Happy Second Birthday Zane!

Two years ago today I went into labor with Zane around 5 am. Only I didn't know it was labor. Just intense back pain that progressed into the morning. Around 6 am I decided to start tracking these "back pains" and sure enough they were coming every 4-6 minutes. After sitting in bed for about an hour doing this I finally decided that I must be in labor. 

I was 40 weeks and 1 day over due. By 7 am I told my husband that we needed to start heading to the hospital. We got Ava, my mom and all got our things and headed to the car. While in route to the hospital which was about 20 minutes from home I started feeling intense pain, so much so that it was hard to continue sitting in the car. What I didn't know that I found out later at the hospital was that I had "transitioned" while riding in the car to the hospital.

When we arrived at the hospital they dropped my husband and I off at the door. We waited what seemed like forever before the nurses were ready to check me. It wasn't until I told them that I think I felt a need to push. They rushed a nurse in to check me and sure enough I was 8 cm along. 

Everything else after that was a blur. They rushed me to L&D, there wasn't any lab techs available to start my IV and by the time one was it was to late and I already progressed to far to have an epidural. 

My "I didn't plan on doing this naturally" was my new plan after all. I remember checking the clock once they told me I couldn't have one and seeing that it was 9 am. I told the nurses once again that I wanted to push and they told me I couldn't because the on call doctor was delivering another baby and couldn't come.

That part was torture and seemed to last much longer than I wanted. Finally a doctor came, broke my water and told me I could start pushing.

At 9:39 am Zane Everett was born. I remember thinking that he looked a lot like Ava did as a baby except he was much bigger than she was. I also remember sitting there with him in the hospital feeling like he so completed our family. And he has. He's completed us more than I ever thought he would.

From the minute he was born he's hit every milestone so fast, I sometimes wish that he would slow down. He's so different than Ava was and challenges me and keeps me on my toes.

He is smart, loves to play with Ava and jump on the trampoline with her. He has tons of energy and loves to eat! He loves his truck book, and has a sensitive spot for his little lovey puppy dog. 

Born just 9 days before Christmas this is always such a busy time for us now. But I don't ever want this miracle boy to to overshadowed by Christmas. So we'll always celebrate his day! 

Zane means God is gracious. Zane was a name I had heard years ago, when we found out we were having a boy it was the first name that came to mind. When I looked up the meaning I knew that we'd name him that. You see God has been so gracious to us, we conceived Ava after a year of trying and not being successful we did one round of fertility drugs and got pregnant with her. When it came to trying for baby #2 we didn't do anything and to our surprise had Zane. God has been good to us, and he answered our prayers of being able to have a baby and not do fertility treatments again. 

Tonight we party and on Sunday we're going to have a big celebration when all of our family gets into town. 

We love you Zaney, Happy Birthday! Love, Mama, Daddy and Ava! 

How We Tackle Christmas Gifts in Our Home.

This time of year isn't about gifts, it isn't about breaking our budget either. We try really hard as a family to keep things about celebrating the birth of Jesus during this time of year and being consistent with our children. 

While our focus is Jesus, giving each other Christmas gifts is fun, and a great way to show appreciation and love for others. Today I thought I'd share with you how we tackle this in our home and make things really simple during this time of year. 

Let me start with what we do for our children. For our kids we do 4 gifts, this is something I read about on a blog when Ava was just a baby and we've adopted it ever since. It has worked great for our family, let me share with you about it and then tell you why we love it and why it works for us.

Each of our kids get:

1. Something to wear.
2. Something to read.
3. Something they want.
4. Something they need.

I will say when Ava was an infant we still used the wear and read gifts, but the other two we bought her two toys. Now that she's older she's able to express a "want" a little bit better. Here's a few reasons why I love this model; first of all the obvious is that it keeps the focus not on how many or how much you get. It also helps us to think of a realistic budget and plan accordingly. As our children get older this will help them really decide what they "want." This gift system has worked really well for us, and we love the idea of picking meaningful gifts for our children based on these 4 things. 

This year we're starting a new tradition. Ava decided that she'd like to get her brother a gift. We thought it would be really neat to begin a tradition of each of them buying gifts for the other sibling. 

For our extended families we do a few things, depending on the year. However, my siblings and I with our spouses/significant others always do a gift exchange. This works great for us since there's so many of us, and it's fun to do this from year to year. For my parents again we usually all go in on a big gift for them. 

Also for our parents my husband and I get them photo books or calendars with pictures from our year. I love giving personal gifts like these to family. 

These are just some simple ideas that work for our family, I'd love to hear what you do during the holidays for gift giving. Tell me in the comments below. 

Our Family Christmas Traditions

Christmas time is my most favorite time of the year, it's the holiday I most decorate for and the one I look the most forward to. There's something so special and magical about this time of year. Today I wanted to share with you some of our favorite Christmas traditions we do as a family. Some we've done since before we had kids, but having kids makes this time of year even more special. 

I always love hearing about things others do in their families, I think it gives everyone ideas too. There's nothing better than sharing special moments with you family. 

One tradition that we do that I'm sure every family does but it's always so fun, is decorating our tree and putting up decorations. We take a whole Saturday and decorate the house.

