Pure Joy

art case birthday gift

2012-02-11T10:00:00.000-06:00

Well hello there friends! It's been a while hey? Can't believe it is the second weekend in February already.

Well, since Valentine's Day is next week I probably should be showing you the really cool craft that Naomi made for her little classmates but it really didn't turn out that well. We punched hearts into paint sample strips and then she wrote their name on the front and on a piece of construction paper of the same size she wrote her name for the back. The problem came when I laminated the bookmarks...the lamination didn't really stick and they just look a little chintzy. But I don't think the 4 and 5 year olds will be too concerned...plus, I added in a pencil and a box of conversation hearts just to make sure Naomi wasn't pegged as "the girl who gave lame valentines" (like they do that in 4K anyway). I'm so self conscious even as a mother that I want to make sure my kid gives cool valentines. Yikes. Maybe I need some therapy!

Well, onto the real post! Naomi got invited to a birthday party on Super Bowl Sunday at the local bounce house place. This was a party for a little girl in her class that I'd never met. She was so excited and I was feeling well, strapped for cash, self-conscious (was I going to have to stay at the party and mingle with people I didn't even know?), and just plain intimidated. I decided that her little friend would get a handmade gift and I would quit making excuses. Because dangit, it was gonna be cute and functional.

I was browsing my saved tutorials on my hard drive when I came across this art case. I knew I didn't have the quilted fabric that it called for so I improvised and just used regular cotton with a little fusible interfacing to make it a little more sturdy. Other than that, the only thing I did differently was sew it right sides together and turn it out. I had a hard time with attaching the handles and sewing the sides shut because my machine only likes to stitch through two layers of fabric at a time but four needles later the job was finished. And I think it came out pretty good and I think Naomi's little friend was happy with the gift. Anyway, I think this will be a good go-to gift that I can easily (minus four needles) make that is a pretty neat and functional gift. Naomi kept telling her friend "You can even take it to church with you" -my little evangelist!

The party was great and yes I did mingle with some of the other mothers and actually had a good time. Little ol introvert, self-conscious me had a good time. yup!

And if you haven't checked out Carrie at This Mama Makes Stuff you REALLY need to. She has TONS of great tutorials and refashions and just great sewing advice and tips! Go check her blog out...and tell her I sent you!

head over to jtphoto.org to see what's new!

2012-01-15T23:15:00.001-06:00

Yes, I know my blog needs some love. But....I've been busy. I've got a week worth of my Handmade Christmas projects lined up on my photography blog. Come on over and check them out!

I've got some more videos to add here, but I've got other more important things to do first, like sleep, clean, organize, play with kids, etc, etc, etc. But really, I will be updating my other blog lots this week!

baby steps

2011-12-13T06:00:00.000-06:00

Greg and I sat down with Hannah last night and tried to get her to walk a little more and be brave. We got her taking a few more steps...then I grabbed the camera and was able to catch this little video of her walking to get something! So cute! So, I guess she'll do some more practicing and then she'll be on her own! Maybe even before Christmas!!!

Butt scootin boogie

2011-12-10T06:00:00.000-06:00

I was talking to a friend at church on Wednesday night while Hannah scooted around in the background. She then asked me if I had any video of Hannah scooting around because when I'm 100 I'm going to want to remember that little scoot. I told her that I think I took video of the little scoot the other day but hadn't uploaded it to my computer yet. Well, I finally did upload the video to my computer and tried to get the video to load to facebook...but it wouldn't and that's okay. I think I'd rather have it here on my blog anyway. So, here's a little video of one of Hannah's favorite ways of getting around.

She's starting to get more brave and stands up in the middle of the room randomly now...but still no real walking. She's taking her sweet time...and I'm okay with that!!!

away in a manger

2011-12-10T05:30:00.000-06:00

We have the coolest kids. Greg and I say that on a regular basis. But seriously they are pretty awesome. They're hilarious, caring, thoughtful, loud, mischevious, entertaining and just down right sweet. The other day Naomi and Micah were singing Away in a Manger and the first time Micah sang it like this "Olivia no crib for a bed. The stars in the sky. The little Lord Jesus shut the door." Crazy kid. Then I asked him to sing it again and he sang the first verse perfectly. I asked him if he knew any of the other verses and he just said, "nope, I only know one" He does know parts of the other verses but he just needs someone to sing with him. I cannot wait for the Christmas program on Sunday, should be good.

Here's Micah singing Away in a Manger!!

Naomi wanted in on the video action too so here she is singing Away in a Manger. I asked her what other songs she has to sing for the Christmas program and she told me "Silent Night" and "Joy to the World" I asked her if she wanted to practice with me and she said "No mom, that's why we have practice on Saturday"....so I guess I'll leave it to the professionals (aka, the sunday school teachers).

Gifts for yourself

2011-12-08T15:00:00.000-06:00

Today is the last day of the 12 crafts for Christmas hosted by The Trendy Treehouse! Here's my last post!

We all know that Christmas is a time of giving. A time when we remember the greatest gift ever given, the gift of Jesus in flesh. The gift of salvation brought to life. We give gifts because we've already received the greatest gift ever to be given. We give gifts to everyone in our lives, kids, parents, teachers, postal workers, but is it wrong to give a gift to yourself? I don't think so. So often we as mothers give give and give some more that sometimes it's nice and actually IMPORTANT to give a little to ourselves.

Maybe your gift to yourself this year will be laying off the mommy guilt. Maybe you'll give yourself permission to fail, to not be the "perfect" wife, mom, etc because we all know that person doesn't exist. Maybe you'll give yourself 10 extra minutes of peace and quiet by setting the alarm. Maybe you're going to give yourself energy by exercising a little more regularly. Maybe you're going to give yourself time by setting a timer for "extra" things like tv shows or computer time so you don't get sucked ALL the way in, but then you'll have the time to do the things you want and need to do. Maybe you'll give yourself time to craft things for YOU! I plan on doing ALL of these things.

Maybe your gift to yourself will be more a material object. Those are nice too. My husband and I do the St. Nicholas thing with our kids (but not Santa) since he was a real man who gave to the poor and needy. But who fills my stocking...me! So, this year I didn't give myself anything. But that's becuse I didn't have any small gift that I really wanted...and I am still working on gifts for others so I haven't gotten around to my own crafting yet...but I will. I will make myself some pajama pants and I will make myself a clothespin people wall hanging.

What are you going to give to yourself?

If you're still looking for the perfect gift some someone on your list come on over to my etsy store and see what I've got that might help you check off another name!

Hannah's room featured!

2011-12-06T23:53:00.001-06:00

Hannah's room is featured over at Baby Lifestyles! I was so excited when they contacted me about featuring her room. This room is a labor of love, making everything myself (or as much as possible) and keeping the budget at a minimum, and totally worth it!

Christmas Crafting with the kids

2011-12-03T08:00:00.000-06:00

We got our first snow here in West Tennessee early this week. My kids were so excited. This is really the first time that they've experienced a real snow fall. When we lived in Texas it snowed about 1/4 of an inch in February of this year and it only stuck to the driveway (so that's where they made their snow angels). So, they were super excited. They played outside in the snow...got cold...came in and had hot chocolate. We've also been doing some more crafting and Christmas crafting in particular. My kids love to do "projects", and ask to do them all the time. I figured it was time I start actually doing some of the things that I pin on my pinterest board...so we got out the construction paper and got to work!

The first thing we made was a Christmas Tree ring Advent calendar from Make and Takes. Naomi was able to do this pretty well on her own, I just had to tell her where to put the next ring, however I had to help Micah with it quite a bit.

Then I decided to cut out their handprints and make a wreath. My mom used to make a big Christmas tree with her second grade classes handprints. I'm sure this wreath has been done before and is nothing new but it was fun to make and it'll be fun to see how their handprints grow over the years. So, I just traced their hands on one piece of paper and then cut six out at a time. Then you just curl the fingers in a bit and then I glued them to a cardboard cereal box circle.

Glue them around the circle and keep layering them until the wreath looks full. Then I just glued some red circles around and covered the middle with a big red circle and as you can see wrote "merry christmas" on the circle to cover up the ends of the hands. I think I used about 24 handprints (half from a 5 year old and half from a 3 year old).

I tried to trace Hannah's hand so that I could make a small Christmas tree but she threw a fit. I'll try again some other time. But, you can use the handprints to create a Christmas tree as well. Just start the hands with the curled fingers pointing down but the hands curling upwards and layer the handprints in the shape of a tree. I'll try and get a photo of one soon!

Happy Christmas crafting!

Gifts for grandmas and husbands

2011-12-01T08:00:00.000-06:00

Hey there everyone, sorry for being absent on the blog the last few weeks, I've been enjoying time with my family and didn't feel like spending any of that time on the computer...

This post is part of the 12 crafts of Christmas going on over at The Trendy Treehouse!
So I owe you two weeks worth of gifts. Gifts for grandma and gifts for husbands.

There were a few things that my mom mentioned when I asked her about what the kids could make
for her that she would like to receive. She said she loves any handmade gift from the kids and
especially anything made with handprints. So, we did the handprint calendar for grandpa but obviously
grandma gets to enjoy that as well. She mentioned things like placemats, mousepads, an apron with
handprints on it...and while I think these are all great ideas and hopefully we'll still be able to make some
of these things before Christmas, we made something different. My parents are missionaries right now
over seas and they don't have a lot of the "comforts of home" with them over there. So, I decided to have my kids paint them a picture. I just gave the kids a square canvas board and let them use their own creativity to paint them a picture. Canvas boards can be found at JoAnn's, Hobby Lobby and Michael's. I bought mine at Hobby Lobby and it was a package of 6 boards for $7.99 and I had a 40% off coupon so each board only cost me about 80cents, and I already had the paints on hand so this is a VERY inexpensive gift idea.

These paintings usually happen in "sessions", they paint for a bit then stop and add more too it at another time. They LOVE to paint and ask almost everyday if they can paint. I like to keep those square canvas boards on hand for times like these. They make great personal gifts. I didn't take a photo of the finished project because I don't want to spoil the surprise for my mom!

I don't have any photos of what I am getting/making for Greg...but I can tell you about it quick. I ordered a personalized travel mug with some photos that my aunt took for us on Thanksgiving. And the thing I am making for him is pajama pants. He told me that he was a little sad last Christmas when the kids got new jammies but he didn't. SO, I went to goodwill and had Micah pick out a top sheet that he liked (he picked solid navy blue) and I bought that and one flannel sheet for the girls and I plan to sew pj pants for the whole family out of those sheets. Sheets are so much cheaper (especially from goodwill) than buying that much yardage of fabric at the fabric store. Plus, isn't it nice to crawl into your sheets wearing sheets?! Ha, we'll see. I have a pair for myself that I cut out of some old vintage orange and yellow flower sheets about two years ago...maybe I'll actually sew them for my Christmas present this year!

Hope I've given you some ideas. I need something else for my hubby though, so if you have any good hubby gift ideas I'd love to hear them!! Have a great week!

Gifts for grandpa/papa

2011-11-17T12:01:00.001-06:00

Spoiler Alert....if you are a grandparent to my children...don't LOOK! This is a gift for you, if you look then please act surprised at Christmas when you are given this as a gift!

Today for the 12 weeks of Christmas crafts I have a craft for grandpa...but really it could be for anyone. I cheated a little bit with today's gift. I actually asked my mom and dad what they would be proud to display in their home that their grand kids had made for them. I told them I didn't want to make some totally cheesy craft that gets an "oh that's cute" and thrown away the minute December is over.

I wanted them to give me a few ideas for gifts that would mean something to them, something that the kids and I could make for them, and something that would be useful. My mom gave me lots of ideas and one that I really liked and have actually thought about doing before is the hand print calendar. My mom said she loves any gifts that include the kids hand or finger prints...she used to teach 2nd grade so she's gets it! So, I looked for a good starting point for my calendar and happened to find everything I needed at ABC Jesus Loves Me (which is the homeschooling curriculum I would use for my little ones if I was homeschooling). They have the hand print calendar all laid out for us! yeah! So, you don't have to reinvent the wheel and you don't even have to do any typing!

Now, there are different versions of the ever famous hand print calendar. I happen to like this one because it includes a scripture passage for every month and I love having scripture surrounding me! The cool thing, there are three different sizes all ready for you to print out! yeah! Like I said, fool proof! I used the small ones because I wanted the calendar to be 11x8.5 and it has two kiddos hand prints on it! If you're looking for one with poems on it just google hand print calendar and you'll see lots of different versions of the same thing!

I started with making the handprints. The great thing is, on the ABC Jesus Loves Me website she gives you some tips and pointers on how to easily do the handprints. Like do all the ones that include the same color together so you're not making more work for yourself. She also says to maybe do the handprints in two different sittings so the kids don't get worn out...well, that would have been nice to do but I knew I needed to get this done quickly (so I could post a finished craft for you...imagine that!). The kids did really well and actually enjoyed it. It's a great rainy/cold day activity. Naomi did get a little restless near the end but we prevailed and got everything done. And not only did I get enough hand prints for one calendar but I got enough for three. One for grammy and papa (my parents) one for grandma and grandpa (Greg's parents) and one for us! So, make sure to think about that as well while you're creating the handprints, better to get it all out of the way at once.

So, you need cardstock in white, blue and brown and some paints (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, white and brown), and a paint brush. Oh and some kids hands and foot! Follow the ideas on the ABC Jesus Loves Me site for how to make the handprints and then print out the scripture passages (or poems from another site). Then I made a new document in Microsoft Word and just created a calendar. There was no template for 2012 so I just used the 2011 calendar that was there and changed the dates. (If you want the calendar email me purejoycreative at gmail dot com and I'll forward you the calendar template in Word.) Then I just printed the calendar and after I made sure that everything was in the right order and facing the right way I taped the handprints down to the oposite side of the calendar page it was facing (does that make sense...hard to explain but I think you get what I mean). Then I took all my pages to Office Max and had them laminate the front page and bind them. They charge a lot for laminating so I decided to just do the front page and figure out something else for the other pages.

I was thinking that it might be neat to just make blank calendar pages, have it laminated and bound and then you could use the calendar for years and years. BUT...I'm not a big fan of white erase calendars...too easy to loose info. But if that's what you like...then there's an idea for you! So really, this is just a calendar to know what date it is and not anything special. I probably will add in the birthdays and such and then figure out how to make the handprints stay on better...hmmm...

