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Happy Mother's Day!!

"She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her...

Proverbs 31:26-28

Happy Mother's Day to you all. May you have a blessed day!

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Loving God, our Creator, we pray:

For new mothers, coming to terms with new responsibility

For expectant mothers, wondering and waiting

For those who are tired, stressed or depressed

For those who struggle to balance the tasks of work and family

For those who are unable to feed their children due to poverty

For those whose children have physical, mental or emotional disabilities

For those who have children they do not want

For those who raise children on their own

For those who have lost a child

For those who care for the children of others

For those whose children have left home

For those whose desire to be a mother has not been fulfilled

Bless all mothers, that their love may be deep and tender, and that they may lead their children to know and do what is good, living not for themselves alone, but for God and others.

Amen

~

~Taken from our church bulletin this weekend~

More Photos!!

I can't help but wonder, what in the world they might be discussing. The weather, what will they get into this afternoon...maybe what's for dinner. Whatever it may be, I had to snap a photo of it. Too cute! They remind me of little men, simply watching the world go by.
They each grabbed a little chair out of the garage, dragged them to the very end of the driveway, set them up and the plopped down next to each other. Priceless...

Now here's a photo...kind of looks like me at the end of the day when the house is all quiet and everyone is fast asleep. Wheww! Makes me sleepy just looking at it.

Little Miss with flowers in her hair...

in her sweet little dress...

and speaking of dresses, I have come across some really beautiful ones. Ruffles are really in this season and I have always fallen for them no matter what form they come in. Whether on linens, shirts, dresses or socks - I just eat them up!! I am loving all of the pretty little things I'm finding with ruffles!

and toile fabric too - gotta love it!

Love her little bunny hat

Another sleepy shot.

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Hope everyone had a great day!

xo and God Bless,

Erin

Pillowcase to the Rescue!!!

Okay, so I get up this morning to the same dilemma that I've been facing for exactly three weeks to the day...what to wear...

this body may have delivered a baby but it has yet to deliver the rest of the weight that came with baby.

So...back to the question, what will I wear today? Old jeans still a bit too tight, a little too cool for shorts just yet...what's a girl to do? Why, go to the linen closet of course, and find yourself a mismatched or old unused pillowcase. Lucky for me, I'm a sucker for pretty fabric - even if it's in the shape of a sheet, shower curtain or yes, a pillowcase! I just so happened to have a pretty rose print one that I found at the Goodwill several years ago. Had absolutely no idea what I would do with it at the time, but it was pretty so I bought it. Anyway, I digress. Stay with me here, I really do have a good idea I want to share!

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So back to the clothing issue. When your pants just don't fit, make a skirt. And I don't mean find a pattern, cut out a zillion pieces and then sew them all back together hoping that the end result is a skirt. Nope, I mean grab a piece of elastic and a pretty pillowcase. Snip open the closed end of the case, slip it on and decide what length you want it. Once you find the length that you like, trim the fabric accordingly. Now you're ready to make a waistband. To do this, turn your pillowcase inside out and then simply fold down the raw edge that you just cut and press it into place with an iron. I folded mine down about an inch so that I could fit a 1/2 inch width piece of elastic inside. Get out your sewing machine and make a basic straight stitch all the way around the pillowcase. Remember to leave a small opening so you can slip the piece of elastic inside your newly constructed waistband. Once in place, slip the skirt on again and pull on both ends of the elastic until it fits you comfortably. Pin it in place, take the skirt off and sew the ends of elastic together. Now it's time to sew up that opening you left in the beginning and voila! You have a fabulous new skirt!

Seriously, this only took 10 minutes to do. I know it seems like a lot of steps, but it is by far the easiest sewing project I've ever done!

Cool huh??

xo,

Erin

First Doctor Visit

Abigail had her very first check-up at the pediatrcian's office on Monday. She's doing well and everything looks good! She still weighed exactly what she weighed when we left the hospital so the doctor was very happy with that. He said that babies usually continue to lose weight for a couple of days after they come home but she's eating well so she's maintaining her weight!

Go Abbey!

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I got some cute shots of her toes and the ruffles on her pants. Two things I can't seem to get enough of these days. Ruffles and baby toes!!

Welcome Sweet Abigail!

Meet Abigail Grace!

She arrived on Thursday night

February 25, 2010

11:28pm

7lbs 14 1/2 ozs!!

A sweet angel, sent from above.

What an incredible blessing!


I woke up Thursday morning feeling crampy and I knew something was up. By noon, I knew she would probably arrive sometime that night. I started timing contractions around 4:30 in the afternoon and they were about 5 minutes apart. They weren't lasting very long though and weren't extremely painful yet...so we waited. I called the doctor's office at 7:55pm. Contractions were getting a little more intense but still bearable and still 5 minutes apart. I didn't want to go to the hospital only to be sent home because it was too early so we waited...

within 30 minutes, the contractions started coming 4 minutes apart and were becoming very painful. I called the midwife back and told her we were on the way. We left the house at 9:00pm, arrived at the hospital around 9:30 and by then, these contraction were coming one right after the other. Hardly any time between them. We got settled into our room and by then the midwife was delivering another baby down the hall. The labor was moving along so fast that by the time the other baby was born and the midwife got to our room, it was too late for an epidural, Abbey was on her way. This sweet girl was ready to make an appearance. I am proud to say that this was a completely natural childbirth. Not an epidural in sight, nor anything else for pain. I was thrilled and anxious, excited and terrified all at the same time. As each day passes though, and I think about all that happened, I realize that I would never trade that experience for anything.
It was amazing and I thank God for the blessing of being able to have her naturally. It is an experience that I will never forget and I feel blessed to have had it.

