Andrew Davis' First Birthday

I’ve got a lot of catching up to do here,

 so I’m going to jump back to September!

 It was our baby boy’s first birthday. 

It seems he’s been part of our family for forever,

and we can’t picture what life would be like without him in it. 

And in another way, it doesn’t seem possible

 that one year could go by so quickly,

and we have a boy toddling around the house! 

He’s such a fun child, all boy, loving all the things

 that go “vroom” and any sort of ball. 

But he also loves animals and anything

 that is soft and fuzzy. 

Andrew’s first birthday happened to be at the time

 of our family vacation to Chincoteague.

 That made it special for all of us! 

 Since we were traveling I wanted to keep things simple. 

It seemed natural to go with a boat and water theme.

  The girls and I did a few fun things ahead of time

to make it feel like a good party.

We made “bobbers” with marshmallows, red food coloring, and skewers. 

We tied them to sticks along with simple fish shapes cut from newspaper.

And little newspaper boats with fish crackers were simple things to set at each place.

The kids enjoyed the challenge of eating the dangling bobbers!

 The fuzzy animals were his favorite presents. 

We love this little man!!! 

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."

James 1:17

Random Tidbits from the Last Few Months

Like the title says, this is bits and pieces from life the last couple of months. 

I actually hung new family photos on the living room wall. 

The ones I took down were about five years old – high time for an update. 

These are “canvases” that I did on the cheap.

 (I did a post on this easy method here.)  

A beautiful ice storm came along last month,

 right before things decided to take a turn for spring.  

The view outside was much more lovely than the one inside.

I got my very first smart phone.  

No more 160 character text limits!!  

And I don’t have to be at my computer to check facebook. ;)

Cassia turned seven. 

We decorated her cake with lots of tiny flowers

 made from rolled out starbursts and fondant cutters. 

What happens when the seven year old daughter

 is doing your hair, and the fun of a camera phone.

   Never, NEVER, roll your hair up in a comb. 

NEVER. 

I had to ask Nathan to bring some sort of strong cutting tool 

from the shop to cut the comb apart to remove it from my hair. 

I was glad no one dropped by the house while I was waiting for my rescue! :) 

It’s a good memory now!

When the boots totally wear out, they’re still useful. 

It’s a mighty lady hunter we have! 

Yesterday I actually had the gumption to siphon gallons

 of water from our fish tank and out the window with the garden hose.

   We are taking a fish tank break. 

After our Angelfish (she’s the same one who had all the surgeries!) 

somehow managed to get trapped under some rocks and died (a sad day), 

we decided it would be nice to declutter that corner of the living room.  

And yes, that’s a bag of rice holding up the lamp.

  The lamp needs a doctor.

And last of all here’s my latest To Do list. 

This event has been a real life changer the last few months.  

Having a good reason for exhaustion and frequent Dr. visits is pretty exciting! 

We’re a expecting a little someone in September! 

God is so good.  

Not knowing if this would ever happen in our family

 after Lyme Disease has made me even more grateful for the miracle.

And as you can probably imagine, 

the big sisters are thrilled beyond words.  

Nathan had the idea of making a snow family with one 

Little Extra to break the news to them.

(the littlest one is the dog, can you tell?)  

Watching the reality sink in on their faces as they figured it out

 was something to see.  

They went around the rest of the day with goofy grins on their faces. 

I may or may not have had the same grin too.

“Blessed be the LORD!

For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.

The LORD is my strength and my shield;

in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;

my heart exults,

and with my song I give thanks to him.”

Psalm 28:6,7

Make a Pretty Place

Virginia’s in the middle of what they’re 

(whoever “they” are) calling a blizzard. 

 From the looks of it, they’re actually right this time! 

 It’s finally Winter. 

I’m not anti-winter, but I’m guessing winter moments

 happen to all of us to some degree – those times where 

you crave something extra pretty and fresh and new. 

Somehow winter makes me want to change things up.  

I don’t know why – maybe a psychiatrist could tell me.

There’s an inherent desire in us that longs for the beautiful. 

 And it’s a good longing. 

  (I just re-read this post from 2013 with quotes on beauty.)

Decorating and having beauty in my home is something

 I would say I certainly enjoy, but it’s not my 

priority in life or the in budget for that matter. 

I don’t follow lots of home and decorating blogs, although I 

could let myself get swallowed up in them – all the creativity and

 beauty appeals to me somewhere deep inside.

  Actually, there’s only one blog that I follow, and it’s called

 “Nesting Place – it doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful”.  

What this lady named Myquillin says, makes sense to me.  

Her style is not perfect, and doesn’t have to be done immediately, 

but it has beauty in spite of that.

I agree with “The Nester”, that decorating with something big,

 and even bold, makes a great impact.

 (Read her thoughts here.)  

But what about those days (or weeks, or years) where all your energy

 has gone into cleaning up after a toddler?  

Or there’s not a cent extra in the budget for something “big”?

  Or your health prevents you from even dreaming up

 anything new and big because it’s entirely too overwhelming? 

That was me a few years ago with Lyme Disease. 

The effect of the disease on the brain is not pretty.

  But there were still sparks of creativity now and then. 

That’s when I put this little group of Cacti in our kitchen window. 

I could handle finding some bricks and a board

 and arranging some tiny pots of succulents.  

This window had been a disaster.

 The sill is well below the table that’s in front of it,

 and creates a sort of pit.  

A perfect pit for stuffing used bread bags and such into.  

Not good.  