Took a lot of counter space to let the handprints dry...so take that into account when you start this project.

Here are our calendar pages. Let me know what you think. And I'd love to know what you would have done differently. I've still got to finish the other two and maybe you can help me with (laminate or not, dates or not) the details of the next ones!

Hannah's room is finished!

2011-10-29T10:30:00.000-05:00

I got Hannah's room pretty much all done before grandma and grandpa came...there are still a few things to finish up but I'm happy with how everything has come together!

Please go check out the full room tour at my photography blog!

I'll have a quick tutorial for this chalkboard coming up soon! And that long painting isn't done yet...

Gifts for Neighbors

2011-10-27T12:49:00.000-05:00

I am excited to share this little gift with you today because I think it's truly one of those very versatile gifts but very personal as well (and also inexpensive and quick to make). This gift could be made for just about anyone on your list! I like to give gifts that people will use. I like to make paintings but it's hard to make a painting for someone without their knowledge. What if it's the wrong colors, wrong saying, etc...and then they feel obligated to hang it up since you spent time on it. Well, this painting is for Christmas. People usually love to receive Christmas decorations as gifts and this way, it's personalized and holiday specific so they can put it away after Christmas and when they bring it out the next year they'll have fun memories of you giving them their cool personalized painting!

This idea is not original. The original idea was from here. Obviously mine is different, but that's what I love about pinterest...you see a good idea, bookmark it, then make it your own!!

What you need:

Canvas (board or stretched)
Paints

Pencil

Sharpies

My board is 8x10...use whatever size will fit the amount of ornaments you need to paint.
Paint a base coat, let it dry and then draw your ornaments and a little outside decorative edge with pencil. I used a small sippy cup cover to make sure my ornaments were actually circles!

I then painted the outside a contrasting color to give it some life and dimension.

I then painted my ornaments and added some extra little "flair" with a few sharpies. I added the red border and outlined the ornaments to really finish them up and make them pop.

Can you see the tremendous difference it makes to outline them? Look at the second ornament and notice the difference. And when you outline it you can cover up some of the little mistakes that you may have made :).

So here it is all finished! You could present it like this or hot glue some ribbon to the back so they have the option to hang it as well.

And you could make this cute little card to go along with it. I love it when gifts match their cards!!

And here's my quick little painting tip. Use a Frisbee for your pallet...if you don't already own a pallet, it's washable, sturdy and makes a great cheap pallet. Also, buy some of those "magic towels" from the dollar store and keep a few with your paints. You never know when you may want to use a little towel to wipe off your brush or to use on your painting. It is also very handy to have these around if you're painting with small children...need I say more.

Just another idea.

I will include this painting with a few other family gifts and some home baked goodies.
You can never go wrong with home baked goodies!

What if you don't know your neighbor too well?

How about elfing your neighbor?

I love this idea and think I'll do this as well!!!

And for those of you who like to work with wood
what about this idea.

Love these as well!! I may have to make some just for me!!

Can't wait to see what you make for your neighbors!

Naomi and Micah's bedroom

2011-10-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

Finally got the big kids room cleaned up, organized and presentable!
Time for some photos! Check out more photos here.

Gift for the post man or other workers

2011-10-13T06:30:00.000-05:00

For my gift for the post man or other workers I was really thinking about Christmas time...and hopefully some cooler weather. (I actually made these as Valentine's gifts, thus the hearts but I think it would be easy to adapt for Christmas...and maybe the hearts would be applicable for some people.)

These will be great to stick in the mailbox with a little note thanking your postal worker for their faithful service. These little coffee mugs can be filled with lots of different goodies...hot chocolate packets, tea, mini candy bars, starbucks gift cards...you name it, the skies the limit.

These are pretty easy to make and I don't have a step by step tutorial but if you need some more help with figuring out how to make these let me know.

Start with two pieces of felt and your favorite coffee mug.
Lay your coffee mug on the felt and losely trace it (it doesn't need to be perfect it just gives you an idea of what size to make it)

Cut out your embelishments:

Christmas trees, ornaments, holly, whatever suits your fancy.

Sew the embelishments on to the top piece of the coffee mug with different colored thread
or the same color, use your creativity!
I also sewed a little brown oval near the top to make it look like the mug is
already filled with some hot chocolate (you could skip that if you want).

Then use your sewing machine (or sew by hand) and sew around the outside of the mug.

Make sure to not sew the top shut. I also sewed right up both sides and didn't worry about leaving the handle open (but make sure to sew the two pieces of the handle together).

I will have some of these in my etsy store too!!!

Let me know if you have any questions about how to make these!

Hannah's first birthday!!

2011-10-12T22:00:00.002-05:00

Hannah is one!!
Yes, the days go slow and the years fly by, it's true!
We had a good time with Hannah today, but she wasn't in the best of moods.
I think she may FINALLY be starting to get some teeth, but I'm not fully convinced of this.
She's had a low grade fever for a couple of days and is more cranky than normal.
I hope she enjoyed her big day and I cannot wait till her party at the end of the month!

I made a little cake for Hannah to dig in to and some cupcakes for the rest of us.

She enjoyed the frosting...

but didn't want to eat her cake. She kept crawling away. So we put her in a chair and made her eat it! ha!
It took her a while to even dig into the cake, we had to help her. Then she just played with it for a long time before finally taking some bites of what was on her hand. I had given up. Taken down the decorations, went inside to make dinner and that's when she started eating it, go figure!

I took these the day before her birthday...she would NOT SIT STILL. I was lucky to get the few shots that I did get.

Do you like the "wallpaper"? It's just a piece of fabric taped to the wall!!

We went to a local park before her birthday too and got some fun shots of Hannah in front of a cotton field!

Well, that 365 days went by in a blur..here's to many many more days with my sweet Hannah Joy!

Birthday posts

2011-10-06T22:26:00.004-05:00

I will be posting about Naomi's 5th birthday over at JT Photography all weekend...come and check it out!

Gifts for aquaintances

2011-10-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

Some gifts are easier to come up with than others. I've really struggled with what to give an aquaintance. I was thinking of who these aquaintances might be and why I might be giving them a gift...

The only thing I came up with is a white elephant gift exchange, or someone hosting a secret santa for someone you don't really know. I had the same idea as Tara...FOOD! and goodies at that! Easy, inexpensive and universal. So, I made some cake balls for my daughter to take to school after her birthday (with leftover bday cake, which I'll share on Saturday). But I forgot to take pictures. I thought that would be a good aquaintance gift. So, yes, I bugged out and didn't get my own gift made but I have found a few gift ideas that I thought I'd share with you. Click on the links to be taken to the original creators site and give them some props for cool gift ideas!!

I saw this a while ago and have saved our Pringles cans (my husband probably can't wait till I get them out of pantry). I plan on making these for neighbors that I don't know very well, thus making them aquaintances. You can find the original post about these here.

Today's Fabulous Finds has 12 of these super cute and creative gifts to give to aquaintances, friends, neighbors you name it and they're all under $2. You can't beat that!!!

I've also made these for my daughters Sunday School teachers and they went over really well, so there's another idea for you. Do you have any ideas? And which aquaintances do you give gifts to?

No exposed edges please

2011-09-29T10:06:00.000-05:00

As you can see I love to sew. I love to make things that are useful and pretty. I love it when the things I make put a smile on the recipients face. And I love it when those things last and can be passed down.
I've noticed on a few of Hannah's dresses that I forgot to do a zig-zag stitch on my seams and they seem to be fraying...if only I had a serger :)...

But I remembered a lesson that one of my sewing lady friends taught me and
I want to share that with you today.
Maybe you already know this trick and maybe it'll be new for you...but I wanted to share it anyway so that maybe at least one person can learn something new.
This sewing trick is so that you have no seams showing at all...no raw or exposed edges of fabric, thus no fraying or random threads hanging out here and there.

And off to the tutorial.

I am making skirts for my daughters birthday outfits and I wanted to make them without the exposed edges...so here we go.

Measure the length that you want your skirt to be.
I wanted to use two fabrics so I took the total amount and split it.
Don't forget to add some extra length for the casing and hems.

Sew the pieces together on a long edge with the fabrics facing the same way.
I know this is contrary to how you've learned to sew but trust me on this.
Oh and skip this step if you're just using one fabric.
Take the bottom fabric and bring it around to the front and fold the exposed edge down 1/4inch.

Sew the folded edge as close to your first row of stitches.
This will create a little bottom piece without any exposed edges!

Next, fold your skirt in half with the wrong sides together and sew at least a 1/2 inch seam.
Again, I know this is not how you're used to doing things but trust me!!

It will look like you sewed it the wrong way and your exposed edges will be on the outside of the skirt but that just means you did it right.

Now take your scissors and cut ONE side of the exposed edge off...closer to the seam.

Fold the longer side (that you did not cut) over the short side that you did cut and iron down.

Now just sew that to the skirt. Make sure to pull the fabric that is underneath taut so that you don't sew it in the wrong place.

Does that make sense?
See, then you have two seam lines but no exposed edges!! YAY!

Inside view

Now just make the casing for your elastic (don't forget to add your label)...

Add your elastic...

And sew the casing shut once the elastic is in.
I also sew one vertical line through the elastic so that it doesn't move too much or get twisted.

Stand back and check out the cool skirt you just made that has...

no exposed edges!!! CLEAN AND NEAT!!

And the reverse for the little lady!

I added some appliques to their shirts and called it done!

I thought this version of "5" was more fun than just a plain ol "5"...
plus then I can teach her about hash marks.

I realize this photo makes these look REALLY busy but they don't look that crazy in real life!
Did I totally confuse you? Let me know if I can clarify anything!

So did you learn anything new?
Do you have a favorite sewing tip that has saved you time and headaches? Please share!

Gifts for the boys in your life

2011-09-29T08:00:00.002-05:00

This post is part of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Crafting Tara and I have going on over at the Trendy Treehouse! Come check it out!

Micah loves his fishing games. He has two of them. One has batteries that always die, the other has a suction cup that doesn't work very well. So I decided to make him a new fishing game that will be easy and fun to play with. And if something gets broken I'll know exactly how to fix it.

(excuse the poorly-lit-needed-to-use-my-flash photography...gotta craft at night so the youngins don't know what they're getting for Christmas!)

What you need:

Felt
Scissors
Thread
Magnets
Fiber fill
Dowl/Rod

Start by making a fish pattern on a piece of cardboard. I like to make the pattern on a folded edge so that I only have to draw one side of the fish but get a symetrical fish! Make sure that the fish pattern is big enough for your magnet to fit through the tail section and into the body.

Then trace your fish pattern onto the felt and cut out the fish. Make sure you have two pieces of the same fish...so stack your felt or just fold a piece in half when you're cutting it to make sure you have to exact pieces.

Sew around your fish but leave the bottom open so you can put the magnet and stuffing in.

Stuff the magnet in and then add some fiber fill to make the rest of the body puffed up. Then sew the end shut making it sorta look like scales.

My suggestion is to sew all the fish together before sitting down to stuff them in front of the tv. Then go back to your machine and sew them all shut. Of course you could sew them all by hand, if you have the time and patience to do so!

Then make a fishing pole. I just folded a black piece of felt in half and made a large J for the hook, making sure that my magnet would fit in the end. I then used a blanket stitch and stiched around the whole hook leaving a LONG piece at the top to be the fishing line. Then I stitched the fishing line to the yellow felt and hot glued that onto the dowl. I also added a little bit of felt by the handle.

And if you don't want to make your own I will have
ONE set in my etsy store in a couple of weeks!

Here are some other BOY gift ideas:

Art Kits

Tie Shirts:

Car Play/Storage mat

Personalized t-shirts
Reverse Applique T-shirt
Happy Crafting! can't wait to see what you're making for all the little boys in your life! Feel free to leave a link, I LOVE looking at boy projects! I've got lots of little boys in my life that I need to make gifts for!

Gifts for the girls in your life

2011-09-22T08:00:00.001-05:00

It's time for another Christmas Gift Craft for the girls!!!

I've got a peasant dress tutorial for you today and then some other fun ideas of things I am also making for Christmas gifts!!

I've never taken a formal sewing lesson. I've had two wonderful women show me a thing or two about how to sew. One taught me how to read a quilt pattern and one taught me how to read a clothing pattern. I am so thankful for their help and wisdom but also thankful that my brain works in such a way that I can look at things and sort of just figure out how its made. This doesn't work all the time but I find that I can often times work something out in my head till it actually works in real life. I've been intimidated by patterns since my first "sewing with a pattern" lesson. I'd much rather just get to sewing...but measuring and cutting carefully is all part of the game. So, when I first started making clothes for my kids I stuck to the simple things like pillowcase dresses and tie shirts. Then I did follow a pattern for another dress that I've made a few times and I love it...but I wanted something simple that would come together with little effort...see, I'm lazy and don't want to mess around with a lot of extra steps. My neighbor told me about the peasant dress she had learned how to make at one of her MOPS meetings and I was intrigued. Four rectangles with a little notch cut out, sewn together, add elastic a hem and call it a dress. Yes please. These are almost easier to make than the pillowcase dresses!! So, please remember that I am no seamstress and I probably don't do things correctly...but here's my version of the peasant dress!

Edited: I forgot to add the link to the sizing chart! You can find it here!!! Sorry!

Cut out four rectangles of some gorgeous fabric according to the measurements for the size you desire.
(You can do all four rectangles in the same fabric or pick a coordinating fabric for the sleeves.)
Fold the rectangles in half wrong sides together and stack the four rectangles on top of each other.
You will have eight pieces to cut through.

Cut a "J" shapped notch into the top left corner of all eight pieces of fabric (you don't want to cut the folded side).

Take one sleeve piece and one body piece and sew the notch part with right sides together

If you have a serger use it to serge the edge otherwise just use a zig zag stitch near the edge.

Repeat this process with all four pieces that you cut the notch out of making sure to fit the sleeves on properly.

You should have a piece that looks like this when you finish these steps.

Then fold the dress in half right sides together and sew from the end of the arm all the way down to the end of dress.

Follow up with a zig-zag stitch or use your serger again.

Don't worry, I know it look gi-normous but it'll get better! I promise!!

Fold the top edge 1/4 inch and then 1/2 inch to create a casing for your elastic.

Sew close to the edge of the 1/4 inch fold to secure the casing but make sure to leave an opening so you can get your elastic in there.

