Grosgrain: Sew Cute Shop Amy Butler Birdie Sling GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Grosgrain: Sew Cute Shop Amy Butler Birdie Sling GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

lovin' this bag! i hope i win! (crossed fingers)

some belly pics and thoughts

my friend, charmaine is an amazing photographer and i asked her if she'd be willing to take some photos of our family and my belly as we await baby #3. we were awestruck by the fantastic pictures that she took. simply amazing! so, i thought i'd share a few of my favs on here.















i can hardly believe it's only a month 'til baby arrives. i'm scared, nervous, excited, hopeful and so many other emotions that i can't quite put into words. i wonder how i'll manage with 3 children but i know that once i'm in it, it'll just be the way it's supposed to be. whatever that means. anticipating this baby's arrival has been far different than when i was pregnant with the girls. for one thing, we know how much work a baby can be... and so we're cautiously excited about it's arrival for we understand that soon there'll be many sleepness nights, less freedom and more challenges. on the other hand, we know how amazingly lovable little babies are too, even when they're crying, we're crying and everyone is cranky. for the baby stage doesn't last forever and we will try to treasure it for what it is. we cannot wait to see how the girls react to this baby either. i think that is what we're most looking forward to. so... we wait anxiously and excitidly for this baby's time to come into the world. september suddenly isn't so far away.

sweet summer skirts

long awaited, here they are.
i finished them already a couple weeks ago but i just haven't had time to download the photos and actually update my blog. ok, i've had the time just haven't MADE the time is more like it. my girls are quiet for a couple minutes so i decided to update the blog.

the skirts were quite easy to make, just took a bit of time. lots of zigzagging so my fabric wouldn't fray. working on the long stitch and pulling it to gather the pieces. fidgeting with the elastic and making sure it wasn't twisted before i sewed it shut, etc, etc. but it was fun! and even though my feet were actually swollen by the end of the day, it was worth it (it was like 27 degrees inside my MIL's house b/c she didn't put the a/c yet at this point and it was HOT outside). now the girls are thrilled they have matching little flirty skirts and i'm proud of myself for making them. who cares if they cost more than another cute skirt at old navy or superstore? they were created with love by their mommy! :)

here's another couple of shots of the girls playing in the yard.

and a close up shot...

summer furniture

dilemmas, dilemmas. we really need some sort of outdoor furniture for our covered patio. well, need isn't really the right word. want sorta makes more sense. it probably was a bad idea on my part but i went outdoor furniture shopping with my mother in law today. i should clarify... we went high end outdoor furniture shopping. you know, the stuff most definitely that will never fit into our price range. ahem. this is the piece that i salivated over...

well, not this exact one but something very similar. it had an over $3000 price tag. i nearly choked on the drool that was pouring out of my mouth. jeez. i could buy another vehicle or two for that price. but it is beautiful and i'm sure it would last a long time. however, it will not be on our deck. so i found something more in our price range.

it's cute, ain't it? and a much more reasonable price. i found this little ditty at home outfitters, on sale for $419, regularly $599. not too shabby at all, huh? i was quite pleased with the price actually. i was thrilled with the price. M... well, not so much. he doesn't think we need anything on the deck so any amount of money is too much. i love it but the only downfall... i measured it and it's just a few inches too wide for our deck (the way i wanted to place it). oh well. i don't think i could have convinced him to get it anyway. so, where does this leave me? do i continue to use our ugly sitting around the fire pit camping chairs? or do i save up for something spectacular? here's the thing, i need and want something for the deck. unfortunately, this is probably what i'm going to end up with.
i just might be able to convince M on the $14.99 price tag. ;)

my first (nice) creation

stop the presses... i actually created something. on my sewing machine. yup, sewed it all MYSELF!! can you believe it? i hardly can. my wonderful mother in law helped me along the way, guiding me through, but the actual sewing of the finished product was all done by me. even these little guys.
(man, sewing button holes are a bugger! especially when you make them just a teensy weensy bit too small and you have to literally jam the button through the hole to make it fit through). who'd have thought throw pillows would take all day (well for an amateur sewer like myself, they do, that's with kid interruptions, lunch, etc). but, i had to zig zag all the ends (so the fabric wouldn't fray), had to add some extra material on the inside to make the pillow bigger (it was the very last bit of the fabric and i wanted it to last), had to put on interfacing, sew the button holes, sew the pillow together, stitch the buttons on by hand. phew! it was work but it was super fun! i loved it! i can't wait to do a whole bunch of sewing projects this summer. next one, skirts for the girls. you'd better believe i'll have pics up afterward. just wait. it's sweet amy butler fabric! :)

anyhow, i am pleased with the results of the throw pillows. what do you think? isn't the fabric adorable? and the buttons too? sweet little things. now i need to punch up my walls. they're still brown and blah. next project... stencil or free hand swirl painting on the wall? we'll see.

praying for stellan...

i don't have anything orange that fits me right now but you'd better believe that today i'm thinking about and praying for little Stellan. his surgery is scheduled to take place this morning in boston, actually it should be going on right now. i can't even imagine what mckmamma is feeling right now. i can't even fathom sending my baby into heart surgery at such a young age. yet we know that she has Christ to lean on in this difficult time... and we know that Christ will be right there guarding little Stellan's heart. i pray for peace, i pray for knowledge for the doctors, i pray that there is an amazing miracle to take place today. i just pray... and wait... and pray some more.

it's the simple things...

i'm sitting here while my girls enjoy breakfast, enjoying my own breakfast of sorts. eating some paska (easter bread) with yummy cream cheese icing (i know, very healthy... what can i say, the baby likes it!), and sipping on a hot chai latte. and i'm happy. just sitting here enjoying my chai is very nice indeed. just had to share!


this is me enjoying a cup of chai latte during the winter months.