Basket for the Bubba

I love Easter!

HE'S ALIVE! He is RISEN!!

I love Easter Sunday! As a Christian, it shows us that Jesus is who he says He is. He died for our sins and rose from the dead 3 days later! [ and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom 1:4 ]

I love rejoicing about this. I love all of those old school songs that the Hall brothers and Tim Johnson used to sing... "Watch the Lamb" and "Arise My Love" 

[They don't make 'em like that anymore]

I also love the commercial side of Easter. Easter Baskets and that darn Bunny! I am excited for Fisher to get to do the Easter Egg Hunt at his MiMi and Pops house with his cousins. I am excited to give him his Easter basket.

 I figured at this point you would all want to know what I am going to put in his Easter Basket. So here you go:

1. Thomas the Train Bubbles

    What soon-to-be 2 year old wouldn't love this combination? Bubbles and Thomas!

2. A JELLYCAT! [My his favorite stuffed animal brand]

    Fisher is getting the lamb this year

3. A Bunny Book

4. Tractors [So Easter-y]

5. Treats!

 

So there you have it! If you don't have anywhere to go on Easter- Come with us. Maybe Fisher will share some of his new treats with you. 

Favorite Things: Beauty Addition

YOU ASKED FOR IT!
 

[Not really, no one asked for it... that's just how these sort of things usually start].

 

I decided that since Oprah wasn't doing her "Favorite Things" shows anymore, my blog was the next best thing. I wanted to share some of my favorite "Beauty Products for a Girl on a Budget". I sort of have a thing for new/fun beauty products, and these are some of my favorites I've found.

1. Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner-
    I have tried quite a few different eye liners. I hate when they smudge or get "goop" in my eye. This one has been my favorite for the past 2 years. It is a little more expensive than just the regular kind you can find at CVS, but it lasts me a long time! And they have fun colors if you are in to that sort of thing :) [$16.00 at Sephora or online]

2. Suave Dry Shampoo-
     For the 2nd [or third ;)] day of not washing your hair...There are many different dry shampoos out on the market, and this inexpensive Suave kind has been good to me. It smells good and does the trick. [$4.00 at drugstore]

 

3. Essie Chincilly Nail Polish-

    This is my favorite nail polish and color. Its neutral and fun, especially for the fall. I like Essie brand alot too. Its a little more expensive than just a regular ole nail poish, but it also lasts longer and goes on smoother.

 [$6.50 at drugstores or any beauty store. ]

 

 



 

4. Curls Rock Curl Amplifier-

      Having curly hair, you gotta have the right product! This is what works for my hair. Its a cream/paste and you need less than a dime size amount. I put it in my hair wet, and then dry it with a diffuser. It is also a little more expensive than just your typical mouse or gel, but lasts for a while. [$12.00 at Target or drugstore]

 

5. Hair Dryer with Diffuser-

    If you have some curl in your hair, a diffuser will bring it out a lot more! It will dry your curls more defined and you won't have as much frizz.  You don't need anything fancy, and a lot of hair dryers come with one.

6. Maybeline Baby Lips-

    I'm not really a lip stick kind of girl, but i'm all about lip gloss with some color. This is sort of like a chapstick with a tint. And it is not sticky on your lips. [$3.00 at walmart or drugstore]

 

 7. Turbie Twist-
     Seriously, this is not a joke. My mother in law gave me this one Christmas and I didn't realize how much I would use it. Especially now that I am a mom and sometimes can't dry my hair right away, I just put it in the good ole turbie and let it dry a lot on its own. I put my hair product in and then wrap it up. When I take it down, alot of the water has been absorbed and my hair dries much faster! And look, this girl even went the extra mile and got hers monogrammed :)
[2 pack for $10.00 on Amazon]

 

8. Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion-
    This is nothing fancy, but it works great for me. I have dry skin, and this is the lotion i've found that works the best for a good price. [$10.00 at Target or Walmart]

 

9. True Blue Cracked Heel Treatment-

      One thing I inherited from my mother was her cracked heels. Thank you mom. Anyways, this has been my favorite lotion/creme so far that has worked really well. I put it on at night with socks [if you must know]. This Cracked Heel Treatment has glycolic acid, which helps to break down any dead skin (it's also used a lot in facial products). [$15.00 at Bath and Body Works, but they are always having sales]

 

10. BirchBox Monthly Subscription-

      So this isn't really a product, but its a monthly beauty subscription that you sign up for and you get samples of new products every month! Sometimes the samples are actual normal size [this is where I found the eyeliner, it was sent to me one month and I loved it]. You can sign up for 3 months, 6 months, or a year. My sisters got this for me for my birthday one year and it was the gift that kept on giving. Every month I got a delivery that came in the cutest box full of fun beauty products to try.  If you are looking for a birthday or Christmas gift, this is a good one! They have a mens box too!

 [$30, $60 or $110 at birchbox.com]

There you go! I hope you enjoyed some of my favorite things!

 

 

Disclaimer:
a. These are things that work well for me, but for someone with different texture hair or skin, they may work differently! Don't be mad if you buy it and hate it!
b. None of these products have paid me to talk about them... but maybe they should ;)

Ready to Pop

I am ready to have this baby boy! Mostly just excited to see what he's like and anxious to know when it is going to happen. I am 2 days away from being 38 weeks pregnant. It really could happen anytime now! Mike sent me a text the other day saying "We are having a baby!" haha... I think its finally hitting him that our life is about to change. He is really excited too. He is so good with every baby he's ever held, I told him yesterday he better have that charm with our baby!

