Making Daddy's Birthday Special!

Today was Adam's birthday...Amanda was so excited to spend our day making presents for daddy while he was at work. Amanda's artwork impressed me...she put so much thought and detail into her picture/painting for her daddy!! Her picture is of her and Adam holding hands, and she couldn't forget our cat Bridger. Adam is holding a balloon for his birthday! So cute! She was so proud of her work! We also made Adam a German Chocolate Cake...his favorite!! 

Adam and I went to dinner alone tonight, which is rare, and Amanda went to her cousin's for some play time...thanks Naomi!! As we drove home, we went on a Christmas Light Drive...so fun to see the lights and Christmas spirit in our neighborhood!! We got home and decided before sending the little one to bed, we were going to have a family dance party...this is a MUST for all families. We turn up the music and dance like no one is watching...fun to hear the giggles and see the smiles radiate from our little one!! Promise me you'll do this....this has created some of our best memories!

Giving to those in need!!

Adam didn't have to work today so he took Amanda out for some much needed "Daddy/Daughter" time. He is such a great dad! Adam took Amanda to the duck pond, one of our favorite activities in town. After that, they went to the mall...Adam gave Amanda some of his birthday money for her to go in search of a present to drop off for the Toys 4 Tots Christmas Drive.....she was so excited to buy a present for someone else. With the change left over, Adam told Amanda she could put it in her piggy bank when she got back home. As they were leaving the mall, there was a Salvation Army bell ringer outside....she told Adam "hold on daddy" and without hesitation, she ran over and pulled the money out of her pocket that Adam had given her for her piggy bank, placing it in the container. I am so proud of little Amanda...and her generosity to others.  We had decided earlier this year, rather than buying gifts for each other, we will be giving gifts by volunteering and giving back to others in our community...keeping the true meaning of Christmas with us throughout. I'm looking forward to these special moments, the memories we will make, that will last a lifetime, and the joy that comes from Amanda as we teach her the true meaning of giving to others!! 

I've been working hard on my website for my business Bridger Babies...I launched it a couple days ago...check it out HERE. 

Dinner tonight was Chicken Quesadillas...one of Adam's favorites!! Easy meal for all you moms out there: I place boneless, skinless chicken breast halves in the Crockpot and pour salsa over the top...cook on Low 6-8 hours or Hight 3-4 hours...gives the Chicken great flavor. When done cooking, remove the chicken from crockpot and shred with a fork. Then fill your tortilla with cheese and chicken and cook in skillet. We make a sour cream/salsa mixture that makes a great dipping sauce. Great taste, easy meal, that the family LOVES! 

Bridger Babies Website Up & Running

Funny how the longer the weekend I have, the shorter it seems to be. I've been busy with lots of separate tasks around the home the last couple days. Excited to announce that my business website is finally up!! Adam has been an amazing husband, spending much quality time helping me set up my website. Today he had the day off and he showed me how to work the website builder...I still have some tweaking to do, but you can view product photos. Amazing how much work goes into building a website. Check it out: bridgerbabies.com!  Also, a very Happy Birthday to my father-in-law, Eric!! We love you very much!! Hope you had a great day!! Short blog today, but I promise I'll make it up to you!

Black Friday!

First time in several years that I haven't gone out shopping for Black Friday! Adam had to work from Midnight until noon today at the store....I decided since I LOVE Christmas time,I wanted to start decorating the house early this year! So we got the totes out of storage and Amanda and I started to decorate. Amanda got to decorate her own tree this year too!! She was so excited...pink, purple and silver princess tree!!

One of Amanda's favorite things to do is make forts! When dad is around, it involves rearranging all the furniture in the house. One of the simplest ways to make a fort is over the kitchen table...we made a fort this morning and it has been fun hanging out with Amanda and just acting like a kid!!