So here she is. Welcome sweet little one!

She is ready to eat so I will close for now but promise to return with more pictures very soon!

xo,

Erin

Waiting...

Tick Tock...Tick Tock...

still waiting patiently...

to fill up these shoes!

Will keep you posted!

Fun In the Snow!

After we dug ourselves out, the kids got a chance to play in the snow. I was going to post these last week but didn't get a chance to do it.
They all really enjoyed it. Lots of big drifts and piles to climb on. A little too deep for sledding...

but perfect for King of the Mountain!!

Good times!!

xo,

Erin

Happy Valentine's Day!

Love is patient and kind, love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on it's own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Happy Valentine's Day! May God Bless you all!

xo,

Erin

Let's Play a Game!!

Okay, here we go. First question: Look at the above photo. Can you tell where the 30 inch drop off is from our back patio to the grass below?

Okay, question two: Can you find the big wrought iron bench in the above photo?

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Here's a hint...here it is in the photo below, after the first 30 inches of snow but before the second blizzard 3 days later!




Ooohhh, here we go. Let's find the garden in front of our house. Oh, there it is, barely poking out above all the SNOW!!


Here's a double bonus...can you see the mailbox? Oh and ummm what about the car? Can't find the car? Me neither.



Hmmmm...now where did it go?

Oh look! I see the windshield wipers! Now for the fun part. Digging them all out.

At first this was fun. Kind of quaint actually! Umm now? Not so much.

M is enjoying it. N liked it too, although he didn't venture out yesterday. As for D, the snow is taller than he is so he hasn't been out just yet. We're going to dig out today though so we'll shovel a path for him to walk on so he can enjoy it too!

By the way, these photos of M were taken after the first storm but before the second blizzard.
It's even taller now.

You can't even see the mailbox, just part of the post it sits on.

*******

Meanwhile...

I continue to pray...

Dear Lord, please do not let this baby come until AFTER the storm and the roads are clear to the hospital.

Enjoy the rest of your week everyone and stay warm wherever you are!!

xo,

Erin

Nesting...and a Recipe

The kitchen island cabinets have been cleared out and reorganized, the laundry room has received the same treatment. Countertops scrubbed and sparkling. Floors scrubbed...sparkling? Not so much! The bedroom, living room and dining room - check, check and check! More loads of laundry than I can count have been washed, folded and put away. I've vacuumed the carpets 3 times in two days. Toilets - same deal(scrubbed clean that is, not vacuumed). This is normal right? I mean I'm feeling a bit obsessive over the whole thing. Kind of like it must all be done NOW, as in, the span of a few days. Nesting perhaps??? Hmmm...yes, I've read about this happening as the pending due date gets closer but my gosh, I don't think I've ever been this obsessive about it before - haha!

Anyway, I decided yesterday to chill, take a break, enough already! I'm getting tired. So this is what I did instead:

Yes, I baked. Macaroons to be exact, coconut macaroons and a cup of tea - bliss! I absolutely could not stop eating them. Paired with a favorite magazine that arrived in the mail and a few good sewing books from the library, this is what I did when the kids went to bed.

Anyway, they were so good, I wanted to share the recipe.

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1 1/2 cups sweetened flake coconut

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 egg whites

1/4 tsp vanilla

dash salt

Beat egg whites, salt and vanilla until soft peaks form.

Gradually add sugar, beating until very stiff and glossy.

Fold in coconut, drop by rounded teaspoons about 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheets

(or for easier cleanup, I just covered the cookie sheets with parchment)

Bake at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes or until set and lightly browned.

I doubled this recipe to get about 3 dozen cookies but if you want fewer, just follow exactly as is

*******

Delicious!!

Enjoy!

xo,

Erin

All Ready For Baby...A Peek Into the Nursery

Yes!! It's finished and I couldn't be happier. I love when a plan comes together. It all started with a French Provincial hutch that I wanted to use as a dresser/bookcase/toy shelf. I'm a bit of a French junkie and I knew that I wanted this room to have a timeless, French feel to it.

I found the hutch on Craigslist back in October and knew immediately that it would be PERFECT for the room!!!

We were going to reuse the same crib that all of the boys used but someone whose name I won't mention decided to climb inside and wheeee...use it as a trampoline. I'll give you a hint...he's the oldest of the three. Anyway, he broke the bottom out of it and therefore a new crib was in order. It arrived the other day and was assembled yesterday. The fabulously girlie tulle crib skirt arrived last week and goes perfectly in the room.

So, here's the infamous hutch that started it all. I simply love it! I found some vintage picnic baskets last year that will hold extra blankets and/or toys so I stacked them at the foot of the crib. Pardon the candle tart sitting on top of them - courtesy of little"D"

Another shot of that hutch - see the Eiffel Tower on top? Told you I love everything French!

Here is a pillow that I made. It looks cute in the crib for now but of course I'll remove it once baby arrives. I made it with some linen and vintage lace that I had in my fabric stash and then finished it off with a monogram.

Here are some Maude Humphrey (I love her) prints that I bought years ago thinking maybe some day...

I found some frames from Hobby Lobby that I painted to match the room and then framed, matted and hung all of the prints.

Pretty as a princess sign...

lamps...

and finally, we have a French jardin (garden) box of roses and the most important thing in the room...a bible.

are you detecting a vintage, French theme to this room? Good, that's just what I was hoping for.

I know this was a long post with lots of pictures so thanks for sticking with me to the end! Hope you enjoyed the nursery. Have a great evening!

xo,

Erin