Category: Faith

Two Months of Baby Phoenix During A Global Pandemic

On By Styld by GraceIn Faith, motherhood, Updates2 Comments

No one could’ve expected these crazy times, right? I’m sure you’re reading this while being home for quite some time. We’ve been staying home since baby Phoenix was born. He was born right before the nation closed due to COVID-19.

Being quarantined while having a newborn has been sweet. We’ve been able to savor every single moment and milestone. But I also have to be honest and admit that it has also been very difficult, as we’ve had to be away from our tribe.

The birth of Phoenix was supposed to be the culmination of a really long and difficult season. We were looking forward to being with family, friends, and enjoying life with our new baby. There’s a bit (actually a lot) of sadness in my heart. What we are living is far from what I had hoped for and envisioned for this season.

I know I’m not the only person who’s experiencing loss during this crisis. And I want to say that our loss is legit. And it’s totally ok to process it. There’s many dreams, plans, and expectations that have been put on hold. And all we hear about is death, stressful statistics, and the pressure to “flatten the curve”.

Despite the loss and pain that we are feeling during this time, we must lean into the voice of truth: God’s word and His promises. On Palm Sunday, as we had church from home, while holding onto our miracle baby, God reminded me of something.

A year ago during this time we were starting IVF. We had NO IDEA if it would work. It was a complete leap of faith. But we beat the odds and have a healthy baby boy in our arms. Even though this season doesn’t look and feel anything like what I hoped it would, I am literally HOLDING living proof of God’s faithfulness.

When I see Phoenix, I see God’s faithfulness. Every day I struggle with fear of what could happen to him. We waited so long, went through such physical and mental hardship, and endured lots of heartache to have him. Anxiety sometimes is inevitable for me. But I remember that he was an impossibility at one point. And somehow, God made a way. His faithfulness saw us through.

As we continue to move forward during these trying times, let’s remember to focus on God’s unfailing love and faithfulness.

What are you HOLDING in your life as living proof of God’s faithfulness today? During really hard moments, return to those and be encouraged that God’s faithfulness is always with you.

And on that note, I’d love to share some baby milestones we are celebrating as Phoenix turns two months.

Month Two of Baby Phoenix:
• He loves music and singing with mommy
• He is smiling more and has the cutest dimple by his chin
• He is outgrowing some of his newborn clothes (bittersweet feeling)
• He is starting to hold his bottle
• He can get his arms out of his swaddle
• He has a fiery personality and the name Phoenix fits him very well 😉

Desert Theme Baby Shower for Baby Phoenix

On By Styld by GraceIn Design, DIY, Faith, Home Decor2 Comments

I’m FINALLY getting to posting pictures of my baby shower, which was a MONTH ago. WOW! Time flies. I’m officially in the “nesting” season but I wanted to be faithful in documenting this miracle’s life.

We decided to have a desert themed baby shower to pay homage to our baby’s name–Phoenix 😉

This day was definitely one I had been dreaming about for a long time.

Actually, I’ve always kinda hated how corny baby showers can be.

But once the desire to have a baby starting growing and then going through a season of infertility, a baby shower become symbolic of a dream becoming a reality.

So life was all about finding cacti for a few months. And I’m STILL subconsciously looking for succulents and cacti without realizing it lol.

We looked for things on amazon, warehouses, Hobby Lobby and Michaels.

We also used a lot of things we already owned and repurposed them.

The books used to add height to decor were library books that we wrapped up with packing paper.

My favorite piece of decor was the cactus we found at Hobby Lobby. It’s the cutest thing ever!

I am incredibly grateful for my family who helped pull this off and made this day extra special.

Special shout out to my sisters and a couple of my closest girlfriends who went the extra mile to celebrate this day!

I’m incredibly grateful for the friends and family in my life who have held me up, encouraged me, and given me so much love in this whole journey.

This baby is loved and cherished so much and that makes this mama beam with joy and pride.

The best part of the entire day was opening gifts with my hubby. He is the best daddy ever already. And I was overjoyed to be experiencing this moment with him. WE ARE GONNA BE PARENTS! HOLY MOLY!

I hope you enjoyed seeing this miracle literally in motion. And I hope this encourages you to see GOD’S faithfulness and to be hopeful in the waiting. And if anything, maybe you found some party decor inspo while you were here 😉

Some funny things that will make us NEVER forget this day:
1. I strolled into the baby shower late without notice, very casually, and so we re-enacted my entrance to be silly.
2. A few of my family members got a stomach bug right after the baby shower and were sick for a couple of days. Surprisingly, I do not get sick.
3. We had tacos for lunch at the baby shower. They were delicious and a major hit!

Kick-Start 2020 With Inspirational Mobile & Desktop Wallpapers

On By Styld by GraceIn Design, FaithLeave a comment

We all need a little inspiration and a little push to get started with our new goals and plans. These wallpapers are meant to help you remember that you CAN do all things through Him who gives you strength.

