Psst.... Look At My New Ticker!

It's right below my profile...
Yup! That's right!
Most of you already know the news,
but some of you may not.
I haven't had an ultrasound yet because I was too early at my first appointment.
The Holidays have delayed my second appointment so I'm excited to have my 1st ultrasound.
I'll be approximately 12 weeks along.

The kids don't know yet, but Lucas has a sneakin' suspicion.
He outright asked me today if I have a baby in my belly
because my belly was getting bigger.
Ummm......
I think it was related to a Franklin (the turtle) movie that they've been watching lately,
in which Franklin is having a hard time waiting for Spring to
arrive because that is when his baby sister is due.

I don't want to purposely mislead him, but I would like to have my
ultrasound first since we miscarried last time.
I just told him my tummy was getting fluffy,
which is not entirely a lie due to lack of muscle tone
and too many Christmas goodies!

I really am looking forward to sitting down and telling them the good news!
I'm glad I could share it with you!

The Sweetest Gift

I have the best 2010 calendar a mom could ever want!
Here is the layout for the calendar Lucas made
for me at preschool. It's laminated so I can use a dry-erase
marker to mark my schedule. When 2011 rolls around I can
print out my calendar, laminate it and reuse the pictures.
This is something I will cherish for a long time!
Thanks sweetie pie!

Inexpensive and Adorable!

A few weeks ago I picked up these $1 kits from Jo-Ann's for the kids to make. A few of the details were a little difficult for them, but they had a great time anyway. The only thing we changed was to give baby snowman a scarf of his own.

Here are the end results:

Lucas' snowmen

Lydia's snowmen

I love the individuality of each one and I think they turned out much
cuter than the one pictured on the package!
(This mom is not biased at all!)

How Could I....

...take these down?

Last week when I came home from work the kids
excitedly told me they had decorated for Christmas
while I was gone. They were so proud and so excited
So.... how could I possibly take these down? They are here to stay.

Easy Advent Calendar

Lucas brought the above Advent calendar home from school. Although I would prefer to have an Advent calendar that helps us focus on the true meaning of Christmas (I have yet to make a Jesse tree) he has really enjoyed placing a cotton ball on each corresponding day.

Of course, Lydia needed a calendar so she could join in. I drew a simple snowman and penciled in 25 circles similar to the Santa...

...let her decorate with pens and crayons and soon we will have a very
fuzzy snowman and Santa on our hands.

Now, on to shopping for my Jesse tree ornaments!

Making Memories

Yesterday, the kids and I decorated our cut-out sugar cookies. It was cold and blustery outside and warm and cozy in the kitchen. We played Christmas music and had so much fun! As you can see in the first picture, while I was busy help one kid the other would be going crazy with the sprinkles and M&M's. We had an out of control sprinkle-fest going on! It was great!

Sugar Cookies- Taste of Home (compliments of my sis, Jenn)

3/4 c butter
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 3/4 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Cream butter and sugar until well combined. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Combine dry ingredients and add to your creamed mixture. Chill for one hour. Roll out dough to 1/4 -1/2" depending on if you want crunchy vs soft cookies. Cut out desired shapes. Bake @ 375 for 8-10 min. Cool and frost.

Buttercream Frosting- mom (love you!)

1/2 c butter
1/2 c shortening
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
5 1/2 c powdered sugar
1/4 milk or half and half

Cream butter and shortening. Add salt and vanilla. Mix well. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time alternating with milk. Beat until light and fluffy. Keep covered until ready to use.

***This made enough frosting to generously frost 2 batches of sugar cookies***

Now frost and decorate your cookies and try to keep from eating 2 or 3 at a time. SO good!

Graduation Weekend

A certain someone moved into a "big girl" bed this weekend!

Two Kinds of Cute!

Lucas decided today would be a good day to wear part of his Halloween
costume again. Such an adorable look on his face!
(We did end up going to a church festival... for those of you who I discussed Halloween
celebrations with, way back in October. I'm glad we decided to do it!)