I've been making Christmas sugar cookies with my mom since I was a kid. Using my Great Grandma's recipe. It's a tradition I look forward to now with my own kids. This year my mom will be in town so we're holding off making these till she gets here. Ava is very excited to do this with Grandma. 

One of my favorite traditions that Orion and I started when we were newlyweds and spent our first Christmas together. Every year we take a picture in front of the tree, place it in an ornament frame and hang it on the tree the following year. I love pulling them out each year and seeing how we've grown and changed over the years. It makes this tradition all the more special. Seven years of frames, I can't wait to have our tree covered in them one year.

Last year my sister and I started this idea with our kiddos called "night before Christmas boxes." We filled boxes with matching Christmas jammies, hot cocoa, pop corn and a Christmas themed movie. We gave them to our kiddos and let them stay up late Christmas eve with their cousins and enjoy the movie and some treats. It was so fun to start this tradition. My sister even had the idea to reuse the same box each year which I love!

Last year I hand painted these Santa mugs for my children. I imagined them drinking cocoa and watching movies together each year. This year they've done exactly that. It's so cute to watch them get to excited, count the marshmallows and giggle together. Simple things like this are truly the best. 

As a family we also enjoy bundling up and driving around seeing lights. We bring some snacks along to enjoy as well. 

We buy gifts for foster kids at Christmas time. We let our children each pick out a child and bring them to the store to buy for that child. 

This year we're adopting two new Christmas traditions that I wanted to share with you. Ava asked a few weeks back if she could buy a Christmas present for Zane. It was so cute and she totally brought it up all on her own. That we thought it would be fun to make a new tradition of each year the kids buying a gift for each other. 

Also this year we're going on a horse drawn carriage ride together. This is something I think is such a cool idea and neat experience for them. 

What are some of your family Christmas traditions? I'd love to hear about them, tell me in the comments below! 

A Holiday Gift Exchange Party

This time of year really is so special, and as the year comes to an end it's a great time to reflect on the year and be thankful. I haven't ever hosted a holiday party in our home since we bought our house. This year I wanted to do something special for my girlfriends, so I decided to host a gift exchange party and invite some friends to celebrate the season & reflect on God's goodness in our lives. 

I gave each of them some small gifts that represented a part of myself and had them waiting under my tree when they arrived. See what I gave them at the bottom of the post & enter to win what's inside! 

We had light appetizers & desserts. I also set up a coffee and cocoa bar for my guests. 

A party isn't a party with out some cupcakes! I made the cupcake flags using the flag dies from Lifestyle Crafts.  You can buy them here. Use code WORLEYHOUSE for 20% off. 

I asked each of my guests to bring gifts to exchange as well with the other guests. I placed them all on my dining table displayed on cake plates and platters. They each got a few "golden tickets" to go around the table and choose a gift. Once they chose a gift they left their ticket on the plate. This idea was inspired by @jennycookies adorable couples holiday party. 

Drink flags made using this die, you can use the code to get 20% off on these as well. 

I had the best time hosting my first holiday party at my home. Having friends come over and share it made it all the more special. This night was an evening for me to express my deep appreciation for them in my life the last year and get to spoil them with a few gifts. 

Ready to see what was in those packages under the tree? Here's what I gave each of my friends that evening. A leather journal, personalized note cards, a coffee mug, and a notebook.

All mean something really special to me. 

A coffee mug, because DUH! Anyone who knows me absolutely knows I love my coffee.

A journal because I've been journaling since I was in 5th grade.

Note cards, because I love sending personalized notes to family and friends.

And a notebook to catch all those good ideas and remember things. I always have one in my purse. 

Jump on over to Instagram find me @andreamworley to enter to win all these goodies! Winner will be announced on Monday! 

Have a great weekend! 

Keeping Healthy During Cold & Flu Season with Young Living Essential Oils

I've mentioned before how I've been using essential oils this year. You an read more about that here.  Cold and flu season is upon us. 

I enjoy using essential oils for my family and have seen a difference sine using them. Today I want to share with you some ways using essential oils during this season.

One oil that I always love to have on hand is Thieves! If I could only have one oil to use for the rest of my days it would be this one! There's so many uses for it. I diffuse this regularly everyday. I also place it on the bottoms of my children's feet with a carrier oil (such as coconut oil) each day. 

Every morning we have a routine of oils and this is always in the mix. I especially love using it on the days my daughter goes to Pre-K. 

Lemon is also a favorite of mine. 

Another favorite of our family's is RC! It is calming and uplifting. We rub it on our kids chests with a carrier oil. 

I love using my diffuser and having it going while I'm making the kids breakfast in the mornings.

Using Young Living essential oils this year have been a life changer for us. If you're interested in learning more I'd love for you to email me andreaworley@live.com and I'd be happy to chat with you and give you more info! 

Young Living Oils are created by Gary Young. Don Gary Young wanted to share his dream with others by creating the best essential oil lines in the world. The benefits of essential oils can range from relaxation, stress relieving and overall wellness. Read the Essential Oils Guide here:http://www.youngliving.com/en_GB/discover/guide. 

This post is sponsored by Young Living Essential oils, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own! These statements are not endorsed by the FDA they are my own experiences based on my personal use and opinion.