Jess Foreman

at 5/04/2013

at 4/28/2013

at 4/01/2013

at 3/26/2013

This is Liv's second Easter, but it's her first one where she is old enough to enjoy more of this amazing holiday! I absolutely cannot wait until she is old enough for me to teach her about the true meaning of Easter and the importance of Jesus' resurrection from the grave!

I wanted to share a few goodies that will be in Liv's Easter basket this year:

1. Easter Basket and liner It's on sale at Pottery Barn! I wanted to get a basket that would be big enough and would last for her to use every year!

2. The Velveteen Rabbit No book collection is complete without this classic! I actually found it as a board book which is great because Liv loves to rip pages out of books :( This book sells out fast so get it while you can!

3. I am so obsessed with ombre! I got the cutest ombre plastic glitter eggs from Target for $5. They aren't online anymore so I couldn't get a real picture but they are still in stores!

4. Pat the Bunny This book is a weird one but Liv really loves any books that involve her senses! It is so funny reading all of these classics as an adult now... some of them are so strange I don't remember why I loved them so much! Anyone else feel the same way? Case in point: Goodnight Moon

5. Bunny Lovie Blanket Liv LOVES stuffed animals! She calls them her "Be-bes" This one is so soft and comes in other animals!

6. God Gave us Easter Another great board book that teaches the true meaning of Easter... never too early to teach that!

7. 101 Piece Cookie Cutter Set Ok I know this one seems kind of odd but a good friend of mine suggested these because they help to make food fun by creating these fun shapes... plus Liv will love playing with these straight out of the bucket for sure!

Now onto the attire:

Got the dress several weeks ago at Target and I cannot wait to see Liv in it!

Shoes are from Old Navy

This is Liv's second Easter, but it's her first one where she is old enough to enjoy more of this amazing holiday! I absolutely can...

at 3/20/2013

Thank you to everyone who has responded to my previous posts on marriage. All of your comments have been so encouraging and it makes me excited to continue to write about ways that you can enrich your marriage and make it everything God intended it to be.

If you haven't had a chance to read my previous posts check them out here:
Marriage Matters Part 1
Marriage Matters Part 2
Keeping Your Marriage Shiny and New
Opposites Attract
Celebrate Your Love

Something that has been on my heart a lot lately is just how much our modern day culture has negatively impacted marriage. The current culture has bred a generation that lacks the desire for commitment and healthy communication. In turn, it has become one that strives for instant gratification in all things and minimal intimacy. This iPhone generation, with an infinite amount of entertainment at our fingertips, is probably the most bored generation of all time.

Why is that?!?

Because we are over stimulated and have trained our brains to not sit idle... EVER! Meaning if there is a spare 2 seconds where we have nothing to do, we will (without even thinking about it) get on our phones to check our email, facebook newsfeed, twitter, instagram, play a game or two, and do anything to make the red number in the top right corner of an app go away.

How does this affect marriage you might be wondering?

If we are training ourselves to be impulsive, impatient, compulsive and chronically bored this will most definitely impact our relationships. Communication has become two dimensional and surface level which can rob a marriage relationship of intimacy and depth.

When the internet was introduced in the 1990s, the thought process behind it was that we would finally have more time to spend with our families. Being able to send an email from home was supposed to make our lives more efficient and therefore freeing up more time for the people that really mattered!

However, quite the opposite has happened. We have become a generation that doesn't know how to unplug. We are so readily available to anybody and everybody that we are becoming less available to our closest relationships that should be our priority.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

1. When you are alone with your spouse, how much are each of you on your phones?

2. Is your spouse finding out things about you and your day through social media?

Example: tweeting to the world how you are feeling before you have even had a chance to express it to your spouse?

3. Are you turning to social media for self-worth or attention?

Example: Your joy is directly related to the number of likes or comments on a post.

1. Set healthy boundaries with technology in your family... STARTING TODAY!

Things like no phones at the dinner table or in the bedroom. It makes me sad when I look over at another table at a restaurant where every member of the family is on their smart phones sitting in silence, mesmerized by whatever flickering image or status update is before them. PS. My family is guilty of this too so this is a big challenge for us as well!

