Hello

Is anyone still reading this little ol’ blog???
May was so busy with activity {worse than December if you ask me} and I really just wasn’t feelin’ it so I took a little unplanned bloggy break.

But HEY, I’m BACK!!! {and now you are stuck with me}
So there ya have it! I’m here and you are stuck.  I win!

Thanks to those of you who have left comments and emailed me to make sure I was ok. Y’all are what make this blog thang so much fun and I appreciate your concern. I have the BEST readers!

So……what have I been up to you ask.

Josiah had his school program and did such a great job singing and smiling.
I spent 6 years taking kids to preschool here and I will miss the wonderful teachers.

We are nearing the end of baseball season. Corban’s team is doing really well this year {haven’t really been able to say that before}. He managed to end up on a team where the coaches see their work with the kids as a ministry and said as much at the first practice. Wow. love that! It has made for a very enjoyable season so far. 

Little man gets a .25 tootsie pop every. single. game.
Keeps him still for a little while.

Josiah started t-ball last week. He was so excited~ crazy excited. Like drive you nuts, can you please stop talking about it kind of excited.  

I have also been sewing like a mad woman. Mostly Etsy shop orders, but I did manage to make myself a new little bag last weekend. I love it! The pattern is from I think Sew. 

It’s the retro bag. I {heart} the pleats on the front and that it’s a crossover bag and that my hands are free when I carry it.  No more hurting shoulders from a heavy purse. 



Speaking of the shop, I put in on vacation yesterday!! As much as I love making things for other people, I decided I needed a little break. Sales have really picked up lately and I am forever grateful to those of you who have shown your confidence in me and bought one of my cases. However, I need a little rest and relaxation for a few weeks so the shop is closed until June 25th. You can still place an order, but it won’t ship until after the 25th. If you placed an order before. June 5th, I will finish your order and have it shipped by tomorrow.

Speaking of relaxation, I can’t wait to be sitting on this beach this summer. dreamy.

How about you? any relaxation in your future?

Oh, goodness

It has been a whirlwind of crazy around here lately!
I think it is starting to slow down a bit.  I think….

Does anyone else feel like they are always in go mode with absolutely no time to slow down and enjoy things? I feel like I am always thinking “next week will be more peaceful” and somehow that next week never gets here .  Maybe I am doing something wrong. Please tell me if you know a secret I don’t. I would hug you right through this computer screen if I could! seriously.

I don’t really have much to say because my brain is maxed out, but I thought I would share some pics of what we have been up to.

So ready yourself for random and disjointedness ahead~

We had an Easter egg hunt at church for the first time this year and the kids loved it. It was short and sweet {literally} and the weather was beautiful!

All my handsome guys trying to smile whilst I made them stare directly into the sun :) 

Capturing all three together and smiling is so rare these days. I love this. 


 
More egg hunting at my parent’s house. 

My niece, Maddy, had her first egg hunt, but I think she really liked the mulch better than the eggs. 

We had a lovely day celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ!

Next came prom!!!

Pretty girls!

My grandmother passed away on Good Friday {she was 95} so we have been busy attending memorial services this week. I say plural serviceS because the funeral home totally messed up everything and failed to mention until the morning of the burial that the death certificate was never signed. Who does that?

We also switched over our phone, internet, TV service to another company to save a bundle of cash each month. So far, it’s been a miserable mess. Our internet service has been spotty at best. uugh!

Ooh, I would like to thank whoever the lovely soul is who sent over 3000 visitors to my etsy shop yesterday. I haven’t figured out who you are, but thank you! I think you are particularly awesome!


All in all, I know I am blessed beyond measure. I feel grateful to have a wonderful family, a risen Savior and a home with spotty internet/phone/ TV coverage. Things will never be perfect this side of glory.


"There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind."
— C.S. Lewis

blog anyway

I’m pretty sure I’ve never been this quiet before. 

My heart and mind are all wrapped up tight around other things lately and I’m having a hard time putting together a coherent thought worthy of an entire post.

You know what the professionals say to do when you are blog blocked??….. wait for it……..

blog anyway.

