Tuesday's Top Ten [Be THAT Friend.]

Every girl (whether or not you admit it) needs girlfriends. I highly encourage you to surround yourself with women you want to be like for one reason or another because you become like the people you spend the most time with, "Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm." (Proverbs 13:3)

Be THAT friend...

1. ... who guards the secrets of your friends heart. If she spills her guts, you don't need to spill it to others. If you surround yourself with women who gossip about others, it's probable that when you leave the group they will turn around and gossip about you. Don't trust them. Instead of a "healthy-friend" pack you have a "ravinous-pack-of-wolves-attacking-one-another-to-show-who's-alfa-'she' dog" pack.

·        "Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler." (Proverbs 20:19)

·        "... a whisperer separates close friends." (Proverbs 16: 28)

·        "Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent. Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered." (Proverbs 11:12)

2. ... who is a prayer warrior. If your friend spills her guts, you don't need to spill it to others, but encourage your prayer warrior friends to pray for them. Give them something specific to pray about, but don't gossip about it behind your friends back, just simply ask her, do you mind if so-and-so and so-and-so pray for you too? And whenever your friends name or situation comes to mind, say a little prayer. Don't promise, "You're in my thoughts and prayers!" but never actually pray for her!

3. ... take everything to prayer. There will be times when you're angry, disappointed, feel left out or left down. WE ARE HUMAN, therefore we WILL all make mistakes. Before lashing out, giving up, or getting others to take sides, pray about it. There are two sides to every story. We are emotional, but that does not mean we need to react on our emotions right away. (This one's a really, really hard one for me.)

·        "Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him." (Proverbs 29:20)

4. ... who's maintenance free. We have crazy, busy, hectic lives filled with children, families, husbands, jobs, hobbies, etc. etc. Just because you don't get together daily, weekly, or monthly does not mean you're going to fall apart. It simply means that the times you do have together will be cherished because they are few and far between. I have a group of friends from college and I see them (maybe, if we're lucky) once a year, but when we get together it's like we were never apart. Be THAT friend.

5. ... who's drama free. If you have to start your sentence with, "OMG, did you hear about so-and-so who..." then you probably shouldn't be saying it. If you are listening to a rumor and immediately take sides, or if you try to "fix" something that is not yours to fix, YOU are in the wrong, "Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears." (Proverbs 26:17) If you have to start your sentence with, "I can't believe she wore/did/does..." then you are being a judgmental "she dog" that is not taking into consideration the conversation this person had with her spouse, her financial situation, her history, her dreams, and most importantly you are taking the place of God by judging what she does rather than loving her and being a prayer warrior friend. Does that mean we should condone sin? NO. Go back to #3, "... take everything to prayer" and ask God to guide you on how to handle helping your friend and remember that you too are a sinner in need of God's grace.

6. ... who tells it like it is. And I'm not talking about "calling-her-out" kind of "telling-it-like-it-is" ... I'm talking about if your friend made the effort to dress up, wear make-up and she looks absolutely beautiful - tell her. If your friend looks good in blue, tell her. If your friend has gunk in her teeth, pull her aside and tell her. If your friend's skirt is too short, you might want to tell her in a gentle way that it's not attractive to let your crotch hang out. If your friend has mastered patience with her children and you're impressed - tell her. If your friend is really good at reading to her children everyday - tell her. We live in a judgmental world that tells women how skinny they need to be, what clothes they should wear, where they should shop, what their homes should look like, how to cook, clean and love on your hubby, and we will forever fall short of all these expectations. Encourage one another by "telling it like it is" when you see something great and take to prayer the rest (see #3). You don't want to burn bridges and lose a friend because you "tell-it-like-it-is" the wrong way.

7. ... who tells your sista's you love them and mean it. Seriously. Tell them you love them.

8. ... be a listening ear. If she asks for your advice, give it. Usually, if your friend is spilling her guts she wants someone to simply LISTEN. Just remember those times when all you wanted from your hubby was for him to listen - not fix it - LISTEN! Do the same. Be that friend.

9. ... give without expecting anything in return. One of the most amazing ways I was blessed by the women in my life was when I entered the world of motherhood. They threw me a shower, my mom and sister spent a week with me after giving birth, my sister Mel helped me during labor, my mom and sister-in-law cleaned my house, the church ladies brought me meals over the course of two weeks, my college friends threw me a Facebook shower and I received packages in the mail, mom's from church offered to come over and hold screaming Brielle so that I could take a nap... in other words, I was spoiled. I want to do the same for other women because I remember how blessed I felt. Simply pay-it-forward without expecting anything in return. Giving is better than receiving. Give with love because you love your friend, and God will bless you in return.

10. ... have an "open door policy". Sometimes your schedule doesn't matter when you have a friend struggling to hold things together. Sometimes you want your friend to drop everything and let you come over because you quite literally can't stand the state of your own home much longer. Instead of freaking out over a messy home that we SERIOUSLY do not care about (because we've all been there) let your friend come over and help you load the dishwasher or snap green beans from the garden. If you feel the need apologize that your floor hasn't been swept since Monday, do it, but I can 100% guarantee that most women will say, "Seriously?! This isn't messy. My house is a mess." or "I don't care." or "Do you want me to grab a broom and sweep it while you finish whatever you were doing?" THAT is a real friend. Be THAT friend.