Once you get your elastic in, sew it together and then close your opening.
I like to sew a small vertical line through the elastic just to make sure it stays in place and doesn't flip over on me.
I sew that line close to where the sleeve fabric meets the body fabric so no one can see it.

There are a number of different ways to do the sleeves...here's my way.
I like to add some elastic to the sleeves but don't like to just have a small casing for elastic at the bottom.
I took it one step further and left a little extra fabric to sort of make a ruffle.
So, start by making the 1/4 inch fold then make a bigger fold like 2-3 inches and iron it down.
Then sew the first line about 2 inches in depending on how big you want your ruffle to be.
Then sew close to the edge of 1/4 inch fold to create the casing, again making sure to leave room to insert the elastic.
Insert the elastic, sew it together and then close the opening of your casing.

I hate to hem things...so I usually try to find a way around it.
With these dresses I just added some ribbon to the bottom of the dress.
Sew the ribbon to the wrong side of the dress then fold it around to the front and top stitch it down.
I don't have this down to a science yet but it works.

That was clear as mud hey?
Let me know if you have any questions.
Leave any questions in the comment section and I'll try and answer them as best I can!

Stand back and admire your work.
Try it on your little model and see how it fits.
If it's made to be a size bigger than your child wears (like mine is here)
then just tell yourself that it won't look so much like a pillowcase when the bigger kid wears it!

You can also make something cute for their hair to go with their cute dress!
Like I did so go with these other peasant dresses that I made...

Here are some other ideas...
Monogram bow holder
wood letter, paint, scrapbook paper, ribbon and cute bows! easy peasy!

Canvas Name Paintings...

Reversible Felt Crowns

Felt Food

In a couple of weeks I will have something that goes with all this felt food that would be a great gift...but it's not quite finished yet!
Also just so you know I have an etsy store and will be placing a few select items in my store in a few weeks if you don't have time to make any of these goodies yourself!

Sorry for going on so long thanks for sticking with me!

12 weeks of Christmas gift giving

2011-09-13T09:59:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone!

My friend Tara and I are very excited to share with you some great DIY Christmas Gifts for the next 12 weeks!!! These will be shared over at The Trendy Treehouse!!

We LOVE making gifts for our families and want to share that with you. So we decided to share a DIY gift idea twice a week for 12 weeks. Every Monday and Thursday, starting on September 19th, we will each share a gift idea that you can make for your loved ones!

We will have gift ideas for.... girls, boys, an acquaintance, postman (other workers), teachers, neighbors, co-workers, best friends, grandpas, grandmas, husbands and even a gift for your self (wives)!!!

Sound like fun ?!? We think so!

We will have your gifts ready to go under the Christmas tree in no time.

Want some decor ideas for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas? We will be throwing those in on other days of the week too! So come back every day to see what we have been cooking up. We are going to have Halloween ideas, Thanksgiving ideas, Recipes, DIY projects, Junk to Treasures, Giveaways and so much more! We may even be sharing some of your ideas in some featured posts!

Here is the line up for our Christmas Gift Event!!!

Sept. 19 - Tara - Girls

Sept. 22 - Jamie - Girls

Sept. 26 - Tara - Boys

Sept. 29 - Jamie - Boys

Oct. 3 - Tara - Acquaintance

Oct. 6 - Jamie - Acquaintance

Oct. 10 - Tara - Post Man/Other Workers

Oct. 13 - Jamie - Post Man/Other Workers

Oct. 17 - Tara - Teachers

Oct. 20 - Jamie - Teachers

Oct. 24 - Tara - Neighbors

Oct. 27 - Jamie - Neighbors

Oct. 31 - Tara - Co-Workers

Nov. 3 - Jamie - Co-Workers

Nov. 7 - Tara - Best Friends

Nov. 10 - Jamie - Best Friends

Nov. 14 - Tara - Grandpas

Nov 17 - Jamie - Grandpas

Nov. 21 - Tara- Grandmas

Nov. 24 - Jamie - Grandmas

Nov. 28 - Tara - Husbands

Dec. 1 - Jamie - Husbands

Dec. 5 - Tara - Self/Wife

Dec. 8 - Jamie - Self/Wife

Are you as excited as we are? You should be!! LOL

We are starting this great event early to give you plenty of time to get these gifts made, wrapped and even mailed out in time for Christmas!

Hope you join in the fun!

And please grab the Trendy Treehouse Event Button below to share on your Blog.

Help spread the word about all the fun!!

To celebrate this fun event. We thought we would host a giveaway.

Terese from Uppercase Living is offering a $25 gift certificate to 1 winner!

Head over to The Trendy Treehouse to enter the giveaway!

And while you're there check out all the other great giveaways too. What a great way to get started on your Christmas shopping!!

How to create a photo wall

2011-09-12T13:49:00.000-05:00

If you're hanging out on pinterest (and if you're not you should be) then you've probably pinned a few photo wall collages. I've got half a dozen if not more. People often ask me and assume that since I'm a photographer I've got photos all over my house and I have to admit that I never had a ton of my favorite images surrounding me. I've got large canvas prints in the kids rooms and some other small frames around but I was ashamed to say that I didn't have a ton of my favorite photos on my walls. That has now changed.

I knew that I had the frames to pull off a photo collage wall but wasn't sure how it'd go over with my husband. I knew that if I took my time and did it right we could totally pull off a photo collage wall in our (rental) home. We didn't have a big hallway in our old house so something like this wouldn't have worked (except maybe in a bedroom). I was trying to figure out which configuration would work best when I decided to take it all a step further and measure everything and use a grid to lay the whole project out. You can get by without the grid paper step but it really helped me figure out which of the many frames I wanted where.

So in 5ish easy steps here's how to make your own photo collage wall...

1. Measure your wall and all your frames (you need to know what you're working with) if you want to go as far as I did map everything out on grid paper...one square=one inch for me (it was just the easiest way for me to do it) Move things around and make sure you have the best configuration. Don't forget to include light switches or thermostat boxes that are on your wall. I labeled each piece of paper that represented a frame with the size and a description of the photo in the frame so I knew which ones went where, this proved very helpful later on. 1a. If you don't want to take the extra step of the grid paper you can just lay your frames out on the floor and see if you like how it looks. This works well if you can do all the steps in one day and if you don't have little curious children hanging around! 2. Cut a piece of paper to the size of your frame. Line the paper up with the back of the frame and with a crayon rub over the back of the frame where the hangers are. That way you'll know exactly where to put the nail and you'll have a straight line!

3. Tape the papers to the wall where you want the frames to hang. Use a level to make sure your line is straight. 4. Hammer your nails right through the paper where the hangers of the frame are...and you know right where they are because you rubbed over the hangers with crayon! or have your handsome hubby hammer the nails for you! (then they can take stock in the project as well). 5. Take the paper off the wall and hang your frames. 6. Stand back and bask in the glorious photo collage wall that you've just created! Somewhere along the line my measurements of the hanging paper were not pinpoint precise but I'm not a perfectionist so it doesn't bother me too much that the line is not COMPLETELY straight on the bottom. I smile every time I look at my photo wall. I LOVE it. I know we won't live here very long but I can tell you that my next home WILL have a hallway that will be awesome for a photo wall because it makes me that happy!! I still need to change out some of the photos that I am waiting on to be printed but I just had to share this with you now!!

And look, now we don't have to look at the thermostat box anymore!!! clever hey?! LOVE IT! Do you have a photo wall? I'd love to see it! I have a few others in the works in the kids bedrooms and I'll make sure to share them when I have them completed!

dont forget

2011-08-21T23:58:00.003-05:00

Hey friends, don't forget that I am blogging REGULARLY over at my photography blogsite.

It's much easier to just keep one. I blog here on very rare occasions. So come over to JTPhoto and leave me some comment love because it feels lonely over there sometimes and I'd love to know who's hanging around. Oh and I've got a great post lined up for the morning about my little artist! Come check it out!

Date the alphabet -G, H, I, J

2011-08-20T00:06:00.002-05:00

Greg took Naomi to Chili's in May...couldn't find a restaurant that started with G and it was raining out so they opted for Chili's instead of mini Golf.Their "H" date happened in June and they went to Honeybaked Ham and had some really good sandwiches.Instead of finding a place that started with "I" for their July date they ended up getting ice cream!

Greg took Naomi on their monthly date to Jason's Deli. They had a great time as usual and she came home telling me all the things that boys are supposed to do for girls when they go on dates! Way to go hubby...you're AWESOME!

Photos taken with Greg's phone...

photo session giveaway

2011-08-06T11:46:00.000-05:00

Hey there everyone...my family and I got back this week from a 10 day mid-west vacation. We had a great time and got to visit lots of family and friends. While we were on vacation I had the honor of photographing my good friends beautiful family. Here are a few of my favorites...you can check out some more from their session here.

If you live in or near Jackson, TN, I'd love for you to stop by my website and enter the Photography Session Giveaway that I have going on for the relaunch of my photo business here in Jackson. Would love it if you would stop by my website and leave some comment love too, let me know what you think and if there's anything you'd like to see! Feel free to email me with questions and comments as well. jamie (at) jtphoto (dot) org.

business card giveaway

2011-07-14T09:19:00.002-05:00

Hey friends, hope that you are doing great and that God is blessing you richly! Just wanted to let you know that I am hosting a Business Card giveaway from UPrinting on my other blog. Please go check it out and enter to win your very own set of 250 business cards. They also have new die cut cards that are pretty sweet! Go HERE to enter, then stick around and check out what we've been up to lately! Have an awesome week!!!

heath bar cake

2011-07-09T10:00:00.000-05:00

We were invited over to a friends house for dinner last night. We asked what we could bring and they said, dessert. Yeah! I LOVE to bake. I asked my husband what he would like me to bake and he said something with Heath Bars (he's been on a Heath Bar kick for a while now). So, I googled Heath Bar cake and read through a few recipes before deciding on the one I'm going to share with you today. The jr. youth group from our church was also having an all night rock-a-thon and had asked for desserts so I decided to just make this recipe in two 9in circle cakes pans instead of the 9x13 pan that it called for. It took a little finagling on one part of the recipe but came out great. Everyone at the dinner loved it and I've heard that the jr. youth loved it as well. It's an easy dessert to make and SO delicious! Give it a try!

Heath Bar Cake:

Ingredients:

1 (18 ounce) box German chocolate cake mix
3 eggs (or as called for by your cake mix)
1/3 cup oil (or as called for by your cake mix)
1 1/3 cups water (or as called for by your cake mix)
1 cup caramel ice cream topping (I like Smuckers)
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 ounce) container whipped topping
3 -4 Heath candy bars, chopped
(you can buy a bag of already chopped Heath bar for cheaper than the candy bars)

Directions:

Prep Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 40 mins

1 Bake cake mix according to package directions, using a 9 x 13 x 2-inch pan.
(if you need two cakes, round cakes pans work great)
2 While still hot, punch holes in top of cake with a skewer or large fork.
3 Pour sweetened condensed milk and caramel topping over hot cake.
(This is where you need to think on your toes if you use two round cake pans. The round cakes were higher in the middle so the caramel and SCM just went to the edges....)

So, I just used the spatula and moved the liquid around till it was almost absorbed into the cake. I let it sit for a bit and then moved it around again. It worked pretty well to do it that way too.
Let cake cool.
Spread with whipped topping and sprinkle chopped Heath bars over all
Refrigerate until ready to serve.

I hope you can use this recipe for your next gathering or to just make for after dinner on a Tuesday night! Have a great week friends!

JT Photography

2011-06-30T23:49:00.002-05:00

Hey friends,
Just wanted to let you know that I may not be blogging here too much more. I've decided it would be best use of my time and energy to focus on my photography blogsite. It will contain photos from client sessions as well as our everyday life photos. It it just easier to put everything in one place, that way my clients get to know me before the session and since photography is such an important part of my life why not make it official and "part of the family".

So come on over to JTPhotography and leave some comment love so I know you stopped by!

kool-aid play dough

2011-06-25T10:00:00.000-05:00

While the weather has been pretty nice lately we still get stuck inside sometimes. Some days it's a little too hot and humid to spend all day outside, some days we've gotta wait for the wee one to wake from her nap before any loud play, or outside play. Some days it's raining and we need to get our minds working on something other than how to beat up your sibling without them crying. Enter play dough. My kids love to play with play dough but they often mix the colors (which bothers me and I don't know why) and they often don't get the lids on tight so everything dries up so quickly. While play dough is not expensive it's even more fun to make your own. I've looked for so many homemade play dough recipes and tried a few but none as easy or as fun as the kool-aid play dough. My friend Rachael sent me the recipe and I can't believe how long I waited to actually make it...we were probably busy playing outside or something...

So here's the easiest (no cooking involved) play-doh recipe you'll ever found that smells INCREDIBLE!!!
Kool-Aid Play dough
2 Cups of flour
1/2 cup of salt
3T cooking oil (I use vegetable)
1 pkg or KoolAid
1 cup of HOT water

Mix flour salt and oil
Add KoolAid to water and stir
Add Water to dry ingredients
knead mixture until it forms a soft dough (add flour if the dough is sticky)

I had to add about a half cup more of flour. It's not sticky anymore but still kinda flimsy and really squishy, I'm wondering if putting it in the fridge will help with that or if I'll need to add more flour tomorrow?
Store in sealed container in fridge for about a week or 2
And since no post is any good without a photo here's a shot of my little Hannah and I at church while the big kids were at Vacation Bible School.

my dad is my hero

2011-06-19T06:34:00.000-05:00

Hey friends, hope you're doing great. I'm sorry that I've been absent for the three weeks or so. Last weekend took us to St. Louis to celebrate the 90th birthday of my husbands grandmother. We had a GREAT time and enjoyed the free zoo and of course Ted Drewe's!!! We also had an incredible time catching up with all the family and we're excited that we now only live 4 hours from family rather than 12!

This week my niece has been here with us and helping me tremendously with the kids. She's been great and played countless games, colored TONS of pictures, read lots of books and beat me at Monopoly Deal more times than I can count. She's been getting me in the crafty mood too, since she loves to craft and it helps to have someone to bounce ideas off of (my husband always says "don't ask me, you're the creative one").