2. Fast from your phone at least one day a week! Jarryd and I try to do this on Fridays because this is our Sabbath and date night. We are both off on Fridays so fasting from our phones helps us to be more intentional in spending quality time together.

Interesting fact: There is evidence of a huge baby boom from Hurricane Sandy and some experts are attributing it to the blackouts that prevented couples from being on their phones! Is this sad to anyone else?!? Babies were made because couples finally looked up from their glowing screens only to remember that they had a spouse...

"Oh hey... I remember you... Want to make out?"

Ok so maybe that is an exaggeration of the possible dialogue that took place but I wouldn't be surprised if it did!

Thank you to everyone who has responded to my previous posts on marriage. All of your comments have been so encouraging and it makes me...

at 3/10/2013

It's been a while since I have shared some of my favorite things that make being a new mommy just a little bit easier!

1. Homedics Cool Mist Humidifier with built-in Soundspa A noisemaker that runs through the night has been a life saver! The week we started to use this Liv slept all through the night at 10 weeks old! This has prevented her from waking up on nights that we have company over or a loud storm rolls through! We only use the humidifier when she is sick but it is awesome too!

2. Summer Infant Tiny Diner Now that Liv is eating all solid foods our life has gotten a whole lot messier but also infinitely cuter! This rubber placemat rolls up and goes with us everywhere! It makes dining out at restaurants so much easier. It catches all of Liv's food and helps keep her food off of the dirty restaurant tables.

Liv is always an entertaining hit at Chipotle!

3. Sassy Teether Feeder This is the most genius invention! When liv was learning to eat solid foods but wasn't quite ready to eat things like grapes or tangerines whole this little baby was the best! You simply put the fruit in the mesh bag and baby is able to bite and chew on the fruit without the risk of choking but all the benefits of nutritious fruit!

It was a bit messy so nakedness was usually necessary!

4. BabyGanics Hand and Face Wipes I never leave home without these! They are great at cleaning Liv's hands and face but also they are super gentle on her sensitive skin. One other perk... they are very affordable! You can find them at Target, Buy Buy Baby, and Babies R Us.

5. Hyland's Teething Tablets I am a big advocate of ONLY giving Liv medicine like baby Motrin or Tylenol when it is absolutely necessary... that's why I love these! They are completely natural and homeopathic but are powerful at relieving Liv's pain when she is teething! They start doing the trick right after we give them to her!

6. Earth's Best Organic Toothpaste in Apple Pear As soon as those first two pearly whites popped up in her sweet little mouth we began using this training toothpaste to get Liv used to having her teeth brushed. The apple pear flavor definitely made her fall in love with oral hygiene.

7. Baby Touch and Feel Quack! Quack! Book Liv probably makes us read this book dozen's of times in a day! She loves any book that involves her senses like touch and hearing. This book is great because it is short for her attention span but engaging for her inquisitive mind! Plus she loves it when Mommy and Daddy look ridiculous acting out the animal sounds! What is your kiddo's favorite book?

8. Shopping Cart Cover This one is for my fellow germaphobes out there! A cover for the shopping cart can protect your little one from picking up yucky germs that are most definitely infesting commonly touched surfaces like a shopping cart! I blame my toxicology class at Texas A&M for permanently scaring me with this obsession to avoid germs!

9. Keurig Last but certainly not least... the Keurig coffee brewing system! You might be wondering... what this is doing on a list filled with baby products?!? I would venture to say this one might be one of the most important! ;) If you are coffee lover like I am, you know how much more this love grows once the introduction of a sleep depriving baby comes into your life. Caffeine takes on a whole new meaning! This beautiful invention makes an incredible cup of coffee instantly and WITH NO CLEAN UP! I recommend it for EVERY NEW PARENT OUT THERE! I think places like Babies R Us should start selling it so people can add it to their baby registry list!

Feel free to share what your favorite baby products are!

It's been a while since I have shared some of my favorite things that make being a new mommy just a little bit easier! 1. Homed...