1 year since our loss

Today it has been a year.

1 year since we found out that the little one growing in my belly

had gone Home to be with it's Maker.

{you can read my story here}

I've shared about this a few times before...

but wanted, well, needed, to share it again today.

I'm the kind of person that is really

emotionally affected by "anniversaries" of things,

good and bad.

Above is the shirt I had made for Abigail (10 months old at the time)

to break the news to our parents that night that we were expecting,

under the disguise that we were celebrating Parker's birthday.

And also a picture of me holding her that night...

It's not the best pic of us, but I'm glad I have it.

{oh, and I gave away that yellow shirt I have on,

it reminded me of what I was wearing when we were told

the life inside wasn't there.}

{a few more sweet pics from that same day, which I am thankful to have}

...especially the precious one of Abigail just looking at me with such sweet, caring eyes...

as if she knew her Mama was hurting inside.

It's been a long year since then,

full of changes.

moving states, changing jobs, getting pregnant again,

basically starting over in lots of ways.

I've also shared a bit about this before,

{read here},

but I know the Lord has used that loss

to cause me to trust Him even more:

Trust that He is in control.

Trust that He hasn't forgotten the desires of my heart.

Trust that HIS timing is perfect.

Trust that HE is the Author of life and death.

Trust that He is a God of restoration...

even giving us a new baby to look forward to,

5 months after the loss.

(I'm due in 8 weeks with another little girl, Praise the Lord!)

Below is a picture of Abigail sleeping soundly at my mother-in-law's house

the day I had my D&C, 9 days after we found out...

This picture means a lot to me, and did on that day,

to see the comfort and peace that my little girl was experiencing

on a day that was so terrible for me...and to know that

God was taking care of her in the midst of this.

As soon as you find out you are pregnant,

dreams and plans start taking place in your heart.

So when a miscarriage or loss happens,

it takes a lot (at least it did for me)

to fully recognize and trust God with those dreams and desires again.

I'm not perfect, but I'm trying daily to learn to trust Him more.

HE is the only perfect planner, and the only One

who will make the desires of my heart come true, if it is His will.

{these are Abigail's sweet newborn feet}

I'll miss that sweet little life that God had started inside me

as long as I live,

but I know that the purposes God had for him

(I believe in my heart it would have been a boy)

needed to be fulfilled in Heaven instead of here.

...and he's curled up in the biggest, most loving lap right now.

I will always count this day in my heart as important,

and allow myself to feel sad, because it's okay to.

But I am also thankful for all He's done and continues to do in my heart

since November 10th of last year.

Thanks for listening and remembering along with me today.

In honor of this week marking this anniversary for us,

I am happy to be having several guest posts coming up from other special women who have experienced loss...and also experienced God's hand through it.

So please come back to read more, I know you will be blessed.

GIVEAWAY from my sweet friend!!

It's a GIVEAWAY!!

Today I get to introduce you

(if you don't already know her sweet face)

to one of my sweet bloggy friends,

EMILY!!

She blogs over at Blueberry's Blog,

and I love following her sweet journey in life...

and not to mention she has a precious little shop

{check it out here}!

hi i'm emily from Blueberry's Blog

and Picking Blueberries.

I'm a Mama to 2, a wifey to 1, and a saved by grace, Daughter of the King.

I write about things that make my heart happy.

Family, being a Mom and wife, thrifting, decorating, fashion, homemade & vintage treasures, taking pretty pictures, love, life, and Jesus.

My life is busy, messy, and beautiful. 

and i wouldn't trade it for anything.

i started my little shop as a creative outlet. also because i adore button earrings and was making them for myself all the time! so i figured, why not? it's been fun. i've met lots of sweet friends and look forward to what's to come. i plan on growing my shop into a few different areas - the main one being home decor. stay tuned friends...good things to come!

thank you so much for having me today Sarah!

Thanks Emily!!

love to you girl! :)

The winner of this giveaway gets to pick one of the precious

baby girl headbands shown above!

You pick the flower color!

{even if you don't have a little girl, this would make a sweet gift!}

Emily is also graciously offering

a DISCOUNT CODE

starting now through the end of November!!

discount code: SARAH15

seriously check out her shop, all her stuff is so precious!

To Enter::

you must be a follower of my blog {here}

you must be a follower of Blueberry's Blog {here}

extra entries:

add Picking Blueberry's shop to your Favorites on Etsy {here}

follow Blueberry on Twitter {here}

like her on FB {here}

follow me on Twitter {here}

*Tweet or FB about this giveaway for an entry

*you can also grab our blog buttons and add it to your blog sidebar for

another extra entry!