They’re simple little reminders in pretty, feminine colors, that are easy to look at. I know every time you see them you’ll be encouraged to take the next best step forward.

To download the wallpapers, long press or right click on the images below.

These wallpapers are for personal use only and copyright Styld by Grace. Any redistribution, commercial use, and sale of these wallpapers is strictly prohibited.

Give Thanks With This 5 Days Of Thanksgiving Reflections Download

On By Styld by GraceIn Design, DIY, Faith, Home Decor4 Comments

This Thanksgiving why don’t we take time to get back to the true purpose of Thanksgiving? Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE all the food and festivities. But it always feels right to focus on truly being thankful.

A genuine heart of worship and thanks can make all the difference during the next few days that will undoubtedly be busy and chaotic.

Give thanks with this 5 days of Thanksgiving Reflections Download that I created so we could pray, reflect, and kick-off this holiday season with a thankful heart.

There’s also a simple and beautiful Gratitude List that comes with the download. You can pass them out to guests at your Thanksgiving parties or fill it out with your family at the dinner table.

Download and printing instructions:

1. Download The 5 Days of Thanksgiving Reflections here

2. Print download on 8.5×11″ card stock paper

3. Once printed, cut each page in half

4. Each 8.5×11″ page should generate two separate 8.5×5.5” pages. One page should be a Day X page and the other page should be a Reflection & Prayer page (the last page ends with the Gratitude List).

5. Organize the download by placing the cover page on the front then ordering the rest of the pages from Day 1 to Day 5. Make sure there is a Reflection & Prayer page between each Day. The last page should be the Gratitude List.

Hope this download brings you closer to your family, friends, and Jesus. Happy Thanksgiving!

This freebie is for personal use only and copyright Styld by Grace. Any redistribution, commercial use, and sale of this freebie is strictly prohibited.

I’m Anti-Gender Reveal Parties and I Still Had One – Here’s Why

On By Styld by GraceIn Faith, Marriage, RelationshipsLeave a comment

This past weekend was pretty emotional! This was the first time real tears of excitement and joy were shed. Post IVF and a positive pregnancy test, you’d think that immediate joy would settle in but to my surprise, it didn’t.

I was still struggling with lots of fear and worry. I was trying to get through a very hard season while finding joy. I felt grateful yet sad. And guilt was really starting to settling in.

There were moments that I asked God why this ongoing feeling of sadness kept lingering. Different things would trigger it. And I found that I’m not the only IVF patient who’s felt the same way as I asked other women who had gone through it too. Up until this point I had to be cautiously optimistic. And it was hard to switch from that to joy in a matter of a day. It’s almost like I had to rewire your brain.

The biggest hurdle after getting a positive pregnancy result was continuing to take injections. I saw other mamas-to-be and inevitably compared my journey with theirs. I was heartbroken that I couldn’t just move on from the medicine and the physical pain.

I told my husband, “I’m so thankful but this is still hard for me to get through. I’m still experiencing the loss of what could’ve been”. That night I prayed and asked God to help my heart find joy. To help my heart and body heal. I knew that he could heal the hurt, the loss, and the physical toll my body had gone through.

In the morning, I woke up and said to myself, “We’re going to have a gender reveal party”. Now, I’ve never liked gender reveal parties. I’ve always thought they were corny and unnecessary. That’s what baby showers are for, right? Well something in me told me that I had to start celebrating even in the midst of feeling blue. I had to receive God’s joy by doing the sacred act of celebrating.

Advice: never say never. Life changes every minute. We change as people. And what one day we thought we’d never do, maybe that’s the very thing we need to do to move forward. In this case, it was a cheesy gender reveal party.

The best part was sharing this with our family. They have been just as invested in seeing this miracle happen as us. They have prayed, supported, and been there for the hardest days. In the end, we are so happy we did this party with them.

Plus, we got to eat some pretty delicious food and satisfy our sweet tooth with a mini candy bar. Everything was budget friendly yet fun and pretty. Shoutout to Five Below and the Dollar Store 😉

Five months have passed since we found out we were becoming parents. And even though there are still days that I struggle with this infertility journey, I’ve gotta say that God has truly turned my mourning into dancing (as you can see from the pictures). He has taken care of my heart and is healing it more and more each day.

We are ecstatic to be having a baby boy! My father-in-love is the only one of his brothers who had a son. And Edward, my hubby, is the only son who is having a son to carry the Palma name! God is faithful!

To my son, Phoenix Palma, we love you. You already fill our hearts with a joy that’s unexplainable. Your life is marked by godly legacy. And your name expresses exactly who you are: rising from the ashes, renewal of life, and uniquely remarkable. To us and to so many people, you are uniquely remarkable–our first miracle baby. Te amo, mi bebe!