So, that is what I'm going to do.
blog anyway.
So, I’m just going to go with it….umm, kay?

warning: totally random, incoherent thoughts ahead…

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Have you been to Foodgawker yet? oh, my! totally addictive!
The best of food and photography combined.
I dare you to go take a look and not be totally hooked.
I’ll wait while you gawk…….

I will be making these yummy looking peanut butter chocolate bars today.

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Funny things my little people say:

I was getting my boys into bed one night and as I was walking out the door Corban said “Mom,  you are awesome, stay cool!” In a totally cheesy, Joey from friends, kinda way.  Now my husband tells me to “stay cool” all the time. I’m so not cool, but it makes me giggle.

You know that feeling when your foot, leg {whatever} falls asleep and is “waking up”. Josiah calls that feeling “buzzering”. It’s a pretty accurate description, if you ask me.

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I ordered a new Adventures in Odyssey before Christmas and we {Corban, Josiah and I} have been listening to it every time we are in the van.
The Truth Chronicles is based on The Truth Project by Focus on the Family. It is really good and Corban is soaking it up. Josiah is a little young to really get it yet, but he listens and enjoys it.

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We tried to get together with some homeschool friends before Christmas for a little school party. It didn’t happen before Christmas because of illness, but we did manage to get together the week after. 

We made these cute little handprint snowman ornaments that I originally saw here. The kids had fun decorating their handprints and I think they turned out pretty sweet. We still got to enjoy them on the tree for a few days since it took me forever to take my tree down.  Yeah for procrastination :)
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I love the show Parenthood.
It drives my husband batty. sometimes.
He hates it when they have people talk over people.
I think that just makes it seem more real. 
They are such a messed up family, but isn’t that really all of us to some extent?

Zeek Braverman….he is such a character.

____________

My baby sister {I say baby because she is 12 1/2 years younger than me} was the recipient of the "stylish blogger award” and was nice enough to pass it on to me. I’m not so stylish compared to her, but I’ll take it anyway. I’m supposed to tell you things about myself that you may not know, but my brain isn’t up for that right now so I’ll do that part another time.

I will list a few of my favorite blog reads. The one’s I go to first when I see them in my reader.

Quiet Life~ amazing photography and a beautiful spirit.
Living Intentionally~ A beautiful look at a mom’s life with 2 {almost 3} little boys.
Life in Grace~ truly a life filled with grace and a heart for Christ. I think the Lord is using her in amazing ways.
Eclectic Whatnot~ makes me giggle {or snort} everyday.

________

there….I did it!

I blogged anyway.
it wasn’t sooo bad.
I feel better now, how about you?

The last day of summer

The sun is setting on our  summer break and I am completely overwhelmed {rambling ahead….read at your own risk}.

Britt starts her junior year tomorrow…..hold on tight to your babies, they grow so fast! It seems like she just started junior high last year. 

We made a huge decision this summer that I would homeschool Corban this year. I know this is the absolute best decision for him, but I am so not ready for this. At least not yet.

My ducks are NOT in a row. They are currently not even in the same pond.

My ducks are scattered about………..very scattered

.

I have a few etsy orders that I’m working on or maybe I should say I’m thinking about working on.  The fabric is ready, now I just need to find the time…..it eludes me. 

Josiah will turn 5 on Thursday. He’s been counting down since about March, yet it has completely snuck up on me.  I have nothing planned or bought.  I kinda dislike the fact that his birthday is always the same week school starts. 

Tomorrow night we have our Wednesday family night kick-off party at church. I love having church on Wednesday evening during the school year. It’s a nice little bit of encouragement mid-week. Everyone can benefit from that, especially stay at home moms who don’t get much adult interaction during the week {that would be me}. 

Did I mention the kick-off party is a cookout and I’m in charge of all the meat {buying it and praying some men show up to grill it} and drinks, set up, clean up etc. It is always lots of fun and it isn’t too bad because lots of people pitch in and help. I’m really looking forward to it.

We took the kids to get ice cream tonight to end our summer break. While we were there Britt informed me that her friend Rachel will be picking her up in the morning for her first day of school. This will be the first time in 13 years that I haven’t taken her to her first day of school {~weep~}. I asked her if I could follow them to school so I could get a picture of her walking into the school, but she didn’t seem to think that was a good idea :) teenagers.

