I’m finally going to announce the winners of the Scentsy giveaway from Megan of Tales of the Trees. If you’re not a winner, but are still interested in some of the Scentsy products, click on her site!

If you are a winner, email me at eeakin11{at}gmail{dot}com and I’ll put you in touch with Megan to redeem your prize!

Congratulations to number 114, Lindsey Kindy, on winning the full size warmer and scent bar of your choice!

Congratulations to numbers 44 (Devon), 139 (Sheila) and 195 (Erica Gonzales) for winning the Scent Circle of your choice!

We spent the latter part of last week and part of this weekend at Wild Dunes on the Isle of Palms, South Carolina. We had a great little mini-vacation and enjoyed just being out of town. The weather on the coast was perfect. The sun was shining, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and the temperatures were in the mid to low 80s with a strong breeze. I think this is the perfect time of year to go every year before our boys start school. I hated to come home.

Hudson, especially, loved the “peach” and couldn’t get enough of the waves, the ocean or the sand. He enjoyed making sand castles with his Daddy and jumping in the waves while his Daddy held on tight to him. And when he got tired, he sucked his thumb that was covered in sand. And he never complained. Ick.

As we’d walk out to the beach with Hudson, he’d ask us both to hold one of his hands. I had Hayes in the Baby Bjorn and I was holding Hudson’s hand as we walked down the boardwalk to the beach. TC had Hudson’s other hand. He knew not to go into the ocean without us. He knew not to walk twenty feet away without us. And if he wanted to go to the ocean, he’d ask, “hold my hand?”

He had to sleep in a new room in our condo. The room had two twin beds. We put one of the twin mattresses on the floor next to the bed he was sleeping in. We had originally put it there in case he rolled off the bed, he’d have a soft landing spot. But I ended up lying in there with him every night to read him his stories before he fell asleep. And I would stay in there with him until he fell asleep so he wouldn’t get scared in a new place. He’d kind of whimper when I’d turn out the light and I reminded him I wasn’t leaving. And he’d say, “Mommy, hold my hand?”

So I held his hand until he drifted off.

That sweet little hand. It’s a dirty little hand full of toddler germs. But it’s soft and squishy and his little touch is full of love.

The day will come when we go to the beach and he just bounds into the waves without looking back. He’ll stop needing us to tuck him in for bed. He’ll go to kindergarten. He’ll drive himself to school. He’ll go on his first date. And he’ll leave us for college.

And with each new major milestone, we’ll have to let go a little bit more and just know that there’s only so much we can do to protect him.

But to have a sweet son who, right now, doesn’t want to walk anywhere without holding one of our hands, is fine by me. These sweet little times are fleeting. There will be bumps, bruises and scabby knees. There will be broken hearts. There will be failed exams and disappointment. He may not make the football, baseball or basketball team. He is a little fish in a big pond.

One of the afternoons we were there, while the boys were napping, I went down to the beach by myself with my book. I sat there for a while just thinking. There’s nothing quite like a trip to the beach to get a good reality check of how small we actually are. You think about the bajillion grains of sand and just how much water separates us from the next continent. And how many people on that continent are looking at the same ocean. It’s truly remarkable how God created this perfect Earth for us to enjoy while we’re here.

But what I’ve always found amazing is that even though there are so many of us here on this Earth, God loves us all just as much as I love Hudson and Hayes. To God, my sweet Hudson is a big fish in a big pond. We all are.

As Americans, we have heard those words countless times over the past decade. “We will never forget” has been printed on posters and bumper stickers for ten years. And I hope that those words are true for all of us.

For me, it’s not about not forgetting what happened on  September 11, 2001, but it’s about choosing not to forget how it happened, why it happened and how I felt on that day.

I wasn’t there. I didn’t lose a loved one on that horrific day. But I do remember where I was. Where I was doesn’t matter, but it is important that the memory of that day is so fresh and raw in my mind that I am able to remember where I was.

I can remember the anger, the fear, the anguish and the sheer disbelief that something like this could happen anywhere, must less in the United States of America.

All of our lives were changed. The world as we knew it was changed in countless ways. The subsequent wars and enlistments have changed hundreds of thousands of families in this country and around the world.

So when I say that I’ll never forget, I mean it. Today is a sad day and sometimes memorializing such a sad day can be hard. Watching the footage from ten years ago is not any easier today than it was ten years ago. And I know that there are so many people who will not watch. But, for me, watching brings back those emotions. I still watch in complete disbelief and feel a deep anger rising up in me.

I also feel a huge pride, though. I am proud of the actions of so many Americans on that day. I am sad for those who lost their most dear loved ones as they were just going about their day or as they threw on their uniform and took on the true meaning of “hero.” First responders and their courage will never be lost on me. I can never forget any of that!

via

I am proud of our country, even though it seems that this world is so lost and we seem to once again be in a state of fear. This is my home and I’m proud of it. And I’d never choose to live anywhere else.

I am most thankful for our amazing God. He is faithful and I know He will never leave me. What a privilege it is to have the freedom to serve Him every day– however I please!

Today, I am praying for all of those who lost loved ones on 9/11 and those who have lost ones since that day.

A day will come when I will tell my children about this day in history. They won’t fully understand because they weren’t yet born when it happened. But, to me, it is important that we never let this day just become a day in history.

I used to have a series on this blog called Mom-Style Monday. Those days were fun. These days I feel like I have no style.

It’s no secret that I have trouble finding time to get dressed every day. I eventually manage to make it happen before TC comes home, but it’s not always accompanied by a shower and makeup.

Now that Hudson is back in school, I don’t really have a choice but to get dressed first thing every morning. Some mornings I’ll be putting on workout clothes because I plan to walk/jog with Hayes around our neighborhood while Hudson is at school in the mornings.

But other days, I’d like to get dressed. I love tunics and henleys. I totally love a great open cardigan. Layers are for me! I love a pretty basic t-shirt with a scarf. I’m a pretty basic girl, but I need to feel “put together.”

Here’s the situation with my wardrobe. I do not need the most expensive things. I do not need the prettiest things. (Okay, maybe I do.) I need comfortable things that flatter my body. I spend most of my day sitting on the floor with my kids. I need shirts that cover the tops of my jeans in case I’m on the floor and my jeans slide down a little bit. Y’all know what I mean!

I’m willing to spend money on some great basic things that will get some good wear. I didn’t shop last fall because I was pregnant.

I rarely see anyone except in passing. But I do want to feel slightly put together.

I like leggings. I like jeans. Skirts and dresses aren’t a great idea because I’ll be on the floor most of the day.

And if I’m throwing on gym clothes to drop Hudson off at school, I want to look put together and not wear an old Alpha Chi Omega t-shirt circa 2000 because it’s all I could find at the last minute.

It’s time to grow up and look like a mom and not a college girl. Sorry, college girls. I shouldn’t throw y’all under the bus. You all look much better than I do.

These are the things I’ve got my eye on right now.

henley from Ann Taylor Loft

tee from Ann Taylor Loft

sweater from J.Crew

cardigan from J.Crew

peasant top from Anthropologie

cardigan from Banana Republic

Next week, I’m going to take an OOTD photo before 8:45 a.m. every day! And then I’ll blog those photos for you to see how successful I was in a week’s time on getting up, getting dressed, and making myself look presentable!

I need y’all to be my personal shoppers. Where are you finding your favorites for the fall? I need comfy, practical, and flattering. GO!