God calls us to be a servant. Serve your friend in whatever she needs: a listening ear, a get-away home, a gift, a reminder that she's loved and beautiful and smart, and that you're a trustworthy, secret-keeping, gossip-free, drama-free, maintenance-free, prayer warrior. Pass this on and challenge one another in being THAT friend. I'm not just writing this so I can encourage all you women out there to be better friends, I'm writing it so that I CAN BE A BETTER FRIEND. I have a lot to work on; I know I'm not perfect, but I hope that all my friends know how much I love them and will do what I can to be THAT friend.

"There's a Rumbly in My Tumbly" Baby Shower

Mandy (my baby sister) has a rumbly in her tumbly! No, I'm not talking hunger pains (although, pregnancy does cause the most intense hunger pains ever, haha) I'm talking -my baby sister has a baby in her tummy- kind of rumbly! I'm an excited Aunt! So excited that the moment I found out she was pregnant I began planning a baby shower in her honor - one I knew she'd love. I instantly knew that we had to go with Winnie the Pooh, however, she's an island girl now and we joke that she's a Bahama Momma so in small ways we tried to incorporate an island-y feel. Winnie the Pooh was so easy because he's so cute! Mandy has good tastes. For as long as I can remember Mandy has adored Winnie the Pooh and planning this shower was a BLAST.

Once my mom and I decided on the theme, we created a Pinterest board titled "Rumbly in Her Tumbly!" and got to work. Let me tell you how cuuuuuuute it all was....

I used Punchbowl to send virtual invites via Facebook and Email addresses, they turned out adorable. Nettie, one of the guests, printed it, cut it out all adorable like, and put it in a Christmas ornament for Mandy. Oh my goodness, was that one of the best gifts of the evening!

Before I go on, let me tell you what happened. Kyle scored tickets to the Rockies game that same evening, so I dropped him off in Denver and headed down the road. The traffic was so terrible (bumper to bumper) all the way to the tunnel that it took over an hour to drive a measly ten miles. I left Denver with plenty of time to make it to the shower and set up (I created everything to set up in ten minutes or less) but didn't show up until 7:15 (ish). I called my sister in tears thinking I wasn't going to be there until 8 (the party started at 7). It was 6:23 and I hadn't even made it to Idaho Springs. Oi.

Thankfully, Mandy made it all better telling me that the decorations were not what was important and that they would have a memorable time with or without them, as long I as I got there safely. Whew. Once I did get there all the guests had so much fun pulling what I had created out of the box and setting it up with me, ooooooo-ing and awwwwww-ing over how cute it was! Thank goodness.

With everyone's help the party was a success and everything was picture perfect! I began by reenacting this picture...

I think Mandy also has something sweet in her tumbly! (Didn't Mom create an absolutely adorable shirt for her to wear?!)

The food table was my absolute favorite. Mom came up with a "Christopher Robin Picnic" for each Winnie the Pooh character. So creative. My only contributions were the Hunny pots, wood pieces, and the 100 Acre Wood sign.

Eyeore's house is made of sticks, so mom used Kit-Kat bars!

Texas Roadhouse has this amazing "Hunny Butter" that mom found a copy-cat recipe to use with the yummy bread. Oh my... heavenly.

HONEYcomb

These "pockets" were filled with this amazing avocado, mango, cilantro concoction that blew my socks off. It was definitely my favorite part of the food. Mom said it was her way of adding a little of the tropics to the 100 Acre Woods. Hehe.

Owl's acorns made with cookies and kisses! Yummy and so stinkin' creative!

"Piglets" in a blanket.

Vege's from Rabbits garden.

Tigger Tales = Cheeto Puffs

The entire table.

We used a Hunny Pot for cards as well...

Another center piece was the Winnie the Pooh characters with balloons.

I should've known they'd end up being fun toys!

 

The story I read to my little niece was when Winnie the Pooh used a balloon to get to the Hunny. He "disguised" himself as a rain cloud and tried to fool the bees by saying, "Tut tut it looks like rain." Cuuuuuute story. It's kind of a tradition to read to the baby... hehe my favorite part of the shower.

I made her these to hang in her nursery (I did my best to write in "Winnie the Pooh" handwriting!) and couldn't resist displaying them...

Here are some close-ups... (Winnie the Pooh has some adorable quotes!)

Also, I made her a Winnie the Pooh baby book...

Cover
"Baby Knowles" Baby Book

Her First Picture, Name, Meaning, How Big, Birthday, Place, Doctor, etc.!

"As soon as I saw you I knew an adventure was going to happen!" (Ultrasound picture)
A note from daddy on the corresponding page.

Birth Story (5 pages)

Pages to record her firsts... tooth, walking, hair cut (and even a pocket for a lock of hair!)...
This is my favorite page!

I have a feeling this little girl is going to be a "beach bum" so her first time there needed recording! ;)

When Mandy was a baby her "trick" was lifting both arms in the air every time one of us cooed, "Sooooo big!"

Pages to record each month's memorable moments!

Footprint Day 1, Year 1

This is where we recorded her gifts and who they were from...

Back cover...

I didn't get a picture of all the ADORABLE (how many times have I used that word?! LOL) Winnie the Pooh and Island-y baby items my mom made her... bibs, diaper changing pad, burp rags, onsie's, all of it was so cute! I couldn't write in her book what mom made her, oooo and awwwww over it all, AND get pictures.

This Bahama Momma walked away with a ton of good stuff to add to her Winnie the Pooh nursery. I hope she enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed planning it with my mom. We love you Mandy and we love that little "rumbly in your tumbly" so so much already!