I continued my tradition and got the shirts done for the kids to wear for Father's Day. I'm so happy with how they turned out and can't wait for him to see them at church in the morning! I also have printed out this Super Dad banner and plan on hanging it up for him to see after church. I'll share photos of the kids in their shirts soon. But here they are!! What do you think?

road ways

2011-05-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

The other morning I wasn't sure what we were going to do for the morning. Can you tell I'm a "fly by the seat of our pants" kinda girl. We don't usually have many plans...and I like it that way. We do have structure to our day ...eat, rest, eat at the same time each day ... but we don't have a strict schedule to follow. I like just letting the kids direct most of the play time and intervening when needed.

On this day they were playing with Micah's race cars a lot. So, I decided to jump in and make a little road for them. I wanted to help direct their play a little bit and give them something to add to their "make believe". I just used painters tape and you can tell by the crazy road layout that I didn't have a plan and just starting taping roads on the floor. Micah really like the race track and they also enjoyed the garages for their cars. It's fun to just do things on a whim...but I guess I better prepare for some things so we can do some more learning...

a typical afternoon

2011-05-24T06:04:00.000-05:00

If you were to drive by our house on most days around 4pm this is what you would see. Well, something along these lines anyway. We LOVE to play outside, have a snack outside, ride bikes, play family, and just hang out. And most often you can see our neighbors hanging out with us as well. Can't wait to bust out the swimming pool and sprinklers!!! The kids LOVE their new helmets and they are actually getting the hang of riding a bike. We never really practiced much in San Antonio so they're both learning at the same time. Naomi does really well. Micah did great one day, fell off the bike once, got back up and rode some more and now won't touch the bike. He rides his "big wheel" though. Silly kid. We'll get him back on the bike one of these days!

Sometimes it's hard to say, "we have to go in now and make dinner" I'd rather just keep playing...but our bodies need energy so we can play right?

baseball

2011-05-23T21:38:00.002-05:00

Greg took Micah to the Jackson Generals baseball game on Sunday...but it got rained out. Since he had already bought his ticket and the Junior Generals thing for Micah we thought it would be best to use that ticket. So, I took the big kids to the game today and my sweet neighbor watched Hannah. We bought the Junior Generals thing for Naomi as well. What is the Junior Generals thing? Well, it's this: a free "dog tag" (lanyard with a "press pass" ticket), a free t-shirt, a free haircut, they can get into games on Sun-Wed for free and Thurs-Sat for half price, plus entrance to two special extra activities. So, now if we decide to go to the game it'll only cost us $12, if we go on Sun-wed. Good deal if you ask me. Plus it'll give Greg a chance to impart his baseball knowledge to all of us! Here are some photos from the day.

Blurry pic but you get the idea. Since it was a Monday afternoon and a rain out make up game there were not many people there. The kids had fun running laps around the seats.

mixing colors

2011-05-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

I was working with Naomi the other day on one of her little pre-school workbooks. Sometimes I plan ahead and get things together for certain activities and sometimes we just wing it. This happened to be a "just wing it" day and it turned out to be lots of fun and a great learning experience.

She was to color some circles and then mix the colors together to see what they would make. The book suggested to make something to physically show her how the colors mix to make new colors. So, I got out two glasses and some food colors. The first time I added too many drops of food coloring, you only need one drop of each to make it work. It's pretty self explanitory as to what we did. She loved watching the colors mix. She asked me to do it twice for each color and wanted to see if it worked the same if I poured the other color in first. It was a great learning experience.

So, I don't think we're going to homeschool...I'm not an organized person and lack follow through. Plus, I'm trying to get my photography business re-launched here in my new city. So, even though I don't think I will homeschool I will always be a teacher at home. Teaching her things about our faith and the way the world works along with her numbers, letters, etc. I am always on the lookout for great homeschooling resources and blogs and am all ears if you want to share any with me!

my girls...

2011-05-20T06:08:00.000-05:00

May 18, 2007 and May 18, 2011

on her knees

2011-05-18T06:03:00.002-05:00

Hannah started getting to her knees and rocking two days ago. Better get this house baby proofed.

sitting hannah

2011-05-17T22:44:00.002-05:00

Mom, you wanted more videos...so here you go. I've got a bunch for you!

calling all brides...

2011-05-17T14:14:00.004-05:00

Have you recently gotten engaged? Were you married within the last year? I would love it if you would help me out. I have a 10 question questionnaire that I am looking for brides to answer for me. This questionnaire is about wedding photography websites. If you have a photographer and didn't search online this is not for you. But if you found your wedding photographer online or have at least looked online for wedding photographers and would be willing to answer my questions I'd greatly appreciate it. Just email me (jamie at jtphoto dot org) with the word BRIDE in the subject line and I will send you the questionnaire. Thank you for taking the time to help me out!!!

tomato soup cupcakes

2011-05-14T10:00:00.001-05:00

I've got another great and easy, yummy cupcake recipe for you!
This recipe comes from Cupcake Confidential ...

There are 98 more recipes that I need to try but I really wanted to share this one with you.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup shortening
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 can (15oz) undiluted tomato soup
3/4 cup water

Lightly grease cupcake tins. Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs. In a separate bowl; mix together soup, water, baking soda. Add alternately with dry ingredients to the shortening mixture. Stir well. Fill each cup 3/4 full. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Cool. Makes 24.

Alternatives:
I used butter and added one more egg to make up for the fat content in the shortening (that's what google told me to do :) ). And I was able to make 32 cupcakes.

Minute Fudge Frosting
1 ounce bittersweet baking chocolate
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Boil one minute. Remove from heat, and beat until lukewarm. Beat with an electric mixer until thick enough to spread.

Again, I used butter and did not add an egg this time. I had to use the mixer for quite a few minutes and while it was thick enough to spread it was still runny. So, while it's called "one minute" frosting that's just because you boil it for one minute.

So, I bet you're wondering what they taste like. They're good. They do not taste like tomato soup. In fact they taste more like pumpkin cupcakes without the pumpkin flavor (if that makes sense). With the nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon in there these are good "fall" cupcakes, but really, good enough to make any time. My husband and kids really liked them and so did my next door neighbor. Give them a try and let me know what you think! It's another great way to add something healthy to something not so healthy :)

my "garden"

2011-05-13T11:58:00.002-05:00

I've never really attempted growing my own fruits and veggies before. Okay, I'll admit it, I did try once when we lived in Texas.But if you've never gardened before Texas is NOT the place to try for the first time. You will kill things faster than you can imagine, things will dry out, curl up and die...or at least that's what happened to me. Well, we now live closer to the midwest (where I know a little more about gardening because my dad always had a HUGE garden every summer) and I thought I'd give it a try again. But since we are renting our home I didn't feel right about planting a permanent garden. So, I decided to try the bucket garden method...or pots if you want to call them that, whatever you wish. I got all my plants from Wal-Mart...yes, I shop at walmart...don't sue me. I also bought my soil there (of which I need to get more) and my buckets. I got plants that had already been started because that just seemed dummy proof to me.

We've had lots of rain and some good sunshine. I put the plants under the cover of the overhang for a while when it was raining non-stop and I'm glad I did so that they didn't drown. I put them out in the sunshine for a while too. They are all doing pretty good so far. And imagine my surprise when I went out to water them the other day and saw to strawberries growing. I only bought the strawberry plant because Naomi asked me to, I figured that would just be a plant to look at with pretty flowers...didn't imagine it would be the first one to produce anything! One of my tomato plants looks like it has issues and my cousin told me to get some insecticide/pesticide spray for it. Anyway, if I don't get a good crop that's okay. I've got lessons to learn. And I can't wait till I can plant a proper garden and plant a LOT more things! I love the idea of going out to my garden to get some fresh veggies for dinner. I'm also going to get some herbs to plant and will probably keep those inside. Anyway, that's my gardening story for now. I'll keep you posted on my progress!

Tomato plant...

Three more tomato plants...

Left to right: long neck squash, cucumber, two red bell peppers...I realize these probably need more room. I may go get another bucket and transplant two of these...

...and it's fun to have another thing to photograph.

Any tips or pointers for me and gardening...really, I am new at this so I'm all ears!

what to wear

2011-05-12T06:28:00.001-05:00

So, I let the four year old dress herself. She should right? She's four. I love to send her into her room to get dressed and just imagine what she's going to come out wearing. Her fashion sense is...unique. I usually only object to a couple things 1. Clothes that are not weather appropriate and 2. When she wears her "under the skirt shorts" or leggings by themselves. The only time I would change what she is wearing is if we are going to church...and really on Sundays she wears a dress so she can't really mess that up. The other day she came out wearing this and I just had to document it. While we "grown-ups" would normally say that purple and red don't go together, it really started to grow on me and I really liked her choice of outfit that day!

Sometimes I do make her wear something that I pick out. Like this cute top and slim jeans! Sometimes it's just nice to be simple and cute. But most often she's got lots of patterns and colors going on! I should start documenting her outfits more!

messy eaters

2011-05-11T06:00:00.000-05:00

Are your kids messy eaters?
Does it bother you (if they are)?
Naomi was a still is a very clean eater except on rare occasions. Micah was a little more messy as a baby than Naomi but is a lot messier now than he was when he was small. He's a boy I've learned to deal with it...but it still bothers me a little bit. Not too much though. Hannah, however has turned out to be our messiest baby eater. She likes to stick her hand in her mouth after we give her a bite and then it gets everywhere! It's not like it grosses me out and I realize she's a baby but still I just wish it wasn't such a mess. It would probably be better to just feed her without clothes on, then I wouldn't have green and orange stained clothes! Oh well, they're only little once right? I thought I'd grab a few pics of my messy eaters...these were taken the day before Easter!

gifts for twins

2011-05-10T06:17:00.000-05:00

Look at these cuties! My friend Tami sent me a picture of her two cuties for me to see! The outfits actually fit...I'm always a little worried about that. Can't wait to meet these sweeties in person.

hannah six months old

2011-05-09T06:00:00.000-05:00

Sweet little Hannah is six months old...well, actually she's 5 days shy of seven months old. I finally got around to taking some photos of her...and we're gonna call them her six month photos. This wasn't even a planned photo shoot so that's why there's not much going on...no super cute clothes or props, no proper background, etc...but that's part of the reason I love these photos. Simple. Clean. Not distracting. Just Hannah!!

So what is Hannah up to a six (almost seven) months old? She sleeps from about 7:30 or 8pm till about 7am. She naps for a short time in the morning and will take a 2-4 hour nap in the afternoon depending on the day. Sometimes she would really love a nap about 5pm but I'm not about to do that...on those days she goes to bed at 7pm. She's still nursing very good and has never slowed down. She is eating solid foods like a champ. She has not completely mastered the pincer grasp so the puffs are about all she gets in "big people" food. She's not great at chewing yet either but she loves her food and it won't be long.

She started sitting on her own for longer periods of time just this week. She's been doing the tripod sit for a couple of weeks. She doesn't like to be left alone and she'll let you know it. She doesn't like lying on her back and if you lay her on the floor she almost always, almost immediately rolls to her tummy. She is a very happy and laid back baby (excpet when you leave her alone). She loves to look at herself in the mirror. She loves seeing what Naomi and Micah are up to. She is not stingy with her smiles. She talks when she doesn't have that silly pacifier in her mouth but prefers for that thing to be in her mouth and she'll put it there if she can reach it.

She is such a joy and brings joy to everyone who is around her. We are soooo blessed to have Hannah in our family! Our little Hannah Joy!! Here are a few from our mini session...

Naomi wanted in on the photo action!

I LOVE this shot!!

Which one is your favorite?

happy mother's day!!!!!

2011-05-08T05:00:00.000-05:00

Mom, thanks doesn't seem like enough to say. Now that I am a mother to three (just like you, two girls and a boy) I understand what you went through for me. I understand the frustration, the joy, the fear, the triumphs, the stress, the happiness, the chaos, the LOVE. Thank you for being such an incredible mom to me and my brother and sister. Thank you for the example you have set. Thank you for being willing to serve (now and in the past). Thank you for putting me and my siblings first and for losing your identity for a time so that we could learn ours. Thank you for driving us places and doing fun things with us. Thank you for teaching us how to use the bathroom, how to tie our shoes and how to read. Thank you for being there during the hard times, the sick nights, the stressful moments. Thank you for still loving me even when I turned my back on you or said hurtful things. Thank you for allowing me to be me and for watching me grown and gently leading me down the right path. Thank you for being an incredible grammy and for showing my kids your love and tough love! Thank you most importantly for showing me Jesus! I love you mom and while you're half way around the world serving Him I pray that you are wrapped warmly in His arms and know that YOU are loved with an everlasting LOVE!

And the three best reasons for being a mom...

To my mother-in-law...Thank you for the gift of life you've given to my husband. Thank you for loving him in his difficult times and rejoicing with him in his triumphs. Thank you for supporting him in everything he does. Thank you for taking him to church, for helping him get a great education. Thank you for driving him all around town and taking him on fun outings when he was small. Thank you for going to his baseball games and showing him how a mother is to treat her son. Thank you also for welcoming me with open arms and making me feel part of the family. Thank you for being such an encouragement in our lives and for your support of how we raise our children. Thank you for being an incredible grandmother to our little ones. Thank you for all you do and have done for us. We are grateful!

To all you moms out there. Thank you! You are incredible. Thank you for countless acts of service you provide. Thank you for loving your husbands, and your children. Thank you for shaping the future!

gifts for triplets

2011-05-07T21:53:00.008-05:00

After my post about gifts for twins my friend contacted me about making some gifts for triplets. She is attending a baby shower next month for her friend who is having triplets (bet you didn't see that coming :) ). I gave her some ideas for some onesies and I also mentioned that I could do the dress and tie onesie thing. She liked that idea and we ran with it. We decided to make coordinating outfits rather than completely matchy matchy. She said she would like them to be 6-9 month size which I think is a great idea. She allowed me to pick out the fabric and get to work.

I got everything started at home and then did the sewing at our churches craft night on Friday. In all it took me about three hours...and it would have gone faster had I been paying closer attention and not having to rip things apart three and four times...ugh! And if my machine was awesome it would have been better too, but my machine leaves something to be desired and I have to re-thread the thing over and over (think I'm gonna drop it at the shop next week to be looked at).

But through it all I came away with two super cute dresses and a tie onesie! I sure hope the doctors were right about the genders of those babies or someone's gonna feel weird :). Here are the outfits I made modeled by my sweet 6 month old Hannah!

I've got more of this fabric and plan on making some things for the re-launch of my etsy store!

What do you think?

more sewing...coming soon

2011-05-05T06:12:00.001-05:00

I have grand plans for these beauties!
And a custom order!! YAY!!!
Just have to ~~find~~ make some time!

homeowners no longer...