It didn’t take a lot of effort or money 

(thanks to you dear friends who’ve shared plants with me!)

 to change things up, and I’ve been enjoying

 this collection ever since. 

 It’s a little spot for beauty.

The pottery vase was made by my father-in-law when he was in high school.  Very awesome! 

 So I’d encourage you, even if you aren’t able to accomplish 

something big right now, 

at least do something small.  

Make a little place for something new and beautiful.  

And then ENJOY it!

"Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him 

the name that is above every name, 

so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, 

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, 

to the glory of God the Father."

 Philippians 2:9-11

Another Gift Idea - Pinecone "Kindling"

This week there’s another gift idea 

– and this is one the kids can make!

It will require adult supervision though.

Our family tends to stick with simple and inexpensive gifts for the most part.

This little project fits that thought process.

If you know someone who has a woodstove or fireplace,

this might be something you’d like to make.

Wax drizzled pinecones work great as kindling

and make the fire starting chore a tad bit more pleasant.

All you need is old wax scraps, candle ends, etc., and some pinecones.

(I save all the wax from any old candles in a jar stored in the attic

to have on hand for a time such as this.)

First, find a place to collect pinecones.

(Getting to be outside makes this an even better project!)

(Even though you know she won’t listen, 

remind the dog that what you are making is inedible.) 

Then heat your wax in some sort of double boiler.

An empty tin can, sitting in a pan of water that’s being heated

on the stove, works great.

You can just throw the can away when you’re done

and won’t have to wash your pan like I did.

Nice.

Just spread the cones out on a baking sheet

(line it with aluminum foil if you don’t want to clean the pan)

and drizzle them with the melted wax.

Let ‘em cool and you’re done.

If you’re lucky, and used some scented candles, they will even smell nice!

We made these fire starters for the uncles in the family last year.

It’s a great kid-made gift that can be enjoyed and then will be gone.

In other words, it’s not expected to be sitting on a bedroom dresser for years to come.

If you know what I mean. J

 

"So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone,

and especially to those who are of the household of faith."

Galatians 6:10

Five Fun Gift Ideas Using PHOTOS

I love unique and meaningful gifts.

So I’ve started a top secret pintrest board with the title, 

“Christmas Giving Ideas”.  

Unfortunately the board is still very sparse when it comes to pinned ideas.

Sometimes it’s just plain difficult to come up with something personal and fun.

While I’m pondering on the gift theme, I think I’ll share some ideas from

Christmases past (or birthdays, or just-for-anyhows) on this blog

 in the next few weeks.

Here are five different gift ideas using PHOTOS!

#1.    Turn someone’s facebook timeline into a book!

  I love this idea. 

This book does require access to a facebook acount, 

so you might have to get sneaky to get a password, 

but this is so worth it!

I actually did this book of my own facebook timeline as a gift for myself.  

It’s like a diary from the year 2009 to 2014. 

 I do poorly at writing things down, but having these random snippets

 that I’ve posted over the years is making up for some of that!

I used the site, “My Social Book”, and it was amazingly simple to do. 

“Fonicle” is another source for making a book from a facebook timeline.  

And I’m sure you would find there are other places 

out there that do the same thing 

if you do some searching.  

#2.     Use someone’s phone photos to create a book.

  I did this for my husband, Nathan’s birthday. 

I kept mentioning to him that I’d like to have some photos from his phone, 

and that he could just download them all onto my computer. J 

Then I did a simple photobook (from “My Publisher”) 

and left plenty of white space next to the photos for writing. 

I honestly cannot even identify some of the objects on these pictures.  

And I’ve certainly never made a photobook with so many pictures of 

car/truck/tractor/motorcycle parts, guns, and dead animals in my life!!! 

Wow. 

It was really fun. 

I gave him the book along with the promise that I will do the writing 

and explaining in the blank edges if he tells me what to write!  

I purposely put in pictures that he had snapped 

for their usefulness and not their beauty. 

A picture of a receipt he was using to remember something 

will be pretty cool to look at in twenty-five years from now. 

Or just think of how vehicle styles change. 

And trust me, there will be plenty of vehicles to look back at!

Reminiscing over this book in the future will be completely different than looking at my own scrapbooks of kids, holidays, decorations, and flowers. 

I like it! 

Here’s a site I like to use when looking to compare photobook printing companies.  And she has some good coupon codes too! http://www.photobookgirl.com/

#3.          Make a small keepsake book. 

I did this little twenty page book as a gift for my sister and brother-in-law. 

It’s from Artisan State, and for first time users 

is only $5 (with $5 shipping for a total of $10).   

  It has beautiful thick board pages that lay flat.  

This was the simplest book I’ve ever done!  

Yay for that!  

I found it easy to arrange the pages exactly how I wanted them 

without a lot of messing around. 

 This little book would be a sweet idea for grandparents!  

Here’s the link http://www.artisanstate.com/

#4.        Turn a blank canvas into a photo canvas.

  This is the canvas I made of my niece last spring, and I gave the instructions here.

#5.      Use foam board to make a small stand-alone photo for display.  

Last Christmas I put photos of my niece and nephew 

on pieces of foam board that were about 5”x 7”. 

I used the same technique as the canvas, except I didn’t lay the 

canvas fabric over the wet modpodge to create texture.  

This little photo board is very easy to make, 

and would be cute tucked somewhere in a child’s room. 

Happy Creating!

"As water reflects the face,

 so one's life reflects the heart."

Proverbs 27:19