Welcome Back.

So...if you're new here...so am I.  Kind of.  I haven't blogged since September of 2014.  Exactly two days before my son was born.  I didn't intend on stopping, but you know...kids take up a lot of time.  One month turned into two and then three years past. Whoops.  So, here's what you missed. 

Meet Gideon.  He's 3 now and he's awesome.

My daughter has grown up a lot and is turning into a beautiful, smart young lady.  She's 7 now and rockin' the first grade.

Tag...You're It™ Jewelry has FINALLY joined the Instagram world!  We'd love for you to follow us @tagyoureitjewelry...we added my sister-in-law to the business last year and are always trying to add gorgeous and relevant designs.  Here is some of our latest work.

http://tagyoureitjewelry.com

 

 If you're new here...welcome.  If you were here FOREVER ago...welcome back.  I hope you return and I promise I will too.

New Arrivals for Fall 2014

We have been actively working on new designs and are excited to introduce them in time for the Christmas season.

One of my absolute new favorites is the new expandable bangle bracelet.  They are made of sterling silver and can easily be added to when there are new arrivals in your family.  You can choose from sterling silver, rose gold, or yellow gold discs and any color birthstone.

We also have this SUPER cute 14K gold filled bracelet that is perfect for layering.  It can be customized with a name or keep it simple with the arrow.

We have also started adding our new Christmas ornaments to the shop.  We still have a few more to go, but I wanted to give a preview of what is available now.  These ornaments are made from a lightweight aluminum and hang perfectly from any size Christmas tree.  I can't wait to make myself one after I know the stats of my new arrival!

We are still adding new items to the shop lately to prepare for the Christmas season.  You can find everything in our etsy shop HERE.

...OH...and ONE more thing that we are working on!!!!  We are hoping to go live with our brand NEW website on October 1st, so be sure to keep checking back with us!

The Red Tractor Nursery

After we lost Sawyer, I never planned to change his bedroom.  It would be a baby nursery shrine and I didn't really want anyone in there touching anything since it was ready for Sawyer to come home and sleep.  However, after a few months of being pregnant again, I felt the exact opposite.  I had to change everything.  The room had off white walls and a zoo theme.  I needed a change.  I needed to remember that this baby was a different baby and needed his own room and own decor.  I moved the furniture, decided on a new theme, and got to work painting walls.

I become quickly engulfed with his new red tractor nursery theme.  My husband works at Equipment Technologies, which produces shiny red tractor sprayers.  Therefore, the tractors had to be red- no John Deere Green in this house.

I really love the way it turned out.

I'm waiting for Mark to raise the crib bed this weekend- we used it with Delaney so it was dropped.  The adorable decal is from New Wave Signs from etsy.  My sweet sister-in-law sent us this super soft blanket with his name stitched on it and I can't wait to wrap him up in it.  I'm sorry the rug is wrinkled and off centered and YES I will get outlet covers before I put a baby in there.

The book shelves are spice racks from IKEA (Thank you, Pinterest).  At $3.99 each, we couldn't build shelves for cheaper.  I slapped a coat of red acrylic paint on them and hung them up.  I found the tractor blueprint on zulily and it is my favorite piece in the room.

I used this blanket as my color inspiration- I wanted all of the colors in the blanket to be present in the room.  It is super soft and really well made.  I found it on etsy from First Crush Designs.

The upholstery on my old garage sale glider was pretty beat up, so rather than repairing it, I bought a new blanket and pillow.  I NEEDED the pillow because of the red tractor.  It is also from etsy, of course- the shop is Polka Dot Apple, and she has a ton of super cute designs.

Mark brought this home from work, since it was difficult for me to find tractor "sprayer" toys and decals.  Not everyone wants a pesticide spraying machine sticker on their baby's walls, but I love incorporating what Mark does into the baby's room.

And now...all I need is a baby and the room will be complete.  We have three weeks and counting and I am definitely counting...

Pregnancy after Stillbirth...

I have kind of been keeping a secret from my facebook friends.  I'm pregnant.  YAY!...

Except pregnancy after stillbirth is scary.  It's terrifying actually.

I am envious of pregnant women I see that are blissfully having themed baby showers and sharing ultrasound pics and having gender reveal parties with pink or blue cake pops.  That's not my pregnancy life anymore.

This pregnancy comes after the loss of our stillbirth son at 37 weeks back in October.  Although I was excited, I knew that I didn't want anyone to know.  The horrible pessimist in me just assumed I would lose this baby too, so there was no use getting excited about it.