LEAVE A COMMENT FOR EACH ENTRY you make

{so, you could have up to 8 entries total!}

Winner will be announced on Saturday, Nov 12th!

Happy Giveaway-ing!

sneak peek - tomorrow's giveaway!

just a little sneak peek to the GIVEAWAY...

going on tomorrow!!

oh, AND it includes a discount code to her precious shop!

make sure you come back tomorrow to enter!!

AND thanks to yall who linked up for the first

PICTURELESS POST linky!

I was so blessed by EACH of you today, for real. :)

AND..I've decided to do it on

Sundays instead of Tuesdays!!

(that way we can just write whats on our hearts that

day while we are wrapping up the weekend with our families!)

to learn more about this link up click here:

so... itll be back on Sunday the 20th!

Hope yall had a blessed day!!

pictureless post link-up// giving myself grace

**This link-up is now taking place on SUNDAYS!!**

_____________________

Time for Pictureless Post Link-up!

please feel free to join in if you want!!

I know there may not be many, if any, this first time...

but hey, I'm giving it a shot! :)

first of all, I know there are SO many link-ups out there

that we all LOVE to join up with,

and I've realized since I had this idea that there are several on Tuesdays...

SO...i think I will try and start doing this on Wednesdays instead!

{what do you think about that?

we will just see where this takes us,

but I'm hoping to inspire some of you to link up here!}

The point of this linky party idea

is to encourage us bloggers to

JUST WRITE.

with no worry or time put into the effort it can be to take, upload, organize,

edit, and pick the right pictures for your blog posts.

Just WRITE whatever is on your heart or mind to write.

It might just amaze you how fast it can come out...

uninhibited writing. unedited sharing.:

LIFE.

(read more about this link up here)

So for my first one, here goes.

{just writing to you today.}

I'll keep it short and sweet, since i already wrote that little "intro". :)

This week, today especially,

I have been struggling with and praying about

accepting grace for each day to look differently than I think it should or expect it to.

especially in my job as a mommy.

Like today,

my pregnant self was feeling very pregnant.

exhausted, stiff, hormonal, moody.

so instead of doing a craft, going to the library,

going to feed the ducks,

I just needed to lay, just rest.

take care of myself and this baby growing inside.

but I had to really tell myself that it was ok

to just turn the TV on her favorite show (The Fresh Beat Band)

and just sit.

{I did most of the sitting as you can imagine if you know my little busy-body.}

it took a lot of effort in my mind to not feel guilty.

that I wasn't "doing more" as her mommy,

or engaging with her like I usually do and want to.

This really could be a lot longer post,

but it's what it is for now.

just being real, honest.

I guess the point of sharing this,

besides just writing what's on my mind in this moment,

is to share that I so desire to be able to give myself grace

and be okay with just "being" sometimes.

I think the Lord knows that each day there are different needs,

for us, and for our children.

And I think that He extends grace to us

in the moment we need it.

And on top of that, I am trying to trust that He knows the

desires and needs of my daughter's heart,

and that even when Mama needs to rest,

her desires and needs will still be met.

He loves her too.

here's to accepting some grace today . . .

Spicy Honey Chicken!

this recipe is becoming

one of my hubby's favs around here...

and I haven't shared a recipe in forever,

SOOO I thought I'd share it with you today! :)

It's SUPER easy, takes about 15 minutes start to finish.

seriously. :)

Here's what you need:

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp ground red pepper

6 Tbsp honey

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Now, go preheat your broiler!

Mix all the seasonings together.

next, mix the honey and cider vinegar together.

Add chicken piece by piece to the dry seasoning bowl, coating it on each side.

Place in a non stick pan, or make sure you use spray!

now, Broil chicken 5 minutes on each side.

(total 10 minutes, flip in the middle)

Remove chicken after broiling both sides.

and brush one side with the honey mixture.

...then broil for 1 minute.

remove chicken again, and brush the honey mixture on the other side,

...then broil for 1 more minute!

That's It!!

See, I told you it was easy-breezy!

{its great with roasted potato wedges and green salad too}

PS this def has a kick to it so if you are not a spicy person (like me),

it may be too much,

but my husband sure loves it!

not to mention this has made me love using the broiler!

Make sure you come back and link up tomorrow for my first ever linky-party...

Pictureless Post!

you can read more about it by clicking here:

{the idea is that its a chance to JUST WRITE, and not worry about uploading, organizing, editing, etc the right pictures for your blog post. We just want to read whats on your mind.}

I'd love to have you!

OH, AND I have an AWESOME giveaway (including a discount code!)

coming on Wednesday - you don't want to miss it!