More DIY.

How to make a personalized sign... 

1.  Gather wood from your back yard.

2.  Say really nice things to your husband and promise to make him his favorite dinner, while asking him to nail the boards together for you.

3.  Gather your supplies.  (primer, paint, and brushes)

4.  Paint your primer, then apply the paint.  I did this very lightly on purpose, hoping to give it a distressed/vintage look.

5. Decide what you will write on the board.  Turns out this was the hardest part for me.

6.  Begin to free-hand the words/phrase of choice.

7.  Realize you did these words way too big, and by adding the other 2 lines, it's most likely going to look way too scrunched and awful.

8.  Recruit people that will give you an honest opinion.  (thanks kristal)

9.  Re-apply the primer and paint, to cover up #5.

10.  Decide to paint the words on vertically.

11.  Pray... vow to give up if it doesn't work this time... and begin.

12.  Look back and admire your work.

13.  Hope your Sister will like it.

14.  Display it proudly at your event.

15.  Give it to the guest of honor to use at the wedding and/or in their home someday, if they choose.

Any questions?

Cohen - 10 months

Double digits, little guy.  10 months old.

Here's what you're up to!

• You love to blow raspberries and stick your tongue out...hilarious! 
• You're pulling yourself up constantly, trying to swing your leg around to get up onto things.
• You have 6 teeth!  Not sure of your weight, but I'm guessing close to 20 pounds.
• Your appetite never ceases to amaze me... you are nursing 3-4 times a day, eating 3 {huge} table meals, and 1-2 snacks inbetween.
• You started crawling the more "official" way, and sometimes with your butt completely in the air!
• Most nights you sleep 6-8 hour stretches... mommy loves these!
• You are talking more and more and discovering the silly noises you can make. 
• Peek-a-boo with your brother is your favorite!
• You are starting to play more with toys, rather than just chew/suck on them.
• You hate having your diaper changed and will roll away constantly to try and prevent it. 

I love you much!

 

Wedding shower.

Not overly impressed with the pictures I got due to low lighting in the room and just completely running out of time before guests arrived to take pictures.... but here they are anyway!

half the tables were covered in lace, the other half in burlap.  

 

 

most of the jars came from all over my house... 

 

 

sign i made on the food table... yes, more info coming soon :) 

loved the mini chalk boards... 

 

 

 

loved the decor behind where she sat...

 

 

such a gorgeous bride to be! 

mom, me, bride-to-be, and sister in law.  

Beautiful shower.

Lots of guests.

Great food.

Generous gifts.

Family and friends surrounded.

What more could you ask for?

Love you, Sister.  

Wedding shower sneak peek.

i love invitations that give the guests a "preview" of the event, so these were exactly what i had in mind when i started looking.

lace, cream, & formal. 

this originally was going to be her gift, but after i made it i decided to use it as shower decor as well...

more pictures of the actual shower coming soon, along with more info about the sign pictured above that i made. 

happy shower day, sister! 

7 Posts Meme.

For some reason I'm nervous to do this!

If you've been following me for a while, I'm not one to do a lot of blog-type games.  I get nominated for "awards" from other bloggers from time to time, and just choose to not participate in most of them.  However, I really like this one that I was recently tagged in from Meredith at La Buena Vida.  I like that it makes you think, and challenges you.  I also like that if you're a new reader, you'll hopefully learn some more about me as well as some history of my blog.  I've been blogging since 2008, but really started to figure out what I wanted from my site as well as who I am as a blogger in the past year-ish, so I'm answering these questions based on the past year or so.  Here we go!

What this is about:
To unite bloggers (from all sectors) in a joint endeavor to share lessons learned and create a bank of long but not forgotten blog posts that deserve to see the light of day again.

Rules: 
1) Blogger is nominated to take part
2) Blogger publishes his/her 7 links on his/her blog – 1 link for each category.
- Your most beautiful post
– Your most popular post
– Your most controversial post
– Your most helpful post
– A post whose success surprised you 
– A post you feel didn’t get the attention it deserved
– The post that you are most proud of

3) Blogger nominates up to 5 more bloggers to take part. 
4) These bloggers publish their 7 links and nominate another 5 more bloggers
5) And so it goes on!
6) The site Trip Base be sharing the best posts from participating bloggers on their blog and everyday on Facebook and Twitter at #My7Links.



#1 - My most beautiful post: You'll need a life jacket. 

This post was seriously hard for me to write and share, but I think it was helpful and healing for me to do so. I  got messages and emails from different people for weeks afterwards thanking me for writing it, and saying how much it helped them.  It was so refreshing to hear about how the Lord used me in that way to help others.

#2 - My most popular post: a tie between two DIY posts... my ABC wall, and the kitchen cart makeover, probably due to them both being pinned on pinterest.