I should really be doing laundry….the pile is approaching epic proportions.  

Thanks for listening…..you all are way better than therapy.

Don’t forget to enter the $40 CSN gift certificate giveaway going on. I will draw the winner Thursday morning. You can still enter HERE.


Blessings- 

 

It’s a good thing

When it rains, it pours. I’ve heard the saying before, but this is kind of ridiculous.

*The dryer is still squeaky and taking f-o-r-e-v-e-r to dry anything {I’ve been too busy to fix it yet}

*Our air conditioner is frozen up……ironically, this translates to a very warm home.

*My van has a lovely squeak when it’s too wet outside.

*Did I mention it’s very wet outside?

*Fourth of July fireworks were rained out and the kids had to do their sparklers in the pouring rain…bummer.

*My dishwasher makes a horrible noise occasionally and sometimes likes to dump a couple cups of water on the floor while it runs.

*I think I need new tires on the van before we drive to Colorado.


This may seem like a long complaint list, but really it’s not. Just the reality of life in a broken world.

It’s a good thing that my hope is not in earthly possessions. They will fail us every time. It is a 100% guarantee.

My hope is in the Lord and I know that he will care for my every need.

“We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.”

Psalm 33:20

Well, hello there July!

you snuck right up on me when I wasn’t looking! At the beginning of the summer I thought June was going to be the busiest month, but now I’m not so sure. {warning: brain dump ahead}

~This past week simply just disappeared. Nothing big happened. No pictures to prove it’s existence. It just vanished. Anyone relate? Anyone?

~I managed to avoid {I’ll act like it was on purpose} my blog all week, but I did have several Etsy orders and some custom items I’m working on. So I have been doing something….I guess.

~I {for some unknown reason} agreed to make a supersized football out of fabric for our VBS later this month. I really don’t mind doing it at all, but right now it seems like just another thing on my 243mile long list of things to accomplish in the month of July. Don’t worry Jane, I will get it done :) It probably won’t get done early, but it will get done.

~I’m excited we will be going on a little vacation later this month. We are heading to Estes Park in Colorado. It should be tons of fun and the kids are pretty excited!

~Britt’s best friend that moved away two and a half years ago is moving back today. I’m so excited for her and their friendship.  We missed her and her family while they were gone and can’t wait to have them back.

~One week from tomorrow I will be FORTY years old. eeek!

~speaking of FORTY {seems like such a BIG number…especially when I put it in all caps like that} I found out a couple of my good friends and their husbands {and my hubby} are having a party for me. I am very excited! It’s going to be a murder mystery dinner and I’m the main character. It is set in a 50’s diner so I need to come up with a costume. I’m guessing a nice poodle skirt will do…….anyone have one lying around??

~I was at Walmart yesterday and noticed they are putting out the school supplies already. I like school supplies as much as the next girl…..but really Walmart, can’t you let me enjoy my summer for a few more weeks without making me think about school.

~That’s all she wrote………….maybe I’ll be back later with something more exciting.  Thanks for reading all my lameness.

Friday Favorites

I have a ton going on in my brain lately, but nothing that I can really share. So let’s take a look at some things from around blogland that have made me smile lately.

Missy at It’s Almost Naptime is a very funny and passionate lady. I love reading her posts. I am STILL thinking about this post called I don’t want my children to be happy from over 2 months ago. You should definitely read it!

On a less serious note, I picked up a couple of nearly new toss pillows at a garage sale this week for only $2 each and I want to cover them and use them in our living room chairs. I’m thinking about doing something similar to this pillow from Just another hang up.  She has a bunch of cute pillow ideas.


Need a rug, but don’t want to shell out some big bucks for it? Here is a totally clever idea. High Heeled Foot in the Door used a rubber rug backing, a drop cloth and a couple yards of fabric to create this awesome rug. Sweet idea!



I {heart} this quilt from Piece-N-Quilt. The colors. The ruffled edge, the shapes and flowers. I am NOT a quilter {no patience},but if I was………I would totally make this. She has a tutorial if you are a quilter and you wanted to make me one.