Tomorrow is Small Business Saturday! In preparation for Christmas, I've been trying to make lots of new product for my business Bridger Babies! Please consider buying holiday gifts this year from a small business! And if you have any babies and moms in your life....check out Bridger Babies on Facebook!! I am working on my website Bridgerbabies.com and will be launching it soon! Also, check out Ashley's Attick...long time friend of mine, with great stuff for your home!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Adam was supposed to have a full day off yesterday, but with Thanksgiving and "Black Friday" for the retail world this week, he ended up having to go in this morning anyway! Blessed that God gave Adam this job, even if it means right now we have to spend more time away. I have the rest of the week off, as the little one I watch during the week gets to be home with his mama for the rest of the week...so Amanda and I decided to drop Dad off at work and get out of the house. We went to the public library...one of our favorite places in Bozeman to go! They have an area just for the kids with lots of learning material, and Amanda always enjoys checking out books to take home!!

We also tried on shoes at Dad's store...these were Amanda's favorites!! 

We came home and had "family movie night"...we try and do this twice a month...usually Amanda gets to stay up a little longer than normal and we make popcorn and watch a movie all together. Yesterday we started our movie around 4pm... Despicable Me...cute movie!! We were all tired from the days events, so when it finished, Adam took Amanda to bed and I fell asleep on the couch at 6pm....woke a couple hours later and decided to call it a night. Most nights, when Amanda goes to bed, that is "my time" to get things done around the home, but when I woke this morning I was so glad that I took the time to get extra sleep...something all mommy's need to do!! 


Amanda did a few crafts this past week for Thanksgiving!! I found this cute idea on Pinterest! It was a pin from HERE.  Amanda had so much fun painting her hands and feet!!

Today I'm busy cooking and enjoying time with Adam and Amanda. The holiday just doesn't seem quite the same without the rest of our friends and family, but I'm still cherishing this time together. Today is also the Anniversary of my Grandma Betty's death...13 years ago today! I was 13 when she went to Heaven, but she made a huge impact on my life in those 13 years...LOVE YOU GRANDMA!! Happy Thanksgiving Everyone...We are Blessed to have such wonderful friends and family in our lives!!

Pumpkin Muffins

Today we made pumpkin muffins...this is a favorite around our home and the perfect fall snack. I remembered mom making these often when I was growing up, a recipe she had acquired from my Aunt Susy. It is also one of the easiest recipes!! We make these often & Amanda has the recipe down without much help. 

Pumpkin Muffin Recipe
- 1 spice cake mix or carrot cake
- 1 small can pure pumpkin...(we bought a larger can & used about 2 cups)
- 3/4 c water

That's it! Mix well. Bake @ 350 degrees. We always bake our pumpkin muffins in a mini muffin pan...great size for the kids...bake for 9 minutes! If you wanted to make these full size muffins...bake for 18-20 minutes. My mom also bought Amanda a doughnut shaped pan recently, so we tried the muffins out in that too!!

Amanda was especially excited for the doughnut shaped muffins today as it was something new! Love getting to see her excitement and joy for life!!

Welcome to my Blog

With much request from friends and family, I have decided to start this blog. I have been putting it off for quite some time now, hoping I'd "find extra time", but really, what was I thinking! This blog will be a Celebration of Life and what each day has to offer us. I will write about Faith, Motherhood, Home Organization, Meal Prep, Crafting, Day-to-Day life in Our Household, Home Organization and My Business: Bridger Babies. 

For those of you who don't know me, a little about me: I was born and raised in the beautiful state of Montana. And although, I have spent most of my life here, I had the opportunity to live in both Washington and Wisconsin in the past 4 years as well.We have now made our journey back to MT. I must say, Montana is the BEST! I'm a stay-at-home mom to a beautiful 3 year old, Amanda...who inspires me to be the best mom I can! I've been blessed with the Gift of Motherhood, I LOVE being a mom & loving getting to share Amanda's excitement for each day we are given. I am also blessed to have an amazing husband, Adam, who I've been with since high school & have been married to for the last seven years! He is an amazing father to Amanda & my best friend and I look forward to the many years ahead of us! 

Thanks for taking time to read my blog. I'm looking forward to sharing My Story, and the Gift of Motherhood, which I have been blessed with!