2011-05-04T14:29:00.000-05:00

Well, today was a big day for us! We are no longer home owners!! yay! God is good!

When Greg took this call to serve in Tennessee one thing that we were really worried about was selling our home in Texas. We have had a few issues with the house and were under the impression that the foundation was really messed up. With a generous gift we were able to get the whole house painted inside and out and get it looking nice. I am grateful that we were able to sell the house empty because trying to keep it picked up for a walk through at a moments notice with three small kids would have made me go crazy!!

The house went on the market on March 21st but was not live on the realtors website till the 23rd or 24th (not sure) and then on Tuesday, March 29th I got a phone call saying there was an offer on the house. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor...I was shocked. So in 5 days of being on the market we had an offer on the house!! God is good!

We were thrilled and knew that the only reason this was happening is because God is with us! I said all along that God will have to sell this house because we surely cannot. And He did!! We counter offered and they countered back and we accepted their offer. We waited for some paperwork...and were then worried about the inspection! We didn't know what they would
find and want us to repair. We knew we didn't have any more money to put into the house! The day of the inspection finally came and the list of things that could potentially scare a buyer away was long...but this family really liked the house and asked us for two things. They asked us to get a structural engineer to give a report and to have the HVAC unit cleaned and serviced. We were not excited about having a structural engineer come to the house. If you have been reading my blog for a while or know us in real life you know that our foundation always seemed to be a issue for us. Doors not closing, cracks in the wall, etc. We had four foundation companies come to look at the house and gave us estimates for $18,000 to $35,000 for repairs. So we were worried about what the SE would find. I got the phone call the day after he visited the home and our realtor told us that everything looked great and the buyers wanted to move forward with the sale!!! yay! Praise God! Just goes to show that you can't always trust the companies that want your money. Could we have gotten work done. yes. Would it have helped? yes. was it necessary? no!

So we have a power of attorney who signed the papers for us today and now we are no longer home owners! yay! We are enjoying our rental home for the time being (still have unpacking to do and we haven't put anything on the walls yet either). But now that we don't have to pay a mortgage AND rent we can start saving for a down payment on our own home in TN. We are glad we decided to rent so that we can get to know the city before we buy!

Here are a couple of photos of our home the last time we saw it.

I wasn't totally attached to this home. It did have a great floor plan and was a great size for us, but it wasn't my dream home. It does hold lots of good memories for us...our first home we bought, bringing two babies home, countless movie nights, parties and hanging with friends. But those memories will be preserved and I don't need the structure of that home to keep those memories alive! I hope the new family that bought the house really enjoys it and makes lots of great memories in there!!

gifts for twins

2011-04-30T10:00:00.000-05:00

Quick post today...busy time, as I'm sure you all understand.

Just wanted to share some photos of a gift I just sent to my good friend, Tami, who had twins about two months ago. I'm finally getting around to getting their gift done. I hope she sends me pics of them wearing their outfits.

I also made this for one of my etsy clients. It was fun to make but a little challenging to get the burp rags just right on top! But I think it turned out pretty cute.

What do you make for twins? I think it would be fun to have twins...but then again, I think I'm made to only handle one baby at a time, and I can obviously dress my kids alike even if they weren't born on the same day! :) Have a great weekend!

happy easter outfits

2011-04-23T10:00:00.003-05:00

He is RISEN!
Alleluia!

I pray that you have a blessed Easter, that you are able to spend time with your family, but most importantly that you are able to hear the GOOD NEWS of Christ's death and resurrection. He loves you so much that he stretched His arms and died on the cross just for you! If you were the only person on the earth He still would have gone through all that suffering, agony, separation from God JUST FOR YOU! You are LOVED! With an everlasting love!!! Praise be to God that Jesus was raised from the dead and that we worship the LIVING GOD!

As a photographer I try to get my clients to steer away from matchy matchy outfits (and no denim with white shirts...) and go with coordinating outfits, but as a mom, I LOVE matchy matchy outfits for my kiddos. But it's really hard to find matching outfits for a 4 year old girl, a 3 year old boy and a 6 month old girl. So, I get the honor of making the matching outfits (but usually only for big occasions or holidays).

Luckily after we moved I found some time to get this idea out of my head and into wearable clothing for the kids. They LOVE their outfits and it couldn't make me more happy. I dread the day that one of them tells me they don't want to wear something that I made for them! We had a little mini photo shoot yesterday so that I could document Easter and the cute outfits I made. I love it when something actually comes together (and on time is even better!).

Here are some of the photos from the photoshoot!

The headband for the girls came from a tutorial that Kelly at Sewing in No Mans Land wrote!

If you have any questions about anything I made feel free to leave a comment
...or email me at
purejoycreative at gmail dot com

Happy Easter!!!

upset baby

2011-04-20T15:00:00.003-05:00

I captured this little video of Hannah the other day after she was done eating. She was a little upset and still hungry I think. But I had to take this video because she was so stinkin cute even though she was mad!

sewing for gifts

2011-04-20T06:15:00.000-05:00

I never actually get around to making all the Christmas presents that I have in my mind to make. I don't ever start early enough or plan enough in advance. But one thing I did get accomplished last year for Christmas were some art kits for two of our godsons. Finally getting around to sharing them now, I forgot all about them! I bought all the items in August when the back to school supplies were pretty inexpensive. It's because of that reason that I was able to really fill their art boxes, otherwise they may have only gotten two or three things in there.

To go with the art bins I sewed covers for their composite notebooks (that I scored for a dollar each). I just measured the notebook and then just sewed one side and pinned the other side before sewing it down. Nothing scientific or really well done but it was fun to make and I'm sure the little guys were more into the markers than the fabric on their notebooks. I have about 10 more of these notebooks in my closet waiting for the perfect person to give them too. I actually have another gift that they go with but just haven't gotten it finished for those people. Maybe this year?

I also made these lightweight hats out of t-shirt remnants. These were easy to make and the boys really liked them. I do plan on making more for all of Tom and Tami's kids...but that's five more and I need to get some head measurements before I get working, plus its summer and they won't need them till fall so it's near the bottom of my list...but Tami, it will get done!

That's one of the t-shirts I made for Jeremiah too, he just happened to be wearing it the day Hannah and I went to visit all of them!

sewing fun

2011-04-18T21:47:00.001-05:00

Just a sneak peak of something I'm working on right now.
Any ideas as to what it is...?

the great hair cut day

2011-04-16T06:39:00.001-05:00

Naomi and I went to get our hair chopped yesterday, so we could donate it. I've been ready to get this mop cut for some time. But it's just now long enough so that it wouldn't have to be SUPER short in order for me to donate the 8 inches needed. I think we are going to donate to Children with Hairloss a place in Michigan that makes and gives free wigs to children who have medically-related hair loss. My other option that I was thinking of was Pantene Beautiful Lengths. I've been reading some things lately about Locks of Love that I don't necessarily like, so I've found two other great options...and there are even more as well.

We went to Studio 24 and were greeted by the super friendly super suthrn (southern) Jaime. Naomi went first and had a blast. She was shy at first but warmed up to Jaime quickly and was having a great time by the end. Jaime used a flat iron to make her hair very straight for the cut and Naomi kept telling her that it was really hot.

Once Naomi was done and it was my turn Naomi was all about the whole beauty salon experience. She was smiling from ear to ear and kept looking in the mirror. Another client finished up about the same time Naomi did and was sitting in one of the empty chairs. Naomi went right over to her and asked if she could cut the ladies hair. The lady played along and Naomi had a great time being the stylist. The lady even gave Naomi $2 when she was done "cutting" her hair. Everyone kept commenting on how adorable she was.

I think I really like my hair, although it may take some getting used to. I have to remember to not use as much shampoo, and I may have to actually find my blow drier if I want my hair to not be super flat! Any hair tips for me? I've had shorter hair before, but I usually just wash and wear, not sure that I have time to "do" my hair...guess time will tell as to what really needs to be done! I will start now and grow it out to donate again in a year or so. Here are some before and after photos of Naomi and I. The boys got haircuts today too, but theirs were free and in our kitchen! Poor Hannah is the only one who didn't get a haircut today...oh well! Have a blessed weekend!

You can see some more photos from the great hair cut day on my facebook page.

grandmas quilts

2011-04-15T06:34:00.000-05:00

When Greg's parents came for his installation they brought along a quilt that Greg's grandmother had made for Hannah. It is so beautiful. I LOVE the colors and it makes a great backdrop for some photos of Hannah. I really hope that I can start making some more quilts. I would love to be able to do this for my kids and my grand kids someday! Maybe by the time I have grand kids I'll have a little more free time to be able to work on them :) It means a lot to us to have quilts made by grandma! Here are a few shots I got of Hannah on her new quilt.

BUSTED!! HA!!

When we went on our big Midwest vacation last May we were able to spend a night at Greg's aunt and uncles house and they live right next door to grandma and grandpa. I took a few photos of some of grandma's handiwork but did not capture the many many quilts that are on all the beds and that are folded neatly in piles. No one has an excuse to be cold in that house. I am so thankful that we have at least three of her quilts, if not more, in our house as well! I also have a quilt that my grandma made for me (for my high school graduation) and an afghan that she made for our wedding before she passed away. We opened the afghan at our gift opening and there wasn't a dry eye in the house. I love it that our grandmas were busy creating things for us and our children! Makes one feel loved!

i'm still alive...

2011-04-13T23:51:00.002-05:00

I wish I could say that I haven't blogged in a week because I've been busy unpacking and organizing the new house...but that wouldn't be true.

Yes, I have been doing a little unpacking here and there, but in all reality I still have a LOT to do, (haven't even gotten my dresser in order, been living off the piles of clothes). The truth is...we have AMAZING neighbors and we've been spending lots of time hanging out with them during the day, mostly outside enjoying the awesome weather but also a little inside during the bad weather. We also hang out with them at night sometimes too, and go on walks...they're gonna get sick of us real quick! I've never had next door and two doors down neighbors with kids the same age as mine. The kids all play really well together and it allows us moms a chance to talk and have an adult conversation. Marcia and I are amazed at how similar our little four year old girls are...it's crazy. Her little lady is one month younger than Naomi and they have many similar qualities (good and the not so good). It's so refreshing to know I'm not alone in my little world of raising a little 4 year old drama queen!

The other thing that has kept me from blogging is this little cutie. She's become much more needy in the past week. She doesn't want to be put down and always wants to know whats going on. Her naps haven't been as good lately and she must be going through a growth spurt as well. She started "solid" foods last week and LOVES to eat! I've actually already started giving her two meals a day, cereal at one and so far sweet potatoes. Her nose has been draining like crazy lately and she's got a blood shot eye...wondering if she's got another ear infection or just a cold. Well, at least she's super cute and the snot doesn't bother me :). Here's a few shots I grabbed of her the other day after her nap! LOVE LOVE LOVE these awesome windows in our home!!

More from this little "photo shoot" coming soon!!

master micah

2011-04-13T22:57:00.004-05:00

cup o' joe cupcakes

2011-04-08T23:46:00.000-05:00

Hey there friends, did you have a good week. My week was pretty good but not very productive (thus no photos of our house just yet). I've just now started getting to the unpacking of my things. It's too nice outside to stay in and unpack. But not being able to sew or craft is just killing me! UGH! I needed to do something somewhat crafty related so I baked. Does that count as a craft?

I thought you all might enjoy the Cup O' Joe Cupcakes that I made...because they were very tasty and very simple to make. My dear friend Katherine sent me this "Cupcake Confidential Recipe Deck: a card deck of 100 recipes" and I've made a few of them so far. I was looking through it the other day trying to find a recipe I could make without having to go to the store...and Cup O' Joe Cupcakes it was. I gave some to my new neighbors and they raved about them so I hope you give them a try as well.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup butter, unsalted, softened
3 eggs
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons instant coffee granules

Prepare cupcake tins; lightly grease or insert paper liners. In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar and baking powder. Mix well. Add very soft butter, eggs, milk vanilla and coffee. Beat at low speed of electric mixer 1 minute to blend, scrapping sides of bowl. Beat 3 minutes until smooth. Fill each cup 3/4 full. Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes. Cool on rack. Makes 12.

I was actually able to make 16 but didn't have enough frosting for all 16.
Here's what they look like without the frosting.

Frosting recipe:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 semisweet chocolate chips

In a food processor or blender, cover and blend or process all ingredients together, cover and chill. Remove from refrigerator 10-15 minutes before serving.

I'm not sure if the chocolate chips were suppose to get all broken up but mine didn't and I liked that they were just chunks in the frosting, made for a nice chocolate surprise.

Not the prettiest looking cupcake but trust me, it's very tasty...if you like coffee that is! And it goes GREAT with a glass of milk!!!! Make some and let me know what you think. I'm dying to try the tomato soup cupcakes...sounds interesting enough to make me want to try it at least.

windows for photos

2011-04-08T06:01:00.000-05:00

One incredible thing about our new house is the windows. We have 5 floor to ceiling windows in our main living area...hello natural light! Every photographers dream! So yesterday I decided to test out the natural light and take some photos of my beautiful children! Yes, I can say that, they are mine!

We don't call her princess drool for nothing!

2011-04-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

Have you check out Pinterest yet?
It's this AMAZING site that allows you to "pin" things to your own little corner of the web.

Straight from the site:

What is Pinterest?

Think of Pinterest as a virtual pinboard — a place where you can create collections of things you love and "follow" collections created by people with great taste.

People use Pinterest to collect and share all sorts of things -- wedding inspiration, favorite T-shirts, DJ equipment. You name it, people are pinning it.

We know you have great taste in something. Our mission is to make Pinterest the best place for you to share your taste with the world.

It is TOTALLY addicting...just to warn you.

I've been pinning for a couple of months now and I can't stop.

It's a great way to bookmark ideas and see what other people are coming up with!
You can also put your own ideas out there for people to see!!!

If you haven't started pinning please go check it out!
And follow me on Pinterest as well...it's LOTS of fun and you won't have any free time from here on out because you'll be sucked into the gloriousness that is Pinterest!!!

You can check out my boards at http://pinterest.com/jamielynn
If you're already on pinterest let me know so I can check out the goodies you've pinned!

great week and weekend

2011-04-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

Here's the week in a photo recap...lots of photos...not a lot of words!