 
I love cool whip because it’s all creamy and yummy and I also hate it because it’s full of all nasty stuff and if you think about that while your eating it….it will gross you out. I never knew you could make your own. It’s not exactly the same and it’s not good for everything you might use cool whip for, but I think I will definitely try it. The recipe is at Lynn’s Recipe Adventures.



Are you a big craigslister? If you post pictures to sell stuff, then this post over at Small Notebook will show you how to make your pictures BIGGER so your stuff will sell BETTER. Handy stuff!

check out Tidy Mom for more friday loves.


Have a wonderful weekend!

Weekend wrap up

This post is brought to you from my couch on my shiny new laptop......on my couch {did I mention that?}


My old computer bit the dust the other day...finally. I've always been a bit envious of my husband and his little laptop. He could just sit on the couch {or wherever he wanted} and surf away. Not me...I was banished to the basement to my big desktop machine. Not to say that he wouldn't share his laptop, he would, but I didn't want to take it from him so I would go to the basement.....by my self.


That is history now...yeah!!


We had a wonderful weekend. The kids were off school Friday so hubby took off early and we went to a new local buffet to check it out......it was ok, but I'm pretty sure we won't be going back. Then we set off to find a new computer. The kids hung in there pretty good as we hit 4 stores to check out prices. We came home and had some hot dogs for a quick dinner and I made a cake while the boys set up there blankets to watch a movie. We all gathered together and enjoyed "The secret of the mountain" movie that was on nbc. It was actually ok...slightly cheesy, but hey it was fun, clean and entertaining. 


Saturday I bought some more wood to make another raised garden bed. We had lots of fun with the one we built last year so we figured why not do more.


I also bought a new kitchen faucet. It looks great....but it is horrible! It makes a thumping noise every time I turn on the water. Oh yeah, and the sprayer will just start dripping for no reason and the hot water handle was loose after cleaning up ONE meal. Real nice.....I'll be returning it thank you very much.


Today I spent the day excavating the boys room...seriously. Too much stuff in too small a space to I went in with trash bags in hand and cleared out two full {big} bags of stuff to donate and one bag to throw away. I also reorganized everything. I just need to make some labels so there is no confusion on where everything belongs. This felt very good!


A special guest arrived this evening. Little Miss Madelyn came to spend the night and all day tomorrow while her mommy and daddy go to a funeral. Josiah is SO excited for her to be here. He just gushes all over her and tells her how much he loves her...it is just very sweet to watch. 


I hope you all had an equally wonderful weekend. Thanks for reading my ramblings. I still can't believe that there are people who read what I write and come back for more instead of running away screaming. Thanks....you all make me feel good. 

Slightly obsessive

I have issues {lots, actually} but let's just take a look at ONE today shall we......um, kay!

I like recipes.....like a whole lot. Like this is the reduced version of my collection and this doesn't cover all the recipes I've ripped out of magazines or printed off the internet and have stashed in here {stuffed fuuullllllll!}

Does anyone else have this problem? Just me? ....seriously

I would much prefer to sift through a pile of recipe books than read some novel. weird....I know. The problem is I have all these recipes and sometimes I still can't figure out what to fix for dinner.....uugh! Too many ideas I suppose. 

As bad as my little obsession problem is I do have a few more on my wish list {I know,I know......issues}

PW's new cookbook. I bought it for my sister at Christmas ....kinda wishin' I had my own. 

I have the Family cookbook and love it....I'm sure this one is excellent too. FULL of help info!

This one just looks a little dreamy to me....look at that pie! If I had this cookbook do you think I could make a pie that looked like that? um...probably not. I'm willing to try though.

Do you have a favorite cookbook that you go to all the time? I would love to know so I can add it to my wish list  possibly browse through it at the bookstore.

What do you think....am I crazy? Does anyone else have the same recipe collection obsession problem or do you all just get your recipes online?

Please tell me I am not alone.

A few things

I've been held up in my bathroom for a couple days now.

No worries, it isn't as bad as it sounds. 

I've been tiling. 

The vanity is all painted with the new doors and drawers in place. All new hardware too.

The tile is installed, grouted and waiting to dry. 

I'm waiting for my pretty white sink to get put back in so I can see it all together....I can't wait!

I'll take pics when it's done, but here's a little peak. 

