Fresh Starts

A lot of changes happening in the Van Vliet household! Where to even start?
~I guess I can start with our house. My husband and I bought our home when we were 20, just married and both working. We knew then that it was an investment for us and not a forever home. Once we found out we were pregnant with Aubrie and that God was calling me to stay home, we trusted that God would help make the finances work... and it has 'worked' the past 2 years but we have been on the look out for a different home that would suit us better not only financially but also to give us freedom to do more as a family together. My husband is an extremely hard worker (like 60-70+ hours a WEEK hard) and when he is home, we all just want to relax together. We have been praying for about a year for an answer to our finances/time together. Last week, we got our answer! We will be buying a townhouse (no yard work for hubs, a pool, close parks, a bike trail) in the town my hubby grew up in.. close to a lot of family, closer to church, and much much more affordable for us. I am SO looking forward to being debt free other than our home and able to put money away, take our girls to do fun things, and most of all, just not worry! We will buy another home again when the time is right.. let's face it when we have time/money for the upkeep of a home and when the girls are a little older.


~Today was a hard day. My oldest was having a hard time listening and I've been busy packing so the morning was already off to a rough start. Aubrie and our dog Missy were running around playing like normal and all of a sudden I heard Missy growl and I couldn't get to Aubrie fast enough and Missy had nipped her hand. I ran to grab Missy to put her outside and she proceeded to bite my hand. Aubrie was of course terrified and hysterical, I was furious. This is so unlike her.. she has been great with both babies, so patient, and we really have not had to worry about her. I knew after this happened that we just could not in good conscience keep her around our babies..(if anyone hurts my babies they are out obviously) so I had to take her to the shelter. It was so so hard and I'm sitting here worrying about her but feel like my hands are tied because I would never put my babies in any danger and they are much more important than an animal. Dogs truly do become part of the family though and I didn't think I'd have such a hard time.


~In other news, I've been slowly weaning Emma.  I nursed Aubrie for 13 months.. baby led weaning..everything. My nursing journey with Emma has not been as pleasant.. much more difficult with a 2 year old running around, a few infections, Emma still not sleeping well at night because she's wanting to nurse constantly. I thought I'd try a couple days of formula and so far it has gone great! She's 6 months now and that was my goal with her.. to at least make it to 6 months. So far, she's on a better sleeping and eating schedule which is essential for me at home with both of them and making our nights much better because I can actually get sleep, making me a much more patient Mommy during the day. O glorious, uninterrupted sleep... you truly don't know how precious sleep is until you never seem to get it. ;)

~Here's some recent iphone pics of our days! Enjoy!

The recipes out of this book are amazing!

Beauty

Gotta love Target

We've all had a cold for 4 weeks now. Ick.

Aubrie put Emma's headband on her ;)

No I never leave her side if she's on the counter in the Bumbo. :)

Sweet pink baby toe nails

First solids

Paleo Dinners

First french braids

With Papa

Aubrie likes to feed her baby too

Aubrie told me this was Mommy rocking Emma. I think someday she'll be an artist.

Can you tell we've been talking about the potty?

Waiting for Beppe

More yummy Paleo Dinners!

Matching babies make me happy ;)

We had Nanny over for a tea party

I truly did not mean to coordinate them for church on this day.

"Bye Mommy! See you later!"

Going to Nanny's house!

Shopping day!

"Just like Mommy! Both have strollers! Both have wheels!" Melt. my. heart.

Thirty One Blessings

I think I've mentioned that I am a Thirty One consultant but I don't like to share a lot on here because I hate being pushy! :). I just wanted to share a little bit of my story because lately this company has blessed our family so much and I would love to help other families who are in similar positions!
When we got pregnant with Aubrie, we felt that God was calling us to be a home in which my husband worked and I stayed home. Financially we were not sure quite how that was going to work, but when God tells you to do something, you listen. This might not make sense in the world's eyes.. to be having babies at 21, to not have a ton of savings and 'extra' money every month etc, but to us, me being home to raise our family was more important. If God lays something on your heart He WILL take care of you. He doesn't promise us an easy comfortable life all of the time and that's ok!
Once Aubrie got a little older I wanted to try to find a way to contribute without having to leave her for long periods of time. I had heard of Thirty One before but have never been the type of person to like the 'home party' world. I didn't think it would make us any money so I passed. A few months later, my closest friend started selling it. We had never talked about it before but once I saw her products and hosted a party for her, heard what she made from it, I thought I could at least give it a try! I signed up a few weeks later and was so excited to get my enrollment kit. They really make it worth your money! I would get a few orders from friends and family every once in awhile but nothing big. I had one person signed up under me and she did really well right away. At this point I just enjoyed doing it and really loved the products but wanted to do more.
 A few months ago a family member hosted a large party for me. This was the point that I really started praying that God would use this business to help me bless my family. From that one party I ended up getting 5 more parties over the next few months and through that I've been able to significantly help our family with our finances. I am so very grateful for God's provision and a Christian company to work for! Plus, you get so many cute bags!! ;). It's a great way to stay home with your babies and bring in an income. I would love to grow my team so if you are interested or just have questions please don't hesitate to contact me!(www.mythirtyone.com/kassivv) I would love to help others help their families!

Party Set Up

Large Utility Tote.. one of my faves!

Mini Utility Bin and Organizing Utility Tote