Monday: Greg was sitting on the couch with the big kids. Hannah woke up from her nap so he went to get her. He changed her diaper and when he came back into the room this is what he saw.
So sweet, we must have tired them out!

Tuesday: We drove to Nashville to pick up my sister from the airport (that's a 2 hour drive one way!!!). We stopped for lunch at Loveless Cafe and really enjoyed the down home comfort food.
Wednesday: We didn't do a whole lot. Tracey played with the kids and Greg and I got a bank account and unpacked a little more.

Thursday: Opening Day!! We drove to Memphis (about an hour away) to have lunch with my aunt and uncle. We took the kids to a park for a while before lunch. Aunt Rosalie made a cake for Tracey and Micah. The kids also had fun dressing up and dancing for everyone.

Friday: The second moving truck came with the rest of our stuff. Micah enjoyed having the train table in his room for the day (it's back in the garage now). Tracey and Naomi helped crush the oreo cookies for the race track cake. And we enjoyed a low key evening at home. Greg's parents and oldest sister got into town late in the evening and came over for a little bit to say hello.

Saturday: Micah and Tracey celebrated their birthdays. We went to lunch at Rafferty's with the whole gang and then the kids played outside for a while. Micah enjoyed opening his presents. He got lots of Lightning McQueen stuff and some Thomas things as well. He really was excited to open the gifts but just wanted to play with the cars before opening all his gifts. We also celebrated Greg's dad's birthday on Saturday (but his birthday was really on Sunday).

I asked Micah which car was his favorite and he pointed to them one by one and said, "this one, and this one, and this one..."

Micah was so excited to have his big cousin Michael there for his birthday. He'd been talking about Michael for a long time. Was so thrilled to be able to play with him!

Sunday: Had Micah pose for me in the morning sunlight! Church in the morning, lunch at home with everyone and then Greg's installation service was at 4pm. It was a great service and they had a very nice reception for us afterwards.

Pastor Barz came from San Antonio to preach at Greg's installation! What an honor to have him with us. We wish Connie would have been able to come too!

Grandma was one of the lucky few whom Micah let play cars with him.

The Memphis Circuit Pastors

The family that came for the service.

Greg's side of the family.

Monday: I drove my sister back to the airport. Greg went to work at his new church for the first time and the rest of the family took the kids swimming and spent some time at the hotel. We had some severe storms here on Monday and the tornado sirens were even going off...but it was just a bunch of rain here and not much worse. We also enjoyed playing Monopoly Deal a bunch of times and just spending time with our family. It's always nice to have family around!!

Thank you everyone for coming and spending time with us! We really appreciate all the help and support you provided us with! We can't wait till we see you again!!

race track birthday

2011-04-02T06:00:00.000-05:00

Can't believe that Micah is already three!!! Crazy! Micah still thinks that birthdays are just CAKE. So he'll be excited to see a race track cake! My sister is celebrating her birthday today too...and she's with us to celebrate! yay! She's been here all week and has to go back home on Monday, boo! Sunday is my father-in-laws birthday and he's here too! We're so glad that we can celebrate the birthdays all together.

Sunday is Greg's installation. We're excited that his parents and oldest sister and her family were able to come and celebrate with us. It's be nice being closer to family. So we've been trying to get more and more done this week with unpacking but I'm just wiped out at the end of the day. But the house is liveable...just don't try and go to my side of the bedroom or bathroom (still have a LOT of work to do in there). But at least we've been able to get things a little more normal around here...no routine just yet but at least we don't see boxes piled everywhere we look.

So, while I celebrate my little man and my sister and my father-in-law, here are some photos of the cake I made for them all (oh and it's chocolate and red velvet cake). Enjoy the pics...oh and one of Micah doing his Buzz Lightyear face!

Hopefully next week I can show you a few pics of our "new" house (we're renting for a year). Have a great weekend!

live from tennessee

2011-03-31T06:03:00.000-05:00

Well, we made it. We are here. We are mostly unpacked. We are alive...and not all well. We ended up taking the big kids to the med clinic in Memphis last Monday and they were told they had an upper respiratory infection and eye infection...enter amoxicillin (which they like) and eye drops (which they loathe). Greg and I started getting the cough then too...and it's still hanging on. We figured Hannah would eventually get sick we just didn't know when. She got pretty bad by Friday and I took her to the pediatrician on Saturday. He told me that she has a mild case of RSV and that sometimes it goes away without too much impact and other times it can escalate. So far, she seems to be over the worst of it. We went back to the pediatrician on Monday and he found that she has an ear infection too, so she was given some antibiotics for that.

The coughing continues in our house...and we're hoping that we don't get my sister sick! She came in on Tuesday and will be with us till next Monday. She's great at coloring and playing cars and "Dancing Star" (as a judge) with the kids. She's already been a huge help to us in our time of transition...and I really hope to get all my unpacking done while she's here! maybe wishful thinking...

So besides being sick and not having everything unpacked we're doing pretty good. We miss our friends...but are starting to make new friends. I've already found the pediatricians office and can get there without the garmin!! It's different living in a smaller town, it used to take Greg about 20 minutes to get to work now it takes 5-7 depending on the stop lights. The drs office used to be about 20 minutes away from us now it's about 10 and that's the other side of town. It's not a really small town but when you go from the 7th largest city in the US to a town/city of 80,000 it makes a difference. Well, I better go get some more unpacking done.

I've got lots of photos to share but will have to pace myself to get them all on here...
but I'll leave you with this one...

quick update

2011-03-21T10:27:00.003-05:00

Well, we've made it to Tennessee. We are not in Jackson yet but are staying with my aunt and uncle in the Memphis area. We decided to drive on Sunday instead of Monday so that we were able to take our time and make sure to make it in time. We were driving two cars with three kids so we had no idea what the travels would be like. All three kids did GREAT in the cars!

We left San Antonio Saturday morning after saying goodbye to our neighbors and our (painted, empty) house. We made it to Plano by 3:15pm. We had a great time hanging out with Scott, Kimi and their three boys and PB and Linda also came over for a DELICIOUS dinner!! Thanks Scott and Kimi we're gonna miss being only 5 hours from y'all. Since we decided to leave on Sunday that means we missed getting to see Eric and Heather and their girls...we also didn't get to see Adam and Chelsea. They will have to come to TN to visit us :).

We got up early Sunday morning and started the drive. It only took us about 8.5 hours to make the drive. We stopped in Arkansas for lunch and ended up going to a softball diamond and ate in the dugout. The kids enjoyed the freedom of running around. We stopped two other times as well. We made it to Memphis by 5pm and got to help my aunt celebrate her birthday.

Naomi and Micah have been battling some sickness for a while. It seemed to just get worse and worse as time went on. Friday night, Micah had a 102.9 temp and it was that way till last night. They are both coughing a lot and had green gunk coming out of their eyes. So, our nights have not been filled with sleep, needless to say. But we're surviving and making it just fine. We are enjoying a day today at my aunt and uncle's house (and another one of my uncles is here too) without having to go anywhere. Which is SO NICE.

Tomorrow Greg, Hannah and I will drive to Jackson and meet the moving truck at the church to unload his boxes and boxes of books, then we will go to our rental home and unload there. Still lots to do...the unpacking and finding places for things, begins tomorrow. I know the kids will love the HUGE backyard that our home has and they will spend many hours out there I'm sure. I have LOTS of photos to share but it'll be a little while because I need to get my computer off the truck and connected before I can do that.

Thank you SOOOOO much to all our friends for your help. Thanks for the help with watching the kids. Thanks for putting a roof over our heads. Thanks for the meals, the hanging out, the laundry facilities. Thanks for loving us as Christ loves us and helping us out. We're very sad to leave ya'll and can't wait till we can hang out again!!! I hear fall in Tennessee is beautiful, you should come check it out! We pray that God would bless you in new and exciting ways!

kindle carrying case

2011-03-19T06:32:00.000-05:00

Before my parents left for their overseas teaching adventure they came back to our house for a couple of weeks. It was SOOOOO great to spend some more time with them and to have them help us out by watching the kids when we needed to go to Tennessee. They had bought a kindle before they even left Wisconsin because they knew they wouldn't be able to take a lot of books with them. When they stayed with us in January I told them I wanted to make them a case for their kindle so it wouldn't get scratched. That never happened. So, I'm glad they were able to come back and I had a little time to make them a case for their kindle.

I found this great travel fabric at Hancock Fabrics on sale and bought a bunch. I made a camera case for myself and then this for my parents and still have a bunch leftover. I plan on making some more cases for electronics and selling them in my etsy store once I get my sewing machine unpacked and my life a little settled. Here are some photos of the case I made for my parents.

five months old

2011-03-16T06:07:00.001-05:00

Our sweet little lady is five months old already! We sure are blessed to have her in our lives. She is such a laid back happy little lady. She loves to watch what's going on and wants to be part of the action. When we lay her down she almost immediately rolls over. She pushes up with her arms and almost pushes herself backwards. She tries to get her knees under herself too, but not at the same time as pushing up. She LOVES to talk and sometimes at 4am. But I make her go back to sleep because that's just too early. She's been sleeping pretty regularly from 8pm till 5 or 6am. Then she'll eat and sleep again till like 8 or 9am. Sometimes she wakes in the middle of the night but will just talk for a while and then goes back to sleep. Sometimes though she gets her arms out of her swaddle, or rolls over and gets stuck and upset. I'm in the bad habit of wrapping her up again and rocking her a bit when I should probably just let her fuss a bit. Oh well.

So these were taking on the day she turned 5 months old and I had a hard time getting her to stretch out. She just loves her feet so much...and recently discovered the joy of having something else to suck on! silly girl.

She's 26 inches and 16 pounds!

See, rolls right over.

This is as stretched out as I could get.

Man, she's so stinkin cute!

This little lady LOVES her feet!

Have a great day!!!

a day at the park with 500 babies

2011-03-14T06:31:00.002-05:00

On Tuesday last week I knew I needed to get the kids out of the house...and I needed to get out of the house as well. So we headed over to the 500 babies house and asked them to join us at the park. The kids had a blast running around, playing ball, being with their friends and they all enjoyed the picnic lunch as well. I wish we would've done this more often since we were all home most of the time. You live and learn.

People, seriously, if you have a friend whom you always talk about getting together with but never seem to take the time to make it happen, I have some words for you.... MAKE IT HAPPEN. You never know when someone may be moving, when something serious could happen to your friends, etc. Take the time to live life with your friends...and make new friends. I met a sweet lady at the park in February and I'm really bummed that we won't have time to get to know each other better or to let our kids hang out...(HI JILL!!!).

But seriously, don't just talk about spending time with people, DO IT! You won't regret it. The tv show can wait, dinner can be made for multiple people, and kids can run around like crazy anywhere...don't stay holed up in your home when you can spend time with people and cultivate those relationships. People, I'm saying this as much for you as I am for myself...I'm SUCH a homebody and would much rather stay in my jammies and just chill with my kids...but people are so important, make them count, let them know they matter, that they are important in your life, that you are blessed to have them as friends. Okay, I'm off the soapbox now, sorry. I'll get back to our day at the park.

Climbing the slide...a no, ,but I guess I was too busy taking a photo to notice.

"Mikea, can you hold my bakesball while I climb?"

This is what happens when you let 500 babies and their friends (my kids) run free on a "baseball field" (Micah's words)

Sweet Mikea...gonna miss that girls real life smile!!

"Yo Adrian" -sorry Anna, couldn't resist.

"Hey friend, let's go down the slide together"

Awww....we're really gonna miss hanging out with these guys. Micah is not going to know what to do without "my Daniel"

Time for lunch!

And this little lady wanted in on the action too, wouldn't let me keep her in the carseat the whole time but did a good job and was the good baby she always is!

more stuff

2011-03-12T06:05:00.000-06:00

This is what the hallway, living and dining room area look like. A mess. The kids rooms are the only "calm" places in the house...because they are empty.

I'm having flash backs to when I was 10 years old. We were moving from Milwaukee to Menomonee Falls and my sister and I shared a bedroom upstairs. She would have been 16 at the time...I remember that I was supposed to clean up and pack what was in my closet. Not my clothes just the ~~junk~~ items on the floor of the closet. I must have been given a deadline, because what I really remember is sitting on the floor of my closet crying...and crying, late at night because I hadn't packed my stuff. I don't know if my parents told me that whatever wasn't packed they would get rid of, or if I was just so upset at letting my parents down. But I clearly remember the panicked feeling of having to pack. Pack quickly. And packing late at night. Not sure why that all happened, but I seriously remember it like it was yesterday and ask anyone...my memory is not a great trait of mine. The anxiety of that 10 year old is coming back to haunt me.

I feel like I pack things and then turn around to see everything out of the boxes I just packed. While I know that is not true and is not happening it's just how I feel. I know we have too much stuff and I know I keep talking about it...but it's what's on my heart and in front of my eyes right now. I'm glad we're getting a smaller house and will have to downsize and not get everything out. I'm really hoping and praying that this is the step we need to live more simply. But part of my problem is...I am a consumer. I like my stuff. Some of it holds a high sentimental value for me. So, again, I'm trying to get over it and get rid of it but it's not as easy as it sounds. We've talked about buying a bigger house once we decide when and where to buy, but hopefully by that time we'll have learned to live simply and decide we don't need a bigger house...we'll see.

God is working on me. I can feel it. I need to put my trust in Him. Rely on Him for the strength to get through these next few weeks. I need to realize that this stuff is just stuff and that the MOST important thing in my life is my FAITH in Christ Jesus as my Savior and my family...I don't NEED anything else. Well, okay, I do need daily bread (shelter, clothes, food) but really the extra stuff is just that, extra stuff. So, here I go again...trying to get rid of stuff and then when Greg throws something away I get upset...but the kids loved playing with that...etc. Sorry honey. I realize some of the stuff is necessary but I'm excited to get to the new place we're going to be calling home for a year or so and only unpacking what is necessary...then maybe I can have a big garage sale and sell my stuff to someone else!

Here's another picture of the boxes in the kitchen...the pile keeps growing!

I think I'll go live in the kids room for a while...there's no stuff in there!

sad and happy

2011-03-11T21:23:00.003-06:00

This makes me sad...

