let her takeover now and you all can see for yourself why I wanted to include her in this series. Enjoy!

P.S. Aren't these two stunning?!? Just wait until you scroll down and see their kiddos! 

 Photo Credit: Katie Lamb Photography https://www.facebook.com/katielambphotography

Hi! My name is Lauren, and I am delighted to be guest blogging for Mandy on this Momspirational Monday! Thanks for having me, Mandy!

            I am a 29 year old mom of two (more on them later!). I stay at home Sunday through Thursday with my kids, and I work part-time Friday and Saturday in a local upscale salon. I have been doing hair professionally for over seven years, and will celebrate six years at my current salon this fall!

            I love getting to spend the majority of the week with my littles, and love that I still get to enjoy doing something creative with people I have come to know as friends on the weekends. I regularly brag that I have the very best clients, only because it’s true!

            When I’m not at the salon, you can find me hanging out with my kids and husband, taking a million pictures with my not-so-professional iPhone, looking up recipes on Pinterest, roaming the aisles at Target, and singing at my church. Family is one of the greatest gifts I’ve been given, and I am lucky enough to live close to my parents, and my sister and her sweet family.

            Speaking of family, why don’t you meet mine? My husband, Kurt, and I have been married for 8 years. We first met when we were just four years old when our dad’s worked together at the church we attended. Kurt has been my forever crush! His family moved to Dallas when we were still kids, but we reconnected after graduating high school, then became friends again through long emails and nervous phone calls. We dated long distance for a year, and were married at 21! He is truly a gift. Kurt is genuine, always ready with a compliment & encouragement, and has been the very best Daddy to our kids. The. Very. Best!

            Now to my pride and joy... my babies!

            Canten Alan is our very first child, our son. He will be 4 this fall and can’t wait for his birthday. He is such a sweetheart, full of compassion. He loves super heroes, sports, his little buddies at church and pre-school, scrambled eggs, and chocolate milk! He has recently decided thats “girls and princesses are kinda gross”, but assures me that he still loves ME! What a relief! He absolutely loves to sing and to worship (and play air guitar! and play air drums!), and to pray. I am regularly in awe of his prayers... the overflow of his heart.

            Emersen Kate is our second-born and will be 2 in January. When Emersen was born she came out with the highest-pitched cry I had ever heard, and my exact thoughts were, “Here we go!”. That mentality has followed me as I’ve been raising her these last 20 months. She is an absolute joy and keeps me on my toes! Emersen loves her big brother (and everything he does!), saying “Hi!” to everyone we pass wherever we go, coloring (but only markers will do!), climbing everything, other babies, spaghetti, and fruit snacks! She has always been and excellent communicator and I am looking forward to continuing to watch her big personality grow as she grows.

            Family is definitely a huge priority for me, and I feel like the biggest building block for how we choose to parent is team work. Kurt and I from the start have given our best to being together in our approach. From diaper changes, baths, and bed time, to navigating discipline and emerging toddler opinions, neither of us expects the other to handle it all. I am so thankful I have, truly, a partner who I can share this amazing, but often challenging, journey with as we walk down this parenting road. At the end of a harder-than-usual day when I feel like I’ve given all that I’ve got and the countdown to bedtime is on, there is so much reassurance, for me as a mom, to know I have someone who loves my kids as much as I do, that’s going to walk through that door, have my back, and help me pick up the pieces I’m dropping.

There is so much I could leave here in a letter to these sweet kids of mine, but for now, I leave you, simply, with what’s on my heart.

Dear Canten and Emersen,

            I want you to know that it’s ok to not have it all together! There are going to be many seasons in your life where you’ll feel on top of the world, and you will be! Seasons will also come that are challenging, painful, and stretching.

           My desire for your lives is that you will grow to be confident in who God created and is calling you to be... That you can walk through this life with your eyes and hearts open, unintimidated to stand out in a crowd, allowing your light to shine. There are so many distractions and temptations to pull us every which way, and you will feel the tug. But as my dad always told me growing up, as I was walking out the door, “Remember who you are!”.

          I pray you can know who you are, that Daddy and I can help guide you in that discovery, so that as the seasons of life change, you will remember who you are and walk confidently through this life!

