christianity

Toddler girl wearing romper and rain boots by garden

Much Needed + Trash

Jimmy and I went on our first date since the onset of COVID restrictions! Whew did we need that time alone. My mother-in-law graciously watched Sadie for a few hours on Friday night while we went out to eat and walked around a few stores.

Toddler with rubber band bracelets

Sader Tot had a blast with her Grandma!

Of course with mostly came home with toys for Sadie (this animal set has been a big hit, as have these puffy stickers), but Jimmy also picked up spirograph and has been having a blast unwinding with it at night and reliving childhood memories. 

On Saturday we picked up trash! Our church gathered together and headed to a local park with a bike trail and picked up litter. 

Group of people picking up litter on trail

I was thinking that we have so much fun with our church family that it doesn’t really matter what we’re doing together.

Sometimes there are hard things, hard work, and hard times, but fellowshipping with our family in Christ makes it all so much better. It’s such a blessing to have a community of believers to spend time with and share our joys, hardships, and everyday life. There’s just nothing like it. 

Other happenings around the Zottola house lately:

  • I planted more mums to spruce up our front porch and literally every time I see them I smile.
  • We filmed another vlog and my favorite part is Sadie helping me plant the mums. 
  • We are on week two of homeschooling and loving it so far. 
  • Our garden is slowing down big time, with mostly tomatoes and peppers growing at this point (sad!). 

How about a few photos?

Mom and toddler smiling

Sadie is going to be two-years-old soon. She is growing and changing so much lately. I can’t wait to share her two year update.

Also, if you could say a prayer for her eye to heal, that would be so, so appreciated! I mentioned that she has a nasolacrimal duct obstruction and that we were trying eye drops for about a month before doing anything invasive.

Her eye hasn’t had any progress so we will be talking to her doctor at her yearly checkup later this month. I know the procedure to unblock the duct isn’t too bad, but who is excited for their child to go through that, you know? I watched a video of the procedure and totally shouldn’t have, LOL.

Purple and orange mums in a black planter

Here’s a look the mums I planted. It’s just a planter filled with happiness for me, haha. 

Toddler girl wearing romper and rain boots by garden

My little garden helper ❤

When we went to clean up litter on the bike trail on Saturday we brought Sadie’s trike along and she was so happy to be pushed around and stayed in it almost the whole time (<– miracle).

I totally thought it would be a disaster to bring a toddler to clean up litter, but she surprised and impressed me! 

Toddler girl riding Radio Flyer tricycle

Last but not least, our Niva girl has been loving the cooler weather lately. She stays outside longer when it’s below 60 degrees and just lays in the yard. It’s adorable and I’m excited to see how she likes the snow this winter.

I know I’ve mentioned it before, but she truly is great with Sadie and we are so incredibly thankful for that. Case in point, Sadie put Niva “night night” by piling her with pillows and a blanket and she just laid there like “okay, sure!” haha. 

Siberian husky with pillows and blankets

Alright, I am signing off here. We’ve got a busy day ahead. Sadie is going to be learning the color yellow today, I’ve got real estate work and some cooking to do, and I’m taking Sadie to her first chiropractor appointment (outside the womb, lol) this evening! 

What are your plans for the day?

Glad I Made Up My Mind

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to decorate indoors for fall or not but finally made up my mind and went for it! I’m so glad I did. The house feels cozy and it was a great creative challenge for me to decorate for the upcoming season without spending a lot of money in the process. 

I pulled out all sorts of decor–even items that aren’t traditionally decor like cake stands and banneton baskets. Once I got a feel for what I had, I made a quick run to Dollar Tree and grabbed a few floral items and a wreath frame and even collected some twigs in our yard to add to my wreath.

I also found pillow covers and a comfy throw blanket on Amazon (<– all for about $25 total!).  Lastly, I used a gift card I received for my birthday to Joann Fabric and purchased a beautiful metal leaf garland that was half off. I filmed the whole process, too, and the video is here. My favorite part is Sadie jabbering away at the beginning 😉

Here’s a few photos of how everything turned out!

Before and after fall decor on corner shelf

Fall decor with cake stands

Neutral fall decor

Before and after window fall decor

Fall lantern decorated in neutral colors with pumpkins and ribbonMetal leaf garland for fall from Joann Fabric

Fall wreath made from Dollar Tree fall decor

Couch decorated for fall with pillows and throw blanket

Grateful, Thankful, Blessed fall sign from Dollar Tree

In the vlog I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I shared this verse…

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8

How beautiful is that scripture? Our seasons may be changing and our world may feel chaotic at the moment, but Jesus remains the same forever ❤