This makes me happy...

birthday present

2011-03-11T06:04:00.000-06:00

Naomi's sweet friend Sophia had a birthday a couple of weeks ago. When we got the invitation I immediately started thinking about what I could make for Sophia. See, I'm all about great gifts, but I really like personal gifts that I can make...and hope they're great. Sophia's mom Amy is a master sewer so I knew I didn't need to make Sophia a birthday shirt and skirt set, I mean look at what the girl is wearing...A-Maze-Ing! Amy made all the little girls that came to the party chef hats...so cute since it was a cupcake themed party! (Amy, I'm totally stealing your idea someday).

Giant cupcake cake...

and then the girls got to decorate their own as well...what a fun idea!

So, back to the gift part. I thought about what types of things Naomi likes to do. She loves to play with her barbies, babies and other dolls. I love to make things out of cardboard...so, I put the two together and made Sophia a set of wooden dolls with one for each member of her family.

I also gave her a cardboard box and instructions from Dolls and Daydreams Etsy shop to make this cardboard house for her dolls. I figured she could have hours of fun making the house and then playing with the dolls in the house.

Now of course I need to make a set for Naomi...but she keeps asking to paint them herself. Do I let her? Or just paint them for her so they look good? hmmm....

I used some fabric for Sophia and Amy's dresses, in theory it works but it doesn't look great. Oh well, I think Sophia liked them.

And I sorta messed up Sophia's eyes, but I didn't have time to go back and paint over the whole head and do it again. I hope she enjoys playing with these little dolls. And I can't wait to make some for Naomi once we get settled.

Naomi already has BIG plans for all the cardboard boxes that we'll have once we move and unpack. I'll make sure to set one aside for this little doll house...and maybe a few other fun things!

overwhlemed

2011-03-10T21:03:00.002-06:00

I am overwhelmed. Full of emotions. Full of anxiety. Exhausted. Full of gratitude. Full of heartache. Overwhelmed. Not underwhelmed. Overwhelmed.

The kids are besides themselves. Not sure what to do, what to think, where to go. We've been SOOO blessed by our friends and their willingness to help out. The week has been busy and the help has been invaluable. Each day this week we've been surrounded by friends and I only wish I would have taken this time with these friends earlier. It's been incredible to "live life" with these people over these three and a half years and even more in these last few weeks.

The packing is coming along...but we still have a LOT to get done before Sunday night. We've got some help with the big kids lined up but could still use someone for the weekend. They were here with us all day today, and it went pretty well but I'm sure they were bummed to not really have us to play with them. They will have a great day tomorrow of that I am sure. Anyway, I better get back to the packing so my anxiety can be diminished. Just wanted to peak out from behind the boxes and say hello. Pretty soon my sweet computer will be packed away and not unearthed for a couple of weeks...I've got a post or two lined up for while we move but please come back once we get settled I know I'll have LOTS to share. For now, here's some photos of the boxes...ha!

The corner of our kitchen!

Don't think I can really keep them in a box can I?

Thank you so much to all the amazing people who have helped us out these past few weeks. Amy, Billy & Anna, Connie, Jason & Karla, Sarah, Gayle & Sarah, Chris & Ashley, Wanda!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

tie shirts

2011-03-10T06:09:00.000-06:00

When I took Hannah to Wisconsin in December we were fortunate enough to have some time to go hang out with her godmother, Tami. Two of Tami's children are Greg's and my godchildren, Jeremiah and Faith. It was so sweet to see Jeremiah wearing the tie shirt I had made for him for Christmas. Tami told me that he picked it out himself and wears it ALL THE TIME. How sweet is that!!?? Well, that shirt was long sleeved and since it's going to get warm soon and since I'm sure he'll grow out of it sooner than later I made him some more shirts. These are simple and fun to make and if I know the recipient is going to wear them ALL THE TIME, I'm very excited to make them! So, here's two more tie shirts for my little godson Jeremiah...

If you missed the birthday outfit I made for his sister Faith for her birthday just scroll down!

birthday outfit

2011-03-09T06:10:00.000-06:00

My only goddaughter turned two on February 6th. I had asked her mom what she could use for her birthday and she told me that Faith liked the skirt I had made for her last birthday and also said she could use a new dress. I decided to make her a birthday shirt and skirt outfit that seem to be traditional gifts for birthday girls around these parts. Well, they're easy to make and so cute on the little ladies.

This time instead of sewing a big "2" on the shirt I decided to make a cupcake with two candles. I am so happy with how it turned out and can't wait to make more of these in the future. I also love Faith's skirt with the little yellow trim at the bottom and it saves me from having to hem the skirt!!!

I didn't tell Tami but I did buy fabric to make a sun dress for Faith too, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. February went by in a blur and it seems as though March will do the same. Can't wait to get relocated, settled and bust out the sewing machine again, then life may start to feel a little more normal...maybe.

Here are some shots of the birthday girls little cupcake and butterflies outfit!

our last day

2011-03-07T23:03:00.004-06:00

Sunday was our last day at Mt. Calvary. The crying started when I was driving to church realizing it was the last time I would do so. The crying didn't end till about 3:30pm...with a few breaks in between obviously. The crying has continued into Monday evening at my Christ Care meeting and I'm not sure it will end very soon. I have words I want to say, just not sure how to put them on paper (or the screen). I will do so soon...but in the mean time here are just a few photos from our last Sunday at Mt. Calvary. More can be seen here.

This is Ms. Roberta and Ms. Yvette, they work in the nursery at Mt. Calvary and take care of the little ones EVERY SUNDAY! They are amazing, caring, fun, great with kids and just wonderful people. I am so blessed to have had them to take care of my little ones since Naomi was 8 months old. They've watched the kids and our family grow. We will miss you dearly...thanks for putting up with my kids when they're crabby, loving them into a good mood and for being amazing care givers for them.

Here's Naomi and her sweet little friend Abby. We're gonna miss Abby and her parents! Her mom has been so sweet when I come in every Sunday with a new question for her...she's a pediatrician and I felt so blessed to have her advice and friendship. They used to live in St. Louis so we've got that connection too. Naomi's gonna miss seeing Abby every Sunday!

Here's Naomi and two of her six Sunday School teachers. All of her teachers are so special to her. Kristen and Karen have also come over to hang out with the kiddos and Butch is on staff so we'd get to see them occasionally for birthday lunches! We will miss all of the great Sunday School teachers!!! Thank you for sharing Jesus with my little lady!

After the late service they had a big bbq meal complete with brisket, sausage, squash, potato salad, cake and other desserts. Mt. Calvary sure knows how to throw a party. We had a great time and are so blessed. We loved being able to see everyone together again and will truly miss these great times of fellowship (and the food).

After the meal there was a short sending service. Sarah, Sarah and Caleb got up and sang "Deep in the Heart of Texas" it was pretty funny! The congregation gave us this beautiful painting of the Riverwalk and the Tower of the Americas. We will never forget San Antonio or Mt. Calvary. We feel so blessed to have been able to serve here for three and a half years. Two of our kids were born here...and many memories were made here.

New adventures await us. God goes before us. We are going to miss Mt. Calvary terribly but know that God has a plan...and it's good that He is God and I am not because everything in my life would be a mess if that was the case! I'll be back with some other parting words sometime soon! Have a blessed day!

the chaos that is our life right now

2011-03-03T13:32:00.003-06:00

I don't know how to explain what is going on right now other than to say CHAOS. The house is a MESS, filled with boxes, toys out of place, piles for goodwill and friends. The painters have been working on the outside of the house since Monday, but included in the outside of the house is the atrium, which is INSIDE the house, so we've been stuck inside the house. Can't leave because they need to get inside and can't play outside because they're painting out there.

So, the kids are going a little stir crazy...and watching too much tv, and fighting and whining a little more than normal. They know something is going on. They know we're moving. They know they can probably get things out of Greg and I that they wouldn't normally get, and they're taking advantage...smart kids right?

I'm slowly getting some packing done...but there's still LOTS to do. We will have about five days of solid pack time after next Tuesday so we should be good. I hate to leave things to the last minute and just throw things in boxes. I want to get things a little more organized since we don't know if we'll have to store things for a while or if we'll have all of our stuff with us. Crazy! Greg is going on Monday to look for a rental home for us. It's just a lot to take in. Moving with three small kids is no small feat, but we'll make it happen. I'm a little too overwhelmed to even realize what is happening. I don't want to leave my friends...I'm not ready for Sunday...when we say goodbye...gonna be a sad sad day.

Here's some photos from today just so you can see a little bit of the CHAOS that we are living in right now. The tree is usually in the atrium but since they're painting out there it's now in the dining room.

You can see the piles of books and other items to give away, you can see the guy painting our front door, and the chord to the spray painter going into the atrium.

Boxes, boxes and more boxes by the kitchen peninsula, the tarp and paint bucket, Hannah's in there somewhere and just the big ol mess.

Here's the paint for the sprayer, in the kitchen! lovely

Just another view of the mess and chaos!

Some good news is that I've been listing things on craigslist and I've been able to sell a few big furniture items that we no longer want so that's good. Good to get rid of it and get a little money to help with the move. Stuffitis is helping me get rid of stuff!!!

So if you are praying for us we could specifically use prayers that God would send the right person to buy our house. We know that He has plans for us and that He is sending us to Tennessee so we pray that our house would sell quickly and for a good price. Thanks friends. I'll try and stop by again before we move...but if for some reason I don't then I'll see you in Tennessee. I really hope to get time to get some more photos on my blog from some crafts, and sewing that I did a couple weeks ago...gotta keep my "journal" updated!

stuffitis

2011-02-28T23:10:00.004-06:00

I have stuffitis....
do you have it?
Have you ever had it?

I am slowly getting over stuffitis
having to pack and move is helping.
It's just stuff.
Most of it just takes up space with no real reason or purpose.
So, I'm getting rid of it.
Sure it's easier to get rid of things that aren't mine
(stuffed animals, kids books, etc)
but I still feel attached, "oh but she loves to read that book"
and "they play with that stuffed animal SOMETIMES"
But really it's just stuff and when it's all said and done and GONE
we probably won't miss it anyway.

So, I guess moving has one perk...
getting rid of stuff
and trying to cure myself of stuffitis.
Easier said than done (sometimes).

Trying to cure my four year old is a little more challenging.
Gotta purge while she's sleeping!

Please keep us in your prayers as we purge the stuff,
and get ready for our next chapter...

gimme a break

2011-02-26T10:00:00.000-06:00

So it was Greg's birthday yesterday.

So I threw him a surprise party.
That's the seventh surprise party I've thrown for him since we met 11 years ago.

Since we're going to be leaving soon it was extra special
to have a bunch of our friends over to hang out.

I made a bunch of desserts and we just spent time hanging out,
the 13 kids had a great time playing together,
the 12 adults enjoyed conversation, beverages and corn hole.
The favorite dessert of the night was the kit kat bars I made.
So I'm going to share the recipe with you here...
they don't really taste just like kit kat bars but they're super yummy!

Sorry about the dark picture...

took this late last night right before I devoured it.Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 36-48 kit kat bars

Ingredients:

60 buttery crackers, such as Keebler Club Crackers
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup firmly-packed brown sugar
1/3 cup milk
1-1/2 cups crushed graham crackers
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter

Preparation:

Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish. Line with a layer of 20 crackers.

In a small saucepan, bring butter, sugars and milk together to a boil over medium heat. Stir in crushed graham crackers. Let boil 5 minutes.

Pour half of the sugar mixture over the crackers. Cover with another layer of 20 crackers, pressing down lightly. Pour remaining syrup mixture over crackers, smoothing to coat.

Top with the remaining crackers, pressing lightly.

Place chocolate chips and peanut butter in a microwave-safe dish. Heat on high 30 seconds. Stir and repeat until chips are melted. (Alternatively, melt chocolate chips and peanut butter in a saucepan over low heat.)

Pour evenly over the top layer of crackers, making sure the crackers are completely covered.

Refrigerate until kit kat bars are firm.

I also added 1/2 cup of butterscotch chips to the topping.
These bars are yummy and will be the hit of your next party!If I'm scarce around here for the next month or so
please understand that I am trying to get everything ready
to relocate our little family of five and get a house ready to sell,
and pack and reduce and pack...

Gimme a break, gimme a break,
break me off a piece of that
kit kat bar!

happy birthday

2011-02-25T05:22:00.000-06:00

Look at this man...
this is one incredible man.

Caring, compassionate, crazy in love with Jesus, transparent, forgiving, humorous, talented, friendly, helpful, family man, devoted, trustworthy, humble, amazing, and the list goes on and on. Seriously, I am blessed to call this man my husband, my partner in crime, the father of my kids, my friend.

Happy Birthday Greg. I love you more today than the day we got married...and I know more stuff about you too...ha. I hope you have an incredible birthday. This is your gift. No really. This is it. Oh wait, I think Naomi drew you a picture. Sorry, I've had other things on my mind. I LOVE YOU!!!! Please forgive my lack of think-aheadness and help me pick something out for you later! LOVE YOU babe...enjoy your day!

the vintage pearl

2011-02-24T22:08:00.000-06:00

My mom celebrated her birthday in January...I was trying to think of what to get her that she could take along to Indonesia. I didn't want it to be big and bulky or weigh much, but I wanted it to be meaningful and pretty.

I have always loved hand stamped jewelry and can't wait to get my hands on one for myself (I digress) and after searching the many different options at the many different online stores I settled on the perfect necklace for my mom, from the Vintage Pearl. I knew this necklace would be able to hold the names of all her children, children-in-law and grandchildren. Sorry dad, maybe we can stamp your name on the back because you're closest to her heart!! My sister and brother went in on the gift with me and we're so happy to be able to give her a little something to help her remember our names ...ha...my mom has a bad memory, that was just a bad joke!

I ordered the necklace and was worried that she wouldn't get it in time. The ladies at The Vintage Pearl said it could take 3-4 weeks and at that point if she would've left on Feb 1st she would not have gotten it on time. I emailed them and told them of this and asked if I should pay the fee to get it rushed. They told me to wait a week and see what happened...I waited a week and it was actually ready to be shipped. The necklace arrived to my mom well before it was slated to get there. She was in tears when she opened it, I guess that makes it a successful gift. I am so glad that I was also able to see the necklace in person. It really is beautiful and the photos don't do it justice...well, mostly because I had to take them late at night under a florescent light...but anyway...if you're looking for a great gift for that woman in your life may I recommend some hand stamped personalized jewelry. The ladies at the Vintage Pearl will take good care of you...and no, they're not paying me to say this. I just wanted to tell you how happy my mom is with the necklace they made for her...and when mama's happy, everyone's happy!