My first three ultrasounds resulted in uncontrollable tears even though they were telling us, "everything looks great!".  I'm sure the ultrasound techs assumed it was an unwanted pregnancy because of the crying, when in fact it was just the opposite.  We decided to see our doctor at her other office so that it didn't bring back so many tough memories.

I am almost 28 weeks now.  We will be delivering our baby BOY in just nine short weeks.  It is amazing how God has helped me through the last few months.  When we first found out, I decided there would be no planning- I told my family "no new clothes, no new toys, NOTHING...until the baby arrives."  I didn't want to come home to another finished nursery and full closet with no baby to hold.  I really didn't even want to talk about it with anyone.  I was so happy, but SO scared.

But God has softened my heart and eased my anxiety.  The more attached I get to this little boy kicking my belly, the more excited I am for his arrival.  I have become somewhat obsessed with decorating his red tractor bedroom and actually took maternity pictures.  (That was a huge regret with Sawyer- we never took maternity pictures and I don't really have any to look back on).  We have a name picked out and have started talking about this little baby with others, which was really difficult to do for months.

I still have moments- if I don't feel him move in a ten minute time frame, all hell breaks loose.  I get completely panicked.  We have made three or four trips to the emergency room and a couple unplanned trips to the doctors office because of fears.  I wake up throughout the night just to make sure I can feel him moving.  

And I still grieve for Sawyer.  I know the next few months will be extremely joyous, but extremely difficult also.  I can't wait to hold my new baby boy, but I still miss his older brother.  

One of the reasons I did decide to share our news is because I would really, really covet your prayers.  We need them.  We need prayers for anxiety and prayers for this baby boy.  Please, please pray that God would give us a little boy to hold and love in September and to bring home to take care of and nurture.

"For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."

Matthew 18:20

When the Sun Shines after a Storm

I love the seasons.  Mark and I lived in Hawaii for a few years when we were first married.  And although I understand it is paradise, I still missed the changing of the seasons and longed to be back home again in Indiana. 

 I had a sweet woman from my church ask me recently how we were doing with our loss.  She said, "I hate that it happened in the fall because then you had to deal with the most depressing months of the winter right after that."

I explained to her that I actually felt the opposite.  The seasons and the weather matched my mood.  After Sawyer's death, the weather turned cold and icy.  It gave me time to grieve and not feel like I had to smile because it was sunny and gorgeous outside.  The outside matched my own insides- cold, dark, and sad.  I had extreme grief and needed those dark months to work through it.

 It has been seven months and the sun is out again.  The snow has melted and the salt has been cleaned off of the streets.  The weather is warming up and the flowers have bloomed.

New life has begun again.  

I am enjoying the warmth and the sunshine and the flowers.  

Although there is an occasional rainy day or even a passing storm, where my heart is breaking and hurting, the sun always comes back out again.

"Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end."

Ecclesiastes 3:1

New Pieces in our Shop

In the last few months we have had a chance to design new pieces!  We have added a lot to the shop and I wanted to share them to make sure you weren't missing out.  

My sister designed these gorgeous "chalkboard" style fine silver necklaces.  

I absolutely love the way they turned out.

You can find them here.

We have also added a great alternative to sterling silver in our shop.  Pewter has the thickness and feel of fine silver, but is much more affordable.  The elephant necklace starts at $26!

You can find them here.

And finally, a more simple piece.  It is basic, but perfect for the grandma with tons of grandkids- 

a birthstone for everyone.  

You can find it here.

The daddy daughter dance

A few weeks ago, I called Mark and asked him if he wanted to take Delaney to a daddy-daughter dance.  

Mark: (sigh) (long pause) "I guess"

Me: "Great! 'Cause I already signed you up and paid for it!"

Delaney had been given a gorgeous glitter dress from her great grandma the day before, and she was dying to get to wear it outside of the house, so was super excited about the dance.

Yes, I let my 3 year-old daughter put on my 24 hour lipstick.  By herself.  She still had it on two days later after multiple washings- that stuff is good.  And she might be putting it on her tongue in that picture.

She requested an "Elsa" braid (from Frozen if you live in a non-child cave).  I think I rocked it, although Mark said it had completely fallen out after a few moves on the dance floor and she was a sweaty mess with no braid when she arrived home.

Excuse me, miss, but you have some lipstick on your teeth.

This girl loves her daddy.  They got home well past her bedtime, complete with a neon glow necklace and a pink balloon animal.  I think that equals success.  They both said they had a great time and will be going again next year:)

Be still my heart.