......

Josiah helped make dinner last night. Mine's the chicken, his is the "soup".

Wondering what the little "guys" are doing in the soup? Those are the "kids toys" just like at McDonald's.

Do you think it's a little hint that he thinks I should pass out toys with his dinner every night?

...... 

Is it just me or can nobody else see my polka dot background paper? I tell you, blogger hates me....no joke! I can see it just fine in explorer and chrome, but not firefox. 

I realize it isn't the end of the world, but all the white just kinda bugs me. so blah! 

I know google has been having some issues the last few days with images because I've seen problems on other blogs so I'm going to choose to ignore it for a week and see if it fixes itself.
{I'll just leave you with that lovely run on sentence...have a good evening!}

My week {and new ruffled fabric covered journals}

Spring has arrived and by Friday it should feel like summer...really! Remember the 8" of snow we got last weekend? Well, it finally all melted and now it should be in the mid 80's by Friday....crazy! I'm certainly not complaining because I can't wait to open up the windows and air out the house. 

I ♥ having the windows open and breathing the spring air!

Last week I got my vanity and new doors and drawer fronts painted in my bathroom. I'm excited to share the finished product, but I want to get the tiling on the counter top done first. I planned to do it the end of last week, but my mother in law came in town for the weekend and I decided it best not to make our main bathroom unusable for the weekend. Pretty thoughtful of me, huh? 

Well, the sink is out and I am ready to tile the counter top in the morning! Hopefully by Thursday I'll have something to show you. 

Maybe good....maybe bad.... only time will tell. 

I've never tiled anything before, but I've read lots and it doesn't seem too hard. What's the worst that could happen? really? We would have to tear it out and buy a new counter top....I'll take the risk.  

Maybe by the end of the week the yard will no longer be a swamp and I can get out there and clean up some of the flower beds.....they look sad. 

I did manage to finally get some of these little ruffled fabric covered journals posted in my shop. I really love them. It makes jotting down a grocery list a little more pleasurable.

Since we will hit the 80's by the end of the week, I decided it would be a good idea to switch over the boys clothes today. This was about 15 minutes into the project. Piles, piles, piles!

I got up in the attic and got a wild idea to bring down the 1529 tubs of boys clothes we currently have and organize them. {I saved you the agony of a picture of that disaster} It took a few hours, but they are now nicely organized by size and season. 

I got rid of a bunch of stuff and packed up the rest and labeled them all. I did come to the realization that Corban must have worn size 7/8 for a L O N G time because there is a ton of that size. When Josiah gets there...he will be set for quite a while {he'll probably skip that size altogether :)}

That's pretty much my week in a nutshell....how about you?

Have I mentioned how much I enjoy reading all of your lovely comments? I do....it brightens my day!


This post is linked up to:

Just a girls show and share day

Everything etsy's I made it

Me and my bucket

Hodgepodge Friday

V & Co

Sumo's sweet stuff

Unwrapping a Tuesday

Today is kinda dreary outside.

rainy, but not cold.

it wouldn't seem so bad if we hadn't just been blessed with 4 glorious days

of flyin' high at the playground kinda weather {love that grin}

We haven't accomplished much today except playing

that's ok too though. Some days are just like that.

Yesterday was very productive for me.

Not much to show for it, but a bunch of food to eat.

Speaking of food, did I ever show you my new crockpot I bought myself

It is currently slaving away while I play.

I bought it the day after Thanksgiving for only $13. Love it!

I joke that I had my old crockpot longer than I've had my husband {it's true}

It served me well over the years, but it is nice to have one that is somewhat programmable.

Have I told you lately how completely blessed I am to have such a wonderful husband.

I am! 

He totally fixed my van....{again} over the weekend. 

I no longer go clickity clack as I drive down the road.

Not every man can do that. I know it isn't his most favorite thing to do {I think he refers to it being similar to "pulling his fingernails out one by one"..eww}, but he does it anyway because it costs a whole lot less than paying someone else to do it.

I appreciate him so very much.

I read this post by Kristen today and sobbed. Just giving you fair warning...don't go read this unless you have $38 a month to give away and a box of tissues handy. 

this post is linked up with Chatting at the Sky