Up until 36 weeks, our little guy was breech. I was nervous we were going to have to do something about that, so I started googling "How to flip a breech baby". Well their are lots of fun things you get to try. One of them is doing flips and handstands in a pool. Yep, this 8 month pregnant woman found a pool and did some flips! I also did some at the lake with my girl friends... what a sight!
I also put peppermint oil on the top of my belly given to me by my mother in law. He became very active after I put that on! Who knows what really flipped him- but he did flip! He is in the right position for birth- so now, we wait!

He is going to be a good boy. And a sweet, cuddly boy (please Lord!)

Snakes and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

         Mike and I found out in November that we were going to have a baby! I was wondering why I was so tired and unmotivated to unpack our stuff into our new house that we had moved into in October. I didn't feel so bad for being lazy once I found out I was pregnant!

        We were/and are so excited for this miracle the Lord has chosen to bless us with! I have not been that sick, and it has actually been a pretty good pregnancy so far.. going by really fast!

       We were able to find out in February if we are having a boy or girl. I assumed it was a girl, since that's all my sisters have had so far. People kept saying "Those Corley girls can only have girls"... But Mike and I would be happy with either! He is really great with my nieces, so I thought he would be a a sweet dad to a girl-- but then I thought of all the manly stuff Mike likes (fishing, guns, cars...) that he would be an awesome Dad to a boy too!

          We went to my 20 week ultra sound on February 14th (fun valentines date) and saw our baby! We had the ultra sound tech tell us to look away when she was going to find out the sex of the baby (not that I would have really been able to tell anyways! I never know what I am looking at!). Then she wrote it down on a piece of paper and put it in an envelope. Later that day we took the envelope and a big box to Party City and asked them if they would fill the box with the appropriate color balloons with whatever the card said (pink for girl, blue for boy). We went back the next day and picked up the sealed box! Mike was SO anxious to find out. He just kept saying "I just can't believe the party city people know what we are having before we do!"

         That night we had a party at my dad's house with our families and a few close friends. We had everyone wear a picture of me when I was little if they thought it was a girl, or a picture of Mike as a kid if they thought it was a boy. Most people picked boy, but it was pretty even.

 

 Madison was REALLY hoping for a boy!

Dad thought boy too!

Mike's Mom voted boy!

Cyndee and Dad

 

So now it was time to reveal! It was really fun that NO ONE in the room knew what color balloons were going to fly out of that box! I honestly just KNEW they were going to be pink. Boy was I surprised! Here is a video of us opening the box!

 

 

So as you can see, I was very surprised! It is fun to be able to have the first boy in the Corley family grandkids! And on the Zylstra side, it will be the first grandchild!

 

 

Anways, it was just the most fun night! We have narrowed our baby names down to a couple, but are planning on keeping that a surprise! We might not even know forsure until we go to the hospital! We are due July 4th! So get those fireworks ready!

 

 

5 Years Later...

It's My Jobiversary!
Yes, 5 years ago this month I was just a pup and hired to work on such a fun team at Southside Fellowship. For some reason, Chris Armfield saw potential in me and took me under his wing and showed me what it looked like to care for people in ministry and taught me so much even about myself that I never saw.
I have changed a lot in the past 5 years, learning more about who I am in Christ and what it looks like to work as a team (even when you don't always get along or love everyone else's ideas). Being part of this team honestly prepared me for marriage...Having so much fun together- but also pointing things out in one another that spurs you on to be better... even though it doesnt always feel good.

 

 

Our team has changed a couple times over the years, added new ones and lost others. But the Lord has helped us adapt, and each person that has been part of this team has taught me more about the love of the Father. It is funny to look back and see how much we all have changed... physically and also where we are in our lives!

In 5 years I have been on over 35 mission trips and retreats with students, waited on the side of the road as buses have broken down, driven a van of 13 HS students through the terrain of Costa Rica, hiked a few mountains,  hosted many talent shows, news casts and red carpet interviews with my co-host Josh Amos. Have had to go on zip lines, slip n' slides and horse back rides. Told girls to change their shorts... (unless I can talk Jes into being the bad cop). Slept on many bunk beds and eaten lots of camp food.

I've gotten attached to many volunteers, and even flirted with some that would one day became my husband. (this pic is after the messy slip n' slide).

My heart has been connected to many girls over the years. Cried with them and walked through hard times with them (some things I never even knew existed!). Learned alot about being a parent (I hope I remember once I am a mom). I've felt burdened in ways I can't even describe for people and rejoiced with many after breakthroughs have happened. The Holy Spirit has given me words when I had no clue what to say. These girls have helped me rely on the Lord more than anything.  Our hearts have been knit together.
 

 

 

What a journey! Thank you to everyone who has impacted me through having this "job".

 

 

 

Kate Caught a Fish!

 

We took Kate fishing a couple of months ago when she was over at our house. Mike had gotten her a pink Disney princess pole. She loved it. He taught her how to cast and reel in the line. She got excited everytime she reeled it in because she thought the lure on the end of her line was a real fish! She would say "I caught one". This time, I looked over at her and she was really struggling reeling in the line, it was hard for her. That's when we realized she had a real fish on there!

Mike helps her get it in, but then she wants nothing to do with it. I think its the cutest video!

Wedding Pictures

Here are some of our professional wedding pictures taken by The Mondays . They were so creative and fun, and I think our pictures are awesome. It captures how much fun the day was!

Me and my dad. I wore the same garter that my mom did on their wedding day!

I saw these huge balloons in a magazine and decided it would be fun to have them at our wedding :)

Me and my brother, then me and my sisters! I am so glad they could all be in our wedding. They are all my best friends.

Our Families!