Here are some images of the necklace.

And here's one of my mom wearing it.

roses

2011-02-23T06:14:00.000-06:00

You know the awesome thing about Valentine's Day crafts?
They can really be used for almost any day of the year.... well, most of them anyway.
I mean who doesn't have SOMEONE that they want to share their love with everyday of the year? So, I'm here to show you another great craft that you can use for Valentine's Day, Wedding Cards, simply because I love you cards, etc. These were pretty simple to make but took me two times to get it just right...

Just roll up some corrugated cardboard secure, ink and stamp.
Just make sure the edge that you roll is all on the same plane otherwise it won't work very well. Then for the leaf just use a wine cork and make a leaf stamp....simple, yet effective!

And before you say, "wow, Jamie you're so clever and crafty" let me tell you, it's all Martha Stewart. Man, what I wouldn't do to be a fly on the wall in her brain sometime...yes, I know she's been in prison...but she's SO creative!!!! Anyway, there's another easy craft you can do to show someone how much you love them!

little lady is in the hospital - updated

2011-02-22T22:13:00.005-06:00

We've been enjoying some great weather around here lately. It's been in the high 70's and today was in the high 60's. Grandma and Grandpa came for a long weekend visit and we're so glad they came to hang out, for grandpa to meet Hannah and to spend some good quality time with our kiddos. It ended up being such a tremendous blessing for them to be here at this exact time - God really knows what He's doing - because Greg announced in church on Sunday that he accepted the call to serve the church in Tennessee, I had a 48 hour fever and was pretty useless for two days and they helped around the house as well as playing with the kids nonstop!

The day after grandparents leave is always a little challenging on everyone. No extra hands to wipe bottoms, noses, counters, etc. No extra eyes to watch out for sibling rivalry, read books and just take in their cuteness. So we had a little bit of a challenging day but it wasn't too bad. I mean if you can capture this with your cell phone you're doing pretty good right?

Then around 5pm Naomi was playing outside and riding her horse (you know the bouncy kind), Greg had just gotten home and we were standing in the kitchen talking. I could see her but was not "watching" her. Next thing we know she's falling off the horse and hit her head on the cement. We both heard the thud and I ran, picked her up and brought her inside. There was no visible bump on her head, nothing even red or irritated. So we let her rest on the couch for a bit, then had her come to the table for dinner. She said she didn't feel well so she went to her room to lay down for a bit. Then about 10 minutes later I went to check on her, she was awake so I asked her if she wanted to join us for dinner. She said sure and came and ate with us. Around 6:15 Greg had to leave to go to a meeting. He left and everything seemed pretty normal. I knew that I needed to give Micah a bath since he took a dry mud shower outside earlier and I also knew that Hannah wasn't going to let me put her down...so I called my sweet neighbor Pam and asked if she'd hold Hannah. While I'm giving Micah a bath Naomi vomits. So I called Greg. I can hear Hannah crying from Pam's house, Micah's in the tub, Naomi's vomiting...awesome! Nothing like a little stress to add to my week.

So, Pam comes back with Hannah, I get Micah out of the tub, dressed and then finally one kid is self-sufficient. Pam and I are talking, she's holding Naomi at this point and I'm holding Hannah. Both girls are quiet, Naomi starts falling asleep and asks to go to bed. So I let her. Greg calls me back and tells me he's on his way home and that Naomi needs to go to the ER. So I tried to wake her up but wasn't too persistent and was not successful either.

Once Greg got home he woke Naomi up and got her out to the car and took her to the ER. That was about 8:00pm. He texted that she vomited again in the waiting room bathroom. Then she got into a room around 8:30 and blood pressure was fine. The dr. came in and did some tests and determined that she did have a concussion. Naomi was a trooper through all the tests and vomited again at the end of them all. The dr. said that there's a chemical in your body that is released after a trauma like this and when you move around it gets activated thus the vomiting after dinner, walking into the hospital and doing all the tests. The dr. also told them that she wanted to do a cat scan. So, the cat scan has been done and they are waiting on the results...which could take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2.5 hours. So, I'll keep you posted but if you could say a prayer for my little girl I'd truly appreciate it!

Greg said she did a great job for the cat scan and when they were done she asked if she could have a sticker for her brother and sister too! What a sweet little girl!

Updated: Naomi is fine. The cat scan was normal. She just has a concussion. Thanks for the prayers for our little one...guess she'll be more careful when getting off the horse!

vintage

2011-02-18T10:00:00.000-06:00

Here's my craft for the American Crafter competition. I really struggled with what to make and when I finally came up with something it came together really quickly. I love how cute this looks but I know it doesn't SCREAM vintage...but if you look at it long enough you'll realize it is! Go over and vote for me if you'd be so kind...here

smile

2011-02-18T05:55:00.000-06:00

If this doesn't make you smile, I don't know what will.

Greg took these pictures of the kids during our little family photo session the other day. He was asking them to make all their "faces" and this was their response to "make your excited face"

our family photos

2011-02-17T06:00:00.000-06:00

Here are a few more shots from our little family photo session. My mom took all the photos that I am in and Greg and I both took some of the others. I cannot wait to get some of these printed and up on my walls....we need more photos of Hannah around!

this one cracks me up!

hannah at four months

2011-02-16T14:10:00.001-06:00

Current stats:
Height: 25 inches
Weight: 14lbs 15oz

Hannah loves to put anything and everything in her mouth.
She's gonna be one of THOSE kids! ha!
She loves to watch her big bro and big sis play.
She loves to laugh, giggle and play.
She is such a sweet baby and makes our days bright.
She recently started waking earlier in the morning.
She was sleeping 8pm-7:30am but recently she's been waking at 5am
and I usually just give her the pacifier and then she'll wake at 6am to eat.
But the good news is she'll usually go back to sleep.
She's a drooler!
She loves to roll around on the floor but would rather be in her bouncy seat
so that she can see the action going on around her.

We love this little lady so much and cannot imagine not having her in our lives. Can't believe it's already been four months...time sure does fly!

sweet little girl

2011-02-16T12:02:00.000-06:00

family photos

2011-02-16T06:21:00.000-06:00

Had a little mini family photo shoot the other day!
Here's a sneak peak...will share some more soon!

the potty training post

2011-02-15T16:18:00.002-06:00

Facebook has been a buzz about potty training lately...seems lots of my friends are in the midst of toilet training just like we are. I don't want to be rude or tell people they're doing it wrong but I've learned A LOT from this incredible book called Toilet Training without Tantrums. It turns out lots of the information that we as parents are given today is not exactly correct...or should I say the best way to do things.

We've read some of Dr. Rosemond's other books and have learned so much from him and while most of it is common sense stuff it's also probably looked at as outdated and people think his tactics won't work. But we have been so happy with the results we've gotten from our children using some of the discipline measures that he outlines in his book The Well Behaved Child.

We figured that if we liked that book so much we would probably like how he views potty training and how he gets it to work for kids...and parents, without tantrums.

So, I think you should buy the book because he gives lots of great examples, explains things well, and how to deal with certain issues, but I'll give you a run-down of how it works. First of all he talks about how kids really should be trained between 18 and 24 months for the best success rate. Best meaning quickest (and cheapest since you won't have to buy diapers anymore). He talks about how toilet training should just be a matter of fact thing in your home. You don't read books about how to teach your child to use a spoon, you don't watch videos, read books to your kids about using a spoon, you just give them a spoon and eventually they learn how to use it. Using the toilet is in the same category.

We are under the influence of many different psychologists who have put "readiness" signals in our minds and who probably work for pampers and get a portion of the sales (ha!), making us wait till the kids are "ready". Well, Dr. Rosemond has a thing or two to say about that and I totally agree with him and feel that we've been "brainwashed" as a society as to the proper time for toilet training kids and waiting till they are ready.

Once that is all out of the way and you see how Dr. Rosemond suggests you do the toilet training it all makes so much sense. In fact while reading the book I felt bad that we had waited so long to actually attempt to toilet train Micah. He's a smart kid, did I think he wouldn't get it? Well, not really, but I hadn't been taught how to actually do it in order to get results...and I was waiting for the "ready signals". We've had pretty good success with Micah so far using Dr. Rosemond's suggestions, Micah is not 100% toilet trained but I'm impressed with him so far!

We started with Micah last Wednesday morning (Feb. 9th). Cold turkey. No more diapers. We put a small toilet in the kitchen (since he plays there lots) and put a small toilet seat on the big toilet in the kids bathroom (with a step stool). The point is ... accessibility. Putting toilets where the kid plays. If you have a two story house you need more small toilets. Dr. Rosemond suggests one toilet for every major room that the child plays in. We have a one level house with two bathrooms so we figured we only needed one extra toilet. In fact Micah never even used the small toilet but preferred to use the big one. He also talks about a small toilet for the car for when you have to run errands or go places.

Dr. Rosemond calls his strategy naked and $75 or N75. It is best to start the toilet training during a week when you don't need to go anywhere. Then leave the child naked from the waist down (or a thin pair of underwear for boys) for the first week of toilet training (or longer if necessary). (Boys need the underwear because they need to feel the pee run down their legs and without it the pee would just shoot out in front of them.) So, you just leave the kids naked, and let them play, do their thing whatever.

His approach is hands off for parents. We explained everything to Micah on Wednesday, "here's your potty, where does your pee go?" "in the potty" "where does your poop go?" "in the potty"...etc. We told Micah that whenever he needed to go he could just go and use the potty...that's why it's important to have toilets accessible. Now, Dr. Rosemond does say to expect accidents (that's where the $75 comes in), he says that kids will have accidents and that we shouldn't freak out about it, give it too much attention, etc. but use that time to teach about where our pee goes. The $75 is to get your carpet cleaned once you're done toilet training. He talks about how important it is to not hover when they are on the toilet, to let them do it themselves...again, do you hold the spoon for your child all the way to their mouth when they are learning to do it themselves?

Micah peed on the floor four times the first day (only once on the carpet) and pooped in his underwear two times (which didn't make any mess on the floor). But on the second day he only pooped in his underwear and made it to the toilet for all his peeing. He's still doing that one week later. He stays dry after nap time but wakes up wet after bedtime (but it's getting a little better every day). He actually woke my mom up at 4:10am the other morning to use the toilet. He still will not poop in the toilet but we're not pressuring him just making sure he knows where his poop belongs and having him help clean it up.

The other thing that Dr. Rosemond says it to not over praise the kid. Just tell them matter of factly "good job, you know where your pee goes, you're growing up so fast" etc. This makes sense to me also and it all goes back to the spoon analogy, it's something they just need to do so we don't need to make a huge deal out of it. They'll get it, if we just give them a chance. He also says, sticker charts, food rewards and things like that are not necessary.

He suggests that for some kids it might work best to set a timer for 60-90 minutes and put your kid on the potty at those intervals, to call it the "potty bell". Once the 60 minutes passes take the kid to the toilet, get them to sit and if nothing happens no big deal just re-start the timer. We tried this with Micah the first day and he didn't really like it and we noticed that he was telling us when he had to go so we didn't keep it up past the second day.

Okay, I've gone on long enough for the time being...if you want to know more I suggest you read the book (it's a quick read), it'll get you motivated to make the toilet training happen. Don't give up. Don't stress out. It'll happen. I am willing to share more (especially what he says about night time training) but for now that's probably enough to chew on. Let me know if you have any questions. Again, I'm not an expert and I'm not saying that anyone is doing it wrong if they are doing it differently. I'm just saying that I agree with Dr. Rosemond's approach and I have a little almost three year old success story here to prove that it works.

snow day

2011-02-15T14:57:00.003-06:00

It's not every year that it snows in San Antonio, in fact we've never seen snow since we moved here three and a half years ago...but some people haven't seen snow and they've lived here their whole lives. So wouldn't you guess, that it would snow in San Antonio the weekend that Greg and I were out of town (visiting the congregation in Jackson, TN that has extended him a call to be their pastor and by the way, he'll make a decision and announce to both churches on Sunday morning). But at least the big kids were home with grammy and papa and got to experience their first San Antonio snowfall....or should I say snow dusting. Yes, folks the city shut down (so I hear) and yes it was less than 1/4 of an inch of snow. But when you don't ever see snow it is a big deal.

The kids had to make their snow angels on the driveway because the grass was too warm for the snow to even stick. My parents bundled them up nice and good so they would stay warm in the 20 degree weather... I know that's nothing for you northerners (trust me I know I lived in Milwaukee till I was 24) but when it's 80 one day and then 20 the next, it feels pretty cold. They enjoyed the snow for the little time it was around and Naomi is already asking for more. Sorry sweetheart I don't think it will snow anymore in San Antonio this year!

Here are some photos that my mom took of the kids playing in the snow!

i made it...

2011-02-14T16:50:00.003-06:00

I can't believe that I made it to round three of American Crafter.
Did you see what I was up against?
Those were some mad crafting skills by the other talented ladies!!!
So, now I have to come up with something "vintage".
I'm not a "vintage" type of person, although sometimes I really wish I was,
so I'm really trying hard to think of what to make...any ideas?

Snow photos and lots of other great things to share.
Probably tomorrow...
my parents are here for one more night (gotta soak up every last minute).
Tomorrow they leave to start their overseas teaching adventure.
I'm so excited for them...but so sad for them to leave!!!

See you soon!

san antonio snow

2011-02-11T10:00:00.000-06:00

The theme for week 2 of American Crafter is "Let it snow".
I'm not one who usually decorates with the snow theme,
so I was at a loss as to what I should make for my let it snow craft.
My mom and I threw a lot of ideas around.
This is what I finally came up with.
It's a snow mobile...are they snow balls or just giant Texas sized snow flakes?
You decide.

It looks great hanging in the corner of our kitchen,
it adds a little sparkle to the room, and lets us enjoy the snow without the cold.
However it did snow here last week but not much and it didn't last long.
This Texas sized snow mobile is guaranteed to last as long as we want it to.

Don't forget to head over to Naptime Crafters and vote for your favorite "Let it snow" craft.
I would appreciate the vote, but please just vote for your favorite one!

football cake pops

2011-02-09T15:52:00.002-06:00

So excited that we got to cheer the Packers on to a Super Bowl victory.
So excited that my parents got to be here to watch it with us...
or that we got to watch it with them! :)
We had the youth over and had a little super bowl party.
So I made some yummy cake balls and shaped them into little footballs.
These didn't last long...they were so yummy!