                                      

Love, 

Mommy

                                 

Fancy things and friendship

Soo...as you can see my blog is looking all fancy! While in school I was lucky enough to meet Sarah.  A super sweet fellow sister in Christ and also super talented designer! 

Anywho, Sarah Grace Chastain rocked my world with my blog's new design!  I have gotten the opportunity to work with Sarah several times throughout the past couple years and she never ceases to impress me with her skills! Not too long ago she was one of the first people to know that Travis and I were expecting.  I contacted her about about designing a Christmas card to send out as our announcement.  I had combed through www.etsy.com (Hi, I'm Mandy, I'm addicted to etsy, it feels good to get that out there) and I couldn't find what I wanted.  Then I remembered seeing some of Sarah's work recently on Facebook.  I contacted her and told her what I wanted which included me sending her several pictures and some scattered brain ideas and here is the adorable card she came up with...

So cute, right?  Since then she's designed several things for me including, a wedding shower invite, bachelorette party invite, Amelia's birth announcement and our Christmas card for 2013.  

Check out Sarah's current designs in her etsy shop or contact her for your own personal design www.etsy.com/shop/gracefullymadedesign  In other exciting news about Sarah, her family recently grew by one sweet little girl named Emma. On top of being a new momma she has also started designing some adorable onesies! She has chosen Amelia to be a brand rep for her new business venture so I will be posting more about it very soon but for now here is the link where you can check out these must have onesies. www.etsy.com/shop/thelittlegooseshop 

While I'm bragging on one of my talented friends for her designs let me go ahead and brag on the photographer behind these images. Lacy Dagerath is simply amazing.  She is the sweetest and kindest person and on top of that is a beyond talented photographer. I met Lacy through another dear friend, shoutout Katie Pounds, and she has not only photographed our most special moments but has also become a great friend. I have been so blessed with great friendships and I am truly so grateful for each one of them. 

You can see more of Lacy's work on her website and I hope you have a lot of time because her images are mesmerizing!      www.morethananimage.com

I have always loved pictures and I love filing away the extra announcements,Christmas cards and invitations knowing that someday I'll get to show them to Amelia.  I've added them to her baby book and cherish the memories that they bring back to me each time I look at them.  I'm already planning this year's Christmas card and can't wait to see what the three of us come up with!

 I really hope you like the new look of the blog and if you do share it with your friends and family so they can follow along too. Now for a letter to my sweet girl. 

Amelia, 

I can't emphasize enough the importance of friendships in life. My dad, your "paw paw" was in the Army so we moved around a lot throughout my childhood.  I started new schools over and over again and had to leave the friends I loved and make new friends.  Looking back I have both positive and negative memories about growing up as a military brat.  Some of the positives were meeting new and different people as well as learning and experiencing the culture of each new city.  The biggest negative was not having lasting friendships.  To this day I envy people that have maintained life long friendships.  

Your dad and I hope to raise you in our little suburb of Houston for the foreseeable future.  We love this city and have felt at home here since moving here from Lubbock in 2010.  We don't have any immediate family in the area and that has made for some hurdles especially since you came along.  This is where friendship has really touched my heart lately.  Since moving to Houston I met one of the most special friends I've ever had, shoutout again Katie, and was able to reconnect with my dear friend Shana.  These sweet girls and their husbands are our first lifelines when we need anything and we know they would help us in anyway possible. Knowing this while going through pregnancy without my mom nearby means more than either of them will ever know.  (Thank you Katie and Shana, I know life and friendship is different now that our little girl has come along but your love and support still means the world to me and I cherish the time we do get to catch up and spend time together.)

Since your arrival I made one of the best mommy decisions I've ever made, I joined a local mommy and baby exercise group called Stroller Strides.  I have connected with so many local mommies and formed friendships that I know will last a lifetime.  I could spend hours talking about the blessings these friends have provided for me and our little family but I won't because I'm pretty sure I'm rambling. We can talk all about it after you read this someday. :) 

Okay, mommy is going to get back to the point.  Friends really are like family and they make life so much sweeter.  So work hard at forming friendships and at being a good friend. I promise that if you do these things you'll look back and be overwhelmed by the love you've received from your friends.