Life on a Limb

School hasn’t started yet for my kids and we had reached our limit of being in the house together. Instead of killing each other we chose life and decided to head to the botanical garden. There we learned some life lessons through plants!

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Make Memories with Eckert’s

Hey guys,

So my little Tiago (Chee Chee Cruz) is turning 3 this weekend, and we are so excited. Last year we had a joint birthday party in June for him and Shiloh, because Shiloh’s birthday is in July. This year we decided on no parties because we will be traveling a lot, but we still wanted to do something fun and memorable. Guess What?! Strawberries are in at Eckert’s farm, and we will be taking Tiago strawberry picking for his birthday! Can I tell you how much this kid loves strawberries? Tiago is a very picky eater, but one thing he’ll never turn down is strawberries. He’s very excited about the idea!

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Making memories at Eckert’s farm has become a must for our family ever since Shiloh’s first trip at 6 months old to see the Easter Bunny.

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Eckert’s is one of the top attractions for families in St. Louis and for good reason! However, it’s the top attraction for my family. We’ve gone apple and pumpkin picking and enjoyed great food. We’ve had great fun on hay rides and watched our kids pet bunnies and chickens for the first time. Last summer we got to enjoy outdoor fun and music on the patio. We’re excited to create new memories this weekend. This will also be our sweet baby Hugo’s first time to the farm.

Eckert’s is not only a great family experience but it’s an educational one as well. I get to put my teacher hat on with my kids whenever we go pick our own food. My boys had so much fun apple picking and learning about how they grow. Their favorite part was getting to eat them right out in the field. This weekend is going to be a blast, and in addition, we are signing up for one of the Eckert’s Farm new membership packages. The great thing about the membership package is that you get unlimited field access, coupons, exclusive invites, and more!

To celebrate, I’m teaming up with Eckerts to give away one membership to Eckert’s Farms. You can have another chance to win by sharing a past Eckert’s memory and tagging #MakeMoreMemories @EckertFarms #Contest.

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You can also purchase a membership for 50% off on two days only: May 10th & 11th! All new members get a huge perk: access to Eckert’s Spring Social (Media Day), a free event open to members only where social media is highly encouraged and snacks, games, and entertainment provide hours of fun. The event takes place from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 11 – but don’t worry, you can hang out all day. Just be sure to arrive in that window to catch all the freebies!

 

From Time-Out to Time-In

How do you teaching a sassy two year old and four year old with sensory challenges to process their feelings all while gaining emotional intelligence? Check out my collaboration with Generation Mindful. We’re already seeing some pretty powerful results!

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Welcome Baby Hugo!

Hey guys, so our 3rd and final baby boy arrived 10 days ago on December 28th at 12:41 pm. He came in at a whopping 8lbs and was 20.5 inches long. We are so ecstatic and so in love with this littler person. His name is Hugo Parker DeShields.

We are so grateful for our family and friends who’ve swooped in and helped us navigate the 3 kid life as well as help me during my first week of healing. It is such a blessing to have nurses in the family. Nurses are the most selfless people.

Postpartum healing can be scary and overwhelming. In fact days after giving birth to our second son, Tiago, I found myself back in the hospital with postpartum preeclampsia. My blood pressure was stroke high and it was a pretty scary situation, but we made it!

A few days ago I felt similar symptoms of postpartum preeclampsia and Kenny and I decided not to wait but to go to the hospital. While we were explaining to Shiloh and Tiago why we had to go they both started to pray, “in the name of Jesus help mommy.” Then Tiago started singing This is How I Fight My Battles and Shiloh the bridge to Do It Again😭😭😭.

I’m happy to report that all my labs came back normal and we came home that night, but I just couldn’t stop thinking about how that was their initial reaction.

I just wanted to encourage parents that we don’t always think our kids are listening, watching, or behaving like we want them to, but in times like these you realize that what you’re instilling in them is actually materializing. So don’t give up. Keep at it. It’s truly a labor of love. Also don’t forsake the power of worship in your home. ❤️❤️❤️

Delmar United Friendsgiving

Merry Christmas Eve! Just a few weeks ago, My husband, Kenny DeShields, and I hosted the 1st Delmar United Friendsgiving – a gathering of residents, business owners, ministry and civic leaders from both sides of the historically divided #DelmarDivide to share a meal and discuss ways to impact our community. It was more than what we could’ve dreamed or imagined!

Special thanks to Armand Buford for capturing our heart and vision with beautiful visual storytelling.

Please share with your family and friends and let’s keep the conversation going.

“These Walls”

Written by: Ryan Musinski

Venue: ANEW

Partners: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri

Dinner provided by: Chef Ben Grupe

Dessert: SweetArt Bakeshop & Cafe

Coffee: La Cosecha Coffee Roasters

Brad Austin + Rachelle Austin

Third Degree Glass Factory

The Crossing

NCADA

Daryl Whittington

#WeAreDelmarUnited

#STL