Lydia showing off her new purple tutu, a wonderful birthday gift
from my sister Jenn's family. She looks so adorable in it!

O Praise Him!

"But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more." Psalm 71: 14

All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice and with us sing
Oh, praise Him
Alleluia

Thou burning sun with golden beam
Thou silver moon with softer gleam
Oh, praise Him
Oh, praise Him
Alleluia
Alleluia
Alleluia

Thou rushing wind that art so strong
Ye clouds that sail in heav’n along
Oh, praise Him
Alleluia

Thou rising moon in praise rejoice
Ye lights of evening find a voice
Oh, praise Him
Oh, praise Him
Alleluia
Alleluia
Alleluia

Let all things their creator bless
And worship Him in humbleness
Oh, praise Him
Alleluia

Praise, praise the Father praise the Son
And praise the Spirit three in one
Oh, praise Him
Oh, praise Him
Alleluia
Alleluia
Alleluia
(lyrics revised by David Crowder)

Have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!

Baby Shower!!!

I was beyond pleased to be able to throw a baby shower for Brian's sister (and my SIL), Katie, this last weekend. I had so much fun dreaming and planning for the big event. I wouldn't have been able to pull if off without the help of Mom1 and Mom2 (Katie's mom and MIL), so a BIG thanks to them!!!

The Momma of Honor: She's beautiful even with food in her mouth! (Sorry, Katie, it's the only
pic that turned out! You still look super cute!)

The feast: Specialty crackers and soft cheeses, Pecan Crunch trail mix,
fresh fruit and mini quiches.

I loved how the napkin rings turned out. You can't really see, but each one had a little
cardstock square with an inspirational word on it.

A close up of the Pecan Crunch trail mix. This recipe is hard to leave alone!
(I will post the recipe in a few days. It's great for the holidays!)

White Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake with Pecan-Gingersnap Crust and Sweet Cream.
You will not be disappointed with this recipe!

I had an absolute blast making these plush toys for Mr. C.
I used them as my shower decorations:

mini quilt: Amy Butler fabric backed with white Minky (pattern by moi').
plush ball: Purl Bee blog
plush blocks: P.S. I Love You quilt book.
plush scottie dog: Allsorts blog (archive: May 2006)

Momma cherishing her little man!

It was an honor to celebrate my new nephew, Mr. C! He has such a neat story behind his life already, but for the World Wide Web it shall remain quiet for now. I love that little guy so much! Such a sweet, special gift from God! We had a great time celebrating!

Purple Party

This past Sunday we held Lydia's birthday party with family who live close. For months she has been asking for a "purple" party. It was a fairly simple party, but I believe we fulfilled the need for purple. Here's a pictorial account of the fun!

White cake with purple marshmallow fondant dusted with lavender luster dust.

Her royal princess modeling the crown I made her while sneaking a sample of her cake.

Purple swirls... an extra fun touch!

A pretty posy to dress up her shirt. Inspired by Lindsey Cheney over at The Pleated Poppy. I would love to support her sweet little business, but I need to use up my ridiculous stash of fabric somehow. So this my version of a posy.

Lydia's purple stash!

Uncle Clay and Aunt Katie!

Happy, Happy 3rd!

How can it be? My little girl celebrated her 3rd birthday today! She's is growing up into quite the little lady!

Some of your favorite things:

• Anything purple!
• Doggies and kitties
• Princess everything.
• Visiting the fish and "monsters" (lobsters) while grocery shopping.
• A new found love for puzzles.
• You love to wear dresses!
• You make up songs almost everyday and sing your heart out.
• INDEPENDENT!