#3 - My most controversial post: Choosing your battles

It seems silly, really.  There were 8 comments on that post, all commending me.  But the one time I've gotten a negative email/message from someone was because of this post, saying it was awful of me to "make" Jaxon do that, of course from an Anonymous source, so I couldn't defend or explain myself.

#4 - My most helpful post: Without doubt, Cloth Diaper Q&A.

I have helped 12 families start cloth diapering, and I'm so proud of that!  I typed up that post to direct people to it when I would continually receive the same questions over and over again. I love to help people with any cloth diapering questions they may have. 

#5 - A post whose success surprised me: All of my What I wore Wednesday posts.

I originally started this to challenge myself to actually get dressed up each day, and also for my Sister who originally encouraged me to do that.  I was seriously surprised by how many people commented, privately messaged/emailed me, and encouraged me to keep going when I thought it was getting old.  I am not a fashion blogger by any means and think that 95% of the things in my closet are boring, so this was a surprise for me. 

#6 - A post you feel didn't get the attention it deserved: Unexpected. 

It was written while Jaxon was very sick, laying in a hospital bed next to me.  I was sobbing as I wrote it, and the raw emotion that I was feeling was like no other.

#7 - The post I am most proud of: I may find some others after digging deeper, but the one that first comes to mind is Beautiful Morning. 

It still stands true, that my favorite time of day is in the mornings when I spend quiet time with Jesus.  I am always so much better equipped for what may or may not happen later that day when I make this time a priority.

5 people I'd love to see this post from:

they call me phyllis

the keith fam

allyson wonderland

just to keep in touch

living lucky

One more, but I know she won't do it due to being swamped at work :) 

that angie girl 

Tidbits.

- Wedding shower preparations for my Sister are in full force around my house, so I'm sorry for the lack of blogging lately.  I know we all go through phases that blogging takes the back seat, and that's the case for me right now.
{ps, sneak peek of the shower coming on Saturday!}

- We are still adjusting to Tyler's new schedule, but days like today that we were able to get out of the house and do something fun as a family was great.  We went to DeAnna Farmstead, which is free Monday-Thursday.  Can't beat free.

- We joined a gym last month and I am so happy to be finding my groove again with the elliptical machine.  They also offer many different classes, my favorite of course is Zumba.  And why not -- burning around 800 calories in an hour that goes by lightning quick.  I love it!

- A week ago we finally found the nerve to cut Cohen's hair for the first time.  It was way past due, but I could not come to terms with how different I knew he was going to look.  Luckily, he's still as cute as ever.

- I made cinnamon roll pancakes recently for some guests, and ohmygoodness, they were amazing.  We decided this would be a trademark for staying overnight at our house... being treated to these yummy things for breakfast.

- I am borrowing a sewing machine from my sister in law as I prepare to sew my sisters wedding programs.  I'm so excited to get started, but a little nervous as well since I am not quite sure how to run this thing... ha!

- We are still enjoying our summer together {and all that entails} but I am SO over the heat.  This week we are expected to have another couple 100 degree days... I cannot wait for fall!

- We have spent a lot of time with my friend Andrea and her son Benton recently.  Jaxon and Benton are almost the same age and play SO well together.  Added bonus that I get to spend time with his beautiful momma!  She's a great friend to me and I've thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her better.

- The flu/influenza hit our house pretty severely over the weekend while we had my Step-FIL in town.  So far, just my boys have had it, and I'm praying it stays that way.  With the shower coming up this weekend, I cannot afford to get sick, nor can my hubby, who is keeping Jaxon back home while Cohen and I travel.

- Just hours before the virus hit Jaxon full-force, he attended his first Royals game!  Such a fun experience for him, and because the facility is so family-friendly, he didn't get bored or antsy at all.  They got home at 10pm and he was still wide awake and excited to tell me all about the "baseball game".

- I'm constantly on the hunt for fun things to do with Jaxon, and came across a suggestion to get some water balls for him.  The original idea of these is to use them for home decorating or in substitute for water in a vase of flowers, but kids and adults love to play with them as well.  {just be careful because they cannot eat them} I ordered 10 packs for $7 off Amazon and it was money well spent, as Jaxon loves playing with them.  They start out as tiny little balls and within 4 hours grow to marble size.  So fun!

- Cohen has been waking up from his afternoon nap with red blotches all over his face.  It goes away within a couple hours of waking up, but I find it strange that it's only after one nap {not at bedtime or his morning nap} and goes away fairly quickly.  I've washed/changed his sheets, and have closely monitored what he has ate for lunch {in case it's an allergy}.  It doesn't seem to bother him, so if it continues I'll take him to the doctor but I just thought I'd ask here as well.  Any thoughts?

- That wraps up our past couple of weeks!