Lydia,

Goodness, honey! Would you slow down? You are growing up so quick! You are a precious little girl! We are so blessed to have you as part of our family! Your smile lights up a room. You are feisty and independent, but you have such a tender heart. As you grow, I pray that you will love Jesus and fully know you are a daughter of the King. A princess indeed! I love you, sweet girl!

love- Mama

THEN... Nov 2008

AND NOW... Nov 2009

(trying out her new boots)

Leaf Hunting

WHAT?!!! I have a blog? Apparently I had forgotten! Life has been busy. And I've been adding too many phenomenal blogs to my Google reader and now I need to pare down. There are too many gifted bloggers out there! Like this little excerpt from Mylestones, "...the thunder and wind drummed up the leafy marching band and swirled into an unrehearsed formation of autumn paisley." What a creative and poetic thought process! My head would implode if this kind of word picture came from my own thoughts! I am a simple girl with simple thoughts and speech. I would love to be able to write in such a manner, but that is not where God has gifted me. I need to remind myself of this when I start to think my posts need to be eloquent and inspiring before I allow myself to post them.

So, without further ado...

I've been trying to make an effort to do more involved activities with the kids. I tend to be a home body, but I want them to have a fun and active childhood filled with good memories. So, I am making the effort. I want to be able to look back on my ventures of being a mom with no regrets, so I'm busting out of my cozy comfort zone and trying to plan something every 10 days to 2 weeks. Nothing spectacular... just togetherness outside of our normal routine.

A couple weeks ago I took the kids to a local nature reserve to go hiking and leaf hunting. Our goal was to find leaves we could press between sheets of wax paper. The kids loved the walk and it was all I could do to make them turn around to head back to the car. In total I think we hiked close to 4 miles! The leaves were still too green, but it was a beautiful walk. (We went leaf hunting a few days later in our neighborhood and found some gorgeous specimens.)

Here are some pics:

Enjoying the river

Looking all around for the perfect leaf.

Possibly the biggest tree I have ever seen. I had the kids
stand next to it for perspective, but it still doesn't do it justice. HUGE!

Peaceful!

Beautiful variations of color on a fallen tree.

And our productive leaf hunt a few days later.! Cold and rainy, but fun!

Hope you enjoyed the update and next time I won't stay away so long!

Goggles Are Great and Other Random Things

Who knew what fun a couple pairs of goggles would bring to our day! I stopped by CVS and found these goggles 90% off. The kids love them and they make me laugh every time they put them on.

It's been pretty slow around our place. Here is a random list of the past week's activities:

• Brian and I helped our neighbor pull out her overgrown bushes along the property line. We both wound up with poison ivy. I should seriously know better, but I thought I was being super careful. The area on my leg is so bad! I will spare you the nasty, horrid details.
• The kids and I headed North to spend time with my parents and siblings last weekend. We had a good time catching up and laying low.
• I had a wonderful night out alone last night. Finally, shopping without having to keep track of little hands! Just window shopping, but it was totally relaxing!
• I'm on vacation this week. Yea!!!! The weather is gorgeous! I'm hoping to get some more decorating and yard work accomplished....maybe a little sewing on the side! (Please, please, please....)
• Yesterday, I made three batches of strawberry jam. My little family is plowing through the batches I made in June. It was a little more expensive to make it this time of year, but I know it won't go to waste and it makes everyone so happy!
• I picked these little beauties this afternoon. My rose bushes are make one last push before the frost. They are as fragrant as they are pretty!

I hope you all have a great weekend and an enjoyable week to come!

First Day Underway!

This is a little delayed, but I still wanted to post some pictures of the 1st day of school for Lucas. He will be attending preschool again this year. Last year we saw some phenomenal changes in our little guy. He's been asking for 6 weeks when he would get to go back to school. He's ready and he loves it!

Luckily, my boss allowed me to come into work late, so I was able to see him off on his first day. I was so brave until the sun illuminated his beautiful, smiling face as they drove off. It struck me again for the thousandth time how much I'm going to miss not having home all the time.

He seems to be really enjoying his teacher and class room. This afternoon we finished our first home project.

A school bus that he was to decorate anyway he wanted.